All Hands AI raises $5M to build open source agents for developers

At its best, programming is a creative endeavor, but in this age of shifting everything left, much of a developer’s day is filled with what All Hands AI co-founder and CEO Robert Brennan calls the “toil-oriented task” like writing unit tests, managing dependencies and keeping docu

Mintlify is building a next-gen platform for writing software docs

Software documentation — the resources that explain how software works and how to use it — has evolved dramatically over the past few decades. Once mostly in the form of PDFs and static plaintext, docs today are more interactive and user-friendly than they used to be. But crafting them is stil

The AI industry is obsessed with Chatbot Arena, but it might not be the best benchmark

Over the past few months, tech execs like Elon Musk have touted the performance of their company’s AI models on a particular benchmark: Chatbot Arena. Maintained by a nonprofit known as LMSYS, Chatbot Arena has become something of an industry obsession. Posts about updates to its m

Google expands AI-powered virtual try-on tool to include dresses

Google announced Thursday that it expanded its generative AI-powered virtual try-on tool to support dresses, allowing users to virtually wear thousands of dresses from hundreds of brands, including Boden, Maje, Sandro, Simkhai and Staud. According to the company, dresses were one of the most searc

Zamp targets growing demand for sales tax solutions

Until six years ago, many e-commerce and SaaS businesses could have avoided paying sales tax to states where they had customers, but no physical presence. But as online shopping grew, states realized they were losing out on tax revenue. The era of free-riding for online retailers ended in 2018 whe

YouTube to limit teens’ exposure to videos about fitness and weight across global markets

YouTube is going to limit teens’ exposure to videos that promote and idealize a certain fitness level or physical appearance, the company announced on Thursday. The safeguard first rolled out in the U.S. last year and is now being introduced to teens globally. The announcement comes as YouTu

YouTube is developing AI detection tools for music and faces, plus creator controls for AI training

YouTube on Thursday announced a new set of AI detection tools to protect creators, including artists, actors, musicians and athletes, from having their likeness — such as their face and voice — copied and used in other videos. One key component of the new detection technology involved t

US, UK and EU sign on to the Council of Europe’s high-level AI safety treaty

We’re not very close to any specifics on how, exactly, AI regulations will be implemented and ensured, but today a swathe of countries including the U.S., the U.K. and the European Union signed up to a treaty on AI safety laid out by the Council of Europe (COE), an international standards and

French clean tech startup Calyxia nets $35M to tackle microplastics pollution

French clean tech startup Calyxia has profitability within sight. The company just raised a $35 million Series B round that will help it further ramp up industrial production of its sustainable alternatives to microparticles and microcapsules, setting it on the path to net profitability by 2026. Bu

ZipRecruiter’s new tool will quickly match and schedule an intro call with potential candidates

Hiring platform ZipRecruiter is launching a new tool, called ZipIntro, to let employers schedule introductory calls with potential candidates at a set time. The tool will also help recruiters suggest potential candidates using AI. Employers can input information about the role and select a date an

DJI takes another crack at palm-sized drones, and this one is $199

In 2017, DJI introduced the Spark. With a palm-sized body, gesture control and a sub-$500 price point, the system firmly targeted social media. It was, in essence, a selfie-drone. The little quadcopter built up a fanbase, though apparently not one large enough to justify its own continued existenc

Portex founder Brittany Ennix learned the importance of supply chains from Uber and Flexport

Brittany Ennix first became interested in supply chains as a child.  Her grandfather worked for the Ford glass manufacturing plant, where she says he gave her an appreciation for the complexity of building something. When Ennix moved to Silicon Valley and worked for Uber and later Flexport, h

Verizon bets on fiber’s staying power as it acquires Frontier for $20B

Some major consolidation is afoot in the world of internet communications — and it will have implications for competition and consumer internet access in the United States. On Thursday, Verizon announced that it would gobble up Frontier Communications for $20 billion — more than double Frontier

Sedric monitors external communications of employees at financial institutions to ensure compliance

For financial institutions, complying with regulations is becoming a costlier proposition. According to a recent poll, 76% of financial services firms increased their compliance expenditure from 2022 to 2023, with most blaming new laws. With the cost of compliance averaging out to around $10,000 p