Large funds are too invested in the energy transition to turn back now
The recent U.S. election might appear bad for climate tech, but the energy transition has enough financial momentum that experts aren’t expecting investment trends to change anytime soon. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Read moreFormer Raya, Dispo exec has a new fund for the biggest out-of-favor tech: consumer
The idea of one day becoming a venture capitalist always loomed in the back of TJ Taylor's mind. After all, he had an extensive tech background. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Read moreLed by a founder who sold a video startup to Apple, Panjaya uses deepfake techniques to bite into video dubbing
There’s a big opportunity for generative AI in the world of translation, and a startup called Panjaya is taking the concept to the next level: a hyperrealistic, gen AI-based dubbing tool for videos that re-creates a person’s original voice speaking the new language, with the video and the speaker’s physical
Read moreOne of the world’s biggest web scrapers has some thoughts on data ownership
Or Lenchner, CEO of Bright Data, joins Ben and Ryan for a deep-dive conversation about the evolving landscape of web data. They talk through the challenges involved in data collection, the role of synthetic data in training large AI models, and how public data access is becoming more restrictive. Or
Read moreBlock scales back TIDAL investment and shutters TBD in favor of Bitcoin mining
Jack Dorsey’s Block is scaling back its investment in TIDAL, the music streaming platform once owned by Jay-Z, according to a shareholder letter on Thursday. Block is also shutting down TBD, a Bitcoin-focused arm of the business that previously set out to build a decentralized internet, dubbed “Web5.” These cuts
Read moreCrypto CEO kidnapped in Toronto, released after paying $1M ransom
The CEO of Canadian cryptocurrency firm WonderFi was kidnapped and held for ransom on Wednesday, according to CBC. Dean Skurka was reportedly shoved into a vehicle in downtown Toronto during rush hour, only to be released uninjured after electronically sending $1 million (presumably CAD) to his captors. The WonderFi CEO
Read moreAmazon may up its investment in Anthropic — on one condition
Amazon is considering increasing its investment in OpenAI rival Anthropic. According to The Information, Amazon is in talks to invest multiple billions in Anthropic, its first financial pledge in the company since a $4 billion deal struck last year. The new investment is structured similar to the last one —
Read moreAI-powered parenting is here and a16z is ready to back it
AI wants to help us drive better, write better and diagnose diseases faster. Now imagine AI helping you be a better parent. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Read moreYelp just spent $80M on a site for car repair estimates
Yelp, which made a name for itself giving restaurant recs, just bought an auto services website. In the company’s earnings report on Thursday, Yelp revealed that it agreed to buy RepairPal, a site for car repair estimates, for $80 million in cash. The acquisition is expected to close by the
Read moreWith this latest deal, Flipboard looks to build a news ecosystem beyond X
An effort to bring a broader news ecosystem to the open social web, also known as the fediverse, is now in the hands of the social magazine app Flipboard. Press.coop, a service that created mirrored accounts of top news publishers (including Reuters, AP, WSJ, NYT, BBC, CNN, and even yours
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