Author: TechBrunch

Halide, the popular iOS pro photography app, released a new version today with a new feature called Process Zero, which doesn't use AI to process images. Lux Optics, the developer of the Halide app, believes this option can be a creative tool for photographers to capture different kinds of snaps. The company previously allowed users to reduce default image processing in the app. The new option skips the standard image processing and is based on a single-exposure RAW file. Halide uses 12-megapixel RAW DNG files for its Process Zero photos. The company says that using a faster processing pipeline provides…

Amid growing pressure from regulators, Apple on Wednesday announced it would open up NFC transactions to third-party developers. NFC, or Near Field Communication, is the short-range radio technology that powers Apple Pay and Wallet. Apple's exclusive access to NFC features on iPhones has been under scrutiny for years by the European Commission for restricting competition in the mobile payments space, leading Apple to finally open up its tap-and-go technology to third parties in the region. Now, Apple is expanding access to other markets as well. According to the announcement, Apple will first make its new NFC and Secure Element APIs…

OpenAI's latest GPT4-o model can behave in some pretty strange ways, for example copying the user's voice and screaming and moaning erotically during conversations. We don't know this because some independent researcher or random user discovered it: this is actually an observation by OpenAI itself, in a “red team” report that is supposed to identify risks in the model and how to address those risks. To be clear, OpenAI seems comfortable identifying these risks because it has found ways to mitigate them. So a publicly accessible version of GPT-4o wouldn't suddenly start copying people's voices, and it would refuse to…

Stork Space is an ambitious company. The five-year-old startup has attracted attention for its bold plans to develop the first fully reusable rocket, with both its booster and second stage returning to Earth vertically. Those plans got a major boost a year ago when the U.S. Space Command awarded Stork and three other startups a prized launch pad site at the Cape Canaveral Space Force base in Florida. Stork plans to redevelop the historic Launch Complex 14, home to John Glenn's landmark mission and other NASA programs, in time for its first launch in 2025. At the center of Stork's…

Telegram announced on Wednesday that it is adding new ways for creators to earn money on the platform. Most notably, the platform is launching monthly paid subscriptions that users can buy with the app's digital currency, “Stars,” to access additional content from creators. Content creators can now create invite links that allow users to join their channel by paying Stars each month. The idea behind the feature is to allow creators to charge a fee for extra or early access to their content in a similar way to Patreon. Creators can set a price for their content and convert Stars…

Orion, a Texas-based carbon black company, announced to investors that it fell victim to a criminal scheme that led to “multiple fraudulent transfers to accounts controlled by unknown third parties,” resulting in losses of $60 million. Details are scarce, but these schemes typically involve fraudsters tricking company employees, often with access to the finance department or the executive suite, into transferring company funds to a bank account they control. These schemes might involve hacking into email accounts used by executives to send fraudulent instructions to staff on their behalf, or using deepfakes to trick unsuspecting employees into transferring funds. According…

Software as a Service (SaaS) is a constantly evolving industry. We'll talk to the industry's brightest minds and leaders: executives from early- and late-stage SaaS companies, leaders of the infrastructure companies that drive the industry, and the venture capitalists who fund them. Join us on the SaaS stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 to explore and have fun. TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 SaaS Stage Agenda From Salesforce to Sierra: Brett Taylor's Innovation Journey Brett Taylor (Sierra) Bret Taylor, former co-CEO of Salesforce and recent co-founder of Sierra, a startup building customer experience AI agents, joins us to discuss why he believes AI…

What's the right way to build a software business? Many startup advisers say B2B software should start by solving one problem, get customers, and then add features as the company grows. Serial founder Parker Conrad, founder and CEO of Rippling, an HR software startup that was valued at $13.5 billion in April, thinks that's the wrong way to go. Speaking on a recent episode of TechCrunch's podcast “Found,” Conrad said he believes the advice given to software founders over the last 20 years was wrong. “I think the traditional way of thinking about how to build business software is to…

What specific risks should individuals, businesses, and governments consider when using AI systems or writing the rules that govern their use? This is not an easy question to answer. AI that controls critical infrastructure clearly poses risks to human safety. But what about AI designed to grade exams, organize resumes, or check travel documents at border crossings? Each of these carries its own unique set of risks that, while just as serious, are entirely different categories of risk. In crafting AI regulatory laws like the EU AI Act and California's SB 1047, policymakers have struggled to reach consensus on which…

EliseAI, a developer of AI-powered property management tools for property owners, has raised $75 million in a Series D round, bringing the company's valuation to $1 billion. EliseAI is the brainchild of co-founder and CEO Minna Song, who met the company's second co-founder, Tony Stoyanov, while they were undergraduates at Cambridge University. After graduating, Song moved to New York City and worked as an administrative assistant for a residential real estate company. At the company, Song said he found that inefficiencies in the rental and leasing industry, particularly when it came to messaging to current and prospective tenants, were leading…