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Showing posts from January, 2025

Automation Leverage in Turnaround Strategy

Automation Leverage in Turnaround Strategy Turnaround work is often described as a crisis discipline: reduce costs, preserve cash, stabilize operations and buy time. Those moves matter, but they are not enough. A durable turnaround also needs leverage: better systems, clearer information flows and repeatable execution. For Livio Andrea Acerbo , AI automation is useful in turnaround strategy when it improves the operating rhythm of a company. The point is not to add tools. The point is to remove friction from decisions that must happen every week. From cost control to operating clarity Cost control can stop the bleeding, but operating clarity creates the next phase. Teams need to know which products are profitable, which customers deserve attention, where working capital is trapped and which workflows create avoidable delay. Automation helps when it turns scattered data into a management cadence. Dashboards, exception reports, document summaries, pipeline reviews and cash visibi...

Beyond benchmarks: How DeepSeek-R1 and o1 perform on real-world tasks

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o1 is slightly better at reasoning, but DeepSeek-R1 provides much more details about its reasoning, which is very useful to the user. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

‘Hundreds’ of companies are blocking DeepSeek over China data risks

Some companies are blocking DeepSeek over concerns their data will end up with the Chinese government. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Blackmagic’s free camera app brings remote control and tablet support to Android

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Blackmagic Design has announced that it’s finally bringing several advanced features already available for the iOS version of its free camera app to Android. The Blackmagic Camera for Android 2.0 update released this week allows several smartphones running the app to be monitored and controlled from a single device, including, for the first time, a Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

There’s Now a Barbie-Themed G-Shock Watch, and We Want In

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Is Barbiecore still a thing? Casio is betting it is. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Apple Intelligence will support more languages from April

Apple’s AI suite, Apple Intelligence, will soon be available in French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, and simplified Chinese, along with localized English versions for India and Singapore. During the company’s Q4 2024 quarterly results call on Thursday, CEO Tim Cook said that the company will roll out support for these additional languages in © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Google’s Gemini AI app is getting faster with Flash 2.0

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Google announced Thursday that the Gemini app is getting its Gemini 2.0 Flash AI model. The upgraded model “delivers fast responses and stronger performance across a number of key benchmarks, providing everyday help with tasks like brainstorming, learning or writing,” the company said in a post. The change is rolling out to Gemini’s web and Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Summer Game Fest debuts in LA on June 6 to June 9, 2025

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The sixth annual Summer Game Fest is returning to Los Angeles from June 6 to June 9, 2025. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

US blood donation giant warns of disruption after ransomware attack

New York Blood Center said it does not have a "specific timetable for system restoration" following the attack, which has led to canceled appointments and delays © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Sharge’s Retractable 65W USB-C charger is 20 percent off in its first sale

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The Sharge Retractable 65 was announced earlier this month, bringing the world a uniquely designed 65W GaN travel charger featuring an integrated and retractable USB-C Power Delivery 3.0 cable. It’s incredibly compact and scratches our geeky itch with a translucent design. If you’re looking for something a little different to throw in your pocket or Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

All the news about Nvidia’s RTX 50-series GPUs

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Nvidia’s RTX 50-series GPUs are just around the corner, with the first releases — the RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 — dropping on January 30th. The RTX 5070 Ti and RTX 5070 will follow that with their own releases in February, but some are already getting a sneak peek at the software benefits of the Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Tesla’s next-generation vehicle: all the news about Elon Musk’s next big EV bet

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For years, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been promising an affordable electric vehicle, likely priced at $25,000, as a way to broaden the appeal of plug-in vehicles. He first mentioned it in a 2018 interview with YouTuber Marques Brownlee, saying “a $25,000 car, that’s something we can do.” Then in 2020, at the company’s first Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Microsoft’s AI business is booming — Xbox, not so much

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Microsoft’s cloud and AI businesses are doing pretty well — and their impact is being felt across the company. In its Q2 2025 earnings, Microsoft announced revenue of $69.6 billion for the quarter, up 12 percent year-over-year, and net income of $24.1 billion, which is up 10 percent year-over-year. As for the AI business, CEO Satya Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Dell Coupon and Promo Codes: 10% Off

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Enjoy 10% off with Dell coupon, plus today's deals for laptops, monitors, and all things tech. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

MGM Resorts settles lawsuits after millions of customer records stolen in data breaches

A court filing says 37 million MGM customers had personal data stolen in the cyberattacks. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Elon Musk Tells Friends He’s Sleeping at the DOGE Offices in DC

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In a move straight out of the Twitter and Tesla playbook, Elon Musk is apparently camping out just steps away from the White House. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

