Author: GT

Researchers have developed a new attack that reveals privacy vulnerabilities by determining whether your data was used to train AI models.The method, named CAMIA (Context-Aware Membership Inference Attack), was developed by researchers from Brave and the National University of Singapore and is far more effective than previous attempts at probing the ‘memory’ of AI models.There is growing concern of “data memorisation” in AI, where models inadvertently store and can potentially leak sensitive information from their training sets. In healthcare, a model trained on clinical notes could accidentally reveal sensitive patient information. For businesses, if internal emails were used in training,…

Manny Medina, previously best-known as the founder of sales automation startup Outreach ($4.4 billion valuation), has wowed investors with his young startup, Paid. Paid just closed an oversubscribed $21.6 million seed round led by Lightspeed. With the €10 million pre-seed round it raised in March, London-based Paid has already raised $33.3 million and hasn’t even hit its Series A yet. A source familiar with the deal says the startup’s valuation is over $100 million. Paid came out of stealth in March offering an interesting contribution to the AI agentic world: The company doesn’t offer agents. It offers a way for…

Venture capitalists have convinced themselves they’ve found the next big investing edge: using AI to wring software-like margins out of traditionally labor-intensive services businesses. The strategy involves acquiring mature professional services firms, implementing AI to automate tasks, then using the improved cash flow to roll up more companies. Leading the charge is General Catalyst (GC), which has dedicated $1.5 billion of its latest fundraise to what it calls a “creation” strategy that’s focused on incubating AI-native software companies in specific verticals, then using those companies as acquisition vehicles to buy established firms — and their customers — in the same…

In the absence of stronger federal regulation, some states have begun regulating apps that offer AI “therapy” as more people turn to artificial intelligence for mental health advice. But the laws, all passed this year, don’t fully address the fast-changing landscape of AI software development. And app developers, policymakers and mental health advocates say the resulting patchwork of state laws isn’t enough to protect users or hold the creators of harmful technology accountable.“The reality is millions of people are using these tools and they’re not going back,” said Karin Andrea Stephan, CEO and co-founder of the mental health chatbot app…

A federal judge has rejected drone maker DJI’s efforts to get off a Department of Defense list of Chinese military companies. U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman ruled Friday that the DoD had provided “substantial evidence” that DJI contributes “to the Chinese defense industrial base.” Pointing to the use of modified DJI drones in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Friedman wrote, “Whether or not DJI’s policies prohibit military use is irrelevant. That does not change the fact that DJI’s technology has both substantial theoretical and actual military application.” At the same time, Judge Friedman rejected some of the DoD’s other…

In a recent interview with The New York Times, Oura Health CEO Tom Hale didn’t discuss reports that the company is raising new funding that would value the health-tracking ring maker at nearly $11 billion, but he did talk about whether he has ambitions to take Oura public. “We’ve certainly hit the thresholds of size, trajectory, scale and growth,” Hale said. “We could go public. Is that in our plans? It’s certainly an option. And when the moment is right, we’ll let everyone know.” Oura recently announced that it expects to generate $1 billion in revenue this year, doubling its…

It takes a lot of computing power to run an AI product — and as the tech industry races to tap the power of AI models, there’s a parallel race underway to build the infrastructure that will power them. On a recent earnings call, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang estimated that between $3 trillion and $4 trillion will be spent on AI infrastructure by the end of the decade — with much of that money coming from AI companies. Along the way, they’re placing immense strain on power grids and pushing the industry’s building capacity to its limit. Below, we’ve laid…

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. To get this in your inbox, sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility! The autonomous vehicle industry is years — maybe decades — from maturing. And so there’s still a Wild West quality to the sector, in spite of the steady stream of announcements that do show marked progress. Two such news items from this week illustrate my point of progress, possibility, and even a bit of peril (at least to the ups and downs a public market can…

Nick Pompa, founder of Lootlock — an app that prevents kids from running up unauthorized gaming bills on their parents’ credit cards — is an avid gamer and software developer working in fintech.  As a dad of two under two, he’s looking forward to sharing his passion for gaming with his kids when they grow old enough to play. He started gaming at age 6, he told TechCrunch. Lootlock was selected for TechCrunch’s 2025 Startup Battlefield 200 and will be exhibiting at TechCrunch Disrupt, October 27 to 29 in San Francisco.  As he gabbed about gaming with other parents, or simply…

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Denmark’s defense ministry said Sunday that it had again observed drones at several of its armed forces’ locations overnight, a day after the NATO alliance announced that it would enhance its vigilance in the Baltic Sea region.The ministry said in a statement that it had “several capacities deployed” after drone sightings from Saturday into Sunday night. It didn’t offer any further details about the specifics of the deployment, the number of drones or locations.This is the latest unexplained drone activity after several sightings, including over five Danish airports last week, raising concerns about security in northern…