Author: TechBrunch
Cloud providers are chasing AI unicorns, the latest being Fei-Fei Li's World Labs. The startup just hired Google Cloud as its primary compute provider for training its AI models, a deal that could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars. But Lee's tenure as chief AI scientist at Google Cloud was not a factor, the company said. At the Google Cloud Startup Summit on Tuesday, the companies announced that World Labs will use the majority of the funding to license GPU servers on Google Cloud Platform and eventually train “spatially intelligent” AI models. A small number of well-funded startups building…
LoanSnap, an AI-powered mortgage startup, has had its license to operate in the state revoked, according to the state's banking commissioner. This occurred after LoanSnap violated a consent order it signed with the Ministry of Banking in May. The department said Tuesday that its Consumer Credit Division began an investigation that found multiple violations of state law following a prior consent order. As a result, the Department and LoanSnap entered into a new consent order on October 2, which resulted in the revocation of LoanSnap's license. The reversal comes four months after TechCrunch's exclusive report on how LoanSnap was inundated…
Even a hot category like robotics is not immune to macroeconomic trends. The North American robot market declined in both sales and revenue in the first half of 2024, according to statistics from automation advocacy group A3. The number of orders for industrial robots in the first half of the year was 15,705 units, down 7.5% from the same period last year. Total sales for the second quarter decreased 6.8% to $982.83 million. The association puts the blame on broader economic headwinds among manufacturers. Sorting things into categories will give you different results. The auto industry, the largest employer of…
Meta's take on Twitter/X rival Instagram Threads steps further into competitor territory, perhaps with the development of community features that will allow users to better organize discussions on the platform by topic. There is a possibility. At least, the references in the app's code seem to imply that. The code mentions a new feature called Loops that Threads early adopter and veteran technologist Chris Messina discovered on Monday. The new strings he discovered were introduced in the latest app update and mention fields for joining and leaving the Loop community, community name, profile, and other elements. (Additionally, the reference “BCN”…
Unify, an AI-powered startup that uses data to reach potential buyers, has raised $12 million in Series A led by existing investors Emergence Capital and Thrive Capital. OpenAI Startup Fund, Neo, Abstract, 20Sales, and AltCap also participated in this round. The 20-month-old company took advantage of OpenAI's Converge I accelerator last year and secured a nearly $7 million seed round from the same group of investors following that program. Unify was co-founded by Austin Hughes. He has led Ramp's sales outbound program for several years. While working at Ramp, Hughes noticed that cold email outreach was not as successful as…
When talking to chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini, the response is almost linear. You often need to ask follow-up questions to get more information. For example, if you're planning a trip, start by asking the chatbot questions about the location, followed by questions about meal plans, activities, travel tips, packing list, and more. A team of former Google Maps engineers is building an infinite board interface called Cove. This design helps generate multiple responses based on one question or prompt to the AI bot. The startup, founded by Stephen Chau, Andy Szybalski, and Mike Chu, has raised a $6…
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…
Parents are always looking for ways to turn playtime into creative and educational opportunities. However, for many parents, planning a playful educational project is not thought of. Co-founded by Sandra Lin, KiwiCo is a subscription company that offers STEM-based educational toys that help kids learn while having fun. Lynn joined the TechCrunch podcast Found to talk with Becca and Dom about starting their company and how they've steadily grown it since they first launched over a decade ago. The company wants to “encourage kids to be creative, use their critical thinking skills, and hopefully see themselves as people who can…
As government and defense sectors increasingly rely on commercial services, startup opportunities in dual-use technologies are more promising than ever. However, for young, agile companies, entering such a highly regulated and traditional environment poses significant challenges. How can startups compete with established incumbents for contracts and attention, and how can investors effectively support these efforts? Even Rogers, CEO and co-founder of True Anomaly. Tim Solms, CEO of Slingshot Aerospace. At TechCrunch Disrupt 2024, Mel Stricklan, Executive Director of Space Workforce 2030, will take to the stage to discuss these questions and more. These three industry pioneers, with extensive experience in…
Russian cybersecurity giant Kaspersky is closing its UK offices and laying off employees, just three months after the company began shutting down its US operations and laying off dozens of employees, TechCrunch has learned. I found out through research. Kaspersky spokesperson Francesco Tius said in an email to TechCrunch that the company “has begun winding down its office operations in the UK and will reorient its domestic operations towards partner channels.” “This action will enable us to more efficiently exploit the business opportunities available in the UK market, enhancing overall business prosperity. Our customers and partners in the UK will…