Author: TechBrunch

This week on Found, we dig into the future of trucking with Raquel Urtasun, CEO and co-founder of Wabi, a pioneer in driverless long-haul trucks powered by generative AI. Hosts Dominic-Madri Davis and Becca Szuchtak discuss Warbi's unique simulation-based training and how this approach will minimize mistakes when heavy trucks hit the roads later this year. Learn about what is intended. Like many developments in AI, replacing long-haul truck drivers with driverless trucks could lead to changes in the workforce. But Urtasun is confident the slow rollout of the technology will allow the industry to adapt. “I'm very motivated and…

Apple's latest iOS 18.1 software update introduced a set of Apple Intelligence features, including writing tools and notification summaries. However, some features were missing from the lineup, such as Genmoji, which allows users to create emojis from written prompts. The public beta versions of iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2 are now officially available, and the long-awaited AI-generated Bitmoji feature is finally available for some users to try out. Here are the Apple Intelligence features that many people are looking forward to, whether you're part of Apple's beta software program and want to try it out, or just…

The U.S. government has accused Connor Mooka and John Binns of hackers who broke into AT&T's systems and stole records of approximately 50 billion customer calls and text messages. AT&T said in July that hackers stole the call records of “nearly all” of its cellphone and landline customers, as well as call and text message records, including who called and texted whom, but not the messages. He announced that he did not steal any of the content. At the time, AT&T notified about 110 million AT&T customers of the breach, saying records were stolen from systems hosted on Snowflake, which…

Altos Ventures, the Silicon Valley venture capital firm behind Roblox, Coupang, PandaDoc, Quizlet and more, has secured $500 million in its latest fund, according to an SEC filing. The company has been around for nearly 30 years and this is its largest fund to date. Altos Ventures declined to comment on the filing or the new fund. The multi-stage VC firm manages more than 15 funds across three vehicles, according to PitchBook. These include the Altos Ventures and Altos Hybrid funds, which invest in US and global companies, as well as the Altos Korea Opportunistic Fund, which targets Korean startups.…

Today's media industry may not have a very positive view of AI. AI is a technology already being used to replace reporters with AI-generated copies, and other AI companies are scooping up journalists' jobs to satisfy chatbot data demands, without giving them back. . It brings traffic to publishers, just like search engines did in the past. But one startup, an AI newsreader called Particle from a former Twitter engineer, is changing the media industry by finding ways for AI to support publishers while helping consumers understand the news and dig deeper into stories. I believe that I can play…

ByteDance's new social media app, Lemon8, will now be accessible directly by users using their TikTok accounts, the company announced Tuesday. According to ByteDance, this integration will make photo sharing more viable, allowing creators to cross-share photo content across apps. Lemon8 remains a separate app, but the two platforms share a unified user login. This means creators can log in to both using one account. Lemon8 was launched in Japan in 2020 and has since expanded to the US and Southeast Asian markets. The app is similar to Instagram and Pinterest, allowing users to share slideshows and photo collections, and…

Knowing how a cloud application will perform in production typically requires extensive development and testing in the environment in which it is deployed, such as AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud. However, this can be a resource-intensive task, especially with issues related to latency (the time it takes to constantly send data) and its associated costs. Swiss startup LocalStack sought to address this problem by moving the development process from the cloud to the developer's local machine (i.e., laptop), emulating a real-world environment. For now, the company is focused on AWS cloud apps, but the company aims to further strengthen and…

Luggage storage as a vector for accumulating convenience-based revenue opportunities in the global travel business continues to fuel San Francisco-based Bounce's progress. The startup just packed a suitcase with $19 million in Series B funding and plans to continue generating revenue, which has grown 20x since its $12 million Series A in spring 2022. Over the next few years, Bounce plans to expand its markets and add verticals. Co-founder and CEO Cody Candy said the Asia-Pacific region is a key focus, with revenue from the region growing up to four times year over year. He suggested that the consumer behavior…

Artinoise, the Italian startup that created re.corder, a smart device that reimagines the traditional plastic recorder you played with in school, has announced its latest product, Zefiro. Shaped like a recorder mouthpiece, this portable device can be connected to a smartphone, tablet, or PC with a USB-C port, effectively turning it into a musical instrument. Zefiro's companion app offers around 32 sound options and can emulate almost any instrument, from soft-pitched flutes and violins to brass trumpets, saxophones, and even bagpipes. Once the smart mouthpiece is connected, it is recognized by MIDI input and the app displays an interface showing…

Writer has raised $200 million at a $1.9 billion valuation to expand its generative AI platform. The round was co-led by Premji Invest, Radical Ventures, and ICONIQ Growth, with participation from investors including Salesforce Ventures, Adobe Ventures, B Capital, Citi Ventures, IBM Ventures, and Workday Ventures. Writer CEO May Habib said the new cash, which brings Writer's total raised to $326 million, will be used for product development and “strengthening the company's leadership in the enterprise-generated AI category.” “At Writer, we don't just create models that can perform tasks; we develop advanced AI systems that enable mission-critical enterprise operations,” Habib…