Spotify hits a record 751M monthly users thanks to Wrapped, new free features
Spotify credited a successful Wrapped campaign and new features in its free tier for its rapid user growth
How much wildfire prevention is too much?
The race to prevent the worst wildfires has been an increasingly high-tech one. Companies are proposing AI fire detection systems and drones that can stamp out early blazes. And now, one Canadian startup says it’s going after lightning. Lightning-sparked fires can be a big deal: The Canadian wildfires of 2023 generated nearly 500 million metric…
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Primary Ventures raises healthy $625M Fund V to focus on seed investing
Primary Ventures has closed a $625 million fund focused on seed investing nationwide. It’s a sizeable accomplishment for a seed-stage VC firm.
Proptech startup Smart Bricks raises $5 million pre-seed led by a16z
Smart Bricks is an AI-powered proptech that helps investors find high-quality real estate investments
AI video startup Runway raises $315M at $5.3B valuation, eyes more capable world models
Startup Runway has raised a $315 million round at a $5.3 billion valuation, funds it will use to expand beyond AI video generation and into world models.
The Download: Making AI Work, and why the Moltbook hype is similar to Pokémon
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. A first look at Making AI Work, MIT Technology Review’s new AI newsletter Are you interested in learning more about the ways in which AI is actually being used? We’ve launched a new…
YouTube rolls out an AI playlist generator for Premium users
YouTube Music is rolling out a new AI-powered playlist-generation feature that allows Premium users on iOS and Android to use text prompts to create playlists.
The first signs of burnout are coming from the people who embrace AI the most
Because employees could do more, work began bleeding into lunch breaks and late evenings. The employees’ to-do lists expanded to fill every hour that AI freed up, and then kept going.
Tem raises $75M to remake electricity markets using AI
Tem has built a transaction engine that relies on AI to cut costs. Lightspeed led the round to help the startup expand to the U.S. and Australia.
India makes Aadhaar more ubiquitous, but critics say security and privacy concerns remain
India’s Aadhaar is moving into wallets, hotels and policing through a new app. Critics say that amid the broader Aadhaar rollout, it’s unclear how data shared through the new app would prevent breaches or leaks.
Waymo is testing driverless robotaxis in Nashville
This is the typical next step before it launches a commercial service.