Andy Rubin, creator of Android and a former Google executive, has launched a new startup focused on humanoid robots, said a person with direct knowledge of the venture. His venture is the latest addition to the red-hot and frothy humanoid space, crowded with companies ranging from Tesla to startups such as Figure AI. Rubin’s startup, Genki Robotics, is based in Tokyo, where he is currently living, according to the person.... Read more ›
69
Today I want to start with the words of Jordyn Gilbert, an 18-year-old in Agoura Hills, Calif.: “For teenage girls, it is one of the most helpful things—but also, honestly, like, really toxic.” Gilbert was talking about Snapchat+, Snap’s subscription product, which recently crossed 7 million subscribers. For $3.99 a month, Snapchat+ offers subscribers a cornucopia of features, including the ability to customize the app, access additional AI tools—and find... Read more ›
9
Last month, OpenAI board director Adam D’Angelo called Databricks CEO Ali Ghodsi to see if he might consider joining OpenAI’s board, according to a person familiar with the situation. That kind of request might not seem unusual—except that Ghodsi has positioned Databricks as a kind of anti-OpenAI through its business of helping companies develop AI applications instead of relying on OpenAI’s technology. Ordinarily, companies don’t invite representatives of quasi rivals... Read more ›
3
Last week, OpenAI quietly tweaked the wording in its usage policies. That seemingly simple action could have massive consequences.Most notably, OpenAI removed a previous ban on using its large language models for any military or warfare-related applications. Instead of the ban, the policies now say that OpenAI products can’t be used to “harm yourself or others,” including through weapons development. (This change mostly went unnoticed until The Intercept uncovered it... Read more ›
12
Even as Google makes a major round of staff cuts, it is tapping a special pool of stock compensation to retain its top artificial intelligence researchers as rival OpenAI lures them with multimillion-dollar pay packages. Select researchers at Google’s DeepMind unit, which is at the center of its most important initiatives, have received large grants of restricted stock worth up to millions of dollars per person, according to people with... Read more ›
0
In recent weeks, two Chinese automakers have released sodium-ion–powered electric vehicles that eliminate lithium, the metal that has powered the EV revolution, a head-spinning signal of a new age in the industry. Read more ›
8
Hi, welcome to your Weekend.When it comes to the way people under the age of 25 use their phones, I try to have what Zen Buddhists and certain tech CEOs call a beginner’s mindset. For example, not too long ago I learned that my daughter shares her location through her phone with two dozen college friends and that they all do the same with her. It’s a little hard to... Read more ›
2
Dean Phillips thinks too much government tech policy dwells on the negative. In an interview, the Minnesota congressman—who is mounting a long-shot bid to challenge Joe Biden for the Democratic presidential nomination—said regulations need to prevent “nefarious use” of artificial intelligence, but he’s equally interested in encouraging ways to use AI to improve healthcare outcomes and other positive applications. Ditto for crypto, which he believes can help reduce costs for... Read more ›
0
If you want to get under Bill Ackman’s skin right now—without mentioning Harvard University or Business Insider—ask him about his Netflix bet of 2022. The hedge fund manager’s decision in late January of that year to jump into Netflix’s stock, just as it was getting pummeled by investors unhappy with its growth slowdown, would prove to be a multilevel disaster. Not only did Ackman fund the roughly $1.1 billion purchase... Read more ›
0
Carta co-founder Henry Ward for years heard venture capitalists tell him the market for software that manages startups’ stock issuances was too small. But Ward proved the skeptics wrong. Sales of Carta’s subscription software tripled in two years to $150 million in 2021, emboldening Ward to launch his long-held vision that year: a stock exchange for startups, or what Ward called the “Nasdaq for private markets.” Enthused by the exchange’s... Read more ›
0
To some companies, renting storage space or other services from a cloud provider can feel like they’ve entered a roach motel: It’s easy to get in but hard to leave. Google on Thursday took a baby step toward changing that perception by eliminating fees it charges cloud customers that want to switch entirely to a rival cloud service or to their own data centers. Google will still charge customers who... Read more ›
