Deal Dive: Futureverse is a metaverse company that might actually get it
Futureverse is making tools that brands can use to build content for the metaverse, but not the one that Meta is envisioning.
The Download: how to store energy underground, and what you may not know about Trump’s AI Action Plan
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 startup wants to use the Earth as a massive battery Texas-based startup Quidnet Energy just completed a test showing it can store energy for up to six months by pumping water underground.…
Technology
Tech warriors in the battle for Israel’s democracy
Israel’s high-tech sector stands united in its commitment to safeguard the democratic values that have propelled success on the global stage.
Congress probes Ford’s big battery deal with China’s CATL
In a public letter addressed to Ford boss Jim Farley, House Republicans Mike Gallagher and Jason Smith announced that two congressional committees are investigating the automaker’s licensing deal with Chinese battery maker CATL. The probe centers on Ford’s efforts to put CATL’s battery cell technology to use at an upcoming, $3.5 billion battery cell plant […]
European insurtech is showing strength that venture data doesn’t fully detail
If you only tracked American insurtech companies that went public recently, you might think insurtech is in its flop era. Thankfully, that’s not true.
FedNow is finally live in the US
The U.S. government’s instant payment system, FedNow Service, went live this week. Here’s a quick refresher on what that is: FedNow is an instant payment infrastructure for transferring money that promises to be a faster payment rail for financial institutions, offering immediate access to funds no matter the day or time. As you know, this […]
Pitch Deck Teardown: CleanHub’s $7M seed deck
Plastic in ocean bad. Plastic not in ocean good. That’s, in a nutshell, the pitch for CleanHub. The company has designed a whole business model and a track-and-trace model around that, so brands can rest assured that their plastics don’t end up in the oceans. Who these brands are, and what happens to the plastic […]
The Download: digital dollars, and AI guidelines
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. Is the digital dollar dead? In 2020, digital currencies were one of the hottest topics in town. China was well on its way to launching its own central bank digital currency, or CBDC,…
OpenAI’s head of trust and safety Dave Willner steps down
A significant personnel change is afoot at OpenAI, the artificial intelligence juggernaut that has nearly single-handedly inserted the concept of generative AI into global public discourse with the launch of ChatGPT. Dave Willner, an industry veteran who was the startup’s head of trust and safety, announced in a post on LinkedIn last night that he […]
Grab acquires Singapore’s third-largest taxi operator Trans-cab
Singapore’s ride-hailing and food delivery company Grab has signed an agreement for its car rental unit Grab Rentals to acquire Trans-cab, the city state’s third largest taxi operator. The deal, Grab’s first local competitor acquisition, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2023 and includes “Trans-cab’s taxi and car rental business, maintenance workshops and […]
Is the digital dollar dead?
It’s summer 2020. The world is under a series of lockdowns as the pandemic continues to run its course. And in academic and foreign policy circles, digital currencies are one of the hottest topics in town. China is well on its way to launching its own central bank digital currency, or CBDC, and many other…