October 2023

Generative AI startup 1337 (Leet) is paying users to help create AI-driven influencers

October 26, 2023

There’s been a rise of virtual influencers in recent years– computer-generated personalities who are just as active on social media platforms as real humans are. Many companies are investing in what’s called the “digital human economy,” a bullish market that is forecasted to reach $125 billion by 2035, per Gartner. And now, thanks to the […]

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AgentSync raises $50M more in a massive Series B extension

October 26, 2023

Insurtech has had a rocky few years. Several startups in the space raised a lot of money and tried their luck on the public markets, but found that investors were unwilling to grant them valuations on par with other tech companies for just trying to make insurance more efficient. Indeed, the market seems to demand […]

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The Download: gene-editing HIV, and how to destroy PFAS

October 26, 2023
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. Three people were gene-edited in an effort to cure their HIV. The result is unknown. The news: The gene-editing technology CRISPR has been used to change the genes of human babies, to modify…

Google adds generative AI threats to its bug bounty program

October 26, 2023

Google has expanded its vulnerability rewards program (VRP) to include attack scenarios specific to generative AI. In an announcement shared with TechCrunch ahead of publication, Google said: “We believe expanding the VRP will incentivize research around AI safety and security and bring potential issues to light that will ultimately make AI safer for everyone,”  Google’s […]

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Memory chip maker SK Hynix, a shareholder of Kioxia, opposes a merger with Western Digital

October 26, 2023

A long-expected merger of two of the world’s biggest memory chip companies — Western Digital and Japan’s Kioxia — may be hampered by one of Kioxa’s shareholders, SK Hynix. The South Korean chipmaker said during its earnings call today that it would not agree to a combination of the two players.  “SK Hynix is not […]

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Temasek and SBI pour $384 million into India’s Ola Electric

October 26, 2023

Ola Electric said on Thursday that it has raised $384.43 million in a funding round. What the Bengaluru-headquartered electric vehicle startup — which supposedly has no ongoing relationship with the ride-hailing startup Ola but continues to share resources, much to many investors’ chagrin — didn’t say was that more than $200 million of the new […]

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AI-powered 6G networks will reshape digital interactions

October 26, 2023
Sixth-generation (6G) mobile networks, underpinned by artificial intelligence (AI), are poised to combine communication and computing in a hyperconnected world of digital and physical experiences that will transform daily lives, experts predict. “In the past, we talked about internet of things, but with 6G, we talk about intelligent or smart internet of things,” says Qin…