Technology

SpaceX's thirteenth Starship flight test launched July 24, 2026, successfully deploying 20 production Starlink V3 satellites before a soft splashdown in the Indian Ocean, though the Super Heavy booster was lost to a hard splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico. The satellites were designed to de-orbit roughly 20 minutes after deployment and are not part of the permanent Starlink constellation. A separate FCC filing dated August 21 indicates SpaceX has applied for an operating window beginning September 15, 2026, for Flight 14, which would carry an orbital upper stage configuration.

Bending Spoons completed its acquisition of Airtable on September 4, 2026, ahead of its originally stated timeline, with the August announcement valuing Airtable at $1.285 billion in enterprise value and an implied equity value of approximately $2.25 billion — though closing documents did not restate those figures. Airtable reported roughly $480 million in annual recurring revenue growing over 20% year over year, with more than 500,000 organizations using the platform. Bending Spoons has stated plans to invest in Airtable's product, support, and go-to-market functions, but has disclosed no specific staffing, pricing, or restructuring commitments, and its track record across prior acquisitions including Evernote, WeTransfer, and Vimeo shows product investment has frequently coincided with significant workforce reductions.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals' Zanvastro (zilganersen) has received FDA approval as the first disease-modifying treatment for Alexander disease, a progressive neurological disorder affecting fewer than one person per million. The antisense oligonucleotide, administered by intrathecal injection every 12 weeks, demonstrated statistically significant stabilization of gait speed in a 54-participant trial, with a 33.3% least-square-mean difference versus control at week 61. Reuters reported a list price of $285,000 per dose, and Ionis said the therapy would become available in the United States within weeks of the September 3, 2026 approval.