Author: TechBrunch

It's a universal truth of human nature that the developers who build the code shouldn't test it. First of all, most of them really hate the job. Second, as with any good audit protocol, the person doing the work should not be the one verifying it. So it's no surprise that code testing in all its forms, including usability, language or task-specific testing, and end-to-end testing, is a focus for executives at growing generative AI startups. Every week, TechCrunch features a different project like Antithesis ($47 million raised). CodiumAI (raised $11 million) QA Wolf (raised $20 million). And new companies…

WhatsApp introduces support for passkey verification on iOS, eliminating the need for users to deal with SMS one-time passcodes. The iOS release comes six months after WhatsApp introduced passkey support on Android. The company announced Wednesday that the feature is currently rolling out and will be available to all iOS users in the coming weeks. Once enabled, iOS users will be able to log back into WhatsApp using passkey verification via facial recognition, biometrics, or a PIN stored in Apple's Passkey Manager. Passkey login makes it difficult for a malicious attacker to remotely access your account because they also need…

Reddit is rolling out several new updates to its iOS and Android apps to make it easier for users to find and participate in conversations on the platform. The company announced Wednesday that it is launching a new integrated media player with instant loading of comments and direct shortcuts to conversations. Given that a large part of Reddit's appeal is based on its ability to foster conversation across a large number of topics, it makes sense for the platform to take a conversation-first approach to its mobile app. To create a more seamless flow between post types on Reddit, the…

When the global pandemic confined people to their homes, small coffee shops that relied on foot traffic were forced to get back on their feet. At this time, many coffee shop owners turned to technology to assist with online ordering and payment. Start-ups were also keen to help these companies continue operating safely, and venture capital firms followed suit. For example, Joe Coffee raised money to help coffee shops with mobile ordering, and Odeko and his Cloosiv merged to integrate inventory and mobile ordering apps. As an integrated entity, Odeco subsequently raised tens of millions of dollars in venture-backed financing.…

Perplexity AI's latest big funding event could soon be superseded by another, even bigger chunk of funding, TechCrunch reports. Indeed, his $62.7 million, which the startup raised at a valuation of just over $1 billion, could quickly be trampled by a raise of up to $250 million at a valuation of ~2.5-3x. what happened? The company's revenue has reportedly grown rapidly, reaching approximately $20 million in annual recurring revenue. Granted, the $1 billion figure is a 50x revenue multiple, but if the company is growing at a fast enough pace, an investor paying up to 150x current ARR would be…

Eniac Ventures has closed two funds totaling $220 million in seed-stage companies to share exclusively with TechCrunch. New York-based Eniac raised $60 million in Select 1 and $160 million in Eniac VI, the company's vehicle for subsequent late-stage investments in portfolio companies. The firm has made 11 investments since Select 1, which were actually closed in 2021 but have not been made public until now. Co-founder and general partner Nihal Mehta said the firm plans to make its first investment from its sixth fund “soon.” Both funds plan to make approximately 40 investments in total. For new investments, Eniac's average…

Besides a focus on generative AI, what do AI startups like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Together AI have in common? They use Stainless, a platform created by former Stripe staffer Alex Rattray, to build API I am generating an SDK for. Mr. Rattray, who studied economics at the University of Pennsylvania, has been creating things for as long as he can remember, from an underground newspaper in high school to a bike-sharing program in college. Rattray learned programming on the side during his time at UPenn, which led to a job as an engineer on his team for Stripe's developer platform.…

President Biden signed a bill that would ban TikTok if its Chinese parent company ByteDance fails to sell it within a year. The bill, which includes aid to Ukraine and Israel, passed the U.S. Senate by a 79-18 vote late Tuesday, after overwhelmingly passing the House of Representatives over the weekend. The bill gives ByteDance nine months to sell TikTok, with a 90-day extension to complete the deal. If ByteDance does not sell TikTok, it will be illegal for app stores to distribute the app in the US. In a statement emailed to TechCrunch, TikTok said it would challenge the…

Sanlo, a fintech startup that helps gaming companies manage their finances, on Wednesday announced the release of a closed beta of its webshop tool, giving some game developers and studios a plug-and-play tool that works alongside their existing technology stack. We provided play solutions. Gaming companies will be able to join the waiting list starting today. With Google and Apple charging 30% fees on in-app purchases, it's harder than ever for small and medium-sized gaming companies to run a profitable business. Gaming giant Epic has complained in recent years about Apple's declining revenue and accused it of being predatory against…

As the concept of AI agents begins to take hold and more tasks can be completed without human involvement, new types of authentication will be needed to ensure that only agents with appropriate authorization can access specific resources. . Anon, an early-stage startup, helps developers add automatic authentication in a secure way. On Wednesday, the company announced a $6.5 million investment and said the product is now generally available to everyone. The founders came up with the idea for this company out of necessity. Their initial idea was actually to build an AI agent, but according to CEO Daniel Mason,…