Latest news with #techinnovation
The Verge
20 hours ago
- Business
- The Verge
Grindr's new Right Now feature brings a spicy live feed to the hookup app
Grindr has always excelled at helping its users find folks looking to spend some quality time together, but the hookup app is looking to speed up the ' looking? ' process even more with its latest feature. Today, Grindr announced that Right Now, its social media-like live feed feature, is rolling out to all of the platform's users following a pilot test in select markets. Unlike Grindr's traditional grid that shows you an array of other users' profiles based on how far away they are, Right Now functions a bit more like X / Twitter and displays a stream of recent posts that can include both text and photos. Right Now posts disappear from the live feed after an hour, and while they don't have to be used for hookup purposes, posters can hit a toggle specifying whether they're looking to host (read: have someone over for fun.) At launch, Grindr says users in certain locations 'will receive a number of free hour-long Right Now sessions per week (refreshed every Friday)' meaning that the feed will only be accessible in hour-long windows. Down the line, the company also plans to make more sessions available to purchase. In a press release about the new feature, Grindr's chief product officer, AJ Balance, explained that Right Now was designed to help people 'find exactly what they want, when they want it – without the guesswork.' 'We built this intention-based feature based on feedback from our community so they can connect with like-minded people without wasting time on mismatched expectations,' Balance said. 'The response to our initial March launch was so strong we accelerated the global rollout ahead of schedule because it's clear people want this… well, right now.' Grindr is not the first app of its kind to introduce functionality clearly inspired by social media platforms. Sniffies, a more cruising-focused Grindr competitor that doesn't require signing up for an account and allows users to post sexually explicit photos on their public profiles, has had a feature similar to Right Now for some time. But Right Now's widespread launch is the latest phase of Grindr's larger plan to roll out a series of new features — many of which are powered by generative artificial intelligence — meant to boost revenue and make users see the app as 'the Global Gayborhood in Your Pocket™.' Previously, Grindr introduced A-List, a tool that uses Anthropic's Claude Sonnet 3.7 model and Amazon Web Services' Bedrock to summarize chats with the intention of helping users rekindle 'meaningful past connections' and pursue 'high-potential matches.' Bloomberg reports the same platform is now underpinning Grindr's Wingman, a generative AI assistant that can draft chat responses for users who can't think of things to say for themselves, provide sex tips, and give suggestions about places that might make for good dates. Some of Grindr's AI features are free to try, but for continued access to them, the company requires users to sign up for its monthly subscription plans. All of the features are part of Grindr's effort to bring in more money and staunch the financial bleeding that came following its initial public offering in 2022. As Platformer reported last year, Grindr's stock price plummeted by 70 percent following its SPAC, and the company has been scrambling to establish new revenue streams amid employee unionization efforts and internal concerns that Grindr 'was losing its progressive culture.' At the Wall Street Journal 's Future of Everything conference this week, Grindr's CEO George Arison spoke about how AI has changed his own productivity, and his desire for the company to start thinking about how the technology can be more deeply integrated into its services. 'For all the new things that we build, I want them to be built as if we are an AI-native startup,' Arison said. 'If you're going to do marketing for this, great; start thinking with AI first and then go to people because that's how I think companies are going to be built moving forward and that's what we should be doing as a business as well.'
CTV News
3 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Bluesky CEO Jay Graber on Vancouver, customization and the future of social media
On opening night of the much-anticipated Web Summit conference's first year in Vancouver, the convention centre's main event space was jam-packed with attendees eager to hear from a tech superstar. Jay Graber may not be a household name, but the CEO of the Bluesky social media platform is one of the most high-profile women in the tech world and has a bold new vision for the future of social networking that could revolutionize how we connect with other humans – and maybe even make it fun again. CTV News had a few moments to speak with Graber backstage after her centre stage discussion on 'The Next Era of Social Media' and quickly discovered the Seattle resident is not stranger to Vancouver. 'I actually love it,' she said. 'I find it so interesting how it's this other city on the other side of the Salish Sea and there's a lot of similarities to Seattle, but it's also very different.' The entrepreneur has become a heroic figure for some social media users weary of the deterioration of online discourse and enthusiastic about her platform, which has been hailed as a potential 'Twitter Killer.' What is Bluesky, exactly? Any time Graber speaks about her company, she inevitably has to describe how Bluesky is different from other microblogging platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and Threads. The structure of the technology puts it in a position for other developers to design new interfaces or themes or areas of focus with the same user profile and followers. It's this flexibility and 'sky's the limit' ideology that Graber believes could usher in a whole new era of social media where users have more control over what they see and how by choosing algorithms built by different developers, for example. 'The long-term vision is that the atmosphere, the broader ecosystem of all these apps being built around Bluesky – some of them interacting with Bluesky, some of them being built more on top of it, and some of them being completely their own thing – can all start to flourish and kick off an era of innovation in social that we haven't seen in a long time,' she said. New users flock to the 'sky' It's a huge goal for an app that had been invite-only until last year, but new users signed up in droves after the U.S. election, and the platform continues to gain momentum. One of those new sign-ups was an account for Mark Carney, which popped up when he was still the Liberal leader. While his staff continue to use X, he is now the first Canadian prime minister to use Bluesky just as often, and Graber acknowledges that has helped add to the platform's legitimacy. In fact, her staff flagged the account for her early on as they sought to make sure it was, in fact, associated to the real Mark Carney. 'Now we have verifications and the delegated verification system, which means that we're able to start verifying more folks,' Graber said. 'I think it's becoming a better and better place for breaking news and a lot of this is why there's notable people joining.' So does Graber think Bluesky has the principles, flexibility, and foundation to fix or maybe rehabilitate jaded users' relationships with social media? 'We hope so, that's what we're trying to build,' she explained. 'Anyone who decides that, you know, Bluesky out of the box isn't completely what they want can go in and customize it under the hood.' Considering that's not easy for the layperson to do, Graber has an open invitation to fellow entrepreneurs and coders to come up with their own take on the social media experience. '(If) you want to zoom in on something that you like more, you can customize your corner of Bluesky,' she said. 'It can really be a 'choose your own adventure.''
