Category: Enterprise
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TikTok ads will now include AI avatars of creators and stock actors
TikTok announced on Monday that it’s introducing generative AI avatars of creators and stock actors for branded content and ads on its platform. The company is also launching an “AI Dubbing” tool for creators and brands to expand the reach of their ads and branded content. The new “Custom Avatars” are designed to represent a…
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Plant-based ‘meat’ startup Tender has already nabbed a fast-food chain contract, and another $11M
Its technology involves spinning plant protein fibers, including soy proteins, similar to the way cotton candy is made, to create structured cuts of meat. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Food technology startup Tender Food Inc. is a four-year-old startup elbowing its way into a market that is already crowded…
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YouTube is experimenting with Notes, a crowdsourced feature that lets users add context to videos
YouTube is introducing a new experimental feature that will allow viewers to add “Notes” to provide more context and information under videos, the company told TechCrunch exclusively. If the feature sounds similar, it’s because it follows the same concept as Community Notes on X (formerly Twitter). The Google-owned company says the feature can be used…
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Runway’s new video-generating AI, Gen-3, offers improved controls
The race to high-quality, AI-generated videos is heating up. On Monday, Runway, a company building generative AI tools geared toward film and image content creators, unveiled Gen-3 Alpha, its latest AI model for generating video clips from text descriptions and still images. Runway says that Gen-3 delivers a “major” improvement in generation speed and fidelity over…
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Startup Battlefield 200 applications close tomorrow
Holy procrastination, startup founders! Tomorrow’s your last chance to apply to the Startup Battlefield 200 at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024. Your last chance for a shot to stand on the Disrupt stage and pitch to a huge audience packed with global tier-1 investors, hundreds of media outlets and plenty of other influential movers and shakers. Cut…
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Black founders are creating tailored ChatGPTs for a more personalized experience
ChatGPT, one of the world’s most powerful artificial intelligence tools, struggles with cultural nuance. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. At first, John Pasmore was excited about ChatGPT. The serial founder had been in the artificial intelligence space since at least 2008. He recalled the days when experts declared it would…
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India’s Oyo, once valued at $10B, finalizes new funding at $2.5B valuation
Oyo, the Indian budget-hotel chain startup, is finalizing a fresh fundraise of about $100 million to $125 million that slashes its valuation to $2.5 billion, two people familiar with the matter told TechCrunch. That’s a steep decline in the Gurgaon-headquartered startup’s value, which was worth $10 billion in 2019. The startup, struggling to raise from…
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YouTube is testing another way to combat ad blockers
YouTube continues its efforts to circumvent ad blockers. Earlier this week, ad blocker SponsorBlock posted that the Google-owned video service is testing out server-side ad injection with a limited number of users. Essentially, this means that both the ad is injected into the video before it arrives on your device (in contrast to client-side ad…
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Hands-on with the BlackBerry-style Clicks keyboard for iPhone
The Clicks keyboard case has arrived, and it’s delightful, if not entirely practical for everyday use — at least, not without weeks of practice. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. I regret to inform you that i can’t tyoe on thjdi thing yet. The Clicks keyboard case has arrived, and it’s delightful, if…
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Deal Dive: BeReal got its best-case scenario exit
There has been a lot of bad news about social media startups lately. Multiple companies, including Twitter alternative Post News, and IRL have shut down. And ShareChat’s valuation has dropped more than 50% after a recent funding round. But amid the negative headlines, the recent exit of French social network BeReal looks like a bright…