Google is testing a redesign of its Search homepage in which “AI Mode,” the experimental AI-powered search feature the company rolled out earlier in May, replaces its longstanding “I’m Feeling Lucky” button under the Search bar. A company spokesperson confirmed to The Verge, which was the first to report the change, that the feature began…
Category: In Brief
accessibility, Apple, Apps, Global Security News, In Brief
Apple announces new accessibility features, including future support for brain implants
Apple on Tuesday announced a range of accessibility features coming to its devices later this year. New Accessibility Nutrition Labels will provide more detailed information for apps and games on the App Store, while a new Braille Access tool will turn the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Vision Pro into a braille note taker. Additional…
Crypto, Global Security News, In Brief, Robinhood, WonderFi
Robinhood grows its footprint in Canada by acquiring WonderFi
Robinhood revealed Tuesday that it’s acquiring Canadian crypto leader WonderFi for CA$250 million (around $178.56 million) in an all-cash deal as it pushes into Canada’s growing digital asset market. WonderFi operates two regulated crypto platforms, Bitbuy and Coinsquare, with over CA$2.1 billion in assets under custody. The transaction offers WonderFi shareholders CA$0.36 per share, representing…
AI, Global Security News, In Brief, Meta
Meta taps former Google DeepMind director to lead its AI research lab
Meta has chosen Robert Fergus to lead its Fundamental AI Research (FAIR) lab, according to Bloomberg. Fergus had been working at Google DeepMind as a research director for nearly five years, per his LinkedIn. Prior to Google, he worked as a researcher scientist at Meta. Meta’s FAIR, which has been around since 2013, has faced…
AI, Biotech & Health, FDA, Global Security News, In Brief, openai
OpenAI and the FDA are reportedly discussing AI for drug evaluations
OpenAI has met with officials from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to discuss the agency’s use of AI to speed up drug evaluations, Wired reported on Wednesday. According to the report, OpenAI and the FDA have discussed a project called cderGPT, which seems to be an AI tool for the Center for Drug…
Elon Musk, Global Security News, In Brief, Space, SpaceX, Starlink, TC, Transportation
SpaceX’s Starlink has become a big benefactor of Trump’s tariff trade war, leaked memos show
SpaceX’s satellite internet service, Starlink, is directly benefiting from the Trump administration’s tariff trade war, according to leaked State Department memos obtained by the Washington Post. The memos show the U.S. pushing countries to adopt Starlink. Some show that countries believe that doing so could help lubricate their U.S. trade and tariff negotiations. One memo…
AI, Global Security News, In Brief, openai
OpenAI wants to team up with governments to grow AI infrastructure
OpenAI is launching a program, OpenAI for Countries, that the company says will enable it to build out the local infrastructure needed to better serve international AI customers. As a part of the new program, OpenAI will partner with governments to assist with efforts like building out data center capacity and customizing OpenAI’s products, including…
AI, Apple, Apps, Global Security News, In Brief, Perplexity
Apple is looking to add AI search engines to Safari
Apple is looking to add AI search engines from OpenAI, Perplexity, and Anthropic to Safari, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday. Eddy Cue, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Services, made the statement during his testimony in the U.S. Justice Department’s lawsuit against Alphabet. Cue’s disclosure was part of his testimony regarding Apple and Google’s estimated $20 billion-a-year…
AI, Anthropic, Apple, Apple Intelligence, Global Security News, In Brief, Startups
Apple and Anthropic reportedly partner to build an AI coding platform
Apple and Anthropic are teaming up to build a “vibe-coding” software platform that will use generative AI to write, edit, and test code for programmers, Bloomberg reported on Friday. The iPhone maker is planning to roll out the software internally, according to Bloomberg, but hasn’t decided if it will launch it publicly. The system is…
AI, Global Security News, In Brief, llamacon, Microsoft
Microsoft CEO says up to 30% of the company’s code was written by AI
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said that 20%-30% of code inside the company’s repositories was “written by software” — meaning AI — during a fireside chat with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg at Meta’s LlamaCon conference on Tuesday. Nadella gave the figure after Zuckerberg asked roughly how much of Microsoft’s code is AI-generated today. The Microsoft CEO…
china, Citizen Lab, Cybersecurity, Global Security News, Google, In Brief, malware, Security, Spyware, Uyghurs, Windows
Citizen Lab says exiled Uyghur leaders targeted with Windows spyware
The researchers said the attackers behind the campaign had “deep understanding of the target community.”
