Lucid Bots raises $20M to keep up with demand for its window-washing drones
Lucid Bots has seen demand accelerate over the last year for its window cleaning drones and power washing robots.
The Download: failed social media bans, and extending pets’ lives
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. Kids are outsmarting social media bans. That’s not a problem we need to solve. —Michal Luria, Aliya Bhatia, and Danah Boyd Social media bans are stacking up. In July, France joined…
TopTechTrends
The AI Hype Index: AI goes to war
AI is at war. Anthropic and the Pentagon feuded over how to weaponize Anthropic’s AI model Claude; then OpenAI swept the Pentagon off its feet with an “opportunistic and sloppy” deal. Users quit ChatGPT in droves. People marched through London in the biggest protest against AI to date. If you’re keeping score, Anthropic—the company founded…
A former Thiel fellow’s startup just launched a drone it says can replace police helicopters
Brinc launched its newest 911 response drone this week, as the company seeks to expand its prominence in the public safety industry.
Amazon just bought a startup making kid-size humanoid robots
The acquisition of Fauna Robotics is the second robotics startup Amazon has purchased this month.
With $3.5B in fresh capital, Kleiner Perkins is going all in on AI
The fundraise includes $1 billion for investing in early-stage startups, and $2.5 billion for late-stage growth businesses.
New Mexico just handed Meta its first courtroom defeat over child safety, and the rest of the country is watching
The dollar amount isn’t as important as the fact that this is the first jury verdict of its kind against Meta over harm to young people.
Lululemon bets Epoch Biodesign can eat its shorts, literally
Startup Epoch Biodesign uses enzymes to break plastic waste down into monomers, the chemical building blocks that can be used to make new plastic.
OpenAI’s Sora was the creepiest app on your phone — now it’s shutting down
Though the underlying Sora 2 video- and audio-generation model is scarily impressive, there was not sustained interest in an AI-only social feed.
Accel, Prosus pick six ‘off-the-map’ startups for inaugural India cohort
The six startups were selected from over 2,000 applications and will receive $500,000 to $2 million each.
Kentucky woman rejects $26 million offer to turn her farm into a data center
A “major artificial intelligence company” reportedly offered a Kentucky women $26 million to build a data center on their farm.