Author: TechBrunch
Thanks to the rise of large-scale language models (LLMs) like OpenAI's GPT, AI-generated slop is taking over the realm of user-generated internet, but think about Wikipedia editors for a moment . In addition to the normal job of removing bad human edits, an increased percentage of our time is spent removing AI filler. 404 Media spoke to crowdsourced encyclopedia editor Ilyas Lebleu, who helped found the WikiProject AI Cleanup project. The group is trying to devise best practices for detecting machine-generated contributions. (And before you ask, AI won't help with this.) In this context, a particular problem with AI-generated content…
When Nick Spreen installed the iOS 18.1 beta to try out upcoming Apple Intelligence features, he probably didn't expect to receive a summary of an AI-generated breakup message from his then-girlfriend. “We don't care anymore. I want what's in the apartment,” the AI summarized. After sharing a screenshot of the unfortunate message on X, Ars Technica contacted Spreen to confirm its authenticity. Check out that article for more information on digital catastrophe. Many Apple Intelligence features are designed to improve your productivity and filter out the signal from the noise. For example, text summarization is useful in a group conversation…
Monzo is now valued at $5.9 billion after the UK-based challenger bank confirmed a secondary market share sale to provide liquidity to its employees. The deal was first rumored yesterday, with existing investors including Singapore's sovereign wealth fund (GIC) and Stepstone Group raising additional stake in the London-based fintech company. A secondary market sale essentially rewards the employees who helped the company get to its current position without going public, or at least buying time. It's been an action-packed year for Monzo. The company raised $190 million in May, just two months after launching a $425 million Series I round…
Arne Schepker, CEO of the popular Berlin-based language learning platform Babbel, has stepped down, with the company's co-founder and former CEO Markus Witte saying, “While we search for Arne's successor, He will return to lead the company to this stage. Please be patient,” the company said. This new phase naturally involves AI. Mr. Witte will not assume the CEO role for the time being, but will instead serve as executive chairman and managing director. Schepker told me that after serving almost exactly five years as sole CEO and several months ago taking over as co-CEO with Witte, who previously held…
Arne Schepker, CEO of the popular Berlin-based language learning platform Babbel, has stepped down, with the company's co-founder and former CEO Markus Witte saying, “While we search for Arne's successor, He will return to lead the company to this stage. Please be patient,” the company said. This new phase naturally involves AI. Mr. Witte will not assume the CEO role for the time being, but will instead serve as executive chairman and managing director. Schepker told me that after serving almost exactly five years as sole CEO and several months ago taking over as co-CEO with Witte, who previously held…
Following the criminal blow-up of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, many of the company's executives were found guilty of various crimes, including fraud and conspiracy to commit such acts. Ryan Salame, former co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets, begins a 7.5-year sentence for fraud today, but before he does so, he posted one of the most ridiculous LinkedIn posts of all time. (And I've seen some wild posts lately). Image credit: Ryan Salame on LinkedIn “I am excited to announce that I am accepting a new position as an inmate at FCI Cumberland!” Salameh wrote on LinkedIn. Below the boilerplate text is a…
Interlagos, a venture capital firm started by former SpaceX senior executives, has raised $550 million in its first venture fund, according to regulatory filings and confidential documents sent to prospective LPs and viewed by TechCrunch. It is said that they are aiming to procure it. The company's existence was first reported by TechCrunch in April, but to date, little has been made public about the company's future investment thesis. El Segundo-based Interlagos is broadly targeting startups in the “deep tech” space, according to people familiar with the company's plans. The company will provide funding from inception through Series B, with…
Deal analysis firm Pitchbook today released a new report highlighting how a decline in exits is impacting the startup investment ecosystem. Among those discoveries? Beyond the generally known fact that most current financing is insider rounds and bridge financing aimed at corporate survival, cashbacks to limited partners (LPs) who provide funds to venture companies are The economy has slowed to the level of the global financial crisis 16 years ago. Meanwhile, the number of VCs and angel investors who invested in startups in the first quarter of this year fell to just 45.5% of investors who did deals in 2021,…
Accountants typically fear month-end or quarter-end financial results. This is because the final creation of financial records for a specific period is typically manual, error-prone, and time-consuming. In 2020, Parker Gilbert (pictured above, center), fed up with the tedium of managing finance and accounting at an early-stage startup, decided to co-found Numeric, an accounting software that automates certain parts of the closing process. I made it. process. A few years later, the introduction of genAI greatly enhanced Numeric's capabilities, and it is now used by accounting departments at companies like Brex, OpenAI, Plaid, and Wealthfront. Last year, Numeric's revenue quadrupled…
When Swsh launched last year, the social app was initially designed as a voting game (similar to the Most Likely To game) where users could answer five questions each day with their friends. However, the company has completely switched gears and entered a very crowded market: photo album sharing platforms. These types of apps have been around for about a decade, and there are newer competitors like Dispo, Lapse, and Sunshine. But Swsh believes it can stand out by offering Gen Z-focused features. The first distinctive feature is the ability to filter alcoholic beverages and solo cups, a useful tool…