August 2023

TechCrunch Disrupt 2023 Startup Battlefield 200: AI and Security edition

August 29, 2023
After months of vetting thousands of applications, the Startup Battlefield 200 (SB 200) cohort for TechCrunch Disrupt 2023 is complete. You do not want to miss this incredible, curated collection of early-stage startups you’ll find exhibiting on the expo floor. We want to highlight them, but listing all of them at once would be, well, […]

DeepMind partners with Google Cloud to watermark AI-generated images

August 29, 2023
In partnership with Google Cloud, Google Deepmind, Google’s AI research division, is launching a tool for watermarking and identifying AI-generated images. But only images created by Google’s own image-generating model. The tool, called SnythID and available in beta for select users of Vertex AI, Google’s platform for building AI apps and models, embeds a digital […]

NHTSA raises more concerns about Tesla’s Autopilot safety

August 29, 2023
Once again, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is requesting more information from Tesla regarding the safety of Autopilot. In a special order dated July 26, the regulator shared concerns about a change to Tesla’s advanced driver assistance system that allows drivers to use the system for extended periods of time without prompting the […]

Starfish Space pulls Otter Pup servicing vehicle back from “the brink of death”

August 29, 2023
Against all odds, Starfish Space has managed to pull its first orbital mission back from the brink of catastrophe, with the startup saying Tuesday that it has re-gained control over the Otter Pup spacecraft that had been rapidly tumbling through space. The Kent, Washington-based startup said it will now move ahead with an “extensive checkout” […]

Meta shut down a disinformation campaign tied to Chinese law enforcement

August 29, 2023
A massive social media disinformation campaign linked to Chinese law enforcement is no more, according to Meta. In its latest report on what Facebook and Instagram’s parent company calls “coordinated inauthentic behavior” — usually covert state-sponsored social media campaigns designed to shape public opinion — Meta detailed the discovery of a huge network of fake […]

Meta avatars are finally getting legs (in beta)

August 29, 2023
It’s time to beta test Meta’s greatest technological innovation since the News Feed: legs. Now on Meta Quest headsets, you can download an update that lets you walk on two feet, just like our ancient ancestor, the Ardipithecus ramidus, an early hominid that achieved bipedality 4.4 million years ago. Now, it comes full circle. When […]