Chinese firms continue to release AI models that rival the capabilities of systems developed by OpenAI and other U.S.-based AI companies. This week, MiniMax, an Alibaba- and Tencent-backed startup that has raised around $850 million in venture capital and is valued at more than $2.5 billion, debuted three new models: MiniMax-Text-01, MiniMax-VL-01, and T2A-01-HD. MiniMax-Text-01
Month: January 2025
The biggest reveal from last week’s Samsung CES press conference may well have been another press conference. The hardware giant closed out the main event by teasing the company’s upcoming show. The next Samsung Unpacked event is set for January 22 at 10 a.m. PT. As with all recent Unpackeds, next week’s big show will
Numerous tech companies have pledged millions in donations to help LA recover from wildfires that caused widespread devastation and forced thousands to evacuate the region. Those offering aid include YouTube/Google, Meta, Snap, Amazon, Netflix, and Sony. Here’s an overview of what each company is doing to aid relief efforts in the region: YouTube and Google:
“Social media should be built on protocols, not platforms,” Mastodon CEO Eugen Rochko said in an interview for TechCrunch’s Equity podcast. “And people should be able to choose freely between different platforms and also be able to move between them.” Rochko is advocating here for a more decentralized approach to social media, one that allows
François Chollet, an influential AI researcher, is launching a new startup that aims to build frontier AI systems with novel designs. The startup, Ndea, will consist of an AI research and science lab. It’s looking to “develop and operationalize” AGI. AGI, which stands for “artificial general intelligence,” typically refers to AI that can perform any
Meta this week announced that it was buying 200 megawatts of solar energy from multinational electric utility Engie, adding to the tech firm’s considerable 12-plus gigawatts renewable power portfolio. The news comes as tech companies ramp up their AI ambitions, adding data centers at a breakneck pace and boosting demand for power to the point
For years, twin sisters Nilo Rahmani and Jen Rahmani swapped stories — and commiserated — over the pain points they were facing in their respective engineering jobs. Nilo told TechCrunch that a frequent topic of conversation was about frustrations over the reliability platforms they were using at work. When they noticed the reliability landscape starting
Nelly wants to become the biggest fintech startup in the healthcare industry. The Berlin-based startup is already working with more than 1,200 medical practices in a handful of European countries. But there are thousands more that could benefit from an upgrade for their administrative workflows. That’s why Nelly recently raised €50 million in funding (around
Pixxel, an Indian space tech startup, has successfully launched the first three hyperspectral satellites of its commercial constellation Firefly aboard a SpaceX rocket from California, marking a significant milestone for India’s growing space ambitions. India is home to around 300 space startups and has gained worldwide attention for recent developments, including the successful landing of
Nvidia has been doubling down on the opportunity to build robotics and other industrial AI applications, with the launch of its Omniverse platform, and most recently Mega, an Omniverse Blueprint framework to create digital twins to operate these applications. It’s also investing in digital twin startups to get the effort off the ground. Taiwan’s MetAI
On the heels of TikTok’s looming shutdown on January 19 over its ownership in the U.S. (unless the Supreme Court intervenes), it looks like another Chinese app is catching some attention. American users are flocking to Chinese short-form video app Xiaohongshu (known as RedNote in English). The app today surged to the No. 1 spot
It’s not an easy time to raise money for an electric vehicle startup, especially given how many have failed or are close to failing. But Los Angeles-based Harbinger has pulled it off by taking a hyper-focused approach to electrifying commercial trucking. The reward is a $100 million Series B, co-led by early Tesla investor Capricorn
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang may have said that “very useful quantum computers” are probably still 20 years away, but his company is also hedging its bets beyond classical chips with investments and partnerships in that very space. Now one of the companies that Nvidia partners with in quantum development is announcing funding. SEEQC, a quantum
Data centers are expected to continue growing at a breakneck pace, doubling their power demand by 2029, according to a new report from JLL. The industry’s expansion, fueled by the rapid growth of AI alongside the continued expansion of cloud-based services, is testing the limits of the energy sector. Some experts think that half of
Four short months after introducing the truly palm-size Neo, DJI is back with another pint-sized consumer drone. The Flip continues the drone giant’s interest in foldable form factors, with a quartet of propeller guards that essentially stack up, for maximum portability. The new Flip continues to blur the lines in DJI’s existing consumer portfolio, combing
