Thursday, December 7, 2023

Early users of Google’s Gemini aren’t impressed

TechCrunch Newsletter
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By Christine Hall

Thursday, December 07, 2023

Yesterday, we brought you new details about Google's new generative AI model called Gemini. In today's top story, Kyle writes that as people experiment with the AI, early impressions of Google's Gemini aren't great. Get the scoop.

Meanwhile, Romain reports on French startup Pimento grabbing some seed funding to use generative AI in an interesting way: Turning creative briefs into visual mood boards. Read more.

And Tage writes about Bujeti, an African corporate card and spend management startup that raised $2 million. Learn more.

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Image Credits: Jakub Porzycki / NurPhoto / Getty Images

More top reads

Keep it weird, Austin: During the global pandemic, Austin was one of the cities identified as a burgeoning tech hub. However, now people are not moving to Austin as much, and in many cases, are moving away. Mary Ann questions if this Texas boom town is losing its luster. Find out for yourself.

Today and Tomorro: After e-signatures, Tomorro, now flush with $11.9 million in new funding, believes e-contracts will be the next thing. Read more.

Non-developers rejoice: Ex-Google and Coursera employees start Lutra AI to make AI workflows easier to build. No technical expertise needed.

Robinhood and the merry investors: Following its expansion into the U.K., Robinhood brings crypto trading to the European Union. Read more.

Full-service: European neobroker Scalable Capital raises $65 million on a flat $1.4 billion valuation. Here's how it got there.

More layoffs: Tidal is cutting 10% of its staff as parent company Block seeks to reduce headcount. Get the scoop.

Cyber jewel: Opal Security, which helps companies manage access and identities, raises $22 million. Read more.

No no to Venmo: Next month, Amazon will no longer accept the Venmo app as a payment option. Here's what you still can use.

Addressing affordable housing: Simply Homes lands $22 million in new funding to continue leveraging AI to tackle the affordable housing crisis. Knock knock.

AI battle ensues: As a new AI-driven coding assistant is launched, the battle for AI-mindshare moves to developers. Read more.

Even more for your Thursday:

Everything you know about the podcast industry is a lie

Coinbase’s and Robinhood's break belies good news for a host of fintech startups (TC+)

Zelda Ventures' new pre-seed fund backs serial entrepreneurs

Google launches migration tool ahead of Google Podcasts' 2024 shutdown

Block releases Bitkey hardware wallet to 95 countries…kinda

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Image Credits: Bryce Durbin / TechCrunch

TechCrunch Early Stage 2024 Call for Content Webinar

Sponsored by TechCrunch

Want to speak at TechCrunch Early Stage 2024? Get the insider scoop on how to optimize your submission at this free, online event on Thursday December 7 @11am PT. TechCrunch staff will walk you through everything you'll need to know before you apply.

On the pods

For this week's episode of Chain Reaction, Jacquelyn interviewed David Pakman, managing partner and head of venture investments at CoinFund.

Before CoinFund, David spent 14 years at the venture capital firm Venrock. He also led the Series A and B rounds at Dollar Shave Club, which was acquired by Unilever for $1 billion. And in 1991, David co-created Apple Music when he was a part of Apple's system software product marketing group.

We discussed the state of the crypto VC environment, areas he's focusing on for investments and what he thinks investors are missing. Listen here. Also check out the TechCrunch+ interview.

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Wednesday, December 6, 2023

Google’s Gemini makes an appearance

TechCrunch Newsletter
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The Daily Crunch logo

By Christine Hall

Wednesday, December 06, 2023

Google unveiled some new offerings today, including a closer look at its next-generation AI model, Gemini. In our top story for today, Kyle details what Gemini is and how it works in this lengthy chronicle. Meanwhile, Sarah explores how Gemini improvements will look on the AI chatbot Bard and Pixel 8 Pro. But, wait, there's more. Kyle also looks at the programming tool AlphaCode 2, while Frederic discusses Google's AI accelerator, Cloud TPU v5p.

In other news, Ivan reports that iMessage may be immune from a European Union interoperability regulation. Score one for Apple.

And Lorenzo writes about the cyber attack on a U.S. government agency's “end of life" software. Read more.

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Image Credits: Alex Tai/SOPA Images/LightRocket / Getty Images

More top reads

Not your OpenAI's kind of AI: Liquid AI, a new MIT spinoff, wants to build an entirely new type of AI. See how it will do that.

Squash that bug: Millions of patient scans and health records are spilling online thanks to a decades-old protocol bug. Time to scream and jump on a chair.

All about that Meta: Meta didn't want to let Google have all the limelight today, so it made some news of its own. That included launching a stand-alone AI-powered image generator. Meanwhile, its AI unit added the ability to create new AI images when prompted and support for Reels. And remember all those celebrities lending their likeness to a set of Meta AI characters? That's now live across U.S. apps, among other things.

When Q4 means more layoffs: Haje discusses why layoffs happen in December, and how to handle them compassionately. Read more. (TC+)

Exposed!: A U.S. senator warns governments are spying on Apple and Google users via push notifications. Get the scoop. And your mobile password manager could be exposing your credentials.

Art made easy: Sydney-based generative AI art platform Leonardo.Ai raises $31 million. Here's how it works.

Sing a song: Sona launches its music streaming platform and marketplace to reward fans for buying "digital twins" of songs. Listen up.

Nothing but blue skies from now on: Social media platform Bluesky says it will allow users to opt out of the public web interface after backlash. Nothing's private anymore, amirite?

Credit card gibberish managed: Spade, a startup that turns the really long string of letters and numbers you see on your credit card statement into a merchant identity, raises new capital amid a shift in strategy to detect fraud. Read more.

One long thread: X, the entity formerly known as Twitter, now lets users broadcast community posts to all followers. See how it works.

Out of this world: OurSky, now flush with $9.5 million in seed funding, plans to build out a developer platform for space data. Here's how.

Game on: Titan AI grabs some pre-seed funding as it leverages generative AI to streamline mobile game development. Learn more.

Vast cash for Vast Data: Vast Data, a startup that provides data storage for AI workloads, lands $118 million. Read more.

Even more for your Wednesday:

Is business software too cheap? (TC+)

Poppy says 'I do' to new capital for digital booking, fulfillment of wedding flowers

Summer's secondary surge didn't last, but 2024 should be strong (TC+)

Regulatory approval for this subscription solar UK startup could mean more are to come

Respeecher's ethics-first approach to AI voice cloning locks in new funding

More top reads image

Image Credits: dem10 / Getty Images

Venture Debt Remains Strong Amidst Slowdown in VC Investment

Sponsored by Bridge Bank, a division of Western Alliance Bank. Member FDIC.

Economic uncertainty has dramatically changed the venture capital landscape, yet venture debt lenders remain a strong partner for many technology startups, explains Mike Lederman, senior managing director in Bridge Bank's Technology Banking Group.

Read More

On the pods

Today on Equity, we're bringing you back to TechCrunch Disrupt 2023, when Alex sat down with Serhii Bohoslovskyi, the founder of no-code app builder Trible.

Trible is a no-code software product that helps folks construct online courses. The pair are catching up on the state of the creator economy, the use of no-code tooling today and how it is received by non-technical creators, and the state of startups that have roots in Ukraine. Listen here.

Read More

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Image Credits: Bryce Durbin

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Newest Jobs from Crunchboard

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