LinkedIn targets users caught between TikTok and what used to be Twitter

March 28, 2024

Two weeks ago, TechCrunch broke the news that LinkedIn was getting into games, helping users “deepen relationships” through puzzle-based interactions. And on Wednesday, TechCrunch reported that the Microsoft-owned social network was experimenting with short-form videos. It’s as if LinkedIn is targeting a whole new “type” of user — one caught in limbo somewhere between two […]

© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

After spat with TikTok, UMG expands Spotify partnership to include music videos and more

March 28, 2024

In the wake of Universal Music Group’s (UMG) public spat with TikTok, which saw the label pulling its full catalog from the video app earlier this year, the company is doubling down on its deal with Spotify. On Thursday, UMG announced an expansion of its strategic relationship with the streaming music service that will focus […]

© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Why a16z-backed Wonderschool is acquiring EarlyDay

March 28, 2024

Wonderschool, a startup that provides software and support to help individuals and local governments spin up childcare businesses, has acquired EarlyDay, which operates an early childhood educator marketplace. TechCrunch has covered Wonderschool since its infancy, including both of its seed rounds and its Series A (led by Andreessen Horowitz). Terms of the deal were not […]

© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Google.org launches $20M generative AI accelerator program

March 28, 2024

Google.org, Google’s charitable wing, is launching a new program to help fund nonprofits developing tech that leverages generative AI. Called Google.org Accelerator: Generative AI, the program is to be funded by $20 million in grants and include 21 nonprofits to start, including Quill.org, a company creating AI-powered tools for student writing feedback, and World Bank, […]

© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

AI21 Labs’ new AI model can handle more context than most

March 28, 2024

Increasingly, the AI industry is moving toward generative AI models with longer contexts. But models with large context windows tend to be compute-intensive. Ori Goshen, the CEO of AI startup AI21 Labs, asserts that this doesn’t have to be the case — and his company is releasing a generative model to prove it. Contexts, or […]

© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Google will soon roll out on-device AI-powered features on Pixel 8

March 28, 2024

Google announced today that it will soon roll out on-device AI-powered features such as recording summaries and smart replies on the Pixel 8. These features will be based on Gemini Nano, a small-sized model Google released last year, primed to run on devices. The company said that Summerizer in Recorder and Smart Reply in Gboard […]

© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

YouTube says over 25% of its creator partners now monetize via Shorts

March 28, 2024

With TikTok potentially poised for a U.S. ban, YouTube is touting how well its own TikTok competitor, YouTube Shorts, is paying off for creators. The company on Thursday said its short-form video platform now averages over 70 billion daily views and over 25% of channels in YouTube’s Partner Progam monetize their videos through revenue-sharing on […]

© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.