December 23, 2024

The Download: trustworthy humanoid robots, and Anduril’s latest project

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. Will we ever trust robots? The world might seem to be on the brink of a humanoid-robot heyday. New breakthroughs in artificial intelligence promise the type of capable, general-purpose robots previously seen only…

Shares of Korean internet giant Kakao slide after fire disrupts service

October 17, 2022

The stock price of South Korea’s internet giant Kakao tumbled on Monday after a fire at a data center that cut off power on Saturday, causing several service malfunctions. The blaze at the SK C&C data center, which houses the servers of Korea’s two largest internet companies — Kakao and Naver — disrupted Kakao’s messaging, […]

Shares of Korean internet giant Kakao slide after fire disrupts service by Kate Park originally published on TechCrunch

Inside effective altruism, where the far future counts a lot more more the present

October 17, 2022
Oregon 6th Con­gressional District candidate Carrick Flynn seemed to drop out of the sky. With a stint at Oxford’s Future of Humanity Institute, a track record of voting in only two of the past 30 elections, and $11 million in support from a political action committee established by crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, Flynn didn’t fit…

Nigerian banking-as-a-service platform Maplerad raises $6M, led by Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures

October 17, 2022

Banking-as-a-service (BaaS) platforms have taken off rapidly across the fintech world over the last 18 months. By partnering with banks, these platforms allow entities from startups and fintechs to big corporations and banks to provide tailored banking services and experiences to their customers. Fintechs offering BaaS services in U.S. and Europe, such as Unit, Rapyd […]

Nigerian banking-as-a-service platform Maplerad raises $6M, led by Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures by Tage Kene-Okafor originally published on TechCrunch

Indian edtech giant Byju’s raises $250 million in fresh funding

October 17, 2022

Byju’s said it has raised $250 million in new funding from existing backers as the Indian edtech giant looks to navigate the market downturn that has forced the firm to postpone the initial public offering. The new funding valued the Bengaluru-headquartered startup at $22 billion, the same figure at which it raised a financing round […]

Indian edtech giant Byju’s raises $250 million in fresh funding by Manish Singh originally published on TechCrunch

Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart launches metaverse shopping experience

October 17, 2022

Flipkart has launched a metaverse offering for consumers to more interactively discover and shop new products, the latest bet from the Indian e-commerce giant as it experiments with web3 offerings to supercharge its customer experience. The Walmart-backed Bengaluru-headquartered firm has partnered with eDAO, a Polygon-incubated firm, to launch the metaverse offering, which it is calling Flipverse. […]

Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart launches metaverse shopping experience by Manish Singh originally published on TechCrunch

Why Cruise is making its own chips, and a lot more besides

October 17, 2022

Cruise never planned to make its own silicon. But in the quest to commercialize robotaxis — and make money doing it — those never planned pursuits can suddenly seem a lot more appealing. Cruise realized that the price of chips from suppliers was too high, the parts were too big and the reliability of the […]

Why Cruise is making its own chips, and a lot more besides by Roberto Baldwin originally published on TechCrunch