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

U.S. cars and trucks could soon be required to brake for you in an emergency

May 31, 2023

All new cars and trucks sold in the U.S. could soon be equipped with automatic emergency braking systems designed to prevent crashes with other vehicles and pedestrians, under a rule proposed Wednesday by the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. If adopted as proposed, nearly all U.S. light vehicles (gross vehicle weight rating […]

U.S. cars and trucks could soon be required to brake for you in an emergency by Kirsten Korosec originally published on TechCrunch

Character.AI, the a16z-backed chatbot startup, tops 1.7M installs in first week

May 31, 2023

Demand for AI via consumer mobile apps has been climbing, with market leader OpenAI’s ChatGPT mobile app topping half a million downloads in its first six days. Now, another AI app is touting its own launch success, as the a16z-backed Character.AI app is claiming to have pulled in over 1.7 million new installs in less […]

Character.AI, the a16z-backed chatbot startup, tops 1.7M installs in first week by Sarah Perez originally published on TechCrunch

A brief history of VR and AR

May 31, 2023

By the time Howard Rheingold’s “Virtual Reality” was published in 1991, the Sensorama was already a “slowly deteriorating” relic stashed away in a cabana next the pool at its inventor’s West Los Angeles home. Rheingold describes awe — even surprise — that the system was still operable almost 30 years after its introduction. “I was […]

A brief history of VR and AR by Brian Heater originally published on TechCrunch

EU and US lawmakers move to draft AI Code of Conduct fast

May 31, 2023

The European Union has used a transatlantic trade and technology talking shop to commit to moving fast and producing a draft Code of Conduct for artificial intelligence, working with US counterparts and in the hope that governments in other regions — including Indonesia and India — will want to get involved. What’s planned is a […]

EU and US lawmakers move to draft AI Code of Conduct fast by Natasha Lomas originally published on TechCrunch

Apple touts $1.1 trillion in App Store commerce in 2022, with $104B in digital sales

May 31, 2023

Ahead of Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference next week, the company is offering an update on its app ecosystem with the release of a new report detailing app earnings over the course of last year. In the analysis, released today, Apple says its App Store ecosystem generated $1.1 trillion in developer billings and sales in 2022, […]

Apple touts $1.1 trillion in App Store commerce in 2022, with $104B in digital sales by Sarah Perez originally published on TechCrunch

SellerX acquires US e-commerce roll-up rival Elevate Brands in an all-share deal, raises $64M+

May 31, 2023

E-commerce aggregators have collectively raised hundreds of millions of dollars over the last several years to push ahead on strategies to consolidate a number of smaller online retailers. Now, the aggregators themselves are the ones getting swallowed up. Today, SellerX, a Berlin-based roll-up play that has raised nearly $900 million in equity and debt and […]

SellerX acquires US e-commerce roll-up rival Elevate Brands in an all-share deal, raises $64M+ by Ingrid Lunden originally published on TechCrunch

The Linux Foundation Europe launches RISE, the RISC-V Software Ecosystem project

May 31, 2023

The Linux Foundation Europe, the relatively new European arm of the Linux Foundation foundation of foundations, today announced the launch of the RISC-V Software Ecosystem (RISE) project. RISE aims to bring together a wide range of software and hardware vendors to accelerate “the availability of software for high-performance and power-efficient RISC-V cores running high-level operating […]

The Linux Foundation Europe launches RISE, the RISC-V Software Ecosystem project by Frederic Lardinois originally published on TechCrunch

Instacart launches new in-app AI search tool powered by ChatGPT

May 31, 2023

Instacart is launching a new AI search tool powered by OpenAI’s ChatGPT, the company announced on Wednesday. The new “Ask Instacart” search tool is designed to help customers save time and assist them with with shopping questions by offering personalized recommendations. The new tool is starting to roll out today and will be available to […]

Instacart launches new in-app AI search tool powered by ChatGPT by Aisha Malik originally published on TechCrunch

Is Alphabet (GOOGL) a Buy This Week?

May 31, 2023
Tech behemoth Alphabet (GOOGL) has been making significant strides in AI technology. With recent positive developments and the stock’s upward trajectory, it might be worth exploring whether Alphabet presents a…

Hyro secures $30M for its AI-powered, healthcare-focused conversational platform

May 31, 2023

Israel Krush and Rom Cohen first met in an AI course at Cornell Tech, where they bonded over a shared desire to apply AI voice technologies to the healthcare sector. Specifically, they sought to automate the routine messages and calls that often lead to administrative burnout, like calls about scheduling, prescription refills and searching through […]

Hyro secures $30M for its AI-powered, healthcare-focused conversational platform by Kyle Wiggers originally published on TechCrunch