Author: GT

Cloud-seeding startup Rainmaker is partnering with Atmo, an AI-powered meteorology startup, the companies exclusively told TechCrunch. The two operate on complementary ends of the weather system: Atmo studies atmospheric patterns to forecast weather events, while Rainmaker digests such data in an attempt to squeeze more precipitation out of weather systems. Under the partnership, Atmo will use its deep learning models to help Rainmaker identify clouds that have potential for seeding. The forecasting startup will also offer Rainmaker’s cloud-seeding services, deployed via small drones, to its customers.  For its part, Rainmaker will contribute data from its proprietary radar system to determine…

GM said Monday it is working with joint venture partner LG Energy Solution to upgrade its Ultium battery factory to make lithium-iron-phosphate cells for the automaker’s low-cost EVs. The factory’s overhaul will give LFP production in the United States a significant boost. Despite being invented and commercialized in the U.S., the vast majority of LFP cells are currently made in China. The $2.3 billion Spring Hill, Tennessee, battery plant is part of the Ultium Cells LLC joint venture between the automaker and Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution, a division of LG Chem. The factory began pumping out lithium-ion cells,…

Weekly subscriptions have now become one of the most popular ways iOS apps are earning revenue, with these plans contributing 46% to the bottom line, according to a new report by app revenue management platform Adapty. The study, which observed $1.9 billion in revenue across more than 11,000 apps, noted that weekly plans have grown by 9.5% this year compared to one-time purchases, which grew by 6.3% in the first quarter. Other paid plans, including monthly, yearly, and lifetime subscriptions, dipped in growth. Adapty said that prices of weekly plans have also increased along with the growth. Average weekly subscription…

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey testifies during a remote video hearing held by subcommittees of the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee on “Social Media’s Role in Promoting Extremism and Misinformation” in Washington, U.S., March 25, 2021. Handout | Via ReutersBlock jumped more than 5% on Monday, leading a rally in shares of fintech companies as analysts downplayed the threat of JPMorgan Chase’s reported plan to charge data aggregators for access to customer financial information.The recovery followed steep declines on Friday, after Bloomberg reported that JPMorgan had circulated pricing sheets outlining potential fees for aggregators like Plaid and Yodlee,…

Meta is currently building out a data center, called Hyperion, which the company expects to supply its new AI lab with five gigawatts (GW) of computational power, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a Monday post on Threads. The announcement marks Meta’s latest move to get ahead of OpenAI and Google in the AI race. After previously poaching top talent to run Meta Superintelligence Lab, including former Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang and former Safe Superintelligence CEO Daniel Gross, Meta now seems to be turning its attention to the massive computational power needed to train frontier AI models. Zuckerberg said Hyperion’s…

Amazon’s Prime Day, which leads to an overall boost to U.S. e-commerce thanks to competitive sales, saw a significant increase in retail traffic driven by generative AI products, including chatbots and browsers. According to a post-Prime Day analysis by Adobe Analytics, GenAI traffic to U.S. retail sites increased by 3,300% year-over-year — which was more than the firm had originally forecast. Adobe’s e-commerce division provided an analysis of the U.S. retail landscape encompassing over 1 trillion visits to U.S. retail websites, including 100 million SKUs across 18 product categories. During the Amazon Prime Day event (July 8-11), U.S. retailers saw…

Google is transforming its popular AI-powered research and note-taking assistant, NotebookLM, into more of a destination. The company announced Monday it would add a series of featured notebooks from various authors, publications, researchers, and nonprofits that allow NotebookLM users to explore a wide array of topics from health and life advice to travel tips and financial analysis, and more. The initial collection, which includes notebooks from The Economist, The Atlantic, as well as professors, authors, and even Shakespeare’s works, is designed to offer users working examples of how NotebookLM can be used to delve deeper into subjects of interest. NotebookLM…

A view of the Pentagon on December 13, 2024, in Washington, DC. Home to the US Defense Department, the Pentagon is one of the world’s largest office buildings.Daniel Slim | Afp | Getty ImagesThe U.S. Department of Defense on Monday said it’s granting contract awards of up to $200 million for artificial intelligence development at Anthropic, Google, OpenAI and xAI.The DoD’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office said the awards will help the agency accelerate its adoption of “advanced AI capabilities to address critical national security challenges.” The companies will work to develop AI agents across several mission areas at…

Malaysia is taking on a bigger role in helping the U.S. prevent advanced AI chips from ending up in China. The Malaysian Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry announced new restrictions on exporting AI chips of U.S. origin out of its country on Monday. Individuals and companies are now required to notify Malaysian authorities at least 30 days in advance when they are exporting or transshipping U.S. AI chips, effective immediately. “Malaysia stands firm against any attempt to circumvent export controls or engage in illicit trade activities by any individual or company, who will face strict legal action if found…

In this photo illustration, a man seen holding a smartphone with the logo of US artificial intelligence company Cognition AI Inc. in front of website.Timon Schneider | SOPA Images | Sipa USA | APArtificial intelligence startup Cognition announced it’s acquiring Windsurf, the AI coding company that lost its CEO and several other senior employees to Google just days earlier.Cognition said on Monday that it will purchase Windsurf’s intellectual property, product, trademark, brand and talent, but didn’t disclose terms of the deal. It’s the latest development an AI talent war, as companies like Meta, Google and OpenAI fiercely compete for top…