Author: GT

The Gates Foundation received a death sentence of sorts today. Microsoft co-founder turned billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates said Thursday that his foundation will have just 20 years to exhaust its coffers and wind down operations. He has pledged to donate 99% of his fortune, which today is worth an estimated $107 billion, to the foundation. Over the next 20 years of donations, he expects the foundation to spend more than $200 billion. “This decision comes at a moment of reflection for me,” Gates wrote on his website, Gates Notes. “In addition to celebrating the foundation’s 25th anniversary, this year also…

OpenAI is introducing a new data residency program in Asia, the company announced Thursday, following the rollout of its data residency program in Europe in February. The new program, which is available for OpenAI’s ChatGPT Enterprise, ChatGPT Edu, and the OpenAI API, aims to help Asia-based organizations meet local data sovereignty requirements while using the AI company’s products. Eligible API customers and new ChatGPT Enterprise and Edu subscribers can choose to have their data stored at rest in supported countries: Japan, India, Singapore, and South Korea. “For the API platform and ChatGPT business products, data remains confidential, secure, and entirely…

Bitcoin miner MARA Holdings (MARA) stock outperformed peers on Friday, even after its first quarter results missed Wall Street’s estimates, as the company’s focus on lowering costs is seen as positive by analysts. Jefferies analysts said that with the bitcoin BTC price improving in the second quarter of this year and MARA focusing on more sustainable energy sources such as solar and flared gas-driven data centers, power costs should come down in the coming quarters and help margins. “MARA is expanding infrastructure at its 114 MW wind farm and has fully energized its 25 MW micro flared gas data center,…

It took seven years of hard work for Kareem Amin, co-founder and CEO of sales automation startup Clay, to see the company’s product finally take off in 2022. Since then, the startup has experienced explosive growth, reached a valuation exceeding a billion dollars, and expanded its employee count from low double digits to over 150. Despite the team’s average short tenure at the company, Amin made a rare decision: Clay is allowing employees who have at least a year of tenure to sell some of their shares at a relatively high share price to one of its existing investors, Sequoia.…

Asset Entities Inc., known by its ticker ASST on Nasdaq, has skyrocketed more than 1,336.67% during the last five days. The price went from under $0.53 to a $8.62 stock price as of May 9. The stock price of Asset Entities has also jumped 12.09% in just 24 hours, reflecting the renewed investor confidence. From the beginning of the year, the stock was trading around $0.53 and has since reached $8.6, an increase of more than $8 per share in just a few days. Asset Entities rises 12% intraday to $8.62 amid merger-driven increase. The sudden vertical spike on the…

Elon Musk’s Starlink has received anticipated state approval in India, opening the door to enter the world’s second-biggest internet market after China — over three years after SpaceX’s previous attempt to launch its satellite-based broadband in the country eventually failed. On Wednesday, India’s Department of Telecommunications gave its nod to Starlink to start working toward its compliance in the South Asian nation, a senior official confirmed to TechCrunch. Starlink will now have to submit documentation showing it complies with the licensing requirements. Earlier this week, New Delhi published its rules (PDF) for Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) operators to…

The crypto industry is eagerly awaiting approvals on dozens of crypto ETFs from the Securities and Exchange Commission, but that eagerness does’t necessarily mean a speedy review of filings. “People have to be patient,” said SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce. “There’s a lot going on” when it comes to reviews of those exchange-traded product filings, she said in an interview with Bloomberg’s “Trillions” podcast. Peirce leads the SEC’s crypto task force launched earlier this year and has garnered the nickname “Crypto Mom” thanks to her support of the digital asset. Bloomberg reports that there are now more than 80 crypto-related ETP filings…

Omada Health smart devices in use.Courtesy: Omada HealthVirtual care company Omada Health filed for an IPO on Friday, the latest digital health company that’s signaled its intent to hit the public markets despite a turbulent economy. Founded in 2012, Omada offers virtual care programs to support patients with chronic conditions like prediabetes, diabetes and hypertension. The company describes its approach as a “between-visit care model” that is complementary to the broader health-care ecosystem, according to its prospectus.Revenue increased 57% in the first quarter to $55 million, up from $35.1 million during the same period last year, the filing said. The…

If you’ve been waiting for the right moment to act, this is it. You have just 24 hours left to secure your exhibit table at TechCrunch Sessions: AI and position your brand at the center of the conversation shaping the future of the AI industry. TechCrunch Sessions: AI is bringing together the brightest builders, boldest thinkers, and sharpest investors to UC Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall on June 5. At a venue nestled right in the heart of the AI community, your company will get the chance to rub elbows with a crowd of investors and innovators looking for the next standout…

China’s Geely Auto wants to take its luxury EV unit Zeekr off the New York Stock Exchange one year after the company’s debut, per Zeekr filings.  The take-private offer comes as the Trump administration explores kicking Chinese companies off American stock exchanges, part of a broader trade war that includes what has become a tariff quagmire between the U.S. and China. On Tuesday, Geely offered to pay $25.66 per Zeekr American Depository Receipt (ADS), or $2.566 per ordinary share, which was about 14% higher than Zeekr’s Monday afternoon closing price, in a deal that values the company at $6.5 billion.…