This fintech has a fix for the biggest cross-border payments issues in Francophone Africa

Until a few years ago, it used to be difficult to make payments across borders almost anywhere in the world. But it’s still a big problem in Africa, where fragmented, disconnected systems, high fees, and poor infrastructure make it tough for businesses and individuals to move money quickly and affordably. The majority of people and © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

NordVPN’s new feature gets around networks that block VPNs

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NordVPN has announced a new NordWhisper protocol that makes it easier to bypass networks that typically block VPN connections. The protocol operates differently from traditional VPN traffic patterns that can sometimes be detected by network administrators, and should provide a “smoother and more consistent browsing experience” in environments with restrictive internet security filters, such as Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

How to set default apps on your iPhone

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Little by little, Apple has been lessening the restrictions it previously put on iPhone customizations. For example, you can now change all of your homescreen icons to the same color and stick widgets on the lockscreen. Until recently, though, you didn’t have a lot of choice when it came to default apps. Every operating system Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Elon Musk Is Running the Twitter Playbook on the Federal Government

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The US Office of Personnel Management is telling federal workers to get in line—or get out. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Naboo secures $21M for its concierge-style corporate event booking platform

If you’ve ever tried to book a venue for a company event, you’ll know how onerous a task it can be. You have to contact multiple vendors, wait for quotes, evaluate them, see if you can get a good deal, and then get all that approved. So it makes sense that depending on the size © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

DeepSeek: all the news about the startup that’s shaking up AI stocks

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DeepSeek is shaking up the AI industry with cost-efficient large language models it claims can perform just as well as rivals from giants like OpenAI and Meta. The Chinese startup says its flagship R1 reasoning model is capable of achieving “performance comparable” to OpenAI’s o1 equivalent, while the newly released Janus Pro multimodal AI model Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Get more than $400 off one of our favorite Alienware gaming monitors

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Looking to upgrade your gaming rig? Dell is selling one of its most popular Alienware gaming monitors at a deep discount. The 32-inch model is more than $400 off, now costing $765 instead of $1,200. The display is on sale for $900 outright, but enter "MONITORS15" at checkout for an additional 15 percent off. The 34-inch model is $250 off, but there's no available coupon code.  This is one of our favorite gaming monitors and we called it “an incredible ultrawide OLED.” It boasts a curved QD-OLED panel. It also features 4K resolution and a max refresh rate of 240Hz, which is a fantastic metric for gaming. These monitors allow access to Dolby Vision, NVIDIA G-Sync and AMD Free-Sync. The ports are also on point. These displays include a pair of HDMI 2.1 ports, a single USB-B upstream port, four USB-A downstream ports and a single USB-C port. One of the USB-A ports also supports BC1.2 power-charging. Dell The 34-inch model is actually cheaper, at $650, but ...

Microsoft tests ‘scareware blocker’ for Edge that uses computer vision to detect scams

Microsoft is rolling out a new tool dubbed “scareware blocker,” which uses machine learning and computer vision to identify a very pervasive type of online scam. “Scareware” has blighted the web almost since its inception, often in the form of fake antivirus software that claims to have detected a non-existent threat on a user’s machine. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

The Electric Vehicle Fight Turns to California

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The future of EVs might hinge on a decades-old air pollution law. Whether the law is upheld will have ramifications far beyond the borders of the Golden State. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Waymo is letting you tip — but there’s a catch

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A security researcher who lives in San Francisco discovered an unreleased feature in Waymo’s app that allows customers to tip for their robotaxi rides. Jane Manchun Wong, a security researcher who also successfully hacked the display dome on top of a Waymo vehicle to display her name, posted a screenshot of the new tipping feature Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Everything You Need to Know About HDR for TV

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We boil high dynamic range video down to the basics. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Ryan Coogler’s Sinners bares its fangs in latest trailer

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It initially seemed like Warner Bros. wanted to keep some of Ryan Goodler’s new gothic horror Sinners shrouded in mystery, but the movie’s latest trailer spells out exactly what’s going on. Though nobody says “vampire,” in Sinners’ new trailer twin brothers Elijah and Elias (Michael B. Jordan) know that there’s something demonic going as they Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Trump calls for tariffs on computer chips, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals from Taiwan

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Donald Trump called for tariffs on foreign computer chips, semiconductors, and pharmaceuticals from places like Taiwan in the near future. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Now Apple tells us how to update AirPods

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Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Apple updated its AirPods firmware support page today with a more detailed step-by-step guide on how to upgrade the AirPods, AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max with their latest firmware, according to MacRumors. While most Apple devices, like the iPhone or Apple Watch, can start updates in the settings, with the AirPods you have to wait for the update process to happen on its own. The AirPods firmware support page still includes Apple’s original summary of the conditions needed for the update process, but has now added an expanded step-by-step guide to help ensure the process happens automatically. Although most of the steps have been previously known, there are some specific suggestions added, including charging with a USB cable and waiting at least 30 minutes for the update to happen. Those clarifications may help you if you’ve been struggling to get firmware updates to work. The following steps are specifically for the AirPods and AirPod...

