Author: TechBrunch
This month, cybersecurity company Thinkst celebrates its 10th anniversary since the launch of Canary, a layered product. The company debuted Canary after seeing companies spend millions of dollars on cybersecurity products, but it took more than a few months to realize they had been breached. Thinkst believed that it could create digital tripwire products that could catch hackers with ACT. Over the past decade, the company has grown to around 40 employees, primarily developers and engineers. They have not received external funds. And this year, we're on track to earn a healthy $20 million profit on almost double the annual…
The CEO said at the company's annual shareholders meeting on Wednesday, as CNBC first reported, that Meta AI has 1 billion active users on the app. The new milestone doubles the 505 million active users that Meta AI returned in September 2024. “The focus this year is to develop experience and make meta-AI the key individual AI with a focus on personalization, voice conversation and entertainment,” says Zuckerberg. He went on to state that Meta's plan is to create a business around it before continuing to build AI assistants. As assistants upgrade over time, Zuckerberg said they would “have the…
We are on our final stretch! TechCrunch Session: AI kicks off in just 7 days. Mainstage and breakout sessions include AI leaders such as Google Cloud, Anthropic, Openai, and Twelve Labs. It's your moment to connect, learn and network at high speed. Now is the time to move. Lock your tickets to save $300 and get an extra 50% off for guests. These deals disappear the moment UC Berkeley's Zerabach Hall opens on June 5th. Don't wait. This is the AI event of the season. Sign up now before prices surge! Why you can't miss a TC session: AI Whether…
Geal Capital Partners announced the end of its second fund on Wednesday, raising $82 million. The fund's limited partners include Citi Impact Fund, M&T Bank, Wells Fargo and Spellman College. Invest in at least 25 early stage companies, write check sizes ranging from $1 million to $2.3 million, with 50% of the fund being reserved for subsequent investments. Talking to TechCrunch, Fund II said Fund II focused on financial technology, healthcare and future work, as did other funds. It has already invested in at least five companies, including Mattal Health Platform Seven Sterling and FinTech Debbie. Qadree described Fund II's…
As Kevin Malone of “The Office” once said, “Why are you wasting your time and not doing tricks, why do you say so many words?” For Julia Lestage and Lisa Le, creators of a new dating app called LoveJack, finding Love Online doesn't have to feel like filling out a stack of documents. All you need is a few words carefully selected to cause a connection. The LoveJack profile looks like any other blind dating app, but there's a twist. Instead of a blurry or hidden profile, the user will see five words selected by a potential match. When the…
Sahil Lavingia has published a diary that talks about her time as a member of the workforce at Elon Musk's Doge. It's a short read – Lavingia's Doge Stint lasted just 55 days, but offers new details of a temporary government organisation formed by President Trump's executive order. Lavingia is a well-known name in Silicon Valley, from her early days as Pinterest's employees to her current gig as the founder of Gumroad, a platform where creators can sell products. He is also a famous species and angel investor. He joined Doge in mid-March as a software engineer for the Veterans…
Horizon3.AI is a cybersecurity startup that provides tools such as autonomous penetration testing, seeking to raise $100 million in a new funding round, shutting down at least $73 million. According to two people familiar with the deal, the NEA led the round. One said the startup is believed to be valued at over $750 million, but TechCrunch couldn't confirm whether the rating was prior or post-money. Another added that he believes the company has sold (or sells) $100 million, generating about $30 million in annual revenue. Neither Horizon nor Nea responded to TechCrunch's request for comment. The deal marks Horizon3.AI,…
Fashion retail giant Victoria's secrets say it is tackling a “security incident” as its website and online orders face continuing confusion. Victoria's Secret posted a brief statement on its website on Wednesday. The company's suspension began Monday after users reported they were unable to access Victoria's secret website. “We quickly enacted response protocols. Third-party experts were involved and defeated the website and some store services as precautions,” a secret spokesman for Victoria said in response to TechCrunch's enquiries. The spokesman did not provide his name or explain the nature of the cybersecurity incident. “We strive to restore operations quickly and…
GameStop announced on Wednesday it had purchased 4,710 Bitcoins. This is worth more than $500 million at the time of purchase. Video game retail chains have struggled to relate to an era when digital game purchases are becoming more and more popular. Additionally, the company has made a new kind of infamous name when it became the center of the short aperture in 2021. GameStop's inventory is bulging a bit from its pre-interference location on Reddit Community R/Wallstreetbets, but with years away from the unpredictable moments of the spotlight, GameStop reports an annual decline in net sales. To support the…
Odyssey, a startup founded by autonomous driving pioneers Oliver Cameron and Jeff Hawk, has developed an AI model that allows users to “interact” with streaming videos. Available on the web in the “Initial Demo”, this model generates and streams video frames every 40 ms. Through basic controls, viewers can explore areas within the video, just like 3D rendered video games. “When we consider the current state of the world, its next action, the history of nations and actions, the model tries to predict the next state of the world,” explains Odyssey in a blog post. “Powering this is a new…