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“Diamfab: Pioneering the Use of Diamond Semiconductors for Sustainable Progress in French Deep Tech”

Diamfab Management Team Gauthier Chicot Ivan Llaurado Khaled Driche ©photo Gilles Galoyer
French spinout Diamfab, founded in 2019, is one example. They also raised an €8.7 million round of funding from Asterion Ventures, Bpifrance’s French Tech Seed fund, Kreaxi, Better Angle, Hello Tomorrow and Grenoble Alpes Métropole. But diamond wafers could also be leveraged for nuclear batteries, space tech and quantum computing, too. While there’s warranted hype around AI in Paris, Grenoble may be the closest to a French Silicon Valley. Now Diamfab hopes it can play a part, too, and unleash the full potential of diamond in semiconductors.

Atari-Inspired: Unveiling Microsoft’s Latest Adaptive Additions: Harnessing the Allure of the Iconic Atari Joystick

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The company has offered accessibility-focused Xbox peripheral for some time and has introduced the Adaptive line of computing peripherals roughly this time last year. The Adaptive line got a refresh and a couple of new entries at this week’s virtual Windows event. This round brings back the Adaptive Mouse, which features thumb support and custom tails 3D printed by Shapeways. The Adaptive Hub is effectively an adaptive accessory for the other adaptive accessories, allowing for up to three devices and four Adaptive Buttons to be connected wirelessly. Rounding out Microsoft’s new accessibility accessories is a Surface Pro Keyboard with brighter backlighting and bolder text for users with vision impairments.

Collaboration of Nvidia and Qualcomm in Open Source Robotics Alliance to Advance ROS Development

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The Open Source Robotics Foundation (OSRF) this week announced the launch of the similarly named Open Source Robotics Alliance (OSRA). The new initiative is designed to maintain development for and maintenance of open source robotics projects, with a particular focus on the OSRF’s own robot operating system (ROS). First released in 2007 by erstwhile Bay Area incubator Willow Garage, ROS has played a foundational role in robotics development for decades. In a show of support, Nvidia and Qualcomm have both signed on as “Platinum” members for the new alliance, along with Alphabet’s X spinout Intrinsic. Former Open Robotics CEO Brian Gerkey (who current serves as Intrinsic’s CTO) has been appointed to the OSRA’s board of directors.

Optimizing Link Placement: Enhance Your Links with Linktree’s Featured Layout Option

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Linktree is now allowing users to highlight links better with featured layout functionLink-in-bio startup Linktree introduced new features today including a featured layout to highlight links better, the ability to fetch the latest posts from Instagram, and support for a more prominent profile picture. The company said that the new featured layout is great for highlighting certain links. When you select “Featured layout” for a link it automatically expands with a content preview for links from YouTube, TikTok, Spotify, and Instagram. In January, Linktree introduced a feature that automatically fetched the latest posts from YouTube and TikTok. The company is now extending support for Instagram, with support for up to six of the latest posts and Reels from your account.

Senate’s Obstacle Course: Controversial Legislation Seeks to Outlaw TikTok

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A bill threatening to ban an app beloved by half of the American population just rocketed through the House of Representatives in a week’s time. TikTok the company and TikTok the chaotic community of creators and their followers are rightfully freaking out right now. TikTok successfully fought back against a state-level ban on the app in Montana last year, arguing that the law was unconstitutional. Missouri Republican Josh Hawley, who frequently sows concern about China, registered his support for a Senate version of the TikTok bill following the vote. Senator Marsha Blackburn, another Senate Republican hawkish on China, also expressed her support for pushing a version of the House TikTok bill through.

Tech Issue Results in Persistent Payment Delays for Depop Vendors, Confirms Corporation

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A streetwear seller, whose shop is @fentoozler791, told TechCrunch that they had a payment of $200 for multiple packages pushed back by over a week. It seemed like they didn’t care until they realized they’d be losing my money from all the fees they’ve charged me,” @fentoozler791 told TechCrunch. After further requests for comment, Depop told TechCrunch on Wednesday that it had uncovered an issue that caused these delayed payments. We identified an issue in our automated payouts system that has now been fixed, and all pending payments have been sent out to affected sellers,” Depop said. Depop told TechCrunch that it gained 5 million registered users last year, bringing its userbase up to 35 million.

“Enhancing Employee Support: Journey’s Acquisition of Felt, a Mental Health Startup”

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Employee-focused mental health company Journey is acquiring Felt, a startup formerly known as Mine’d that specializes in matching individuals with therapists using artificial intelligence. Journey, which offers a mental health employee assistance program used by companies like Walgreens and Universal Music Group, says the acquisition aligns with its mission to revolutionize employee well-being and mental health support while leveraging the power of AI. While Felt’s technology was initially designed for a consumer-facing app, it will be integrated into Journey’s backend product. Journey CEO and founder Stephen Sokoler told TechCrunch that Felt’s technology will be integrated into the company’s Proactive EAP platform. The company plans to pair Felt’s AI-based technology with its existing human-enabled therapist pairings in order to better match employees with therapists.

Bluesky Acquires Top Third-Party App Creator, Graysky

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Decentralized Twitter/X rival Bluesky is adding to its ranks by scooping up a member of its developer community. London-based software engineer Samuel Newman, who built the well-received third-party Bluesky client, Graysky, is joining the startup, where he will now help develop Bluesky’s official app along with the rest of the frontend team. Given his change in position, the future of the Graysky app is uncertain. Late last year, Graysky also added Trending Topics and a Pro subscription to help the app monetize. With Newman now joining Bluesky, the hope is that the official client will also gain support for more features.

Surge in French Music-Streaming Tax Spurs Spotify’s Decision to Raise Subscription Prices

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Spotify has revealed plans to increase subscription fees in France, in response to a new tax directed at music-streaming services operating in the country. While all the impacted companies are opposing the new law, Spotify has been the most vociferous, largely due to the fact it is the biggest player in the country. The company wrote in a blog post today:“With the creation of this new tax, Spotify would be required to give approximately two-thirds of every euro it generates to music to rights holders and the French government. What’s perhaps the most telling part of this whole episode is how important France is to Spotify in terms of market traction. With regards to France, Spotify is conveying as much — if not more — grievance with the new tax as it did with Uruguay, yet it has given no indication that it will exit the country.