Meta is quietly rolling out a new “Communities” feature on Messenger, the company confirmed to TechCrunch.
The rollout comes as Meta introduced Communities on WhatsApp back in 2022.
They could create dedicated group chats for topics like upcoming events, security alerts, trash pickup schedules, and more.
Although the feature works similarly to Communities on WhatsApp, Meta says there is one key differentiator, which is the fact that Messenger Communities are connected to Facebook’s social graph.
On a help page, Meta says Communities on Messenger are designed for more public conversations when compared to Facebook groups.
Astranis has taken the wraps off a new generation of communications satellites that will serve broadband to customers on Earth from geostationary orbit, but faster and smaller than any comsat up there.
Astranis builds and operates relatively small broadband satellites in high orbits, and sells that capacity on to telecom and internet service providers.
The startup takes prize in the comparatively diminutive size of its GEO satellites, which are normally huge and, as a result, are easy to track and potentially attack.
Like the company’s current satellites, Omega will have the ability to maneuver in GEO using on-board all-electric propulsion.
The company aims to complete the first Omega satellite in 2025 and launch to orbit in 2026.
The company announced on Tuesday that it’s expanding its dedicated STEM feed across Europe, starting in the U.K. and Ireland, after first launching it in the U.S. last year.
The STEM feed will begin to automatically appear alongside the “For You” and “Following” feeds for users under the age of 18.
Users above the age of 18 can enable the STEM feed via the app’s “content preferences” settings.
TikTok says that since launching the feed in the U.S. last year, 33% of users have the STEM feed enabled and a third of teens go to the STEM feed every week.
Content that doesn’t pass both of these checkpoints will not be eligible for the STEM feed.
AI2 Incubator, spun out of the Allen Institute for AI in 2022, has secured a windfall $200 million in compute that startups going through its program can take advantage of to accelerate early development.
“Our community of hundreds of AI practitioners are desperate for compute,” said managing director Jacob Colker.
A million dollars of dedicated compute goes a long way for pre-seed startups, which is where AI2 focuses (we’ve covered WellSaid Labs, Xnor.ai, and others from their program).
Colker suggested it would cover most compute needs even for companies developing new foundation models.
They’ve helped build more than 30 startups and last year raised a $30 million fund to continue the work.
It will be second after the space agency’s existing Satish Dhawan Space Centre, founded in Andhra Pradesh’s Sriharikota in 1971, with two launch pads.
The spaceport will be dedicated to launching smaller launch vehicles and will be ready in about two years, ISRO chairman S Somanath said on the sidelines of the event in Tamil Nadu.
Spread over 2,350 acres, the Kulasekharapatnam spaceport will help save fuel for small rocket launches as the port can launch rockets directly south over the Indian Ocean without requiring crossing landmasses.
“This facility will play an instrumental role in accommodating the increasing launch frequency of both ISRO and the growing private space industry in the coming years.
Bhatt, director general of the Indian Space Association.
Crypto fund Asymmetric Financial is creating its Bitcoin DeFi Venture Fund I to focus on investing in the blockchain’s nascent space with a target raise of $21 million.
The fund will be spearheaded by general partner Dan Held, former director of growth at Kraken and long-time Bitcoiner.
Many Bitcoin-focused VCs ignore DeFi because it’s speculative, and broader crypto VCs see it as a “dead boomer rock,” he added.
Much of this activity has centered on the Ethereum blockchain, but Held believes Bitcoin’s blockchain has tons of future potential as an ecosystem.
“It will be a Bitcoin DeFi renaissance.”“Bitcoin is worth more than every other crypto asset combined,” Held added.
But a new venture capital firm, funded by some heavyweight legacy construction companies, is out to change that.
Zacua Ventures has launched its inaugural $56 million fund targeting early-stage construction technology startups, backed by 19 of the construction sector’s biggest corporations.
Vivin Hegde, Mauricio Tessi Weiss and Juan Nieto started San Francisco-based Zacua in 2022.
Hegde was previously with construction tool maker Hilti Corp, while Tessi Weiss and Nieto were at Cemex Ventures.
Since the launch of its fund, Zacua Ventures has invested in over a dozen startups across the construction technology ecosystem.
Netflix isn’t planning on releasing a dedicated app for the Apple Vision Pro, nor will the company modify its iPad version to run on the headset.
Instead, users will have to resort to the web version, meaning they can’t access features like downloading titles for offline viewing.
“Our members will be able to enjoy Netflix on the web browser on the Vision Pro, similar to how our members can enjoy Netflix on Macs,” a Netflix spokesperson said in a statement provided to TechCrunch.
One user wrote:Mixed reality headsets are still niche products and Netflix likely believes the Vision Pro won’t be a huge hit with customers – at least not right away — especially given the outrageous price point ($3,500).
The Apple Vision Pro will be available for purchase on February 2 and will include the ability to download and stream movies and TV shows from popular services like Disney+, Apple TV+, Max, Discovery+, Paramount+, Prime Video, Peacock, Pluto TV and Tubi, among others.
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