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Why ‘forever’ investors are snapping up ‘zombie’ venture capital

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💥 Explore this trending post from TechCrunch 📖 📂 Category: Startups,Venture,Bending Spoons,Private Equity,UserVoice 📌 Here’s what you’ll learn: Italian company Bending Spoons had largely flown under the radar – until last month. Within 48 hours, the company announced the acquisition of AOL and a massive $270 million raise, quadrupling its value to $11 billion, up from the $2.55 billion set for early 2024. Bending Spoons grew rapidly by acquiring stagnant technology brands like Evernote, Meetup, and Vimeo, then turning them profitable by cutting costs and dramatically increasing prices. While the company's approach is similar to private equity, there is one…

YouTube is working on a feature that fixes chaotic home streaming

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🚀 Check out this insightful post from TechCrunch 📖 📂 Category: Apps,algorithm,YouTube ✅ Main takeaway: Finding a YouTube video that truly matches our interests can sometimes be a challenge. The video-sharing platform seems to have recognized this issue and is taking steps to address it with its new experimental feature, “Your Personalized Feed.” The new test aims to address the frustration users often face with algorithm-based recommendations that sometimes miss the mark. Historically, it has been reported that YouTube's algorithm often misjudges a user's intentions. For example, watching some Disney videos might cause the platform to assume you're a loyal…

Character.AI will offer interactive “stories” to children instead of open chat

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💥 Read this trending post from TechCrunch 📖 📂 Category: AI,character.ai,chatbots 💡 Key idea: Character.AI announced on Tuesday that it will launch “Stories,” a new format that allows users to create interactive fiction featuring their favorite characters. This feature comes as an alternative to the company's chatbots, which are no longer available to users under the age of 18 as of this week. This change comes in the wake of growing concerns about the mental health risks of AI-powered chatbots that are available 24/7 and can initiate conversations with users. Several lawsuits have been filed against companies like OpenAI and…

ChatGPT’s voice mode is no longer a separate interface

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🚀 Read this awesome post from TechCrunch 📖 📂 Category: AI,Apps,AI voice,ChatGPT,OpenAI 💡 Main takeaway: ChatGPT's voice mode is now more usable. OpenAI announced on Tuesday that it is updating the user interface to its popular AI-powered chatbot so that users can access ChatGPT Voice directly within their chat, rather than having to switch to a separate mode. This means you'll be able to talk to the chatbot and view its responses, including things like shared photos, as you talk. Previously, you were taken to a separate screen where you interacted with an animated blue circle representing the ChatGPT audio…

OpenAI and Perplexity are launching AI-powered shopping assistants, but rival startups aren’t holding back

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✨ Read this must-read post from TechCrunch 📖 📂 Category: AI,Commerce,Daydream,onton,OpenAI,Perplexity 💡 Key idea: With holiday shopping just around the corner, OpenAI and Perplexity both announced AI-powered shopping features this week, which integrate with existing chatbots to help users research potential purchases. The tools are remarkably similar to each other. OpenAI suggests that users can ask ChatGPT for help finding “a new gaming laptop under $1,000 with a screen larger than 15 inches,” or they can share photos of high-end clothing and request something similar for less. Meanwhile, Confusion highlights how a chatbot's memory can augment its users' shopping-related searches,…

Chinese company Pony AI plans to triple its global robotaxi fleet by the end of 2026

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✨ Discover this must-read post from TechCrunch 📖 📂 Category: Transportation,autonomous vehicles,robotaxis ✅ Key idea: Chinese self-driving vehicle technology company Pony.ai said on Tuesday that it plans to triple the size of its robotaxi fleet by the end of next year as its growth pace and aspirations accelerate. The company, which has about 961 robotaxis in its fleet today, announced that goal during its third-quarter earnings. Pony.ai is targeting a fleet of 1,000 robotaxis by the end of this year. Its goal is to "exceed" 3,000 vehicles by the end of 2026, the company said in its third-quarter earnings report.…

Microsoft’s chatbot Copilot is leaving WhatsApp on January 15

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🔥 Read this trending post from TechCrunch 📖 📂 Category: AI,Apps,In Brief,Meta,Microsoft,WhatsApp 📌 Main takeaway: Microsoft's Copilot chatbot will no longer be available on WhatsApp after January 15, Microsoft has announced. After that date, WhatsApp users won't be able to chat with the AI unless they switch to Microsoft's Copilot mobile apps or use a web-based chatbot. The company explained that it is removing the Copilot program from the popular messaging application in compliance with the revised WhatsApp platform policies, which were announced last month. At the time, the Meta-owned messaging company said it would no longer support general-purpose chatbots…

Speechify adds voice typing and voice assistant to its Chrome extension

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💥 Explore this trending post from TechCrunch 📖 📂 Category: AI,Apps,AI assistant,ai dictation,Speechify,voice AI ✅ Here’s what you’ll learn: Speechify has largely been a tool that helps you listen to articles, PDFs, and documents. The company is now adding voice detection features to its Chrome extension, including voice typing and a voice assistant that answers your questions. In the past 12 months, there has been a proliferation of voice detection tools, thanks to the overall quality improvement in speech recognition models. Speechify is attaching its wagon to this train and launching its own dictation tool with English support. Just like…

The report says Spotify will raise prices in the US in the first quarter of next year

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💥 Discover this must-read post from TechCrunch 📖 📂 Category: Apps,Media & Entertainment,Spotify 📌 Main takeaway: Spotify plans to raise subscription prices in the US in the first quarter of next year, according to a new report from the Financial Times. The move will mark the streaming service's first price hike in the US since July 2024. The company has recently raised prices in several other countries, including the UK, Switzerland and Australia. A Spotify subscription currently costs $11.99 per month in the US. When the service first launched in the country 14 years ago, it cost $9.99 per month.…

Facebook is competing with Reddit by launching nicknames for Facebook groups

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🚀 Read this trending post from TechCrunch 📖 📂 Category: Apps,Social,Facebook,social media,facebook groups,Meta ✅ Here’s what you’ll learn: Facebook Groups are becoming more similar to Reddit with newly added support for nicknames. The feature, which allows users to post under a custom username instead of their real names, provides an alternative to posting anonymously. Through anonymous posting, users can share without linking the post to their Facebook profile and real identity, but this approach also does not allow other group members to recognize them or their personality, or follow their updates over time. Image credits:Facebook Meta says nicknames will allow…