A startup called Letta has just emerged from stealth with tech that helps AI models remember users and conversations. Created in UC Berkeley’s famed labs startup factory, it also announced $10 million in seed money led by Felicis’ Astasia Myers, at a $70 million post-money valuation. Letta is also backed by a who’s who of … Read more
In a deal revealed Monday, door hardware giant Assa Abloy announced that Boston Dynamics’ Spot will be able to autonomously unlock its automated doors. “Until now,” the lock maker notes, “the word ‘autonomous’ didn’t apply to Spot’s ability to open accessed-controlled doors easily.” The “embedded digital access credentials” work over Bluetooth, allowing the four-legged robot … Read more
Two of the industry’s most famous sisters, Erin and Sara Foster, sit down alongside business partner Phil Schwarz at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 to talk about consumer investing, culture curation, and what it means to be a creator in the modern age. Moderated on the Disrupt main stage, the conversation will surround the creator economy, consumer … Read more
The Rabbit r1 was the must-have gadget of early 2024, but the blush fell off it pretty quickly when the company’s expansive promises failed to materialize. CEO Jesse Lyu admits that “on day one, we set our expectations too high” but also said that an update coming to devices next week will finally set the … Read more
A theoretical physicist believes he has made a breakthrough in photonics research that will enable us to have faster and better processors — a major need in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and other tech with heavy workloads. Now, his startup has received early backing from NATO, the European government, and other key investors to produce … Read more
Rivian has revealed the first $10 million worth of grants from the Rivian Foundation, three years after the EV maker vowed the philanthropy would receive 1% of its equity to make the “natural world” a “stakeholder in our success.” The company launched Monday a website for the foundation that details 41 grantees who will collectively … Read more
Eighteen months ago, Ford triggered a transformation when the U.S. automaker locked in a deal to give owners of its EVs access to the Tesla Supercharger network. In a stunning shift, automaker after automaker — from GM and Hyundai to Rivian and Mercedes — followed suit. By the end of 2023, nearly every major automaker … Read more
Customers of Kaspersky antivirus in the United States found out in the last few days that their cybersecurity software was automatically replaced with a new one called UltraAV, according to several customers who posted on social media. And some of the customers said they had no idea this was going to happen. “Woke up to … Read more
X will soon change the functionality behind its block button so that if you block an account, they will still be able to see your public posts, according to changes to X’s website spotted by independent app researcher Nima Owji. Elon Musk confirmed these changes on Monday, noting that blocked accounts will still not be … Read more
Microsoft made waves last week when it announced a deal with Constellation Energy to restart a nuclear reactor at Three Mile Island to meet its surging data center power needs, bucking the power source’s seemingly terminal decline. In the last decade, seven nuclear reactors have been decommissioned in the U.S., while only two new ones … Read more