Author: TechBrunch

You may not know Viggle AI, but you've probably seen the viral memes it's created. The Canadian AI startup has made dozens of remix videos of rapper Lil Yachty bopping around onstage at summer music festivals. In one, Lil Yachty is replaced by Joaquin Phoenix's Joker. In another, Jesus appears to be pumping up the crowd. Users created countless versions of the video, but it was one AI startup that made the meme go viral. Viggle's CEO says YouTube videos power the company's AI model. Viggle trained its 3D video foundation model, JST-1, to have a “true understanding of physics,”…

More and more hackers are targeting regular people with the goal of stealing their crypto, perhaps getting into their bank accounts or simply stalking them. These types of attacks are still relatively rare, so there’s no need for alarm. But it’s important to know what you can do to protect yourself if you suspect someone got into your email or social media account. A few years ago, I wrote a guide to help people protect themselves, and understand that most of the companies you have an account with already offer you tools to take control of your accounts’ security, even…

San Francisco's AI startup boom is so big that even international founders who aren't running AI startups are relocating to San Francisco to help grow their companies, according to several founders who recently moved there. That's mainly because tech talent and investor dollars remain overwhelmingly concentrated there, according to new data provided exclusively to TechCrunch by venture capital firm SignalFire. According to data from SignalFire's Beacon platform, the San Francisco Bay Area maintains a commanding share of the total tech workforce in the U.S., accounting for 49% of large tech engineers and 27% of startup engineers. SignalFire, which boasts big…

Ares Industries, the first defense startup backed by Y Combinator, was launched earlier this week. In a post on its YC website, the startup outlined its vision to build a low-cost cruise missile that is compatible with existing launch platforms, saying: [Department of Defense] They want a form factor that is 10 times smaller and 10 times cheaper.” Ares Industries' founders say they have been testing prototypes in the Mojave Desert and expect to deliver a working missile system to their first customer in mid-2025. YC partner Jared Friedman told the Financial Times that the incubator began encouraging applications from…

The Port of Seattle, which also operates Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, said it was hit by a “possible cyber attack” that appears to have affected its website and phone systems. The port first became aware of the outage via social media on Saturday morning, after which the airport posted that it had “experienced certain systems failures indicating a possible cyber attack.” Late Saturday night, the airport said services remained suspended, adding that “no timeline has been determined for when services will be restored and port teams continue to work to restore full service,” and urged travelers to use airline apps to…

Travly is a new social-first discovery and hotel booking platform designed to cater to the growing number of travelers who turn to short-form video content for travel ideas. The platform features user-generated content that provides authentic reviews of hotels, rather than generic information or outdated images, and creators who submit videos of their hotels have the chance to earn a 5% commission from bookings. Co-founded by travel enthusiasts Zach Longo (CEO) and Mayur Patil (COO), Travly initially started as a travel network on Instagram and TikTok. In the summer of 2022, the duo acquired @Travel and built a social community…

Mathematician and scientist Stephen Wolfram grew up in a household where his mother was a professor of philosophy at Oxford University. This led him to not want to get involved in philosophy when he was younger, but as he got older and wiser, Wolfram saw the value in thinking things through deeply. Now he wants to bring some of that deep philosophical rigor to his AI research, to help us better understand the problems we face as AI becomes more capable. Wolfram was something of a child prodigy, publishing his first scientific paper at age 15 and graduating with a…

Indian education technology startup Eruditus is in final talks to raise around $150 million in new funding, two sources familiar with the matter told TechCrunch, which would mark the largest funding round by an Indian education company in recent years. Private equity giant TPG is in talks to lead the investment, the people said. The new investment could value Eruditas at up to $2.3 billion, under the terms of the proposal, they added, asking not to be identified because the talks are ongoing. The valuation is tied to Eruditas hitting certain performance targets. If it fails to hit those milestones,…

Last week was a tumultuous one for the fintech world, as Bolt stunned the industry with leaked term sheets revealing it was seeking to raise $200 million in equity and an unprecedented additional $250 million in “marketing credits.” As part of the deal, Bolt wanted a $14 billion valuation, bolstered by an aggressive takeover-style enforcement that would force existing investors to either pay more cash or essentially lose their shares in a deal worth 1 cent a share. The industry responded unanimously, “We'll look into that.” Brad Pamnani, the investor spearheading the proposed $200 million equity deal, told TechCrunch on…

Venture capitalists, eager to get their hands on some of the hottest companies, including AI companies, are increasingly buying shares of late-stage startups on the secondary market, but also through financial instruments called special purpose vehicles (SPVs). Some of these SPVs have become very popular and are commanding premium prices. That's good for the VCs selling the SPVs, but a riskier proposition for the buyers — and all of this is another sign that AI startups are brewing a bubble. In the secondary market, existing shareholders, such as employees of a startup or VCs who bought shares directly from the…