Definity raises $4.5M as it looks to transform data application observability

Modern enterprises run on data, but moving this data around and giving it the right shape so it can be used in specific applications remains a complex undertaking. Definity, which is launching out of stealth Wednesday and announcing a $4.5 million seed funding round, wants to give these companies t

Apple opens up NFC transactions to developers, but says there will be ‘associated fees’

Facing increasing pressure from regulators, Apple on Wednesday announced it’s opening up NFC transactions to third-party developers. NFC, or near field communication, is the short-range wireless technology that powers Apple Pay and Wallet. Apple’s exclusive access to the iPhone’s

Stoke Space’s initial launch plans at Cape Canaveral take shape

Stoke Space is nothing if not ambitious. The five-year-old launch startup has generated a lot of hype due to its bold plans to develop the first fully reusable rocket, with both the booster and second stage vertically returning to Earth.  Those plans got a major boost a year ago, when the U.S. Sp

Telegram adds new ways for creators to earn money on its platform

Telegram announced on Wednesday that it’s adding new ways for creators to make money on its platform. Most notably, the platform is launching monthly paid subscriptions that users can purchase using the app’s digital currency, Stars, in order to get access to a creator’s extra con

Check out this $800 rotating VR chair for Meta Quest

VR locomotion is a hard problem that has produced all sorts of interesting peripherals, from the Virtuix Omni treadmill to the 3DRudder footboard. There's been a ceiling on success for these sorts of devices, owing to things like price, size and limited adoption of VR headsets. London-based Ro

EliseAI lands $75M for chatbots that help property managers deal with renters

EliseAI, a company developing a suite of AI-powered property management tools for landlords, has raised $75 million in a Series D round that values the startup at $1 billion. EliseAI is the brainchild of co-founder and CEO Minna Song, who met the company’s second co-founder, Tony Stoyanov, w

MIT researchers release a repository of AI risks

Which specific risks should a person, company or government consider when using an AI system, or crafting rules to govern its use? It’s not an easy question to answer. If it’s an AI with control over critical infrastructure, there’s the obvious risk to human safety. But what about

Kiteworks captures $456M at a $1B+ valuation to help secure sensitive data

Mark up another unicorn and large funding round for the cybersecurity industry: Kiteworks, which builds tools to secure email communications, file sharing and situations where people work with sensitive data, has raised $456 million from Insight Partners and Sixth Street Growth. The investment valu

Apple finally allows Spotify to show pricing info to EU users on iOS

After much back-and-forth earlier this year, Spotify on Wednesday said it’s received approval from Apple to display pricing information in its iOS app for users in the EU. The company is not opting into Apple’s new business rules under the EU’s Digital Markets Act but rather is ta

India’s top court clears way for Byju’s insolvency proceedings

India’s top court has put on hold a tribunal ruling that halted Byju’s insolvency proceedings — a win for U.S. creditors that are seeking to recover $1 billion from the once-celebrated edtech startup. The Indian Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered a stay on the National Company Law Ap

Google faces headwinds as it brings Pixel 9 to India

On Tuesday at its Made by Google event, Google announced that the new Pixel 9 line is coming to India. The news also finds the company’s new foldable launching in the world’s second largest smartphone market for the first time. Google is expanding its sales channels in the country by p

Zepto raises $340M at a $5B valuation as India’s quick-commerce market heats up

Indian instant delivery startup Zepto has finalized a $340 million round that values it at $5 billion, up from $3.6 billion in June and $1.4 billion last August, as the startup races to win market share in India’s contested quick-commerce market. General Catalyst and Mars Growth Capital are

Made by Google 2024: A few AI features you might’ve missed

Google’s annual Made by Google hardware event was held earlier Tuesday, and because the company announced so much stuff, a lot got lost in the shuffle. We rounded up some of the more intriguing AI-related announcements that didn’t get a ton of play, like the image-generating Pixel Studi

Gemini Live first look: Better than talking to Siri, but worse than I’d like

Google launched Gemini Live during its Made by Google event Tuesday. The feature allows you to have a semi-natural spoken conversation, not typed out, with an AI chatbot powered by Google’s latest large language model. technewss was there to test it out firsthand. Gemini Live is Google̵