adam neumann, Global Security News, In Brief, Real estate, Startups
Report: Adam Neumann’s Flow raises $100M+, more than doubles valuation to $2.5B
Former WeWork CEO Adam Neumann has raised over $100 million in capital for his proptech startup, Flow, in a round that values that company at about $2.5 billion, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. Citing anonymous sources familiar with the deal, Bloomberg reported that existing backer Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) participated in the financing. Neumann told Bloomberg that…
AI, Global Security News, google gemini, In Brief
Google Gemini has 350M monthly users, reveals court hearing
Gemini, Google’s AI chatbot, had 350 million monthly active users around the globe as of March, according to internal data revealed in Google’s ongoing antitrust suit. The Information first reported the stat. Usage of Google’s AI offerings has exploded in the last year. Gemini had just 9 million daily active users in October 2024, but…
Global Security News, In Brief, Project Kuiper, Space, Starlink
Amazon’s Starlink competitor runs into production delays
Amazon’s Project Kuiper, the company’s initiative to launch a fleet of satellites into low-Earth orbit and beam internet connection to users, is struggling to ramp up production, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday. The competitor to Elon Musk’s Starlink has completed only a few dozen satellites, according to the report. The venture reportedly needs to quadruple its…
AI, Asia Pacific, deepseek, Global Security News, Government & Policy, In Brief, nvidia
Trump administration reportedly considers a US DeepSeek ban
The Trump administration is considering new restrictions on the Chinese AI lab DeepSeek that would limit it from buying Nvidia’s AI chips, and potentially bar Americans from accessing its AI services, The New York Times reported on Wednesday. The restrictions are part of the Trump administration’s effort to compete with China on AI. Months after…
AI, Fundraising, Global Security News, In Brief, Mira Murati, Thinking Machines Lab
Mira Murati’s AI startup is reportedly aiming for a massive $2B seed round
Thinking Machines Lab, the new AI startup from ex-OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, is reportedly attempting to close one of the largest seed rounds in history. Business Insider reported on Thursday that Thinking Machines Lab has doubled the target for its seed funding round to $2 billion. The round, should it close according to plan, would…
AI, Fundraising, Global Security News, In Brief, Mira Murati, Thinking Machines Lab
Mira Murati’s AI startup is reportedly aiming for a massive $2B seed round
Thinking Machines Lab, the new AI startup from ex-OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, is reportedly attempting to close one of the largest seed rounds in history. Business Insider reported on Thursday that Thinking Machines Lab has doubled the target for its seed funding round to $2 billion. The round, should it close according to plan, would…
AI, Fundraising, Global Security News, In Brief, Mira Murati, Thinking Machines Lab
Mira Murati’s AI startup is reportedly aiming for a massive $2B seed round
Thinking Machines Lab, the new AI startup from ex-OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, is reportedly attempting to close one of the largest seed rounds in history. Business Insider reported on Thursday that Thinking Machines Lab has doubled the target for its seed funding round to $2 billion. The round, should it close according to plan, would…
Global Security News, In Brief, symphonic, VC, Venture
Sydney Thomas’ Symphonic Capital raises $13.5M for inaugural fund
Symphonic Capital announced today in a blog post that it raised $13.5 million for its inaugural fund to invest in early-stage companies. Sydney Thomas launched the firm in 2022 after leaving Charles Hudson’s Precursor Ventures, where she was the first hire. Thomas said her fund will focus on founders outside of the Bay who are…
Global Security News, glossier, In Brief, Startups
Glossier might lose its unicorn status, report says
Glossier is reportedly fundraising again, aiming to raise $100 million with a valuation “south of a billion dollars,” according to Puck. Glossier, still one of the more popular beauty brands, was last valued at $1.8 billion nearly four years ago, but has struggled with profitability and scale these past few years. Glossier did not immediately…
Global Security News, glossier, In Brief, Startups
Glossier might lose its unicorn status, report says
Glossier is reportedly fundraising again, aiming to raise $100 million with a valuation “south of a billion dollars,” according to Puck. Glossier, still one of the more popular beauty brands, was last valued at $1.8 billion nearly four years ago, but has struggled with profitability and scale these past few years. Glossier did not immediately…
AI, Global Security News, Google, In Brief
Google is allegedly paying some AI staff to do nothing for a year rather than join rivals
Retaining top AI talent is tough amid cutthroat competition between Google, OpenAI, and other heavyweights. Google’s AI division, DeepMind, has resorted to using “aggressive” noncompete agreements for some AI staff in the U.K. that bar them from working for competitors for up to a year, Business Insider reports. Some are paid during this time, in…
Global Security News, In Brief, Klarna, StubHub, Venture
Klarna and StubHub delay IPOs because of Trump tariff turmoil
Both firms hoped to raise at least $1 billion in their public market debuts.
