February 7, 2025

These documents are influencing the DOGE-sphere’s agenda

Reports from the US Government Accountability Office on improper federal payments in recent years are circulating on X and elsewhere online, and they seem to be a big influence on Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency and its supporters as the group pursues cost-cutting measures across the federal government.  The payment reports have been…

Technology

Popular Android TV boxes sold on Amazon are laced with malware

May 18, 2023

AllWinner and RockChip might not be household names, but the two China-based companies manufacture several wildly popular Android TV boxes that are sold on Amazon. These Android-powered television set-top boxes are typically cheap and are highly customizable, packing several streaming services into a single device, rather than buying separate hardware. Their listings on Amazon boast […]

Popular Android TV boxes sold on Amazon are laced with malware by Zack Whittaker originally published on TechCrunch

Night sweats to climate tech: Kelvin eyes heat pumps and nabs $30M

May 18, 2023

Radiator Labs, a company born to solve steam radiator night sweats (an all–too–common problem in cities such as New York), is expanding beyond smart radiator covers with $30 million in fresh funds. The firm also announced a new name, Kelvin. Climate tech-focused investor 2150 led Kelvin’s series A round, while Schmidt Family Foundation (aka Google […]

Night sweats to climate tech: Kelvin eyes heat pumps and nabs $30M by Harri Weber originally published on TechCrunch

Meta bets big on AI with custom chips — and a supercomputer

May 18, 2023

At a virtual event this morning, Meta lifted the curtains on its efforts to develop in-house infrastructure for AI workloads, including generative AI like the type that underpins its recently launched ad design and creation tools. It was an attempt at a projection of strength from Meta, which historically has been slow to adopt AI-friendly […]

Meta bets big on AI with custom chips — and a supercomputer by Kyle Wiggers originally published on TechCrunch

With government backing, Ireland’s Elkstone closes first VC fund at $108M for early-stage startups

May 18, 2023

Yet another early-stage VC fund has closed in Europe this week, as Elkstone finalized a €100 million ($108 million) pot aimed at Irish startups. It comes a day after Lifeline Ventures closed a €150 million ($163 million) fund for fledgling startups in Finland, while several others have landed across the continent in the past few […]

With government backing, Ireland’s Elkstone closes first VC fund at $108M for early-stage startups by Paul Sawers originally published on TechCrunch

Alibaba to take its cloud, AI and business messenger unit public

May 18, 2023

Seven weeks after Alibaba announced its historic restructuring plan to split itself into six independent companies, the juggernaut is gearing up to take its cloud intelligence group public through a separate listing. Alibaba went public in New York back in 2014, marking the largest IPO at the time. Not long after Hong Kong relaxed rules […]

Alibaba to take its cloud, AI and business messenger unit public by Rita Liao originally published on TechCrunch

YouTube is bringing 30-second unskippable ads to TVs

May 18, 2023

YouTube is making its service more appealing to TV ad buyers with a new ad offering announced on Wednesday at its annual YouTube Brandcast upfront event in New York. The company said it will introduce 30-second unskippable ads on connected TVs which will replace the two, 15-second consecutive ads that run today when advertisers target […]

YouTube is bringing 30-second unskippable ads to TVs by Sarah Perez originally published on TechCrunch

1Password’s new service lets businesses quickly adopt passkeys

May 18, 2023

Password manager 1Password today launched a new service, Passage by 1Password, that’s designed to allow businesses to build passkey authentication into their apps and websites without having to maintain their own security infrastructure. The rollout signals 1Password’s expansion beyond credential management and into the customer identity access management space. But it’s also on trend. Apple […]

1Password’s new service lets businesses quickly adopt passkeys by Kyle Wiggers originally published on TechCrunch

Google will disable third-party cookies for 1% of Chrome users in Q1 2024

May 18, 2023

Google’s Privacy Sandbox aims to replace third-party cookies with a more privacy-conscious approach, allowing users to manage their interests and grouping them into cohorts based on similar browsing patterns. That’s a major change for the online advertising industry, and after years of talking about it and releasing various experiments, it’s about to get real for […]

Google will disable third-party cookies for 1% of Chrome users in Q1 2024 by Frederic Lardinois originally published on TechCrunch