Startup funding hit records in Q1. But the outlook for 2025 is still awful.

Startups attracted $91.5 billion in venture capital funding in Q1, according to the latest report from data provider PitchBook. This figure not only exceeds the previous quarter’s allocation by 18.5% but also represents the second-highest quarterly investment in the last decade. Despite this seemingly positive news, Kyle Stanford, lead U.S. venture capital analyst at PitchBook,… Continua a leggere Startup funding hit records in Q1. But the outlook for 2025 is still awful.

Microsoft researchers say they’ve developed a hyper-efficient AI model that can run on CPUs

Microsoft researchers claim they’ve developed the largest-scale 1-bit AI model, also known as a “bitnet,” to date. Called BitNet b1.58 2B4T, it’s openly available under an MIT license and can run on CPUs, including Apple’s M2. Bitnets are essentially compressed models designed to run on lightweight hardware. In standard models, weights, the values that define… Continua a leggere Microsoft researchers say they’ve developed a hyper-efficient AI model that can run on CPUs

Deck raises $12M to ‘Plaid-ify’ any website using AI

Deck, a startup that claims to be building “the Plaid for the rest of the internet,” has raised $12 million in a Series A funding round — about nine months after closing its seed financing, it tells TechCrunch exclusively. The new raise, led by Infinity Ventures, brings Montreal-based Deck’s total raised since its January 2024… Continua a leggere Deck raises $12M to ‘Plaid-ify’ any website using AI

Less than a month left to claim your brand’s spotlight at TechCrunch Sessions: AI with an exhibit table

TechCrunch Sessions: AI is right around the corner — and the deadline to reserve your exhibit table is nearly gone. If you’ve got an AI innovation worth shouting about, now’s your moment. Don’t sit on the sidelines while others take the spotlight. Put your product where it belongs — in front of the leaders and… Continua a leggere Less than a month left to claim your brand’s spotlight at TechCrunch Sessions: AI with an exhibit table

Capsule captures $12M to build the next version of its AI video editor for brands

Capsule is upgrading its AI-powered video editing assistant for marketing, sales, and media teams following the close of a $12 million round of Series A funding, the company announced on Wednesday. The upgraded editor will include new features like AI suggestions and support for real-time collaboration. The new version of its studio software will feature… Continua a leggere Capsule captures $12M to build the next version of its AI video editor for brands

Telli, a YC alum, raises pre-seed funding for its AI voice agents

Former Y Combinator startup Telli is helping companies alleviate the bottleneck that occurs when a high-volume of customers try to, for example, book appointments. Its AI voice agents kick in and handle basic operations while handing off more-complex processes to human operators. The Berlin-based startup has now raised $3.6 million in a pre-seed funding round led… Continua a leggere Telli, a YC alum, raises pre-seed funding for its AI voice agents

OpenAI may ‘adjust’ its safeguards if rivals release ‘high-risk’ AI

OpenAI has updated its Preparedness Framework — the internal system it uses to assess the safety of AI models and determine necessary safeguards during development and deployment. In the update, OpenAI stated that it may “adjust” its safety requirements if a competing AI lab releases a “high-risk” system without similar protections in place. The change… Continua a leggere OpenAI may ‘adjust’ its safeguards if rivals release ‘high-risk’ AI

Figma sent a cease-and-desist letter to Lovable over the term ‘Dev Mode’

We may be witnessing the makings of a new tech industry feud between competitors. Figma has sent a cease-and-desist letter to popular no-code AI startup Lovable, Figma confirmed to TechCrunch.  The letter tells Lovable to stop using the term “Dev Mode” for a new product feature. Figma, which also has a feature called Dev Mode,… Continua a leggere Figma sent a cease-and-desist letter to Lovable over the term ‘Dev Mode’

OpenAI hires team behind GV-backed AI eval platform Context.ai

Context.ai, a startup building evaluations and analytics for AI models, announced Tuesday that its co-founders will join OpenAI.  Context.ai plans to wind down its products following the acqui-hire, per a message on the company’s website. When reached for comment, OpenAI declined to reveal the terms of the deal. “Evals are a requirement to building high-performing… Continua a leggere OpenAI hires team behind GV-backed AI eval platform Context.ai

Anthropic forms a new team to grow its AWS business

In a sign of Anthropic’s increasingly cozy relationship with Amazon, Anthropic has formed a new team to recruit AWS customers to use its AI products. The team, which Anthropic appears to have begun hiring several months ago, aims to “accelerate” the adoption of Anthropic’s AI among AWS accounts by “building programs that […] scale across… Continua a leggere Anthropic forms a new team to grow its AWS business