‘For You’ feeds are not for creators, Patreon says

Patreon has continued on its crusade against algorithmic feeds with its latest State of Create report, a look at trends in the creator economy based on internal data, and it’s an effort creators can get behind. In its survey of 1,000 creators and 2,000 fans, the membership platform reported

Saronic raises $600M to mass-produce autonomous warships

Austin-based defense startup Saronic has raised a $600 million Series C to build an autonomous ship factory called “Port Alpha,” it announced yesterday, quadrupling its valuation to $4 billion from its last round.  Investor Elad Gil led the round, with General Catalyst joining existing invest

Study of TikTok, X ‘For You’ feeds in Germany finds far-right political bias ahead of federal elections

Recommendation algorithms operated by social media giants TikTok and X have shown evidence of substantial far-right political bias in Germany ahead of a federal election that takes place Sunday, according to new research carried out by Global Witness. The non-government organization (NGO) undertoo

After raising $1 billion, fintech Varo closes another $29 million, replaces founder CEO

Fintech Varo has been hoping to raise a $55 million Series G round but has, so far, closed on $29 million to date, according to a recent SEC filing. Varo declined to comment on this new round but the fintech has raised just over $1 billion in funding since its 2015 inception, according to PitchBoo

Mark Zuckerberg's charity U-turns, ends DEI efforts 

Mark Zuckerberg’s charity has eliminated its DEI programs and efforts just weeks after assuring staff it would continue supporting DEI efforts, The Guardian reports.  The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), co-founded by Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan, will end internal DEI programs a

Brand-new women’s focused Swizzle Ventures skyrockets past its fundraising target

Swizzle Ventures has closed its Fund I at $6.6 million, bypassing its initial $3 million target, Jessica Kamada, the firm's founder, told technewss.  Back in December, technewss reported that the firm, which quietly launched in 2023, was raising and has already bypassed $5 million, per

IVF insurance startup Future Family promises a baby or your money back

For decades, couples going through in vitro fertilization have had to spend tens of thousands of dollars on the procedures with no guarantee of success. It's not only an emotionally draining process, but a financially exhausting one as well. San Francisco-based startup Future

Karman+ digs up $20M to build an asteroid-mining autonomous spacecraft

Investors on the lookout for startups working at the frontiers of technology are casting their nets ever further into unchartered territory, sometimes literally as well as figuratively. In one of the latest examples, a startup called Karman+ with ambitions to build autonomous spacecraft that can tr

Google’s ‘Career Dreamer’ uses AI to help you explore job possibilities

Google is launching a new experiment that uses AI to help people explore more career possibilities. The company announced in a blog post on Wednesday that a new “Career Dreamer” tool can find patterns between your experiences, educational background, skills, and interests to connect you

Google pulls Gemini from main search app on iOS

Google is pulling its AI assistant Gemini from the main Google app for iOS devices. The move is meant to encourage users to download the standalone Gemini app instead, which would allow Google to more directly compete with other consumer-facing AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude, or Perplexity. Howev

ElectronX is building a market for electricity trading

Renewable electricity is cheap and clean, but also less predictable than firing up a gas turbine. Turns out that's both a problem and an opportunity. Most solutions to the problem of intermittency involve pairing solar panels and wind turbines with batteries, which store the power for use when

Google brings a ‘Circle to Search’-like feature to iPhone users

Google on Wednesday is rolling out a new update that lets users search what’s on their screen via a simple gesture when browsing within the Google Chrome or Google Search app on iOS. The feature is similar to Android’s built-in “Circle to Search” feature, which also lets use

Sanas taps AI to change call center workers’ accents in real time

The demand for voice and speech recognition technologies is massive — and growing. An analysis by market research firm Markets and Markets found that the sector could be worth over $28.1 billion by 2027. There’s no shortage of vendors providing voice and speech recognition solutions, but s

Apple’s $599 iPhone 16e adds AI, launches February 28

As anticipated, Apple revealed the long-awaited iPhone SE refresh Tuesday. The fourth-generation device arrives three years after the last major update to the budget-minded smartphone. This one arrives with a twist, however. The SE branding has been dropped to keep the device more in line with the