TechCrunch+ Roundup: SaaS architecture, Kimberly Bryant’s next move, managing cloud security
“Building a plane in mid-air” is something Silicon Valley visionaries love to say, but it has little to do with the iterative work of developing software.
The Download: China’s dying EV batteries, and why AI doomers are doubling down
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. China figured out how to sell EVs. Now it has to bury their batteries. In the past decade, China has seen an EV boom, thanks in part to government support. Buying an electric…
Technology
Meta is reportedly preparing to release AI-powered chatbots with different personas
Meta is gearing up to roll out AI-powered chatbots with different personas as early as next month, according to a new report from the Financial Times. The chatbots are designed to have humanlike conversations with users on Meta’s social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram. The report indicates that these chatbots will take on different […]
Announcing the Space Stage agenda at TechCrunch Disrupt 2023
We’re out-of-this-world excited to announce that we’ve added a dedicated Space Stage to TechCrunch Disrupt 2023. It joins six other brand-new industry-focused stages — all under one big roof. Plus, we’ve joined forces with the Aerospace Corporation to host the Space Domain Awareness Challenge Pitch-off for startups using AI to analyze satellite data streams. Learn […]
Researchers claim US-registered cloud host facilitated state-backed cyberattacks
A little-known cloud company provided web hosting and internet services to more than two dozen different state-sponsored hacking groups and commercial spyware operators, according to researchers at cybersecurity company Halcyon. In a report released on Tuesday, Halcyon said it had identified that the U.S.-registered company Cloudzy was “knowingly or unwittingly” acting as a command-and-control provider […]
There’s no reason to panic over WormGPT
As tools for building AI systems, particularly large language models (LLMs), get easier and cheaper, some are using them for unsavory purposes, like generating malicious code or phishing campaigns. But the threat of AI-accelerated hackers isn’t quite as dire as some headlines would suggest. The dark web creators of LLMs like “WormGPT” and “FraudGPT” advertise […]
ConfiAbogado wants to put a tech touch on Latin America’s legal system
Since its launch two years ago, ConfiAbogado has grown its client base to over 250 new clients each month.
Nile, which offers enterprise networks as a service, raises $175M
If you ask Pankaj Patel, there’s too much complexity in networks today — particularly enterprise networks. Complexity has been engineered into enterprise networks over a period of decades, in fact, he argues, and it’s happened because incumbents kept adding complexity to enable new functionality. “At some point, the incumbents lost sight of where they were […]
The Download: China’s monkeypox crisis, and fighting AI photo manipulation
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. China is suddenly dealing with another public health crisis: mpox The Chinese government is battling a new public health concern: mpox. The World Health Organization reports that China is currently experiencing the world’s…
Tradeshift raises $70M, launches financing JV with HSBC focused on B2B trade
Global trade has been in a slump, in part due to ongoing economic pressures in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, with some glimmers of recovery on the horizon, a startup that’s built business around tools to enable B2B trading has raised some money and is launching a JV that it hopes will kickstart […]
Socket lands $20M investment to help companies secure open source software
Socket, a startup that provides a scanning tool to detect security vulnerabilities in open source code, today announced that it raised $20 million in a Series A round led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). The tranche had participation from Abstract Ventures, Wndrco, Unusual Ventures and an impressively high-profile list of angel investors, including the co-founders of […]