[[{“value”:” With venture totals slipping year-over-year in key markets like the United States, and concern that venture firms themselves are struggling to raise more capital, founders might be worried. After all, if private-market investment doesn’t perk up in the coming quarters, we could be on track for yet another year of declines in total startup investment […] © 2024 TechCrunch….
Google brings a variation on ‘Circle to Search’ to iPhone users
[[{“value”:” Google has found a way to bring a variation of its clever “Circle to Search” gesture to iPhone users. The new interaction, launched in January, allows Android users to search from anywhere on their device by circling, highlighting, scribbling or tapping, making it easier to engage with Google Search from any screen. Of course, a […] © 2024 TechCrunch….
Always-on video portal lets people in NYC and Dublin interact in real time
[[{“value”:” A new sculpture going live on Wednesday in the Flatiron South Public Plaza in New York is not your typical artwork. It combines technology, sociology, anthropology and art to let people interact with one another in real time in two places. In this case, it’s between New York City and Dublin. The Portal itself is […] © 2024 TechCrunch….
TechCrunch Minute: When did iPads get as expensive as MacBooks?
[[{“value”:” Apple’s iPad event had a lot to like. New iPads with new chips and new sizes, a new Apple Pencil, and even some software updates. If you are a big fan of Apple hardware, well, it was probably a good day. Now you can get an updated and thinner iPad Pro, if that’s your jam. […] © 2024 TechCrunch….
Bye-bye bots: Altera’s game-playing AI agents get backing from Eric Schmidt
[[{“value”:” Autonomous, AI-based players are coming to a gaming experience near you, and a new startup, Altera, is joining the fray to build this new guard of AI agents. The company announced Wednesday that it raised $9 million in an oversubscribed seed round, co-led by First Spark Ventures (Eric Schmidt’s deep-tech fund) and Patron (the seed-stage fund […] © 2024 TechCrunch….
$450M for Noname, two billion-dollar rounds, and good news for crypto startups
[[{“value”:” This morning on Equity, we have good news for crypto founders, notes on Akamai’s $450M acquisition of Noname, and billion-dollar deals from Wiz and Wayve. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. “}]]
Google DeepMind debuts huge AlphaFold update and free proteomics-as-a-service web app
[[{“value”:” Google DeepMind has taken the wraps off a new version of AlphaFold, their transformative machine learning model that predicts the shape and behavior of proteins. AlphaFold 3 is not only more accurate, but predicts interactions with other biomolecules, making it a far more versatile research tool — and the company is putting a limited version […] © 2024 TechCrunch….
Uber promises member exclusives as Uber One passes $1B run-rate
[[{“value”:” Uber plans to deliver more perks to Uber One members, like member-exclusive events, in a bid to gain more revenue through subscriptions. “You will see more member-exclusives coming up where members have exclusive access to events and experiences, which will kind of surprise and delight our members,” said Uber chief financial officer Prashanth Mahendra-Rajah Wednesday […] © 2024 TechCrunch….
Checkfirst raises $1.5M pre-seed to apply AI to remote inspections and audits
[[{“value”:” We’ve all seen them. The inspector with a clipboard, walking around a building, ticking off the last time the fire extinguishers were checked, or if all the lights are working. They work in the TICC (Testing, Inspection, Certification and Compliance) space, and they literally tick boxes. And while the job may seem simple enough to […] © 2024 TechCrunch….
Controversial drone company Xtend leans into defense with new $40 million round
[[{“value”:” Close to a decade ago, brothers Aviv and Matteo Shapira co-founded a company, Replay, that created a video format for 360-degree replays — the sorts of replays that have become part and parcel of major sports broadcasts. Replay caught the attention of Intel, which acquired the company in 2016 for a reported $175 million, and […] © 2024 TechCrunch….