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Max Chen

Max Chen is an AI expert and journalist with a focus on the ethical and societal implications of emerging technologies. He has a background in computer science and is known for his clear and concise writing on complex technical topics. He has also written extensively on the potential risks and benefits of AI, and is a frequent speaker on the subject at industry conferences and events.

Mercury, a Fintech Startup Facing Regulatory Scrutiny, Launches into the World of Consumer Banking

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Business banking startup Mercury, founded in 2020, is now launching a consumer banking product. “We already have a few hundred thousand users of our business banking product, and a lot of people have expressed that they want a personal banking product,” he told TechCrunch in an interview. The person also said the fintech partner banking market as a whole has been the target of more regulatory scrutiny. Crossing overBut success in B2B banking doesn’t automatically queue up Mercury to handle consumer banking. Sign up for TechCrunch Fintech here.

Exploring the Impact of AI and Marketing Tools on Audience Growth: LinkedIn’s Premium Company Pages Testing

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LinkedIn quietly started to post information describing its new Premium Company Page six days ago. Pricing for premium company pages is not immediately disclosed, but it appears admins of pages that are eligible for it can see it. The Premium Company Page subscription in some ways will look very familiar, in that it taps into well-known LinkedIn mechanics. Testimonials, which LinkedIn has really promoted as a feature on profile pages for individuals, also get a push here: admins can display these prominently at the top of their premium pages. Last but not least, with LinkedIn big on verification lately, and here too a Page can get a golden badge with a premium subscription.

Snap to Enhance Image Protection with Watermarks Generated by AI-Powered Technology

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Social media company Snap said Tuesday that it plans to add watermarks to AI-generated images on its platform. Other tech giants such as Microsoft, Meta, and Google have also taken steps to label or identify images created with AI-powered tools. Currently, Snap allows users to create or edit AI-generated images with Snap AI for paid users and a selfie-focused feature called Dreams. The company also added context cards with AI-generated images from tools like Dream selfies to better inform the user. In February, Snap partnered with HackerOne to stress its AI image-generation tools by adapting a bug bounty program.

“Enterprises Embrace Open-Source Generative AI Tools: Intel and Beyond Take the Lead”

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The Linux Foundation today announced the launch of the Open Platform for Enterprise AI (OPEA), a project to foster the development of open, multi-provider and composable (i.e. modular) generative AI systems. Now, OPEA’s members are very clearly invested (and self-interested, for that matter) in building tooling for enterprise generative AI. Domino offers a suite of apps for building and auditing business-forward generative AI. And VMWare — oriented toward the infrastructure side of enterprise AI — last August rolled out new “private AI” compute products.

“Insight into Tesla’s Significant Layoffs: Causes and Aftermath Revealed”

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Tesla’s layoffs and executive departures took a bite out its share price this week. The well-known electric vehicle company shed around 10% of its staff, impacting an estimated 14,000 staff or more. It missed delivery estimates for the first quarter, has reportedly reduced hours for the production-line of its Cybertruck, and is seeing rivals in China stack market share with low-priced EVs. Tesla, in other words, helped foster the global electric vehicle market, but is losing some of its primacy in that same market. In human terms, for every dollar of car that Tesla sells, it generates far more company worth than its rivals.

Ransomware Breach: Omni Hotels Reports Theft of Customers’ Personal Information

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Hotel chain giant Omni Hotels & Resorts has confirmed cybercriminals stole the personal information of its customers in an apparent ransomware attack last month. In an update on its website posted on Sunday, Omni said the stolen data includes customer names, email addresses, and postal addresses, as well as guest loyalty program information. The company said the stolen data does not include financial information or Social Security numbers. Ransomware gangs typically use such dark web sites to publish stolen information to extort a ransom from their victims. A sample of the stolen data shared with DataBreaches.net matched the types of customers’ personal information that Omni said was taken.

AXS and TikTok Join Forces to Offer Global Ticket Sales for Live Events

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Tiktok said today that it has partnered with ticketing company AXS to sell tickets for events worldwide. Users in these regions can tap on the events highlighted in videos or on artists’ profiles to buy tickets through AXS. TikTok had signed a similar deal with Ticketmaster for U.S.-based events in 2022, and expanded the partnership in 2023 to sell tickets in 20 more countries. The short-video platform said it will let certified artists promote their live events by adding AXS event links to their videos, and sell tickets via an in-app ticketing feature. Last October, TikTok onboarded Tickets.com as a partner to sell passes for its first live music event.

“Climate Investing as a Critical Battle: SOSV Founder Announces Successful $306M Fund Closure”

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For the firm that calls itself “the first check in deep tech,” the last check for SOSV’s latest $306 million fund took a bit longer than founder Sean O’Sullivan would have liked. “We’re concentrating and double doubling down on deep tech,” O’Sullivan said. We’re doing a fewer number of companies, more like 80 deep tech companies per year. O’Sullivan said that SOSV intends to invest about 70% of the funds in climate tech companies, 25% in health tech, and the remaining 5% will be reserved for opportunistic investments. “We have a special place to serve because we do deep tech, because we do get into the biology, we do get into the chemistry, the physics and the electronics.

Localized Integrations Launches for Google Wallet in India, Pay to Remain Unaffected

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That’s a different strategy from just about every other market, where Google has been merging Wallet and Pay experiences together under a single Wallet app. We’re continuing to invest in the Google Pay app to give people easy, secure access to digital payments,” a Google spokesperson said in a statement to TechCrunch. Then, it tried to replace the Wallet and its Android Pay app with Google Pay. In 2022, Google relaunched the Wallet app as its digital wallet platform for Android, Wear OS and Fitbit OS. However, in February this year, the search giant announced it would replace Google Pay with the Wallet app in the U.S.

Heat Wave Hefty: Quilt’s Series A Secures $33M for Heat Pump Rides

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Heat pumps are having a bit of a moment. Consumer hesitancy has been on the top of Paul Lambert’s mind as he navigates bringing Quilt’s new heat pump to market. Heat pumps are just different enough from existing heating and air conditioning setups to give many consumers pause. Design isn’t the only challenge facing traditional heat pumps. Quilt’s heat pumps will roll out in a few regions initially before expanding further.