Latest news with #Endor
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Endor Labs, which builds tools to scan AI-generated code for vulnerabilities, lands $93M
AI-generated code is no doubt changing how software is built, but it's also introducing new security challenges. More than 50% of organizations encounter security issues with AI-produced code sometimes or frequently, according to a late 2023 survey by developer security platform Synk. For Endor Labs, that opportunity proved alluring enough that it chose to change course somewhat. Endor started off helping companies secure their open-source package dependencies — in fact, it even raised a $70 million Series A round just two years ago to grow its developer pipeline governance service. But the startup's co-founders Varun Badhwar and Dimitri Stiliadis saw growing demand elsewhere — spotting and combating vulnerabilities in the growing masses of code that engineers use AI to generate and fine-tune. Today, Endor runs a platform that, it claims, can not only review code and identify risks, but also recommend "precise" fixes and apply them automatically. The company offers a plugin for AI-powered programming tools like Cursor and GitHub Copilot that scans code as it's written and flags issues. The pivot could prove to be a wise choice. On Wednesday, Endor announced that it closed a $93 million Series B round led by DFJ Growth, with participation from Salesforce Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Coatue, Dell Technologies Capital, Section 32, and Citi Ventures. Badhwar (CEO) said that the round values Endor at "orders of magnitude higher" than its Series A valuation. The proceeds will be used to expand Endor's platform, he added. The Series B brings the startup's total capital raised to $163 million. "This new round positions us to continue delivering, even in a tougher macro environment than similar companies faced five to ten years ago," Badhwar told TechCrunch. "We raised now because we're seeing strong momentum — 30x annual recurring revenue growth since our Series A in 2023 — and this lets us double down on delivering outcomes for our customers." Several months ago, Endor launched a tool designed to help organizations spot where AI models and services integrate with their codebase, and evaluate the integrations for security flaws. The idea is to provide better oversight as AI programming tools proliferate, said Badhwar. Endor says it now protects more than 5 million applications and runs over a million scans each week for customers including OpenAI, Rubrik, Peloton, Snowflake, Egnyte and Dropbox. "We came out of stealth in October 2022 — right as interest rates spiked — and we've seen strong traction ever since," Badhwar said. Ramin Sayar, venture partner at DFJ Growth, said his firm invested because Endor found itself at the right place, at the right time. "As generative AI transforms coding practices, developers are generating vast amounts of code without thorough visibility and control," Sayar told TechCrunch. 'Endor Labs is not only setting a new standard in application security — the team is creating a movement by launching their expanded platform." Endor currently has 133 employees concentrated in its offices in Palo Alto and Bangalore. This article originally appeared on TechCrunch at
The Guardian
04-04-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
The Guide #185: How The Phantom Menace's trade wars can help you understand our political moment
There are many scary things to come out of Trump's tariffs. The world economy being thrown into chaos; spiralling prices; furious economic experts showing charts with big down arrows, using phrases like 'gilt markets' and 'share index undergrowth', which I definitely understand. But the most terrifying thing – the thing that has made me truly believe that we are living in the End Times – is a panic-inducing realisation: The Phantom Menace just might have been right all along. For those who haven't seen the first Star Wars prequel, GOD I envy you. The dialogue is wooden and the structure inexplicable (sure, let's just have a pod-race instead of an Act II) – and that's even before we get onto the Jar Jar Binks of it all (the answer to the question 'what if we shaved Paddington and spliced his DNA with the most unlikeable newt in the world?'). But the biggest complaint is the subject matter. Focusing on a blockade of the distant planet Naboo by the increasingly rapacious Trade Federation, it's less a Star Wars film and more a two hour trade negotiation with a minimal bit of Jedi fighting thrown in. Picture the Brexit talks, except David Davis and Michel Barnier had lightsabers that they only used right at the end. Just imagine being a Star Wars fan watching it for the first time – after years of anticipation, you read the opening crawl to discover that the film is effectively about the taxation of trade routes in outposts of the Galactic Republic. Were there reviews of Return of the Jedi that said 'I liked it but I really wanted to find out more about Endor's marginal tax rate'? For 26 years, The