Ubisoft lays off 185 as it ‘restructures’ multiple European studios

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Ubisoft confirmed that it's laying off yet more employees and closing its Leamington office as it restructures in Europe. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Hackers are targeting machine identities. Token Security just raised $20M to stop them

The number of machine identities is booming thanks to the growth of cloud and AI – and it’s posing real security problems by giving hackers way more entry points than ever before. For example, a 2023 hack of authentication app Okta was caused by exploiting a service account while in 2024, Microsoft disclosed a major © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

DeepSeek’s AI Assistant from China has become the top free iPhone app

Chinese AI assistant DeepSeek has become the top rated free app on Apple's App Store in the US and elsewhere, beating out ChatGPT and other rivals. It's powered by the open-source DeepSeek V3 model, which reportedly requires far less computing power than competitors and was developed for under $6 million, according to (disputed) claims by the company. At the same time, it offers performance that's on par with Claude-3.5, GPT-4o and other rivals, DeepSeek said last week. Available on web, app and API, DeepSeek is similar to AI Assistant like ChatGPT with features like coding content creation and research. Its first DeepSeek-R1 release is available under an MIT license, so it can be used commercially and without restrictions.  The company is headquartered in Hangzhou, China and was founded in 2023 by Liang Wenfeng, who also launched the hedge fund backing DeepSeek. To develop the tech, he reportedly stockpiled NVIDIA A100 chips prior to the US export ban and paired those with...

How the ransomware attack at Change Healthcare went down: A timeline

The hack at Change Healthcare stands as the biggest breach of U.S. medical data in history, exposing 190 million people's data. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

I think I found the most wholesome game in the Playdate Catalog

I didn’t set out to play jump rope STAR! when I picked up my Playdate this weekend. I was actually looking for something else, but lazily searched only half of the correct title and found myself staring at jump rope STAR! at the top of the results instead. Curious — in part because “Hot Rope Jump” was one of my favorite minigames in Mario Party 2 back in the day — I clicked on it, and was greeted by pictures that look like something I’d tape to my refrigerator if given by a 5-year-old. It was kind of a “say no more” moment; I purchased it immediately. As you’d expect from the title, jump rope STAR! is a jump rope game for Playdate. It offers a few different modes for solo and co-op play, the latter involving two players sharing one device. I haven’t run into many multiplayer games for Playdate, so that alone is pretty cool. The game was made by Chris Corciega (Soinksters Games), but the art was “designed by a talented 5-year old,” Maya. And it is adorable. As you try to set new high s...

We asked OpenAI’s o1 about the top AI trends in 2025 — here’s a look into our conversation

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Here's what OpenAI's o1 had to say about AI trends this year. Just how many there are is a testament to AI’s general-purpose value.  Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

The Lush Bath Bot Is a Vegan, Recyclable Floating Speaker That’s Out to Make a Point

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When the cosmetics brand decided to make a Bluetooth speaker, it didn’t know how hard it would be to make it sustainably. The next challenge: Will anyone actually buy it? Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Why Reid Hoffman feels optimistic about our AI future

In Reid Hoffman’s new book Superagency: What Could Possibly Go Right With Our AI Future, the LinkedIn co-founder makes the case that AI can extend human agency — giving us more knowledge, better jobs, and improved lives — rather than reducing it. That doesn’t mean he’s ignoring the technology’s potential downsides. In fact, Hoffman (who © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

DeepSeek R1’s bold bet on reinforcement learning: How it outpaced OpenAI at 3% of the cost

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DeepSeek R1’s Monday release has sent shockwaves through the AI community, disrupting assumptions about what’s required to achieve cutting-edge AI performance. This story focuses on exactly how DeepSeek managed this feat, and what it means for the vast number of users of AI models. For enterprises developing AI-driven solutions, DeepSeek’s breakthrough challenges assumptions of OpenAI's dominance -- and offers a blueprint for cost-efficient innovation. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

As demand for data centers soars, real estate companies look to become energy developers

