Eko Health scores $41M to detect heart disease earlier and more accurately

December 20, 2024

The Download: shaking up neural networks, and the rise of weight-loss drugs

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. The next generation of neural networks could live in hardware Networks programmed directly into computer chip hardware can identify images faster, and use much less energy, than the traditional neural networks that underpin…

June 5, 2024

In 1816, French physician René Laennec invented an instrument that allowed doctors to listen to human hearts and lungs. That device — a stethoscope — eventually evolved from a simple wooden tube to a lightweight two-earpiece version most doctors today wear on their necks. Eko Health, a startup founded in 2013, is bringing this ubiquitous […]

DARPA and Slingshot build system to detect ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing’ adversary satellites

June 5, 2024

The number of satellites on low Earth orbit is poised to explode over the coming years as more mega-constellations come online, and it will create new opportunities for bad actors to hide weapons or spy satellites amongst their fleet. That’s according to DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which tasked space startup Slingshot Aerospace […]

How QWERTY keyboards show the English dominance of tech

June 5, 2024

This story first appeared in China Report, MIT Technology Review’s newsletter about technology in China. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Tuesday. Have you ever thought about the miraculous fact that despite the myriad differences between languages, virtually everyone uses the same QWERTY keyboards? Many languages have more or fewer than 26 letters in…

SAP to acquire digital adoption platform WalkMe for $1.5B

June 5, 2024

Enterprise software giant SAP is acquiring “digital adoption” platform provider WalkMe in an all-cash transaction worth $1.5 billion. WalkMe’s Nasdaq closing price yesterday was $9.64, with SAP’s $14 offer representing a premium of 45%. Founded in 2011, companies use WalkMe’s software to integrate on-screen product walkthroughs into their software, for instance to guide users through […]

How a simple circuit could offer an alternative to energy-intensive GPUs

June 5, 2024

On a table in his lab at the University of Pennsylvania, physicist Sam Dillavou has connected an array of breadboards via a web of brightly colored wires. The setup looks like a DIY home electronics project—and not a particularly elegant one. But this unassuming assembly, which contains 32 variable resistors, can learn to sort data…

Modi’s third term signals policy continuity in India – but with spending cuts

June 5, 2024

The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has emerged victorious in India’s 2024 general election, but with a smaller majority compared to 2019. According to post-election analysis by Goldman Sachs, UBS, Bernstein and Citi, this slimmer mandate may push the government – known for transforming India into a global manufacturing powerhouse and making investments in sectors […]

The Download: shaking up neural networks, and the rise of weight-loss drugs