Fashion, Global IT News, Global Security News, In Brief, Startups
CaaStle board confirms financial distress, furloughing employees
CaaStle, a startup that launched in 2011 as a plus-sized clothing subscription service and later became an inventory monetization platform for clothing retailers, is facing financial difficulties, the company confirmed to TechCrunch following a report by Axios. Citing a letter from the board, Axios reported that the company is almost out of money, CEO Christine…
AI, AI research, Global Security News, In Brief, Meta
Meta’s head of AI research plans to leave the company
Meta’s VP of AI research, Joelle Pineau, is planning to leave the company, she announced in a post on Facebook Tuesday. Pineau said she’s leaving in May after more than two years overseeing FAIR, Meta’s internal AI research lab led by Yann LeCun. Pineau’s exit comes as Meta ramps up its AI efforts, with the…
Fashion, Global Security News, In Brief, Startups
Fashion startup CaaStle appears to be in trouble
CaaStle, a startup that launched in 2011 as a plus-sized clothing subscription service and in 2018 became an inventory monetization platform for clothing retailers, is facing financial difficulties, reports Axios. The company is almost out of money, CEO Christine Hunsicker has resigned, and law enforcement is investigating alleged financial misconduct, Axios reported, citing a leaked…
AI, Fundraising, Global Security News, In Brief, openai, Softbank
OpenAI raises $40B at $300B post-money valuation
OpenAI on Monday announced that it closed one of the largest private funding rounds in history. According to a blog post on the company’s website, OpenAI raised $40 billion in a round that values the company at $300 billion post-money. SoftBank led the financing, CNBC reported. Other participants included Microsoft, Coatue, Altimeter, and Thrive, all…
Facebook, Global Security News, In Brief, Mark Zuckerberg, Social
‘It was weird, man’: Zuckerberg took Facebook employees to see ‘The Social Network’ when it came out
Mark Zuckerberg may not be the most likable figure in Silicon Valley, but we can empathize with him on this: It would feel really weird if someone made a movie about your life. On the YouTube podcast Colin and Samir, Zuckerberg spoke about the one and only time he saw “The Social Network.” “It was…
Apps, Commerce, Global Security News, In Brief, North America, Social, TikTok, TikTok Shop
TikTok to launch TikTok Shop in France, Germany, and Italy
TikTok is set to expand its TikTok Shop e-commerce platform to users in France, Germany, and Italy on Monday, Reuters reports. TikTok Shop has been available in the United Kingdom since 2021, and now the company is ready to expand farther into Europe. While TikTok Shop is also available in the United States and saw…
AI, AI GPUs, Artificial Intelligence, chips, Enterprise, Global Security News, GPUS, In Brief, Mergers and Acquisitions, nvidia, TC
Nvidia is reportedly in talks to acquire Lepton AI
Nvidia is looking to get into the server rental market. The semiconductor giant is reportedly nearing a deal to acquire Lepton AI, a company that rents out servers that are powered by Nvidia’s AI chips, according to The Information. The deal is reportedly worth several hundred million dollars, according to The Information, which cited unnamed…
AI, ChatGPT, Global Security News, In Brief, openai
ChatGPT’s new AI image feature is delayed for free users
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced on Wednesday that the rollout of ChatGPT’s viral new AI image features to free users would be delayed, citing significantly higher demand than the company expected. “Images in ChatGPT are wayyyy more popular than we expected (and we had pretty high expectations),” Altman said in a post on X on…
Europe, Global Security News, google copyright directive, google search news test, Government & Policy, In Brief, Media & Entertainment
Google claims news is worthless to its ad business after test involving 1% of search results in eight EU markets
Google has reported the results of an experiment it ran which removed news from search results for 1% of users for 2.5 months in eight* markets in Europe — claiming the results show that news is essentially worthless to Google’s ad business. The search giant conducted the test because European copyright law requires it to…
Global IT News, Global Security News, Government & Policy, In Brief, Social, x india, x india censorship lawsuit
X sues India over ‘unrestrained censorship’
Elon Musk-owned social media platform X is suing the Indian government, accusing the country’s IT ministry of unlawfully expanding its powers to remove online content, Reuters reported Thursday. X has long chaffed at government orders to remove or block content in the country, such as during the farmers’ protests last year. Though it ended up…
apple fco, apple fco appeal, Apps, Europe, Global Security News, Government & Policy, In Brief
Apple loses appeal against Germany’s special abuse control for Big Tech
Being a staggeringly successful big tech company does have some downsides: Apple has lost an appeal against a special abuse control regime that Germany’s competition watchdog applied to it last year. The iPhone maker can expect to continue to face bespoke competition controls in a major European market, in addition to other similar laws (such…
Cybersecurity, Global IT News, Global Security News, In Brief, Justice Department, sabotage, Security
Texas man faces prison for activating ‘kill switch’ on former employer’s network
Software developer Davis Lu was found guilty of sabotaging the company’s systems. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
AI, Asia Pacific, china, deepseek, Global Security News, In Brief, Startups
China is reportedly keeping DeepSeek under close watch
China appears to think homegrown AI startup DeepSeek could become a notable tech success story for the country. After DeepSeek’s sudden rise to fame in January with the release of its open “reasoning” model, R1, the company is now operating under new, tighter government-influenced restrictions, according to The Information. Some of the company’s employees have…
Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Global IT News, Global Security News, hacking, In Brief, LockBit, Ransomware, Russia, Security
Accused LockBit ransomware developer extradited to the US
The U.S. Department of Justice announced that Rostislav Panev, who developed code and maintained infrastructure for LockBit, is now in U.S. custody. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
apple icloud backdoor challenge, Global Security News, Government & Policy, In Brief, privacy, Security
UK’s secret iCloud backdoor order triggers civil rights challenge
