Author: TechBrunch

Welcome to Startups Weekly – Summary every week everything you need to miss from the startup world. Want to put it in your inbox every Friday? Sign up here. It is rare to report on 11-digit startup acquisitions, not to mention multiple high-value transactions in a week. And there are more subtle signs than it looks surprisingly bright in the startup land. The most interesting startup story of the week Image credits: Kimberly White / Getty Images / Flickr (Opens in new window) CC by 2.0 (Opens in new window) License. This week has brought in several acquisitions, new startups…

Wayve co-founder and CEO Alex Kendall sees his commitment to bringing the technology of self-driving car startups to the market. This means that if Wayve is stuck on a strategy to ensure automated driving software, it can be agnostic to hardware and applied to advanced driver assistance systems, Robotaxis, and even robotics. The strategies Kendall laid out during NVIDIA's GTC meetings begin with an end-to-end, data-driven learning approach. This means that what the system “sees” through various sensors (such as cameras) translates directly into how it drives (such as braking or turning left). Furthermore, it means that the system does…

In recent years, Meta has introduced many AI features and features to its apps, experimenting with characters generated in full AI with unique profiles and personalities before shaking them after being deemed creepy and unnecessary. In yet another move that may not be properly received among users, Meta wants to use AI to encourage interactions between friends by helping their friends write comments on Instagram. X user Jonah Manzano frequently tested new social media features and found the “Write with Meta AI” prompt on Instagram. According to a video posted by Manzano, users with access to the test feature will…

Norwegian Robotics Startup 1X will begin early testing of the humanoid robot Neo Gamma at “hundreds to thousands” homes by the end of 2025, according to the company's CEO BerntBørnich. “Neo Gamma will be in the house this year,” Børnich told TechCrunch in an interview at NVIDIA GTC 2025. In recent months, the hype around humanoid robots in the home has reached new heights. Figure, a Bay Area-based competitor with an active social media presence, announced in February that it will begin home testing of humanoid robots in 2025. A few weeks later, Bloomberg reported that he was speaking on…

It was on, then, and then, and now it's on again – and this time for more money. Yes, the Equity Podcast delves into the acquisition of Google's $32 billion cloud security startup Wiz. There was a lot to unpack: why, how, and what it means. And of course there was the “who wins” part. Sequoia will win a VC Award for total payments. But another Israeli Plucky VC was called CyberStarts. Find out how much you can and find out other insights from the crew and break up fees if the deal fails. Listen and listen to the entire…

Operation Zero, a company that only sells Zero Days to the Russian government and local Russian companies, announced on Thursday it was looking for an exploit for popular messaging app Telegram, and is willing to offer up to $4 million. Exploit Broker offers up to $500,000 for “one-click” Remote Code Execution (RCE) Exploit. For Zero Click RCE Exploits, up to $1.5 million. And up to $4 million for a “complete chain” exploit. It probably refers to a set of bugs that allow hackers to access the target telegram and access the entire operating system or device. Zero-day companies like Operation…

On Thursday, a federal judge issued an order blocking Elon Musk's government's efficiency, blocking access to the Social Security Agency (SSA) system that stores the personal information of millions of Americans. In Thursday's verdict, Maryland's US District Judge Ellen Hollander accused Doge of “essentially engaged in fishing expeditions” seeking fraud based on “more than doubt.” Hollander said he “has never specified or made clear” why Doge should access “the personal and private data of millions of Americans.” Access per Hollander violates several federal privacy laws, and the order warns of cybersecurity risks. According to the filing, Doge had 10 staff…

The North Korean government is reportedly establishing a new hacking group within the Intelligence Reporting Agency's General Reconnaissance Bureau (RGB). Daily NK, a news outlet focusing on North Korea, reported last week that a new hacking unit called Research Centre 227 will focus on research to develop “offensive hacking techniques and programs” citing sources within the administration. Sources said the Research Center 227 will work to investigate cybersecurity systems and computer networks in the western region, strengthen the administration's ability to steal digital assets, develop AI-based technologies for information theft, and respond to information from North Korea's overseas hacking units.…

Germany's Munich RE has signed a decisive agreement to acquire digital insurance company Next Insurance for $2.6 billion, the company announced Thursday. Founded in 2016, Next Insurance, based in Palo Alto, focuses on providing insurance to small and medium-sized businesses. It was last valued at $2.5 billion when it raised $265 million in late 2023. The following insurance supporters include Group 11, Allstate, Allianz X, Battery Ventures, Capital G, Redpoint Ventures, Nationwide, Amex Ventures, Ribbit Capital and others. According to CrunchBase, the company has raised nearly $1.2 billion in its lifetime. Like many fintechs, the next insurance rating has been…

Google is rolling out a new Gmail update designed to help you find the email you're looking for faster. On Thursday, the company announced that it will use AI to consider factors such as remency, most clicked emails, and frequent contacts when surfing emails based on search queries. Until now, Gmail would simply display chronological emails based on keywords. “This update will make the email you're looking for much more likely to be at the top of your search results. It will save you valuable time and help you find important information more easily,” he wrote in a blog post.…