February 2024

Lucid Motors drops the price of its cheapest EV by more than $8,000

February 15, 2024

Lucid Motors is lopping thousands of dollars off the price of its most affordable electric sedans as it looks to boost demand after a disappointing year of sales. The rear-wheel drive version of the base model Lucid Air Pure will now start a $69,900, down from the previous price of $77,400. The more powerful Lucid […]

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Clarity raises $16M to fight deepfakes through detection

February 15, 2024

Fake porn of Taylor Swift. Photorealistic — but fictionalized — images of Gaza. The list of disconcerting deepfakes goes on, and — as deepfake-creating tools grow easier and cheaper to use — the waves of fakes are coming faster and fiercer. According to a recent Pew Center poll, about two-thirds of Americans (66%) say they […]

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Intuitive Machines lunar lander en route to the moon after SpaceX launch

February 15, 2024

Intuitive Machines first mission to the moon is now underway. The company’s Nova-C lander, called Odysseus, lifted off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in the early hours of Thursday morning. The spacecraft will now embark on a eight-day journey to the moon, with a landing attempt scheduled for February 22. Deployment of @Int_Machines IM-1 […]

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The Download: why batteries rock, and Apple’s VR headset returns problem

February 15, 2024
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 things to love about batteries It’s hard to pick favorites when it comes to climate technologies. Really, anything that helps us get closer to tackling climate change is worth writing about, both…

.406 Ventures secures $265M for fifth fund

February 15, 2024

When looking at startups within healthcare, data and AI and cybersecurity, the firm considers a number of factors like the plan for infrastructure, especially now that AI is everywhere.

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Arnergy, which provides solar power systems to homes and businesses in Nigeria, raises $3M

February 15, 2024

Arnergy, a Nigerian cleantech startup that deals in distributed renewable energy products and solutions, has raised $3 million in new financing. The bridge round was financed by All On, a Shell-backed off-grid energy impact investment company. The financing comes five years after Arnergy, a provider of solar power systems to homes and businesses, secured a […]

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Three things to love about batteries

February 15, 2024
This article is from The Spark, MIT Technology Review’s weekly climate newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Wednesday, sign up here. I wouldn’t exactly say I have favorites when it comes to climate technologies. Anything that could help us get closer to tackling climate change is worth writing about, both to share the…

Embracing Old-Fashioned Frugal Living Like Grandma

February 15, 2024
In the age of fast fashion, instant gratification, and ever-expanding credit cards, remembering our grandparents’ simple ways can seem quaint. For one, Grandma didn’t even own a credit card; only…

Evernote and Meetup owner Bending Spoons raises $155M in equity financing

February 15, 2024

Bending Spoons, the owner of popular apps and services like Evernote and Meetup, announced today that it has raised $155 million in a new equity financing round at a $2.55 billion post-money valuation. Durable Capital Partners led the round with existing investors, such as Baillie Gifford, Cox Enterprises, NB Renaissance, NUO Capital and StarTIP (controlled […]

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Alibaba faces reckoning with once-vaunted ‘new retail’ strategy

February 15, 2024

In 2017, “new retail” began appearing in Alibaba’s earnings reports. Coined by the Chinese e-commerce behemoth, the term refers to the seamless integration of online and offline retail. Six years later, Alibaba is having a moment of reckoning with this strategy as it looks to offload some of its offline retail assets. On its recent […]

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