Author: TechBrunch

YouTube regularly experiments with new features on its premium tier, with its latest test featuring a sleep timer that pauses videos after a set period of time. It's nothing spectacular, but it could be useful for people who like to fall asleep to long podcasts or white noise playing in the background. Youtube Premium users can enable this timer from this page on desktop or via the “Settings > Try experimental new features” option on mobile. Then, the video player[設定]On the menu[スリープ タイマー]Options will appear. You can set the timer to pause the video after 10, 15, 20, 30, 45,…

In 1996, Patersons HR and Payroll Solutions launched a venture called CloudPay to provide payroll and payments services to corporate clients. CloudPay quietly grew over the next few decades, adding workflow automation features to keep up with emerging rivals. CFO Andy Thomson assured TechCrunch that the company is still growing. Thomson claims that CrowdPay processes payroll for 280 companies, including Visa, Wayfair, Wells Fargo, Expedia and the London Stock Exchange, and processes more than 3 million pay slips per year in over 130 countries. “CrowdPay has contracted revenue of $125 million,” Thomson said, “and has more than doubled its revenue…

Six companies have avoided paying potentially costly ransoms thanks to new security flaws in web infrastructure used by a ransomware gang, security researchers say. Two of the companies received decryption keys to decrypt their data without having to pay ransom to the cybercriminals, and the four hacked cryptocurrency companies were warned before the ransomware gang began encrypting files, marking a rare win for targeted victim organisations. Vangelis Stikas, security researcher and chief technology officer at Atropos.ai, embarked on a research project to identify the command and control servers behind more than 100 ransomware and extortion groups and their data leak…

The tech layoff wave is still going strong in 2024. Following significant workforce reductions in 2022 and 2023, this year has already seen 60,000 job cuts across 254 companies, according to independent layoffs tracker Layoffs.fyi. Companies like Tesla, Amazon, Google, TikTok, Snap and Microsoft have conducted sizable layoffs in the first months of 2024. Smaller-sized startups have also seen a fair amount of cuts, and in some cases, have shut down operations altogether. By tracking these layoffs, we’re able to understand the impact on innovation across companies large and small. We’re also able to see the potential impact of businesses…

Los Angeles is notoriously congested, and with three events expected to draw millions of spectators from around the world — the World Cup in 2026, the Super Bowl in 2027, and the Olympics in 2028 — in the wings, Los Angeles officials are exploring a variety of new mobility solutions to address the congestion problem. But they're already falling behind: Most of the transportation infrastructure efforts planned for the Olympics won't be completed until 2028 or later. Archer Aviation sees an opportunity in this gap. The startup, which is developing electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, wants to leverage…

OpenAI's GPT-4o, the generative AI model behind the recently released alpha version of ChatGPT's Advanced Voice Mode, is the company's first model trained not only on voice but also on text and image data. This sometimes leads to GPT-4o doing odd things, like mimicking the voice of people talking to it or suddenly shouting in the middle of a conversation. In a new “red team” report documenting its examination of the model's strengths and risks, OpenAI uncovers some of GPT-4o's odd quirks, including the aforementioned voice cloning. In rare cases, OpenAI says, GPT-4o “emulates the user's voice,” especially when a…

OpenAI has announced the appointment of Zico Kolter to its board of directors. Colter, professor and chair of the Machine Learning Department at Carnegie Mellon University, focuses his research primarily on AI safety. [OpenAI’s] “Governance,” OpenAI wrote in an official blog post. Colter will also join the OpenAI Board's Safety and Security Committee, along with board members Brett Taylor, Adam D'Angelo, Paul Nakasone, Nicole Seligman, CEO Sam Altman, and OpenAI technical experts. The committee is responsible for making recommendations on safety and security decisions for all OpenAI projects, but as we noted in our May article, its membership is primarily…

Spotify and Epic Games are among Apple critics unhappy with the iPhone maker's revised plan to newly comply with the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA). Shortly after Apple announced the revised plan on Tuesday, which includes looser restrictions and two additional fees, Spotify released a statement to TechCrunch calling the plan “unacceptable” and claiming that Apple is again ignoring the “fundamental requirements” of the DMA. Meanwhile, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney called the revisions another case of “bad compliance” with “junk fees.” In the European Union, where new DMA laws have opened up app store competition, Apple continues its…

Thursday is looking to revolutionize traditional online dating in a competitive market. The app, which recently launched in San Francisco, encourages intentional dating by limiting users' access to Thursdays only. At midnight, all matches disappear. The idea is that by limiting usage to just one day a week, potential matches will be encouraged to set up actual dates sooner. Many singles, especially younger users, are abandoning traditional dating apps due to “swipe fatigue,” the exhaustion felt from swiping through countless profiles. This fatigue, combined with other negative experiences like burnout after talking to too many people and getting caught up…

AI companies are gobbling down investor capital and reaching sky-high valuations early in their lifecycles, leading many to say the industry is a bubble. Nick Frosst, co-founder of Cohere, which builds custom AI models for enterprise customers, recently said on TechCrunch's Found podcast that he doesn't think the AI ​​industry is in a bubble. He acknowledges that the industry is in a bubble, but he believes calling it one discredits companies like Cohere that are building features that are truly useful to customers. “We frequently see people using our model, enabling entirely new capabilities that weren't possible before, or automating…