Category: Enterprise
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OpenAI pursued Cursor maker before entering into talks to buy Windsurf for $3B
When news broke that OpenAI was in talks to acquire AI coding company Windsurf for $3 billion, one of the first questions on the mind of anyone following the space was likely: “Why not buy Cursor creator Anysphere instead?” After all, OpenAI Startup Fund has been an investor in Anysphere, the maker of Cursor, since the…
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Defense tech Theseus landed Y Combinator, the US Special Forces and $4.3M from a tweet
On February 18, 2024, Ian Laffey posted on X that he and two others he’d just met built a cheap drone at a hackathon that calculated its coordinates simply by using its camera and Google Maps. He and his colleagues, Sacha Lévy and Carl Schoeller, were all engineers under the age of 25. The tech…
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Ramp is trying to get the US government as a customer after seeing a tweet from DOGE
Expense management startup Ramp is being considered for a charge card pilot program by the U.S. government’s General Services Administration, the company confirmed to TechCrunch on Thursday. The government’s internal expense card program, dubbed SmartPay, is a $700 billion program. It is estimated that the charge card pilot program contract for which Ramp is being…
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Chinese shopping app Taobao joins DHgate in Top 5 on US App Store
The Chinese e-commerce marketplace app DHgate, which is now the No. 2 free iPhone app in the U.S., isn’t the only one that’s oddly benefiting from President Trump’s tariffs on U.S. imports from China. Another Chinese shopping app, Taobao, has now also entered the Top 5 as of Thursday. U.S. consumers began flocking to these…
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As the trade war escalates, Hence launches an AI ‘advisor’ to help companies manage risk
President Donald Trump’s tariffs have underscored the increasing geopolitical risk that almost all businesses now face. As the situation continues to shift with Trump’s unpredictable deal-making, it’s also becoming clear how challenging it is for companies, nonprofits, consultants, and lawyers to keep up with the rapid day-to-day changes. “We are drowning in trade updates every…
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Carbon removal startup Holocene bought by oil and gas giant Occidental
The deal was executed through Oxy Low Carbon Ventures for an undisclosed amount. The deal was executed through Oxy Low Carbon Ventures for an undisclosed amount.
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OpenAI launches Flex processing for cheaper, slower AI tasks
In a bid to more aggressively compete with rival AI companies like Google, OpenAI is launching Flex processing, an API option that provides lower AI model usage prices in exchange for slower response times and “occasional resource unavailability.” Flex processing, which is available in beta for OpenAI’s recently released o3 and o4-mini reasoning models, is…
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Former Y Combinator president Geoff Ralston launches new AI ‘safety’ fund
Geoff Ralston, known for his years at Y Combinator, has a new AI VC fund called SAIF. It is seeking AI startups focused on safety. Geoff Ralston, known for his years at Y Combinator, has a new AI VC fund called SAIF. It is seeking AI startups focused on safety.
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AI benchmarking platform Chatbot Arena forms a new company
Chatbot Arena, the crowdsourced benchmarking project major AI labs rely on to test and market their AI models, is forming a company called Arena Intelligence Inc., reports Bloomberg. In a blog post published Thursday, Chatbot Arena said that the company will “give [it] the resources to improve [its platform] significantly over what it is today.”…
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Automakers selling cars in China banned from using ‘autonomous driving’ in ads
China is cracking down on how automakers advertise driver assistance features, banning terms like “autonomous driving,” “self-driving,” and “smart driving,” Reuters reported, citing a transcript of a meeting between the government and industry representatives. The updated rule will also prohibit automakers from rolling out improvements via software updates to advanced driving assistance systems in vehicles…