Brendan Wallace has a lot on his mind lately. Wallace is the co-founder of Fifth Wall Ventures, a nine-year-old proptech venture firm with $3.2 billion in assets under management. He’s also a homeowner in L.A., which continues to battle raging wildfires. While his place remains intact, many of his friends haven’t been so lucky.  Wallace © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Oracle and Microsoft are reportedly in talks to take over TikTok

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Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images Oracle and a group of investors that includes Microsoft are in talks to take over TikTok’s global operations, reports NPR. The deal, which the White House is reportedly negotiating, would see ByteDance keeping a minority stake in TikTok while “the app’s algorithm, data collection and software updates will be overseen by Oracle.” Oracle’s server network already provides the bulk of TikTok’s backbone, and under the deal, the company would “effectively monitor and provide oversight with what is going on with TikTok,” according to one of NPR’s anonymous sources, who added that the agreement’s goal is to “minimize Chinese ownership.” Microsoft’s reported involvement isn’t clear beyond that it is “engaged in the talks.” The company was also in the mix with Oracle and Walmart in a 2020 bid to take over TikTok that Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates had called “a poison[ed] chalice.” Walmart reportedly isn’t involved this time around “after...

Why ‘prosocial AI’ must be the framework for designing, deploying and governing AI

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Prosocial AI supports a hybrid future where human and machine intelligences co-evolve, guided by shared principles and grounded in truth. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Nikon Z6 III Review: A Hybrid Camera for the Masses

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Nikon’s latest midrange full-frame mirrorless camera offers pro-level features without the pro price. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Elon Musk email to X staff: ‘we’re barely breaking even’

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Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images Ever since Elon Musk closed his deal to buy Twitter he’s claimed the company, now called X, is in “a very dire situation from a revenue standpoint.” Now, the Wall Street Journal reports that banks are preparing a coordinated move to sell off some of the $13 billion in debt they loaned Musk to finance the deal. It mentions an email sent to employees this month, also confirmed by The Verge, where the Chief Twit said, “...we’ve witnessed the power of X in shaping national conversations and outcomes,” but also claimed, “Our user growth is stagnant, revenue is unimpressive, and we’re barely breaking even.” Part of the reason Bank of America, Barclays, and Morgan Stanley are holding so much of the debt is from trying to avoid selling at a loss after economic conditions changed, and Musk had an extended court battle attempting to get out of the deal. While equity investors have reportedly slashed the value of their stakes by as much as 78...

Apple makes a change to its AI team and plans Siri upgrades

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Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge Apple is making an executive change to try and improve its AI efforts and Siri. Kim Vorrath, who recently helped get the Vision Pro software out the door and has been at Apple for 36 years, has been brought over to Apple’s artificial intelligence and machine learning division and will serve as a “top deputy” to AI boss John Giannandrea, Bloomberg reports. The company made a big splash about its AI / Apple Intelligence efforts at WWDC last year, but they haven’t had the same impact as things like OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Google’s Gemini. Apple has also been slowly rolling out what it announced, and a big Siri upgrade that lets it understand what’s happening on your screen and take action may not arrive until iOS 18.4. And the company’s AI-powered news notification summaries will be put on pause with iOS 18.3 after criticism that the summaries were incorrect. By bringing on Vorrath, whose resume at Apple includes work on the original iPhone software gr...

Y Combinator’s hottest startup, Origami Agents, secures $2M seed round to supercharge sales teams with AI

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Y Combinator's fastest-growing startup Origami Agents raises $2M seed round to build AI research tools that help sales teams find perfect customers, reaching $50K MRR in 8 weeks while rejecting the trend of AI sales rep replacement. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Flip, the TikTok Shop rival, launches a creator fund that grants up to $100M of equity

Flip is a social commerce app that lets shoppers become creators. They can share honest reviews and earn cash based on engagement on the platform. As Flip competes with TikTok Shop and other platforms in a highly competitive market, it has introduced a new creator fund that offers a unique opportunity to help it stand © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

AI chat firm GameOn couple arrested for defrauding investors of over $60M to finance wedding and more

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Authorities arrested GameOn Technology founder Alex Beckman and attorney Valerie Lau Beckman (a married couple) for allegedly defrauding investors of $60 million. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

LG Electronics takes majority stake in Bear Robotics, reportedly valuing startup at $600M

LG Electronics is betting on robotics as its next big growth driver. The South Korean electronics company said on Friday that it has agreed to acquire an additional 30% stake in Bear Robotics, a California-based startup it previously backed that is building AI-powered server robots for restaurants. The deal gives LG a majority ownership of © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Even some of the best AI can’t beat this new benchmark