The U.K. government’s secret order to Apple demanding it backdoor the end-to-end encrypted version of its iCloud storage service has now been challenged by two civil rights groups, Liberty and Privacy International, which filed complaints Thursday. They called the order “unacceptable and disproportionate” and warned of “global consequences” as the access order is thought to…
AI, french ai copyright lawsuit meta, Global IT News, Global Security News, In Brief, meta ai copyright lawsuit
Meta faces publisher copyright AI lawsuit in France
Meta is facing an AI copyright lawsuit in France that’s been brought by authors and publishers who are accusing it of economic “parasitism,” Reuters reports. The French litigation was filed in a Paris court this week by the National Publishing Union (SNE), the National Union of Authors and Composers (SNAC), and the Society of People…
AI, AI chip, Global IT News, Global Security News, In Brief, Meta
Meta is reportedly testing in-house chips for AI training
Meta is reportedly testing an in-house chip for training AI systems, a part of a strategy to reduce its reliance on hardware makers like Nvidia. According to Reuters, Meta’s chip, which is designed to handle AI-specific workloads, was manufactured in partnership with Taiwan-based firm TSMC. The company is piloting a “small deployment” of the chip…
AI, creative writing, Global IT News, Global Security News, In Brief, openai
OpenAI says it has trained an AI that’s ‘really good’ at creative writing
Watch out, fiction writers. OpenAI may have you in its crosshairs. In a post on X on Tuesday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said that the company has trained a “new model” that’s “really good” at creative writing. He posted a lengthy sample from the model given the prompt “Please write a metafictional literary short story…
CISA, Global IT News, Global Security News, In Brief, Sean Plankey, Security, us government
Trump nominates Sean Plankey as new CISA director
Plankey, if approved by the Senate, will serve as CISA’s third director. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Asana, dustin moskovitz, Enterprise, Global IT News, Global Security News, In Brief
Asana CEO Dustin Moskovitz is retiring
Dustin Moskovitz is retiring from Asana, the software company he founded in 2008. Asana, a task management platform, announced his retirement as part of the company’s fiscal fourth-quarter earnings report, CNBC reported. Moskovitz informed the board he intends to move into a chair role when a new CEO starts. The company has raised more than…
AI, Global IT News, Global Security News, In Brief, Larry Page, manufacturing, startup, Startups
Google co-founder Larry Page reportedly has a new AI startup
Google co-founder Larry Page is building a new company called Dynatomics that’s focused on applying AI to product manufacturing, according to The Information. Page is reportedly working with a small group of engineers on AI that can create “highly optimized” designs for objects and then have a factory build them, per The Information. Chris Anderson,…
defense tech, Global IT News, Global Security News, In Brief, shield ai, Startups
Shield AI raises $240M at a $5.3B valuation to commercialize its AI drone tech
Shield AI is now one of the U.S.’s biggest defense tech startups by valuation, raising $240 million at a $5.3 billion valuation in its latest round. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
AI, AI art, christie's, Global IT News, Global Security News, In Brief, Media & Entertainment
Christie’s AI art auction reportedly exceeds expectations
Nearly 6,500 artists demanded in an open letter that fine art auction house Christie’s cancel its first show dedicated solely to works created with AI. Yet, the show, Augmented Intelligence, went on — and reportedly exceeded expectations. According to Christie’s, the show brought in more than $700,000, with many lots reaching beyond their high estimates.…
agents, AI, Global IT News, Global Security News, In Brief, openai
OpenAI reportedly plans to charge up to $20,000 a month for specialized AI ‘agents’
OpenAI may be planning to charge up to $20,000 per month for specialized AI “agents,” according to The Information. The publication reports that OpenAI intends to launch several “agent” products tailored for different applications, including sorting and ranking sales leads and software engineering. One, a “high-income knowledge worker” agent, will reportedly be priced at $2,000…
Apps, Commerce, Europe, Global Security News, google dma, google dma duckduckgo, Government & Policy, In Brief
EU must ‘fully’ apply its market fairness rulebook on Google, search rivals urge
The European Union is once again being urged to expand its investigation of Google under the bloc’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). The big aim of the EU’s flagship competition reform — which came into force last spring — was to level the digital playing field by forcing platform giants into fairer dealing with rivals and…
apple icloud backdoor, apple icloud backdoor challenge, Global IT News, Global Security News, Government & Policy, In Brief, privacy, Security
Apple is challenging U.K.’s iCloud encryption backdoor order
Apple is challenging a U.K. Government data access order in the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT), the Financial Times reports. The order targeted iCloud backups that are protected by end-to-end encryption. Last month, press leaks revealed the existence of the January order asking Apple to build a backdoor in iCloud’s encrypted backups. U.K. officials are exercising…
AI, Global IT News, Global Security News, In Brief, openai, TC
Judge rejects Musk’s attempt to block OpenAI’s for-profit transition
A federal judge in Northern California denied Elon Musk’s motion for an injunction that would have halted OpenAI’s planned transition into a for-profit company, Bloomberg reported. Musk failed to provide enough evidence necessary for an injunction, U.S. District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled Tuesday. However, Rogers said the court is prepared to hold an…
AI, AI agents, Amazon, AWS, Global IT News, Global Security News, In Brief
Amazon reportedly forms a new agentic AI group
Amazon has formed a new group within AWS dedicated to creating AI agents, systems that help people automate parts of their lives, Reuters reported on Tuesday. In an email to staff seen by Reuters, AWS CEO Matt Garman said agentic AI has the potential to be “the next multi-billion business for AWS.” A longtime AWS…
chips, Global IT News, Global Security News, Hardware, In Brief, Intel
Intel delays its Ohio chip factory to 2030
Intel’s first chip fabrication plant in Ohio may not open until 2030 at the earliest. According to a report in The Columbus Dispatch, Intel has slowed the building of its promised $28 billion semiconductor project in central Ohio for the second time this year. Construction won’t be completed until 2030, the chipmaker told the publication,…
AI, Apps, Global IT News, Global Security News, In Brief, Meta, meta ai
