Technology

Coursera and Udemy have signed a merger agreement worth approximately $2.5 billion

Coursera and Udemy have signed a merger agreement worth approximately $2.5 billion

πŸ’₯ Check out this awesome post from TechCrunch πŸ“– πŸ“‚ Category: Startups,udemy,EdTech,online learning,Coursera,Mergers and Acquisitions πŸ’‘ Key idea: Coursera and Udemy on Wednesday announced a historic merger agreement worth nearly $2.5 billion, bringing together two of the biggest names in online learning. Coursera will acquire Udemy in an all-stock deal, marking a pivotal moment in online education. The two companies said that the merger will be completed in the second half of next year, pending regulatory review and shareholder approval. This agreement comes at a challenging time for both Udemy and Coursera, with both facing market headwinds. Although both companies…
Read More
Rad Power Bikes has filed for bankruptcy and is looking to sell the company

Rad Power Bikes has filed for bankruptcy and is looking to sell the company

πŸš€ Read this must-read post from TechCrunch πŸ“– πŸ“‚ Category: Transportation,bankruptcy,e-bikes,Rad Power Bikes,micromobility βœ… Key idea: Electric bicycle company Rad Power Bikes filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday, weeks after employees warned it might close its doors without new financing. The company will continue to operate while the bankruptcy case is ongoing, and is looking to sell the company within 45 to 60 days, a spokesperson told TechCrunch. β€œThis move allows us to continue operating in the normal course of business while striving to achieve the best possible outcome for the people who rely on Rad every day,”…
Read More
Instacart’s AI-driven pricing tool has attracted attention β€” and now the FTC has questions

Instacart’s AI-driven pricing tool has attracted attention β€” and now the FTC has questions

πŸ”₯ Discover this awesome post from TechCrunch πŸ“– πŸ“‚ Category: Commerce,FTC,Instacart βœ… Here’s what you’ll learn: According to Reuters, Instacart is currently getting the regulatory equivalent of a throat clearing from the Federal Trade Commission, which has sent the grocery delivery platform a civil investigative request regarding its AI-powered pricing tool, Eversight. In other words, the agency wants to know why some people pay more for organic granola than others. The issue came to light after a study revealed that shoppers see very different prices for identical groceries from the same stores β€” prices up to 23% higher in some…
Read More
Adobe has filed a proposed class action, accusing it of misusing authors’ work in AI training

Adobe has filed a proposed class action, accusing it of misusing authors’ work in AI training

πŸ’₯ Explore this must-read post from TechCrunch πŸ“– πŸ“‚ Category: AI,Adobe,Anthropic,artificial intelligence βœ… Here’s what you’ll learn: Like almost every other tech company out there, Adobe has leaned heavily into artificial intelligence over the past several years. The software company has launched a number of different AI services since 2023, including Firefly – an AI-powered media generation suite. However, the company's full embrace of the technology may have led to problems, as a new lawsuit alleges that it used pirated books to train one of its AI models. A proposed class action lawsuit filed on behalf of Elizabeth Lyon, an…
Read More
Amazon has hired longtime AWS CEO Peter DeSantis to lead its new artificial intelligence organization

Amazon has hired longtime AWS CEO Peter DeSantis to lead its new artificial intelligence organization

πŸš€ Discover this insightful post from TechCrunch πŸ“– πŸ“‚ Category: AI,Amazon,AWS,In Brief,peter desantis πŸ“Œ Here’s what you’ll learn: Amazon CEO Andy Jassy announced in a letter to employees on Wednesday that Peter DeSantis, a longtime AWS executive, will lead a new AI-focused organization within the company. This organization will be responsible for Amazon's AI models like Nova, as well as silicon development and quantum computing, which help make AI tools faster and more efficient. DeSantis spent 27 years at Amazon, including eight years as senior vice president of AWS, the cloud provider that powers about a third of the Internet.…
Read More
Meta is pausing its dream of sharing the Quest’s Horizon OS with third-party headset makers