The nonprofit Center for AI Safety (CAIS) and Scale AI, a company that provides a number of data labeling and AI development services, have released a challenging new benchmark for frontier AI systems. The benchmark, called Humanity’s Last Exam, includes thousands of crowdsourced questions touching on subjects like mathematics, humanities, and the natural sciences. To make © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Tata acquires 60% stake in Apple partner Pegatron’s India unit

Tata Electronics has acquired a 60% controlling stake in the Indian arm of Apple assembly partner, Pegatron, as the conglomerate expands its iPhone manufacturing capacity in the country. Taiwan-based Pegatron operates an iPhone production plant near Chennai in India’s sourthern state of Tamil Nadu. The deal comes less than a year after Tata Electronics acquired © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

No retraining needed: Sakana’s new AI model changes how machines learn

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Sakana found that self-adaptive models can modify their weights during inference to adjust behavior to new and unseen tasks. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Why everyone in AI is freaking out about DeepSeek

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DeepSeek has a free website and mobile app even for U.S. users with an R1-powered chatbot interface similar to OpenAI's ChatGPT. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Reliance plans world’s biggest AI data centre in India, report says

Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance is planning to build what could become the world’s largest data center in Jamnagar, India, with a capacity of three gigawatts to capitalize on surging AI demand. The facility would dwarf the current largest data center, Microsoft’s 600-megawatt site in Virginia, Bloomberg reported Friday. The project could cost between $20 billion to © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Madrona just announced its biggest fund ever, closing on $770M as other venture funds grow smaller

Seattle-based Madrona Capital is celebrating its 30 years in business by raising $770 million in fresh capital. This is the firm’s largest fundraise to date, exceeding $690 million across two funds Madrona closed in 2022.  While an 11% capital pool upsize may not seem significant, any increase at a time when many venture outfits are © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Anthropic’s new Citations feature aims to reduce AI errors

In an announcement perhaps timed to divert attention away from OpenAI’s Operator, Anthropic Thursday unveiled a new feature for its developer API called Citations, which lets devs “ground” answers from its Claude family of AI in source documents such as emails. Anthropic says Citations allows its AI models to provide detailed references to “the exact © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Meet OpenAI’s Operator, an AI agent that uses the web to book you dinner reservations, order tickets, compile grocery lists and more

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Instead of relying on specialized APIs, the system leverages screenshots for visual input and uses virtual mouse and keyboard actions to complete tasks. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

The Samsung Galaxy Ring is on sale for $120 off

The Samsung Galaxy Ring is on sale for $280 via Amazon. This represents a discount of $120, though the promotion doesn’t show up until checkout. Just pop the ring in your Amazon basket and start the checkout process to peep the discount. We were fairly positive about Samsung’s first smart ring in our official review, calling it “a surprisingly informative health-tracking device for those with compatible Samsung phones.” We came away impressed by the comfort-forward design, which doesn’t impede sleeping, writing that we “barely feel it” when trying to snooze. This is a boon for light sleepers. The health-tracking metrics are on point, especially when you consider that there’s a new software update that uses compatible SmartThings devices to create a “sleep environment report” that takes factors like temperature, humidity, air quality and light intensity into account. Samsung’s app lets users adjust any connected devices to improve local conditions. The major downside with th...

Everstone acquires bootstrapped Indian startup Wingify for $200M

Private equity firm Everstone has reached a deal to acquire a majority stake in Wingify, one of India’s earliest bootstrapped software-as-a-service success stories, for about $200 million, three sources familiar with the matter told TechCrunch. The deal, finalized this week, marks a significant exit for Wingify’s founder Paras Chopra, who built the SaaS startup without © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Therabody Promo Codes and Deals: 10% Off

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Save on the science-backed devices you’ve been eyeing, with a 10% off Therabody discount code and deals up to 30% off. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Ati Motors raises $20M as India’s robotics industry grows

Ati Motors, an Indian startup building AI-powered autonomous mobile robots, has raised $20 million in a Series B round. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

The best iPhones for 2025: Which model should you buy?

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“Which iPhone should I buy?” It’s a question you might have heard many times over the years. Much of the time, the answer is simple: Get the best iPhone you can afford. If you’re happy with your current iPhone, meanwhile, don’t feel like you have to make a change at all. But if you’re ready to upgrade, allow us to help. We’ve reviewed just about every iPhone ever released, so we’ve picked through all nine models in Apple’s current smartphone lineup and highlighted the ones that should satisfy most people below.Before we dive in, note that we’ve based our guide on the MSRPs of new, unlocked iPhones on Apple.com. If you can find a heavy discount from another trusted retailer or a good deal on a refurbished model, that could always change the value equation. With that disclaimer out of the way, here are the best iPhones you can buy as of early 2025. Table of contents Best iPhones for 2025 The rest of Apple's iPhone lineup in 2025 Recent updates Best iPhones for 2025 ...

