February 6, 2025

Yes, AI Might Take Your PR Job. Here’s What You Can Do About It.

As AI reshapes the PR industry, professionals who embrace technology, focus on creativity and build genuine connections can secure their place in the future of public relations.

Technology

Team behind crypto privacy protocol Manta Network is now valued at $500M

July 19, 2023
Even amid the crypto winter, some web3 companies are racking up hefty valuations. P0x Labs, the team behind Manta Network, a privacy-preserving protocol running on the Polkadot blockchain, announced today that it has reached a $500 million valuation following a $25 million Series A funding round. Lead investors in the round are crypto-focused Polychain Capital […]

The Download: Meta’s new AI system, and covert Chinese social media activity

July 19, 2023
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. Meta’s latest AI model is free for all  The news: Meta is going all in on open-source AI. The company has unveiled LLaMA 2, its first large language model that’s available for anyone…

FedML raises $11.5 to combine MLOps tools with a decentralized AI compute network

July 19, 2023
Interest in AI among the enterprise continues to rise, with one recent survey finding that nearly two-thirds of companies plan to increase or maintain their spending on AI and machine learning into this year. But often, these companies are encountering blockers in deploying various forms of AI into production. A 2020 poll from Rexer Analytics […]

Spotting Chinese state media social accounts continues to be a challenge

July 19, 2023
This story first appeared in China Report, MIT Technology Review’s newsletter about technology developments in China. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Tuesday. It’s no secret that Chinese state-owned media are active on Western social platforms, but sometimes they take a covert approach and distance themselves from China, perhaps to reach more unsuspecting audiences. …

Nigeria’s MyCover.ai to scale its open insurance API platform with new funding

July 19, 2023
Africa’s insurance market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7% between 2022 and 2028, reaching $120 billion. Though seemingly impressive, the insurance industry in Africa could be worth more if insurance penetration on the continent wasn’t extremely low, less than 3%, according to reports. As a result, traditional insurers […]

Neura Robotics picks up $55M to ramp up in cognitive robotics

July 19, 2023
Neura Robotics, a German startup that since 2019 has been building cognitive robots — machines that possess memory, the ability to operate across a complex and changing mix of variables, and can collaborate with people (“cobots” as Neura calls them) — has raised $55 million. It plans to use the funding to fuel more R&D […]

Korean fashion platform Musinsa bags $190M Series C led by KKR at a $2.7B valuation

July 19, 2023
Musinsa, a Seoul-based fashion marketplace, said Wednesday it has raised a $190 million round of Series C funding led by KKR, with participation from Wellington Management.  The new capital put Musinsa’s valuation at approximately $2.76 billion (more than 3 trillion won), per sources familiar with the situation. The Korean fashion e-commerce startup declined to provide […]

Forerunner Ventures sees a future full of “digitally native franchises”

July 19, 2023
Forerunner Ventures made its name in the venture world by betting on once-nascent startups like Jet, Bonobos and Glossier when it was far easier to build a digitally native brand than today. But as commerce has evolved, so has the firm. As part of that evolution, Forerunner five years ago brought aboard veteran VC Brian […]