Author: TechBrunch
There's a trend when it comes to established software companies and their skyrocketing valuations: Companies founded in the age of the dinosaurs are booming, as evidenced by SAP's stock price surpassing $200 for the first time this week. Founded in 1972, SAP is now valued at an all-time high of $234 billion. The Germany-based enterprise software provider was valued at $92 billion two years ago and $156 billion 12 months ago, meaning its market cap has increased by more than 50% in the past year alone. SAP shares surged on June 27, 2024. Image courtesy of Ycharts While market valuation…
To shine a well-deserved and long-overdue spotlight on women academics and others focused on AI, TechCrunch is launching an interview series highlighting notable women who have contributed to the AI revolution. Sarah Bitamazile is Chief Policy Officer at boutique consulting firm Lumiera and writes for the Lumiera Loop, a newsletter focused on AI literacy and responsible AI adoption. She previously worked as a policy advisor in Sweden, focusing on gender equality, foreign policy and security and defence policy. Just to briefly ask, how did you get started working in AI? What attracted you to this field? AI found me! AI…
Cryptocurrency platforms will have to report transactions to the US Internal Revenue Service starting in 2026, although decentralized platforms that don't hold assets will be exempt. These were the main points of the new regulations finalized by the IRS and the U.S. Treasury Department on Friday, which essentially implement provisions of the Biden administration's Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed in 2021. While gains from the sale of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets are taxable even without these new regulations, there has been no real standardization on how those holdings should be reported to governments and private investors. Starting in…
As part of a legal settlement, the Detroit Police Department agreed to new guidelines limiting how it can use facial recognition technology. The new policy prohibits police from arresting someone based solely on the results of a facial recognition test or on the results of a mugshot scan conducted immediately following a facial recognition test, and specifies that mugshot scans cannot be conducted based solely on facial recognition, but instead require additional evidence linking a suspect to a crime. The policy, which could be enforced by the courts over the next four years, also mandates police training on the risks…
When Rodney Brooks talks about robotics and artificial intelligence, you should listen. Currently the Panasonic Professor Emeritus of Robotics at MIT, Brooks has also co-founded three major companies, including Rethink Robotics, iRobot, and his current endeavor, Robust.ai. Brooks ran the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) for a decade, starting in 1997. In fact, he likes to make predictions about the future of AI, and then keeps a scorecard on his blog about how well his predictions are coming along. He knows what he's talking about and thinks it may be time to put the brakes on the…
Matrix has rebranded its affiliates in India and China, becoming the latest venture to distance itself from international franchises. The US-based venture capital firms will retain their names, but Matrix Partners India will change its name to Z47 and Matrix Partners China will change its name to MPC. Matrix began managing its India-linked fund in 2006 and its China fund in 2008. The unexpected rebranding will take effect from July 1. Notably, Matrix's announcement refers to its India and China operations as “entities operating under the Matrix name” rather than as divisions of the company. Matrix Partners India said the…
Adept, a startup that develops AI-powered “agents” that perform a variety of software-based tasks, has agreed to license its technology to Amazon, with its co-founders and part of its team joining the e-commerce giant. The news was first reported by Geekwire's Taylor Soper, who said that Adept co-founder and CEO David Ruan would be joining Amazon, along with Adept co-founders Augustus Odena, Maxwell Nye, Eric Elsen, and Kelsey Szodt, as well as other Adept employees. Adept is not going out of business, however: Zach Block, head of engineering, will take over as CEO and Adept will focus on “solutions that…
There are a lot of resources available for learning English, but not many for near-native English speakers who want to improve their fluency. This description rings true for Stan Beliaev and Yurii Rebryk, and it inspired them to create Fluently. Fluently leverages AI to act as a coach, giving users feedback and tips on how to speak English. In this way, it is similar to ELSA and its AI speech tutor and one-on-one online and offline coaching solutions, except that Fluently listens to calls and structures its feedback. Users can have Fluently record and transcribe real calls, for example when…
Google's plans to promote Android apps outside of the Play Store are starting to take shape. A new feature called Collections will let users manage their apps from their Android home screen. At this year's Google I/O developer conference, the company showed off a tool that would let developers get back into the apps that users already have installed on their devices. At the time, however, the company didn't elaborate on what this screen would look like, focusing only on the software development kits (SDKs) that developers would have access to to integrate with the new service. Google also revealed…
Many venture capital firms are struggling to raise new capital from their backers amid a sluggish IPO environment. But established, well-known companies can still raise large amounts of capital. Kleiner Perkins said Friday it has raised more than $2 billion in new capital across two funds, a slight increase from the $1.8 billion the 52-year-old firm raised in early 2022. Other notable firms that have weathered this year's venture capital fundraising downturn include Andreessen Horowitz, which has raised $7.2 billion across multiple funds; General Catalyst, which has reportedly raised $6 billion; and Norwest, which has raised $3 billion. Kleiner Perkins…