Tech Meme

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch: AI researcher François Chollet and Zapier co-founder Mike Knoop launch Ndea, an AI research and science lab focused on “developing and operationalizing AGI”  —  François Chollet, an influential AI researcher, is launching a new startup that aims to build frontier AI systems with novel designs. Lees verder op Tech Meme

Lindsay Whitehurst / Associated Press: During oral arguments, SCOTUS seemed open to a Texas law requiring age checks to view online porn, but could send the case back to a lower court  —  The Supreme Court on Wednesday seemed open to a Texas law aimed at blocking kids from seeing online pornography, though the justices could still send … Lees verder op Tech Meme

Daniel Kuhn / The Block: BitMEX is fined an additional $100M for US Bank Secrecy Act violations between 2015 and 2020; it pleaded guilty in July 2024 and previously agreed to pay $110M  —  – BitMEX has been slapped with an additional $100 million fine for Bank Secrecy Act violations between 2015 and 2020. Lees verder op Tech Meme

Bloomberg: Sources: Nothing seeks to raise at least $100M in its Series C; it crossed $1B in lifetime sales, sold 7M devices to date, and doubled revenue to $500M+ in 2024  —  – Nothing CEO Pei known for co-founding popular OnePlus brand  — Startup exploring expansion beyond phones, watches and earbuds Lees verder op Tech Meme

Pete Schroeder / Reuters: Block agrees to pay $80M to a group of 48 US state financial regulators that say it had insufficient policies for policing money laundering through Cash App  —  Block Inc (SQ.N) has agreed to pay a fine of $80 million to a group of 48 state financial regulators after the agencies determined … Lees verder op Tech Meme

Washington Post: Donald Trump is considering issuing an executive order once in office that would suspend enforcement of the TikTok sale-or-ban law for 60 to 90 days  —  Trump, the infamous dealmaker, is exploring unconventional ways to rescue the Chinese-owned video app from a nationwide ban … Lees verder op Tech Meme

Rishi Kant / Reuters: Aligned Data Centers, which specializes in AI-related infrastructure, raised over $12B, including $5B+ of new primary equity and $7B+ of new debt commitments  —  Aligned Data Centers, which specializes in AI-related infrastructure, said on Wednesday it had completed another round of capital raise of more than $12 billion. Lees verder op Tech Meme

Jesse Coghlan / Cointelegraph: DappRadar: NFT trading volumes in 2024 fell 19% YoY to $13.7B and sales counts fell 18% YoY to just under 50M, making 2024 the worst performing year since 2020  —  DappRadar found the NFT market last year was the worst since 2020 for trading and sales volumes, with both falling nearly 20% over 2024. Lees verder op Tech Meme

Kashmir Hill / New York Times: A 28-year-old woman describes her “relationship” with ChatGPT, or Leo as the chatbot named itself, which became her therapist, erotic partner, and adviser  —  “It was supposed to be a fun experiment,” Aryin said of her A.I. relationship, “but then you start getting attached.” Lees verder op Tech Meme

Kate Knibbs / Wired: DoubleVerify says there is a jump in AI click farms, including a network of 200+ websites called Synthetic Echo, designed to siphon ad revenue from real outlets  —  A new report, shared exclusively with WIRED, shows how an AI content mill with hundreds of sites managed to pull big-name advertisers into their schemes. Lees verder op Tech Meme