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Hitachi Ventures secured $400 million for a fourth fund, the firm exclusively told TechCrunch. The size of the new fund is a vote of confidence in a range of deep tech verticals. The corporate VC’s sprawling portfolio mimics that of its limited partner’s, including energy, manufacturing, biotech, and AI. “We are open to other breakthrough…
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Presidents’ Day Is one of the biggest sleep-centered holidays of the year. Who knows what it is about February’s sole long weekend that makes it so perfect to put mattresses and sleep gear on sale (the darkness of winter? impending desire to refresh your bedroom for spring?), but it’s a great time to buy a…
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On the monetization side, for now, we have focused on a free tier and subscriptions. But as you’ve seen [with] Google over time, we always want to lead with the user experience and we do have very good ideas for native ad concepts. But you will see us lead with the user experience. I do…
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Google announced Tuesday that it is overhauling the principles governing how it uses artificial intelligence and other advanced technology. The company removed language promising not to pursue “technologies that cause or are likely to cause overall harm,” “weapons or other technologies whose principal purpose or implementation is to cause or directly facilitate injury to people,”…
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Google parent company Alphabet expects to invest “approximately $75 billion” in capital expenditures in 2025, according to a statement from CEO Sundar Pichai in Alphabet’s Q4 2024 earnings release. Capital expenditures have become a hot topic as of late as big tech companies race to build infrastructure to support their growing AI ambitions, and today’s…
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While previous administrations have considered removing the de minimis exemption or introducing reforms, Trump is the first to have actually done so. “This is the administration’s version of moving fast and breaking things,” says Ram Ben Tzion, cofounder and CEO of Publican, a digital shipment vetting platform, citing one of the core tenets of startup…
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Elgato is releasing a new version of its audio stream control software Wave Link that includes new AI-powered voice enhancements for your mic. It also has a new OS-level management system to redirect audio streams to certain apps, split audio to yourself and your audience, add audio effects, and quickly mute channels. The latest version…
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According to an internal email sent to staffers Tuesday evening viewed by WIRED, “all direct hire personnel” at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) “will be placed on administrative leave globally, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs” on Friday, February 7. The email…
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Instead of making Titanfall 3, developer Respawn took the franchise in a completely different direction with Apex Legends. A free-to-play battle royale game that mashes together elements of Overwatch and Fortnite, Apex Legends was a complete surprise when it launched, but it has turned out to be a big hit early on, luring tens of…
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Figure AI, a robotics company working to bring a general-purpose humanoid robot into commercial and residential use, announced Tuesday on X that it is exiting a deal with OpenAI. The Bay Area-based outfit has instead opted to focus on in-house AI owing to a “major breakthrough.” In conversation with TechCrunch afterward, founder and CEO Brett Adcock…