Author: TechBrunch

Poe, Quora's subscription-based cross-platform aggregator that aggregates AI-powered chatbots such as Anthropic's Claude and OpenAI's GPT-4o, has launched a feature called Previews that allows users to create interactive apps directly by chatting with the chatbot. Preview allows Poe users to build data visualizations, games, and even drum machines by typing things like, “Analyze the information in this report and turn it into an easy-to-understand, interactive presentation that's easy to understand.” The app can be built with multiple chatbots (such as Meta's Llama 3 and GPT-4o), and can pull information from uploaded files, including videos, and share them with anyone via…

Huffington Post founder Arianna Huffington and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman are hard at work on a new venture, Thrive AI Health, which aims to build AI-powered assistant technology that promotes healthier lifestyles. Thrive AI Health, which is backed by Huffington's mental wellness company Thrive Global and OpenAI Startup Fund, an early-stage venture fund with close ties to OpenAI, aims to build an “AI health coach” that can offer personalized advice on sleep, nutrition, fitness, stress management and connection, according to a press release issued on Monday. DeCarlos Love, who previously led fitness and health experiences at Google subsidiary Fitbit, primarily…

“The labor essential to data work, such as moderation and annotation, is systematically hidden from those who profit from the fruits of that labor. A new project shines a spotlight on the lived experiences of data workers around the world, showing firsthand the costs and opportunities of doing tech work overseas.” Much of the boring, thankless, and psychologically damaging work is outsourced to poor countries, where workers are happy to take on jobs for a fraction of the wages in the U.S. or Europe. This labor market puts it in the ranks of “boring, dirty, and dangerous” jobs, such as…

Generative AI businesses aside, the past few years have been relatively tough for venture capitalists, with very few startups being able to raise capital at prices above their previous valuations. Now, nearly two years after the venture recession began in early 2022, some investors, like IVP general partner Tom Rabelo, say the worst of the downturn is over and surviving startups should shift from cash preservation mode to investing in growth. These aren't totally empty words: Valuations for all companies except the seed stage fell in 2023 compared to the previous year, according to PitchBook data. But in the first…

Apple has removed several VPN apps from its Russian App Store at the request of the Russian government's communications watchdog, according to VPN makers. Last week, Russian news agency Interfax reported that Apple had removed 25 VPN apps from its Russian App Store at the request of Roskomnadzor, the government agency that regulates the internet, including that accessible to Russian citizens. The internet in Russia is tightly controlled and censored, so Russian online users often turn to VPNs to get around restrictions and access blocked content. On Monday, two VPN services, Le VPN and Red Shield VPN, told TechCrunch that…

Samsung Unpacked 2024 kicks off at 6am PST/9am EST on Wednesday. Why so early for our friends on the West Coast? The Galaxy device showcase is taking place in Paris this year, with a local start time of 1pm CET. Luckily for us, Paris is also hosting the Summer Olympics in about two weeks, and one of the big sponsors of the event is Samsung. If past examples are any indication (and they always are with these kinds of products), foldables will be the focus of Samsung's event. The company has stuck to a six-monthly flagship release cycle for the…

Today in Equity, we take a look at some of the news you may have missed over the US holiday weekend. We start with the recent OpenAI security breach. While we don't think we need to worry too much about what the hackers actually accessed, the fact that it happened is notable. TechCrunch's Devin Coldeway argues that AI companies are treasure troves of data, making them likely to be easy targets for hackers. Companies partnering with major AI companies should beware. We also gave an update on Fisker's bankruptcy: The EV startup asked the bankruptcy court for permission to sell…

You probably think you're reasonably savvy when it comes to online scams — you wouldn't open a random email attachment or send money to a Nigerian prince — but of course, scams evolve with new technology. AI is making these attacks easier to carry out at scale while also introducing personalization that makes the scams harder to detect. So in today's video, we'll discuss some of the most common AI-enabled scams and how you can protect yourself. First, there's voice duplication: You may receive a voicemail from a number you don't recognize that sounds like a family member or friend…

As the demand for AI grows, so does the demand for expertise in maintaining databases. Databases are a critical part of any AI pipeline. They store the information used to train, run, and fine-tune AI systems. And good data management has been proven to smooth the path to AI adoption in the enterprise. One vendor benefiting from the database boom is Tembo, a startup building a platform that lets developers deploy different flavors of the open source database system Postgres in cloud and local environments. On Monday, Tembo announced it had raised $14 million in a funding round led by…

TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 is set to welcome a stellar slate of judges to its Startup Battlefield 200 competition, this year hosted by Google Cloud. These judges will decide which company will win the coveted Disrupt Cup and a $100,000 prize. This year, we are pleased to announce that Navin Chaddha, Managing Partner at Mayfield Fund, will be joining the judging panel. He will “dig deep” into the startups' business plans, product development, and pitches. Navin Chaddha is a prominent figure in the venture capital world, known for his strategic insight and track record. At Mayfield, Chaddha focuses the firm's Cognition…