How US safeguards on the Microsoft-G42 deal, aiming to protect critical data center and AI infrastructure, could shape future international data center projects — Security hawks in Washington worry that infrastructure deals risk the future of AI — If artificial intelligence systems transform …
An airline industry group executive says India doubled the use of digital biometric systems in airports to 28 in June, covering ~90% of sky-bound travel volumes — Digital initiative chief claims technology can halve queueing times and pledges transparency on personal data
Faye, which offers travel insurance and fintech services via a single smartphone app, raised a $31M Series B led by Portage; Faye raised a $10M Series A in 2023 — We've been covering US-based Insurtech startup FAYE way back since 2022 with its Seed round, and the Series A round in 2023 …
Flipkart consolidates its various fintech offerings, including UPI and BNPL, under Flipkart Pay; the move follows recent expansions and a spinoff of PhonePe — Flipkart has integrated its various fintech services into a single vertical named ‘Flipkart Pay’.
Qualcomm debuts the 4nm Snapdragon 4s Gen 2, a feature limited version of the Snapdragon 4 Gen 2, to make 5G accessible to smartphones in the sub-$100 category — Qualcomm Tuesday announced the Snapdragon 4s Gen 2. The entry-level chip aims to make 5G accessible to 2.8 billion smartphone users …
Sources: HPE is expected to secure unconditional EU approval for its $14B acquisition of Juniper Networks; the EC is scheduled to decide on the deal by Aug. 1 — Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) (HPE.N) is expected to secure unconditional EU antitrust approval for its $14 billion acquisition …
South Korea will provide $400M to vendors hit by payment delays on two Qoo10 e-commerce platforms, and Qoo10's founder pledges to use his own assets to help — South Korea will provide $400 million in financial support to small businesses hit by payment delays on two Qoo10 e-commerce platforms …
ISD: hundreds of extremist TikTok accounts are openly sharing Hitler-related propaganda, including Holocaust denial videos, and trying to recruit new members — Not only is TikTok's algorithm promoting Neo-Nazi content, extremist organizations are also using the platform to recruit new members and encourage real-world action.
Sources: Twitch remains unprofitable a decade after Amazon's acquisition; Docs show Twitch generated ~$667M in ad revenue and $1.3B in commerce revenue in 2023 — Amazon Paid Almost $1 Billion for Twitch in 2014. It's Still Losing Money. The live-video service has slowing user growth …
The US NIST re-releases Dioptra, an open-source web-based tool first unveiled in 2022 for benchmarking, testing, and assessing risks in AI models — The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the U.S. Commerce Department agency that develops and tests tech for the U.S. government …
AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 mobile SoC review: the Zen 5 CPU architecture, RDNA 3.5 graphics, and the XDNA 2 NPU make this AMD's most compelling laptop CPU to date — During the opening keynote delivered by AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su at Computex 2024, AMD finally lifted the lid on their highly-anticipated Zen 5 microarchitecture.
Microsoft provides a technical overview of the CrowdStrike incident, explains why security products use Windows kernel drivers, and outlines future improvements — Windows is an open and flexible platform used by many of the world's top businesses for high availability use cases where security and availability are non-negotiable.
A look at AIxCC, or AI Cyber Challenge, a competition launched in 2023 and run by DARPA to design an AI program that scans open source code for security flaws — Computer scientists brainstorm in Pentagon-backed competition to design an AI program that scans open-source code for flaws bad actors could exploit
How Win With Black Women and other groups are using Zoom calls to organize and fundraise for Kamala Harris; virtual rallies for Harris raised $10M+ this week — - “What we're seeing now at the moment is a beautiful intersection of concerned citizens utilizing digital media and virtual technology …
Sources: Kamala Harris' advisers have approached top crypto companies, including Coinbase, Circle, and Ripple Labs, to “reset” relations with the industry — Vice-president's team aims to improve relations after industry criticism of the Biden administration
Sources detail how Elon Musk undermined CEO Linda Yaccarino's efforts to repair X's business over the past year; X's US revenue fell 53% YoY to $114M in Q2 — Linda Yaccarino, the C.E.O. of X, has worked hard to bring back advertisers and fix the platform's business.
A profile of CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz, who co-founded CrowdStrike in 2011 after departing as McAfee's CTO following Intel's acquisition of McAfee for $7.68B — 'A piece of software shouldn't be able to take everything out,' says George Kurtz — CrowdStrike Chief Executive George Kurtz answered …
A profile of, and interview with, Sequoia's Roelof Botha on increasing Sequoia's focus on AI investments, staying politically neutral, and more — At the crown of Roelof Botha's otherwise perfectly coiffed, light-brown head of hair, there's a small patch that's gone completely white.
The US Commerce Department says it signed a nonbinding preliminary agreement with Amkor for a CHIPS Act award consisting of $400M in grants and $200M in loans — Facility expected to create 2,000 jobs when in full operation within three years — The U.S. will award Amkor Technology Inc. $600 million …
The Biden administration says Apple agreed to White House's voluntary safeguards for AI, joining the ranks of OpenAI, Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft, and others — - Guardrails aim to protect consumers, influence AI development — Apple moving to integrate OpenAI's ChatGPT into iPhone
After investigating how Meta handles AI-generated explicit images, Oversight Board asks Meta to use the terminology “non-consensual” over “derogatory”, and more — Following investigations into how Meta handles AI-generated explicit images, the company's semi-independent observer body …
Beijing-based AI startup Baichuan raised about $687M at a $2.8B valuation from investors, including Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen governments, and Alibaba — - Baichuan joins MiniMax and Moonshot in getting Alibaba support — China seeks to counter US curbs by investing in emerging tech
LA-based Pearl, an FDA-approved startup that uses AI to assist dentists to make diagnoses, raised a $58M Series B led by Left Lane Capital at a $400M valuation — - Los Angeles-based startup backed by Craft Ventures, Left Lane — Pearl is valued at $400 million in fresh financing deal
Ferrari plans to accept crypto payments for its cars at European dealers from the start of August, and internationally by the end of 2024, expanding on the US — Ferrari (RACE.MI) said on Wednesday it would extend its scheme to accept payments in cryptocurrency for its luxury sports cars …
Kamala Harris took a leading White House role on AI, including meeting executives, and a win could mean a continued relatively smooth runway for AI companies — The presumptive Democratic nominee has won concessions from Big Tech leaders on A.I., but she hasn't successfully pushed Congress to regulate.
Bloomberg : Google says it plans to counter Japan's FTC over claims that it hobbles rivals in search; a source says Japan's FTC s...
