Author: TechBrunch

According to various analysts, the global translation services market is worth around $40 billion. Within that market, enterprise services hold a large share. For consumers, apps like Google Translate and Apple Translate are mainstream, but they don't support calls or voice messages. Y Combinator-backed EzDubs hopes to solve this person-to-person translation problem with an app that supports translation of calls, voice messages, and texts in over 30 languages. The startup was founded in 2023 by Padmanabhan Krishnamurthy, Amrutavarsh Kinagi, and Kareem Nassar. Krishnamurthy and Kinagi met during their university days in Hong Kong. During that time, they built a project…

Spotify's annual Wrapped feature, which provides listeners with a fun, personalized overview of their listening habits, has gained immense popularity over the years. As a result, many companies are seizing the opportunity to create similar year-in-review experiences that provide users with a summary of their habits, preferences, and interactions over the past year. Here are some platforms and websites that mimic the Spotify Wrapped concept. amazon music Amazon Music has a new Spotify Wrapped knockoff this year called “2024 Delivered,” which provides users with an overview of their listening statistics, including top artists, songs, and even podcasts. Notably, the platform…

If startup funding rounds are any indication, generative AI is well-adopted in science. That's natural. Research and development involves a lot of trial and error, and any tool that can speed up the process for researchers is sure to come in handy. The latest is Albert Invent, which offers an AI platform trained on data from past chemical experiments, allowing chemists to interrogate molecular-level data when formulating chemicals. The company's founders previously ran a 3D printing company and decided to use their materials science knowledge to train AI on chemical processes. The startup has now secured a $22.5 million Series…

Recently, there has been an increased focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the fintech world, and the growth of Swedish startups is one example of this. Mynt, which built an AI-based platform for corporate card and spend management for small and medium-sized businesses, has raised €22 million ( Completed a $23 million round. . London-based investment firm Vor Capital, which previously backed Mynt, is leading the round, with other previous backers CNI and Incore also participating. Mynt has currently raised approximately €50 million, and our understanding is that this funding could value it at around €200 million ($210…

Peak XV and Hongshan, the Indo-Chinese investment firms that spun off from giant Sequoia last year, have pledged $10 million to KAST, a dollar-denominated neobank-like platform that allows customers to hold and spend stablecoins through traditional payment methods. Co-led the seed investment. . Kast also issues credit cards that work with standard merchant networks, allowing users to use their stablecoin holdings even with merchants that do not support cryptocurrency transactions. The startup is targeting emerging markets where access to the US dollar is limited and remittance costs are high. Although KAST does not operate in India or China due to…

This story has been updated throughout with more details as the story has developed. We will continue to do so as the case and dispute are ongoing. The world of WordPress, one of the most popular technologies for creating and hosting websites, is going through a very heated controversy. The core issue is the fight between WordPress founder and Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg and WP Engine, which hosts websites built on WordPress. WordPress technology is open source and free, and it powers a huge chunk of the internet — around 40% of websites. Websites can host their own WordPress instance…

Generative AI has many well-documented abuses, from fabricating academic papers to copying artists. And now it appears to be manifesting itself in state influence operations. According to a recent report by Massachusetts-based threat intelligence firm Recorded Future, one recent campaign was powered by a commercial AI voice generation product, including technology published by high-profile startup Eleven Labs. is extremely high.” The report describes a Russia-aligned campaign called “Operation Undercut” aimed at undermining support for Ukraine in Europe, using AI-generated voiceovers in fake or misleading “news” videos. Used prominently. These videos were aimed at a European audience and covered themes such…

Joby Aviation, an electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft startup, has launched a public offering to sell up to $300 million in common stock, according to a regulatory filing. Joby initially offered $200 million in October, but the offer was increased by $100 million after amendments to its prospectus. Joby said the proceeds from the procurement, along with existing cash, will be used to support certification and manufacturing efforts, preparation for commercial launch in 2025, and general working capital. The eVTOL company added that it intends to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase an additional $30 million worth…

YouTube announced Tuesday that its automatic dubbing feature, which allows creators to generate translated audio tracks for their videos, will be rolled out to hundreds of thousands more channels. YouTube first introduced an AI-powered auto-dubbing tool at Vidcon last year, but the tool was only tested with a limited group of creators. This tool can help make content on the platform more accessible and understandable to people around the world. The auto-dubbing feature is now available for channels that focus on informational content, such as videos that teach viewers how to cook or sew. We plan to expand it to…

The future of audiobooks and the impact of AI on the publishing industry was a talking point for HarperCollins, whose CEO Brian Murray spoke at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference on Tuesday. During the event, the executive praised Spotify's entry into the audiobook market and detailed its future growth plans in this space. He also touched on how AI technology could threaten and harm publishers in the future. Notably, Murray said audiobooks continue to outpace e-books in terms of total revenue, making up for the decline due to slower e-book sales. Regarding AI, the CEO declined to discuss…