Technology

AI video startup Higgsfield, founded by a former Snapp exec, gets a valuation of $1.3 billion.

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✨ Check out this must-read post from TechCrunch 📖 📂 **Category**: AI,Startups,ai video,Higgsfield AI ✅ **What You’ll Learn**: In an extension of its previous $50 million Series A round that closed in September, AI video generation startup Higgsfield has sold another $80 million worth of stock, bringing its Series A total to $130 million. The company says it has now reached a valuation of $1.3 billion. Higgsfield offers a tool that allows consumers, creators, and social media teams to create and edit AI-generated videos. The company was founded by Alex Masherpov, Snap's former head of generative AI, who joined the…

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The internet blackout in Iran is now one of the longest on record, as protests continue

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✨ Check out this insightful post from TechCrunch 📖 📂 **Category**: Security,internet blackout,Internet shutdowns,iran,Iran protests ✅ **What You’ll Learn**: As of Thursday, 92 million Iranians have been completely blocked from accessing the internet for more than a week, in what is now one of the longest nationwide internet shutdowns ever, according to experts. Last Thursday, Iran's leadership blocked internet and phone access across the country in response to massive anti-government protests, which began at the end of last year and sparked a brutal and deadly crackdown by authorities. As of this writing, Iranians have been unable to access the Internet…

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OpenAI invests in Sam Altman’s brain-computer interface startup Merge Labs

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🔥 Read this awesome post from TechCrunch 📖 📂 **Category**: AI,Fundraising,brain computer interface,merge labs,OpenAI,sam altman 💡 **What You’ll Learn**: Just when you thought circular deals couldn't get any more circular, OpenAI invested in CEO Sam Altman's brain-computer interface (BCI) startup Merge Labs. Merge Labs, which describes itself as a “research lab” dedicated to “connecting biological and artificial intelligence to maximize human potential,” emerged from stealth on Thursday with an undisclosed seed round. A source familiar with the matter confirmed earlier reports that OpenAI wrote the largest single check in Merge Labs' $250 million seed round at a valuation of $850…

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The US imposes a 25% tariff on Nvidia H200 AI chips destined for China

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💥 Check out this trending post from TechCrunch 📖 📂 **Category**: AI,Hardware,AI chips,artificial intelligence,nvidia,semicondcutors,Trump Administration 📌 **What You’ll Learn**: After months of rumors that the Trump administration was going to impose tariffs on semiconductors, tariffs on some chips have been announced. The tariff applies only to certain semiconductors, including advanced Nvidia H200 AI chips scheduled to be shipped to China. President Donald Trump signed a proclamation on Wednesday that includes a 25% tariff on advanced artificial intelligence semiconductors that are produced outside the United States and then pass through the United States before being exported to customers in other countries.…

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Wikimedia Foundation announces new AI partnerships with Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Perplexity and others

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💥 Discover this trending post from TechCrunch 📖 📂 **Category**: AI,Wikipedia 💡 **What You’ll Learn**: As part of its 25th birthday celebration, the Wikimedia Foundation announced a series of new partnerships with AI technology companies that are now customers of its commercial product, Wikimedia Enterprise. Developed by the Wikimedia Foundation, it allows the wide reuse and distribution of Wikipedia content, as well as content from other Wikimedia projects. In addition to the previously announced partnership with Google in 2022, the organization shared publicly for the first time that it has formed other partnerships with Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Mistral AI, and…

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US Senators Demand Answers From X, Meta and Alphabet About Sexual Deepfakes

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🔥 Discover this insightful post from TechCrunch 📖 📂 **Category**: AI,Government & Policy,Privacy,Alphabet,deepfakes,Elon Musk,Grok,Meta,Reddit,Snap,TikTok,xAI 📌 **What You’ll Learn**: The problem of sexualized deepfakes in the tech world is now bigger than just X. In a letter to the leaders of The senators also required the companies to preserve all documentation and information related to the creation, discovery, supervision, and monetization of AI-generated sexual images, as well as any related policies. The message comes hours after (X and xAI are part of the same company.) Pointing to media reports about how easily Grok produced sexual and nude images of women and…

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Following Italy, WhatsApp exempts Brazil from a competing ban on chatbots

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🔥 Explore this trending post from TechCrunch 📖 📂 **Category**: AI,Apps,AI chatbots,Meta,meta ai,WhatsApp,whatsapp business ✅ **What You’ll Learn**: WhatsApp is allowing AI service providers to continue offering their chatbots to users with Brazilian phone numbers, days after the country's competition regulator ordered the company to suspend its new policy that prevents third-party general-purpose chatbots from being offered on the app via its business API. Under the new policy, the company provides a 90-day grace period starting January 15 for developers and artificial intelligence service providers, obligating them to stop responding to user inquiries on the chat application, and notifying users…

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SpaceX’s Indian rival EtherealX has achieved a 5x valuation as it prepares for engine tests

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🚀 Read this insightful post from TechCrunch 📖 📂 **Category**: Startups,Space,Accel,reusable rocket,EtherealX,Prosus,TDK Ventures ✅ **What You’ll Learn**: Ethereal Exploration Guild, an Indian space technology company known as EtherealX, has risen 5.5-fold to $80.5 million after its latest funding round. The startup is developing a launch vehicle designed to be fully reusable, and is setting up engine ignition tests ahead of the technology's first test flight, planned for 2027. The Bengaluru-based company confirms that it has closed an oversubscribed $20.5 million Series A round led by TDK Ventures and BIG Capital, as TechCrunch previously reported. Accel, Prosus, YourNest, BlueHill, Campus Fund…

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AI security company, Deepfirst, has announced $40 million in Series A funding

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💥 Explore this awesome post from TechCrunch 📖 📂 **Category**: AI,Security,Startups,Venture,Accel Partners,cybersecurity,Databricks,Depthfirst 📌 **What You’ll Learn**: Cybercriminals are increasingly using artificial intelligence in their attacks. Meanwhile, cyber defenders are also turning to technology to fight back. Depthfirst, a security startup positioning itself at the forefront of this AI-powered defense, announced Wednesday that it has raised $40 million in a seed round. Founded in October 2024, the company received the round from Accel Partners, which led the investment, with participation from SV Angel, Mantis VC, and Alt Capital. Depthfirst offers a platform called General Security Intelligence, a suite of artificial intelligence…

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Microsoft taps Indian company Varaha for permanent decarbonisation

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🚀 Read this insightful post from TechCrunch 📖 📂 **Category**: Climate,biochar,cdr,Microsoft,Varaha ✅ **What You’ll Learn**: Microsoft has signed a deal with Indian startup Varaha to purchase more than 100,000 tons of carbon dioxide removal credits over the next three years, through 2029, expanding its portfolio of carbon removal projects as the tech giant scales up its artificial intelligence and cloud operations. The project will convert cotton crop waste, which is often burned after harvest, into biochar – a charcoal-like material that can be added to soil, storing carbon for long periods while also helping to reduce air pollution caused by…

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