Meta is pausing its dream of sharing the Quest’s Horizon OS with third-party headset makers

✨ Read this awesome post from TechCrunch πŸ“– πŸ“‚ Category: Hardware,Microsoft,asus,lenovo,xbox,Meta,metaverse,Horizon OS πŸ’‘ Here’s what you’ll learn: Meta says it has paused its program to share Meta Horizon OS, the mixed reality operating system that powers its Quest headsets, with third-party hardware manufacturers. The program was part of the company's metaverse campaign - the idea behind the program was to create a "new generation of hardware" that would give VR users their choice of hardware when it comes to engaging with digital meta worlds. β€œWe have paused the program to focus on building the world-class first-party hardware and software needed…
Read More
Jared Isaacman has been confirmed as the next head of NASA

Jared Isaacman has been confirmed as the next head of NASA

πŸ’₯ Check out this must-read post from TechCrunch πŸ“– πŸ“‚ Category: Space,Elon Musk,Jared Isaacman,NASA,SpaceX πŸ’‘ Here’s what you’ll learn: The US Senate has approved the appointment of billionaire businessman Jared Isaacman as the new director of NASA. The private astronaut and founder of payment processing platform Shift4 will now be in charge of an agency facing significant uncertainty under President Trump. Isaacman's confirmation comes just over a year after Trump nominated him. It's been a volatile year for Isaacman, with Trump withdrawing his nomination in June after becoming concerned about the billionaire's "past associations." (Isaacman had previously donated to Democrats,…
Read More
YouTube pulls music data from Billboard charts because it doesn’t like its ranking formula

YouTube pulls music data from Billboard charts because it doesn’t like its ranking formula

πŸ’₯ Discover this awesome post from TechCrunch πŸ“– πŸ“‚ Category: Apps,Media & Entertainment,billboard,Music,streaming,streaming music,YouTube πŸ’‘ Key idea: YouTube is pulling its data from Billboard for use in the publisher's industry-leading US music charts. This decision comes in response to Billboard's recent change to its ratings formula, which continues to add more weight to paid on-demand streaming compared to free, ad-supported streaming. Billboard justified its decision to modify its old formula by saying that the change "will better reflect an increase in streaming revenue and changing consumer behaviors." In other words, streaming is now more important than buying albums or songs,…
Read More
YouTube will stream the Oscars – exclusively – starting in 2029

YouTube will stream the Oscars – exclusively – starting in 2029

πŸ’₯ Read this insightful post from TechCrunch πŸ“– πŸ“‚ Category: Apps,Media & Entertainment,oscars,YouTube βœ… Main takeaway: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Wednesday that YouTube has acquired the exclusive rights to broadcast the Academy Awards beginning in 2029. The Google-owned platform beat out other contenders, including ABC, the longtime home of the Academy Awards, ending the network's streak of hosting the awards show since 1976 (except for a brief period in the early 1970s). Premiering on YouTube will be the 101st Academy Awards in 2029, and its deal will run through 2033. ABC will continue to broadcast…
Read More
Cisco says Chinese hackers are exploiting its customers with a new zero-day

Cisco says Chinese hackers are exploiting its customers with a new zero-day

πŸ”₯ Read this insightful post from TechCrunch πŸ“– πŸ“‚ Category: Security,China,Cisco,cybersecurity,hackers,hacking,infosec πŸ’‘ Main takeaway: Cisco announced on Wednesday that hackers are exploiting a critical vulnerability in some of its most popular products that allows full control of affected devices. What's worse is that there are no patches available at this time. In a security report, Cisco said it discovered a hacking campaign on December 10 targeting Cisco AsyncOS software, in particular physical and virtual devices Cisco Secure Email Gateway, Cisco Secure Email, and Web Manager. The affected devices have a feature called β€œspam isolation” enabled and can be accessed from…
Read More