Tera AI, founded by Tony Zhang, secures $7.8 million in funding to develop zero-shot navigation software for robots. The software enables affordable visual navigation for autonomous robots without hardware constraints, potentially revolutionizing the robotics industry.
Hugging Face's new app, HuggingSnap, uses local AI to describe surroundings via iPhone camera. The app works offline, is energy-efficient, and processes data on the device. Ideal for shopping, studying, or exploring.
AI leaders are divided on the potential of current AI models to achieve human-level intelligence or superintelligence. Some are optimistic, while others, like Thomas Wolf and Yann LeCun, have doubts, emphasizing the need for creativity and new architectures. Kenneth Stanley leads research at Lila Sciences to unlock scientific innovation with AI. The debate is ongoing within the AI community.
TechCrunch Sessions: AI is offering a chance for attendees to vote on their favorite speaker for a breakout session. Options include topics such as monetizing GenAI, diversity in tech, secure AI deployment, AI policy, and identifying exceptional AI founders. Voting is open until March 21.
Synchron partners with Nvidia to develop cognitive AI, allowing paralyzed individuals like Rodney Gorham to control devices through a brain-computer interface (BCI) in their homes. The collaboration aims to create a more intuitive and versatile BCI system using advanced computing and brain data from multiple users. The technology shows promise, but ethical concerns about autonomy and intentionality remain.
Three AI labs submitted AI-generated studies to ICLR conference workshops. Critics argue it disrespects peer reviewers' time and raises concerns over the use of AI in academia. Sakana withdrew its paper due to errors. Suggestions for regulated, compensated evaluations are proposed.
Startup Prezent, using generative AI to help customers build slide decks, secures $20 million funding to refine AI models, expand into new markets, and develop APIs for creating presentations directly from various platforms.
Tencent surpasses Q4 expectations with a boost in gaming and advertising revenue. The company triples capital expenditure to focus on AI, cloud computing, and AI-powered advertising. Tencent's AI models drive growth in various products. They invest in GPUs for AI applications and plan to monetize AI investments in consumer products like WeChat. Tencent faces competition from Chinese tech giants like Alibaba and Baidu in the AI space.
Accounts on Instagram are using AI to create fake personas with Down syndrome and monetize them on adult content platforms. The accounts steal content from real creators and deepfake faces. Some accounts disclose they are AI-generated, while others do not. There is a Reddit community promoting this content.
AI is transforming the food sector by enhancing production efficiency, optimizing supply chains, and accelerating R&D for healthier products. Despite some challenges, AI's potential in agriculture and food processing is vast, with predictive analytics and data-driven insights driving innovation. Partnerships between industry leaders, startups, and academic institutions are key for maximizing AI's impact in the food industry.
Vice President J. D. Vance supports Trump administration's promotion of AI and tech innovations, believing it will create better jobs and benefit both workers and tech industry. He calls for less regulation on AI and emphasizes the importance of investing in the US.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang highlighted the impact of AlexNet on the company's decision to focus on self-driving cars. Nvidia's technology is widely used in the automotive industry for autonomous vehicles, with partnerships with major automakers and tech companies.
Nvidia unveils new AI personal supercomputers DGX Spark and DGX Station powered by Grace Blackwell chips, delivering high AI computing power for edge applications. DGX Spark available now, DGX Station to be released later in the year through various partners.
General Motors and Nvidia are partnering to bring AI to manufacturing, robots, and self-driving cars. Nvidia will provide AI infrastructure, and GM will build custom AI systems using Nvidia products for its factories and vehicles. GM plans to use Nvidia's technology to revolutionize its manufacturing processes and enhance its in-vehicle capabilities.
Nvidia announces new chips for AI models at GTC conference, including Blackwell Ultra and Vera Rubin. Plans for future chip releases and focus on AI reasoning models discussed.
FTC removes business guidance content from Biden administration, focusing on tech compliance. New chair vows to target big tech companies, citing concerns over censorship.
The FTC is suing e-commerce company Click Profit for running a fraudulent "passive income" scheme on Amazon, promising high returns but delivering losses. Click Profit charged customers thousands of dollars, falsely claimed AI technology and brand partnerships, and threatened those who posted negative reviews. Amazon suspended most of Click Profit's stores, leaving consumers in debt. The FTC seeks to permanently bar Click Profit from doing business and provide monetary relief for victims.
Stability AI's new model, Stable Virtual Camera, uses generative AI to transform 2D images into immersive videos with realistic depth and perspective. The model can create videos with dynamic camera paths but may have limitations with certain types of images. The company is offering the model for research use under a noncommercial license, available on Hugging Face platform.
Italian newspaper Il Foglio publishes first edition produced entirely by artificial intelligence, including writing, headlines, and quotes. Journalists limited to asking questions. Experiment aimed at showing impact of AI on journalism.
Graphite, a startup developing AI-powered coding assistive tools, raised $52 million in Series B funding. The platform offers code review, error detection, and bug fixing using AI models, attracting clients like Shopify and Figma. Graphite plans to launch a new tool called Diamond and aims to expand its team and product offerings with the funding.
