Author: TechBrunch
Amazon Web Services (AWS), Amazon's cloud computing division, is announcing new tools to deal with hallucinations, scenarios in which AI models behave unreliably. The service, Automated Reasoning checks, announced at AWS's re:Invent 2024 conference in Las Vegas, validates model responses by cross-referencing customer-provided information to ensure accuracy. AWS claims in a press release that automated inference checks are the “first and only” safeguard against hallucinations. But it's, well…just be generous. Automatic inference checking is similar to the correction feature Microsoft introduced this summer, which also flags AI-generated text that may be factually incorrect. Google also offers tools in its AI…
Celebrity greetings app Cameo is pivoting to creators with a new product called CameoX. The company was hit hard by the pandemic as people were stuck at home and celebrated birthdays, graduations and other celebrations with celebrity shoutouts. It became a tech unicorn with a $1 billion valuation, but as life returned to normal, Cameo suffered multiple layoffs, additional funding depleted its valuation, and an FTC fine for undisclosed celebrity endorsements. turned out to be unable to pay. . Cameo's struggle to attract A-list celebrities was only part of the problem. Its business model relies on video messaging and has…
Product teams often have large amounts of screen recordings and screenshots stored that go unused. Producing videos using these screen recordings was time consuming and expensive. That's why two former Microsoft employees started building Lica, an AI tool that makes it easy to create tutorials and product videos from screenshots and screen recordings. The startup was founded in 2023 by Priyaa Kalyanaraman, who has worked as a product manager at Microsoft, Snap, and Waymo, and Purvanshi Mehta, who previously worked as a data scientist and project manager at Microsoft. Kalyanaraman, who has worked on these products, including adding AI capabilities…
Fashion resale marketplace ThredUp has sold its European operations to focus on its core U.S. domestic market. ThredUp expanded into Europe in 2021 with the acquisition of Remix, a Bulgarian startup with operations in a handful of markets in Central and Eastern Europe. Back in May, ThredUp announced a new general manager, Florin Filote, to lead its European operations, and Filote is currently leading a management buyout for the division he leads. Founded in 2009, ThredUp specializes in vintage clothing and accessories and has raised more than $300 million in funding ahead of its 2021 IPO. Like many startups that…
Space startup SpinLaunch is raising money again, and sources told TechCrunch that it was considering raising an even more ambitious amount earlier this year. The company closed an $11.5 million round, out of a planned $25 million, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. SpinLaunch confirmed the funding to TechCrunch, but declined to comment on the amount raised. The last time it raised $71 million in Series B was in 2022. But people with knowledge of the company's plans told TechCrunch that the company began talking to investors about nine months ago and expected to raise…
Marketplaces for review-based software and services are beginning to reach their sell-by date. User-generated reviews on sites like G2 and Capterra (one of Gartner's three software directories) have often been accused of being paid for by software vendors. In fact, 8 out of 9 reviews on the first page of G2 reviews on HubSpot are labeled “Incentivized Reviews.” Born from the AI pioneers behind Jukedeck, Stackfix has raised $3 million in seed funding to use AI to test and review software on behalf of humans, bringing a high level of transparency and independence to the process. This is a startup…
Is the grass greener next door? I'm not sure, but I'm sure the sky is bluer. It's been two years since Elon Musk bought Twitter (now known as X) and people started setting up shop on alternative platforms. Mastodon, Post, Pebble (two of which are no longer in operation), and Spill have been mentioned as potential replacements, but with the exception of Meta's Threads, few companies have achieved the speed of growth that Bluesky achieved. As of December 2024, Bluesky has over 24 million users. Its growth has been attributed to several policy changes in X, including a heavily criticized…
Spotify's annual Wrapped feature is coming soon, but it's been hugely popular over the years, giving listeners a fun, personalized summary of how they listen to their music. As a result, many companies are seizing the opportunity to create similar year-in-review experiences that provide users with a summary of their habits, preferences, and interactions over the past year. Here are some platforms and websites that mimic the Spotify Wrapped concept. amazon music Amazon Music has a new Spotify Wrapped knockoff this year called “2024 Delivered,” which provides users with an overview of their listening statistics, including top artists, songs, and…
Two U.S. data brokers have entered into two lawsuits with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which accused the companies of illegally tracking millions of people near sensitive locations such as medical facilities and military bases. As part of the settlement, they agreed not to collect private location data of Americans. Two settlements announced Tuesday would prohibit Virginia-based Gravy Analytics and Georgia-based Mobilewalla from collecting and retaining sensitive and detailed location data on people. are. The agreement accuses two data brokers (who collect vast amounts of people's personal information and sell millions of identifiable location data points, including where people have…
Earlier this year, there was widespread concern about how generated AI could be used to interfere in global elections to spread propaganda and disinformation. As far back as the end of the year, Meta shared that the technology had a limited impact across Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, and claims that such concerns were not widespread, at least on its platform. The company said its findings were based on key elections in the US, Bangladesh, Indonesia, India, Pakistan, the EU parliament, France, the UK, South Africa, Mexico and Brazil. “While there have been confirmed or suspected uses of AI in this…