Latest news with #ReedHastings
TechCrunch
a day ago
- Business
- TechCrunch
Startups Weekly: AMD acquisition and other moves to scale AI startups
Welcome to Startups Weekly — your weekly recap of everything you can't miss from the world of startups. Want it in your inbox every Friday? Sign up here. This week brought more than just Nvidia's earnings reports; startups and VCs also had some news — quieter perhaps, but still worth paying attention to, especially where AI is involved. Most interesting startup stories from the week Image Credits:Cheng Xin / Contributor / Getty Images AI once again drove a large share of overall startup activity, including one acquisition, but this week also brought us a reminder that full M&A execution takes time — and that VC funding is not the only route. Good optics: AMD acquired Enosemi, a startup designing custom materials to support silicon photonics product development, under undisclosed terms. The goal of the acquisition is to 'accelerate [AMD's] co-packaged optics innovation for AI systems.' Onboarded: AI startup Anthropic added Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings to its board of directors. Hastings was appointed by Anthropic's independent Long-Term Benefit Trust and already has experience sitting on the boards of Netflix, Bloomberg, Meta, and Microsoft. It takes time: Family safety app Life360 finally incorporates the AirTag-like lost item tracking functionalities of Tile, three and a half years after Life360 acquired Tile for $205 million. One month and 25 days: High-profile entrepreneur and angel investor Sahil Lavingia revealed details of his stint on Elon Musk's DOGE workforce, saying he was booted after only 55 days. But it's not just him: Musk's stint is also coming to an end. Techcrunch event Save now through June 4 for TechCrunch Sessions: AI Save $300 on your ticket to TC Sessions: AI—and get 50% off a second. Hear from leaders at OpenAI, Anthropic, Khosla Ventures, and more during a full day of expert insights, hands-on workshops, and high-impact networking. These low-rate deals disappear when the doors open on June 5. Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot at TC Sessions: AI and show 1,200+ decision-makers what you've built — without the big spend. Available through May 9 or while tables last. Berkeley, CA | REGISTER NOW Bootstrapped: Ten-year-old cybersecurity company Thinkst Canary reached $20 million in annual recurring revenue without VC investment — an interesting story that seemed worth mentioning before diving into funding news. Most interesting VC and funding news this week . Image Credits:Neuralink Funding news this week comes from a mix of announcements and rumors — unconfirmed but well-sourced. Let's start with these before moving on to the more concrete updates. Musk again: Neuralink, Elon Musk's brain implant startup, reportedly raised $600 million at a $9 billion pre-money valuation. Long arm: Samsung is said to be looking to invest in a $100 million round for medical device startup Exo through its venture investment arm. New horizon: Filings revealed that cybersecurity startup is seeking to raise $100 million, out of which it has already secured at least $73 million. New bricks: Buildots, a Chicago-based startup leveraging AI and computer vision to improve construction progress tracking, raised a $45 million Series D, bringing its total raised to $166 million. Adding up: Rillet, a startup using machine learning and generative AI to automate accounting reports, raised a $25 million Series A led by Sequoia Capital, only 10 months after a $13.5 million seed and pre-seed round. Convenience: Snabbit, a 15-month-old Indian startup operating in the increasingly hot home services space, secured $19 million in a Series B round led by Lightspeed at a post-money valuation of $80 million. World models: SpAItial, the new company of Synthesia co-founder Matthias Niessner, raised a $13 million seed round led by Earlybird to develop a foundation model capable of generating interactive 3D online environments. It would share similarities with the AI model released by competitor Odyssey this week. Advanced grid: Gridcare, an AI-powered energy optimization startup, emerged out of stealth with an oversubscribed $13.5 million seed round and said it's ready to play matchmaker between data centers and utilities. Diversifying: State-owned Saudi AI company Humain is making progress to launch Humain Ventures, a $10 billion venture fund that will invest in startups in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Kiwi startups: Auckland-based venture firm and incubator Outset Ventures closed a second fund of approximately $25 million to invest in deep tech startups emerging out of New Zealand. Last but not least Nuclear fusion startups have been attracting investors, but their endeavors are still experimental. Fission, on the other hand, already has the potential to power data centers, which explains why Big Tech companies have been investing in nuclear fission startups.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
New York Times, Amazon Unveil AI Content Licensing Deal
In its first AI licensing deal, The New York Times Company and giant Amazon have announced a multi-year agreement that will bring Times editorial content to a variety of Amazon customer experiences in a move the partners said broadens the companies' existing relationship. The idea is to 'bring additional value to Amazon customers and bring Times journalism to wider audiences,' the companies said. More from Deadline Netflix Co-Founder Reed Hastings Joins Board Of AI Firm Anthropic Amazon's Head Of Unscripted Series Jenny Falkoff Joins Netflix Darren Aronofsky's AI-Focused Studio Primordial Soup Sets Strategic Partnership With Google DeepMind Under the new deal, Amazon is licensing editorial content from The New York Times, NYT Cooking, and The Athletic 'for AI-related uses.' This will include real-time display of summaries and short excerpts of Times content within Amazon products and services, such as Alexa, and training Amazon's proprietary foundation models. The collaboration will make The New York Times's original content more accessible to customers across Amazon products and services, including direct links to Times products, 'and underscores the companies' shared commitment to serving customers with global news and perspectives within Amazon's AI products.' As AI firms suck up vast quantities of data to train their so-called Large Language Models publishers have taken different tacks, some inking deals some seeking the courts. The NYT is suing giant OpenAI and its major investor Microsoft for copyright violation in its use of content. A judge ruled in March that the suit can proceed. Copyright is the issue and 'fair use,' a legal doctrine that allows use of copyrighted material in certain ways and in certain cases. AI companies have often appeared game to compensate publishers on their own terms but are seeking loser restrictions on copyright rules in order to grown and, they said in recent testimony, compete globally. Copyright owners including the Hollywood creative community have pushed back on that, insisting that the laws be upheld. It's not clear if or how turmoil at the U.S. Copyright Office will impact this. A federal judge yesterday declined to issue an order that would immediately prevent the Trump administration from firing the register of copyrights and head of the office, Shira Perlmutter Best of Deadline Everything We Know About Netflix's 'The Thursday Murder Club' So Far 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery 2025-26 Awards Season Calendar: Dates For Tonys, Emmys, Oscars & More Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
