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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PayPal debuts a new rewards program that combines Honey’s discounts with other ways to earn

October 17, 2022

PayPal is taking a step away from the Honey brand, the $4 billion shopping rewards acquisition it made in 2019, with today’s launch of PayPal Rewards. The new program will replace “Honey Gold” — the rewards program for Honey browser extension users, which allows customers to redeem their points for cash, gift cards or PayPal […]

PayPal debuts a new rewards program that combines Honey’s discounts with other ways to earn by Sarah Perez originally published on TechCrunch

Driverless in Phoenix and GM takes its EV offensive beyond vehicles

October 17, 2022

The Station is a weekly newsletter dedicated to all things transportation. Sign up here — just click The Station — to receive the full edition of the newsletter every weekend in your inbox. This is a shorter version of The Station newsletter that is emailed to subscribers. Want all the deals, news roundups and commentary? Subscribe […]

Driverless in Phoenix and GM takes its EV offensive beyond vehicles by Kirsten Korosec originally published on TechCrunch

Ambi Robotics secures $32M infusion to deploy its item-sorting robots in warehouses

October 17, 2022

Ambi Robotics, a startup developing supply chain automation hardware, today announced that it raised $32 million in additional funding led by Tiger Global and Bow Capital, with participation from Ahren and logistics firm Pitney Bowes. Pitney Bowes is a strategic investor in Ambi, having recently inked a $23 million deal with the company to deploy […]

Ambi Robotics secures $32M infusion to deploy its item-sorting robots in warehouses by Kyle Wiggers originally published on TechCrunch

Avataar Venture Partners Launch Fund II

October 17, 2022
The launch of the new fund highlights the huge market opportunity in B2B tech and SaaS sectors which have been resilient through the funding winter

Kanye West to acquire ‘uncancelable’ social media platform Parler

October 17, 2022

Kanye West, the rapper who also also goes by the name Ye, has reached an agreement to buy “uncancelable free speech platform” Parler, the two said in a statement Monday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. West, who has accused Meta of censoring him in recent weeks, said in a statement: “In a world […]

Kanye West to acquire ‘uncancelable’ social media platform Parler by Manish Singh originally published on TechCrunch

Shares of Korean internet giant Kakao slide after fire disrupts service

October 17, 2022

The stock price of South Korea’s internet giant Kakao tumbled on Monday after a fire at a data center that cut off power on Saturday, causing several service malfunctions. The blaze at the SK C&C data center, which houses the servers of Korea’s two largest internet companies — Kakao and Naver — disrupted Kakao’s messaging, […]

Shares of Korean internet giant Kakao slide after fire disrupts service by Kate Park originally published on TechCrunch

Inside effective altruism, where the far future counts a lot more more the present

October 17, 2022
Oregon 6th Con­gressional District candidate Carrick Flynn seemed to drop out of the sky. With a stint at Oxford’s Future of Humanity Institute, a track record of voting in only two of the past 30 elections, and $11 million in support from a political action committee established by crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, Flynn didn’t fit…

Nigerian banking-as-a-service platform Maplerad raises $6M, led by Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures

October 17, 2022

Banking-as-a-service (BaaS) platforms have taken off rapidly across the fintech world over the last 18 months. By partnering with banks, these platforms allow entities from startups and fintechs to big corporations and banks to provide tailored banking services and experiences to their customers. Fintechs offering BaaS services in U.S. and Europe, such as Unit, Rapyd […]

Nigerian banking-as-a-service platform Maplerad raises $6M, led by Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures by Tage Kene-Okafor originally published on TechCrunch

Indian edtech giant Byju’s raises $250 million in fresh funding

October 17, 2022

Byju’s said it has raised $250 million in new funding from existing backers as the Indian edtech giant looks to navigate the market downturn that has forced the firm to postpone the initial public offering. The new funding valued the Bengaluru-headquartered startup at $22 billion, the same figure at which it raised a financing round […]

Indian edtech giant Byju’s raises $250 million in fresh funding by Manish Singh originally published on TechCrunch

Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart launches metaverse shopping experience

October 17, 2022

Flipkart has launched a metaverse offering for consumers to more interactively discover and shop new products, the latest bet from the Indian e-commerce giant as it experiments with web3 offerings to supercharge its customer experience. The Walmart-backed Bengaluru-headquartered firm has partnered with eDAO, a Polygon-incubated firm, to launch the metaverse offering, which it is calling Flipverse. […]

Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart launches metaverse shopping experience by Manish Singh originally published on TechCrunch