Author: TechBrunch
With new generative AI startups like Eleven Labs, you might think that translation services are the hottest market. But speech translation predates another market that startups have been targeting for a while now: content translation. This remains a big market, as companies with international operations need to translate content around the world. The $106 million raised to date by companies like Portugal's Unbabel (which recently raised $60 million) is proof of that. Content translation specialist EasyTranslate has been around since 2010, using machine learning models to identify the best freelance translators to translate specific types of content. But now the…
Apple has finally added support for Rich Communications Services (RCS) to its Messages app, with the feature appearing as part of iOS 18's second developer beta earlier this week. RCS is a messaging protocol that allows you to send and receive files and high-resolution images over the Internet, see typing indicators, get read receipts, and start group chats. Previously, iPhone users could only send SMS or MMS messages from the Messages app to people who didn't have Apple devices. They could only share media, get read receipts, and use other features with other Apple device users via iMessage. With this…
There aren't many growth funds in Europe, but one of them now has new capital to invest in larger companies. German investment management firm DTCP has held the final close of its third growth fund and the initial close of Incharge Capital, a new early-stage fund in a joint venture with Porsche focused on mobility startups, for a total of $450 million. DTCP is now independent and is an acronym for “Digital Transformation Capital Partners,” but the DT in DTCP once stood for Deutsche Telecom, which is once again an anchor investor in DTCP Growth. Despite those connections, DTCP was…
Accel, one of India's most active e-commerce and marketplace investors, is making a contrarian move by shifting its focus to smaller towns and villages in search of future unicorns. Venture companies on Wednesday argued that these regions, which they call “Bharat,” are important markets rife with opportunity for entrepreneurs, even as many startups struggle to make inroads in the region. “There's a perception that rural areas are poor, but if you look at how much the top 20 to 30 percent of people are spending in rural areas, it's a significant amount. We estimate it's over $250 billion,” Anand Daniel,…
During an interview at the Aspen Ideas Festival on Tuesday, Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleiman made it clear that he respects OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin, using the metaphor of winning a bicycle race, asked what Microsoft's plans are for the AI giant once its future is less dependent on OpenAI, but Suleiman avoided answering. “I don't believe in the metaphor of there being a finish line. That's another false framing,” he said. “We have to stop looking at everything as a blistering race.” He then followed Microsoft's corporate lead with its deal with OpenAI, which is…
In a post-COVID world, venture capitalists say it's not so easy to get excited about investing in digital health. Healthcare IT deal activity remained relatively flat in the first quarter of 2024 at 74 deals totaling about $1 billion, up just 3% from the same period a year ago, according to PitchBook data. Still, promising startups have captured investors' attention this year. TechCrunch spoke to 12 healthcare venture capitalists about which companies they see as most promising. Newly founded, AI-driven startups that are solving enormous administrative challenges in the U.S. healthcare system dominated the recommendations, but there were also some…
Once upon a time, in a galaxy not so far away (this one, in fact), a few internet rebels decided that they were tired of the corporate overlords controlling their online lives. Thus, the fediverse was born — an attempt to wrest control of microblogging services, such as Twitter and its ilk, away from centralized powers and into the hands of the people. The term “fediverse” combines “federation” and “universe.” In a nutshell, it’s a collection of social networking services that can communicate with each other (formally known as federation). The fediverse roots trace back to the 2000s, with the…
When OpenAI first demoed its eerily realistic, near real-time “advanced voice mode” for its AI-powered chatbot platform ChatGPT in May, the company said it would roll out the feature to ChatGPT's paid users within a few weeks. A few months later, OpenAI said it needed more time. In a post on its official Discord server, OpenAI said it had planned to roll out an alpha version of the advanced voice mode to a small number of ChatGPT Plus users in late June, but persistent issues forced it to postpone the launch until sometime in July. “For example, we are improving…
Using ChatGPT on your Mac computer just got easier: OpenAI's popular AI chatbot is now available to all macOS users, the company announced on Tuesday. The app was first announced ahead of Apple's WWDC 2024 in June, where the two companies jointly announced the integration of OpenAI's chatbot with Apple's operating systems for iPhone, iPad and Mac. On the latter platform, after installing the new ChatGPT app, users can quickly invoke ChatGPT using the Option + Space keyboard combination. This makes accessing the AI chatbot instantly familiar to Mac OS users who frequently use other keyboard shortcuts such as Command+Space…
Fearless Fund co-founder Ayana Parsons announced Monday that she was stepping down from her executive leadership role at the firm. Parsons will no longer serve as general partner and COO, but will instead “enjoy island life” with her family, she said in a LinkedIn post. Parsons co-founded the fund in 2019 with partner Ariane Simone, who will continue to serve as CEO. Fearless Fund was founded with the mission of providing venture capital funding, grants, and financial education to startups founded by Black women, a demographic that is both underserved and highly promising: According to Crunchbase data, less than 1%…