Technology

Meta says it is experimenting with AI-powered chat on WhatsApp and Messenger

February 28, 2023

No company is immune from the generative AI wave, and everybody wants in. Meta is the latest entrant in testing AI-powered tools for its products. Mark Zuckerberg has announced that the company is building “a new top-level product group” to integrate generative AI into its services used by billions of users. Zuckerberg said the team […]

Meta says it is experimenting with AI-powered chat on WhatsApp and Messenger by Ivan Mehta originally published on TechCrunch

Waymo to test driverless rides with employees in Los Angeles

February 28, 2023

Waymo will begin testing its autonomous Jaguar I-Paces without a human safety operator in Los Angeles in the next couple of weeks. This is the company’s next step on its path to commercializing robotaxi services in its second California city. To start, only employees will be able to hail rides in the driverless robotaxis. While […]

Waymo to test driverless rides with employees in Los Angeles by Rebecca Bellan originally published on TechCrunch

Senator Markey calls on Elon Musk to reinstate Twitter’s accessibility team

February 27, 2023

After several rounds of layoffs, Twitter’s staff is down from about 7,500 employees to less than 2,000 — and one of the numerous cuts across the company eliminated the platform’s entire accessibility team last year. In an open letter to Elon Musk, Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) called on the new Twitter owner to bring the […]

Senator Markey calls on Elon Musk to reinstate Twitter’s accessibility team by Amanda Silberling originally published on TechCrunch

Canada bans TikTok on government devices

February 27, 2023

TikTok has been banned from government-issued mobile devices in Canada, the country’s Treasury Board announced Monday. Taking effect on February 28, this block follows similar actions taken by the European Commission and some state governments in the U.S. The European Commission issued their directive to remove TikTok from government devices late last week. That same […]

Canada bans TikTok on government devices by Amanda Silberling originally published on TechCrunch

Astroscale closes new funding to grow in-orbit servicing and orbital debris clean-up tech

February 27, 2023

Astroscale, a company that’s developing technology to service satellites and clean up orbital debris, has closed another round of funding and widened its investor pool to include a space enthusiast billionaire and a major Japanese manufacturing multinational. The Series G round comes in at more than $76 million, bringing the company’s total funding to date […]

Astroscale closes new funding to grow in-orbit servicing and orbital debris clean-up tech by Aria Alamalhodaei originally published on TechCrunch

Inside the Sony-Honda Afeela concept

February 27, 2023

If it wasn’t clear earlier this year when Sony and Honda revealed the concept Afeela EV, it is now: This new joint-venture concept car is all about leveraging entertainment. The company, known as Sony Honda Mobility (SHM) is a joint venture between the Japanese entertainment and tech giant Sony, and the Japanese automaker, Honda. It […]

Inside the Sony-Honda Afeela concept by Abigail Bassett originally published on TechCrunch

SepPure’s nanofilters massively reduce energy cost of industrial separation processes

February 27, 2023

As pressure grows on companies to reduce reliance on gas and oil, established processes even at industrial scales are being questioned, offering an opportunity for tech to step in. SepPure is looking to replace the complex gas-based distillation of oils with a membrane engineered at the nanometer scale, and its approach has attracted $12 million […]

SepPure’s nanofilters massively reduce energy cost of industrial separation processes by Devin Coldewey originally published on TechCrunch