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Activate and The Engine Accelerator team up to train scientists to become founders
Two prominent programs, Activate and The Engine Accelerator, have decided they can give founders an advantage if they team up. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
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WhatsApp lets you select specific people within a group to start a group call without disturbing anyone
WhatsApp announced that it had added new video calling features just before the holidays, including participant selection for group video calls, better resolution, and a revamped call tab on the desktop. This is another step from Meta in making WhatsApp a viable option for both personal and work calls instead of using Google Meet or…
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New Syndicate One fund joins Belgium’s small-but-punchy tech ecosystem
Syndicate One is a debut investment firm out of Belgium that has raised a €6.5 million fund to back Belgian founders and startups. While the amount is small, the significance is that it is the first Belgian fund to have the support of all four of the federal regions of the country. This, in a…
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As AI-fueled disinformation explodes, here comes the startup counterattack
With disinformation on the rise, especially given the explosion of AI, companies are just as vulnerable to its effects as individuals. Refute is a London-based startup that detects and responds to disinformation on behalf of these commercial entities. It’s now raised a £2.3 million ($2.9 million) pre-seed round led by UK investors Playfair and Episode 1.…
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Texas AG is investigating Character.AI, other platforms over child safety concerns
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Thursday launched an investigation into Character.AI and 14 other technology platforms over child privacy and safety concerns. The investigation will assess whether Character.AI — and other platforms that are popular with young people, including Reddit, Instagram and Discord — conform to Texas’ child privacy and safety laws. The investigation…
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Microsoft debuts Phi-4, a new generative AI model, in research preview
Microsoft has announced the newest addition to its Phi family of generative AI models. Called Phi-4, the model is improved in several areas over its predecessors, Microsoft claims — in particular math problem solving. That’s partly the result of improved training data quality. Phi-4 is available in very limited access as of Thursday night: only…
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Meta debuts a tool for watermarking AI-generated videos
Meta is open sourcing a method to watermark AI-generated videos. Called Meta Video Seal, the company says it’s robust against compression and edits. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
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Google Gemini: Everything you need to know about the generative AI models
Gemini is Google’s long-promised, next-gen generative AI model family. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
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A Waymo robotaxi got stuck in a roundabout loop
Roundabouts. They trapped Clark Griswold in National Lampoon’s European Vacation and now they’ve tripped up a Waymo robotaxi. A video is circulating on social media showing a Waymo robotaxi going round and round on a roundabout — as if it is stuck in a loop. A Waymo spokesperson told TechCrunch there were no passengers onboard…
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Fleet Space raises $100M to scale satellite-enabled mineral prospecting tech
Late-stage deals in space have been on the decline this year, but one notable exception is Fleet Space Technologies’ $100 million Series D. The Adelaide, Australia-based startup raised the new funding to accelerate the development of ExoSphere, a platform to enable real-time mineral prospecting from space. The company currently has two satellites in low Earth…