Author: TechBrunch
Solar panels were all but sold out in Europe after Russia's invasion of Ukraine caused electricity prices to skyrocket, but now that prices have started to fall, solar panel installers are spending more on marketing to attract customers. One proven way to win more business is to offer financing. But smaller entities typically don't have the capital to undertake new installations that can cost tens of thousands of euros each, forcing customers to go to the bank. The problem is that many customers change installers because “they get contacted by five other providers on their way to the bank,” Jodok…
Ledger, the French startup known for its secure cryptocurrency hardware wallets, has started shipping new wallets, about 18 months after introducing its latest Ledger Stax device. The updated wallet features an E-Ink display and was designed in collaboration with Tony Fadell, one of the lead designers of the iPod. E-Ink technology is commonly used in e-readers such as the Amazon Kindle and Rakuten Kobo because the displays are easy to view in sunlight and don't require a lot of power. The company plans to list Ledger Stax on its website once it has stock after fulfilling all pre-orders. The delay…
A data protection taskforce that’s spent over a year considering how the European Union’s data protection rulebook applies to OpenAI’s viral chatbot, ChatGPT, reported preliminary conclusions Friday. The top-line takeaway is that the working group of privacy enforcers remains undecided on crux legal issues, such as the lawfulness and fairness of OpenAI’s processing. The issue is important as penalties for confirmed violations of the bloc’s privacy regime can reach up to 4% of global annual turnover. Watchdogs can also order non-compliant processing to stop. So — in theory — OpenAI is facing considerable regulatory risk in the region at a…
The countdown continues for early bird deals at TechCrunch Disrupt, taking place October 28-30 in San Francisco. You have five more days to save up to $800 on admission, which ends Friday, May 31 at 11:59 PM PDT. Get your tickets now. Find the best early bird pass for you Attendee Pass — $675 Access to all stages, breakout sessions, and roundtable sessions. Access to onsite 1:1 and small group networking. Access to the event app. Access to session slides and recordings. Founder Pass — $525 All attendee pass benefits. Exclusive founder/investor networking. Access to investor list (opt-in only). Investor…
If the number 11 is your threshold of interest, you might be interested to know that according to Dealroom's latest report on the Spanish tech ecosystem, the total enterprise value (EV) of Spanish startups is set to exceed €100 billion in 2023. As we'll see later, venture investment in Spanish startups has also been pretty robust, with €2.2 billion raised across around 850 funding rounds. Total venture capital in Spain was lower last year than in 2021 and 2022, but that's not surprising since those years were exceptions. But unlike elsewhere, Spain hasn't fallen below pre-pandemic activity levels. For reference,…
A month after announcing its first product, Humane's co-founders reportedly took their well-funded startup to market. Even the company's biggest cheerleaders didn't expect AiPin to change the world so quickly, but some of its many critics didn't expect things to get so bad so quickly. Humane's biggest competitor, the Rabbit R1, also didn't fare much better. Upon release, the generative AI-powered handheld device was panned by critics, with the most prominent criticism of the “half-baked” device being that it could have been an app instead of a $200 piece of hardware. The excitement surrounding the launch of both devices is…
To shine a much-deserved and long-overdue spotlight on women researchers and others focused on AI, TechCrunch has been publishing a series of interviews highlighting notable women who have contributed to the AI revolution. As the AI boom continues, we'll be publishing these stories throughout the year, shining a spotlight on important research that often goes unrecognized. Find the other profiles here. Arati Prabhakar is the White House Director of Science and Technology Policy and science advisor to President Joe Biden. She previously served as the first woman to head the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and director of…
AniML, the French startup behind a new 3D capture app called Doly, wants to create a PhotoRoom of product videos, so to speak. If you're selling sneakers on an online marketplace or need to create Instagram ads for a direct-to-consumer item, Doly lets you generate 3D models on your phone and turn them into professional-looking product videos. Video creation is notoriously difficult, but generating 3D models is even harder, which is why the AniML team is focused on simplifying the experience: they want to make 3D capture a mainstream technology, starting with packaging it into an iPhone app. Here's how…
Elon Musk's AI startup xAI said today it has raised $6 billion in a new funding round, one of the biggest deals in the hotly anticipated emerging space as it ramps up cash to aggressively compete with rivals like OpenAI, Microsoft, and Google. Backers who invested in xAI's Series B funding include Valor Equity Partners, Vy Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, Fidelity, Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal and Kingdom Holding, the startup said in a blog post. The funding confirms a TechCrunch report from April that xAI was looking to raise $6 billion. At the time, TechCrunch reported that the company…
Indian startup Zypp Electric plans to expand its EV rental service to Southeast Asia early next year, leveraging new investment from Japanese oil and energy conglomerate ENEOS, TechCrunch has learned exclusively. The company aims to expand into 15 markets over the next two years. In an exclusive interview with TechCrunch, co-founder and CEO Akash Gupta said the company plans to begin piloting in at least one of those markets, a Southeast Asian market, early next year. The latest funding round, led by ENEOS, is $15 million and is part of Zypp Electric's Series C round. Gupta expects the deal to…