Author: TechBrunch
While Apple is embracing AI in iOS 18, it's also working to improve users' ability to get answers in a more traditional way: Spotlight search. Accessed by swiping down the center of the home screen, Spotlight search already helps iPhone users find information on their device and on the web. On the web, it replaces Google search. In iOS 18, Apple is using natural language, or “semantic,” queries to help users find content within apps. Spotlight can already search content within developers' apps, but it only returns results if the search terms match exactly. The semantic search feature added this…
Among the young AI startups being relentlessly pursued by venture capitalists these days, GPTZero is already profitable, generating millions of dollars in revenue, a year and a half after its founding. Founded by high school friends Edward Tian, 24, and Alex Cui, 26, GPTZero offers detection tools that help identify whether content is generated by AI. The founders opted for a $10 million “preemptive” Series A led by Footwork co-founder Nikhil Basu Trivedi, the team told TechCrunch exclusively. (“Preemptive” is VC slang for investors landing a deal before founders try to raise money.) That's quite a success for Basu Trivedi.…
Apple announced several new features and updates onstage during its WWDC 2024 keynote, including updates to iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and VisionOS, as well as the introduction of Apple Intelligence. As we use developer betas and explore the sessions at the event, we're starting to see more features emerge that weren't announced on stage. Keep in mind that only certain devices will be compatible with iOS 18, which will be released later in the fall. Here's a non-exhaustive list of those features: Messages app update Apple didn't mention Rich Messaging Service (RCS) support on stage, but it did briefly tease the…
WhatsApp on Thursday updated its cross-device video calling experience by introducing screen sharing with audio support and a new speaker spotlight feature, while also increasing the limit on the number of participants in a video call to up to 32. Last August, WhatsApp introduced screen sharing support for video calls, and now the instant messaging app has enhanced that experience by enabling support for sharing audio along with your screen, allowing you to watch videos along with your contacts on a WhatsApp call. Another important update that WhatsApp has made to video calling is the increased limit, which now allows…
Amazon has announced that it will invest up to $230 million in startups developing generative AI-powered applications. About $80 million of the investment will go toward Amazon's second AWS Generative AI Accelerator program, aimed at positioning AWS as an attractive cloud infrastructure option for startups developing generative AI models to power products, apps, and services. The majority of the new funding (including the full amount set aside for the accelerator program) will be provided in the form of AWS infrastructure compute credits, which cannot be transferred to other cloud service providers such as Google Cloud or Microsoft Azure. Additionally, Amazon…
SoftBank-backed photo editing startup PixArt said on Thursday it's partnering with Getty Images to develop a custom model to serve AI imagery to its 150 million users. The company said the model will provide responsible AI imagery to creators, marketers and small businesses that use its platform. The model will be built from the ground up and trained exclusively on creative content licensed by Getty Images. The company said the partnership will enable PicsArt subscribers to generate their own images with full commercial rights. Users can add to and customize the assets using any of PicsArt's editing tools. By creating…
Yahoo's AI efforts aren't over yet. The TechCrunch parent company recently launched AI-powered features for Yahoo Mail, including Priority Inbox in Gmail and a unique AI-powered email summary. It also released an AI-powered version of its Yahoo News app today, leveraging technology from its recent acquisition of Artifact. Yahoo has more AI plans in the works, including for its Yahoo News properties on the web. Code references on the newly redesigned Yahoo News website indicate that Yahoo is testing an AI summarization feature, presumably to help visitors get a quick grasp on news without having to read the entire article.…
If there's one thing that's holding back batteries from becoming more widespread, it's cost. Lithium-ion, the most popular type of battery, still costs about $140 per kilowatt-hour per pack, low enough to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles, but even the cheapest lithium-ion chemistry is still too expensive to install large batteries in every home to protect against power outages. Instead, manufacturers are beginning to research sodium-ion batteries as a complement to lithium-ion, rather than a replacement. “At the same scale, sodium-ion should cost about half as much to produce as lithium iron phosphate, because the raw materials are 100…
Today's tech zeitgeist is centered around artificial intelligence, and LinkedIn announced a series of new AI-powered services on Thursday in an effort to drive more users and usage. The company is betting big on AI and how people want it woven into their experiences on the platform, introducing tools that do everything from helping people find and apply for jobs (yes, there are tools that will write all of your applications and cover letters for you), to suggesting relevant learning materials (AI-related, of course), to searching across LinkedIn to find what you need more quickly. We'll discuss some of the…
Byju's is struggling to raise the full $200 million in a rights issue that its founders previously claimed was oversubscribed, sources familiar with the matter told TechCrunch, and now India's National Company Law Tribunal has stayed the company from proceeding with a second rights issue, citing allegations of shareholder oppression and mismanagement. The court on Thursday ordered the company to maintain its existing shareholdings until a petition filed by investors General Atlantic and Sofina is disposed of. Byju's first rights issue was held in late January, but a court ordered the company not to use the proceeds from the rights…