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There are few topics as polarizing in tech and media today as the question of whether AI companies should compensate media professionals for training their models on copyrighted work. On this fight, the gang of More or Less mostly agree—but with some interesting nuances. That and which startups will and won't make it in 2024 on this week's podcast. Hope you enjoy. Apple Spotify YouTube Read more ›
0
We published our latest quarterly and annual funding data from our Creator Economy Database this week. The upshot: Funding for creator startups is down, unless of course, the business has an artificial intelligence angle. In total, the 525 creator-centric startups in our database have raised more than $13.8 billion since 2021. As you would expect, the money is not evenly divided: The database includes 32 companies that have raised $100... Read more ›
0
As a home-schooled teenager in Agoura Hills, Calif., Jordyn Gilbert’s social life revolves around Snapchat. The app—known for the disappearing photos and videos called Snaps that its users share with others—is the default mode of communication for Gilbert and her friends. She estimates she has 70 Snapchat “streaks” at the moment—which means she sends Snaps to and receives Snaps from at least 70 other people a day. Snap, the company... Read more ›
2
Is 2024 going to be the year investors change their minds about Google?For the last 12 months, most of them have preferred Meta Platforms, Amazon and Microsoft—although Google’s stock growth did outpace the market.Part of what drove that preference was the view among leading Silicon Valley investors, notably Altimeter Capital’s Brad Gerstner, that Google’s best days of monopoly profits are behind it. OpenAI, Anthropic and others are building new ways... Read more ›
0
Fintech startups, the technology services trying to disrupt the antiquated financial services industry, raised over $100 billion in venture capital funding in 2021, a record for the sector, according to PitchBook. That party is long over. And now many of the venture capitalists that led those deals are also moving on.Vetamer Capital Management, an investment firm that focused on fintech, is shutting down its hedge fund, Cory reported this week.... Read more ›
9
Instagram staffers were caught off guard this week by a round of job cuts that effectively eliminated a layer of management at Instagram, in line with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s “efficiency” drive. The cuts reportedly affected about 60 technical program managers—of thousands of Instagram employees—who have two months to try to find another job at the company.Staff Wednesday also learned about a reorganization of Instagram product teams. As part of... Read more ›
39
HongShan, a prominent Chinese venture capital firm that recently separated from Sequoia Capital, has invested in a startup that competes with U.S. artificial intelligence chip giant Nvidia in the Chinese market, according to three people with knowledge of the matter. It’s the latest of several investments HongShan has made in domestic AI chip startups. HongShan’s previously unreported investment in Shanghai-based Iluvatar CoreX, which investors earlier valued at more than $1... Read more ›
0
After a two-month delay, OpenAI’s long-awaited chatbot store is finally here.As I previously reported would happen, the model developer on Wednesday opened its GPT app store, which allows software developers to distribute customized OpenAI-powered apps for everything from lesson planning for middle school teachers to researching academic papers to practicing new languages.Because the apps are powered by ChatGPT, they can understand users’ commands and questions in a conversational way and... Read more ›
47
It’s a paradox: Cyberattacks against governments, companies and individuals are escalating dramatically, lifting cybersecurity spending to a record. And yet there are so many cybersecurity startups competing with each other—and with bigger tech companies such as Microsoft and Palo Alto Networks—that a shakeout in the sector is seen as inevitable. At the very least, some startups will have to accept a big cut to their valuation if they want to... Read more ›
0
Freyr Battery, struggling to manufacture its next-generation battery, hopes to right itself by temporarily producing and selling a different battery technology, and obtaining federal subsidies under the Inflation Reduction Act to make it in Georgia. But election-year politics cloud the plan’s future, with Republican front-runner Donald Trump and other party members vowing to kill or severely undermine the IRA if they come to power. Read more ›
0
Most popular sources
Tom's Hardware
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22% 15 |
Business Insider
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18% 0 |
TechRadar
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11% 9 |
Android Authority
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8% 8 |
Engadget
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7% 2 |
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18.11.2025 19:16
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