Twitch is experiencing yet another round of layoffs. According to reports, the Amazon-owned livestreaming company will announce the layoffs as early as this week, affecting 35% of the workforce, or about 500 people. When I reached out to Twitch for a comment, the company took some time to react. The …
Read More »The artificial intelligence picture editor PhotoRoom is seeking $50–$60 million at a value of $500–$600 million
Some of the most popular smartphone apps of all time have allowed users to capture, edit, and share photographs. A fresh slew of firms are jumping into the fray as a result of the AI inflow. A Paris, France, company called PhotoRoom created a well-known AI-based picture editing tool and …
Read More »Azure Quantum Elements are powered by Microsoft
Microsoft has collaborated with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) of the United States Department of Energy to narrow down millions of candidate new battery materials to only a few using its Azure Quantum Elements service. One of these materials is already in the prototype stage, according to Microsoft’s announcement …
Read More »Unity plans to lay off an additional 1,800 workers, or 25% of its total staff
Unity has reduced its employment yet again, only a few weeks after its most recent wave of layoffs. As the corporation strives to recover from a challenging year financially, around 1,800 workers will be let go in the next few weeks. One of the most popular gaming engines in the …
Read More »Now in open beta on iOS and Android, Spill
Elon Musk bought Twitter more than a year ago, and its effects are still being felt on other social platforms, including new ones. Ex-Twitter employees founded Spill, which is closing out its first year by opening its beta to all iOS and Android users. Spill, unlike X, alienates users with …
Read More »Claim raises $4M as a social network for earning and trading rewards with friends
A rewards app and social network called Claim raised $4 million in seed funding with Sequoia Capital as the lead investor. The startup wants to make shopping fun, rewarding, and social. With an invite-only beta launch in January, the app targets Boston college and university students. Claim lets friends and …
Read More »Spotify reconsiders Uruguay exit after government guarantees artist payments
Spotify reconsidered leaving Uruguay after the government promised copyright law changes would not cost it. For those unfamiliar with Uruguay’s music streaming scene, the story went like this. Last October, Uruguay mandated “fair and equitable” artist pay. Besides the “featured” artist, this included composers, performers, session musicians, and others on …
Read More »Instagram now allows status updates with short videos
Instagram announced Wednesday that users can post video notes. Instagram’s status feature, Notes, launched a year ago. You could only post text or emojis to your status update before. A two-second looping video note can now be shared with mutual followers or close friends for 24 hours. Since Instagram already …
Read More »In Imagen 2, Google generates text and logos
Google is making Imagen 2, its AI model that can create and edit images with a text prompt, more widely available to Google Cloud customers using Vertex AI who have been approved. The company isn’t disclosing which data it used to train the new model or offering creators who accidentally …
Read More »Google launches AI Studio, an easy-to-use Gemini model app and chatbot development tool
Last week, Google announced its family of Gemini models and added them to its Bard chatbot. Today, it’s launching a variety of new and updated services for developers. One of these services is AI Studio, formerly MakerSuite. AI Studio is a web-based tool for developers that opens up the Gemini …
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