Blog

## Born Secures $15M for AI Companions to Combat Loneliness AI gaming startup Born has successfully raised $15 million in a new funding round, signaling strong investor confidence in its unique vision. The company’s core mission centers on developing “social” AI companions specifically designed to address and combat loneliness. Born aims to integrate these advanced

**RSS Co-Creator Unveils New Protocol for AI Data Licensing** A significant step towards standardizing and ethically managing the data feeding artificial intelligence models has been announced by a co-creator of the pioneering RSS feed technology. The new protocol aims to introduce a transparent and robust framework for licensing data specifically for AI training purposes. Addressing

**Anchor’s Founders Launch Oboe: A New Chapter in AI-Powered Learning** The entrepreneurial minds behind Anchor, the podcasting platform successfully sold to Spotify, are back with their latest venture: Oboe. Michael Mignano and Nir Zicherman, having democratized audio creation, are now turning their attention to the future of education with an AI-powered learning application. Following Anchor’s

**Anticipating Voice AI’s Next Wave with Mati Staniszewski at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025** TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 is poised to host a highly anticipated discussion on the evolving landscape of voice AI, featuring industry visionary Mati Staniszewski. This must-attend session will see Staniszewski delve into the transformative potential and emerging frontiers of conversational technology, offering a glimpse

**Future Forward: Humanoids, AVs, and the AI Hardware Powering Disrupt 2025** TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 is poised to be a pivotal showcase for the future, with three transformative areas dominating the discourse: the rise of humanoids, the evolving landscape of autonomous vehicles (AVs), and the next-generation AI hardware making it all possible. Humanoid robots are rapidly

Anthropic has reported significant outages affecting its AI models, Claude, and its developer Console. Users are experiencing widespread disruptions, preventing access to the conversational AI and development tools. The company has acknowledged the incident, stating that teams are actively working to identify the root cause and restore full service functionality. Updates are anticipated as the

**YouTube’s Multi-Language Audio Now Accessible to All Creators, Revolutionizing Global Reach** YouTube has announced the full rollout of its multi-language audio feature, empowering all creators to add dubbed audio tracks to their videos. This significant update allows a single video to serve diverse linguistic audiences, seamlessly switching between languages directly within the player. Previously piloted

**OpenAI and Oracle Reportedly Ink Historic Cloud Computing Deal** In a potentially game-changing development for the tech industry, OpenAI is reportedly close to signing a massive cloud computing deal with Oracle. The rumored agreement would see the generative AI pioneer significantly expand its use of Oracle’s second-generation cloud infrastructure, specifically its high-performance Nvidia GPU clusters,

**Thinking Machines Lab Aims for Consistent AI** Thinking Machines Lab has launched a new initiative focused on enhancing the consistency of Artificial Intelligence models. The project seeks to address the variability often seen in AI outputs, where models might produce differing results even under similar input conditions. By developing novel algorithms and training methodologies, the

**Perplexity Secures $200M in Funding, Valuation Soars to $20 Billion** Perplexity AI, the innovative conversational search engine, has reportedly completed a $200 million funding round, propelling its valuation to an impressive $20 billion. This significant investment underscores growing confidence in the company’s approach to delivering accurate, source-cited answers directly to users, challenging traditional search paradigms.