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“Experience Effortless Browsing: Arc Browser Introduces Live Folders for Automatic Tab Updates”

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Live Folders comes as the company also builds out more AI-powered features to create more dynamic and automated user experiences. The company is launching Live Folders initially with GitHub pull request support. When a user creates a GitHub pull request, Arc automatically creates a Live Folder in the sidebar. When it asked users about support for types of systems for the Live Folders feature, GitHub was the top requested service. It added that the tech behind Live Folders is flexible, so it could also adopt things like updates from RSS feeds.

“Unlocking Financial Access: The Success Story of PayJoy’s $300M Enterprise Empowering the Underserved through Smartphone Collateral Loans”

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How PayJoy built a $300M business by letting the underserved use their smartphones as collateral for loansLerato Motloung is a mother of two who works in a supermarket in Johannesburg, South Africa. Then, in February 2024, she saw a sign about PayJoy, a startup that offers lending to the underserved in emerging markets. Motloung is one of millions of customers that San Francisco–based PayJoy has helped since its 2015 inception. And, unlike other startups offering loans to the underserved, it’s doing so in a way that’s not predatory, it says. Last September, PayJoy announced that it had secured $150 million in Series C equity funding and $210 million in debt financing.

European Automaker to Test Drive Sanctuary AI’s Humanoid Robot

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Sanctuary AI announced that it will be delivering its humanoid robot to a Magna manufacturing facility. As is often the nature of these deals, the parties have not disclosed how many of Sanctuary AI’s robots will be deployed. The news follows similar deals announced by Figure and Apptronik, which are piloting their own humanoid systems with BMW and Mercedes, respectively. For its part, Magna invested in Sanctuary AI back in 2021 — right around the time Elon Musk announced plans to build a humanoid robot to work in Tesla factories. The company would later dub the system “Optimus.” Vancouver-based Sanctuary unveiled its own system, Phoenix, back in May of last year.

“New from DuckDuckGo: Subscription includes VPN and identity theft protection bundle”

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Privacy-focused consumer tech company DuckDuckGo launched a new Privacy Pro subscription on Thursday that bundles a VPN service, personal information removal, and identity theft restoration. This is the company’s first move towards a subscription service built into the DuckDuckGo browser. With personal information removal service, DuckDuckGo scans dozens of data broker sites to find details like your name and address. (At that time, Removaly’s founder, Kyle Krzeski, posted on X that a privacy company acquired the startup without naming it.) The third feature of DuckDuckGo’s privacy pro plan is identity theft restoration, where an advisor would help you recover your identity-related loss around the clock.

Amazon to Expand AI Presence with Andrew Ng Appointment, Departure of Former MTV Executive, McGrath

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If the decisions made by corporate boards of directors can indicate where a company wants to be focusing, Amazon’s board just made an interesting move. The company announced on Thursday that Andrew Ng, known for building AI at large tech companies, is joining its board of directors. And given the AI whiplash that every big tech company is currently dealing with, it feels timely that McGrath is stepping away from the board now. To stay at the forefront of the tech industry, Amazon will be looking for better thought leadership on the next steps in its artificial intelligence strategy. It’s worth remembering that Amazon has been a leading player in AI for a long time.

“Small Business Savior: Turkish Startup ikas Raises $20M for Revolutionary E-Commerce Solution”

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It’s easy to assume the e-commerce ship has sailed when you consider we have giant platforms like Shopify, Woocommerce, and Wix dominating the sector. E-commerce platform, ikas, has raised $20 million in a Series A funding round as it seeks to expand its operations into new markets in Europe. The company currently operates in Turkey and Germany, and says its platform simplifies store management for companies that want to have a digital presence. Also investing in ikas is Re-Pie Asset Management, which has grocery delivery startup Getir in its portfolio as well. The round saw participation from ikas’ existing investor Revo Capital, best known as the first institutional investor in Getir, Param, Midas and Roamless.

eBay Partners with Collectors and Purchases Goldin in Exciting Trading Card Deal

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The transactions include a trading card commercial agreement that aims to provide trading enthusiasts a seamless buying, selling, grading, and storage experience. As part of the partnership, eBay and PSA plan to introduce a “customer-centric product experience” over the coming months. Additionally, eBay acquired Collectors’ auction house Goldin, a significant move that will greatly benefit collectors. eBay is also selling the eBay vault to Collectors, creating a new offering that merges the existing vault services. Launched in 2022, the eBay vault allows collectors to store trading cards that are valued at more than $750 in a secure, temperature-controlled vault.

Transforming Robotics Focuses on Human-Centered Solutions Rather Than Humanoid Appearances

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It is, after all, a lot easier to generate press for robots that look and move like humans. For a while now, Collaborative Robotics founder Brad Porter has eschewed robots that look like people. As the two-year-old startup’s name implies, Collaborative Robotics (Cobot for short) is interested in the ways in which humans and robots will collaborate, moving forward. When his run with the company ended in summer 2020, he was leading the retail giant’s industrial robotics team. AI will, naturally, be foundational to the company’s promise of “human problem solving,” while the move away from the humanoid form factor is a bid, in part, to reduce the cost of entry for deploying these systems.

“Guesty Acquires $130M with $900M Valuation to Simplify Airbnb and Beyond Listing for Property Managers”

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Guesty — which has built a platform for accommodation managers to manage all aspects of their business on platforms like Airbnb, Vrbo and directly to travellers — has raised $130 million. Guesty’s close competitor Hostaway raised $175 million in May last year (its first ever big funding round). And Mews, which like Guesty builds SaaS but for hoteliers, raised $110 million at a $1.2 billion valuation last month (March 2024). First of all, Guesty wants to continue expanding its existing platform for current customers. Third of all, Soto said that Guesty wants to consider more acquisitions.

Truecaller Debuts Web Client for Android Users

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Initially, the web version, called Truecaller for Web, will only be made available to Android users in India, the company said, but it plans to roll out the support in other territories in the future. All Truecaller for Android users in India can now link their devices to the web client on a PC or a Mac through a QR code. This is akin to linking the web version of a messenger like WhatsApp or Telegram. Now users will be able to look up numbers without any such limitations on the web client, the company said. Last month, it launched a “Max” feature update for Android users to block all calls from unapproved contacts or spam detected by AI.