Author: TechBrunch

Technologies of national interest can come in many forms, including not just satellites and weapons, but also data analytics and cybersecurity. Many dual-use application startups are increasingly looking to the government as an attractive customer due to the wide range of use cases and available federal funding. There are also several grant programs (such as those provided by the Inflation Control Act) that provide non-dilutive funding to startups, said Rebecca Gewald, managing partner at Dcode Capital, who formerly worked at the CIA. says it is advising companies to pursue contracts instead. “The real key is how do we find replicable…

Disinformation is spreading at an alarming pace, thanks in large part to openly available AI tools. In a recent survey, 85% of people said they were worried about online disinformation, and the World Economic Forum named AI-driven disinformation the world's biggest risk. High-profile examples of this year's disinformation campaigns include the X bot network targeting U.S. federal elections and President Joe Biden's voicemail deepfakes that discouraged certain residents from voting. Overseas, candidates from South Asian countries are flooding the web with fake videos, images and news articles. A deepfake of London Mayor Sadiq Khan even incited violence at a pro-Palestinian…

Two of the biggest forces in two deeply intertwined tech ecosystems, large incumbents and startups, have stopped counting their money and are telling governments to do what they want and for their economic interests. They made a joint appeal to stop even considering regulations that might affect them. That's called innovation. “Our two companies may not agree on everything, but this is not about our differences,” the group, which has vastly different perspectives and interests, wrote. Masu. a16z founding partners Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and President and Chief Legal Officer Brad. Smith. It's a truly…

Perplexity, an AI-powered search engine, can sometimes give you hallucinations. But the company wants to show it is reliable enough to be used to track election results. Today, Perplexity announced a dedicated hub for U.S. general election information. It uses data from The Associated Press and Democracy Works, which the company describes on its blog as a “gateway to understanding important issues.” “Starting Tuesday, we will be providing live election updates powered by Associated Press data, so you can stay informed about presidential, Senate and House elections at both the state and national level. ” Perplexity wrote. “Thank you Democracy…

Part of the Silicon Valley myth is its dedicated founders who led their companies to massive IPOs. In fact, startups are 16 times more likely to be acquired. It's not a result that's often discussed either. “This is one of the things that a lot of people don't talk about very much. In Silicon Valley, we always talk about IPOs,” said Naveen Rao, vice president of AI and two-time founder of Databricks, at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 on Thursday. He spoke on stage. That silence can make a difficult process even more difficult for founders. “I’m so glad this is being…

It's clear that the potential value that celebrity investors can bring to consumer companies is more than just writing checks, it's marketing and promotion. But when it comes to supporting B2B startups, the value is less clear. Alex Paul and Drew Taggart, also known as The Chainsmokers, believe their VC fund, Mantis VC, can bring added value that traditional VC cannot. At TechCrunch Disrupt 2024, along with one of its founders, Dan Lorenc, co-founder and CEO of cybersecurity startup Chainguard, Paul spoke about the group's first foray into B2B investing. said he was tired of feeling like QVC, a startup…

Welcome to Startups Weekly — a weekly roundup of must-sees from the world of startups. Want it delivered to your inbox every Friday? Sign up here. As the saying goes, money attracts money. This week seemed to confirm that, with several startups announcing new funding rounds just months after their last one, and familiar names launching new ventures. This week's most interesting startup stories Image credit: Romain Dillet / TechCrunch Whether it's an IPO, lobbying, or public offering, finding momentum is the key to success. Confetti time: Salva Health won TechCrunch Disrupt 2024's Startup Battlefield competition with its promise to…

Earlier this year, Microsoft developers discovered that someone had inserted a backdoor into the code of XZ Utils, an open source utility used in virtually all Linux operating systems. The operation began two years ago when a person nicknamed JiaT75 began contributing to the XZ Utils repository on GitHub. Cybersecurity experts called the attack a “nightmare scenario” and “the most successfully executed supply chain attack they have ever seen.” This attack comes on the heels of other high-profile cybersecurity incidents involving open source software, including Heartbleed, Shellshock, and Log4j, which pose a significant security risk given its widespread use. I…

If you ask the field's top cybersecurity leaders what's on their worry list, you might not expect bored teenagers to be top of mind. But in recent years, this entirely new generation of money-driven cybercrime has led to some of the largest hacks in history, and shows no signs of slowing down. Meet the “advanced and tenacious teenager” as the security community calls him. These are skilled, financially motivated hackers like Lapsus$ and Scattered Spider who have proven capable of digitally infiltrating hotel chains, casinos, and tech giants. These hackers use tactics that rely on credible email lures and persuasive…

Pixelmator was announced Friday to be acquired by Apple. The image editing platform didn't discuss what life would be like under the corporate umbrella, but said there are “no material changes” to the Pixelmator Pro, Pixelmator for iOS, and Photomator apps, at least for now. . If Apple's acquisition history is any indication, that level of autonomy could soon change once Pixelmator functionality is integrated directly into the Photos app. Pixelmator is currently available on iOS, macOS, iPadOS, and visionOS, but not in the Android ecosystem. I didn't expect this last part to change so soon. This image editing startup…