Open source vector database startup Qdrant raises $28M
Qdrant, the company behind the eponymous open source vector database, has raised $28 million in a Series A round of funding led by Spark Capital. Founded in 2021, Berlin-based Qdrant is seeking to capitalize on the burgeoning AI revolution, targeting developers with an open source vector search engine and database
Read moreByju’s seeks new funding at less than $2 billion valuation, a 90% drop
Byju’s, once valued at $22 billion, is willing to cut its valuation to below $2 billion as it hunts for new funding, a person familiar with the matter told TechCrunch. The Bengaluru-headquartered startup, once India’s most valuable, is looking to raise $100 million to $200 million in new funding via
Read moreHacking the hamburger: How a pentester exposed holes in hundreds of fast-food chains
Ben and Ryan talk about the hacker who exposed a security vulnerability in AI-powered software, security risks of smart devices, symbolic deduction engines in AI, and the programming language that features time travel.
Read moreTelegram is rolling out ‘view-once’ voice and video messages
Telegram is rolling out a bunch of upgrades as part of its January feature drop including “view-once” video and audio messages, the ability to pause recording while sending a video or an audio message, and new read-time controls. The app introduced “view-once” photos and videos in one-on-one chat in September
Read moreGermany’s Instagrid, which uses software to supercharge portable batteries, raises $95M
Energy supply is one of the bigger issues impacting how technology will evolve over time — a challenge that might be feel closer to home when you consider the batteries of objects like mobile phones or electric vehicles but is definitely not constrained just to consumer tech. A startup called
Read moreBusiness travel management platform TravelPerk raises $104M
TravelPerk, a business travel management platform targeted at SMEs, has raised $104 million in a fresh equity-based round of financing led by SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2. Existing investors including Kinnevik and Felix Capital also participated in the round. The funding gives TravelPerk a valuation of $1.4 billion, just a fraction
Read moreApple will pay artists more to have a spatial audio version on Apple Music
Apple will pay additional royalties starting this month to artists if they have a spatial audio version on Apple Music, according to multiple reports. The company will pay up to 10% additional royalty if an artist has all their songs in spatial audio, per a report by 9to5Mac. The extra
Read moreChina quietly pulls draft gaming rules from website
Beijing has quietly pulled the proposed curbs on the video game industry from the official website, weeks after the draft guidelines wiped tens of billions of dollars off the market value of local titans. The link to the draft rules was no longer accessible as of this morning, as first
Read moreEmail subscription changes
I will soon be discontinuing the email subscription option for this blog. I recommend that email subscribers switch over to subscribing to the RSS feed for the blog. If you’re unfamiliar with RSS, here is an article on how to get started. (I recommend RSS in general, and not just
Read moreAC Ventures closes its new $210M Indonesia-focused fund
In the middle of a long funding winter, AC Ventures’ latest news will give Southeast Asian startups hope. The Jakarta, Indonesia–based venture firm announced today it has raised $210 million, finishing the final close on its fifth fund, called ACV Fund V. Limited partners include the World’s Bank’s IFC and
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