Biden’s New Hour-Packed Executive Order Addresses Cybersecurity, AI, and More
Four days before leaving office, US president Joe Biden has issued a cybersecurity directive ordering improvements to the way the government monitors networks, buys software, uses artificial intelligence, and punishes foreign hackers. The latest effort by the Biden White House to begin efforts to harness the security benefits of AI, launch a digital identity for US citizens, and close...
Prepaid payment platform Recharge raises €45M to unleash M&A spree
With inflation still very high compared to previous years, and the siren call of subscription services like Netflix and Spotify continuing to draw attention, consumers have become aware of alternative payment methods to manage their household bills. As a result, online prepaid payment platforms have benefited. It is the bet made today by Recharge, a key European player in...
Hyperline secures $10 million for automated billing platform
French startup Hyperline wants to build the next generation Chargebee. Over the past two years, the startup has created a new billing platform that can be used for recurring subscriptions, one-off purchases, usage-based billing and more. Hyperline raised an initial €4 million funding round from Index Ventures in 2023 ($4.1 million at current exchange rates). And Index Ventures doubled...
Amazon to acquire Indian fintech Axio in credit push
Amazon has agreed to acquire the Indian buy now pay later startup Axio, deepening its push into financial services in one of the fastest-growing markets as it seeks to expand access to credit for millions of underserved customers. The US technology group, which has held an equity stake in Axio for six years, signed the acquisition agreement in December...
In the AI copyright case, Zuckerberg turned to YouTube for defense
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg appears to be using YouTube and his fight to crack down on pirated content to defend his company's use of its own datasets containing copyrighted e-books to train AI models, newly released footage revealed. Deposition, which is part of the complaint submitted to the court by the plaintiff's lawyer, related to AI copyright case Kadrey...
Government calls for spyware regulation at UN Security Council meeting
On Tuesday, the United Nations Security Council held a meeting to discuss the dangers of commercial spyware, marking the first time this type of software - also known as government or mercenary spyware - has been discussed in the Security Council. The purpose of the meeting, according to the US Mission to the UN, is to "address the implications...
Reusable rocket startup Stoke raises another massive round: $260M
Y Combinator alum Stoke Space just raised $260 million Series C, for a total of $480 million. This follows $100 million raised in October 2023, and $75 million in December 2021. The company was founded in 2019 by Blue Origin veterans Andy Lapsa and Tom Feldman, who began their careers as SpaceX interns. Stoke attends the YC Winter 2021...
Hindenburg Research, a short seller targeting technology and EV companies, is closing up shop
When Hindenburg Research posts a blog on its website, it often means the company's final days are near. Today, that company is Hindenburg Research. Nate Anderson announced Wednesday that he has closed his short-selling firm Hindenburg Research after seven years of publishing damning reports on high-profile companies, including many of the world's tech giants and buzzy startups. "While I...
China’s AI company MiniMax released a new model it claims is competitive with the best in the industry
Chinese companies continue to release AI models that rival the capabilities of systems developed by OpenAI and other US-based AI companies. This week, MiniMax, an Alibaba- and Tencent-backed startup that has raised about $850 million in venture capital and is valued at more than $2.5 billion, debuted three new models: MiniMax-Text-01, MiniMax-VL-01, and T2A -01 -HD. The MiniMax-Text-01 is...
Raise Madcap from Memecoin Factory Pump.Fun
On one of the foreign edges of the internet, a unicorn with human breasts, a cheetah smoking a cigarette, and an animated Elon Musk in a traditional robe sit cheek-by-jowl-the cast of a bad trip. Banner of Word Art above the page, floating anachronism. The icon glitters, shimmy, bounces, and otherwise evades pursuing eyes. A barely legible message flashed...
