Author: TechBrunch
U.S. breast cancer screening program demonstrates the potential benefits of using artificial intelligence (AI) for mammography screening, with women who paid for AI-enhanced scans 21% more likely to have cancer detected claims. DeepHealth, an AI company owned by radiology giant RadNet, presented a study at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) annual meeting detailing 747,604 women who underwent mammograms over a 12-month period. . Overall cancer detection rates were 43% higher for those enrolled in the program compared to those not enrolled in the program. But some women apply (at their own expense) “U.S. Food and Drug Administration-compliant AI…
Many venture capitalists, especially startups, freely admit that 2024 will be a difficult year for raising new capital. Dimension Capital, a two-year-old venture firm, had a different experience during its second round of funding. “All the investors from Fund 1 came right back,” said Zavian Dahl (pictured center), managing partner and one of the firm's three founders. Dimension also brought in a few new investors, but ultimately “turned down the majority of LPs that expressed interest.” Less than two years after closing its first $350 million fund, Dimension announced it had raised an oversubscribed $500 million fund, exceeding its $400…
Supply chain software giant Blue Yonder said it is investigating allegations of data theft after a ransomware gang threatened to release large amounts of data stolen from the company. Blue Yonder, an Arizona-based company that provides supply chain management software to thousands of organizations including DHL, Starbucks and Walgreens, was attacked on November 21st. The company said at the time that it was a “ransomware incident,” but declined to confirm. Who was behind the attack? On Friday, the Termite ransomware group claimed responsibility for an attack on a leaked dark web site. In a post seen by TechCrunch, the criminal…
In winter 2025, UCLA's comparative literature classes will feature AI-generated textbooks, homework, and TA resources. The lesson in question is a survey of literature from the Middle Ages to the 17th century, and the material is generated by Kudu. Kudu is an “evolved” textbook platform founded by Alexander Kusenko, a professor of physics and astronomy at UCLA. According to the university, this will be the first class in the humanities department to use materials developed by Kudu. To create these materials, Professor Zrinka Stahuljak provided Kudu with class notes, PowerPoint presentations, and YouTube videos from previous versions. The course creation…
Mitchell Greene held various positions in investment banking, as an analyst at Bessemer Venture Partners, and at a hedge fund backed by Tiger Management before going independent in 2011. Mr. Green currently manages the funds of more than 700 individuals who have committed $5 billion to his firm, Lead Edge Capital. How did he convince so many people to join, including such luminaries as former Xerox CEO Anne Mulcahy, former Charles Schwab CEO David Pottruck, and former PayPal CEO Dan Schulman? Acquiring stakes in Alibaba, Bumble, and Duo Security certainly helped. But Mitchell suggested the appeal also pertains to an…
Famm, a queer-owned brand discovery platform, was created by BIPOC queer couple Kat Perez and Marianna Di Regolo to help users discover LGBTQ-owned businesses. Now, the company has launched a new social networking app that allows LGBTQ+ professionals and business owners to connect and collaborate. Now available on iOS and Android devices, Famm Connect includes common features such as feeds to share and discover posts, direct messaging, and sections to manage and cultivate connections. But what sets this organization apart is its focus on creating safe and inclusive spaces where LGBTQ+ professionals can truly participate. The release of a new…
Google's DeepMind team this week announced an AI model for weather prediction called GenCast. In a paper published in Nature, DeepMind researchers said they found that GenCast outperformed the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts' ENS, clearly the world's top operational forecasting system. Ta. The DeepMind team then provided a better explanation of the technology in a blog post. Whereas previous weather models were “deterministic, providing a single best estimate of future weather,” GenCast is “composed of an ensemble of more than 50 predictions, each of which is likely to occur.” It represents weather trajectories and creates “complex probability distributions…
X, the Elon Musk-owned social network formerly known as Twitter, has added a new image generator to its Grok assistant. So this new @grok An image generation feature called Aurora just shipped on Saturday, what do you think? Looks like they've been trained by them. There are no ratings or details. Just go ahead and use this. Seems to be focused on photorealism https://t.co/oR2Uvb96vV — Alex Volkov (Thursday/AI) (@altryne) December 7, 2024 Similar to the first image generator, X, added to Grok in October, this image generator, called Aurora, appears to have few limitations. Accessible through the X mobile app…
Influential accelerator Y Combinator made headlines in Africa in 2020 when it shed light on the African market and started hosting local startups in the region. This movement was huge. In this nascent market, startups especially rely on programs like this to find their footing and connect with investors, and YC has become the platinum standard in that process. Fast forward to today, however, and that attention is starting to look a little fickle. Lately, YC has been quietly reducing its focus on market development as it pursues big problems in areas such as manufacturing, defense, and climate. But some…
The next generation of New York City investors are already making their mark in the Big Apple. They come from big-name venture firms like Female Founders Fund and Lerer Hippeau and smaller ones like Chai Ventures. They work in areas like growth, consumer, and health. They canoe, hike, and play pickleball on the weekends. We chatted with some of the young investors — think, under 30 — who are helping to shape the future of venture capitalism in New York City. Here’s who is on the list so far. (This list will be updated periodically.) Layla Alexander — Female Founders…