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  • Google says its new AI model outperforms the top weather forecast system
    by Anthony Ha on December 7, 2024 at 10:24 pm

    Google’s DeepMind team unveiled an AI model for weather prediction this week called GenCast. In a paper published in Nature, DeepMind researchers said they found that GenCast outperforms the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts’ ENS — apparently the world’s top operational forecasting system. And in a blog post, the DeepMind team offered a more […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. […]

  • OpenAI bets you’ll pay $200 a month for ChatGPT
    by Cody Corrall on December 7, 2024 at 9:15 pm

    Welcome back to Week in Review. This week, we’re diving into OpenAI’s surprise 12 days of reveals, an underwhelming Spotify Wrapped, and an app that tells you when you’ll die. 😰 Let’s get into it. OpenAI is getting into the holiday spirit. In a surprise “12 Days of OpenAI” event, the company will livestream updates […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. […]

  • Elon Musk’s X gains a new image generator, Aurora
    by Kyle Wiggers on December 7, 2024 at 9:00 pm

    X, the Elon Musk-owned social network previously known as Twitter, has added a new image generator to its Grok assistant. However, after going live for a few hours on Saturday, the product seemed to disappear for some users. Just like the first image generator X added to Grok in October, this one, called Aurora, appears […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. […]

  • Google pushes back against federal supervision of its payment arm
    by Anthony Ha on December 7, 2024 at 8:40 pm

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced Friday that it was placing Google’s payment arm under federal supervision. In response, Google filed a lawsuit seeking to block the move. Such supervision would subject Google to the same inspections that the bureau conducts with major banks and other financial institutions for potential violations of the law. The […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. […]

  • As YC retreats from Africa, alumni launch accelerators to fill the gap
    by Tage Kene-Okafor on December 7, 2024 at 3:15 pm

    The influential accelerator Y Combinator made a splash in Africa in 2020 when it shined its light on the market and began to accept startups from the region into its cohorts. The move was huge: in this nascent market, startups especially rely on programs like these to find their feet and connect with investors, and […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. […]

  • New York’s top VCs under 30
    by Dominic-Madori Davis on December 7, 2024 at 3:09 pm

    The next generation of New York City investors are already making their mark in the Big Apple.  They come from big-name venture firms like Female Founders Fund and Lerer Hippeau and smaller ones like Chai Ventures. They work in areas like growth, consumer, and health. They canoe, hike, and play pickleball on the weekends. We […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. […]

  • The four startups from YC’s Fall batch that enterprises should pay attention to
    by Rebecca Szkutak on December 7, 2024 at 3:00 pm

    Notable Silicon Valley startup accelerator Y Combinator held a Demo Day for its inaugural Fall cohort this week. The 95 startups in this latest batch looked quite similar to recent YC cohorts in the sense that it includes many AI startups. If I did my math right, 87% of the startups in this batch are […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. […]

  • As Australia bans social media for kids under 16, age-assurance tech is in the spotlight
    by Natasha Lomas on December 7, 2024 at 2:00 pm

    Age assurance, an umbrella term that refers to technologies for verifying, estimating, or inferring an internet user’s age, is being thrust into the global spotlight thanks to a blanket ban on social media use for people under 16 in Australia. The law, which is expected to come into force in Australia in November 2025, will […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. […]

  • Paytm sells PayPay stake to SoftBank for $279.2 million
    by Manish Singh on December 7, 2024 at 7:26 am

    Paytm has agreed to sell its stake in Japanese payments firm PayPay to SoftBank for $279.2 million, as the Indian firm sheds non-core assets following a bruising regulatory clampdown earlier this year. The sale of Paytm’s stake in PayPay, which it received through acquisition rights six years ago, follows months of restructuring that saw the […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. […]

  • Silicon Valley hitters take over Trump transition team: “a dozen Musk allies”
    by Connie Loizos on December 7, 2024 at 6:49 am

    About a “dozen Musk allies” have put a pin in their daily routines to serve as unofficial advisers to the Trump transition effort, says the New York Times.  Among them, reports the outlet: Jared Birchall, the head of Elon Musk’s family office, has interviewed a few candidates for jobs at the State Department; Marc Andreessen […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. […]

  • Tokamak Energy gets US, UK backing for $52M fusion reactor upgrade
    by Siôn Geschwindt on December 6, 2024 at 9:30 pm

