Baidu’s $145M AI fund signals China’s push for AI self-reliance
The U.S.-China decoupling is giving rise to a divided tech landscape between the two major economies, shaping the development of the red-hot area of generative AI, which turns text into various forms of content like prose, images, and videos. China, in order to reduce dependence on the U.S. technological foundation,
Read moreAs part of AI push, Chinese tech giant Baidu is now rolling out an AI venture fund
Here comes yet more money for AI startups. Today, the Chinese search giant Baidu announced that it plans to establish a venture fund with 1 billion yuan ($145 million) to back start-ups focused on content generated by artificial intelligence applications. Reuters, which reported the news earlier, said the company will
Read moreThe elephants in the room at Computex
This year’s Computex, the first since Taiwan eased pandemic-related travel restrictions, was a celebration of the world’s computing and chip industries. But amid the exhibitions, speeches and product announcements, like Jensen Huang’s packed Nvidia keynote (just a day before the company hit a trillion dollar valuation), several topics were barely hinted
Read moreMeasurabl, an ESG platform for real estate, raises $93M
Measurabl, a startup developing a platform for environmental, social and governance (ESG) data in the real estate space, today announced that it raised $93 million in a Series D funding tranche co-led by Energy Impact Partners and Sway Ventures. The round, which Measurabl CEO Matt Ellis described as oversubscribed, brought
Read moreGetYourGuide books $194M at a $2B valuation with travel experiences back in business
The tourist industry is bouncing back after a rough couple of pandemic-stressed years, and in the case of some tourism and travel startups, its momentum is coming in at a pace that’s defying the even the current market climate. Today, GetYourGuide — a Berlin-based startup that has built a marketplace
Read moreCalifornia lawmakers and AV industry battle for future of self-driving trucks
A California bill that would require a trained human safety operator to be present any time a heavy-duty autonomous vehicle operates on public roads in the state is getting traction. The bill, first introduced in January, passed the state’s Assembly Wednesday and will now face a committee review and vote
Read moreIndian SaaS startup Capillary Technologies grabs $45M to expand globally
Capillary Technologies, an Indian SaaS startup that offers solutions for loyalty management and customer engagement, has raised $45 million in a funding round, as it plans to expand into global markets and widen its reach through mergers and acquisitions. The funding arrives at a crucial time amidst the prevailing market
Read moreLightmatter’s photonic AI hardware is ready to shine with $154M in new funding
Photonic computing startup Lightmatter is taking its big shot at the rapidly growing AI computation market with a hardware-software combo it claims will help the industry level up — and save a lot of electricity to boot. Lightmatter’s chips basically use optical flow to solve computational processes like matrix vector
Read moreAmazon settles with FTC for $25M after ‘flouting’ kids’ privacy and deletion requests
Amazon will pay the FTC a $25 million penalty as well as “overhaul its deletion practices and implement stringent privacy safeguards” to avoid charges of violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act to spruce up its AI. Amazon’s voice interface Alexa has been in use in homes across the globe
Read moreToyota adds $2.1B to its US battery factory expansion plans
Toyota will spend an additional $2.1 billion to build a new battery plant in North Carolina, the latest sign that the automaker is attempting to catch up with an industry that has embraced the move to electric vehicles. The Japanese automaker also announced Wednesday it will build its first U.S.-made
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