Someone bought the domain ‘OGOpenAI’ and redirected it to a Chinese AI lab

A software engineer has bought the website “OGOpenAI.com” and redirected it to DeepSeek, a Chinese AI lab that’s been making waves in the open source AI world lately. Software engineer Ananay Arora tells TechCrunch that he bought the domain name for “less than a Chipotle meal,” and that he plans to sell it for more. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Anthropic reportedly secures an additional $1B from Google

Anthropic has reportedly raised around $1 billion from Google as the AI company looks to deliver a number of major product updates this year. First reported by the Financial Times, Google’s fresh investment brings the tech giant’s total stake in Anthropic to around $3 billion. Google poured $2 billion into Anthropic late last year. Anthropic, © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Google hit with $12.6M fine in Indonesia for monopolistic practices in payment system

Indonesia’s antitrust agency KPPU fined Google 202.5 billion Rupiahs, equivalent to $12.6 million, on Wednesday for antitrust violation related to its payment system services for the Google Play Store. The KPPU ordered the search giant to cease the mandatory use of Google Play Billing in the Google Play Store. It also asked Google to let © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Vertice raises $50M for its AI-powered SaaS spend platform

London startup Vertice has made a name for itself over the years in the very crowded world of expense management with a focus on applying AI to optimize a single area where businesses, collectively, are currently sinking hundreds of billions of dollars in IT budgets that are exceeding $5 trillion annually: software and cloud spend. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Indian fintech Jar turns cash flow positive

Indian fintech Jar has turned cash flow positive, an executive at the Tiger Global-backed startup confirmed on Wednesday. The three-year-old startup, which offers savings and investment services to consumers, achieved the milestone while still growing by more than 10 times last year, according to an investor note seen by TechCrunch. The profitability push comes as © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Startup founders flooded inauguration parties hopeful for dealmaking

All throughout America’s capital, founders enjoyed the fruits of their industry’s political jockeying. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

TurboTax Coupons and Deals: Extra 20% Off

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With TurboTax, tax season doesn’t have to be stressful. Find deals for saving money right here on WIRED. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Instagram is reportedly trying to attract TikTok creators with large bonuses

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Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Instagram is taking advantage of TikTok’s absence from app stores by offering creators large cash bonuses to exclusively post Reels on the platform, according to a report from The Information. The bonuses reportedly range from $10,000 to $50,000 per month and require creators to post their short-form videos on Instagram before publishing them to other platforms, like TikTok. Meta has boosted payouts for creators to compete with TikTok in the past — but the big bonuses don’t seem to last. In 2021, Instagram launched a Reels bonus program, but in 2022, creators said the platform had begun slashing their payments until the program was axed completely in 2023. The report of new bonuses comes at a chaotic time for TikTok, which went dark in the US to comply with the federal divest-or-ban law that came into force on January 19th. Though the app started coming back online on Sunday, it still hasn’t returned to app stores. President Donald Trump ...

How Invasive Plants Are Fueling California’s Wildfire Crisis

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Non-native grasses and eucalyptus trees brought to California centuries ago for agriculture and landscaping have reshaped the state’s fire dynamics. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Instagram blocked searches for #democrats and other political hashtags

Instagram blocked searches related to a number of political hashtags, including #democrats, #democrat, #jan6th, #republicans and a number of other terms Tuesday. Users who searched for these hashtags were instead greeted with a notice that “we’ve hidden these results" because they "may contain sensitive content." It’s not clear exactly how many search terms were affected but users on Reddit reported that dozens of tags were unsearchable. Meta spokesperson Andy Stone blamed an unspecified “issue” in a post on Threads and said the company was working on a fix. The timing, just days after Mark Zuckerberg took a front-row seat at President Donald Trump’s inauguration, understandably prompted speculation that the “issue” was politically motivated. Zuckerberg recently moved to end Meta’s fact-checking programs, roll back content moderation standards that prohibited dehumanizing language and slurs targeting immigrants and LGBTQ people. The company also internally shuttered its ...

