Drew Perkins has been inventing computer network tech and building startups since the dawn of the internet age. Now he’s back as a co-founder and CEO of AI networking startup Eridu that’s officially coming out of stealth on Tuesday with an oversubscribed $200 million Series A round. The round was led by Socratic Partners, renowned … Read more
Meta’s methods for identifying deepfakes are “not robust or comprehensive enough” to handle how quickly misinformation spreads during armed conflicts like the Iran war. That’s according to the Meta Oversight Board — a semi-independent body that guides the company’s content moderation practices — which is now calling on Meta to overhaul how it surfaces and … Read more
Fitness wearable maker Whoop is launching a new panel focused on women’s health through its Whoop Labs blood testing service. The company is also adding a new feature to its app that surfaces information about hormonal changes during menstrual cycles. The startup said the panel includes 11 blood biomarkers that can give insights into aspects … Read more
heThe LinkedIn post seemed like yet another scam job offer, but Katya was desperate enough to click. After college, she’d struggled to make a living as a freelance journalist, gone to grad school, then pivoted to what she hoped would be a more stable career in content marketing — only to find AI had automated … Read more
Uzbekistan fintech Uzum has reached a $2.3 billion valuation — about 53% higher than just seven months ago — as investors place growing bets on the country’s emerging digital economy. The valuation stems from a $131.5 million investment led by sovereign wealth funds from Oman, with participation from existing investors including Tencent, VR Capital, and … Read more
Apple is now manufacturing 25% of its iPhones in India — hitting a milestone JPMorgan predicted back in 2022 — as part of its long-term plan to reduce its reliance on China, Bloomberg reported. Last year, India accounted for 55 million iPhones of the roughly 220 million to 230 million produced worldwide, Bloomberg’s report said. … Read more
AMI Labs, the new venture cofounded by Turing Prize winner Yann LeCun after he left Meta, has raised $1.03 billion at a $3.5 billion pre-money valuation. AMI is working on world models, or AI that learns from reality, not just from language. This category has fewer players than generative AI, but maybe not for long. … Read more
A mass hacking campaign targeting iPhone users in Ukraine and China used tools that were likely designed by U.S. military contractor L3Harris, TechCrunch has learned. The tools, which were intended for Western spies, wound up in the hands of various hacking groups, including Russian government spooks and Chinese cybercriminals. Last week, Google revealed that over … Read more
Electric air taxi developer Archer Aviation responded to a lawsuit Monday with its own counterclaims that rival Joby Aviation allegedly defrauded the U.S. government and its competitors by falsely presenting itself as an American-made company. The counterclaim, filed in federal court, alleges Joby relied on a Chinese manufacturing subsidiary to source critical components from Chinese … Read more
Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund is nearing the close of its fourth growth fund, Founders Fund Growth IV, with $6 billion in capital commitments, per sources close to the firm. As with most of the firm’s fundraises, demand from outside investors exceeds the fund’s capacity, according to those sources. Additionally, about $1.5 billion of the capital … Read more