Author: TechBrunch

Attention tech enthusiasts and startup supporters: the final countdown has begun. Today is the last day to vote for the TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 Audience Choice program. Voting closes tonight at 11:59 PM PST. This is your last chance to have your voice heard in helping select the most promising startups to take the stage at Disrupt this year. Why your vote matters TechCrunch Disrupt is known for showcasing the best and brightest in the startup ecosystem. The Audience Choice program adds an exciting dimension by allowing the community to have a direct role in shaping the event. Your vote will…

Meredith Whittaker has had it with the “frat house” contingent of the tech industry. I sat down with the President of Signal at VivaTech in Paris to go over the wide range of serious, grown-up issues society is facing, from disinformation, to who controls AI, to the encroaching surveillance state. In the course of our conversation, we delved into Signal’s recent war of words with Elon Musk, Telegram’s Pavel Durov, and — given its controversial clash with Scarlett Johanson — Whittaker’s candid thoughts about the leadership at OpenAI, which she likened to “dorm room high-jinks.” Among other things, Whittaker is…

Google has invested around $350 million in Flipkart, becoming the latest high-profile company to back the Walmart-owned Indian e-commerce startup. The Bengaluru-based startup said in a brief statement on Friday that the Android maker will also provide cloud services to Flipkart as part of the deal. The Google investment is part of a roughly $1 billion funding round that Flipkart is looking to launch in 2023. The round was led by Walmart, which invested $600 million late last year. (Microsoft is also an investor in Flipkart.) Valued at $36 billion with the new investment, Flipkart leads India's e-commerce market, serving…

The location-focused company, which merged with fellow location-focused company Foursquare in 2020, is set to join a growing list of companies shedding employees, one of their largest cost centers, in 2024. According to an email sent to employees on Thursday afternoon by current CEO Gary Little and viewed by TechCrunch, the company laid off 105 employees in order to “streamline” operations and “put the company on a more sustainable financial footing.” Affected employees had their access to the system removed immediately upon receiving a notification email from Foursquare. Little did not respond to a request for comment by the time…

“Scissor running is an aerobic exercise that gets your heart rate up and requires focus and attention,” says Google's new AI search feature. “It's also said to improve pores and build strength.” Google's AI feature got this answer from a website called Little Old Lady Comedy, which, as the name suggests, is a comedy blog. But the gaffe is so ridiculous that it's circulating on social media, along with a rundown of Google's other obviously flawed AI. In effect, regular users are red teaming these products on social media. In the cybersecurity space, some companies hire “red teams,” or ethical…

Pediatric speech-language-hearing pathologist Leanne Shered has long faced challenges in implementing caregiver-led therapy in traditional care settings. Research shows that caregiver-led speech therapy, which trains patients' caregivers in skill-building therapy techniques to use at home, can be highly effective, but Shered has observed in his clinical practice that therapists have limited access to caregivers and face significant educational and technical obstacles. At the start of the pandemic in 2020, Shered saw an opportunity to test a new, technology-first model of speech therapy care that would put caregivers “at the center of care,” in Shered's words. She teamed up with Nick…

There are many ways in which countries can support their high-tech industries. France annually selects a list of 120 promising start-ups (the French Tech 120), which also includes 40 private companies considered the most promising (the Next 40). Marina Ferrari, France's new digital minister, announced this year's winners at VivaTech Week in Paris. Organizers said the fifth batch was the most competitive since the program began. The French Tech Next40/120 program was launched in 2019 and lessons were learned along the way, especially when some unicorns turned out to be ZIRPicorns: following the recommendations of tech actors, the criteria were…

Elon Musk's X is preparing to make likes private on the social network. This change may confuse users about the difference between favorites and bookmarks. The decision to hide likes is to encourage engagement and protect the company's social image by allowing people to like “edgy” content, according to a new post by a company employee. It is said that it is intended. It's not clear whether this is the best solution to the problem that X is trying to solve, such as providing more signals to algorithms so that they can better personalize content to users' interests. Here are…

The FCC has proposed a $6 million fine against a fraudster who used voice cloning technology to impersonate President Biden in a series of illegal robocalls during the New Hampshire primary. This is more about robocalls than AI, but the FCC is clearly positioning this as a warning to other tech scammers. As you may recall, in January, many voters in New Hampshire received a phone call purporting to be from the president telling them not to vote in the upcoming primary. Of course, this was a fake, a clone of President Biden's voice using technology that has become widespread…

TLDR: Theriva Biologics (TOVX) is set for a potential stock surge due to the FDA granting Fast Track Designation to its lead candidate, VCN-01, for metastatic pancreatic cancer. This designation accelerates development and review, bolstering the drug’s market potential. With a promising pipeline and strategic positioning, TOVX is poised for significant gains. Theriva Biologics, Inc. (NYSE American: TOVX) has recently garnered significant attention in the biotech investment community following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) decision to grant Fast Track Designation (FTD) to its lead clinical candidate, VCN-01, for the treatment of metastatic pancreatic cancer. This development is a…