The Modems - Tech News

When Phoebe Gates and her co-founder Sophia Kianni couldn’t find a smarter, more sustainable way to shop online, they decided to build one 🛍️💻 “Phia was born from a shared frustration with the way we shopped - too much fast fashion, and too many open tabs required to sift through better options,” Phoebe tells The Modems. Launched publicly in April 2025, their AI-powered app quickly climbed to #21 in the App Store and hit over 300,000 downloads within weeks. “That traction confirmed strong product-market fit and validated our approach,” she explains. Now, Phia is redefining the retail experience - helping users shop consciously, save money, and harness AI to make smarter decisions. As for her biggest lesson so far? “Being a founder is essentially a lesson in rejection,” she admits. “It’s rejection every time a consumer doesn’t like a new feature. It’s rejection when a new hire doesn’t work out or an investor doesn’t get the vision. True founders don’t break from rejection they learn how to stack into valuable insights you can use to improve the company.” Read ‘The Download’ with Phoebe Gates, who talks AI, entrepreneurship, and the future of shopping - via the link in bio. Cc: @phiaco @phoebegates @sophiakianni

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The internet accidentally just trolled Claude Monet 🎨  Earlier this week, X user @SHL0MS posted what appeared to be an AI-generated painting of water lilies complete with a fake ✨ Made with AI ✨ label - before asking people to critique it “in as much detail as possible.” And the internet obliged. Within hours, the replies turned into a full-scale art school dissertation. Users criticised the image for having “no cohesion,” “weak composition,” “no clear focal point” and “AI slop.” One user declared: “It’s ugly. It has no intention, no point of view.” There was just one tiny detail. The painting was actually a real work by Monet from his iconic Water Lilies series, painted roughly 150 years ago. (Cue collective face palm.) One of the most interesting parts of the thread was watching people confidently explain why the brushwork lacked emotional intelligence - only for art historians and sharper-eyed users to point out that the so-called “AI flaws” were hallmark features of Monet’s late-period work: atmospheric light, soft edges, layered reflections and loose abstraction. One particularly viral reply explained that real Monet paintings contain “records of sustained looking at a real place” while AI images are often “style reference[s], not observation.” Beyond the memes, the thread is a fascinating case study in how AI labels shape perception online. By adding a “Made with AI” tag - it instantly changed how people viewed the image - proving that in 2026, audiences are primed to distrust imagery if they think a machine created it. And it also says a lot about the current state of ‘AI Slop’ discourse 👀 IT-girls we want to know… What are your thoughts on this? 🎨💻 Let us know in the comments below 👇🏽 Photo Credit: @chatgptricks & X - @SHL0MS PS: If you want more insider tech news like this - comment NEWSLETTER below 💌 and we’ll DM you our exclusive IT-girl newsletter 💻✨ #AIArt #ClaudeMonet #AISlop #Monet #TechNews

Watch until the end for the stats 🏎️📈👀 We spoke to some of the incredible women taking party in this year’s @cash_and_rocket rally - and found out exactly what they were driving and why women have been “excluded from the narrative” (so far) when it comes to supercars… 🏎️ Video Cc: @rocky_barnes @heycayrae - @shopmy @ashleytaylorarguello - @canwe_app @jackiecruz - @casaguii @ivanaberendika @juliebrangstrup_ - @cash_and_rocket @im_mathildatkarlsson PS: If you want more insider tech news like this - comment NEWSLETTER below 💌 and we’ll DM you our exclusive IT-girl newsletter 💻✨

This week Dua Lipa filed a lawsuit against Samsung seeking $15 million (£11 million) in damages, accusing the tech giant of using her image without permission to market its televisions. According to the lawsuit, Samsung allegedly featured a copyrighted image titled “Dua Lipa - Backstage at Austin City Limits, 2024” on the front of retail TV boxes - creating what her legal team claims was the false impression that she endorsed the product. The filing includes records of fans reacting to the packaging online, including one comment that allegedly read: “I wasn’t even planning on buying a tv but I saw the box so I decided to get it.” Another reportedly said they would purchase the television “just because Dua is on it.” Lipa’s lawyers argue the alleged unauthorised use has “caused and continues to cause dilution” of her “brand identity and commercial goodwill by falsely conveying to the consuming public that she approves of and endorses” Samsung products. However, Samsung denies any intentional wrongdoing.  In a statement, the company said the image was used “to reflect the content of our third-party partners that are available on Samsung TVs” and that it had received “explicit assurance” from a content provider that all permissions had been secured. The company added that it has “great respect” for Lipa and remains “open to a constructive resolution with Ms Lipa’s team.” According to the court documents, Dua Lipa only became aware of the packaging after fans began sharing images online last year, referring to it as the “Dua Lipa TV Box.” Sometimes, one viral unboxing TikTok and a particularly photogenic cardboard package is ‘all it takes.’ Photo Cc: @dualipa & @pinterest PS: If you want more insider tech news like this - comment NEWSLETTER below 💌 and we’ll DM you our exclusive IT-girl newsletter 💻✨ #DuaLipa #Samsung #TechNews

