Author: TechBrunch

Planera, a construction technology startup that provides scheduling and planning software for commercial construction projects, has raised $13.5 million in a new funding round. General contractors typically use legacy software such as Oracle Primavera P6 to manage commercial construction projects. Although these solutions require technical knowledge and lack intuitive interfaces, contractors use them for advanced projects that involve multiple milestones and last several years. For smaller projects, general-purpose tools such as Microsoft Project may be chosen. However, these tools were not designed with the requirements of construction companies in mind. The San Jose-based startup combines the best of two worlds…

Companies don't necessarily need to create groundbreaking technology to gain traction in the marketplace. Simply being cheaper than your competitors can make a dent in a competitive industry. You can also rely on your connections to win over customers who need a timely solution to their problems. nOps is one example. Like countless other vendors, nOps sells software designed to “optimize” the budgets that companies allocate to cloud products and services. But the company has managed to grow faster and bigger than many of its rivals, in part because it serves only AWS customers. nOps claims that it has grown…

French authorities did not respond to requests for comment when Pavel Durov, founder and CEO of messaging app Telegram, was arrested on Aug. 24. Confidentiality of pre-trial investigations and interrogations is a key principle in the French justice system. French television station TF1 reported that the main issues were Telegram's (lack of) moderation process and its unwillingness to cooperate with law enforcement, particularly regarding drug trafficking, money laundering and child sexual abuse content (CSAM). But the Paris Criminal Court, which handled the investigation, probably did not expect the amount of attention and speculation it would garner. X's billionaire owner Elon…

Given India's linguistic diversity, digital content companies are already facing challenges in accurately displaying and translating content. Google also faced similar issues with its recently launched AI summary in India. The company introduced Hindi support for AI Overview in India in early August. Indian users can also switch between Hindi and English without leaving the search page. However, the feature is unfortunately inconsistent. One simple example is a selection of results from Google's blog: The GIF showed the answer to the question “Cheeni ki jagah chai mai kya daal sakte hai?”, which means “What is the substitute for sugar in…

Smart scheduling and calendar tool Clockwise is transforming its interface with Prism, an AI-powered assistant that can manage schedule conflicts, create or clear events in bulk, and turn to-do lists into calendar blocks with text prompts. Like rival YC-backed startups Vimcal and Reclaim, which was acquired by Dropbox this month, Clockwise is aimed at businesses and focuses on streamlining team schedules, but can also be used by individuals. The new AI assistant can convert typed instructions into calendar events. For example, when you type a query like “Create a link to schedule a meeting with Severian next week,” it will…

Many venture capital funds, especially those in more recent years, have been unable to return capital to investors. Swiss venture capital firm Redalpine is one exception, which the firm says is the main reason its newly announced $200 million seventh early-stage fund was oversubscribed. Redalpine Capital VII (RAC VII) is already on track to back 15-20 early-stage European companies and has made nine investments to date, including German nuclear start-up Proxima Fusion. “We closed our first round of funding and then we started putting money into it,” founding partner Michael Shidler told TechCrunch. The funding will also help the company…

Pavel Durov, founder of messaging platform Telegram, has been in the headlines since his arrest on Saturday at a private airport near Paris, reportedly linked to an investigation into criminal activity on his app. Since then, many articles have focused on freedom of speech (i.e., what happens on Telegram should stay on Telegram?), while others have focused on Durov and his anti-establishment stance. Most notably, in a Telegram post in late July, Durov claimed to have fathered over 100 biological children since donating sperm at a clinic 15 years ago to help a friend give birth. He said he donated…

Elon Musk has voiced his support for California's SB 1047, a bill that would require makers of very large AI models to create and document safeguards against those models causing significant harm. “This is a tough call and it will upset some people, but all things considered, I think California should probably pass SB 1047, the AI ​​Safety Bill,” he wrote to X on Monday afternoon. “For over 20 years, I have advocated for regulating AI, just as we would any product or technology that poses potential risks.” Despite vowing to leave California, where his massive AI modeling company, xAI,…

OpenAI, Adobe and Microsoft are backing a California bill that would require tech companies to label AI-generated content, according to a letter from the companies seen by TechCrunch. The bill is due for a final vote in August. AB 3211 requires watermarking the metadata of AI-generated photos, videos, and audio clips. Many AI companies already do this, but most people don't read metadata. AB 3211 also requires large online platforms like Instagram and X to label AI-generated content in a way that the average viewer can understand. OpenAI, Adobe, and Microsoft are part of the Coalition on Content Provenance and…

OpenAI has backed a California bill that would require technology companies to label AI-generated content, according to a letter from OpenAI's chief strategy officer seen by Reuters, which is due for a final vote in August. AB 3211 requires watermarking the metadata of AI-generated photos, videos, and audio clips. Many AI companies already do this, but most people don't read metadata. AB 3211 also requires large online platforms like Instagram and X to label AI-generated content in a way that the average viewer can understand. In a letter to California lawmakers in April, industry groups representing Microsoft, OpenAI's largest investor,…