Martian Lawyers Club raises $2.2M for AI-based game personalization tech

August 31, 2023
The Martian Lawyers Club (MLC) wants to take game personalization to the next level with the help of generative AI. While there are plenty of companies that focus on using AI to generate game assets, MLC is taking a decidedly different approach by focusing less on content and more on the systems that form the […]

Chinese users can finally try their homegrown ChatGPT equivalents

August 31, 2023
One month after China announced its provisional measures to oversee generative artificial intelligence, the country has granted approval to the first batch of large language model-empowered services for public use. Eight generative AI applications have registered with China’s cyberspace authority, including Baidu’s Ernie Bot, ByteDance’s Doubao, Sogou founder’s Baichuan and chatbots built on the lab […]

Y Combinator removes Indian startup over ‘irregularities’

August 31, 2023
Storied venture firm Y Combinator has terminated its association with Medobed, an Indian startup that promises medicine delivery, in 10 minutes after discovering “irregularities” at the firm, several people familiar with the matter told TechCrunch. A YC partner has also warned many investors in recent days about its discovery of “irregularities” at the firm, and […]

Anker introduces some clever new travel chargers

August 31, 2023
As someone who travels a lot and writes about tech for a living, I’m perpetually on the look out for things that can ease electronic burden. Anker’s been a go-to for the past several years, for clever, quality accessories on the (relative) cheap. The firm launched a handful of portable accessories this week at IFA […]

Ivy raises $20M to take open-banking payments international

August 31, 2023
Open banking — where traditional banks open their data up with APIs to build new financial services for their customers — has the potential to be one of the payment world’s big disruptors: get it to work right, and it could supplant giant networks (and network fees) like Visa’s when it comes to taking and […]

X, formerly Twitter, is now letting paid users hide their likes

August 31, 2023
Elon Musk-owned X, formerly Twitter, is now rolling out a feature for paid users to let them hide their likes. This comes after rival social networks Threads and Bluesky rolled out the ability for users to see their own likes in the past few weeks. Paid users on X now have a setting under profile […]

Garena relaunches Free Fire in India a year after ban

August 31, 2023
Garena is relaunching Free Fire in India, a year and a half after the popular mobile title was banned in the South Asian market over national security concerns. The firm, owned by South Asian giant Sea, said it has partnered with Yotta, controlled by local giant Hiranandani, for cloud and storage for local users’ data […]

Fitbit targeted with trio of data transfer complaints in Europe

August 31, 2023
Google-owned Fitbit is facing a trio of privacy complaints in the European Union which allege the company is illegally exporting user data in breach of the bloc’s data protection rules. The complaints target Fitbit’s claim that users have consented to international transfers of their information — to the US and elsewhere — arguing the company […]

Teale, your mental health companion at work, raises $11 million

August 31, 2023
French startup Teale has secured a funding round of $11 million earlier this summer (€10 million). The company provides a mental health platform for employees and helps HR managers when it comes to preventing burnout or quiet quitting. Alter Equity and Bpifrance’s Digital Venture fund are leading the Series A funding round. Existing investors Isai […]