Ever wondered what a women’s only supercar rally looks like? 🏎️🏁👯‍♀️ @themodems joined Cash & rocket on their US Tour, a 4-day high-speed road trip from Charleston to Palm Beach where 100% of funds raised go directly to its charity partners. @cash_and_rocket is an exclusive, all-female, supercar rally that unites 60 influential women to drive 30 red high-performance cars for charity every year. Founded by @juliebrangstrup_ (prev co-founder of The Gumball Rally) the tour brings together female entrepreneurs, celebrities, creatives, executives, and CEOs. Since 2011 it has raised over $6.6 million for women’s organisations focused on education and youth empowerment. Their aim is to empower women and girls globally through philanthropy - while fostering a community of female leaders (and of course to get more women into supercars 🏎️✨) IT-girls, we want to know… would you sign up to one of these rallies? Video Cc: @cash_and_rocket @nataliesalmon PS: If you want more insider tech news like this - comment NEWSLETTER below 💌 and we’ll DM you our exclusive IT-girl newsletter 💻✨

Meet the lawyer-turned-founder behind TRIP, the pastel-hued drinks brand that helped make ‘functional wellness’ chic 🧘🏽‍♀️🥤 With its instantly recognisable aesthetic, emotionally intelligent branding and cult community appeal, Olivia Ferdi has built one of the most talked-about functional drinks brands on the market - sitting right at the intersection of health, culture and tech.   “The inspiration for TRIP was deeply personal,” Olivia says. “My husband, Daniel, suffered an injury just weeks before our wedding. While exploring natural remedies to support his recovery, we experienced transformative results that sparked a realisation: wellness shouldn’t be clinical or inaccessible.” Fast forward a few years and TRIP is now stocked in more than 50,000 stores globally, valued at roughly $300 million, and backed by celebrity investors including Joe Jonas and Alessandra Ambrosio. Not bad for an idea first sketched out on the back of an envelope. Swipe through to read The Download with Olivia Ferdi… 👉🏽 PS: If you want more insider tech news like this - comment NEWSLETTER below 💌 and we’ll DM you our exclusive IT-girl newsletter 💻✨ Photo Cc: @olivia.ferdi @trip.drinks

Meet ‘Familiars’ aka: emotionally intelligent robotic companions 🤖🐾 These ‘pets’ were created by the team behind Roomba (the people who already managed to get 50 million robot hoovers into our homes.) Their new mission? Moving from cleaning our floors… to understanding our feelings. According to the company, ‘Familiars’ are designed to be “a warm presence that learns your goals, reinforces healthy routines, and seeks to support you in your daily life.” Like an emotionally supportive Tamagotchi for burned-out millennials. The robots respond to “facial expressions, tone of voice, and body language,” offering everything from “a nuzzle when you’re stressed” to “a gentle nudge when you’re doomscrolling.” (Which, may be more effective than every one of those iPhone Screen Time notifications we’ve ignored.) The company’s bigger vision is around “emotionally intelligent, physical AI.” As Familiar Machines & Magic explains, “If AI is going to live with us, emotional intelligence cannot be an afterthought.” And unlike many AI tools currently racing to harvest user data, the company says “data is stored on the device, and you control if and when you share it with the cloud.” The result sits somewhere between wellness gadget, emotional support system, and futuristic home assistant - designed especially for people who can’t have pets, or want “a different kind of companion.” The waitlist officially opened this month with the pets expected to ship from 2027. IT-girls we want to know… Would you let an AI pet live in your home? 👀 Video Cc: @familiarmachines PS: If you want more insider tech news like this - comment NEWSLETTER below 💌 and we’ll DM you our exclusive IT-girl newsletter 💻✨