Forbes
22-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Why Europe Struggles To Build The Next Silicon Valley
The next Silicon Valley? getty Europe's slower pace in tech innovation compared to the United States and other global economies is no secret. A recent Wall Street Journal feature captured the frustrations of European founders who left the continent after encountering layers of bureaucratic and structural challenges. While the usual culprits are often cited—limited access to growth capital, fragmented markets, and slow-moving regulators—there are deeper, often less discussed dynamics that shape the region's innovation ecosystem. Some of these are cultural, others institutional, and together they create a landscape where risk-taking and rapid experimentation are harder to sustain. The social safety net is one such factor. In Europe, strong welfare programs offer citizens greater stability and security. Germany, for instance, provides up to 60% of a worker's previous salary for a full year if they lose their job. In the United States, unemployment benefits are far less generous. In Florida, a recipient may receive just $275 per week, capped at 12 weeks. In Massachusetts, the top benefit is around $1,033 per week for 30 weeks. Healthcare access further highlights this contrast. While nearly half of Americans depend on employer-sponsored insurance, European residents enjoy universal coverage as the norm. Parental leave and tuition benefits follow similar trends. For aspiring entrepreneurs, this safety net can be a double-edged sword. In the U.S., the absence of such security often pushes individuals to pursue wealth creation more aggressively. The American economic system rewards outsized ambition, in part because the downside risk is already uncomfortably high. In Europe, the trade-off between comfort and risk-taking is more pronounced. Starting a company can feel unnecessary or even irrational when basic needs are already met through public programs. Beyond the social safety net, European innovation also contends with deeply entrenched legacy systems. These are not merely technical holdovers but are embedded in daily life and behavior. In Germany, more than half of all transactions are still made in cash. In Spain, nearly two-thirds of point-of-sale payments rely on physical currency. This does not mean innovation is absent—it simply moves slower. Regulatory conservatism, consumer caution, and cultural emphasis on stability over disruption all contribute to a climate where fintech adoption lags behind. Public trust in institutions is generally higher across Europe than in the U.S., which has its advantages. But that trust also creates resistance to new systems that challenge the status quo. Entrepreneurship thrives in environments where failure is tolerated, if not celebrated. In many parts of Europe, failure still carries stigma. The perception that building something from scratch is inherently risky and possibly irresponsible remains common, especially among older generations. Immigration is another critical, and often overlooked, driver of tech innovation. The United States has long benefited from being a magnet for global talent. Many of its most iconic companies were built by immigrants or their children. Europe has yet to fully embrace this dynamic. This is especially critical for the EU, given its aging population and growing labor gap. Europe continues to lag the US in immigraiton. getty While immigration numbers have increased, integration remains difficult, both culturally and bureaucratically. In Germany, for example, a 2017 survey revealed that a minority of citizens viewed immigration as having positive effects. The growing influence of right-wing political parties has only reinforced anti-immigrant sentiment, further complicating efforts to create a more inclusive and diverse startup culture. Spotify is a European success story. getty Still, there are reasons to be optimistic. Spotify, founded in Sweden, and Revolut, born in the UK, have emerged as global category leaders. Revolut alone has ambitions to reach 100 million users by 2030. These companies, though exceptions, show what is possible. And despite headwinds, venture capital funding in Europe totaled €55 billion in 2024. That is not insignificant. Europe's innovation potential is far from tapped out. The U.S. gained a generational head start thanks to developments in the 1960s and 70s that laid the groundwork for Silicon Valley. But the European market is rich in talent, ideas, and ambition. What it lacks in momentum, it can make up for in rethinking the systems that currently hold its innovators back. The next chapter of global tech leadership does not have to be written exclusively in California. It just might require Europe to turn the page a little faster.
