Tuesday, August 20, 2024

Hey y'all, it's me again — your guest writer. Today we have some interesting reads, including an analysis on whether Donald Trump broke the law by posting a fake Taylor Swift endorsement, notes on how Big Tech is fighting Indian telcos' attempt to regulate internet usage, and why a former a16z partner is booking a private island to promote "techno-capitalism." — Dom

TechCrunch Top 3

Image Credits: Anshuman Poyrekar / Hindustan Times / Getty Images

1. Big Tech vs. Indian telcos: Tech giants are taking on telecom networks in India that are hoping to further regulate internet services and want Big Tech to pay for network usage. The tech giants, including Apple, Google, and Netflix, are, unsurprisingly, against the proposed frameworks. Read More

2. Moon water may be a thing soon: Starpath Robotics wants to harvest water on the moon, and has raised a $12 million seed round to make that a reality. The company came out of stealth last September and wants to launch a demo mission as soon as possible. Read More

3. Trump risks choppy legal waters again: The former president posted a fake image of Taylor Swift endorsing him, which could land him in legal trouble, especially after the passing of the ELVIS Act, which protects artists against unauthorized imitations of their work. Read More

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Morning must-reads

Image Credits: TechCrunch

Island dreams: Former a16z partner Balaji Srinivasan has booked a private island in Singapore to start his own school. There, he is going to host programs covering crypto, longevity, and is building a "technocapitalist" college town. Read More

Aiming high: Pakistani financial and logistic service company PostEX is set to expand its operations, and has set its sights on Saudi Arabia first. The company, which raised $7.3 million in funding, plans to expand throughout the United Arab Emirates, too. Read More

Making researchers' lives easier: Reliant wants to automate the tedious task of extracting data from papers, and has raised a $11.3 million seed round to do so. The company's CEO spoke to TechCrunch, saying that the best thing AI can do is reduce menial labor and "let people do the things that are important to them." Read More

All that LLM training is expensive: AI is undergoing fast changes, and according to Cohere co-founder and CEO Aidan Gomez, a lot of AI loses money today and Big Tech is eating up new companies before they have a chance to become competitors. Read More

Combat robots begin training: Swarmbotics AI, co-founded by a former Marine Corps officer, has emerged from stealth mode. The company is building products for combat, hoping to use robotic systems that can boost tactical advantage. Read More

Training AI on DoD data: Defcon AI has raised a $44 million seed round to help with military coordination and defense operations. The company's software is ingesting data provided by the Department of Defence, and it has earned $15 million so far in government contracts since its founding in 2022. Read More

Another AI round: Eppo, which lets consumers customize AI models, has raised a $28 million Series B. The company allows apps and websites to perform A/B testing and see which models are most effective in a cost-effective way. Read More

And another one: Beyond Math has raised a $8.5 million seed round to create AI simulations for F1 cars to make the process of designing a car more efficient, shortening the time between having an idea and putting it to the test. Read More

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Around the web

Europe gets the AI buzz: Europe's industrial giants are benefiting from AI, Bloomberg reported. Demand for data center infrastructure has boosted the revenues of the six biggest electrical firms to more than $20 billion. It's a welcome change, given these European industrial companies face decreased manufacturing demand. Read More

Fighting Parkinson's with AI: Researchers are using AI to develop algorithms that can help manage Parkinson's disease, New York Times reports. More research is needed, but a new frontier is coming. Read More

A tragedy at sea: Tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch and five others are still missing after his yacht sank. The Financial Times has the play-by-play of what has been happening as the search team enters day two of what is now looking to be a recovery. Read More

Before you go

Image Credits: Google

Gemini Live needs more time in the oven: TechCrunch's Kyle Wiggers was a bit unimpressed with Gemini Live, saying that it could have used "more rehearsals." He says the technology is more natural-feeling than Google's last attempts at AI-powered voice, but this new technology still has problems, both new ones and unaddressed old ones. Read More