Haun Ventures founder Katie Haun confirmed in a conversation with Dan Primack at the Axios BFD in San Francisco that the firm invested in late-stage crypto survivors Fireblocks and Chainalysis.
Why it matters: The investments — both previously unannounced — came while other crypto VCs either slowed investing or stopped altogether.
Google's planned roll-out of AI-summarized search results doesn't faze Perplexity AI CEO and co-founder Aravind Srinivas — whose startup has offered a popular AI-driven search tool providing similar digests for nearly two years.
What they're saying: "In a world where everyone gets answers and doesn't have to click on links, the biggest loser is Google," Srinivas told Axios' Kia Kokalitcheva Tuesday at Axios BFD San Francisco.
Google may have dissolved its formal health division years ago but the company remains active in the sector, per chief health officer Karen DeSalvo.
Why it matters: Google Health was formally dismantled in 2021, with its units scattered throughout the search giant, raising questions about the company's strategy.
Elon Musk must comply with a Securities and Exchange Commission subpoena to testify in the SEC's investigation into the October 2022 Twitter takeover, a federal court ruled Tuesday.
Google Tuesday unveiled a new technique for marking text so it can later be identified as AI-generated without altering the quality or meaning of the writing.
Why it matters: As AI-created content begins to flood the internet, the need to detect and distinguish it has grown — but watermarking tools have been much easier to develop for images than for text.
Google on Tuesday announced a slew of new AI-related products, including new ways it will use its Gemini model to improve products such as Google Search and Google Photos.
Why it matters: Google is using its I/O developer conference to highlight AI advances across the company as it looks to demonstrate it is keeping pace with OpenAI, Microsoft and others while defending its stronghold in search.
🇺🇸 The U.S. and China are meeting in Geneva today to discuss AI safety and risk issues. (Axios)
🛰️ China, Russia and other foreign adversaries are increasingly looking to disrupt American space assets, a top Department of Defense official warned. (Nextgov/FCW)
🗳️ AI and other advanced technologies are supercharging threats against election workers, Department of Justice officials warned. (Axios)
@ Industry
🦾 OpenAI is rolling out a new flagship model, GPT-4o, that has advanced voice capabilities. (Axios)
👀 Amazon Web Services CEO Adam Selipsky is stepping down from his role, and long-time company executive Matt Garman is set to take his place. (Axios)
Meta is shutting down Workplace, the tool it sold to businesses that combined social and productivity features, according to messages to customers obtained by Axios and confirmed by Meta.
The big picture: Meta has been cutting jobs and winnowing its product line for the last few years while investing billions first in the metaverse and now in AI.
Why it matters: The two-month-long Global Hatikvah initiative is meant to promote peace. It attracted thousands of submissions from 72 countries across six continents and was edited into a "virtual choir" for Israel's Independence Day.
Electric vehicles accounted for 4.3% of sales on used car sales platform Carvana in the first quarter of 2024 — up from 1.8% in the same period last year.
Why it matters: It's another sign that there's finally a decent market for used electric cars — important for the overall EV transition, as new electric models still tend to be prohibitively expensive for many would-be buyers.
As a space phenomena junkie, this past weekend was an absolute treat.
Living in upstate New York, I keep tabs on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's space weather forecast for any chance to glimpse the northern lights — and boy, did they deliver this past weekend.
The Commerce Department has started implementing new internet routing security measures to fend off nation-state hackers and other malicious cyberattacks.
Why it matters: Improving the department's internet security can keep hackers from spoofing government domain names, stealing data flowing over these networks or hijacking traffic going to legitimate government websites.
The new voice assistant version of ChatGPT that OpenAI demonstrated Monday jokes, chides, apologizes, pretends to blush — and knows how to deal with interruptions.
Why it matters: ChatGPT-4o shows off a new level of real-time conversational fluency — including the ability to understand context and shift gears when people talk over it — that AI assistants will need to win over the world's users.
Why it matters: Attorney General Merrick Garland said at a briefing ahead of a DOJ Election Threats Task Force meeting there has been "a dangerous increase in violent threats against public servants" ahead of November's election.
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