X is testing a free version of AI chatbot Grok

Social network X has so far limited its AI chatbot Grok (built by Elon Musk’s other company xAI) to its premium, paying users. However, the platform is seemingly preparing to open up the chatbot to free users. Over the weekend, several app researchers and users posted about a free version of

Equal has a plan to fight India’s growing cyber fraud problem

India, the world’s most populous country and the second-largest internet market after China, is becoming increasingly digitally active. However, this rapid digitization comes with a growing risk of online fraud. Cyber fraud is mounting in India to the point where the Indian government estima

Encore is an AI-powered search engine for your thrifting needs

Former Apple engineer Alex Ruber and former Twitter and Asana engineer Parth Chopra first met on Y Combinator’s founder match platform, then met in person at a thrift store for shopping. They later went on a thrift store shopping trip where they talked about solving problems with finding the

a16z VC Martin Casado explains why so many AI regulations are so wrong

The problem with most attempts at regulating AI so far is that lawmakers are focusing on some mythical future AI experience, instead of truly understanding the new risks AI actually introduces. So argued Andreessen Horowitz general partner VC Martin Casado to a standing-room crowd at technewss Di

These are the top apps Gen Z young adults downloaded this year

It’s clear that Gen Z has an influence on app consumption. Known as the “mobile-first generation,” they make up about 40% of all mobile users worldwide. Curious about their preferences, we recently contacted the app intelligence firm Appfigures, which provided an overview of the 5

Open source projects draw equity-free funding from corporates, startups, and even VCs

A dearth of funding for vital open source technologies is leading to a swath of support from startups, unicorns, corporations, and even venture capital firms. Last year, Bloomberg launched its FOSS (free and open source software) fund, committing up to $90,000 per year to various projects. And in

FTX bankruptcy estate sues Anthony Scaramucci, FWD.us, others

Bankrupt cryptocurrency company FTX filed 23 lawsuits Friday against Anthony Scaramucci (pictured above), his hedge fund SkyBridge Capital, and other organizations, including Crypto.com and the Mark Zuckerberg-backed lobbying group Fwd.us. These lawsuits are an attempt to claw back money for FTX&#

Mozilla lays off 30% of its nonprofit arm

Welcome back to Week in Review. This week, we're unpacking the latest layoffs at Mozilla, Perplexity offering to cross a picket line, and Apple warning investors that it might never top the iPhone. Let's get into it. The Mozilla Foundation laid off 30% of its employees in the second round

As Firefox turns 20, Mozilla ponders how to restore it to its former glory

Exactly 20 years ago, Mozilla started shipping version 1.0 of its Firefox browser. At the time, you could download it or buy a CD-ROM with a guidebook from Mozilla (or maybe get it on one of those free CDs that would come with many magazines at the time). Born out of the ashes of Netscape, Firefox

Boox Palma 2: A great little e-reader with bigger ambitions

The Palma is a strange product. It's a small e-reader with far bigger gadget ambitions. On its site, Boox describes the product as a “distraction-free device that lets you reclaim your focus in the exact middle between tech and life.” In a lot of ways, the company's ambitions appe

Productivity hacks are overrated, says a16z VC who sold his own startup for $1.25B

What's the secret to startup success? Not the trends that so many Silicon Valley founders subscribe to, Andreessen Horowitz general partner VC Martin Casado said to a standing-room-only crowd at technewss Disrupt last week.  Before joining the storied VC firm, Casado founded two other co

VCs on how to ‘survive and thrive’ after a down round

Founders hope that their startups continually raise larger funding rounds at escalating valuations. But unexpected challenges, such as a global health crisis or a sudden surge in interest rates, can have a significant impact on a company’s ability to maintain its valuations. Some of these st

OpenAI loses another lead safety researcher, Lilian Weng

Another one of OpenAI’s lead safety researchers, Lilian Weng, announced on Friday she is departing the startup. Weng served as VP of research and safety since August, and before that was the head of OpenAI’s safety systems team. In a post on X, Weng said that “after 7 years at Op

Upwind, an Israeli cloud cybersecurity startup, is raising $100M at a $850M-$900M valuation, say sources

Cybersecurity continues to command a lot of attention from enterprises looking for better protection from malicious hackers, and VCs want in on the action. In the latest example, technewss has learned and confirmed that Upwind — a specialist in assessing and securing cloud infrastructure — is