Meta is reportedly planning a standalone AI chatbot app
Meta reportedly plans to release a standalone app for its AI assistant, Meta AI, in a bid to better compete with AI-powered chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini. According to CNBC, Meta could launch a standalone Meta AI app as soon as the company’s next fiscal quarter (April-June). Meta AI is currently only available…
AI, Global IT News, Global Security News, In Brief, Research, vulnerability
AI models trained on unsecured code become toxic, study finds
A group of AI researchers has discovered a curious — and troubling — phenomenon: Models say some pretty toxic stuff after being fine-tuned on unsecured code. In a recently published paper, the group explained that training models, including OpenAI’s GPT-4o and Alibaba’s Qwen2.5-Coder-32B-Instruct, on code that contains vulnerabilities leads the models to give dangerous advice,…
AI, aria gen 2, Global IT News, Global Security News, Hardware, In Brief, Meta, project aria
Meta’s new AR glasses for research can measure heart rate
Meta has unveiled the next generation of its Project Aria augmented reality glasses for research: Aria Gen 2. Aria Gen 2, which arrives roughly five years after the first-generation Aria device, adds new capabilities to the platform, including an upgraded sensor suite and Meta’s custom silicon. Aria Gen 2 has a PPG sensor for measuring…
content moderation, Global IT News, Global Security News, In Brief, Meta, Social
Meta’s Oversight Board is reviewing the company’s new hate speech policies
Meta’s Oversight Board, the company’s independent group created to help with sensitive policy decisions, is preparing to weigh in on CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s recent changes to how Facebook, Instagram, and Threads handle hate speech, Engadget reported. Zuckerberg announced an overhaul of its content moderation policies in January, shortly before the inauguration of U.S. President Donald…
AI, ChatGPT, Global IT News, Global Security News, In Brief, openai
OpenAI rolls out deep research to paying ChatGPT users
OpenAI announced on Tuesday that it’s rolling out deep research, its web browsing agent that creates thorough research reports, to all paying ChatGPT users. ChatGPT Plus, Team, Enterprise, and Edu subscribers will get 10 deep research queries per month. OpenAI’s Deep research was previously only available to ChatGPT Pro users, the company’s $200-a-month tier; they…
AI, Anthropic, Fundraising, Global IT News, Global Security News, In Brief
Anthropic reportedly ups its next funding round to $3.5B
Anthropic’s next funding round is reportedly growing larger. Anthropic, which makes the AI chatbot Claude, is finalizing a $3.5 billion fundraising round that values the company at $61.5 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal. Anthropic initially set out to raise $2 billion, but investors have now agreed to a larger tranche, per the WSJ.…
AI, chegg, Global IT News, Global Security News, Google, In Brief, Search
Chegg sues Google over AI search summaries
Edtech company Chegg has sued Google claiming that the tech giant’s AI summaries of search results have hurt Chegg’s traffic and revenue. In the suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Chegg accuses Google of unfair competition — specifically reciprocal dealing, monopoly maintenance, and unjust enrichment. Google, Chegg claims, forces…
Apps, Global IT News, Global Security News, In Brief, TC, twitter/x
Even Elon Musk forgets that X isn’t Twitter sometimes
Do you sometimes refer to X by its old name, Twitter? That’s okay. Even Elon Musk, the man who changed Twitter’s name to X, still occasionally refers to the social media platform he runs as Twitter. “Twitter added far more features with fewer people,” said Musk in a post on X Monday. The owner of…
AI, Global IT News, Global Security News, In Brief, Microsoft, openai, Softbank
OpenAI reportedly plans shift from Microsoft to SoftBank
OpenAI is forecasting a major shift in the next five years around who it gets most of its computing power from, The Information reported on Friday. By 2030, OpenAI expects to get three-quarters of its data center capacity from SoftBank, one of its newest financial backers. That represents a major shift away from Microsoft, its…
AI, Global IT News, Global Security News, In Brief, Microsoft, openai, Softbank
Report: OpenAI plans to shift compute needs from Microsoft to SoftBank
OpenAI is forecasting a major shift in the next five years around who it gets most of its computing power from, The Information reported on Friday. By 2030, OpenAI expects to get three-quarters of its data center capacity from Stargate, a project that’s expected to be heavily financed by SoftBank, one of OpenAI’s newest financial…
AI, coding assistants, developers, Global IT News, Global Security News, In Brief, report, Software
Report: AI coding assistants aren’t a panacea
As they gain in popularity, AI coding assistants such as GitHub Copilot may appear to be boosting productivity. But in reality, they could be causing overall code quality to decline. That’s the top-line finding from a new report released by software engineering platform GitClear, which analyzed 211 million code lines from 2020 to 2024. According…
AI, AI assistant, Global IT News, Global Security News, In Brief, mistral, Startups
Mistral’s Le Chat tops 1M downloads in just 14 days
A couple of weeks after the initial release of Mistral’s AI assistant, Le Chat, the company told Le Parisien that it has reached one million downloads. In particular, Le Chat quickly reached the top spot for free downloads on the iOS App Store in the company’s home country, France. “Go and download Le Chat, which…
AI, Global IT News, Global Security News, In Brief, openai
OpenAI may give board special voting rights to ward off takeover attempts
To fend off future hostile takeover attempts, OpenAI is considering giving its non-profit board special voting rights, according to a new report in the Financial Times. The rights would allow the board to overrule major investors in the company, preserving some of its powers after OpenAI completes its transition to a for-profit. OpenAI was founded…
Global IT News, Global Security News, Government & Policy, In Brief, Social, x dsa, x dsa data access germany
X challenges German court order granting data access to election researchers
Earlier this month, a Berlin court ordered Elon Musk-owned X to provide immediate access to public platform data to two civil society organizations seeking to study systemic risk around the country’s upcoming election. In a post on X, the social media company said Tuesday it is challenging the order, claiming the summary proceeding “egregiously undermines…
Biotech & Health, Emerging Tech, Gadgets, Global Security News, headphones hearing issues, In Brief, noise cancelling headphones
Are your noise-canceling headphones messing with your head?
