Author: TechBrunch

To shine a much-deserved and long-overdue spotlight on women researchers and others focused on AI, TechCrunch has been publishing a series of interviews highlighting notable women who have contributed to the AI ​​revolution. As the AI ​​boom continues, we'll be publishing these stories throughout the year to shine a spotlight on important research that often goes unrecognized. Find more profiles here. Chinasa T. Okoro is a Fellow in the Governance Studies Program at the Brookings Institution's Center for Technology Innovation. Previously, she served on the Ethics and Social Impact Committee that helped develop Nigeria's National Artificial Intelligence Strategy and has…

Another week has passed, and another incredible infusion of capital and valuation has come out of the AI ​​space. AI language translation startup DeepL raised $300 million at a $2 billion valuation. Scale AI, a data labeling platform for machine learning models, secured $1 billion at a nearly doubled valuation to $13.8 billion. And H, a French startup working on its own cutting-edge models, raised a staggering $220 million seed round at an undisclosed valuation (though H is definitely comfortably in unicorn territory). All the usual institutional investors are on board, including Accel, Index and Y Combinator (YC), and these…

Harlem Capital has raised $150 million in funding, according to documents filed with the SEC. If the new fund, the firm's third, goes through, it will be its largest to date: Harlem Capital oversubscribed and raised $134 million in 2021. That's a big increase over the $40 million the firm raised in its first fund in 2019. The firm was founded in 2015 with the goal of backing diverse founders. The second fund focuses on early-stage post-product companies across all sectors, with a particular focus on consumer and enterprise technology. According to Pitchbook, the firm currently has $174 million in…

US pharmaceutical manufacturer Sencora has announced that it is notifying affected individuals of a cyberattack and data breach earlier this year, which resulted in the theft of personal information and highly sensitive medical information. In a letter sent to affected individuals this week, Sencora said the data from its systems included patients' names, addresses and dates of birth, as well as information about medical tests and medications. The pharmaceutical giant said it initially obtained the patient data through partnerships with other pharmaceutical companies “in connection with patient assistance programs,” including patients from companies including AbbVie, Acadia, Bayer, Novartis and Regeneron.…

Attention tech enthusiasts and startup supporters: the final countdown has begun. Today is the last day to vote for the TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 Audience Choice program. Voting closes tonight at 11:59 PM PST. This is your last chance to have your voice heard in helping select the most promising startups to take the stage at Disrupt this year. Why your vote matters TechCrunch Disrupt is known for showcasing the best and brightest in the startup ecosystem. The Audience Choice program adds an exciting dimension by allowing the community to have a direct role in shaping the event. Your vote will…

Meredith Whittaker has had it with the “frat house” contingent of the tech industry. I sat down with the President of Signal at VivaTech in Paris to go over the wide range of serious, grown-up issues society is facing, from disinformation, to who controls AI, to the encroaching surveillance state. In the course of our conversation, we delved into Signal’s recent war of words with Elon Musk, Telegram’s Pavel Durov, and — given its controversial clash with Scarlett Johanson — Whittaker’s candid thoughts about the leadership at OpenAI, which she likened to “dorm room high-jinks.” Among other things, Whittaker is…

Google has invested around $350 million in Flipkart, becoming the latest high-profile company to back the Walmart-owned Indian e-commerce startup. The Bengaluru-based startup said in a brief statement on Friday that the Android maker will also provide cloud services to Flipkart as part of the deal. The Google investment is part of a roughly $1 billion funding round that Flipkart is looking to launch in 2023. The round was led by Walmart, which invested $600 million late last year. (Microsoft is also an investor in Flipkart.) Valued at $36 billion with the new investment, Flipkart leads India's e-commerce market, serving…

The location-focused company, which merged with fellow location-focused company Foursquare in 2020, is set to join a growing list of companies shedding employees, one of their largest cost centers, in 2024. According to an email sent to employees on Thursday afternoon by current CEO Gary Little and viewed by TechCrunch, the company laid off 105 employees in order to “streamline” operations and “put the company on a more sustainable financial footing.” Affected employees had their access to the system removed immediately upon receiving a notification email from Foursquare. Little did not respond to a request for comment by the time…

“Scissor running is an aerobic exercise that gets your heart rate up and requires focus and attention,” says Google's new AI search feature. “It's also said to improve pores and build strength.” Google's AI feature got this answer from a website called Little Old Lady Comedy, which, as the name suggests, is a comedy blog. But the gaffe is so ridiculous that it's circulating on social media, along with a rundown of Google's other obviously flawed AI. In effect, regular users are red teaming these products on social media. In the cybersecurity space, some companies hire “red teams,” or ethical…

Pediatric speech-language-hearing pathologist Leanne Shered has long faced challenges in implementing caregiver-led therapy in traditional care settings. Research shows that caregiver-led speech therapy, which trains patients' caregivers in skill-building therapy techniques to use at home, can be highly effective, but Shered has observed in his clinical practice that therapists have limited access to caregivers and face significant educational and technical obstacles. At the start of the pandemic in 2020, Shered saw an opportunity to test a new, technology-first model of speech therapy care that would put caregivers “at the center of care,” in Shered's words. She teamed up with Nick…