Phantom Menace has been held up as the hubris of creator George Lucas. The idea that Darth Vader, arguably the most iconic villain of all time, could be birthed from something as mundane as a trade dispute on Planet Naboo seemed ridiculous. And then, as with so many things that seemed ridiculous, along came Donald Trump. This week's tariff madness and the effect it will surely have on the American Republic and the rest of of the world has made many (myself included) reappraise the film, and recognise that it is perhaps quite prescient. Lucas's obsession with the taxation of the Republic can be seen less as a creator losing themselves in the minutiae of their own creation, and more as a warning of how trading systems can be weaponised. The stranglehold that the Trade Federation places on Naboo is similar to the one the current American government is threatening over the economies of developing countries like Lesotho and Vietnam. In this context, previously weak lines take on new meaning. Early on, before the negotiations turn violent, Liam Neeson's Qui-Gon Jinn murmurs, 'I sense an unusual amount of fear for something as trivial as a trade dispute' – deftly pointing out that when trade disputes are used to impoverish and starve one's enemies as a proxy for war, there's nothing trivial about them. The more you ignore the terrible parts of the film (and believe me, there are lots of terrible parts), the more parallels with our own terrible time become apparent. The Trade Federation's own rapacious desire for profit over all else – and the deal that they do with the Dark Side, despite their own unease – feels worryingly similar to how the CEOs of Amazon, Meta and Google have all bent the knee to the Trump Administration. The increasing political power of the Trade Federation, and the way that they have stymied the Galactic Senate, brings to mind the way that the legislative arm of the United States has been hollowed out by lobbying and neutered by the richest and most online man in the world. The fact Princess Amidala thinks the Senate will save Naboo, despite all evidence to the contrary, reflects the unfounded belief of many Americans that Republican senators will grow a spine, and the checks and balances will suddenly revive themselves to constrain Trump. There's even something in the way that Senator Palpatine (who will later become the evil emperor, complete with lightning hands and bathrobe) is treated by everyone as a stand-up guy despite the fact that he is very obviously evil – I was half expecting Keir Starmer to turn up and offer him a state visit. So is George Lucas some kind of modern day Cassandra? One who envisioned the horrible rise of Elon Musk through the creation of Viceroy Gunray, a small grey alien who sounds a bit like my impression of Jose Mourinho after four pints? Should we be combing through the prequels to work out how to deal with the current rise of the far right? Well … no, obviously. Most of George's solutions involve getting space wizards to blow up conveniently placed air vents - which, as wildly fantastical plans for combatting authoritarianism go, is about as good as Chuck Schumer's. Sign up to The Guide Get our weekly pop culture email, free in your inbox every Friday after newsletter promotion Ultimately though, there was something that The Phantom Menace's trade war premonition missed – just how stupid all of this is. There isn't a scene where Darth Sidious starts talking about how he invented the idea of grocery bags, or another where the Trade Federation tried to tax an uninhabited planet filled with penguins. Lucas filled the script with tense technical jargon and slick politicians engineering crises to justify a collapse into totalitarianism. It turns out he didn't need to bother. He could have just had a crawl at the start that said 'the Emperor has lost his mind, Viceroy Gunray's son is wiping snot on the walls of a Coruscant palace, and everyone is basically fine with it. Now get ready for two hours of pod racing!' The good news, in the end, is that The Phantom Menace wasn't right all along. The bad news? It's because our world is too wrong for The Phantom Menace to have predicted. And that's much worse. If you want to read the complete version of this newsletter please subscribe to receive The Guide in your inbox every Friday
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Woolworths responds after secret in-store daily detail uncovered
Each day at 3.02pm, every store of the supermarket giant nationwide plays the song 'Pump It Up' by Endor. Woolworths has responded to rumours about a little known daily habit in every store across Australia. Each day at 3:02 p.m., every store of the supermarket giant nationwide plays the song Pump It Up by Endoor. Speaking to Yahoo News Australia, a spokesperson for Woolworths said it's something they've had going on in stores for some time. They explained the reasoning behind the song is to let the team know to get ready for the afterschool rush, to make sure shelves are stocked, the store is tidy, and that the store will be busy with shoppers.
