‘System failure’ paralyzes Baidu robotaxis in China
Passengers in Baidu's robotaxis were trapped for up to two hours.
Startups
A new dating app, Sonder, has a deliberately annoying sign-up process (and it’s working)
Sonder profiles are completely unstructured, encouraging users to build something that looks like a mood board or a digital collage. Think MySpace rather than LinkedIn.
Startup funding shatters all records in Q1
The record quarterly fundraise largely fueled four mega-deals into OpenAI, Anthropic, xAI, and Waymo. But it also indicates a generally hot market.
Apple releases security fix for older iPhones and iPads to protect against DarkSword attacks
The security update protects a raft of older iPhones and iPads from attacks linked to leaked hacking tools called DarkSword.
Meta’s natural gas binge could power South Dakota
Meta's upcoming Hyperion AI data center will be powered by 10 new natural gas plants.
Cameo partners with TikTok to boost popularity
Cameo launched a new TikTok integration that allows U.S. creators to offer personalized videos through the app.
WhatsApp notifies hundreds of users who installed a fake app that was actually government spyware
The Meta-owned company said it identified around 200 users who were tricked into installing a fake version of WhatsApp that was actually Italian-made spyware.
Cognichip wants AI to design the chips that power AI, and just raised $60M to try
The firm says it can can reduce the cost of chip development by more than 75% and cut the timeline by more than half.
SpaceX files confidentially for IPO in mega listing potentially valued at $1.75 trillion, report says
The company has also lined up an unusually large number of 21 banks to manage the mega IPO, internally codenamed “Project Apex."
Hasbro says it was hacked, and may take ‘several weeks’ to recover
The American toy-making giant noted that it was continuing to "implement measures to secure its business operations," suggesting that the hackers may still be in the company's systems.
Less than a month: StrictlyVC San Francisco brings leaders from TDK Ventures, Replit, and more together
StrictlyVC San Francisco brings leaders from TDK Ventures, Replit, and more together on April 30. Space is limited. Register here for your pass.
Lucid Motors recalls over 4,000 Gravity SUVs citing improperly welded seat belts
The company struggled with quality issues when Gravity production started last year, and the new recall shows it's not out of the woods yet.
Nothing’s AI devices plan reportedly contains smart glasses and earbuds
The glasses will reportedly feature cameras, microphones and speakers, and will connect to a smartphone and the cloud to process AI queries.
Mercor says it was hit by cyberattack tied to compromise of open-source LiteLLM project
The AI recruiting startup confirmed a security incident after an extortion hacking crew took credit for stealing data from the company's systems.
Toyota’s Woven Capital appoints new CIO and COO in push for finding the ‘future of mobility’
Woven Capital is the growth-stage venture capital arm of Toyota, focused on backing founders building in space, cybersecurity, and autonomous driving.
Anthropic is having a month
A human really borks things at Anthropic for the second time this week.
Salesforce announces an AI-heavy makeover for Slack, with 30 new features
Slack just got a whole lot more useful.
Robotaxi companies refuse to say how often their AVs need remote help
Aurora, May Mobility, Motional, Nuro, Tesla, Waymo, and Zoox all refused to cough up a number during Senator Ed Markey's recent investigation.
OpenAI, not yet public, raises $3B from retail investors in monster $122B fund raise
OpenAI's latest funding round, led by Amazon, Nvidia, and SoftBank, values the AI lab at $852 billion as it nears an IPO.
It’s not your imagination: AI seed startups are commanding higher valuations
Among the most recent Y Combinator cohort, many startups were commanding $40 million valuations. But with more money comes higher expectations.