Author: TechBrunch
WWelcome to TechCrunch Exchange, a weekly newsletter about startups and markets. Inspired by his daily TechCrunch+ column from which it takes its name. Want it delivered to your inbox every Saturday? Sign up here. This week some Thoughts on the aesthetics of AI, the uninsured problem, and how to market your biotech startup to non-experts. — anna It's too good to be true Most tools that claim to detect AI-generated text fail spectacularly, my colleague Kyle Wiggers reported. That's contradictory. I'm just a human, but many of the suggestions written by AI still don't pass the sniff test. I find…
When HPE announced This came as a bit of a shock after the company had planned to acquire Juniper Networks for $14 billion in cash earlier this month. Indeed, HP had already acquired Aruba in 2015 for about $3 billion. Acquiring another network company would likely just add another layer to its business. Of course, complications always arise when integrating one large organization into another. HP hasn't had the best record of being a smooth operator in this regard over the years. But surprisingly, neither company positioned this conscious combination as pure network play. In fact, Juniper CEO Rami Rahim…
The dismissal of an engineer is Data shows it's accelerating. The surge in layoffs comes after human capital reductions slowed significantly in the second half of 2023, with us writing that “technical layoffs are largely a thing of the past.” At the time, the number of reported layoffs had been on the decline for months, reaching a low so low that it seemed like no big deal. How has the situation changed? At the time, we saw technology concerns being alleviated to some extent by rising valuations for tech companies, making large-scale layoffs seem to have lost their luster compared…
Allianz Direct, Digital First The insurance giant's German subsidiary has acquired the French home insurance business of struggling insurance technology company Luco for 4.3 million euros (about $4.65 million). This was both expected and unexpected. The companies had hoped to greenlight the deal in November. But that didn't happen, and Luko's parent company was instead subject to judicial reorganization, a process that meant it needed to quickly find a buyer that met the court's demands. For a while now, many options are back on the table, including some not-so-great ones, until this week. Some kind of happy ending? Not completely.…
Solana Labs co-founder hints at possibility of third mobile device Jacqueline Melinek 2 weeks Last month, Solana Mobile's flagship Web3 smartphone “Saga'' is sold out. Last week, the Solana Labs subsidiary launched his second phone, and in less than a week he had more than 40,000 pre-orders. However, the company's momentum is not slowing down anytime soon. “After Saga sold out, we felt there was an opportunity and we felt the market timing was right,” Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder of Solana Labs, said on TechCrunch's “Chain Reaction” podcast. “timing [for the new phone] It worked in that moment. ” And if…
Welcome to TechCrunch Crypto, formerly known as Chain Reaction. Get a roundup of TechCrunch's biggest and most important crypto articles delivered to your inbox every Thursday at 12pm PT. Subscribe here. Hello. Welcome to the second edition of the new and improved TechCrunch Crypto newsletter. As mentioned above, we plan to add some fresh regular segments and features in addition to our regularly scheduled news. If you like what you see (or don't like), let us know at jacquelyn@techcrunch.com. Thankfully, that wasn't the case with the cryptocurrency world. too much This week has been chaotic, but let's take a look…
CEO says next version will resemble 'Apple products' Jacqueline Melinek 2 weeks It's been a while More than 180 days after Worldcoin went public, its futuristic-looking Orb device is undergoing upgrades, Tools for Humanity CEO and co-founder Alex Blania exclusively tells TechCrunch. “There's a new orb coming out, and the next iteration will be completely different,” Branier said during a fireside chat at Wednesday's StrictlyVC event. He joined the company about four years ago and said the initial design of the Orb predated his arrival. The next Orb will be released in the first half of this year and will…
Fintech is It's been a while since business has been in decline, and with companies like Brex once again cutting jobs to keep costs down, it's no wonder the market for financial technology products is struggling. . No, it's not. Brex may not have had a great quarter, but there's enough positive news from the fintech world to offset any negativity across the sector. Bilt Rewards’ new large round is a great example of the other side of the coin. The compensation-focused startup just raised nine-figure funding, significantly surpassing its unicorn valuation. Exchange explores startups, markets, and money. Read it…
Maybe As expected, many students who graduate with a PhD in an AI-related field end up joining an AI company, whether it's a startup or a big tech giant. According to Stanford University's 2021 Artificial Intelligence Quotient Report, the number of new AI PhD graduates entering the AI industry in North America increased from 44.4% in 2010 to approximately 48% in 2019. In contrast, the proportion of new AI PhDs entering academia fell from 42.1% in 2010 to 23.7% in 2019. Private industry's willingness to pay top dollar for AI talent may be a factor. Job openings at the biggest…
There is an expectation that Modern AI technologies will become entrenched in every part of our lives due to the pandemic. Fittingly, startups and investors are working overtime to create and fund new technology companies to develop or deploy new AI technologies. Big rounds often make headlines, and startups are building their businesses at breakneck speed to stay ahead of both technological advances and the biggest tech companies with their own AI strategies. But despite all this enthusiasm, there are some minor details worth noting. That said, the economics for AI startups are often worse than for most software startups.…