AI leaders warn Senate of twin risks: Moving too slow and moving too fast
Leaders from the AI research world appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee to discuss and answer questions about the nascent technology. Their broadly unanimous opinions generally fell into two categories: we need to act soon, but with a light touch — risking AI abuse if we don’t move forward, or
Read MoreExclusive: Goodwater Capital snags $1B across two new funds, despite cooling interest in consumer tech
Goodwater, one of comparatively few firms to focus exclusively on consumer tech investments, has closed on $1 billion in capital commitments across its fifth early-stage fund and its third opportunity-style fund, TechCrunch is first to report. The bulk of the capital — 60% — will be invested in early- and
Read MoreMain Sequence hits first close of $450M AUD for its third deep tech fund
Main Sequence, an Australian venture capital firm, said Wednesday it has raised the $450 million AUD (approximately $303 million) first close of its third fund. The venture capital firm, founded by Australia’s national science agency CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation), has secured funding from new limited partners, including LGT
Read MoreElon Musk just changed Twitter’s logo again — sort of
Emma Roth / The Verge After replacing Twitter’s little blue bird with an X logo, Elon Musk changed it again. On Tuesday afternoon, Musk replaced Twitter’s X logo with one that has slightly thicker lines — but then said he would reverse the change. “I don’t like the thicker bars,
Read MoreSnap’s revenue woes continue but earnings yield a few bright spots
Snap just reported its quarterly earnings and it’s a bit of a mixed bag. Snapchat’s parent company brought in $1.07 billion during Q2 — up from last quarter but a year-over-year dip. Snap saw its first revenue decline as a public company in Q1, marking a 7% drop in sales
Read MoreTwitter Blue subscribers can now download videos posted to X
Image: The Verge Starting today, Twitter Blue members can download videos shared on X by other subscribers. That’s according to an update to an X Help Center article titled “How to share and watch videos on Twitter.” The update says all new videos will be eligible for downloads unless the
Read MoreAmazon will now warn consumers of recalls and product safety alerts related to their orders
Amazon today introduced a new feature that will allow consumers to be better informed about potential product safety alerts and recalls. Now, instead of having to seek out product recall information through third-party websites and other news sources, Amazon shoppers will be able to access a new “Your Recalls and
Read MoreSpotify CEO teases potential AI-powered capabilities surrounding personalization, ads
During Spotify’s second-quarter earnings call this morning, CEO Daniel Ek teased a few ways the streaming service could introduce additional AI-powered functionality. Ek touched on how AI could be used to create more personalized experiences, summarize podcasts and generate ads. Earlier this year, the company launched a DJ feature that
Read MoreAkhetonics raises capital for its all-optical processor prototype
Traditional processors from the likes of Intel, AMD, or Nvidia have well-known limitations around speed, energy efficiency, and electromagnetic interference. For instance, foundational chip makers like TSMC and Samsung are currently racing to move to the 3 nm process for customers like Apple and Nvidia. In the meantime, photonics is
Read MoreZombie game maker Techland joins Tencent’s global empire in latest acquisition
Tencent, one of the world’s largest gaming companies, is set to gobble up Techland, the Polish game developer known for open-world zombie games like Dying Light, adding yet another member to its sprawling investment portfolio. In a letter to players, Techland’s founder and CEO Paweł Marchewka announced that Tencent is
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