Author: TechBrunch

While working at Point72, a hedge fund founded by notorious investor Steve Cohen, Thomas Lee realized that the financial industry relied heavily on error-prone manual data entry processes. “As a buy-side analyst, I found it painful to manually capture and enter data to build and update financial models,” Lee told TechCrunch. “It took time away from more important tasks: analysis and investment.” After meeting Jeremy Huang, a former software engineer at Airbnb and Meta, and Daniel Chen, a former Microsoft engineer through connections at New York University (all three are alumni), Li ventured into data automation solutions. I have decided…

Microsoft and OpenAI have announced the creation of a $2 million fund to combat the growing risk that AI and deepfakes will be used to “deceive voters and undermine democracy.” With a record 2 billion people heading to the polls across some 50 countries this year, there are concerns about the impact AI will have on voters, especially those in “vulnerable communities” who are more likely to have their opinions heard. Take it at face value. The rise of generative AI, including wildly popular chatbots such as ChatGPT, has created a new and significant threat landscape involving AI-generated “deepfakes” aimed…

When Itai Ben-Zaken's first startup failed in 2018, the former BCG consultant and Wharton MBA did a lot to understand what could have been done differently in the five years he ran the company. It took me months. After analyzing most of his major decisions, I found that while Comprendi, a digital ad recommendation business, is an interesting offering, its biggest mistake was trying to operate in a market with two dominant players: Google and Facebook. I concluded that there is. So when Ben-Zaken started looking to form a second startup, he vowed not to make the same mistake again.…

When Itai Ben-Zaken's first startup failed in 2018, the former BCG consultant and Wharton MBA did a lot to understand what could have been done differently in the five years he ran the company. It took me months. After analyzing most of his major decisions, I found that while Comprendi, a digital ad recommendation business, is an interesting offering, its biggest mistake was trying to operate in a market with two dominant players: Google and Facebook. I concluded that there is. So when Ben-Zaken started looking to form a second startup, he vowed not to make the same mistake again.…

A few weeks ago, TechCrunch broke the news that Akamai was in talks to acquire API security specialist Noname Security for about $500 million. Today, the deal was confirmed, albeit at a slightly lower price. Akamai announced Tuesday that it has agreed to acquire Noname in a $450 million deal. This agreement highlights continued efforts towards further consolidation in the cybersecurity market. Over the past few years, various cybersecurity startups have emerged. However, many of these companies find it difficult to scale, raise capital, or sell to customers looking for a one-stop shop to manage multiple security needs. As a…

The Election Commission of India has issued an advisory to all political parties, asking them not to use deepfakes and other forms of misinformation in their social media posts during the ongoing general elections. The move came after the constitutional body came under criticism for not doing enough to combat such campaigns in the world's most populous country. The advisory (PDF), released on Monday, calls on political parties to remove deepfake audio and video within three hours of becoming aware of the existence of the deepfake. Parties are also encouraged to identify and alert individuals responsible for creating manipulated content.…

If you're a power geek, chances are you've already spent a fair amount of time looking at power maps and their fascinating export flow animations. This open source data visualization project has been around since 2016. But companies like Google and Samsung are increasingly relying on this rich data set to meet their sustainability goals and empower their users. Currently, Electricity Maps employs 20 people and the company has been profitable for several years. However, TechCrunch has exclusively learned that the company recently raised a $5.4 million (€5 million) funding round from Transition and Revent to take things to the…

Whether you love celebrity culture or hate it, the Met Gala is an event. For those not so bored, you can see all the big stars taking the boldest fashion risks this year. Unlike an awards ceremony, it is an event that encourages avant-garde luxury.And if you think it's all boring, just laugh with me at how Ed Sheeran's outfit looks What Troy Bolton wore in High School Musical 3. But this year's Met Gala was a test. “Katy Perry. That's it,” one X post read. In the photo, Katy Perry appears to be wearing a huge gown decorated with…

Wayve, a UK-born startup developing self-learning rather than rule-based systems for autonomous driving, has completed $1.05 billion in Series C funding led by SoftBank Group. This is the largest AI funding in UK history and ranks among the top 20 AI fundings in the world to date. Nvidia and existing investor Microsoft also participated in the funding. Waye's early stage investors included his head of AI at Meta, Yann LeCun. Founded in Cambridge in 2017, Wayve raised $200 million in a Series B round led by Eclipse Ventures in January 2022. The company will use the new capital injection to…

We all seem to agree that Kendrick Lamar defeated Drake in one of the most heated rap battles of the past decade. To add insult to injury, Drake landed himself in legal hot water when he deepfaked the late rapper Tupac. Tensions between Lamar and Drake go back decades, but this latest feud began last fall when J. Cole released a song in which he called Drake, Lamar, and himself rap's “Big Three.” Ta. In March of this year, Lamar finally responded, rejecting Cole's claims in scathing words disparaging Cole and Drake. A fight broke out, and soon legions of…