December 2023

Meta set to discontinue cross-messaging between Instagram and Facebook

December 5, 2023

Meta has silently updated its support pages to indicate that the company won’t let users on Instagram message their Facebook contacts anymore. The company, as pointed out by 9to5Google, said the feature will shut down mid-December — without specifying a date. The support page indicates that while you won’t be able to start new cross-platform […]

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Make no mistake—AI is owned by Big Tech

December 5, 2023
Until late November, when the epic saga of OpenAI’s board breakdown unfolded, the casual observer could be forgiven for assuming that the industry around generative AI was a vibrant competitive ecosystem.  But this is not the case—nor has it ever been. And understanding why is fundamental to understanding what AI is, and what threats it…

Omniful, a supply chain and e-commerce enablement startup, emerges from stealth with $5.85M

December 5, 2023

Supply chain and e-commerce enablement startup, Omniful, has today emerged from stealth with $5.85 million seed funding led by VentureSouq, with participation from 500 Global, DASH Ventures, Jahez Group, SEEDRA Ventures, Bunat Ventures, Hala Ventures, RZM Investments and several family offices including Al Rasheed, Siraj Holding, Al Bawardi, Al Nafea. The UAE and Kingdom of […]

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Carbon Maps, a carbon accounting startup for the food industry, gets new backers

December 5, 2023

Carbon Maps is a relatively new entrant in the carbon accounting space as it is less than one year old. But the French company has already secured $7.6 million in funding (€7 million) following the startup’s €3 million seed round extension. I already covered Carbon Maps back in February, so I encourage you to read […]

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SoftBank Corp takes 51% of Cubic Telecom for $513M to drive into the connected car world

December 5, 2023

As automakers and technology companies continue to build ever-more sophisticated digital platforms into cars and other vehicles, a startup that’s built a system that makes it easy to connect that hardware to wireless networks around the world has picked up a major round of funding. Cubic Telecom, which provides a software-based networking solution for vehicles […]

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Egypt’s Mtor nabs $2.8M pre-seed for its online auto parts marketplace

December 5, 2023

Egyptian online auto parts marketplace Mtor has raised $2.8 million in pre-seed investment led by MENA-focused venture capital firm Algebra Ventures. Other investors that participated in the round include Dutch Founders Fund (DFF), Aditum Ventures, LoftyInc Capital and other local and global angel investors, the startup said in a statement. Mtor’s founder and CEO, Mohamed […]

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Fortnite is expanding its horizons with a Lego building game and a Rock Band successor

December 5, 2023

The first fruit of the partnership between Fornite-maker Epic Games and Lego is due out this week — along with a pair of other games within a game that expand Fortnite’s horizons considerably. The hybrid Lego/Fortnite experience is billed as a “survival crafting LEGO adventure” and will debut this Thursday, December 7. Lego Fortnite, which […]

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For $200, George Santos will gossip with you on Cameo

December 5, 2023

George Santos, Republican ex-congressman, certified grifter and unlikely gay icon, is now on Cameo. Santos’ stint in Congress — checkered with a slew of criminal fraud charges, a House ethics committee probe and allegations of misspending campaign funds on expenses like Botox and OnlyFans subscriptions — ended last week when fellow representatives voted to expel […]

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Cruise faces fines in California for withholding key details in robotaxi accident

December 5, 2023

Cruise keeps getting kicked while it’s down. The General Motors-owned robotaxi company may face fines and sanctions after failing to disclose details of an October 2 incident — specifically that one of its vehicles dragged a pedestrian 20 feet, according to a ruling from a California agency. The regulatory action comes as Cruise struggles to […]

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