Author: TechBrunch
Nvidia is releasing three new NIM microservices – small, independent services that are part of a larger application – to help enterprises introduce additional controls and safety measures to their AI agents. One of these new NIM services targets content safety and works to prevent AI agents from producing harmful or biased output. Another works to focus conversations only on approved topics, and a third new service helps prevent AI agents from attempting to jailbreak or lift software restrictions. These three new NIM microservices are part of Nvidia NeMo Guardrails, Nvidia's existing open source collection of software tools and microservices…
Entrepreneur and investor Mark Cuban is willing to fund a TikTok alternative built on Bluesky's AT protocol, he shared in a TikTok video posted Wednesday. Users are fleeing to other video platforms, including Chinese app Red Note, in anticipation of a U.S. ban on TikTok that will go into effect on Sunday unless blocked by the Supreme Court. But investors like Cuban see the potential for a more open social web, including an ecosystem of apps that leverage the same technology that currently powers Blue Sky's social network. The AT protocol is a newer open protocol designed for decentralized social…
Instagram Threads is truly integrated with Fediverse, also known as the open social web, allowing users to interact with people on other services like Mastodon, or to move their accounts elsewhere if they decide they no longer like Meta's policies. Will I be able to move around? Even now, the answer remains vague. Meta cannot yet confirm if and when account portability features will be added to the new social network's roadmap and federation plans. Asked for comment on the status of Threads' account portability efforts, a Meta spokesperson said these plans are a “top priority,” but declined to provide…
The deadline for the U.S. ban on TikTok is expected to be extended as it falls over the MLK Day holiday weekend, and President-elect Donald Trump's administration intends to find a way to extend it, Bloomberg reports. Biden officials see the issue as a problem for the incoming Trump administration, as the current administration has no intention of intervening before the ban's January 19 deadline. One of the officials told Bloomberg that users should not expect the social network to shut down on Sunday. President Trump's incoming national security adviser, Michael Walz, told Fox News' Fox & Friends that the…
The deadline for the U.S. ban on TikTok is expected to be extended as it falls over the MLK Day holiday weekend, and President-elect Donald Trump's administration intends to find a way to extend it, Bloomberg reports. Biden officials see the issue as a problem for the incoming Trump administration, as the current administration has no intention of intervening before the ban's January 19 deadline. One of the officials told Bloomberg that users should not expect the social network to shut down on Sunday. President Trump's incoming national security adviser, Michael Walz, told Fox News' Fox & Friends that the…
Goldman Sachs is one of the largest investment banking firms and IPO “bookrunners,” with banks paid millions of dollars for each listing they underwrite. But CEO David Solomon told attendees at the Cisco AI Summit in Palo Alto that startups should reconsider the idea of going public, the Financial Times reports. Solomon said startups can similarly scale and obtain sufficient funding in the private markets without having to deal with the hassles of being a public company. “It's not fun being a public company,” he said. “Who would want to become a publicly traded company?” Goldman is increasingly working with…
On Thursday, Anduril announced that it is building a massive weapons factory, Arsenal-1, in Columbus, Ohio, confirming TechCrunch's previous report. The company said in a blog post that it has invested nearly $1 billion of its own money into the project, which will span 5 million square feet. The post also claims it will bring 4,000 jobs to the area. The factory is a major step for the defense technology startup founded by Palmer Lackey and Trey Stevens, allowing it to scale up production of autonomous systems for surveillance and weapons. One of Ohio's attractions is its proximity to Rickenbacker…
Distracted driving is one of the leading causes of car accidents and a major reason why car insurance premiums are expected to rise in 2025. For commercial vehicles, this is a nightmare. But it's a tailwind for California-based startup Netradyne. Netradyne provides vehicle owners, including major companies like Amazon, with AI-enabled dashcams that collect vehicle data and video to improve driver safety, reducing accidents by approximately 50%, according to the company. I will. The device has inward- and outward-facing cameras and uses edge computing to send real-time notifications and alert drivers when they are distracted or driving unsafely. Reward good…
The process of getting tested for cervical cancer can be very scary. This is an annual, sometimes life-changing treatment that involves bright lights in the exam room and an uncomfortable insertion that always seems too long. No wonder Kara Egan and Dr. Avnesh Thakor saw the potential to make this process more comfortable for women. The two teamed up in 2020 to start Teal Heath, a company that aims to share women's health resources and develop products that allow women to get cervical cancer screenings at home. This is expected to be the first of its kind and is currently…
With TikTok's fate on the line, TikTok CEO Shou Chiu plans to attend President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration on Monday, The New York Times reported. The executive will join Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk on the dais traditionally reserved for former presidents and other important guests. Trump called for a ban on the app during his first term, but took a different approach during his 2024 campaign, promising to preserve the app if elected. Trump talked about how content about himself and his campaign has fared well on TikTok and how he was able to reach younger users through…