SGNL snags $30M for a new take on ID security based on zero-standing privileges

Security experts often describe identity as the “new perimeter” in the world of security: In the world of cloud services, where network assets and apps can range far and wide, the biggest vulnerabilities are often leaked and spoofed log-in credentials.  A startup called SGNL has built a new a

SpotDraft taps AI to help streamline contract management

More and more legal professionals are embracing AI, surveys show. Per a recent poll from legal tech company Clio, 79% of firms used some form of AI for casework last year, up from just 19% in 2023. Despite some skepticism of the tech, in-house counsel has shown an interest, as well, with one survey

AI-driven manufacturing database Keychain raises $5M for European push

Brands are constantly trying to streamline how they source packaging materials and ingredient suppliers for their products in order to quickly meet consumer demand. However, even today this process can involve some laborious wandering around trade shows. Keychain is an AI-powered platform that aim

Lanch bags $27M for a social media-skewed take on fast food

E-commerce startups built around food continue to gobble up funding as investors look for sticky consumer concepts that can scale without breaking the bank. On Wednesday, Germany's Lanch — which taps social media and influencers to develop popular food brands alongside retail networks for dis

Chestnut Carbon gets $160M to turn old farms into forests

Nature-based carbon removal startup Chestnut Carbon has raised $160 million in Series B financing, the company told technewss. The startup buys marginal and degraded farmland, plants them with native trees, and harvests the resulting carbon credits. Carbon credits have become a hot commodity, esp

EU abandons ePrivacy, AI liability reforms as bloc shifts focus to AI competitiveness

A long-stalled bid to beef up European Union rules around online tracking technologies and put penalties on a similar footing to the bloc’s data protection framework, GDPR, has been withdrawn by the Commission after co-legislators failed to reach agreement over the plan. The original proposa

No-code app builder Softr expands beyond Airtable databases

If you're working for a small company and want to build a client portal or an internal tool, it can be difficult to find the budget and resources to allocate a developer to that small project. That's why more than 600,000 people, including project managers, HR employees, and marketing peopl

Lucidity snags $21M to help enterprises optimize their cloud storage

Enterprises often overprovision their cloud data storage to keep a buffer for demand peaks, but that comes at a major cost. And while in-house DevOps teams may optimize servers to reduce the impact of these costs, they usually skip optimizing their storage to avoid any accidental data loss or downt

Tabby doubles valuation to $3.3B in $160M funding as it looks beyond BNPL and plans IPO

Consumer demand for credit options varies across regions, and for fintechs, understanding these differences is key to survival. In developed markets, where credit cards are common, consumers often view buy now, pay later (BNPL) offerings positively because of their flexible installment options. Bu

Shopify took down Kanye’s swastika T-shirt shop, but another antisemitic storefront still operates

Shopify took down Kanye West’s online store after the musician sold T-shirts with the swastika symbol. West, who also goes by Ye, advertised his online store in a Super Bowl commercial on Sunday, directing viewers to his website, where the only item listed was the swastika T-shirt.

Federal workers sue Elon Musk and DOGE to cut off data access

More than 100 current and former federal workers have sued Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency agency he runs for allegedly accessing highly sensitive personnel records without proper vetting or authorization, according to a new federal lawsuit filed Tuesday. The lawsuit was file

Founders Fund is about to close another $3B fund

Founders Fund is on track to conclude fundraising of its third growth fund at the end of March, according to people close to the firm. The Peter Thiel-founded outfit is raising $3 billion, a source told technewss and Axios also reported. The fund, which is intended primarily for additional i

ChatGPT may not be as power-hungry as once assumed

ChatGPT, OpenAI’s chatbot platform, may not be as power-hungry as once assumed. But its appetite largely depends on how ChatGPT is being used and the AI models that are answering the queries, according to a new study. A recent analysis by Epoch AI, a nonprofit AI research institute, attempte

Amazon tests sending customers directly to brands’ websites when it doesn’t stock their products

Remember that Christmas movie “Miracle on 34th Street,” where Macy’s in-store Santa, Kris Kringle, sends a frazzled shopper to a competitor’s store to find the Christmas present her son wanted because Macy’s was out of stock? Now Amazon is doing the same thing online.