Browsing: Business Software

When it comes to Chinese AI labs using distillation techniques to extract knowledge from frontier model makers, Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan is hoping regulators stay out of it. In fact, he thinks U.S. AI labs should perhaps play the same game.

Mecka AI, a startup that collects and analyzes human motion data to train humanoid robots and other robotics, is nearing a new round led by Sequoia Capital at a valuation of about $500 million, according to two people with knowledge of the deal.

Founder, CEO, and tireless Nvidia hype man Jensen Huang told attendees at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology conference on Thursday why his company’s AI domination — and revenues — will continue its record-breaking growth streak through the end of next year.

Collaborative Fund, the 15-year-old, New York-based generalist venture firm that has roughly $1 billion under management and which made early bets on Lyft, Reddit, Sweetgreen, and Olipop, among others, is taking a stake in the soccer club D.C. United and its stadium, Audi Field.

Snapchat announced on Thursday that it’s launching “Snapchat Plans,” a suite of features for creating, sharing, and managing real-world events with friends. The new event-planning features allow users to send and receive invitations and track details like the time, location, and attendees, all in one place.

Listen Labs, a market research startup that uses voice AI to conduct customer interviews, recently signed a term sheet for a $125 million Series C at a $1.5 billion valuation, with Menlo Ventures set to lead the round, according to several people with knowledge of the matter.

A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers has asked the U.S. government to ban several hack-for-hire firms — companies that carry out cyberattacks on behalf of paying clients. The lawmakers accuse the firms of targeting Americans and abusing foreign courts to silence U.S. reporting on their activities.

A video game posted to the Trump administration’s website — one that closely resembled Tetris — has been taken down after the Tetris Company complained.

The fuel for a fully reusable rocket that can unlock truly low-cost access to space isn’t methane or liquid oxygen. It’s cash, and Stoke Space Technologies is tanking up. The company has now “completed the initial closing” of a $1 billion Series E round intended to help it reach orbit and prepare a new, larger…

Telluride just managed one of its best-kept secrets in years, per The Hollywood Reporter. On Sunday night, festivalgoers filed into a 650-seat theater with their phones locked away, having no idea what they were about to see, told only that it ran nearly three hours, hadn’t been shown anywhere, and that its principal creators would…