NBC Pulls Viral Chinese Paraglider Video Over Concerns It Was AI Generated
A dramatic video described as showing a Chinese paraglider surviving an unplanned 8,500m (27,000 ft) ascent and subzero temperatures has been pulled from the website of NBC News over concerns that it may be AI generated. In a note on its news site, the network said: 'NBC News has determined that some of the footage provided by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV and distributed by Reuters that appeared in our initial coverage was AI-generated. We have removed this video and are continuing to report on the veracity of the story. This note will be updated in due course.' More from Deadline Artificial Intelligence Influencers To Get D.C.'s Acclaim At The AI Honors Ceremony New York Times, Amazon Unveil AI Content Licensing Deal Netflix Co-Founder Reed Hastings Joins Board Of AI Firm Anthropic The network was among thousands of news organizations worldwide to have posted the video in recent days, ranging from the UK's BBC and to France's TF1 to the websites of newspapers such as The Guardian and The New York Times. According to the story which broke earlier this week the video is described as showing 55-year paraglider Peng Yujiang's terrifying ascent after his equipment became caught in an updraft known as a 'cloud suck'. The video, which features Peng battling with strong winds and then looking dazed and frostbitten above the clouds, was first posted on Chinese video-sharing App Douyin, the country's version of TikTok. The footage was then licensed by Chinese State TV network CCTV and a number of other viral video distributors. Concerns over the footage come amid growing challenges for news organizations around AI-generated video and authenticating real footage. With a question mark hanging over the authenticity of the video, the veracity of the story is also being re-investigated. In a separate story, NBC said it had reached out to several social media accounts connected to Peng but had not received a response. Deadline has contacted NBC and a number of other news outlets which posted the material for comment, as well as CCTV, but has not received a response from any of the organizations. Best of Deadline Everything We Know About Netflix's 'The Thursday Murder Club' So Far 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery 2025 TV Cancellations: Photo Gallery
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Former Netflix CEO Reed Hastings appointed to Anthropic's board of directors
Reed Hastings , the former CEO and current chairman of streaming giant Netflix , has been appointed to the board of directors of AI startup Anthropic , the company said in a blog post on Wednesday. Hastings has been part of the boards of Facebook (now Meta), Microsoft, and Bloomberg. He had served as CEO of Netflix since its inception and stepped down in 2023. Anthropic's large language model (LLM) Claude competes with OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini. The company last received $4 billion in funding from Amazon. Hastings recently gave $50 million to Bowdoin College to create a research initiative on AI and humanity. The programme explores how AI will change work, relationships, and education while developing ethical guidelines for its use. This objective aligns with Anthropic's focus. Hastings was appointed to the board by Anthropic's Long Term Benefit Trust. "The Long Term Benefit Trust appointed Reed because his impressive leadership experience, deep philanthropic work, and commitment to addressing AI's societal challenges make him uniquely qualified to guide Anthropic at this critical juncture in AI development ," said Buddy Shah, chair of Anthropic's Long Term Benefit Trust. Discover the stories of your interest Blockchain 5 Stories Cyber-safety 7 Stories Fintech 9 Stories E-comm 9 Stories ML 8 Stories Edtech 6 Stories 'Anthropic is very optimistic about the AI benefits for humanity, but is also very aware of the economic, social, and safety challenges,' Hastings said in a statement. 'I'm joining Anthropic's board because I believe in their approach to AI development, and to help humanity progress,' he added. Meanwhile, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has warned that AI could eliminate nearly half of entry-level white-collar jobs within five years. He urged consumers and US lawmakers to prepare for significant job cuts , according to Axios. Amodei also criticised the government and other AI companies for downplaying the risk of widespread job losses across sectors such as technology, finance, law, and consulting.
The Star
3 days ago
- Business
- The Star
Netflix co-founder and former CEO Reed Hastings joins Anthropic board
FILE PHOTO: Reed Hastings, founder and Co-C.E.O. of Netflix, arrives at the DealBook Summit in New York City, U.S., November 30, 2022. REUTERS/David 'Dee' Delgado/File Photo (Reuters) -Anthropic has appointed Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings to the board of directors, the artificial intelligence startup said on Wednesday. Hastings, 64, is also a board member at Bloomberg. He has previously held director positions at Microsoft and Facebook, and served as the CEO of Netflix for 25 years. "Anthropic is very optimistic about the AI benefits for humanity, but is also very aware of the economic, social, and safety challenges. I'm joining Anthropic's board because I believe in their approach to AI development, and to help humanity progress," Hastings said. At Anthropic, Hastings will help the company navigate its rapid growth while maintaining its commitment to safety and minimizing AI's potential negative impacts on society. Hastings co-founded Netflix in 1997 and transformed from a fledgling DVD mail-order service into a global streaming platform. He recently contributed $50 million to Bowdoin College to establish an AI and Humanity research initiative, focusing on AI's impact on work, relationships and education. In addition to Hastings, the board includes Daniela Amodei, her brother and Anthropic's CEO Dario Amodei, investor Yasmin Razavi, and Confluent CEO Jay Kreps. (Reporting by Kritika Lamba in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)
