Author: TechBrunch

In some cases, pivoting can be the wisest decision for company leaders. Watch Netflix's transformation from DVD to streaming or Corning's transformation from light bulbs to touchscreens. The list of highly successful startup pivots goes on. And more. And more. A less obvious (but by no means unsuccessful) pivot is Numa's. The co-founders scrapped the startup's original conversational AI product and sold customer service automation tools instead. But it's more than just a tool. These tools are aimed at car dealers. Numa CEO Tasso Roumeliotis says it sounds like a very specific niche, but it's profitable. The company closed a…

In the early morning hours of January 20, 2023, a doctor's user account logged onto the Hawaii Electronic Death Registration System from out of state and certified the death of a man named Jesse Kipf. The death certificate listed the cause of death as “acute respiratory distress syndrome” caused by the new coronavirus infection a week ago. As a result, Kipfu was randomly registered as a deceased person in several government databases. On the same day, a hacker nicknamed “FreeRadical” posted the same death certificate on a hacking forum in an attempt to monetize access to the system. “The access…

People participating in the open social web have a problem. It is not yet possible to reach users from multiple sites such as Bluesky, Mastodon, and Threads with a single post. Third-party tools are available, but most are designed for small businesses and creators, and are commensurately expensive. To solve this problem, a new cross-posting app called Croissant, released today, offers an affordable way to cross-post between social services for just $2.99 ​​per month. The app was designed and developed by Ben McCarthy, a Dublin-based designer and developer best known for the popular camera app Obscura, along with Canadian iOS…

A week after announcing a series of updates to its enterprise suite of Copilot AI-powered products, Microsoft is rolling out updates to all users, including tools that help them understand what they see on their screens and answer questions. We're releasing new Copilot features on Windows. The updated Copilot apps for iOS, Android, Windows, and Web are rolling out today, and all Copilot now has a “warmer” and “distinct” style, as Microsoft describes it. Microsoft is also bringing a chatbot to WhatsApp, allowing users to chat with Copilot via DMs. This is similar to the experience you get with other…

Microsoft has launched Bing Generative Search, its answer to Google's AI-powered search experience. Following a pilot in July, Bing Generative Search began rolling out to all U.S. users this morning, although it is still in development. The easiest way to invoke this is to search for “Bing Generative Search” in Bing. Microsoft also said it would introduce an option to more easily launch Bing Generative Search for “informational queries.” Bing Generative Search is based on a variety of AI models that aggregate information on the web and generate summaries in response to search queries. For example, when a user searches…

Microsoft will pay publishers for content featured in Copilot Daily, a new feature of its cross-platform assistant powered by Copilot AI. Copilot Daily, announced Tuesday along with other Copilot upgrades, provides users with an audio summary of the weather and current events. Alexa and Google Assistant have long offered similar daily summaries, but Microsoft describes the effort as “an antidote to the familiar feeling of information overload.” “Clean, simple, and easy to digest, Copilot Daily pulls only from approved content sources,” Microsoft wrote in a blog post, adding that reminders and customization options will be added over time. Reuters, Axel…

The UK's National Crime Agency has announced that it has linked a long-standing affiliate of the LockBit ransomware group to Evil Corp, a notorious Russian-backed cybercriminal organization with ties to the Russian government. The NCA announced on Tuesday that it had revealed the true identity of Russian national Aleksandr Ryzhenkov of a Rockbit affiliate known as “Beverly”. British authorities believe he is Evil Corporation's “second-in-command.” This is the latest effort by UK and international law enforcement agencies, dubbed 'Operation Kronos', to link LockBit, once one of the most prolific Russian ransomware gangs, with Russian links. It aims to disrupt the…

Sonos' app relaunch in May will be studied as a lesson in business schools for years to come. The home audio company prioritized attracting new customers over its existing loyal fan base when adding Ace headphones to its product portfolio. The result was a bug-filled release that led to missed revenue and over 100 layoffs. Subsequent product releases have also reportedly been delayed. As October dawns, its effects are still being felt. But the company announced plans Tuesday that it hopes will go a long way toward reversing fortunes and repairing relations. Sonos has set out the following seven “promises.”…

A team of founders who sold their last company to Amazon to build a new business within AWS are embarking on a difficult reinvention of the business of backing up their organizations' cloud infrastructure. Today, Eon (as their new startup is called) has a product, a set of customers, three rounds of funding totaling $127 million, and a $750 million post-funding valuation. and has come out of stealth. Specifically, Eon, which was recently founded in Israel and New York in January 2024, has raised $20 million in seed led by Sequoia (with participation from Vine Ventures, Meron Capital, and Eight…

Traveling abroad comes with its own set of stresses, and for many people, one of the biggest stresses is what to do if they become unwell. Will you be able to find a doctor who speaks your language, accepts your insurance, and can avoid the expense and stress of visiting an unfamiliar hospital emergency room? A startup called Air Doctor has built a platform to help people in this very predicament, and is seeing strong traction and has now raised $20 million in a Series B round. Air Doctor's product is part directory, part algorithm-driven location-based service provider, and part…