Author: TechBrunch

Sanctuary AI announced that it will deliver its humanoid robots to Magna's manufacturing facility. Austria-based Magna manufactures and assembles cars for Europe's top automakers, including Mercedes, Jaguar and BMW. As is typical with the nature of such deals, the parties have not disclosed how many Sanctuary AI robots will be installed. The news follows similar deals announced by Figure and Apptronik, which are piloting their own humanoid systems with BMW and Mercedes, respectively. Agility also announced a deal with Ford at CES in January 2020, which revealed the American automaker is considering using Digit units for last-mile deliveries. Since then,…

Meta announced it is testing new features on Instagram aimed at protecting young people from unwanted nudity and sextortion scams. This includes a feature called Nudity Protection in DM, which automatically blurs images detected to contain nudity. The tech giant will also issue a warning urging teens to think twice about sharing intimate images and urge teens to protect themselves. Meta says it hopes this will provide better protection against scammers who trick people into sending nude images and sending images of themselves in return. It's also making changes that it suggests will make it more difficult for potential scammers…

US cybersecurity agency CISA is urging Sisense customers to reset their credentials and sensitive information after the data analytics company reported a security incident. In a brief statement Thursday, CISA said it was responding to a “recent breach” at Sisense, which provides business intelligence and data analytics to companies around the world. CISA requires Sisense customers to “reset credentials and sensitive information that may have been exposed to or used to access Sisense services” and report any suspicious activity involving the use of compromised credentials. asked them to report it to the authorities. The exact nature of the cybersecurity incident…

We're excited to publish our full agenda, packed with keynote speakers and interactive roundtable sessions. From funding insights to growth strategies, join him as he navigates the startup landscape on April 25th in Boston at TechCrunch Early Stage 2024. Don't miss out – secure your spot now for an unforgettable experience of learning, connecting and inspiring. Prices go up at your doorstep! agenda Women at Tech Sunrise Breakfast: How AI is impacting founders Lily Lyman, Underscore VC Partner, Rudina Seseri, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Glasswing Ventures Milo Werner, General Partner, Engine Ventures Choosing the right accelerator or incubator Emily Knight,…

Patlytics, an AI-powered patent analytics platform, wants to help companies, IP professionals, and law firms speed up patent workflows from discovery, analysis, comparison, and prosecution to litigation. The fledgling startup secured $4.5 million in seed funding led by Gradient Ventures, Google's AI-focused VC arm, but was oversubscribed within days. Patlytics was co-founded by CEO Paul Lee, a former venture capitalist at Tribe, and CTO Arthur Jen, a serial entrepreneur who co-founded and served as CTO of Web3 wallet platform Magic. Their shared vision and complementary skills laid the foundation for Patlytics, based on their first-hand experience and deep understanding of…

Nothing lasts forever. Nowhere is the truism more apt than in consumer tech. This is a land inhabited by the eternally restless — always on the make for the next big thing. The smartphone has, by all accounts, had a good run. Seventeen years after the iPhone made its public debut, the devices continue to reign. Over the last several years, however, the cracks have begun to show. The market plateaued, as sales slowed and ultimately contracted. Last year was punctuated by stories citing the worst demand in a decade, leaving an entire industry asking the same simple question: what’s…

Ambuj Kumar is nothing if not ambitious. An electrical engineer by training, Kumar led hardware design at Nvidia for eight years, contributing to the development of technologies such as widely used high-speed memory controllers for GPUs. After he left Nvidia in 2010, Kumar pivoted to cybersecurity and eventually co-founded Fortanix, his platform for cloud data security. It was while leading Fortanix that Kumar's idea for his next venture came to him. It is an AI-powered tool that automates the workflow of enterprise cybersecurity professionals, inspired by challenges observed in the cybersecurity industry. “Security leaders are stressed,” Kumar told TechCrunch. “CISOs…

If you own a single-family home, driving an electric car can be a great experience. Every morning, you wake up to a world full of possibilities, your car fully charged and ready to go anywhere. If you don't have access to a garage or driveway, your EV life won't be so rosy. Many EV owners in large cities are forced to rely on public fast chargers. Some people run cables from their home to the curb, but this can pose a safety issue. Some cities, such as Cambridge, Massachusetts, have formalized this practice, allowing people to receive permits to install…

If decisions made by a company's board can indicate where the company wants to focus its efforts, Amazon's board has made an interesting move. The company announced Thursday that Andrew Ng, known for developing AI at major technology companies, will join its board of directors. The company also announced that Judy McGrath, a longtime TV executive known for running MTV and helping build Viacom into a media powerhouse, will resign from its board. Taken together, these two moves create an interesting picture of the tech giant's intentions. After years of working hard to build an entertainment empire (Amazon spent about…

Apple on Wednesday sent a threat notification to iPhone users in 92 countries, warning them they may be the target of a spyware attack by mercenaries. The company sent an alert to individuals in 92 countries at 12pm Pacific Time on Wednesday. The iPhone maker sends these notifications multiple times a year, and has notified users in more than 150 countries since 2021, it wrote on an updated support page. Apple previously described the attacker as “state-sponsored,” but replaced all such references with “mercenary spyware attack.” “Mercenary spyware attacks are extremely well-funded and evolve over time,” the company wrote on…