As entertaining as it’s been for the tech industry to watch rival payroll decacorns Deel and Rippling sue each other over a corporate spying scandal, top-tier VCs are apparently not terribly scared off. Deel on Thursday announced that it has raised a $300 million Series E round co-led by A-list fintech VC firm Ribbit Capital…
Zehra Naqvi recalls the magical days of the early social internet. She grew up in the One Direction and Marvel fandoms in the early 2010s. This was back when people posted photos of lattes using the Valencia filter on Instagram, and Twitter was still Twitter, a place where people came together to exchange jokes and cultural analysis. But now Instagram is full…
Ke Yang, the Apple executive leading the iPhone-maker’s efforts to build AI-driven web search, is heading to Meta, according to a Bloomberg report. Yang’s departure marks the latest in a string of exits from Apple’s AI unit, putting the company into jeopardy in the lead up to a much-anticipated Siri revamp scheduled for March. Rouming…
Spotify on Thursday announced a series of deals with major record labels to develop new AI products designed ensure fair compensation and center artists and songwriters in the experience. In partnership with Sony, Universal, Warner, and Merlin, the streamer said it would develop “responsible AI” products that respect copyright, but also allow the artists to…
Between infinitely scrolling job boards and the puzzling rise of fake applicants using AI to apply en masse, job-searching has quickly become one of the most bewildering experiences the internet has to offer. Listings are posted and re-posted across different platforms as applications go unanswered, creating a spam-like flood of activity on both sides. “If…
It’s been almost a decade since Omar Darwazah and Kyle Hendrick launched AAF Management and its first fund of $25 million in 2017. Rather than racing to dramatically increase their assets under management like many funds have in recent years, the partners have intentionally kept their fund sizes small, even as their reputation and returns…
Electric aviation startup Beta Technologies has priced shares for its initial public offering between $27 and $33, in hopes of raising as much as $825 million, according to a regulatory document filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. If the company attracts investors at the top of that range it will debut with a…
In the last few years, photo-sharing apps have capitalized on the idea that Instagram has become too curated, creating spaces for users to share unfiltered photos from their camera rolls. Locket tapped into lockscreen-based sharing, Retro took a photo journaling route, and Yope is building Instagram for private groups. Now, Mayank Bidawatka, co-founder of Indian…
Kuku, an Indian storytelling platform backed by Google, has raised $85 million in fresh funding as it aims to scale its audio and video content offerings amid intensifying competition in the South Asian nation’s mobile-first content market. The Series C round, led by Granite Asia (formerly GGV Capital), values Kuku at more than double its…
South Korea is nearing a decision on whether to allow Google and Apple to export high-resolution geographic map data to servers outside the country. The detailed maps, which use a 1:5,000 scale, would show streets, buildings, and alleyways in far greater detail than currently available on these platforms. However, several regulatory and security hurdles remain…