Geek Girl Authority
21-05-2025
- Business
- Geek Girl Authority
Tracing the Footsteps of a Successful Crypto Project With "Vitalik: An Ethereum Story"
Ethereum (ETH) is one of the most important cryptocurrencies, which is why it has attracted the attention of numerous individuals worldwide. Vitalik Buterin launched Ethereum with the goal of solving some of Bitcoin's shortcomings. He managed to do this and offered Ethereum the possibility to have more use cases and the ability to access more applications with smart contracts. This is why Ethereum is a good investment possibility that investors worldwide can add to their portfolios after checking the Ethereum price. However, Ethereum is not a regular cryptocurrency but a story of success that proves that a simple idea can turn into a well-recognized phenomenon. Additionally, as cryptocurrencies are highly characterized by tech innovations, especially in the case of Ethereum, this project needed to be more humanized so that people could rely on it. And it managed to do this, thanks to the documentary film Vitalik: An Ethereum Story. Thanks to the movie, we can discover more about the creator of Ethereum and not only see him as a tech genius. In this article, we will learn more information about Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, and the documentary that was inspired by the successful story of this crypto project. Who is Vitalik Buterin? Vitalik Buterin has been a gifted child who was viewed as a math genius from a very young age. This is why it was no surprise that Vitalik was interested in Bitcoin (BTC) when it made its way into the world back in 2011. For a very long time, Buterin was fascinated by Bitcoin and looked for ways to add this digital coin to his portfolio. As he didn't have the funds needed to buy BTC, he looked for other ways to finally own this digital coin, which intrigued him. For example, he started writing articles, and he was given 5 BTC per blog post. To better foster his interest in crypto, he soon began traveling the world and learning about BTC from developers. Vitalik also discovered Bitcoin's shortcomings and proposed improvements that could expand the use cases for BTC. However, his proposal was refused, which made him try his hand at launching his own project. So, in 2013, the young crypto enthusiast created a whitepaper and sent it to some of his friends. As they were interested in the project, they later united their forces with Buterin and looked for ways to turn their vision into a reality. The project was launched with the help of an Initial Coin Offering (ICO), where they raised the needed funds to launch Ethereum. From that time, Ethereum has gone through several improvements to enhance what this project was offering and cater to the changing needs of people. Vitalik Buterin's history of launching Ethereum is fascinating, which is why a documentary film was needed to trace a little of the happenings that this crypto project went through. Additionally, this movie was also required to prove that Vitalik is a normal human being and not only a programming and math genius. Vitalik: An Ethereum Story Chris Temple and Zach Ingrasci are the directors of this documentary, and they started to think about this film idea when they were filming another documentary. However, things changed when filming, and the final product resulted in a humanized part of the crypto space, which could make more individuals interested in digital coins. The movie tracks the footsteps of how the Ethereum project was developed and the most important moments in Vitalik Buterin's life. The filmmakers tried to set up Buterin's life and turn the stories heard from Vitalik into the movie. So, we can witness important moments from Vitalik Buterin's childhood, which then turn to the moments when Vitalik became interested in Bitcoin. This interest is what made Vitalik Buterin launch Ethereum in the end, and it is a good idea to finally have a representation of the successful story of Ethereum. However, the movie also focuses on other important milestones from the evolution of Ethereum, such as the first moments when launching Ethereum, and the struggles he faced as a leader. Then, the story continues with the boom of the blockchain and the launch of the Merge, which had the great advantage of reducing the energy consumption of Ethereum. The documentary also focuses on social causes, which humanize Vitalik Buterin even more. The help of Buterin for Ukraine by offering access to crypto resources proves this point. This also shows that cryptocurrencies can be used in every period of our lives, including in wars, where they can help us greatly. The documentary: Humanizing the crypto story The documentary is a testament to the story of Vitalik Buterin, as it shows childhood roots, his great personality, and the emotional impact that Ethereum had when it was launched. Additionally, it casts more light on the individual Vitalik Buterin, so that he can be seen as more than just the creator of Ethereum. So, the filmmakers show moments with Buterin when he drinks tea, makes his breakfast, or discusses with the military officials. This makes Vitalik seen as more than the creator of Ethereum and shows that his journey wasn't full of only happy stories. This can inspire plenty of other people in the world to stand up for their goals, with the desire that Someday they can truly turn their dreams into a reality. Conclusion Ethereum is among the most popular crypto projects, so people are very interested in discovering more important moments from the evolution of this digital coin., This is why documentaries of this kind are always needed, as they offer individuals the direct story of what happened in the past. This can also attract more attention to Ethereum and increase its price, as individuals could be more interested in it after seeing the true story that Vitalik has gone through to launch this project. Ethereum is a testament to great dedication, which shows all the steps that this crypto project has taken to represent the essential digital coin it is today. New JURASSIC WORLD REBIRTH Trailer Promises Carnivores, Herbivores and Mutants RELATED: Jurassic World Rebirth Trailer Brings Dinosaurs Back Again