    Just two weeks since raising $125mn in funding, British scaleup Tokamak Energy has secured backing from the US and UK to upgrade its ST40 fusion energy plant. The US Department of Energy (DOE), the UK’s Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), and Tokamak Energy will jointly sponsor a $52mn upgrade to the fusion facility in Oxfordshire.  “Fusion has the potential to be a clean and sustainable energy source, transforming how we power our country, and countries around the world,” said Kerry McCarthy, Minister for Climate at DESNZ.  “This strategic partnership is therefore crucial to develop this new and…This story continues at The Next Web […]

  • Radioactive ‘diamond battery’ could power spacecraft for thousands of years
    by Siôn Geschwindt on December 6, 2024 at 11:08 am

    Scientists in the UK have successfully created the world’s first carbon-14 diamond battery, which could power low-energy devices like satellite communication equipment for over 5,000 years. The battery is made of the radioactive isotope carbon-14, encased in a thin layer of synthetic diamond. As the carbon-14 decays it emits electrons. The diamond acts like a semiconductor, converting these electrons into electricity. Since carbon-14 has a half-life of 5,700 years, scientists expect the battery to last for millennia.  The UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) and the University of Bristol led the development, partly due to the former’s work on fusion energy.…This story continues at The Next Web […]

  • Aachen spinout FibreCoat secures €20mn to bring super-fibres to spacecraft
    by Siôn Geschwindt on December 5, 2024 at 11:19 pm

    German startup FibreCoat has bagged €20mn in Series B funding as it looks to bring its super-resistant materials to the burgeoning space industry.  FibreCoat spunout from RWTH Aachen University in 2020. The startup has developed a patented process for coating fibres with metals and plastics during the spinning stage. This creates fibres that are lightweight and conductive, yet strong and durable — at a fraction of conventional costs. These can then be spun together to form reinforced composites.  So far, FibreCoat has focused on securing clients in the automotive, construction, and defence industries, where the materials are particularly useful for…This story continues at The Next Web […]

  • Google Deepmind’s new weather forecaster blows away the competition
    by Siôn Geschwindt on December 5, 2024 at 1:53 pm

    Google Deepmind researchers have built an AI weather forecasting tool that makes faster and more accurate predictions than the best system available today. Dubbed GenCast, the new model outperformed the ENS forecast, widely regarded as the world leader, 97% of the time for predictions up to 15 days in advance. It was tested on over 1,320 weather scenarios, including tropical cyclones and heatwaves. “Outperforming ENS marks something of an inflection point in the advance of AI for weather prediction,” Ilan Price, a research scientist at Google DeepMind, told the Guardian. “At least in the short term, these models are going…This story continues at The Next WebOr just read more coverage about: Goog […]

  • Dr. Rob’s new AI model promises to cut aircraft design time from months to days
    by Siôn Geschwindt on December 4, 2024 at 9:07 pm

    UK startup PhysicsX, founded by former Formula 1 engineering whizz Robin “Dr. Rob” Tuluie, has unveiled an AI tool that could fast-track the time it takes to design a new aircraft from months to just a few days.  Dubbed LGM-Aero, the software creates new designs for aeroplanes. Using advanced algorithms trained on more than 25 million geometries, the model predicts lift, drag, stability, structural stress and other attributes for each shape. It then tailors the design according to what you want your plane to do. PhysicsX said the AI is the first-ever Large Geometry Model (LGM) for aerospace engineering. A…This story continues at The Next Web […]

  • Microsoft faces £1B cloud licensing lawsuit in the UK
    by Siôn Geschwindt on December 4, 2024 at 11:37 am

    Microsoft’s cloud ambitions just hit a major snag in the UK. The tech giant is facing a £1bn ($1.27 billion) lawsuit over how it licenses software to customers using rival cloud platforms. Filed in the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal by Scott+Scott, the lawsuit accuses Microsoft of punishing businesses for choosing competitors like Google Cloud, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Alibaba over its Azure platform. Here’s the gist: if you’re using Microsoft’s Windows Server but prefer another cloud provider, you’re allegedly stuck with higher costs. Maria Luisa Stasi, the lead claimant, argues this forces UK businesses into Azure’s arms and stifles…This story continues at The Next WebOr just read more coverage about: Microsoft […]

  • Smartphones in Spain should carry health warning, says government panel
    by Siôn Geschwindt on December 4, 2024 at 10:38 am

    A Spanish government-appointed committee of experts has recommended that smartphones sold in the country carry health warning labels. The advice comes amid mounting concern about the effects of smartphone use, particularly among young people.   The experts published their findings in a 250-page report, seen by newspaper El País. The document details ways the government could crack down on what the panel calls a “public health epidemic”.   Proposals include banning digital devices for kids under three and restricting their use for those between three and six, except in rare cases. The report also advises rolling out so-called “dumbphones” for teens up…This story continues at The Next Web […]

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