Technology

The Download: ancient DNA, and offshore wind

December 8, 2022
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. DNA that was frozen for two million years has been sequenced What’s happened: After an eight-year effort to recover DNA from Greenland’s frozen interior, researchers say they’ve managed to sequence gene fragments from…

WeWalk raises cash to bring computer vision to smart cane for visually-impaired people

December 8, 2022

WeWalk, a U.K.-based startup developing a “smart cane” for visually-impaired people, today announced it has raised £2 million ($2.4 million) in venture funding from several notable institutional and angel investors — this includes Manchester City and German international footballer İlkay Gündoğan. Founded out of London in 2019, WeWalk has developed a GPS-enabled smart cane and […]

WeWalk raises cash to bring computer vision to smart cane for visually-impaired people by Paul Sawers originally published on TechCrunch

The wild new technology coming to offshore wind power

December 8, 2022
This article is from The Spark, MIT Technology Review’s weekly climate newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Wednesday, sign up here. Wind power is one of the world’s fastest-growing renewable energy sources, and soon its reach might expand even further.  This week, California held an auction for five sites off its coast that could…

France’s IRIS Capital reaches €110M first close for its new €150M venture fund

December 8, 2022

According to Atomico’s new State of European Tech 2022 report, France has taken the UK’s title as the third largest listed tech nation, with Britain moving down to fourth. Nothing to do with Brexit, of course… Meanwhile, Sista, the Paris-based organisation which campaigns for more finds for female founders recently closed €30m of an intended […]

France’s IRIS Capital reaches €110M first close for its new €150M venture fund by Mike Butcher originally published on TechCrunch

Sigfox owner UnaBiz doubles its Series B funding to $50 million

December 8, 2022

UnaBiz, the Massive Internet of Things service provider and owner of Sigfox, announced today it has raised another $25 million in Series B funding. This doubles the round’s total amount to $50 million, after the first tranche was announced in October 2021. UnaBiz, which is based in Singapore, has now raised $60 million in total. The […]

Sigfox owner UnaBiz doubles its Series B funding to $50 million by Catherine Shu originally published on TechCrunch

Smartynames uses AI to find you the perfect domain name

December 8, 2022

There’s a lot of weird and wonderful uses for AI applications. In the last few weeks, we’ve seen AI powering better marketing emails, more smartly understanding the context of video content, and getting the most from customer feedback. It shows no sign of slowing: OpenAI announced it is pouring $10 million into the ecosystem to […]

Smartynames uses AI to find you the perfect domain name by Haje Jan Kamps originally published on TechCrunch

Porsche, World Fund join $63M bet on batteries for electric planes

December 8, 2022

To help electric planes take off, German battery company Customcells says it landed about $63 million (€60 million) in Series A funding from Porsche and several climate-tech investors. World Fund, a one-year-old venture firm that backs European climate startups, led the deal. Abacon Capital and Vsquared Ventures also chipped in. Customcells develops and recycles high-performance […]

Porsche, World Fund join $63M bet on batteries for electric planes by Harri Weber originally published on TechCrunch

Tesla appears to be turning back to radar for its vehicles

December 8, 2022

Tesla plans to add a new radar product to its vehicles in mid-January, according to documents posted with the Federal Communications Commission. The disclosure, which was first reported by Electrek, comes as the company faces scrutiny over the safety and capabilities of its standard advanced driver assistance system known as Autopilot and the $15,000 optional […]

Tesla appears to be turning back to radar for its vehicles by Rebecca Bellan originally published on TechCrunch

Theranos exec Sunny Balwani sentenced to 13 years in prison for defrauding patients and investors

December 7, 2022

The former COO of disgraced blood testing startup Theranos, Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani was sentenced to 155 months, or about 13 years, in prison, and three years of probation. After a three-month trial, in July, Balwani was found guilty on all twelve criminal charges, ranging from defrauding patients and investors to conspiring to commit fraud. Theranos […]

Theranos exec Sunny Balwani sentenced to 13 years in prison for defrauding patients and investors by Amanda Silberling originally published on TechCrunch