Mach Industries, founded by 21-year-old Ethan Thornton, lands US Army contract, builds weapons factory

Sequoia-backed Mach Industries, the defense tech founded by 21-year-old Ethan Thornton, landed a contract with the U.S. Army and has plans for its first factory, Thornton told technewss. The factory will be 115,000 square feet in Huntington Beach, California, where Mach's headquarters is loca

Cino cracks bill-splitting at the moment of payment, raises seed round

While Venmo or Splitwise are effectively “debt collector” tools, which require one person to pay a full bill and then request funds from others, neither have cracked bill-splitting at the moment of payment. European startup Cino, which has come up with just such a product, has now raise

Dutch startup QuantWare seeks to fast-track quantum computing

Big Tech companies aren't sleeping on quantum chips: Amazon Web Services introduced Ocelot; Microsoft, Majorana; and Google, Willow. But although all of these can be considered to be breakthroughs, quantum startups often focus on more practical advancements — and they are making progress. Fo

Moonwatt secures $8.3M to dial up solar's staying power with sodium-ion storage

The drive to decarbonize our economies through electrification and clean energy continues to generate momentum around battery technologies, as storage has a key role to play in enabling the green transition. While renewables are clean sources of energy compared to burning fossil fuels, their power

People are using Super Mario to benchmark AI now

Thought Pokémon was a tough benchmark for AI? One group of researchers argues that Super Mario Bros. is even tougher. Hao AI Lab, a research org at the University of California San Diego, on Friday threw AI into live Super Mario Bros. games. Anthropic’s Claude 3.7 performed the best, follo

General Catalyst loses three top investors as the firm expands beyond venture, contemplates IPO

Three key investors have left General Catalyst amidst a series of recent changes at the firm, which now describes itself as an “investment and transformation company,” technewss has learned. The departed managing directors include Deep Nishar and Kyle Doherty, who co-led General Catal

You can now talk to Google Gemini from your iPhone’s lock screen

Google Gemini users can now access the AI chatbot directly from the iPhone’s lock screen, thanks to an update released on Monday first spotted by 9to5Google. Users can now call up Gemini Live, Google’s relatively real-time voice feature for its AI chatbot, before they unlock their phone

Creator monetization platform Passes sued over alleged distribution of CSAM

Passes, a direct-to-fan monetization platform for creators backed by $40 million in Series A funding, has been sued for allegedly distributing Child Sexual Abuse Material (also known as CSAM). While its guidelines do not allow for creators to post nude photos or videos, as opposed to competitors li

MWC hears two starkly divided views of AI’s impact

Two sharply different visions of AI were platformed on stage at the Mobile World Congress trade show on Monday. The true believer's case for the technology's potential — to merge with and transform human life for the better — was offered up by futurist and singularity priest Ray Kurzw

The author of SB 1047 introduces a new AI bill in California

The author of California’s SB 1047, the nation’s most controversial AI safety bill of 2024, is back with a new AI bill that could shake up Silicon Valley. California state Senator Scott Wiener introduced a new bill on Friday that would protect employees at leading AI labs, allowing the

Google Play update makes it easier to find Android apps with widgets

Google announced Monday a series of changes to its widgets system on Android that will make it easier for app developers to reach their users. Widgets, which offer at-a-glance views of an app’s most important information — like the day’s weather or upcoming meetings on your calend

Ramp, a 6-year-old fintech startup, has more than doubled its annualized revenue to $700M

Fintech startup Ramp has crossed $700 million in annualized revenue as of January of this year, according to a source familiar with the company's internal operations. The company had crossed $100 million in annualized revenue before its third birthday in March 2022, passed $300 million by Augu

TSMC pledges to spend $100B on US chip facilities

Chipmaker TSMC said that it aims to invest “at least” $100 billion in chip manufacturing plants in the U.S. over the next four years as part of an effort to expand the company’s network of semiconductor factories. President Donald Trump announced the news during a press conferenc

Google releases SpeciesNet, an AI model designed to identify wildlife

Google has open sourced an AI model, SpeciesNet, designed to identify animal species by analyzing photos from camera traps. Researchers around the world use camera traps — digital cameras connected to infrared sensors — to study wildlife populations. But while these traps can provide valuable