The Treason Party Soldiers On, But At Least The War On EVs Is Fizzling Out

cleantechnica.com Oct 20, 2026

The Treason Party Soldiers On, But At Least The War On EVs Is Fizzling Out

Curated by Shubham · TechCapsules · Oct 20, 2026

AI-summarised brief · reviewed before publication

Slate Auto, a Jeff Bezos‑backed EV startup, opened its first showroom in Chicago, offering a customizable electric pickup truck priced at $26,400. The location, 1053 West Grand Avenue, is the former site of Tesla’s first non‑California store. The launch follows Slate’s 2024 Warsaw factory and signals continued U.S. EV momentum despite the 2025 OBBA tax bill’s impact. Industry data shows EV sales rose to 6.5% of new cars, up from 5.8% in the prior quarter, driven by Tesla, Toyota, and Subaru.

💡 Why It Matters

· The showroom’s placement on a historic Tesla site underscores the evolving competitive landscape and the persistence of EV innovation amid policy shifts.
· It highlights how new entrants can capitalize on legacy infrastructure to accelerate market penetration.

Read full article on cleantechnica.com

Palworld lead calls Steam Next Fest a gamble that’s “still worth taking”…

Pocketpair’s head of publishing, John “Bucky” Buckley, defended Steam Next Fest as a worthwhile platform despite the influx of AI‑generated titles. He noted that the event historically attracts a high volume of low‑impact games, yet the most polished and timely releases still rise to prominence. Buckley highlighted the festival’s role in gathering player feedback and data before launch, arguing that the core value of Next Fest remains unchanged even as influencer culture and player numbers grow.

💡 The discussion underscores how developers can still leverage large digital festivals to refine and promote their games, proving that community engagement outweighs the noise of AI‑heavy releases.

therobotreport.com · Oct 20

2027 TRR50 Robotics Innovation Awards open nominations

Aaron Parness and Bhavana Chandrashekhar of Amazon Robotics introduced the 2026 TRR50 Robotics Innovation Awards at the RBR50 gala, announcing that nominations for the The Robot Report 50 are now open. The awards, running since 2012, will honor innovations released between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2026 across categories such as Startup of the Year, Application of the Year, Robot of the Year, Robots for Good, Best Use of AI, Products, Business and Applications. Submissions close on Jan. 5, 2027, and winners will be celebrated at a gala during the Robotics Summit & Expo in Boston on June 2‑3, 2027, with robots demoed in a pavilion. Past winners include Amazon’s Vulcan robot, Waymo’s robotaxi, Harvard’s wearable stroke aid, and Tatum Robotics’ tactile sign‑language hand.

💡 The award’s timing aligns with a surge in AI‑driven robotics, giving startups a high‑visibility platform that can accelerate funding and deployment cycles. Showcasing winners at a major summit also fuels cross‑industry collaborations.

therobotreport.com · Oct 20

Reservoir launches new agricultural robotics incubator for Washington growers

Reservoir, an ag‑tech innovation center and venture fund, partnered with Washington State University’s Prosser IAREC, the Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission and the Tri‑City Development Council to launch an agricultural robotics incubator in Washington. The incubator will embed robotics startups in orchards, vineyards and berry fields, allowing them to test and refine technologies alongside researchers and growers. It targets labor‑intensive crops such as apples, cherries, pears, blueberries, wine grapes and hops, which are facing rising labor costs and a shrinking workforce. The initiative builds on Reservoir’s recently opened flagship hub, Reservoir Farms – Salinas, which houses multiple barns and 24 acres of test fields, and follows a broader plan to replicate on‑farm innovation centers across the American West.

💡 By placing robotics firms directly in Washington’s high‑value crops, the incubator accelerates field‑tested solutions that can offset labor shortages and sustain productivity in a region critical to U.S. fruit and hop supply.

therobotreport.com · Oct 20

A guide to Day 1 of RoboBusiness 2026

RoboBusiness 2026 opened at the Santa Clara Convention Center, celebrating its 20th anniversary with a packed schedule of keynotes, demos, and breakout sessions. The day began at 9:15 a.m. PT with a keynote on “The Next 20 Years of Robotics,” featuring Rodney Brooks, Jonathan Hurst, and Ken Goldberg. At 10:00 a.m., the show floor opened, offering robotics demonstrations, an Engineering Theater, and Startup Alley. The afternoon concluded with a keynote on AI in production robotics, followed by a networking reception hosted by Harmonic Drive.

💡 The event marks a milestone for the robotics community, spotlighting the evolution of AI-driven automation and setting the stage for future industry collaboration.

techcrunch.com · Oct 20

Blackwall quadruples valuation to $2.2B as websites wrangle an increasingly crowded internet

Estonia‑based Blackwall announced a $100 million Series C round that lifts its valuation to $2.2 billion, a four‑fold increase since its 2025 raise. The company supplies web‑traffic security tools that identify and block malicious bots, AI agents, and DDoS attacks, then bundles these capabilities for hosting, managed‑service and cloud providers to resell under their own brands. Blackwall’s platform offers threat intelligence, certificate management, traffic routing and AI‑driven fingerprinting to distinguish legitimate users from rogue software. Providers receive a free tier for traffic visibility and pay only for active protection, sharing revenue with Blackwall. The new capital will fund expansion across North America, Europe, APAC and the Middle East and accelerate development of additional security solutions for the hosting ecosystem.

💡 By empowering hosting providers to control bot‑mitigation services themselves, Blackwall creates a new revenue stream that could reshape how the internet’s backbone defends against the surge of AI‑driven traffic.

techcrunch.com · Oct 20

Otter.ai raises $320 million from General Catalyst’s growth fund for its meeting…

Otter.ai announced a $320 million infusion from General Catalyst’s Customer Value Fund, a capital source that ties returns to marketing performance rather than equity dilution. The funding will fuel the company’s push into enterprise growth, sharpen its go‑to‑market approach, expand internationally, and accelerate product innovation. Otter, now ten years old, has previously raised $50 million, with its last round in 2021, and reported crossing $100 million in annual recurring revenue last year. The platform claims 40 million total users, up from 25 million a year earlier, though it disclosed no monthly active‑user or churn metrics. Recent product moves include a meeting assistant, cross‑app search, AI‑driven insights, pre‑briefs, and a Live Assist feature that answers questions in real time.

💡 By linking capital to marketing outcomes, Otter can scale its AI‑driven voice analytics without surrendering ownership, positioning it to outpace rivals in turning raw meeting data into actionable business intelligence.