The Download: AI replicas, and China’s climate role
December 2022
Bondaval raises $15M Series A for its alternative to traditional bank guarantees
Bondaval, the London-based B2B insurtech that gives credit teams assurance that customers will fulfill their financial obligations, has raised $15 million in Series A funding led by Talis Capital. The round included participation from returning investors Octopus Ventures, Insurtech Gateway Ltd, Truesight and Expa, and new investors FJ Labs and Broadhaven Ventures. Talis Capital general […]
Bondaval raises $15M Series A for its alternative to traditional bank guarantees by Catherine Shu originally published on TechCrunch
Oxyle’s tech uses water movement to remove pollutants
UNESCO calls water pollution one of the main challenges facing societies, with 2 million tonnes of sewage entering the world’s water each day. Oxyle wants to help solve the crisis with a new wastewater treatment that removes micropollutants. The Zurich-based startup announced today $3 million in pre-seed funding that it will use to bring its […]
Oxyle’s tech uses water movement to remove pollutants by Catherine Shu originally published on TechCrunch
YouTube will send a notification to users if their comment is abusive
Toxic and hateful comments on YouTube have been a constant headache for the company, creators and users. The company has previously attempted to curtail this by introducing features such as showing an alert to individuals at the time of posting so that they could be more considerate. Now, the streaming service is introducing a new […]
YouTube will send a notification to users if their comment is abusive by Ivan Mehta originally published on TechCrunch
B2C sales automators
Vegas visitors can take semi-autonomous EVs for a tour starting in 2023
Arcimoto, the maker of the three-wheeled electric Fun Utility Vehicles (FUVs), is teaming up with Faction to develop EVs that can be delivered to a customer’s hotel through a combination of low-level autonomy and tele-assist technology. The tie-up is part of an upcoming pilot in Las Vegas with GoCar Tours that will allow tourists to […]
Vegas visitors can take semi-autonomous EVs for a tour starting in 2023 by Rebecca Bellan originally published on TechCrunch
Shield AI raises another $60M at a $2.3B valuation for its military autonomous flying tech
Defense technology continues to get a lot of attention from investors, and today, one of the bigger startups in the space is announcing more funding. Shield AI — which develops platforms and planes for autonomous flying systems, targeting the U.S. military and its allies as customers — has raised $60 million in funding, money that […]
Shield AI raises another $60M at a $2.3B valuation for its military autonomous flying tech by Ingrid Lunden originally published on TechCrunch
Eratani supports Indonesia’s farmers through the entire growing process
About 29% of Indonesia’s workforce is in the agriculture sector, but many small farmers face challenges like low access to working capital. Eratani is an end-to-end management system that helps them get financing and supplies, and then helps them sell crops once they are ready. The startup announced today it has raised an oversubscribed $3.8 […]
Eratani supports Indonesia’s farmers through the entire growing process by Catherine Shu originally published on TechCrunch
Jack Dorsey warns against attacks on Twitter staff and dedicates $1M a year to Signal
Twitter founder Jack Dorsey issued a warning on the social network’s state and prospects, saying it meets none of the standards he hoped to achieve and that harassment of its staff is shortsighted and dangerous. It’s time to move on, as he’s said before, and to that end he’s funding new efforts in “open internet […]
Jack Dorsey warns against attacks on Twitter staff and dedicates $1M a year to Signal by Devin Coldewey originally published on TechCrunch
9 high-tech gift ideas for the cannabis users in your life
Slowly but surely, state by state, the U.S. is becoming more cannabis-friendly. As the number of states where weed is legalized (or at least decriminalized) grows, so too does the number of companies building amazing products for cannabis users. Got a friend who partokes and lives somewhere cool about it? Why not upgrade their experience […]
9 high-tech gift ideas for the cannabis users in your life by Matt Burns originally published on TechCrunch