Author: TechBrunch

Threads, Meta's Twitter/X rival and the company's first bet on decentralized social media, is making it easier for users to control their Threads experience. After unveiling a customizable dashboard interface last week, Instagram head Adam Mosseri announced Monday that the app is rolling out a feature that lets users know what types of posts they want to see more of, or less of. Users “swipe right on a post to like it or swipe left to indicate they're not interested,” Mosseri explained in a post on the thread. “We use these signals to show you more posts similar to the…

Bad actors are misusing generative AI music tools to create homophobic, racist and propaganda songs, and are publishing guides on how to make them. ActiveFence, a service that manages the trust and safety of online platforms, said it has seen a surge in conversations within “hate speech-related” communities since March about how AI music-making tools can be misused to create offensive songs that target minority groups. The AI-generated songs shared on these forums and discussion boards aim to incite hatred against ethnic, gender, racial and religious groups while glorifying martyrdom, self-harm and acts of terrorism, ActiveFence researchers said in the…

Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference next week will be a pivotal moment in history for the iPhone maker, as the Cupertino-based tech giant will showcase its selection of integrating AI technologies into its devices and software, including its historic partnership with OpenAI. As the big event draws closer, various leaks have surfaced about what's in store for iOS 18 and its rumored AI-powered apps and features. Among the changes are reports that Apple is using Ajax LLM to power some of its new AI features, and other reports suggest that Apple plans to process data from its AI in a way…

AI mortgage startup LoanSnap is facing a flurry of lawsuits from creditors, forcing it out of its Southern California headquarters and leaving employees worried about the company's future, TechCrunch has learned. Founded by serial entrepreneurs Carl Jacob and Alan Carroll, LoanSnap has raised about $100 million since its seed round in 2017, with $90 million of that coming between 2021 and 2023, PitchBook reported. Investors include Richard Branson's Virgin Group, The Chainsmokers' Mantis Ventures, Baseline Ventures and Reid Hoffman, according to LoanSnap. The startup also has about $12 million in debt, according to PitchBook estimates. Despite the funds it has…

Instagram confirmed that it was testing unskippable ads after screenshots of the ads began circulating on social media. According to informational text appearing in the Instagram app, these new ad breaks will feature a countdown timer and will prevent users from viewing other content in the app until the ad appears. The change would bring the social network closer to the free version of YouTube, which requires users to watch ads before and during videos. It would make sense for Instagram to consider moving in this direction, given that in recent years it has transitioned from a place to share…

The Digital Markets Act (DMA) forced Apple to allow third-party app stores for iOS in Europe, leading several developers to launch alternative stores such as AltStore and MacPaw's Setapp (currently in closed beta). The latest entrant is long-established Android app store startup Aptoide, which is launching a games store in Europe. The company announced today that its game store will be available for users to download and use on iOS starting June 6th. Aptoide is initially launching its store with six titles, with plans to add more later. The company says that over 100 developers plan to release games on…

Cloudera, once a fast-growing Hadoop startup, raised $1 billion and went public in 2018 before being acquired by private equity for $5.3 billion in 2021. Today, the company announced it was acquiring Verta, an AI startup that helps customers manage machine learning models, including large-scale language models used in generative AI. Cloudera launched a SaaS data lakehouse the year after it was acquired, but to stay relevant in today's market, it needed the power of AI. Cloudera CEO Charles Sansbury certainly recognized that. “The future of data management is AI and the two go hand in hand. Cloudera is acquiring…

The global spend management sector is experiencing something of a tailwind. While North America is undoubtedly the largest market in the sector, rising internet penetration, technological advancements, and businesses' increased focus on smart spending are increasing the demand for spend management companies around the world. In fact, according to Grand View Research, the sector is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 10.3% through 2030, with adoption expected to increase in other regions such as the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) as businesses increasingly adopt expense management tools to gain greater visibility into how their funds…

As the EV market stagnates under increasing pressure from Chinese competitors, major U.S. and European automakers are racing to reduce the cost of producing EVs to achieve price and profit margin parity with internal combustion engine vehicles. But to do that, they must find ways to make the design process faster and more efficient. Now, a spinout company from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) has raised $27 million in a Series B funding round to apply AI to solve that very problem. Simply put, Neural Concept enables designers to model how a component will behave before…

The StrictlyVC road trip continues! After sold-out events in London, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, we'll be teaming up with Revolution to bring the show to Washington DC for a cozy, VC-packed evening on Tuesday, June 11th at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre. StrictlyVC events are known for providing exclusive insights and fostering meaningful connections among top investors, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders. Attendees can expect inspiring discussions, insightful perspectives, and plenty of opportunities to network while enjoying complimentary drinks and hors d'oeuvres. Featured Speakers at DC Event Lina Khan — Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission Session: Reining in Big TechFTC…