We all know headphones can be bad for your hearing if you listen to sounds too loudly in such close proximity to your ears. But a BBC report suggests that a new health scare could be emerging around the noise-canceling feature that’s hugely popular in modern earphones. The article considers whether the technology could essentially…
AI, Elon Musk, Funding, Fundraising, Global IT News, Global Security News, In Brief, report, rumor, startup, Startups, xAI
Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, said to be in talks to raise $10B
Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, is said to be in talks to raise $10 billion in a round that would value xAI at $75 billion. Bloomberg reported Friday that xAI is canvassing existing investors, including Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, and Valor Equity Partners for the round, which would bring xAI’s total raised to $22.4 billion,…
AI, Global IT News, Global Security News, Hardware, In Brief, Meta, report, robotics, rumor
Meta’s next big bet may be humanoid robotics
Meta is forming a new team within its Reality Labs hardware division to build robots that can assist with physical tasks, Bloomberg reported. The team will be responsible for developing humanoid robotics hardware, potentially including hardware that can perform household chores. Meta’s new robotics group, which will be led by Marc Whitten, driverless car startup…
AI, eu ai deregulation, eu ai liability act, eu ai regulation, Europe, Global Security News, Government & Policy, In Brief
Europe denies dropping AI liability rules under pressure from Trump
The European Union has denied that recent moves to row back on some planned tech regulation — principally by ditching the AI Liability Directive, a 2022 draft law which had been aimed at making it easier for consumers to sue over harms caused by AI-enabled products and services — were made in response to pressure…
AI, ARM, Artificial Intelligence, chips, Enterprise, Global IT News, Global Security News, Hardware, In Brief, Meta, semiconductors, Softbank
Arm is launching its own chip this year with Meta as a customer
Public semiconductor company Arm will start making its own chips this year after landing a high-profile enterprise customer. Arm, which is majorly owned by SoftBank, will start making its own chips now that Meta has signed on as a customer, according to the Financial Times. The chip is expected to be a CPU for servers…
AI, Anthropic, Global IT News, Global Security News, In Brief, reasoning model, report, rumor
Anthropic’s next major AI model could arrive within weeks
AI startup Anthropic is gearing up to release its next major AI model, according to a report Thursday from The Information. The report describes Anthropic’s upcoming model as a “hybrid” model that can switch between “deep reasoning” and fast responses. The company will reportedly introduce a “sliding scale” alongside the model to allow developers to…
Commerce, DSA, Europe, Global Security News, Government & Policy, In Brief, Social
EU’s Disinformation Code moves closer to becoming DSA benchmark
Staying on the right side of the European Union’s online rulebook when it comes to the slippery topic of disinformation is set to get easier for platforms that commit to the bloc’s long-standing Code of Practice on Disinformation. You know, the voluntary Code that Elon Musk pulled X (formerly Twitter) out of back in 2023.…
acquisition, AI, ai accelerator chip, AI chip, Funding, FuriosaAI, Global IT News, Global Security News, Hardware, In Brief, Meta, report, rumor
Report: Meta in talks to acquire AI chip firm FuriosaAI
Meta is reportedly in talks to acquire a South Korean chip firm as the social media giant looks to bolster its AI hardware infrastructure. Meta may announce its intent to purchase FuriosaAI, a chip startup founded by former Samsung and AMD employees, as soon as this month, per Forbes. FuriosaAI develops chips that speed up…
AI, Elon Musk, Global IT News, Global Security News, In Brief, openai, sam altman
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman calls Musk’s bid an attempt to ‘slow us down’
In an interview at the AI Action Summit in Paris on Tuesday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman dismissed Elon Musk’s unsolicited $97.4 billion bid for OpenAI’s nonprofit as “an attempt to slow [OpenAI] down.” “[Musk] obviously is a competitor,” Altman said. “He’s raised a lot of money for [his AI company] xAI, and they’re trying to…
AI, ChatGPT, deepseek, distillation, Global Security News, Government & Policy, In Brief, openai
OpenAI spoke to government officials about its DeepSeek probe
OpenAI says it has spoken to government officials about its ongoing investigation into DeepSeek. The ChatGPT-maker previously claimed to have evidence that DeepSeek trained its AI models using improperly obtained data from OpenAI’s API. During a Bloomberg TV interview on Monday, OpenAI’s chief global affairs officer, Chris Lehane, said the company has talked with government…
AI, Art, auction, christie's, generative ai, Global IT News, Global Security News, In Brief, Media & Entertainment
Christie’s announces AI art auction, and not everyone is pleased
Fine art auction house, Christie’s, has sold AI-generated art before. But soon, it plans to hold its first show dedicated solely to works created with AI, an announcement that has been met with mixed reviews. The auction, which Christie’s is calling ‘Augmented Intelligence,’ will feature artwork from artists including Mat Dryhurst, the founder of AI…
AI, generative ai, Germany, Global IT News, Global Security News, In Brief, munich, Office, openai
OpenAI plans to open an office in Germany
