Investment in the space sector bounced back last year, rebounding closer to the record high of 2021, according to a report Tuesday by New York-based Space Capital. “Investment in Infrastructure remained strong, accounting for 70% of total 2023 investment and notching its second highest annual record, spurred by countercyclical revenue from government customers,” Space Capital […]
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CES 2024: Everything revealed so far, from Nvidia and AI to Samsung’s Ballie robot
CES 2024 is here! The TechCrunch team is in Las Vegas this week to take in all of the action and decipher what it means to you. You already know what we’re expecting, so sit back, relax and stay tuned throughout the week as we bring you the products, announcements and startup news that you need […]
READ MOREAs we travel into new AI world in 2024, it’s the same old internet privacy tradeoff for consumers
All the dominant technology companies are integrating generative AI into their online services, from Google to Meta, Microsoft and Apple. Google’s recent integrations of Bard, its chat-based AI tool, with a host of Google apps and services is one example of moving generative AI more directly into consumer life via text, image, and voice interactions. Bundled with everything from Gmail, Docs, […]
READ MOREMeta’s AI chief doesn’t think AI super intelligence is coming anytime soon, and is skeptical on quantum computing
Meta’s chief scientist and deep learning pioneer Yann LeCun said he believes that current AI systems are decades away from reaching some semblance of sentience, equipped with common sense that can push their abilities beyond merely summarizing mountains of text in creative ways. His point of view stands in contrast to that of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, […]
READ MOREEuropean tech funding halves to $45 billion, back to pre-Covid levels – but AI is a bright spot
Venture capital investment into Europe’s tech industry plunged by half in 2023 as investors continued to reel from the effects of high interest rates, according to data from venture capital firm Atomico. However, artificial intelligence was a standout category that saw continued mega funding rounds. Atomico’s “State of European Tech” report, published Tuesday, showed that […]
READ MORESoftBank posts $6.2 billion quarterly loss as WeWork collapse, tech slump drag bottom line
SoftBank posted an investment gain on its Vision Fund in the fiscal second quarter but booked another quarterly loss. Here’s how SoftBank did in the September quarter against LSEG estimates: For the first half of SoftBank’s fiscal year, it posted a 1.41 trillion loss ($9.3 billion). This compares to a 3 trillion yen profit in the […]
READ MOREShein reportedly seeks $90 billion valuation in IPO
Shein has seen big swings in its price tag over the last year. The Singapore-headquartered fast fashion platform is targeting a valuation of up to $90 billion in a potential U.S. initial public offering, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. TechCrunch has reached out to Shein for comment. An investor briefed on the matter told us that there’s still […]
READ MORENew nonprofit backed by crypto billionaire scores AI chips worth $500M
It’s strange times we’re living in when a blockchain billionaire, not the usual Big Tech suspects, is the one supplying the compute capacity needed to develop generative AI. It was revealed yesterday that Jed McCaleb, the co-founder of blockchain startups Stellar, Ripple and Mt Gox and aerospace company Vast, launched a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that purchased 24,000 […]
READ MOREOp-ed: We cannot allow AI to make Big Tech even bigger, argues Steve Case
Policymakers in Washington are now engaged in a wide range of discussions regarding how to prevent AI technology from spinning out of control. But for all the focus on various dangers, we’re losing sight of how the AI economy should be structured — how humanity can be best poised to take best advantage of this […]
READ MOREThe secret life of Jimmy Zhong, who stole – and lost – more than $3 billion
Athens, Georgia, is home to the University of Georgia, and the police there are used to college town-type crimes: break-ins, bar fights and assorted rowdiness. That kind of thing. But the 911 call that came in on the night of March 13, 2019, was unlike anything the Athens-Clarke County Police Department had ever encountered. On […]
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