Author: TechBrunch
Britain's self-proclaimed “world-leading” regulation of self-driving cars has become official after the Autonomous Vehicles (AV) Act received royal assent. This is the final rubber stamp that any law must pass before becoming law. The government has said fully autonomous cars could be on UK roads within two years. “While this does not take away people's ability to choose to drive themselves, our landmark legislation means self-driving cars could be on UK roads as early as 2026. , will provide a substantial boost to both safety and our nation's economy,” the Secretary of Transportation said. Mark Harper said in his statement:…
ChatGPT, OpenAI’s text-generating AI chatbot, has taken the world by storm. What started as a tool to hyper-charge productivity through writing essays and code with short text prompts has evolved into a behemoth used by more than 92% of Fortune 500 companies for more wide-ranging needs. And that growth has propelled OpenAI itself into becoming one of the most-hyped companies in recent memory, even if CEO and co-founder Sam Altman’s firing and swift return raised concerns about its direction and opened the door for competitors. What does that mean for OpenAI, ChatGPT and its other ambitions? The fallout is still settling,…
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has illegally accused Solo Funds, a fintech company that enables peer-to-peer lending, of using “digital dark patterns” to deceive borrowers and advertise to consumers that it is fee-free. The company is suing the company for charging fees. “The CFPB is suing SoLo for using digital tricks to hide interest rates and fees on online loans,” CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said in a May 17 press release announcing the lawsuit. “SoLo has had repeated run-ins with state regulators, and we are trying to stop their bogus tipping system.” The CFPB also alleges that the company misrepresented…
TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 will not only feature breakthrough innovations, insightful panels, and visionary speakers, but also listen to what's top of mind for you, the audience, and the tech community. It is also about tilting. With the Disrupt 2024 Audience Choice program, your vote can make a difference and propel your favorite thought leaders to new heights. But time is running out, so let's take a closer look at why your vote matters and how you can vote before the May 24th deadline. What is the Audience Choice Program? The Audience Choice Program is a unique opportunity for participants, enthusiasts,…
Hard technology startups generate a lot of buzz, but there's a growing group of companies building digital tools that are squarely focused on making hard technology development faster, more efficient, and much closer to software development. increasing. California-based Rollup is the latest startup to emerge as part of this ensemble. Although the company is coming out of stealth on Monday, it has actually been around for three years. But despite raising a total of $5.6 million from investors including Andreessen Horowitz and Teal Capital, the team has remained very under the radar. The startup has developed a software platform that…
Google has new plans to promote Android apps outside of the Play Store. This was announced at the Google I/O 2024 developer conference held last week, where the company aims to give developers a showcase to re-engage users with new apps as well as those already installed on their devices. He talked about his plans to get them involved. Present that content in a unique way. The company already has more than 35 development partners testing the new service, including Spotify, Pinterest, Tumblr, TikTok, and Shopify. In a developer session at I/O, the company elaborated a bit more, saying the…
Jolla has officially announced the first version of its personal server-based AI assistant currently in development. The reborn startup is building a privacy-focused AI device, also known as Jolla Mind2. TechCrunch exclusively revealed him at his MWC in February. Pre-orders also began during Monday's livestreamed launch event, with the first units expected to ship in Europe later this year. Global pre-orders will begin in June and are expected to ship late this year or early next year. In the more than two months since we saw the first 3D printed prototype of Jolla's AI-in-a-box, there has been considerable buzz around…
OpenAI will remove one of the voices used in ChatGPT after a user discovered it resembled Scarlett Johansson, the company announced on Monday. The audio, called Sky, has now been suspended after OpenAI used it last week to demonstrate its new GPT-4o model. “We believe that AI voices should not intentionally imitate a famous person's distinctive voice. Skye's voice is not an imitation of Scarlett Johansson, but rather another professional actress's voice, based on her own natural speaking voice. used and copied,” the company said in a blog post. “To protect their privacy, we cannot publish the names of voice…
Consumer demand for the latest AI technologies is increasing. With the launch of OpenAI's latest flagship model, his GPT-4o, the company's mobile sales achieved the biggest jump in history, even though this model is available for free on his web. His GPT-4o, launched last Monday, can process text, audio, and video, offering real-time responsiveness and a wide range of emotive audio options, making it far more powerful than anything previously offered. It is a model. This innovation is driving more users to upgrade to OpenAI's paid subscriptions, according to new data from app intelligence company Appfigures. OpenAI said GPT-4o will…
Consolidation is on the rise in cybersecurity, with large companies in the field acquiring startups to help address an ever-expanding attack surface as companies move more activities to the cloud. In the latest development, Cyber Ark, one of his leading security companies founded in Israel, is acquiring his machine identity specialist Venafi for his $1.54 billion. CyberArk will pay $1 billion in cash and approximately $540 million in stock. Shareholders of both companies have approved the transaction, which is expected to close in the second half of 2024, the companies said. Venafi is majority-owned by Thomas Bravo and was valued…