Author: GT

Tech giants like to boast about trillion-parameter AI models that require massive and expensive GPU clusters. But Fastino is taking a different approach. The Palo Alto-based startup says it has invented a new kind of AI model architecture that’s intentionally small and task-specific. The models are so small they’re trained with low-end gaming GPUs worth less than $100,000 in total, Fastino says. The method is attracting attention. Fastino has secured $17.5 million in seed funding led by Khosla Ventures, famously OpenAI’s first venture investor, Fastino exclusively tells TechCrunch.  This brings the startup’s total funding to nearly $25 million. It raised…

WASHINGTON (AP) — OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and executives from Microsoft and chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices testified on Capitol Hill about the biggest opportunities, risks and needs facing an industry which lawmakers and technologists agree could fundamentally transform global business, culture and geopolitics.The hearing comes as the race to control the future of artificial intelligence is heating up between companies and countries. Altman’s OpenAI is in a furious race to develop the best artificial intelligence model against tech rivals like Alphabet and Meta, as well as against those developed by Chinese competitors. “I believe this will be at least as…

By Omkar Godbole (All times ET unless indicated otherwise) The crypto market is a sea of green as traders look past the stagflation specter raised by the Fed on Wednesday and cheer President Donald Trump’s hint of a big trade-deal announcement with a major trading partner. Bitcoin jumped 2.6%, nearing $100,000, even with the WSJ reporting that the announcement could be more of a framework for talks than actual confirmation of an agreement. The wider market put in bigger gains, with XRP, ETH, ADA, DOGE and several other coins rising 4% to 6%. Tokens associated with memecoin projects, layer 1s…

Whoop member wears the new device.Courtesy of WhoopWhoop on Thursday announced two new wearable devices, Whoop 5.0 and Whoop MG, which feature sleeker hardware, a longer battery life and additional in-app health insights. Both of the company’s new devices are designed for 24/7 wear. The Whoop 5.0 and Whoop MG support 14 days of battery life, which is around triple the four-to-five-day range offered by Whoop 4.0. The new hardware is also 7% smaller than the previous device, with a processor that’s 60% faster, the company said. “We’ve taken everything we’ve learned over the past decade and built a platform to help…

Instacart CEO Fidji Simo is joining OpenAI as CEO of Applications, the ChatGPT maker said on Thursday. Simo, already a board member at OpenAI, will transition out of Instacart over the next few months and join the AI company full-time later this year. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said he would continue in his role, overseeing verticals like research, compute, and applications. Simo will directly report to Altman. “Applications brings together a group of existing business and operational teams responsible for how our research reaches and benefits the world, and Fidji is uniquely qualified to lead this group. Serving as an…

(Bloomberg) — When Michael Saylor transformed his long-fading software firm into a Bitcoin juggernaut in 2020, he pulled off one of the most successful corporate pivots in recent memory by weaponizing the sheer power of capital markets. Most Read from Bloomberg Now, Cantor Fitzgerald — backed by institutional muscle — is aiming to replicate Saylor’s success with even bigger ambitions. Along with stablecoin heavyweight Tether Holdings SA and SoftBank Group, the new digital-asset venture, Twenty One Capital, is positioning itself as a next-generation Bitcoin “pure play.” Like the former MicroStrategy, now renamed Strategy, Twenty One will raise capital to amass…

OPEC+ producers led by Saudi Arabia have launched a “slow grind” oil price war that could last for more than a year, according to Bank of America. OPEC+ has agreed to surge oil supply by 411,000 barrels per day for two consecutive months, after cutting production for years. Oil prices fell to the lowest level in four years earlier this week in response, as the supply increase has coincided with President Donald Trump’s trade war. “The question is not so much whether OPEC+ is in the midst of a price war but rather what kind of price war it is…

Close-up of a hand holding a cellphone displaying the Amazon Pharmacy system, Lafayette, California, September 15, 2021. Smith Collection | Gado | Getty ImagesAmazon is expanding its online pharmacy to fill prescription pet medications, the company announced Thursday.The company said it has added “hundreds of commonly prescribed pet medications” to its U.S. site, ranging from flea and tick solutions to treatments for chronic conditions.Prescriptions are purchased via Amazon’s storefront and must be approved by a veterinarian. Online pet pharmacy Vetsource will oversee the dispensing and delivery of medications, said Amazon, adding that items are typically delivered within two to six days.Amazon…

The venture arm of Bosch has a new $270 million fund that will continue its tradition of investing in deep-tech startups. This time, however, Bosch Ventures plans to put more of its money into North American startups. Launched in 2007, Bosch Ventures is now on its sixth fund. And while the corporate VC is technically a global firm, its focus today is weighted more heavily towards North America. The strategy may seem contradictory given this is a region affected by a U.S. administration policy that has led to a U.S. trade war with China, a volatile stock market, and fears…

CHANDLER, Ariz. (AP) — There were dozens of statements submitted to the court by family and friends of Christopher Pelkey when it came time to sentence the man convicted of shooting him during a road rage incident. They provided glimpses of Pelkey’s humor, his character and his military service. But there was nothing quite like hearing from the victim himself — in this case, an AI-generated version.In what’s believed to be a first in U.S. courts, Pelkey’s family used artificial intelligence to create a video using his likeness to give him a voice. The AI rendering of Pelkey told the…