Technology

Asking the right dumb questions

March 30, 2023

You’ll have to forgive the truncated newsletter this week. Turns out I brought more back from Chicago than a couple of robot stress balls (the one piece of swag I will gladly accept). I was telling someone ahead of the ProMat trip that I’ve returned to 2019 travel levels this year. One bit I’d forgotten […]

Asking the right dumb questions by Brian Heater originally published on TechCrunch

Reliance-backed Dunzo nears fresh funding of $50 million

March 30, 2023

The Indian hyperlocal delivery startup Dunzo is in late-stage discussions to secure about $50 million in a new financing round, two sources familiar with the matter told TechCrunch, as the Bengaluru-headquartered startup scrambles for comfort in an otherwise funding winter for younger firms. Reliance Retail and Google, two existing backers of Dunzo, are among those […]

Reliance-backed Dunzo nears fresh funding of $50 million by Manish Singh originally published on TechCrunch

Twitter alternative T2 launches new verification program, hires Discord engineering head as CTO

March 30, 2023

As Twitter begins its shift to a “pay to play” business model, a new Twitter alternative is preparing to take flight. T2, the seed-funded Twitter rival developed by Google and Twitter veterans, is ready to capitalize on Twitter’s upheaval with the launch of a verification program specifically targeting those who are poised to lose their […]

Twitter alternative T2 launches new verification program, hires Discord engineering head as CTO by Sarah Perez originally published on TechCrunch

Oscilar emerges from stealth to fight transactions fraud with AI

March 30, 2023

Confluent co-founder Neha Narkhede today announced a new fintech company, Oscilar, that’s developing an “AI-driven” platform to help financial institutions protect online transactions from fraud and theft. Oscilar is entirely self-funded, backed by $20 million that Narkhede and the company’s other co-founder, Sachin Kulkami, themselves contributed. Narkhede says that they opted not to take outside […]

Oscilar emerges from stealth to fight transactions fraud with AI by Kyle Wiggers originally published on TechCrunch

Fixie wants to make it easier for companies to build on top of language models

March 30, 2023

Yet another startup hoping to cash in on the generative AI craze has secured an eye-popping tranche of VC funding. Called Fixie, the firm, founded by former engineering heads at Apple and Google, aims to connect text-generating models similar to OpenAI’s ChatGPT to an enterprise’s data, systems and workflows. Co-founder and CEO Matt Welsh describes […]

Fixie wants to make it easier for companies to build on top of language models by Kyle Wiggers originally published on TechCrunch

P97 fills up its tank with $40M to fuel its gas station mobile commerce services

March 30, 2023

The rising prices for gas continue to be a headache and stress for a lot of people around the world, but it underscores something more besides the cost of living becoming increasingly untenable: Cars are a central part of modern life. So for the entrepreneurially minded, gas stations thus represent a huge opportunity: the engagement […]

P97 fills up its tank with $40M to fuel its gas station mobile commerce services by Ingrid Lunden originally published on TechCrunch

The Download: sleeping in VR, and promising clean energy projects

March 30, 2023
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 the cozy but creepy world of VR sleep rooms People are gathering in virtual spaces to relax, and even sleep, with their headsets on. VR sleep rooms are becoming popular among people…