reveals

Global Expansion: Ai Pin Enters the International Market Through Partnership with SK Telecom in South Korea

Humane Press Aipin Family
Hyped AI startup Humane has announced plans for its first international market, inking a deal with South Korean carrier SK Telecom. The announcement comes shortly after the San Francisco-based company revealed it was pushing back the shipping date of its Ai Pin device from March to mid-April in its domestic U.S. market. The Ai Pin costs $699 up front, with a recurring $24 monthly subscription that gives the user a phone number and unlimited data to power as many AI-powered queries they like. And just yesterday, SK Telecom announced a partnership with AI search engine Perplexity to bring its premium “Pro” plan to SK Telecom’s 32 million subscribers. It’s also not yet clear when the Ai Pin might make it to market in South Korea, but given the delays currently surrounding its U.S. launch we maybe shouldn’t expect it too soon.

Fervo Energy Secures $221 Million in Latest Funding Round, According to Filed Documents

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Hot on the heels of the successful completion of its grid-connected geothermal power plant in Nevada, Fervo Energy is raising $221 million per SEC documents, TechCrunch has exclusively learned. Previous geothermal plants have only scratched the surface by accessing hot springs or shallower rock formations. Fervo uses directional drilling techniques pioneered by the oil and gas industry to extend its wells far beyond their surface footprints. Once those wells are drilled, Fervo then strings them with fiber optic cables connected to a range of sensors. Previous investors include BHP Ventures, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Congruent Ventures, DCVC, and Prelude Ventures.

“Fresh Insights into Spotify’s Operations Unveiled by Apple Ahead of Potential EU Penalty”

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This week, the Financial Times reported the EC will issue its first-ever fine against the tech giant for allegedly breaking EU law over competition in the streaming music market. It reads:We’re happy to support the success of all developers — including Spotify, which is the largest music streaming app in the world. In the case of the EU complaint, the concern is that Apple’s App Store distorts completion in the music streaming market. “There are other rivals to Apple Music — there are Deezer, there are Soundcloud. A rep for the EC declined to comment on news related to Spotify’s complaint or any pending fines.

“Hivemapper Unveils Cutting-Edge Bee Dashcam: The Ultimate Challenger to Google’s Map Empire”

Hivemapper Bee
Mapping startup Hivemapper will launch a new dashcam later this year that its co-founder believes will speed up efforts to claw market share away from Google. The new Hivemapper Bee camera, revealed Wednesday, is part of the company’s years-long push to decentralize mapping and make map data more affordable and accessible. Late last year the company launched Scout, a “location monitoring tool” that lets customers “mark” a location and receive images every time a Hivemapper driver passes by. The company says the Bee will create higher-quality map data that is less likely to be rejected upon submission. Nelson says there are plenty of people who want to buy a Hivemapper camera for other reasons.

Cruise unveils government investigations and internal report on pedestrian collision

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Cruise lost the permits it needed to operate commercially in the state of California and has since grounded its fleet elsewhere. Problems with Cruise began almost immediately after the company received the last remaining permit required to operate its robotaxi service commercially throughout San Francisco. On that day, a pedestrian crossing a street in San Francisco was initially hit by a human-driven car and landed in the path of a Cruise robotaxi and run over. Even after obtaining the Full Video, Cruise did not correct the public narrative but continued instead to share incomplete facts and video about the Accident with the media and the public. This conduct has caused both regulators and the media to accuse Cruise of misleading them.”This story is developing …

“ABL Space Systems Aims for $100M in Fresh Funding as Regulatory Documentation is Unveiled”

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ABL Space Systems is looking to raise up to $100 million in new funding, and has just closed over $40 million, according to a new filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. It’s the first indication that ABL has raised venture funding since October 2021, when the launch company closed $200 million at a $2.4 billion valuation. Together, they’re meant to provide a mobile, all-in-one launch system. However, the overall launch site layer represents a weak link.”Unsurprisingly, they argue that GS0 is the solution to this vulnerability, offering both a launch mount and a site system in a “proliferated” architecture. “It was not in our plans to have RS1 grounded for most of 2023,” O’Hanley wrote after the launch.

Get a Sneak Peek at Kia’s Latest Electric Van Collection Unveiled at CES 2024

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Kia is following up a strong year for its passenger EVs by sharing what it wants to do for businesses looking to go electric. The Korean automaker just unveiled at CES 2024 a forthcoming lineup of electric vans and other similar vehicles all set to be built on a new modular platform. What that looks like in practice, according to Kia, are vehicles with fixed driver cabs that can have the rest of the vehicle’s cabin swapped out. These cabins (Kia calls them “life modules”) connect to the chassis using both mechanical couplings and electromagnets, though Kia was light on the details about how that will work. The first model to be made will be the Kia PV5, a three-row van with futuristic styling.