MiLaboratories gets $10M for a platform play to accelerate genomic research

Advances in DNA sequencing and the vast amounts of genomic data being produced by next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology have created a startup opportunity to build software for biologists so they can more easily analyze this big data and take the next leap. It could help when it comes to deve

BaCta is using engineered bacteria to grow natural rubber and slash CO2 emissions

The synthetic biology and precision fermentation space is a hotbed of entrepreneurial activity these days. But it’s not every day you come across a startup that’s using genetic engineering to produce natural rubber — a substance that’s challenging to reproduce in a lab because o

Did that startup founder really work through his wedding?

Thoughtly co-founder Casey Mackrell had a big week. First, he got married. Then, he went viral. At his wedding reception, Mackrell needed to quickly give a colleague access to code that could only be unblocked from his laptop. His fellow co-founder Torrey Leonard seized the moment by taking a phot

India’s Star Health confirms data breach after cybercriminals post customers’ health data online

Star Health and Allied Insurance, one of the largest health insurance firms in India, has confirmed it was the target of a “malicious cyberattack,” some two weeks after cybercriminals claimed to post customers’ health records and other sensitive data online. The Chennai-headquar

TezLab launches new AI-powered ‘car reports’ for Tesla and Rivian EVs

Modern connected vehicles, and especially EVs, generate a lot of data. But automakers don’t often give owners a good way to play around with that data. Instead, drivers are more likely to wind up in a situation like the New York Times reported on earlier this year: essentially tricked into gi

X changes creator payouts to depend on engagement, not ads

As X continues to alienate advertisers, even recently suing a group over their boycott of the platform, the company is shifting its creator payments policy to be less dependent on ads. Before, creators would be paid a percentage of the ad revenue from ads shown in their replies. Now, X says it will

Shield AI's founder on death, drones in Ukraine, and the AI weapon 'no one wants'

About two months ago, Shield AI co-founder Brandon Tseng and one of his employees were in an Uber weaving through Kyiv, Ukraine. They were headed to a meeting with military officials to sell them on their AI pilot systems and drones, when suddenly his employee showed him a warning on his phone. Rus

Tesla designer Franz von Holzhausen says he’s been designing a robotaxi in his mind for years

About 12 years ago, not long after Tesla began delivering the Model S, chief designer Franz von Holzhausen started to think about what an autonomous vehicle might look like. Von Holzhausen played a central role at Tesla leading the design team on the Model 3 and Model Y, as well as the Tesla Semi.

This Week in AI: Tech giants embrace synthetic data

Hiya, folks, welcome to technewss's regular AI newsletter. If you want this in your inbox every Wednesday, sign up here. This week in AI, synthetic data rose to prominence. OpenAI last Thursday introduced Canvas, a new way to interact with ChatGPT, its AI-powered chatbo

Zoom’s custom AI avatar tool may come with risks

Zoom wants to turn you into an AI-animated, photorealistic avatar — but not until sometime next year. The upcoming feature, announced today at Zoom’s annual dev conference, will translate a video clip that users record of themselves into a digital clone — complete with a head, upper arms

Streamer Plex rolls out movie and TV show reviews

Following its $40 million fundraise at the beginning of this year, streaming media company Plex announced on Wednesday it’s rolling out a new TV show and movie reviews feature, putting its app in more direct competition with other apps, like Letterboxd and TV Time. The feature will

European unicorn Alan becomes Canada’s first new health insurance company in almost 70 years

In 2016, when Alan originally launched its health insurance product in France, it was the first new health insurance company in the country in 30 years. Now, as Alan announces its expansion to Canada, the startup is about to break a new record: There hasn't been a new health insurance company i

Amazon makes shopping for groceries online less confusing

On Wednesday, Amazon announced several new ways it plans to enhance the grocery shopping experience for Prime members. These include enabling Same-Day Delivery for both fresh groceries and Amazon.com products simultaneously, as well as introducing additional features to simplify the shopping proces

Amazon’s new AI-powered vision tech tells drivers which packages to deliver

Amazon announced on Wednesday the upcoming addition of new AI-powered package retrieval technology to its electric vehicle fleet. The vision-based tech is designed to help drivers prioritize packages. Vision-Assisted Package Retrieval (VAPR) works by highlighting packages with either a green circl