A new startup called Bèbèdí is releasing what it describes as, “the world’s first waist-worn wellness wearable designed exclusively for women.” 📿 And it might be one of the most interesting launches we’ve seen in a while. Founded by Tosin Oyegoke, the wearable was inspired by her experience living with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. Before receiving a formal diagnosis, she noticed subtle changes through her waist beads: “tightening, shifting, responding” before doctors could explain what was happening. “That instinct became the foundation question underpinning Bèbèdí,” the brand explains, “what if technology could augment what the beads had always done… but with the intelligence to translate what the body is saying into language a woman can actually use?” “We didn’t build Bèbèdí to fix that,” the company writes. “We built it to finally acknowledge it.” Rooted in Yoruba tradition (where waist beads have long symbolised body awareness, beauty and identity) the device tracks sleep, movement, posture, cycle changes and activity, while offering up to 14 days of battery life, Bluetooth connectivity and a waterproof ceramic design intended for 24/7 wear. But perhaps the most interesting part is the philosophy behind it. “Our position is simple: Fluctuation is intelligence. Understanding reduces anxiety. Wellness should fit your life, not manage it,” explains Tosin Oyegoke, Founder & CEO of Bèbèdí. Oyegoke co-founded the company with Omotayo Olaiya, who serves as the Strategy and Innovation Lead at Bèbèdí. Together, they lead the company into its Lagos launch in Q2 2026. #WearableTech #WomenInTech #WellnessTechnology #TheModems

We’ve partnered with Nooānce to test one of the most advanced beauty tech devices on the market - the Elite X600 LED Mask - and instead of just reviewing it ourselves, we’re handing it over to you ✨🤖 We’re selecting a small group of Modems readers to take part in our latest community-led beauty tech review.  You’ll be testing Nooānce’s Elite X600 over 8 weeks, sharing your honest experience along the way - from first impressions to final results.  Real routines, real skin, real feedback.  We’re looking for: ✨ Different skin types + tones ✨ Ages 20+ ✨ Based in the UK If selected, you’ll be gifted the device, and also be featured across The Modems channels. Want to take part? → Comment LED below and we will send the application link straight to your DMs. We’ll be documenting everything - and sharing the results so stay tuned ✨🤖 Cc: In partnership with @nooanceparis_int x @themodems   #NooanceParis #BeautyTech #LEDmask #SkincareScience #TheModems

“We’re often presented with these false dichotomies: tech versus tradition, creativity versus analytics. But art, science, and engineering have never existed in isolation. They’ve always moved in concert. The Renaissance celebrated that ideal… Leonardo da Vinci is its clearest proof: anatomy studies alongside flying machines, mechanical diagrams beside some of the most enduring works of art. The same mind, refusing to be one thing.” 🎨🔭 Tech entrepreneur and philanthropist Mona Patel (aka: @hautemona ) delivered us with one of our favourite 2026 Met Gala looks. For the theme ‘Fashion Is Art’ she opted for a @DolceGabbana Alta Moda look which drew inspiration from da Vinci’s iconic ‘Vitruvian Man.’ She went to the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan, where da Vinci’s original works are still held, “To stand in front of pages that are over five centuries old, and still feel like they’re asking the same questions we are today.” Making the connection even more surreal, her name is Mona… and her sister is called Lisa. Naturally, the internet is obsessed. “Leonardo da Vinci’s art has always been part of my world. Since childhood I’ve felt that we have a past-life connection,” Mona wrote on Instagram. “In this look, fashion is not separate from art or science, but exists at their intersection as a living form of inquiry.” Mona’s ventures span healthcare, tech & real estate, and are reportedly valued over $100 mil. She is an alumni of @harvardhbs @stanfordgsb & @mitsloan (giving the rest of us serious LinkedIn profile envy.) But what makes her truly unique is the way she moves between two worlds. Through her initiative @coutureforcause , she merges couture with philanthropy, auctioning rare fashion pieces to support charitable causes. And for this year’s Met Gala, that multi-hyphenate identity was on full display. A reminder to us here at @themodems (& every ambitious woman watching) that you don’t have to pick between fashion, technology, business or creativity anymore. Video: @hautemona @philip.unrmbrd PS: If you want more insider tech news - comment NEWSLETTER below & we’ll DM you an exclusive treat 💌 #Metgala #monapatel