Trump delays TikTok ban for at least 75 days via executive order

That didn’t take long. Soon after taking office, President Donald Trump signed a swathe of executive orders. Among them was a temporary pause on the law that banned TikTok in the US. With the executive order, Trump's Justice Department will not enforce the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act for 75 days, effectively extending the amount of time the company has to reach a deal. In a statement, Trump said that the "unfortunate timing" of the law, which went into effect during President Joe Biden's last hours in office, "interferes with my ability to assess the national security and foreign policy implications of the Act’s prohibitions before they take effect."  He wrote that he would review "sensitive intelligence" related to the national security concerns raised by TikTok critics and "evaluate the sufficiency of mitigation measures TikTok has taken to date." The company previously undertook a years-long ...

Oscar hopeful ‘The Brutalist’ used AI during production

The filmmakers behind The Brutalist, a likely Oscar contender currently being distributed by A24, used AI to alter actor's dialogue and create images used in the film's epilogue, the film's editor Dávid Jancsó shared in an interview with RedShark News.  The epic drama follows a fictional Hungarian architect (as played by Adrien Brody) who struggles to make art under the fickle system of American capitalism (and the weirdos that run it). To make Brody and his costar Felicity Jones' Hungarian pronunciation as accurate as possible, Jancsó says the production used AI from a company called Respeecher to alter the actor's speech. Respeecher was able to adjust the actor's vocals to make them match a native Hungarian speaker's pronunciation, though Jancsó says the process didn't do anything you couldn't achieve with traditional dialogue editing. "You can do this in ProTools yourself, but we had so much dialogue in Hungarian that we really needed to spee...

The Trump Administration is no longer letting asylum seekers make appointments with the CBP One app

As part of sweeping plans to change immigration in the United States, the Trump Administration has removed functionality from the CBP One app, a US Customs and Border Protection app used by asylum seekers to pursue legal admission into the US along the southwest border. As of January 20, 2025 the app can longer be used to schedule an appointment for admission, and any existing appointments have been cancelled, according to the CBP website. The CBP One app was introduced in 2020, and was expanded into a tool for asylum seekers in 2023, quickly becoming the only way migrants could "preschedule appointments for processing and maintain guaranteed asylum eligibility," according to the American Immigration Council. The app "allowed 1,450 migrants a day" to schedule an appointment for admission, The New York Times writes, and has helped more than 900,000 people to enter the country since it was launched in 2023 through the end of 2024. No warning was given to asylum seeker...

Open-source DeepSeek-R1 uses pure reinforcement learning to match OpenAI o1 — at 95% less cost

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The company developed DeepSeek-R1 by using pure reinforcement learning on top of DeepSeek-V3-Base, and matched or beat o1 on some benchmarks. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Blinkit signals costly battle ahead in Indian quick commerce market

Zomato’s quick commerce unit Blinkit is accelerating its expansion and expects continued losses as competition intensifies in India’s instant delivery market. Blinkit now aims to reach 2,000 dark stores – small warehouses in residential areas that exclusively service online orders – by December 2025, a year ahead of its previous guidance, after exceeding 1,000 stores © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

AI comes alive: From bartenders to surgical aides to puppies, tomorrow’s robots are on their way

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Beyond performing tasks, machines will integrate into our social fabric, requiring us to navigate new relationships with technology. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Trump touts his plan to save TikTok during his victory rally

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Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge; Getty Images At a victory rally the day before being sworn into the presidency, Donald Trump extolled his plan to “save TikTok” from the law that banned it through a joint venture with the US. On its face, the plan does not appear to comply with the law’s requirements for a qualified divestiture that TikTok’s service providers like Apple, Google, and Oracle could rely on to avoid hundreds of billions in potential fines. Even so, at least some of TikTok’s service providers seem to be relying on Trump’s flimsy promises, allowing TikTok to restore service to the app mid-day Sunday, on the first day of its ban. Trump is proposing a joint venture where the US government owns 50 percent of TikTok. That raises a host of its own First Amendment issues since any content moderation whatsoever might be considered a government act, and the Constitution prohibits the government (not private companies) from infringing on speech. It’s not entirely clear how...

X is rolling out a dedicated vertical video feed for US users

Social network X is trying to capitalize on the removal of ByteDance apps like TikTok and Lemon8 from U.S. app stores by launching a dedicated vertical video feed. The company is adding a video tab in the app’s bottom bar for users in the U.S. to let them quickly access video content on the platform. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

TikTok says it’s restoring service in the US

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It hasn't even been a full day since ByteDance shut down TikTok in the US, and now it says the app is coming back. In a statement posted on X Sunday afternoon, TikTok wrote, “In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service.”  The statement also thanked Trump, who will be sworn in on Monday and who previously said he was considering giving TikTok an extension amid reports of potential bidders (though ByteDance has expressed no interest in selling). “We will work with President Trump on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States,” TikTok said. At the time of this writing, the TikTok app is once again up and running for me despite previously showing a message saying I “can't use TikTok for now.” Phew, what an agonizing — checks watch — 12 hours that was without it. TikTok doesn't yet seem to be back in the App Store or Google Play Store, though, so if you deleted the app from your phone, you'll probably have to wait a...

