Smartcat, which provides AI-powered translation tools for businesses, raised a $43M Series C led by Left Lane Capital, bringing its total funding to $70M — Can AI ever fully replace translators? Not likely. AI translations tend to lack the lexical richness of their human-translated counterparts …
South Korean police arrest two former Samsung officials on suspicion of stealing tech worth $3.2B+ to build a chipmaking plant in China — - Police accuse two former execs of stealing trade secrets — They allegedly set up a JV with local government officials
Oracle shares are up 34% since January, well outpacing the Nasdaq's 14% rise, as it becomes an attractive cloud-computing provider for AI developers — Long-stagnant stock is up 34% thanks to its neutral status in the booming market for AI computing power — Oracle missed the tech industry's move …
Alibaba's stock rises 5%+ after being made directly accessible to mainland China investors for the first time, following an upgrade to Hong Kong primary listing — The country's mainland retail investors are a formidable force and known for their enthusiasm for tech names
Sources: Japanese chip startup Rapidus seeks to raise ~$696M from existing and new investors by issuing new shares to finance its chip development efforts — - Government-funded startup is approaching Mizuho, SMBC and DBJ — Rapidus part of Japan's campaign to regain leadership in chips
A writer on working for a tech company, writing pretend responses to hypothetical chatbot questions, to help train AI models and teach chatbots how to write — Journalists and other writers are employed to improve the quality of chatbot replies. The irony of working for an industry …
London's e-bike boom is frustrating local councils over parking issues, as Lime and Forest expand; Lime trips during peak hours have grown 91% YoY in 2024 — Badly parked and abandoned vehicles cause frustration for local authorities — London has seen a surge in rented e-bikes this summer …
Sources: Apple will launch Image Playground and Genmoji in iOS 18.2; Sonos cuts its plans to build ~1M units of Ace headphones per year, to ~100K per year — Apple's AI features keep getting delayed — and that slow rollout likely means that the iPhone 16 won't see a “super cycle” of orders.
Some creators move from unpredictable algorithm-driven platforms to subscription services; YouTube group The Try Guys launched 2nd Try, a $5/month streamer — The Try Guys, one of YouTube's most established creator groups, have successfully abandoned their reliance on Google's algorithms …
A profile of Texas-based Tyler Tech, which has become a dominant US local government software provider, despite a history of software flaws and release delays — Tyler Tech dominates America's software industry managing parks, courts, municipal offices and prison networks. And you thought the DMV was rough before.
Analysis of 3.2M+ Telegram messages from 16K+ channels shows how the app is inundated with criminal activity, CSAM, drug dealers, white nationalists, and more — Drug dealers, scammers and white nationalists openly conduct business and spread toxic speech on the platform …
A profile of Pavel Durov's older brother Nikolai, who is reportedly still in Russia and is responsible for Telegram's encryption standard MTProto protocol — Nikolai Durov, who is also wanted by cops in France, is responsible for the messaging app's encryption standard.
An investigation details the lack of enforcement of CA's Prop 22 about four years after the ballot initiative, backed by gig economy companies, became state law — Prop. 22 promised improved pay and benefits for California gig workers. But when companies fail to deliver, the state isn't doing much to help push back.
Character.AI, Aleph Alpha, and other AI startups that raised hundreds of millions are struggling to compete against better-funded rivals and Big Tech companies — Even companies that raised hundreds of millions in funding are bowing out of the race to develop advanced AI models.
An interview with Bill Gates about What's Next? The Future with Bill Gates, an upcoming five-part Netflix docuseries examining issues like AI, misinfo, and more — I spoke with the tech pioneer about his new Netflix docuseries that touches on artificial intelligence, global warming and more.
Victoria Song / The Verge : With the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, which can easily slot into people's lives, Meta has exceeded expecta...
