Author: TechBrunch
Google on Thursday updated the audio summarization feature in its AI note-taking and research assistant NotebookLM. NotebookLM has recently gained a lot of attention for its podcast-like audio conversations based on content shared by users, with the ability to guide conversations and focus on specific topics instead. It just generates an overall audio summary. Now, NotebookLM's audio summaries allow users to digest and understand information in long documents and videos through AI-generated audio conversations. Shortly after its release last month, the feature helped NotebookLM gain traction, and many people began sharing audio summaries of content, including those created using diaries…
As we previously reported, enterprise CIOs have been slow to embrace generative AI. One reason is that AI doesn't fit into existing software engineering workflows because it literally doesn't speak the same language. For example, LLM (aka Large Language Model) requires a lot of deception to deliver valid JSON. That's where Dottxt comes in, a US-based startup with the promise of “making AI talk computers.” The company is led by a team that helps outline open source projects. This allows developers to get what they want from ChatGPT and other generative AI models without resorting to crude tactics like injecting…
Making the complex decision of when to sell a startup or keep moving forward is one of the most difficult challenges founders face. In an era where IPOs are frequently postponed and takeover offers arrive quickly, determining the right time to raise capital or remain independent has become increasingly delicate. We are excited to welcome three distinguished leaders to TechCrunch Disrupt 2024. Each of them brings a unique perspective to this issue. Join us on the Builders stage as Naveen Rao, VP of Generative AI at Databricks. Kamakshi Sivaramakrishnan, Head of Data Clean Room at Snowflake. and Battery Ventures General…
Insurance giant Globe Life, which provides life and health insurance to millions of Americans, has announced that insurance payments are being extorted by hackers who stole sensitive customer data. In a regulatory filing Thursday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Texas-based conglomerate is seeking to extort money from companies in exchange for not disclosing data stolen from them. He said he had “recently received a communication” from an unknown attacker. system. The leaked data, which Globe Life traced back to subsidiary American Income Life Insurance Company, included personally identifiable information such as customer names, addresses, and phone numbers.…
TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 is just one week away. The enhanced Startup Battlefield 200 is a big highlight. TechCrunch editorial staff has hand-picked 200 companies to grace Expo Hall, and 20 of them will be announcing themselves live for the first time on our stage. The Disrupt Stage features nail-biting pitches where hardware and software demos can be the difference between success and failure. It's where legends are made. Throughout, we are extremely grateful to have leveraged the expertise of world-class VCs to highlight the most important points. After an initial thorough evaluation, five companies will be selected to participate again…
Farewill, a UK-based end-of-life services provider that offers online tools for writing wills, organizing probate and arranging cremation, has been acquired by funeral services provider Dignity in an all-stock deal, leading to an emerging The company is valued at £12.9 million ($16.8 million). The deal is a classic case of an established incumbent chasing growth by acquiring a young digital startup, giving Dignity a larger slice of the dying care services market expected to reach $190 billion by the end of 2020. It is designed to help you earn. Founded in 2015, Farewill is one of several startups to emerge…
Earlier this year, Abel founder Daniel Francis was traveling 135 miles per hour on a freeway in Oakland, California. The driver was a police officer and had a gun in his lap. Francis had made a habit of riding shotgun with police officers in the name of research for his company, which develops AI to fill out police reports. The ride is usually pretty uneventful. But on that day, officers had stopped the man and searched the vehicle. The man was surprised and stepped on the accelerator, almost hitting someone. Francis and the police set off in pursuit of him.…
The tech layoff wave is still going strong in 2024. Following significant workforce reductions in 2022 and 2023, this year has more than 130,000 job cuts across 457 companies, according to independent layoffs tracker Layoffs.fyi. Companies like Tesla, Amazon, Google, TikTok, Snap and Microsoft have conducted sizable layoffs in the first months of 2024. Smaller-sized startups have also seen a fair amount of cuts, and in some cases, have shut down operations altogether. By tracking these layoffs, we’re able to understand the impact on innovation across companies large and small. We’re also able to see the potential impact of businesses…
Amy Wu, founder of AI-based mental health app Manifest, is making bold predictions about the next wave of technology. “Aside from the AI trend, I think so many people are seeing an epidemic of loneliness happening to Gen Z,” she says. “There is no doubt in my mind that unicorns will emerge from these categories to address the loneliness epidemic.” Manifest isn't quite a unicorn yet. We just raised $3.4 million from a16z Speedrun and a number of other investors, so we're only in the seed stage. But Wu sees his company as part of a new wave of products…
Almost a decade later, industrial-focused VC Eclipse has expanded out of Silicon Valley. The company plans to make further investments on the East Coast, opening a second office in New York's Soho district. Eclipse supports startups in sectors such as manufacturing, supply chain, healthcare, and infrastructure through early-stage and early growth-focused funds. The company was founded in 2015 and has been based exclusively in Silicon Valley to date. Caitlin Glancy, a New York-based partner who joined Eclipse in 2023 after eight years at Flexport, told TechCrunch that the timing is right for the company to officially expand to New York.…