Author: TechBrunch
Hello everyone, welcome to TechCrunch's regular AI newsletter. If you'd like to have this sent to your inbox every Wednesday, sign up here. Longtime readers of this newsletter may have noticed that we skipped a week last week. That was not our intention and we apologize. The reason is that we have reached a tipping point in the AI news cycle. We are a small team and underpowered. It's becoming nearly impossible to cover all the announcements, controversies, academic papers, trends, open model releases, lawsuits, etc. Let's take this month as an example. OpenAI is in the midst of what…
Deep learning scientist, last startup acquired by Snap to build My AI chatbot, is seeding its latest venture, a platform to build and operate real-time video-based conversational AI agents We have raised funds. Today, the startup known as eSelf is coming out of stealth with $4.5 million in its coffers and joining the race to build live, interactive, and more realistic AI assistants. The initial focus will be on areas such as education, sales, financial services, real estate, and health and wellness. The initial pitch for eSelf was that agents currently have query/interaction response times of less than 1.7 seconds.…
Following Apple's integration of OpenAI's ChatGPT into iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia, OpenAI has detailed how data is processed when using ChatGPT through Apple's integration. You can use ChatGPT through Apple integration without logging into your ChatGPT account, but logging into your account gives you access to additional features. For example, you can access OpenAI's more powerful AI models, save your conversations, and more. Use ChatGPT without an account through Apple integration If you use ChatGPT through the Apple integration without logging into your ChatGPT account, OpenAI says it will not receive your IP address, store your requests,…
A Russian state-backed hacker group used tools and infrastructure developed by cybercriminals to target the Ukrainian military, according to a new investigation. On Wednesday, Microsoft released a report detailing a hacking campaign carried out by a group the company calls Secret Blizzard. The group previously stated that the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is “almost certainly subordinate to Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) Center.” ”, which other security companies call Turla. In a report shared with TechCrunch ahead of publication, Microsoft researchers say Secret Blizzard was sold on Russian hacking forums to attempt to infiltrate “devices associated with…
OpenAI seems to be in the holiday spirit. The series of ChatGPT rollouts, dubbed “12 Days of OpenAI,” will be live-streamed weekdays at 10 a.m. Pacific time through December 23. So far, we've seen the launch of ChatGPT Pro, OpenAI's $200/month subscription plan. A version of its “inference” o1 model, the long-awaited public release of text-to-video generator Sora, and the rollout of Canvas. We don't know what other announcements or product launches are planned, but we could hear more information about updates to Advanced Voice Modes, potential work on AI agents, and other surprises. there is. Below, we'll explain how…
Apple is working with semiconductor company Broadcom to develop its first server chip designed to handle AI applications, The Information reported, citing three people familiar with the project. That's what it means. Apple is known for designing its own chips for its devices, called Apple Silicon and primarily manufactured by TSMC. But these chips aren't necessarily designed to power AI processing. Apple on Wednesday rolled out some long-awaited Apple Intelligence features to users with new iPhones and Macs, including ChatGPT integration. Apple plans to run much of the AI directly on the device, but certain tasks like Siri and Maps…
ChatGPT may be the number one app in the US iPhone App Store right now, but it's not Apple's iPhone app of the year. That honor goes to a new app for videographers called Kino. Released this spring by Lux, creators of professional photography app Halide, Kino advances mobile video recording with in-app lessons and features that let iPhone owners get more out of their cameras. The app was one of three finalists for the App Store's top award, along with Runna, an app for adjusting running plans, and Tripsy, an app for planning trips. AI-powered apps did not make…
International donut chain Krispy Kreme disclosed a security incident Wednesday, which the company said caused “certain business disruptions, including online ordering in parts of the United States.” Krispy Kreme disclosed the cyberattack in an 8-K filing with the SEC. The company said on November 29 that it had been “notified of fraudulent activity on some of its information technology systems” and was taking steps to “investigate, contain, and remediate the incident” with the help of cybersecurity experts. He said that he had taken the necessary measures. The company said its stores around the world are open and deliveries to its…
Lumen Orbit, a startup looking to build data centers in space, was able to close its recent seed round in just a few days amid strong investor interest. The Redmond, Washington-based company closed an $11 million seed round at a $40 million valuation, marking the company as one of the hottest startups in Y Combinator's summer 2024 batch. , corroborating TechCrunch's previous reporting that it had raised a competitive double-digit round. The deal was led by NFX (NFX general partner Morgan Beller will join the company's board of directors), with participation from venture capital firms such as Fuse.VC and Soma…
The idea that government should be run like a business is not new. But with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy in charge of making government more efficient, it's worth taking a closer look at whether business principles can be applied to government. Today on Equity, Rebecca Beran discusses the intersection of technology, business, and politics with Columbia Business School professor Michael Morris. Morris is also the author of Tribal: How the cultural instincts that disparing us can help be one one, which was shortlisted for the 2024 Financial Times Business Book of the Year award. Listen to the full episode…