How African VC firm Oui Capital returned its first fund with Moniepoint’s unicorn exit

At a recent investor meeting, early-stage African investor Oui Capital informed limited partners that it had returned its $4 million debut fund following the sale of some shares in the business banking platform Moniepoint. The African fintech unicorn has so far proven to be a standout investment for five-year-old Oui Capital. When it launched its © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

How to bulk download and save your TikTok videos

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Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge First, TikTok was banned. Then, on Saturday evening, January 18th, it disappeared. Then, the next day, it reappeared. It may be back for good, but any time things get this uncertain, it’s always a good idea to make sure you have backups of all your content — just in case. While the app offers instructions on how to download single videos, TikTok apparently doesn’t like the idea of allowing its creators to bulk download their videos. You can also download — in TXT or JSON format — a certain amount of your data, which, according to the support page, “may include but is not limited to your username, watch video history, comment history, and privacy settings.” When I tried it, it did not include my videos. You can also share individual videos — the same way you can any file — but if you’ve got a library of a couple of hundred or more TikTok videos, that’s going to be quite a job. In that case, it’s a lot better to have a bulk download stra...

Our Place Always Pan 2.0 Review: My Favorite Piece of Cookware

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This versatile pan is an absolute must-have in my kitchen. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Marvel Snap, CapCut, Lemon8 and other ByteDance apps have also shut down in the US alongside TikTok

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It’s been unclear in the leadup to the TikTok ban what the fate of parent company ByteDance’s other apps would be, but now we know: they’ve gone dark in the US too. At the same time TikTok went offline this weekend, so did other apps ByteDance has developed or is affiliated with, including the popular video-editing tool CapCut, the social media platform Lemon8 and Marvel Snap. All are now displaying messages to US users that their services are unavailable. Ben Brode, Chief Development Officer for Marvel Snap developer Second Dinner, wrote on Threads that getting caught up in the ban “was a surprise to us” and that the team is working on getting it back online. Second Dinner echoed this on X and in its in-app message to users, adding, “MARVEL SNAP isn’t going anywhere.” While Marvel Snap was created by the US-based developer, its publisher Nuverse Games is a ByteDance subsidiary. Other Nuverse games appear to be affected too. CapCut and Lemon8 may be less surprising casualties, both hav...

Trump’s $TRUMP Coin: The Meme Coin That’s Shaking Up Crypto and Politics

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Donald Trump is back, not just as the soon-to-be 47th President of the United States but as a major disruptor in the world of cryptocurrency. The $TRUMP token, his latest... Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

EV startup Canoo has filed for bankruptcy and stopped all operations

Canoo said on Friday night that it has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and “will cease operations effective immediately,” after failing to secure enough funding to keep it going. The writing was on the wall for the EV startup leading up to the announcement; the company has lost multiple executives in recent months, announced furloughs and reported to the SEC in November that it had just $700,000 in the bank, per TechCrunch. In a press release announcing the filing, Canoo said it was unable to get funding from the Department of Energy’s Loan Program Office or from “foreign sources of capital” that executives had been in talks with. “In light of the fact that these efforts were unsuccessful, the Board has made the difficult decision to file for insolvency,” it said. Canoo owes a total of over $164 million to hundreds creditors, and has about $126 million in assets, according to TechCrunch. Under the filing in Delaware, Canoo’s assets will be liquidated and the proceeds will be distributed...

FTC orders Genshin Impact’s developer to block young teens from making in-game purchases

Kids and younger teens might soon be unable to play Genshin Impact's gachas. The developer behind the game has agreed to block players under 16 years old from making in-game purchases without parental consent in order to settle a complaint from the Federal Trade Commission. It has also agreed to pay a $20 million penalty. Samuel Levine, the director of FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, said "Genshin Impact deceived children, teens, and other players into spending hundreds of dollars on prizes they stood little chance of winning." The developer's marketing actively targeted children, the commission said in its complaint, and the company also violated COPPA by collecting personal info from kids under 13. HoYoverse, the developer's US entity, allegedly deceives players "about the odds of winning" its rarer loot box prizes and uses a confusing virtual currency system that's unfair to kids and younger teens. The FTC says this misleads players on ho...

LG M4 TV Review: A Beautiful Wireless OLED

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This high-end OLED comes with wireless connectivity for clean lines in fancy rooms. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .