ARM to sign $250M chip deal with Malaysia
Malaysia has become a hot spot for chip manufacturing due to increasing tensions between the U.S. and China, especially around the development of semiconductors used for AI applications. Predictably, tech firms around the world have been looking to diversify their source of chips, and ARM Holdings
Darwinbox, the HR upstart from India, raises $140M to take on Deel and Rippling
Darwinbox, a startup with Indian roots building a SaaS platform for hiring, onboarding, and employee administration, has raised $140 million to take on the likes of Rippling and Deel as it seeks to expand internationally, especially in the U.S.
The funding is being co-led by KKR and Partners Group
From high school science project to $18.3M: AI-accelerated enzymes are coming for fast fashion's plastic waste
A U.K. startup, originating from founder Jacob Nathan’s high school science project on using enzymes to break down plastic waste, has secured an oversubscribed $18.3 million in Series A funding.
Founded in 2019 in London, Epoch Biodesign is now a 30+ strong multidisciplinary team of chemists
Meta brings its anti-scam facial-recognition test to the UK and Europe
Last October, Meta dipped its toe into the world of facial recognition with an international test of two new tools: one to stop scams based on likenesses of famous people, and a second feature to help people get back into compromised Facebook or Instagram accounts. Now that test is expanding to one
Defense tech startup Epirus raises $250M Series D to counter drone swarms
Defense tech startup Epirus, which specializes in anti-drone systems, has raised an oversubscribed $250 million Series D, it told technewss.
Epirus, based in Torrance, California, was previously valued at $1.35 billion for its $200 million Series C in 2022, per its announcement at the time. Epiru
Quantexa nabs $175M at $2.6B valuation to double down on data analytics for AI
British startup Quantexa has made a name for itself over the years with its enterprise platform that employs AI and data analytics to fight money laundering and fraud.
Today, the company said it has raised a fresh $175 million to double down on that business and move deeper into another hot area:
Key ex-OpenAI researcher subpoenaed in AI copyright case
Alec Radford, a researcher who helped develop many of OpenAI’s key AI technologies, has been subpoenaed in a copyright case against the AI startup, according to a court filing Tuesday.
The filing, submitted by an attorney for the plaintiffs to the U.S. District Court in the Northern District
Aspiration co-founder and board member defrauded investors of $145M, prosecutors say
Just over four years ago, climate-friendly fintech startup Aspiration was on the verge of a $2 billion public listing. Now, one of the startup's board members has pleaded guilty to wire fraud and one of the co-founders has been arrested for allegedly conspiring to defraud investors, according t
X updates Communities with new filters, sorting options, and a way to see your own posts
X is bringing more attention to Communities, a feature that allows X users to connect and engage in discussions around a given topic, similar to how it’s done on Reddit. Today, tabs to access popular Communities are pinned to the top of the app’s homepage alongside your For You feed and
African VC LoftyInc Capital launches third fund for seed and Series A, reaches $43M first close
One of Africa's most active investors, known for early bets on unicorns like Flutterwave, Andela, and Wave, has secured fresh capital to invest in startups across the continent. This comes as funding deals and volumes in Africa saw only a slight dip last year, according to a report by VC firm P
Andy Dunn’s new app Pie uses AI to help you make friends
“We’re a long way from pants,” Andy Dunn, founder of online fashion retailer Bonobos, told technewss. Now, the former CEO is taking on a completely different challenge: He wants to help people make friends.
Dunn’s newest venture, Pie, is a social app focused on bringing pe
Foundation Capital, an early backer of Solana and Cerebras, raises $600M fund
Foundation Capital has come a long way since it was forced to scale down its fund size from $750 million in 2008 to $282 million (its sixth main fund) in 2013.
On Tuesday, the 30-year-old firm announced that it raised a $600 million eleventh flagship fund, which is 20% larger than the predecessor
Klarna CEO doubts that other companies will replace Salesforce with AI
The founder and CEO of IPO-bound fintech Klarna took to X to once again explain why his company ditched Salesforce's flagship CRM product about a year ago in favor of its own homegrown AI system.
But this time, Sebastian Siemiatkowski emphasized that he doesn't think others will —
Google still limits how Gemini answers political questions
While several of Google’s rivals, including OpenAI, have tweaked their AI chatbots to discuss politically sensitive subjects in recent months, Google appears to be embracing a more conservative approach.
When asked to answer certain political questions, Google’s AI-powered chatbot, Gem