Technology

Plastic upcycling startup Kubik closes $3.34M seed to scale production in Ethiopia

June 22, 2023

The amount of plastic waste produced globally is on track to triple to over 1,000 million tonnes by 2060. The OECD report predicts that developed countries will continue to produce the most plastic waste per person, although emerging regions like Africa and Asia are expected to experience the fastest growth owing to rapid population growth, and […]

Plastic upcycling startup Kubik closes $3.34M seed to scale production in Ethiopia by Annie Njanja originally published on TechCrunch

Sequoia debuts Atlas, an interactive guide to the European tech talent landscape

June 22, 2023

There is an estimated 3 million software engineers in Europe, depending on what report you want to believe, but finding the rights engineers for the job in hand isn’t all that straight forward. London or Paris might well have the highest concentration of software engineers, but knowing what locales offer the best access to specific […]

Sequoia debuts Atlas, an interactive guide to the European tech talent landscape by Paul Sawers originally published on TechCrunch

Supercritical, a carbon removal marketplace aimed at tech firms, raises $13M Series A led by Lightspeed

June 21, 2023

Supercritical, the carbon removal marketplace aimed (at the moment) mainly at tech companies that want to hit ‘net zero’, has raised a $13 million Series A funding round, led by Lightspeed Venture Partners. The round includes funding from RTP Global, Greencode Ventures, MMC Ventures and others. We covered Supercritical’s launch back in August 2021, when it pointed out that the […]

Supercritical, a carbon removal marketplace aimed at tech firms, raises $13M Series A led by Lightspeed by Mike Butcher originally published on TechCrunch

Rivian’s latest acquisition aims to make EV route planning better

June 21, 2023

Rivian acquired the company behind ABetterRouteplanner, a popular route planning app used by EV drivers, CEO RJ Scaringe confirmed Wednesday. Scaringe didn’t disclose financial terms of the deal to buy Iternio, the Swedish company that developed A Better Routeplanner, otherwise known as ABRP.  The acquisition was first reported earlier this month by Electrek. Reuters confirmed […]

Rivian’s latest acquisition aims to make EV route planning better by Kirsten Korosec originally published on TechCrunch

Two companies can now sell lab-grown chicken in the US

June 21, 2023
The first cultivated, or lab-grown, meat has been approved for sale in the US. Two California-based companies, Upside Foods and Eat Just, received grants of inspection from the United States Department of Agriculture today. It’s the final approval needed for each company to begin commercial US production and sales.   Animal agriculture makes up nearly 15%…

Artists are rightfully upset that ‘Secret Invasion’ used AI Art for opening credits

June 21, 2023

Marvel’s latest series, “Secret Invasion,” made its debut on Disney+ today, sparking tons of backlash after it was confirmed the intro sequence was AI-generated. “Secret Invasion” director Ali Selim admitted to Polygon that the opening credits were designed by VFX company Method Studios using artificial intelligence. Selim didn’t say which AI tool was used. Method Studios […]

Artists are rightfully upset that ‘Secret Invasion’ used AI Art for opening credits by Lauren Forristal originally published on TechCrunch

Making data matter in real time

June 21, 2023
As the world becomes increasingly networked and connected devices proliferate, organizations are producing a plethora of data. The potential to collect data is growing exponentially. From smart grids to mobile phones and from connected cars to the industrial internet of things, tens of billions of devices will act as sensors, delivering data to networks. Whether…

Dropbox launches $50M AI-focused venture fund, intros AI features

June 21, 2023

Not content to sit on the sidelines of the generative AI race, Dropbox today launched Dropbox Ventures, a new $50 million venture fund focused on startups in the AI space. The company’s first venture arm, Dropbox Ventures will provide mentorship in addition to financial support to build AI-powered products that “shape the future of work,” […]

Dropbox launches $50M AI-focused venture fund, intros AI features by Kyle Wiggers originally published on TechCrunch