Author: TechBrunch
The Browser Company, the startup behind alternative web browser Arc, announced Thursday that it is launching its Arc Search browser on Android in open beta with the aim of making it a cross-platform app. Arc already had an app in the Apple ecosystem as recently as last year, but released a Windows client in April ahead of its release on Android. The company announced that it tested Arc Search for Android with 18,000 users for nearly four weeks in a closed beta program, ahead of today's general release. Earlier this year, the company released Arc Search for the iPhone, which…
No one knows yet what generative video models are good for, but that doesn't stop companies like Runway, OpenAI, and Meta from pouring millions of dollars into their development. The latest version of Meta is called Movie Gen, and as the name suggests, it turns text prompts into relatively realistic videos with audio. But thankfully there is no audio yet. And wisely, they don't release this to the public. Movie Gen is actually a collection of basic models (or “casts” as they call them), the largest of which is the text-to-video bit. Meta claims to outperform the likes of Runway's…
On Sunday, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB-2013, a bill that requires companies developing generative AI systems to publicly outline the data used to train their systems. The summary should cover, among other things, who owns the data, how the data was sourced or licensed, and whether any copyright information or personal information is included. Few AI companies say whether they will comply. TechCrunch reached out to major companies in the AI space, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Meta, and startups Stability AI, Midjourney, Udio, Suno, Runway, and Luma Labs. Less than half responded, and one vendor (Microsoft) specifically…
There is a lot of controversy going on in the world of WordPress, one of the most popular technologies for creating and hosting websites. The central issue is a dispute between WordPress founder and Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg and WP Engine, which hosts websites built on WordPress. WordPress technology is open source, free, and powers a huge portion of the internet (approximately 40% of websites). Websites can host their own WordPress instance or use a solution provider like Automattic or WP Engine for a plug-and-play solution. In mid-September, Mullenweg wrote a blog post calling WP Engine “the cancer of WordPress.”…
Confused about Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)? That's what OpenAI is obsessed with creating in a way that ultimately “benefits all of humanity.” They just raised $6.6 billion to move closer to that goal, so they might as well take it seriously. But if you're still wondering what exactly AGI is, you're not alone. In a wide-ranging discussion at Credo AI's Responsible AI Leadership Summit on Thursday, Feifei Li, a world-renowned researcher often referred to as the “Godmother of AI,” said she believes AGI He said he didn't know if that was the case. Elsewhere, Lee talks about her role in…
Sora, one of the co-leaders of OpenAI's video generator, has left Google. Tim Brooks, who led the development of Sora with William Peebles, announced in a post on X this evening that he is joining Google's AI research division, Google DeepMind, to work on video generation and a “world simulator.” . “It's been a great two years building Sora with OpenAI,” he said. Thank you to all the passionate and kind people I worked with. I'm excited for the next chapter! ” I would like to participate @GoogleDeepMind Working on video generation and world simulators! I can't wait to collaborate…
Eleven Labs, a startup that develops AI tools for audio applications, has been approached by existing and new investors for a new round that could value the company at $3 billion, according to research by TechCrunch. It is possible that it will be reached. The two-year-old company specializes in creating AI tools for generating synthetic voices for audiobook narration and dubbing videos into other languages in real time. Sources at interested venture capital firms told TechCrunch that investors are scrambling to get into the fast-growing company and that the company believes it needs it to participate in the next round.…
We are very excited to announce the final agenda for TechCrunch Disrupt 2024's dedicated Fintech stage. This stage joins Space, SaaS, AI, and Builders as other industry-focused stages, all under one big roof. As the fintech industry evolves, new opportunities abound for founders, investors, and customers. Sectors such as mobile banking, global payroll, digital payments, embedded finance, and cryptocurrencies are only going to grow in the coming years. Open banking is still accelerating in the United States. At Disrupt's Fintech stage, hear from leaders across the industry about the challenges they've faced and where the opportunities lie. Please see below…
We're out of this world excited to announce that our dedicated space stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 is complete. This stage joins FinTech, SaaS, and AI as other industry-focused stages, all under one big roof. To conclude, we are pleased to announce that this year, as part of the event, we will be holding a pitch contest called “The Space Challenge, powered by Aerospace.” The entire Space Stage agenda for Disrupt 2024 As the space industry accelerates, new opportunities for founders, investors, and customers are proliferating. Not only are the once astronomical costs of doing business in orbit falling, but…
ChatGPT, OpenAI’s text-generating AI chatbot, has taken the world by storm since its launch in November 2022. What started as a tool to hyper-charge productivity through writing essays and code with short text prompts has evolved into a behemoth used by more than 92% of Fortune 500 companies. That growth has propelled OpenAI itself into becoming one of the most-hyped companies in recent memory. And its latest partnership with Apple for its upcoming generative AI offering, Apple Intelligence, has given the company another significant bump in the AI race. 2024 also saw the release of GPT-4o, OpenAI’s new flagship omni…