Zawya
20-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
BCCD spotlights digital innovators as Dubai emerges as safe haven for start-up investors
Dubai, UAE: In the midst of global uncertainty, Dubai is emerging as a safe haven for innovators and start-up investors in the tech industry, according to experts at a recent business briefing hosted by the British Chamber of Commerce Dubai (BCCCD) at the DIFC Innovation Hub. Sharing their own experiences of establishing and scaling a start-up, UAE-based entrepreneurs, Khawar Mann OBE and Omair Ansari, joined in a panel discussion alongside funding experts and Youcef Oudjidane, to explore 'The Tech Shift: Transforming Finance, Credit, and Mobility Services'. CEO and Co-founder of Auxilium, an award-winning, tech-enabled employment and business expansion consultancy, Mann is at the forefront of promoting the region's position as a global mobility hotspot. Auxilium specialises in Employer of Record services, company formation, residency services, compliance, and market entry, to enable businesses to scale efficiently while navigating complex regulatory landscapes. Mann explained, 'The outstanding quality of life, economic prospects, long-term residency opportunities and ambitious national visions are attracting businesses to the region in volume. We combine regional knowledge and technology-driven solutions to meet the growing demand for seamless, support services to manage talent internationally.' Omair Ansari, CEO and Co-founder of ABHI, is another disruptor in the field, with his transformative embedded fintech business delivering financing and payroll solutions to provide employees with easy access to their earned salary at any time of the month. ABHI has gained recognition from Hub71 and Endeavor UAE and was the first to be awarded the Technology Pioneer 2023 Award by the World Economic Forum, making fintech history in the MENAP region. Explaining his motivation, Ansari said, 'We wanted to bring tech in to disrupt the market where it wouldn't be expected. Focussing on the credit side of financing in emerging markets, ABHI aims to be at the forefront of creating a revolution in this field.' As tech founders gravitate to the region, the funding landscape is also evolving rapidly, with the UAE being seen as a safe place to invest in new businesses against a backdrop of global disruption. Oudjidane, Managing Partner and Co-founder of venture capital firm, BYLD, said, 'Ten years ago, most UAE startups were funded locally. Today, they're increasingly attracting international capital - a testament to the ecosystem's global rise. Similarly, while startups in the region once focused primarily on local problems, many of today's founders in the UAE are building for global markets. The startup I co-founded, Elevate, is a good example of both: we have raised millions of dollars from US-based investors, generated all of our revenue from outside of the UAE, and yet chose to headquarter the company here simply because we want to live here." As more British businesses look to establish a foothold in the region, BCCD CEO, Katy Holmes, says the rapid acceleration of Dubai's tech sector holds a wealth of opportunity. 'Technology is one of the most promising and fast-moving sectors in Dubai today, and we see great potential for UK companies to contribute and thrive here.' she said, 'This was the Chamber's first BCCD Tech Business Briefing, following the launch of our dedicated BCCD Tech working group, which brings together leading voices and innovators from within our membership. We look forward to welcoming even more UK tech businesses into our network, enriching cross-market dialogue and creating new synergies within this dynamic and diverse sector.' The panel discussion, hosted by DIFC Innovation Hub, was part of the ongoing BCCD business briefing series, to keep members and guests up-to-date with the latest industry trends. About British Chamber of Commerce Dubai The British Chamber of Commerce Dubai (BCCD) supports British-owned, Dubai and RAK-based businesses and UK PLCs at every stage of their growth by providing a platform from which to market directly into the British business and expat community. Since its inception in 1987, the BCCD has built a credible voice in the region with over 1000 active business and individual members, an impressive reach across social media and digital platforms including its weekly e-newsletter, and a diverse, engaged audience in the UAE, the GCC and the UK. The BCCD provides a great exposure opportunity for brands looking to increase their local market recognition. Through a considered and strategic calendar of over 70 events per year, the BCCD ensures high-quality networking opportunities, market knowledge sharing, valuable engagement opportunities and exclusive experiences for its members. The BCCD has a strong working relationship with the British Embassy and the Department for Business and Trade and is an international member of the British Chambers of Commerce. LinkedIn:
