Latest news with #TechCrunchSessions:AI
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Inside TechCrunch Sessions AI: Learn how Toyota and NLX use AI to parse millions of tech docs, with NLX CEO Andrei Papancea
We're down to the final two days before TechCrunch Sessions: AI unites the broader AI community at UC Berkeley's Zellerbach Hall on Thursday, June 5! Expect a packed agenda with top speakers, expert panels, top-tier networking, and Side Events from our partners. One of our speakers is Andrei Papancea, CEO and co-founder of NLX, who will share insights from the company's successful partnership with Toyota — focused on building AI-powered conversational experiences for car repair. With the event just days away, now's your last chance to lock in serious savings. Here's how: Save $300 when you register solo. Bring a guest and get 50% off their ticket with our 2-for-1 deal. Want an even better deal? Play our AI trivia challenge for a chance to score two tickets for just $200 total. So, without further ado, meet Papancea and get to know his insightful session on the main stage. Papancea is currently the CEO of NLX, a company that has raised more than $25 million in funding to fuel its mission of providing automated customer service experiences to companies ranging from United Airlines to Red Bull. Its efforts are built on Papancea's prior experiences building American Express's Conversational AI platform, which has become a primary point of contact for customer experiences with the company. For his session, Papancea will dive into NLX's partnership with Toyota, which centers on AI-powered conversational experiences tailored specifically for car repair. The initiative gives technicians instant access to a vast knowledge base — drawn from millions of pages of repair guides, manuals, diagrams, and other highly specific resources — to help them diagnose and complete repairs more efficiently. In doing so, Toyota has already been able to improve a core KPI: the productivity of its technicians. And that's exactly the kind of topic we're looking to dive into at TC Sessions: AI, one that demonstrates the real-world impact of AI implementation and partnerships. Join our full lineup of insightful AI sessions featuring leaders from Google Cloud, Amazon, TwelveLabs, OpenAI, Anthropic, and many more. Check out the full speaker list and agenda. TechCrunch Sessions: AI is just days away — don't miss your chance to explore practical AI solutions, real-world applications, and top-tier networking with fellow experts and innovators. Take advantage of last-minute deals: Save up to $300 on single tickets, bring a guest with our 2-for-1 offer, or win a special promo code through our AI Trivia Challenge to get two tickets for just $200. All low rates and special offers disappear when the doors open on June 5 — secure your pass today and join us at UC Berkeley's Zellerbach Hall! This article originally appeared on TechCrunch at Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
TechCrunch
9 hours ago
- Business
- TechCrunch
2 days until TC Sessions: AI at UC Berkeley
In just 2 days, TechCrunch Sessions: AI takes over UC Berkeley's Zellerbach Hall for a one-day summit built for the minds shaping AI. Expect hard questions, bold ideas, and real insight—designed to challenge your assumptions, sharpen your competitive edge, and maybe — just maybe — redefine the trajectory of your research, your product, or your company. Whether you're an AI researcher, engineer, or founder, this summit offers insights into the forefront of AI development and its applications. Don't miss the opportunity to engage with leaders shaping the future of artificial intelligence. Experience it all at a low rate while you still can: Save $300 on your ticket and get a second pass for 50% off. Prices jump when the event doors open. Register your tickets now. Voices shaping the future of AI — live on our main stage and in breakouts And that's just the front row. You'll also hear from top voices at OpenAI, Cohere, Oracle, Linear, Amazon, Recursive Ventures, the EU and U.K. governments, and a sharp lineup of new founders you'll want on your radar. Explore the full TC Sessions: AI speaker and agenda lineup. Image Credits:Max Morse for TechCrunch Step into the future of AI — here's what you'll experience at TC Sessions: AI Main Stage sessions with boundary-pushers across research, policy, infrastructure, and venture. Hands-on breakouts that go deep — smaller rooms, sharper convos, actionable takeaways. Intentional, meaningful networking via Braindate — connect over shared interests, not random small talk. Live startup pitch-off with real-time VC feedback during So You Think You Can Pitch. After-hours Side Events around Berkeley — because breakthrough ideas don't have to stay inside the venue. Don't pay more at the door — grab your ticket now Save over $300 on your ticket right now . . Bringing a friend? Get a second pass for 50% off. Feeling lucky? Play our AI Trivia Countdown challenge for a shot at $200 off and a free guest ticket. Doors open June 5 — and that's when the discounts disappear. Whether you're building your first agent or managing a multi-stage portfolio, TC Sessions: AI is where the most important conversations are happening. Register now to secure your low ticket deals.
TechCrunch
9 hours ago
- Business
- TechCrunch
Wispr Flow releases iOS app in a bid to make dictation feel effortless
It feels like AI companies want us all to talk to their products out loud more often. Meta, Google, OpenAI and Anthropic, to name a few, have added functionality to let users talk with their AI bots as naturally as they would with another person, taking advantage of advances in speech-to-text technology. A startup called Wispr Flow feels it can outdo the bigwigs, though, with its dictation tech that supports more than 100 languages. The company today augmented its existing Windows and Mac apps with a new iOS app that doubles as a keyboard, letting you use your voice to type inside any app. Now, you might be thinking this is just another speech-to-text company, but this reporter came away particularly impressed with Wispr Flow. As an Indian, I've never found a speech-to-text app that can fully understand what I am saying. I have also had a hard time getting AI assistants like Alexa and Siri to execute requests. However, Wispr Flow presented a vastly better experience compared to any dictation tech I've used from Big Tech. At first, I had to edit my sentences across the Wispr Flow desktop and mobile apps, but after using it a few times, the dictation experience improved drastically. I ended up using the app to write long emails and messages, and even wrote much of this story using just my voice. The app also has a numeric and symbol keyboard if you need to type special characters, and it learns custom names and terms automatically, or you can add them through its dictionary section. It also lets you whisper into your mic if you want to use it in environments where you can't speak out loud. The company claims that the iOS app can work in environments with poor network coverage as well. The startup's co-founder, Tanay Kothari, told TechCrunch he set out to build a wearable device that would allow users to type just by mouthing words silently. The operating layer of that wearable was Flow, and last July, the company pivoted to focus on the software and released its Mac app a few months later. On the desktop app, users can start dictating in any app by pressing a hotkey, which is easier to access. For the iOS app, the challenge will be to persuade users to switch to Wispr's keyboard every time they want to use the app. 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 Wispr Flow is free to use until you hit a limit of 2,000 words per week. There's an unlimited plan for $12 per month (or $144 per year) that also gives you early access to new features. The company has raised $26 million to date from investors including NEA, Palo Alto Networks and 8VC. Kothari said his subscription business is seeing a conversion rate of 19%, and the startup's revenue is increasing by 60% year-on-year. The startup is working on releasing an Android app this year. It's also building shared context functionality for teams so that the app can understand common terminology within enterprise contexts. Wispr has many competitors, including YC-backed Aqua, Talktastic, Superwhisper and Betterdication. While Kothari expects more competition in this space with advances in AI and voice technology, he believes that Wispr's engineering team and long-term investment in the tech will set it apart.
TechCrunch
10 hours ago
- Business
- TechCrunch
Speedata, a chip startup competing with Nvidia, raises a $44M Series B
Speedata, a Tel Aviv-based startup developing an analytics processing unit (APU) designed to accelerate big data analytic and AI workloads, has raised a $44M Series B funding round, bringing its total capital raised to $114M. The Series B round was led by its existing investors, including Walden Catalyst Ventures, 83North, Koch Disruptive Technologies, Pitango First, and Viola Ventures, as well as strategic investors, including Lip-Bu Tan, CEO of Intel and Managing Partner at Walden Catalyst Ventures, and Eyal Waldman, Co-Founder and former CEO of Mellanox Technologies. The APU architecture focuses on addressing the specific bottlenecks of analytics at the computing level, unlike graphics processing units (GPUs), which were initially designed for graphics and later modified for AI and data-related tasks, according to the startup. 'For decades, data analytics have relied on standard processing units, and more recently, companies like Nvidia have invested in pushing GPUs for analytics workloads,' Adi Gelvan, CEO of Speedata, said in an interview with TechCrunch. 'But these are either general-purpose processors or processors designed for other workloads, not chips built from the ground up for data analytics. Our APU is purpose-built for data processing and a single APU can replace racks of servers, delivering dramatically better performance.' Speedata was founded in 2019 by six founders, some of whom were the first researchers to develop Coarse-Grained Reconfigurable Architecture (CGRA) technology. The founders collaborated with ASIC design experts to address a fundamental problem: data analytics were being performed by general-purpose processors. If the workloads grew too complex, they could need to tap into hundreds of servers. The founders believed that they could develop a single dedicated processor to accomplish the task faster using less energy. 'We saw this as an opportunity to put our decades of research in silicon into transforming how the industry processes data,' Gelvan said. Its APU currently targets Apache Spark workloads, but its roadmap includes supporting every major data analytics platform, according to the company CEO. 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 'We aim at becoming the standard processor for data processing—just as GPUs became the default for AI training, we want APUs to be the default for data analytics across every database and analytics platform,' Gelvan told TechCrunch. The startup says it has a number of large companies testing its APU, though it declined to name them. The official product launch is set for the Databricks' Data & AI Summit in the second week of June. Gelvan said that they will publicly showcase its APU for the first time at the event. Speedata claims a specific case where its APU completed a pharmaceutical workload in 19 minutes, which was significantly faster than the 90 hours it took when using a non-specialized processing unit, resulting in a 280x speed improvement. The startup said it has achieved several milestones since its last fundraising, including finalizing the design and manufacturing of its first APU in late 2024. 'We've moved from concept to testing on a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), and now we are proud to say we have working hardware that we are currently launching. We already have a growing pipeline of enterprise customers eagerly waiting for this technology and were ready to scale our go-to-market operations,' Gelvan, said.
TechCrunch
10 hours ago
- Business
- TechCrunch
Adobe launches beta version of its Photoshop app on Android
Android users can now download Photoshop for mobile. Adobe announced on Tuesday that it's releasing the beta version of its Android Photoshop app, four months after the company launched its iPhone app. The app offers a similar set of editing tools as the desktop version, including layering and masking, but is optimized for mobile screens. During the initial beta period, users will be able to access the app's features for free. These features include the ability to combine and blend images using tools like selections, layers, and masks. Users can also use AI features like 'Generative Fill' to add or transform elements. Parts of images can be quickly removed or replaced using the 'Tap Select' tool, and users get access a library of free Adobe Stock assets, as well as control layers and effects with blend modes and adjustment layers. Users can also get rid of distractions with the 'Spot Healing Brush' and refine images with the 'Remove' and 'Clone Stamp tools.' 'Object Select' and 'Magic Want' features allow users to make more precise selections. Image Credits:Adobe Adobe said it plans to bring additional capabilities to the app soon. By bringing Photoshop to mobile, Adobe is looking to attract new users, especially younger ones who are used to using their phones for creative purposes. As for people who already use Photoshop, Adobe says the mobile app makes the service more accessible for those who prefer to work on their phones. Photoshop on Android (beta) is now available for devices running Android 11 or later, with a minimum of 6GB of RAM. Adobe notes that 8GB or more is recommended for optimal performance. 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 Unlike the Android app, the iPhone app launched with both free and paid features. Photoshop for iPhone also integrates with Photoshop on the web, for a fee. It's unknown when Adobe plans to bring this capability to the Android app.
