Conductor

Meta has acquired Conductor, an AI coding startup founded in 2024 by CEO Charlie Holtz. The company lets engineers launch projects by deploying multiple AI agents into parallel workspaces, and notably runs on models from Anthropic and OpenAI rather than Meta's in-house models. The deal adds agent-based developer tooling to Meta's AI portfolio as competition for coding assistants intensifies.

Hackaday has published a column tracing the evolution of semiconductor materials, from early germanium transistors to silicon and newer candidates such as diamond. The piece looks at why silicon came to dominate the industry and what exotic materials might offer for future electronics, including wider bandgaps and better thermal performance.