April 11, 2025

Why the climate promises of AI sound a lot like carbon offsets 

The International Energy Agency states in a new report that AI could eventually reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, possibly by much more than the boom in energy-guzzling data center development pushes them up. The finding echoes a point that prominent figures in the AI sector have made as well to justify, at least implicitly, the gigawatts’ worth…

StrictlyVC is heading to London this May

April 4, 2025
StrictlyVC is crossing the Atlantic! On 13 May, London will play host to an exclusive StrictlyVC evening, delivering the same high-caliber VC insider content that has made these events a must-attend for investors and startup leaders alike. If you’re a venture capitalist or founder looking to exchange insights with peers and dive into powerful, no-filter […]

Midjourney releases its first new AI image model in nearly a year

April 4, 2025
Midjourney, one of the earliest AI image-generating services on the web, has released its first new AI image model in nearly a year. Dubbed V7, the model, which began rolling out in alpha around midnight Eastern on Friday, comes a week after OpenAI debuted a new image generator in ChatGPT that quickly went viral for […]

Amazon’s new AI agent will shop third-party sites for you

April 4, 2025
Amazon is starting to test a new AI shopping agent, a feature it calls “Buy for Me,” with a subset users, the company announced in a blog post Thursday. If Amazon doesn’t sell something that users are searching for, the Buy for Me feature will display products to users that other websites are selling. Then, […]

Trump’s tariffs will deliver a big blow to climate tech

April 3, 2025
US president Donald Trump’s massive, sweeping tariffs sent global stock markets tumbling on Thursday, setting the stage for a worldwide trade war and ratcheting up the dangers of a punishing recession.  Experts fear that the US cleantech sector is especially vulnerable to a deep downturn, which would undermine the nation’s progress on reducing greenhouse-gas emissions…

Federal judge allows the EFF’s lawsuit against DOGE and Elon Musk to proceed

April 3, 2025
A federal judge ruled on Thursday that a lawsuit attempting to stop the Department of Government Efficiency from obtaining records on millions of Americans may proceed. In conjunction with privacy watchdog the Electronic Frontier Foundation and two labor unions, more than 100 current and former federal employees sued DOGE, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management […]

Amazon Kindle’s new feature uses AI to generate recaps for books in a series

April 3, 2025
Amazon is introducing a new “Recaps” feature for Kindle users to help them recall plot points and character arcs before picking up the latest book in a series. While the company’s press release for the new feature doesn’t mention AI, Amazon confirmed to TechCrunch that recaps are AI-generated. “We use technology, including GenAI and Amazon […]

Grace raises €5.9 million seed to offer insurance to luxury goods

April 3, 2025
Grace, an insurance company for luxury goods, announced a $6.4 million (€5.9 million) seed round led by FinTechCollective and Speedinvest.  Grace, an insurance company for luxury goods, works with luxury brands to protect purchased consumer goods. If an item is stolen or damaged, a consumer can create a claim through the Grace app. For the […]