July 4, 2025

The Download: India’s AI independence, and predicting future epidemics

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. Inside India’s scramble for AI independence Despite its status as a global tech hub, India lags far behind the likes of the US and China when it comes to homegrown AI. That gap…

Technology

Blush, the AI lover from the same team as Replika, is more than just a sexbot

June 7, 2023

The team behind the AI friendship bot Replika is launching another AI companion — one that’s made to flirt.  Users can match with Klea, 27, a self-described “nepo baby embracing her wild side.” Aisha, 25, is looking for a “nerdy type” with a “good sense of humor.” Theo, 23, is a French architect who’s “ready […]

Blush, the AI lover from the same team as Replika, is more than just a sexbot by Morgan Sung originally published on TechCrunch

Elon Musk’s quiet, untweeted China trip

June 7, 2023
China Report is MIT Technology Review’s newsletter about technology developments in China. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Tuesday. We usually hear too much about what Elon Musk’s up to lately, but you may have missed the news last week that he paid a three-day visit to China and met with quite a few…

TuSimple has started testing its self-driving truck tech in Japan

June 7, 2023

TuSimple, a publicly traded company developing self-driving trucks, is doing regular test runs on an expressway in Japan, marking its entrance into the island nation, the company said Tuesday. The testing on Japan’s Tomei Expressway, which connects Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka, suggests TuSimple is doubling down on its Asia-focused business. Back in December, the company […]

TuSimple has started testing its self-driving truck tech in Japan by Rebecca Bellan originally published on TechCrunch

Meta’s former CTO has a new $50 million project: ocean-based carbon removal

June 6, 2023
A nonprofit formed by Mike Schroepfer, Meta’s former chief technology officer, is spinning out a new organization dedicated to accelerating research into ocean alkalinity enhancement—one potential means of leveraging the seas to suck up and store away even more carbon dioxide. Additional Ventures, cofounded by Schroepfer, and a group of other foundations have committed $50…

Nuview’s lidar satellites hit $15M in funding as Leonardo DiCaprio joins latest round

June 6, 2023

Nuview, a startup that wants to map the entire landmass of the Earth on an annual basis using space-based light detection and ranging (lidar) technology, has raised $15 million so far, TechCrunch has exclusively learned. That capital includes a $3 million seed round and an in-progress Series A, of which $12 million has closed so […]

Nuview’s lidar satellites hit $15M in funding as Leonardo DiCaprio joins latest round by Aria Alamalhodaei originally published on TechCrunch

Is Salesforce (CRM) A HOT Buy This Week?

June 6, 2023
Given the growing dependence on the technology sector and the rapid advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI), tech stocks are well-positioned to witness significant growth. To that end, could Salesforce (CRM)…

Instagram might be working on an AI chatbot

June 6, 2023

Instagram may be working on an AI chatbot, according to images leaked by app researcher Alessandro Paluzzi. According to the leaks, which reflect in-progress app developments that may or may not ship, these AI agents can answer questions or give advice. Users can pick between 30 different AI personalities, who can also help users write […]

Instagram might be working on an AI chatbot by Amanda Silberling originally published on TechCrunch

LlamaIndex adds private data to large language models

June 6, 2023

Last fall, after playing around with OpenAI’s GPT-3 text-generating AI model — the predecessor to GPT-4 — former Uber research scientist Jerry Liu discovered what he describes as “limitations” around the model’s ability to work with private data (e.g., personal files). To solve for this, he launched an open source project, LlamaIndex, designed to unlock […]

LlamaIndex adds private data to large language models by Kyle Wiggers originally published on TechCrunch