February 22, 2025

US AI Safety Institute could face big cuts

The National Institute of Standards and Technology could fire as many as 500 staffers, according to multiple reports — cuts that further threaten a fledgling AI safety organization. Axios reported this week that the US AI Safety Institute (AISI) and Chips for America, both part of NIST, would be “gutted” by layoffs targeting probationary employees […]

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November 2023

Zephr emerges from stealth with $3.5M and plans to create a “networked GPS” using cell phones

November 2, 2023

Zephr has emerged from stealth with radical plans to dramatically improve GPS – using cell phones with zero hardware modifications. Mobile devices have abysmal GPS accuracy, which prevents location app developers in verticals spanning gaming to fitness tracking from truly taking advantage of the powerful little computer everyone carries in their pocket. Two of Zephr’s […]

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The growing signs of trouble for global carbon markets

November 2, 2023
This article is from The Spark, MIT Technology Review’s weekly climate newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Wednesday, sign up here. There are growing signs of trouble for the multibillion-dollar global carbon market, as investigative stories and studies continue to erode the credibility of the business world’s go-to tool for cleaning up climate…

Bullish or Bearish — Analyzing 3 Energy Stocks

November 2, 2023
The energy sector is poised for significant expansion, propelled by escalating crude oil prices. Given this backdrop, let’s analyze the energy stocks Suncor Energy (SU), Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC), and…

Charm offensive: Google’s Gradient backs this startup to bring more pizzazz to the command line

November 2, 2023

A young startup is setting out to transform the command line interface (CLI) into something a little more fitting for the modern age — something a little more glamorous. Charm is a four-year-old company founded by former Apple, Last.fm, and TweetDeck engineer Toby Padilla, alongside Christian Rocha who formerly served as head of voice at […]

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New Facebook Stories API helps creators share directly from third-party desktop or web apps

November 2, 2023

Meta is introducing a new API that makes it easier to create and share a Facebook Story directly from a third-party desktop or web app. The social networking ad titan first introduced Stories to the main Facebook app in 2017, emulating a feature it had added to Instagram the previous year as well as Messenger […]

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How a tiny Pacific Island became the global capital of cybercrime

November 2, 2023
Tokelau, a necklace of three isolated atolls strung out across the Pacific, is so remote that it was the last place on Earth to be connected to the telephone—only in 1997.  Just three years later, the islands received a fax with an unlikely business proposal that would change everything. It was from an early internet…

Xage Security raises $20M more to expand its security platform

November 2, 2023

While the number of cybersecurity funding deals reached a high point in 2022, that doesn’t mean that the sector’s tapped out — far from it. According to Statista, there were 148 deals in Q2 2023 worth a combined $1.6 billion. And — at least anecdotally — Q3 deal flow seems healthy, too. Case in point, […]

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Dashtoon uses AI to turn storytellers into comics artists

November 2, 2023

Dashtoon wants to make anyone with a story to tell into a comics artist, even if they can’t draw. It provides aspiring comics creator with a suite of generative AI tools, and a publishing platform that releases new episodes daily for impatient readers. To seed the platform, called Dashtoon Comic Reader, Dashtoon commissioned about 30 […]

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Kuva Space raises €16.6M Series A to scale hyperspectral imagery ambitions

November 2, 2023

Kuva Space, a hyperspectral imagery startup founded in Finland, has closed a €16.6 million ($17.6 million) Series A funding round as it looks to deploy up to 100 satellites by the end of the decade. The startup, formerly called Reaktor Space Lab, was founded in 2016 and spent its first four years focused on building […]

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Japan’s SBI Holdings commits $40M to anchor Novastar Ventures future funds

November 2, 2023

SBI Holdings, a Japanese financial services conglomerate and one of the largest venture capital firms in the East Asian country, has made a $40 million multi-fund commitment to anchor pan-African VC firm Novastar Ventures’ future funds. Following the deal, SBI Holdings will take a minority stake in Novastar and get a non-executive seat in its […]

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