OpenAI is expanding its footprint to Germany. According to a press release issued Friday, the ChatGPT maker plans to open an office in Munich in the coming months. “Germany is renowned for its technical expertise, academic excellence, and industrial innovation,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in a statement. “Opening our first office in Germany means we…
AI, Funding, Global IT News, Global Security News, Ilya Sutskever, In Brief, report, safe superintelligence, startup, Startups
Report: Ilya Sutskever’s startup in talks to fundraise at roughly $20B valuation
Safe Superintelligence, the AI startup founded by former OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, is in talks to raise funding at a valuation of “at least” $20 billion, according to Reuters. It’s not clear how much Safe Superintelligence — which has yet to generate any revenue — is looking to secure, but it could be substantial.…
AI, Anthropic, Global IT News, Global Security News, In Brief, john schulman, Mira Murati, openai, startup
Report: OpenAI’s ex-CTO, Mira Murati, has recruited OpenAI co-founder John Schulman
OpenAI co-founder John Schulman, who left AI company Anthropic earlier this week after a mere five months, is reportedly joining former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati’s secretive new startup, per Fortune. It’s not clear what Schulman’s role there will be. Fortune wasn’t able to learn that information, and Murati has been tight-lipped about the venture since…
AI, Anthropic, ChatGPT, Global IT News, Global Security News, In Brief, john schulman, openai, researcher
OpenAI co-founder John Schulman leaves Anthropic after just five months
OpenAI co-founder and prominent AI researcher John Schulman has left Anthropic after five months, according to multiple reports. Credited as one of the leading architects of ChatGPT, Schulman left OpenAI last August for its direct competitor, Anthropic. He posted about the decision on X, saying it stemmed from a desire to deepen his focus on AI alignment…
Biotech & Health, Climate, cultivated meat, Global IT News, Global Security News, In Brief, lab grown meat, meatly, Startups
First lab-grown meat treats go on sale in the UK — for dogs
Cultivated chicken doggie snacks have gone on sale at a U.K. pet food retailer, Pets at Home. The retailer also happens to be a major investor in Meatly, the startup producing the meat ingredient contained in dog food brand The Pack’s Chick Bites, as the slaughter-free, low carbon treats are billed. (Other ingredients in the…
AI, Alexa, Amazon, Gadgets, generative ai, Global IT News, Global Security News, Hardware, In Brief
Amazon reportedly gears up to release next-gen Alexa
Amazon may be gearing up to release a next-gen, AI-powered Alexa experience, according to Reuters. Per the outlet’s report, Amazon plans to preview an upgraded version of Alexa, the company’s smart home assistant that runs on a number of first- and third-party devices, at an event on February 26. The revamped Alexa is said to…
AI, ai safety, defense, Global IT News, Global Security News, Google, Government & Policy, In Brief
Google removes pledge to not use AI for weapons from website
Google removed a pledge to not build AI for weapons or surveillance from its website this week. The change was first spotted by Bloomberg. The company appears to have updated its public AI principles page, erasing a section titled “applications we will not pursue,” which was still included as recently as last week. Asked for…
AI, Funding, Fundraising, generative ai, Global IT News, Global Security News, In Brief, openai, report, startup, Startups
OpenAI said to be in talks to raise $40B at a $340B valuation
OpenAI may have billions of dollars in the bank. But it’s gearing up to raise billions more, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. Per The WSJ, OpenAI is in talks to secure up to $40 billion in a funding round that would value the startup at $340 billion. SoftBank would lead the…
antitrust, Department of Justice, doj, Enterprise, Global IT News, Global Security News, Government, Government & Policy, HPE, In Brief, Juniper, Juniper Networks, Justice Department, lawsuit
US Justice Department sues to block HPE’s $14B acquisition of Juniper Networks
U.S. prosecutors are seeking to block the deal citing antitrust concerns. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
AI, generative ai, Global IT News, Global Security News, Government, Government & Policy, In Brief, national defense, national security, nuclear weapons, openai, us, us national labs
OpenAI will offer its tech to US national labs for nuclear weapons research
OpenAI says it plans to let U.S. National Laboratories, the Department of Energy’s network of R&D labs, use its AI models for nuclear weapons security and other scientific projects. Per CNBC, OpenAI will work with Microsoft, its lead investor, to deploy a model on the supercomputer at Los Alamos National Laboratory. The model will be a…
AI, copyright, generative ai, Global IT News, Global Security News, Government, Government & Policy, In Brief, ip, report, U.S. Copyright Office
AI creations edited by humans can likely be copyrighted in US, agency says
In the U.S., AI-generated creations — books, movies, and so forth— that have been edited by a human can likely be copyrighted, but those without any human modifications or additions cannot. That’s according to a report published by the U.S. Copyright Office (USCO) on Wednesday, which outlined scenarios in which AI-generated content might be eligible…
AI, ai czar, david sacks, deepseek, Global IT News, Global Security News, Government, Government & Policy, In Brief, IP theft, openai
David Sacks claims there’s ‘substantial evidence’ that DeepSeek used OpenAI’s models to train its own
David Sacks, Trump’s AI and crypto “czar,” said in an interview on Fox on Tuesday that there’s “substantial evidence” that Chinese AI company DeepSeek “distilled” knowledge from OpenAI’s AI models, a process that Sacks compared to theft. Sacks, who didn’t cite the source of this “evidence,” suggested that DeepSeek used responses from OpenAI models to…
