Month: March 2025

OpenAI says its AI voice assistant is now better to chat with

OpenAI says its AI voice assistant is now better to chat with OpenAI released updates Monday for Advanced Voice Mode, its AI voice feature that enables real-time conversations in ChatGPT, to make the AI assistant more personable and interrupt users less frequently. Manuka Stratta, an OpenAI post-training researcher, announced the

A new, challenging AGI test stumps most AI models

A new, challenging AGI test stumps most AI models The Arc Prize Foundation, a nonprofit co-founded by prominent AI researcher François Chollet, announced in a blog post on Monday that it has created a new, challenging test to measure the general intelligence of leading AI models. So far, the new

A Chinese tech giant says it slashed AI costs using only Chinese chips

A Chinese tech giant says it slashed AI costs using only Chinese chips Earlier this year, DeepSeek briefly crashed Nvidia’s stock because of speculation that its models require far fewer chips. Now, Chinese fintech giant Ant Group, which is backed by Alibaba founder Jack Ma, is claiming a major AI

a16z- and Benchmark-backed 11x has been claiming customers it doesn’t have

a16z- and Benchmark-backed 11x has been claiming customers it doesn’t have Last year, AI-powered sales automation startup 11x appeared to be on an explosive growth trajectory. However, nearly two dozen sources — including investors and current and former employees — told TechCrunch that the company has experienced financial struggles, largely

Vertical farming company Plenty files for bankruptcy after raising nearly $1B

Vertical farming company Plenty files for bankruptcy after raising nearly $1B Vertical farming company Plenty has filed for bankruptcy, the company said in a press release on Monday. In its statement, Plenty said it has received a commitment for $20.7 million in debtor-in-possession financing as part of a proposed restructuring

Former Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt’s new robotics startup reportedly raises another $150M

Former Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt’s new robotics startup reportedly raises another $150M The Bot Company, the robotics startup founded by former Cruise co-founder and CEO Kyle Vogt, has raised $150 million in a round led by Greenoaks, according to Reuters, citing unnamed sources. Vogt founded the startup with Paril Jain,

Buy now, pay later . . . for a burrito?

Buy now, pay later . . . for a burrito? In 2010, a programmer who was mining bitcoin famously made the comically expensive mistake of spending 10,000 bitcoin on two pizzas. As of this writing, those coins would be worth $850 million dollars. While there are few comparisons to that

Barack Obama joins Bluesky

Barack Obama joins Bluesky Social network Bluesky, an alternative to X built on open source technologies, has scored a big win in terms of attracting notable users to its platform. The company on Sunday confirmed that former president Barack Obama has joined its service. Bluesky OOO Rose Wang replied to

Browser Use, the tool making it easier for AI ‘agents’ to navigate websites, raises $17M

Browser Use, the tool making it easier for AI ‘agents’ to navigate websites, raises $17M We may not have an agreed-upon definition of AI “agent” yet, but a multitude of startups want to create “agentic” tools to automate various tasks online. One such firm, Browser Use, has attracted a ton

Jonah Peretti helped shaped digital media — can he do it again?

Jonah Peretti helped shaped digital media — can he do it again? Jonah Peretti’s career to date has been defined by constant reinvention. As the founder and CEO of BuzzFeed, Peretti has been at the forefront of digital media for almost two decades, navigating changes as the once small startup