Once the pandemic normalized virtual meetups, the concept of “personalized AI” began to gain steam. Startups creating “AI-driven” avatars — realistic-looking characters with synthetic voices that star in pre-recorded or live videos — have raised hundreds of millions of dollars in venture capital over the past few years. As such avatars improve, they promise to […]
Synthesia secures $90M for AI that generates custom avatars by Kyle Wiggers originally published on TechCrunch
We are moving in the wrong direction: Bigger and more expensive means that EV ownership is becoming less accessible, not more so.
EVs are going backwards by Haje Jan Kamps originally published on TechCrunch
Google, ever eager to lean into generative AI, is launching a new shopping feature that shows clothes on a lineup of real-life fashion models. A part of a wide range of updates to Google Shopping rolling out in the coming weeks, Google’s virtual try-on tool for apparel takes an image of clothing and attempts to […]
Google’s new generative AI lets you preview clothes on different models by Kyle Wiggers originally published on TechCrunch
The European Parliament has voted to confirm its negotiating mandate for the AI Act — hitting a major milestone which unlocks the next stage of negotiations toward a pan-EU rule-book for artificial intelligence. Parliamentarians backed an amended version of the Commission proposal that expands the rule-book in a way they say is aimed at ensuring […]
Europe takes another big step towards agreeing an AI rulebook by Natasha Lomas originally published on TechCrunch
In 2015, Michael Burdick and Dan Wywrot, who’d spent years working at large accounting firms, founded a startup — Paro — to deliver finance and accounting solutions to businesses through a network of freelance talent. They say they were inspired by the lack of flexibility in traditional accounting firms to choose which projects to work […]
Paro raises $25M to match freelance financial experts with firms by Kyle Wiggers originally published on TechCrunch
One of the recurring themes in the area of enterprise IT these days is consolidation, and today we’re getting another dose of it in the area of enterprise data management. Informatica — which provides a set of tools to enterprises to analyze, manage and share data across their organizations — is acquiring Privitar, a startup […]
Informatica acquires Privitar, once valued at $400M, to expand its data management stack by Ingrid Lunden originally published on TechCrunch
The European Commission has signalled it could be preparing to break up Google’s adtech business. Speaking during a press conference this afternoon, EU EVP Margrethe Vestager, the bloc’s competition chief and head of digital strategy, announced it has sent a formal statement of objections to Google for suspected anti-competitive conduct in its adtech business. If […]
Europe warns it might break up Google’s adtech empire by Natasha Lomas originally published on TechCrunch
More than 300 subreddits, including popular ones like r/aww, r/music r/videos, and r/futurology, plan to go dark indefinitely after a large protest against Reddit’s API changes ends on June 14. This means users won’t be able to access these communities during this blackout. This step was announced after The Verge reported that in an internal […]
Hundreds of subreddits plan to go dark indefinitely after Reddit CEO’s internal memo by Ivan Mehta originally published on TechCrunch