AI, Eric Schmidt, Global Security News, Government & Policy, In Brief, open source ai
Eric Schmidt says DeepSeek marks a ‘turning point’ for the global AI race
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt called for the United States to ramp up open-source AI efforts to address the rise of DeepSeek in a Washington Post op-ed published Tuesday. Just last year, Schmidt said America was two or three years ahead of China. But DeepSeek’s rise marks “a turning point” for the global AI race,…
AI, deepseek, Global IT News, Global Security News, In Brief, liang wenfeng
Who is Liang Wenfeng? DeepSeek founder comes from AI investing
DeepSeek, a Chinese AI lab, has Silicon Valley reeling with its R1 reasoning model, which it claims uses far less computing power than those of American AI leaders — and, it’s open source. The DeepSeek app has shot to the top of the App Store charts this week, dethroning ChatGPT. But who is Liang Wenfeng,…
Apps, Global IT News, Global Security News, In Brief, robotaxi, Transportation, Waymo
Waymo is reportedly building a charity ‘tipping’ feature into its robotaxi app
Alphabet-owned autonomous vehicle company Waymo might be planning to test a feature that will allow robotaxi riders to add a “tip” that will go to the charity of their choice after a ride. Jane Manchun Wong, a security researcher who recently hacked the display dome on top of a Waymo vehicle, found the new tip…
AI, Asia Pacific, ChatGPT, chatgpt gov, Global Security News, Government, Government & Policy, In Brief, openai, Security
OpenAI launches ChatGPT plan for U.S. government agencies
In a week dominated by headlines about China’s growing AI competitiveness, OpenAI has launched ChatGPT Gov. The new version of the AI-powered chatbot platform is designed to provide U.S. government agencies an additional way to access the tech. ChatGPT Gov includes many of the capabilities found in OpenAI’s corporate-focused tier, ChatGPT Enterprise. Using the platform, agencies…
AI, CAPEX, generative ai, Global IT News, Global Security News, In Brief, investment, Mark Zuckerberg, report
Mark Zuckerberg says Meta will have 1.3M GPUs for AI by year-end
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that the company plans to significantly up its capital expenditures this year as it aims to keep pace with rivals in the cutthroat AI space. In a Facebook post Friday, Zuckerberg said that Meta expects to spend $60 billion-$80 billion on capex in 2025, primarily on data centers and growing…
AI, data centers, Donald Trump, Global IT News, Global Security News, Government & Policy, In Brief, mgx, openai, oracle, president donald trump, president trump, Softbank, stargate, Trump, Venture
OpenAI’s Stargate project reportedly doesn’t have the money it needs
Stargate — the massive infrastructure project to build data centers for OpenAI in the U.S. — lacks a fully developed plan and hasn’t secured funding yet, according to a report from the Financial Times. Backed by OpenAI, SoftBank, Middle East AI fund MGX, and others, Stargate would funnel around $100 billion — and upward of…
Apple, Apps, CarPlay, CarPlay 2, Global IT News, Global Security News, In Brief, Transportation
Apple admits next-gen CarPlay is late, but still in development
Though Apple rarely misses self-imposed deadlines, it’s done so with the next-generation CarPlay. The company originally teased the update back in 2022. With this new version, CarPlay will integrate seamlessly with the instrument cluster to provide information on speed, climate control, and other car data. Apple had promised an initial rollout for a limit set…
AI, Benchmark, benchmarking, generative ai, Global IT News, Global Security News, In Brief
Even some of the best AI can’t beat this new benchmark
The nonprofit Center for AI Safety (CAIS) and Scale AI, a company that provides a number of data labeling and AI development services, have released a challenging new benchmark for frontier AI systems. The benchmark, called Humanity’s Last Exam, includes thousands of crowdsourced questions touching on subjects like mathematics, humanities, and the natural sciences. To make…
AI, data centers, datacenters, generative ai, Global IT News, Global Security News, In Brief, Infrastructure, mgx, openai, report, Softbank, stargate
OpenAI and SoftBank are reportedly putting $19B each into Stargate
We may now know roughly how much money SoftBank and OpenAI are contributing toward Stargate, the massive infrastructure project to build data centers for OpenAI across the U.S. SoftBank and OpenAI each plans to commit $19 billion of capital to Stargate, according to The Information. The two companies would then both own 40% of the…
AI, Anthropic, Funding, Fundraising, generative ai, Global IT News, Global Security News, Google, In Brief, report, startup
Anthropic reportedly secures an additional $1B from Google
Anthropic has reportedly raised around $1 billion from Google as the AI company looks to deliver a number of major product updates this year. First reported by the Financial Times, Google’s fresh investment brings the tech giant’s total stake in Anthropic to around $3 billion. Google poured $2 billion into Anthropic late last year. Anthropic,…
Global IT News, Global Security News, Government & Policy, In Brief, silk road, TC, Trump
Trump pardons Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht
President Trump on Tuesday pardoned Ross Ulbricht, the creator of the infamous dark web exchange Silk Road, which was best known as a once-thriving online marketplace for illegal drugs. Trump announced the news in a Truth Social post, saying the pardon was in honor of Ulbricht’s mother and the Libertarian movement. In 2015, a federal…