Author: TechBrunch
When it comes to greenhouse gases, people tend to focus on CO2, which is responsible for most of global warming. However, according to the IEA, it is methane that is causing about 30% of climate change. This is a big enough threat that this year the U.S. government plans to fine polluters $900 for every ton they release. By 2026, it will be $1,500 per ton. Methane, the main component of natural gas, is a powerful greenhouse gas that causes 83 times more global warming than one molecule of carbon dioxide. Leakage is one of the main sources from both…
The tech-wide reckoning that began in 2022 and ran throughout into 2023 has continued into this year. And while 2024’s losses are not at that scale, they’re still significant, driven by big names like Pixar, Google, Microsoft, Mozilla and TikTok. It remains to be seen if this year’s layoff trends follow last year’s, in which layoffs slowed down in the summer, before cuts began ramping up yet again toward the winter. Momentum for a tech sector rebound remains slow to build, outside of bright spots within artificial intelligence and adjacent companies, resulting in tech companies continuing to cut back on…
Content delivery networks (CDNs) have changed. These were platforms for efficiently distributing static files and little else. But these days, virtually all CDN services add things like edge computing services and security tools on top of their core delivery network. As a result, it has become more difficult for users to switch between CDNs and choose the fastest or most cost-effective option depending on where they serve. IO River, which launched from stealth today and announced a $5.4 million seed funding round led by S Capital, is building a new CDN to simplify switching between CDNs without being limited to…
Downshifting to a ready-to-go gear can save you as much as $1,000. how? Act decisively and purchase your pass to TechCrunch Disrupt by Friday, March 15th at 11:59pm PT. There are so many great ways to utilize your Extra Grand. I'm sure you can too. In October, more than 10,000 of the brightest minds from the global startup community will attend Disrupt, the first technology startup conference in San Francisco. Explore the present and future of technology under a very large roof. Save $1,000 on TC Disrupt passes past the deadline Once again towards the back. Save $1,000 when you…
Sellers on Etsy's clothing resale app Depop are facing payment delays. Over the past few months, more and more sellers have reported delayed payment dates multiple times, but have received little response from Depop's support team. Depop, which Etsy acquired for $1.6 billion in 2021, is like an Instagram for pawning used items. Sellers can post photos of the clothes and accessories they want to sell, and buyers can see hashtags and algorithmic recommendations. The buyer makes an offer and, if accepted by the seller, payment is made two days after delivery, minus Depop's share. A streetwear seller named @fentoozler791…
Although Britain has left the European Union, semiconductor development has emerged as one area in which it would like to partner to improve economies of scale and bring in much-needed funding. The Government today announced that it will join the EU's Chip Joint Venture as a 'participating country', giving UK organizations access to €1.3 billion (approximately $1.4 billion) in funding for semiconductor research and development. Britain itself announced, as part of this, that it would provide a more modest £35 million ($44 million) in funding for British efforts over the next few years. The government announced on Wednesday that an…
Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello. Welcome to Equity, the startup business podcast. Uncover the numbers and nuances behind the headlines. This is Wednesday's episode, where we dig into important startup news to stay on top of what founders and venture capitalists are working on. In today's podcast, we learned: For episode transcripts and more, visit Equity's Simplecast website. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all casts as stocks drop every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 7 a.m. PT. TechCrunch also has some great shows about cryptocurrencies, interviews with founders, and more. Source link
AI models that play games go back decades, but they are usually specialized in one game and always play to win. Google Deepmind researchers have a different goal with their latest work. It's a model that has learned to play multiple 3D games like humans, but it's also a model that understands verbal instructions and does its best to act accordingly. Of course, there are “AI” or computer characters that can do this kind of thing, but they are more like NPCs that can be controlled indirectly using game functions, i.e. formal in-game commands. Masu. Deepmind's SIMA (Scalable Commandable Multi-World…
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,…
For every 1,000 kilograms of cement produced worldwide, 600 kilograms of carbon dioxide are released into the atmosphere. If you don't think that's a lot, consider that the world produced about 4.2 billion tons of cement last year. This is large enough to account for about 8% of all carbon pollution. This is a big question, and one that weighed heavily on Gurinder Nagra's mind when he was a graduate student at Stanford University. That wasn't the focus of his PhD – it's carbon capture and storage – but he couldn't stop thinking about it. He told TechCrunch that of…