TechCrunch+ Roundup: Traction slide help, climate tech homework, Euro cannabis investor survey
A traction slide is your chance to show off and build investor confidence. But what if your startup doesn’t have any wins to boast about?
The Download: flaws in anti-AI protections for art, and an AI regulation vibe shift
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. This tool strips away anti-AI protections from digital art The news: A new technique called LightShed will make it harder for artists to use existing protective tools to stop their work from being…
Technology
Ample to bring EV battery swapping to Mitsubishi trucks in Japan
San Francisco startup Ample is bringing its modular electric vehicle battery swapping technology to Mitsubishi Fuso’s electric trucks this winter, the company said Tuesday. This marks the first time Ample’s technology is being used for large vehicles. The company’s technology is currently being used on a small scale for ride-hail vehicles in San Francisco and […]
Generative AI is empowering the digital workforce
Many people think of generative AI as a tool that allows them to use their own words to ask questions or generate copy and images—both of which it does remarkably well. However, it also has incredible potential to transform our personal and professional work—helping us access, consume, and utilize the untapped information that floods our…
Jeeves hits over $40M in annualized revenue as it expands beyond corporate credit cards
In September of 2021, Jeeves began offering corporate credit cards as its primary product — with a primary focus on Latin America — after participating in Y Combinator’s summer 2020 batch. By that 2021 launch, Jeeves was describing itself as the first “cross country, cross currency” expense management platform — serving businesses in North America, […]
Twenty years ago, AIM chatbot SmarterChild out-snarked ChatGPT
In the early aughts, millions of preteens raced home from school and hopped onto their parents computers, opened a chat window, and typed… probably something like “fuck,” or “(.)(.)”. “Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?” SmarterChild would reply in an instant. It would make you apologize, and then move past your indiscretions to […]
Owner of @x Twitter handle says no one reached out ahead of Twitter’s rebranding to ‘X’
Twitter’s rebranding to X has not been faring well. In addition to the haphazard rollout, which saw parts of the site referencing “X” while other parts still implored you to “search Twitter” or push a blue button to “Tweet,” the company also didn’t secure the intellectual property rights to the X brand, Reuters reported. Plus, […]
Stay Ai’s tech helps Shopify brands get customers to make that second purchase
Stay Ai developed a recurring commerce enablement platform for subscriptions, clubs and memberships with loyalty tools to help brands increase customer lifetime value.
The Download: AI transparency, and Twitter’s transformation
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. It’s high time for more AI transparency In less than a week since Meta launched its open source AI model, LLaMA 2, startups and researchers have already used it to develop a chatbot…
Brevel sprouts $18.5M to develop microalgae-based alternative proteins
Brevel developed a proprietary technology that combines fermentation and light to make a protein from microalgae that is sold to food companies as a powder for use in plant-based products.
Cloud camera security startup Solink raises $60M
Solink, a company that provides physical security systems for businesses, including closed-circuit camera analytics, today announced that it raised $60 million in a Series C round led by Goldman Sachs with participation from Omers Ventures and BDC IT Ventures. Co-founder and CEO Michael Matta said the cash will be put toward growing Solink’s client base […]