Author: TechBrunch

Adept, a startup that develops AI-powered “agents” that perform a variety of software-based tasks, has agreed to license its technology to Amazon, with its co-founders and part of its team joining the e-commerce giant. The news was first reported by Geekwire's Taylor Soper, who said that Adept co-founder and CEO David Ruan would be joining Amazon, along with Adept co-founders Augustus Odena, Maxwell Nye, Eric Elsen, and Kelsey Szodt, as well as other Adept employees. Adept is not going out of business, however: Zach Block, head of engineering, will take over as CEO and Adept will focus on “solutions that…

There are a lot of resources available for learning English, but not many for near-native English speakers who want to improve their fluency. This description rings true for Stan Beliaev and Yurii Rebryk, and it inspired them to create Fluently. Fluently leverages AI to act as a coach, giving users feedback and tips on how to speak English. In this way, it is similar to ELSA and its AI speech tutor and one-on-one online and offline coaching solutions, except that Fluently listens to calls and structures its feedback. Users can have Fluently record and transcribe real calls, for example when…

Google's plans to promote Android apps outside of the Play Store are starting to take shape. A new feature called Collections will let users manage their apps from their Android home screen. At this year's Google I/O developer conference, the company showed off a tool that would let developers get back into the apps that users already have installed on their devices. At the time, however, the company didn't elaborate on what this screen would look like, focusing only on the software development kits (SDKs) that developers would have access to to integrate with the new service. Google also revealed…

Many venture capital firms are struggling to raise new capital from their backers amid a sluggish IPO environment. But established, well-known companies can still raise large amounts of capital. Kleiner Perkins said Friday it has raised more than $2 billion in new capital across two funds, a slight increase from the $1.8 billion the 52-year-old firm raised in early 2022. Other notable firms that have weathered this year's venture capital fundraising downturn include Andreessen Horowitz, which has raised $7.2 billion across multiple funds; General Catalyst, which has reportedly raised $6 billion; and Norwest, which has raised $3 billion. Kleiner Perkins…

Welcome to Startups Weekly — Haje's weekly roundup of must-reads from the startup world. Sign up here to receive it in your inbox every Friday. I just recorded an episode of Equity where I learned about the latest wave of stupidity. The tech industry's DEI allergy has hit a new low as Silicon Valley leaders once again wave the “meritocracy” flag high and wide. Scale AI's Alexandr Wang has decided that Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is outdated and instead introduced a shiny new acronym: MEI (Merit, Excellence, Intelligence). I'm so shaken up, I might need to see a chiropractor.…

Marketing and sales software giant HubSpot said Friday it was investigating a cybersecurity incident. Rumors of some sort of cyberattack against HubSpot began circulating on social media on Friday. Reached for comment, HubSpot spokesperson Camille Uzel told TechCrunch that on June 22, the company “became aware of a security incident in which a malicious actor targeted a limited number of HubSpot customers and attempted to gain unauthorized access to their accounts.” “HubSpot initiated our incident response procedures and has been reaching out to affected customers since June 22nd to take the necessary steps to reverse the unauthorized access and protect…

Venture capitalists Jonathan Triest and Brett DeMarais believe their ability to understand people and build long-term relationships with founders is a key reason their Detroit-based venture firm, Ludlow Ventures, is celebrating its 15th anniversary. It sounds silly to attribute their longevity to something called “Midwestern kindness.” But is it crazy? Maybe not. Before Ludlow, neither Triest nor Demarais had much management experience; none even in investing. Triest had just finished school when he started the company in 2009; Demarais joined him three years later after finishing his first job running a wedding videography company. Fast forward to today, and Ludlow…

Welcome to our 100th pitch deck analysis! This week, we'll be looking at MegaMod's seed stage pitch deck. MegaMod appears to be the gaming industry's newest darling, having raised $1.9 million in funding, raising its post-funding valuation to $27 million. With a mission to revolutionize the game creation process, MegaMod said it plans to invest heavily in refining its go-to-market strategy and testing customer retention and monetization models. In an industry where creators are often ignored like yesterday's loot boxes, MegaMod has swooped in with the heroic promise of bringing them to the forefront. The first screen of the company's…

Google’s trying to make waves with Gemini, its flagship suite of generative AI models, apps and services. So what’s Google Gemini, exactly? How can you use it? And how does Gemini stack up to the competition? To make it easier to keep up with the latest Gemini developments, we’ve put together this handy guide, which we’ll keep updated as new Gemini models, features and news about Google’s plans for Gemini are released. What is Gemini? Gemini is Google’s long-promised, next-gen generative AI model family, developed by Google’s AI research labs DeepMind and Google Research. It comes in four flavors: Gemini…

Hannah Seeber knows all too well how transformative batteries can be. In her previous work at startup EcoFlow, she used batteries instead of generators to power homes and RVs at campsites after severe storms. This experience got her thinking about what else batteries could do, especially small batteries. “What other industries could potentially change dramatically?” she recalled thinking at the time. After leaving Ecoflow, while studying at Stanford University, she found herself studying how power outages implemented in California to reduce the risk of wildfires were disproportionately affecting people of different incomes. She noticed that power companies were spending big…