Author: TechBrunch

Will AI make us more productive at work? Executives are optimistic, but employees aren't so convinced. That's according to new research from freelance marketplace Upwork, which surveyed 2,500 C-level executives, full-time employees, and freelancers across the US, UK, Australia, and Canada, asking them about their views on AI in the workplace. Apparently, 96% of executives said they expect AI to improve their company’s productivity, and 39% said their companies have already mandated the use of AI tools. In contrast, 77% of workers say AI has made them less productive and created more work for them, and 47% say they don't…

A group of researchers say they have discovered a series of security flaws in various 5G basebands (essentially the processors that phones use to connect to mobile networks) that could allow hackers to secretly hack and spy on victims. The Penn State researchers presented their findings, along with an academic paper, on Wednesday at the Black Hat cybersecurity conference in Las Vegas. Using a custom-made analysis tool called 5GBaseChecker, the researchers found vulnerabilities in basebands made by Samsung, MediaTek and Qualcomm that are used in phones made by Google, OPPO, OnePlus, Motorola and Samsung. The researchers are Kai Tu, Yilu…

While many startups try to solve internal problems for businesses, New York City-based startup Bandana has a different goal: It wants to help low-wage workers find better jobs with higher wages and better benefits, closer to home, while cutting down on commute time. Today the company announced an $8.5 million investment, bringing its total funding to $12.3 million. When I spoke to CEO and co-founder Timothy Makalinao when the startup announced its seed funding last year, he described his company as follows: “Essentially what we're trying to do is create a platform that will empower working class Americans by making…

On today's Equity Podcast, Mary Ann Azevedo speaks with Flourish Ventures co-founders Tilman Urbeck, Emmalyn Shaw, and Arjuna Costa about a variety of topics, including the evolution of their investment thesis over the past five years and the trends they're most excited about. We also hear their thoughts on M&A deals in fintech, AI, founder wellness, and more. The three founded Flourish Ventures in 2019, which currently has $850 million under management and raised a $350 million fund in October 2023. Flourish invests globally, backing fintech startups in the U.S., Africa, Asia and Latin America. Notable investments include digital bank…

Amazon-owned audiobook company Audible said Wednesday it is testing an AI-powered search feature to help users narrow down their audiobook searches. Starting today, select customers in the U.S. will be able to interact with Maven, Audible's new personal recommendation expert, which surfaces title suggestions based on a user's specific requests. Users can enter a query using natural language, and Maven will respond with customized recommendations drawn from Audible's catalog of nearly one million titles. For example, “I'm looking for uplifting fiction novels with female protagonists.” Maven is available on the web, iOS and Android devices, and about half of Audible's…

In a sign of big tech companies' readiness and willingness to throw money at database technology, Neon, a startup developing an open-source alternative to AWS Aurora Postgres, announced Wednesday that Microsoft's venture arm M12 has made a $25 million strategic investment in the company. Neon co-founder and CEO Nikita Shamgunov said the funding will be earmarked for research and development to fuel Neon's expansion into Microsoft Azure and the development of new database capabilities to support both existing and new customers. “We're not looking to raise funds. This is not a new round,” Shamgunov told TechCrunch. “We've raised over $100…

Maya Watson and Lexi Nishita, co-founders of the new social app why?!, met while working at Netflix. They had a friendly, collegial relationship where they laughed and just vibed well together. The two worked on the streaming giant's brand and editorial teams, and discovered their skill sets complemented each other: “We're both from Minnesota,” Watson says. “It's a great fit.” The two moved on to Clubhouse, where Watson was employee number 13 and Nishita number 20, where they also built the social platform's editorial and brand teams, but left after more than a year to become co-founders. “The workplace was…

New York-based fintech company Payoneer has acquired Singapore-based global HR and payroll startup Skuad for $61 million in cash, the company told TechCrunch exclusively. Payoneer said it may pay up to an additional $10 million if Squad achieves various performance milestones within 18 months of the acquisition. Payoneer has also committed to grant $10 million in restricted stock units that vest contingent on continued employment of key personnel. Payoneer could therefore pay a total of approximately $81 million. It's a fairly quick exit for Skuad founder Sandeep Sahi, who started the company in 2019 with the goal of simplifying international…

Automattic, the owner of WordPress.com, has released a new AI tool designed to help bloggers write more clearly and concisely. The tool joins a series of writing assistants launched in recent years by the likes of privacy app maker Proton and giant Google. Automattic's new tool, “Write Brief with AI,” complements the generative AI writing assistant that Automattic launched for WordPress last year. The new tool helps users craft their content using text-based prompts and adjust the tone of their posts to be more informal or relatable, for example. The latest tools are currently available in beta as part of…

Cybersecurity remains a hot area for investors, and in the latest example of that demand, EQT has acquired a majority stake in Acronis, a security company that specializes in data protection, cloud and integrated security solutions for managed service providers (which resell services to consumers) and enterprise IT teams. The size or value of the stake or Acronis' enterprise value was not disclosed. EQT and Acronis said the transaction values ​​Acronis at a higher than its previously disclosed valuation of $3.5 billion, which was based on 2022 investments. To give some background on the growth, Acronis itself says that its…