Float Financial, an expense management and corporate card startup focused on the Canadian market, has raised $48.5 million in a Series B funding round. The Toronto-based fintech likens itself to U.S.-based fintech giants Brex and Ramp but says it is different in that its sole focus is on Canadian SMBs, which CEO and co-founder Rob
Alex Dewez, a partner at 20VC, just released its highly anticipated State of the French tech ecosystem report. This is a nice followup to Atomico’s State of European Tech report, with a more granular view on French startups in particular. As a reminder, the bottom line of Atomico’s report is that European startups raised $45
E-commerce giant eBay has announced plans to acquire Caramel, a startup that helps car sellers and buyers complete the final steps of the transaction — including verification, financing, paperwork, ownership transfer, insurance, and more. As eBay has grown through the years, it has had to evolve to remain competitive — last year, for instance, the
Financial services firm Moody’s announced on Monday that it has agreed to acquire Cape Analytics, a geospatial AI startup, for an undisclosed sum. The deal, which is expected to close in Q1, subject to customary closing conditions, will give Moody’s access to Cape’s geospatial AI analytics technology for insurance underwriting. With the tech, Moody’s plans
On the heels of TikTok’s looming shut down on January 19 over its ownership in the U.S. (unless the Supreme Court intervenes), it looks like another Chinese app is catching some attention. American users are flocking Chinese short-form video app Xiaohongshu (known as RedNote in English). The app today surged to the number-one spot for
The world of fashion is moving at a faster pace each year. Most retailers introduce new styles each season, and fast-fashion companies like Shein, H&M and Zara update their collections continuously. To keep pace with the rapid demand for new styles, brands and manufacturers have been turning to tech to accelerate their design process. Raspberry
The rise of NVIDIA has spurred renewed investor interest in AI chip startups. One of them, Blaize, founded by former Intel engineers, is set to go public on the NASDAQ in a SPAC deal on Tuesday, it announced on Monday. Launched in 2011, Blaize has raised $335 million from investors like Samsung and Mercedes-Benz. Headquartered
Speaker manufacturer Sonos is seeing some significant changes. Patrick Spence, the company’s chief executive officer (pictured above), is leaving the company after eight years in the job. Tom Conrad, the co-founder of Pandora and a Sonos board member, is stepping in as interim CEO starting today. Last year was complicated for the speaker manufacturer. The
Fire-tracking app Watch Duty has become a crucial source of information for Los Angeles residents threatened by the ongoing wildfires. As TechCrunch’s Maxwell Zeff explained, the app relies on a network of active and retired firefighters, first responders, official government reports, and volunteer reporters who monitor radio scanners to offer real-time updates on active wildfires.
After more than two years — and nearly 100 episodes — as a host of TechCrunch’s recently ended Found podcast, I have learned a lot about how founders approach building their startups. I’ve heard stories about how founders know when it is the right time to expand from their core product, to how startups approach
Apple’s next major iPhone upgrade will include a new model called the iPhone 17 Air, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. This seems like an obvious way to expand the lineup, given Apple’s success with the Air moniker for thinner MacBooks and iPads (I’m currently typing these words on my MacBook Air), and could be more
Automattic CEO and WordPress co-creator Matt Mullenweg has deactivated the accounts of several WordPress.org community members, some of whom have been spearheading a push to create a new fork of the open source WordPress project. While community criticism of WordPress’s governance isn’t new, the latest brouhaha kicked off back in September when Mullenweg publicly chastised WP
No company has capitalized on the AI revolution more dramatically than Nvidia. Its revenue, profitability, and cash reserves have skyrocketed since the introduction of ChatGPT a little over two years ago — and the many competitive generative AI services that have launched since. And its stock price soared more than eightfold. During that period, the
Why does it cost some companies hundreds of millions of dollars to develop a popular video game? A couple weeks ago, The New York Times blamed the never-ending quest to deliver more photo-realistic graphics— and it suggested the industry is beginning to see diminishing returns, leading to layoffs and studio closures. However, Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier
Developers Max Brodeur-Urbas and Rahul Behal think that AI has the potential to automate lots of business-relevant tasks, but that many of the AI-powered automation tools on the market today are unreliable and costly. Part of the problem is that users expect too much of AI, Brodeur-Urbas told TechCrunch — for instance, they assume that
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