OpenAI invests in Sam Altman’s brain-computer interface startup Merge Labs
Just when you thought circular trading couldn’t get any more circular, OpenAI invested in CEO Sam Altman’s brain computer interface (BCI) startup Merge Labs. Merge Labs, which defines itself as a “research institute” dedicated to “bridging biological and artificial intelligence to maximize human potential,” came out of stealth on Thursday with an undisclosed seed round. […]
US senators demand answers from X, Meta, Alphabet and more on sexual deepfakes
The tech industry’s non-consensual sexual deepfakes problem is now bigger than just an X. In a letter to the leaders of X, Meta, Alphabet, Snap, Reddit and TikTok, several US senators are asking the companies to provide evidence that they have “robust protections and policies” in place and explain how they intend to curb the […]
How one startup is using prebiotics to alleviate copper deficiency
Five years from now, the world may start running out of copper, a critical mineral used in everything from data centers to electric cars. If nothing changes, the world could face severe shortages as early as 2040, with demand exceeding supply by as much as 25%. If copper seems expensive now, wait a few years. […]
Spotify raises subscription prices in the US again
Spotify has increased the price of its subscription plans in the U.S. for the third time in three years, increasing monthly plans from $11.99 per month to $12.99 per month. The company sent an email to paying users informing them of the new price. This price will apply starting with your next monthly billing cycle. […]
Parloa triples valuation to $3 billion in 8 months with $350 million in funding
Berlin-based Parloa has raised $350 million in Series D funding from existing investors, valuing the six-year-old customer service AI startup at $3 billion. The round comes just eight months after the company raised $120 million at a $1 billion valuation. The new round was led by General Catalyst, with participation from returning backers including EQT […]
Mira Murati’s startup Thinking Machines Lab loses two co-founders to OpenAI
Former OpenAI executive Mira Murati’s startup Thinking Machines Lab is bidding farewell to its two co-founders, who will both return to OpenAI. Another former OpenAI staff member who worked for Murati’s startup also plans to return to the company. On Wednesday, Murati announced on social media that the company’s co-founder and chief technology officer, Barrett […]
California launches investigation, Musk denies knowledge of Grok’s images of minors
Elon Musk said Wednesday that he was “not aware of any images of naked minors generated by Grok,” hours before California’s attorney general launched an investigation into xAI’s chatbot for “spreading non-consensual sexually explicit content.” Musk’s denial comes amid mounting pressure from governments around the world, from the UK and Europe to Malaysia and Indonesia, […]
AI models are starting to decipher high-level math problems
Neel Somani, a software engineer, former quantitative researcher, and startup founder, was testing the math skills of OpenAI’s new models last weekend when he made an unexpected discovery. After pasting the problem into ChatGPT and letting it think for 15 minutes, I came back with a complete solution. He evaluated the proof and formalized it […]
Digg unveils new Reddit rival to the public
restart Digg, an early Internet online community that was once a rival to Redditmoving forward. The company is now back under the ownership of original founder Kevin Rose and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, and will begin an open beta for the public on Wednesday. Similar to Reddit, the new Digg offers a website and mobile […]
Bandcamp takes action against AI music, bans it from platform
Music distribution platform Bandcamp announced in a post on Reddit on Tuesday that it would ban AI-generated music and audio. “We want musicians to keep making music, and we want fans to have confidence that the music they find on Bandcamp is made by humans,” the company said in a statement. Bandcamp’s new guidelines state […]