8/2/23

∆ Tech in the News

New AI Algo Could Save The World from Asteroids - UW researchers detected a previously unseen asteroid, outperforming traditional detection methods.

Call for a Bipartisan Bill To Check Big Tech's Power - US senators aim to regulate tech giants, with powers to sue or even halt operations for digital consumer protection.

Google unveils Deepmind RT-2 - Launching a breakthrough in context-aware robotic tech to accelerate robotics training.

Accenture, Nvidia, and ServiceNow Launch the AI Lighthouse - Expediting the development and implementation of enterprise generative AI to add $1.3 trillion to the market by 2033.

Latest Tech Protect Images from AI Modification - PhotoGuard could uphold image copyright and prevent misuse through tools like DALL-E and Midjourney.

˚The hottest thing in tech this week

GPT-5 - The New Face of AI Speech Technology?

OpenAI has filed a trademark application for “GPT-5” which covers software for voice recognition and audio transcription. The application includes "downloadable computer software" for:

• “the artificial production of human speech and text”

• “conversion of audio data files into text”

• "voice and speech recognition"

• "machine-learning based language and speech processing"

While the technology isn't officially out yet, the described applications suggest a leap in AI language and speech capabilities with disruptive potential. A reminder that the pending GPT-5 release was reason for notables like Elon Musk to call for a moratorium on AI back in March.

Deals We’re Watching

Founders to Watch and Opportunities to Catch

Closed Deals:

1. Walmart Bets Big on India - The retail giant bought Tiger Global's stake in Flipkart, an Indian e-commerce startup, for $35B.

2. Ex-Cisco Execs Unveil Competitor - Nile raised $175M from March Capital and Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund Sanabil, to disrupt the Wi-Fi solutions market with their network-as-a-service (NaaS) approach.

3. Startup Cleans Up in Series A - Carbon Upcycling Technologies raised $26M in a round led by BDC Capital's Climate Tech Fund and Climate Investment to deploy carbon capture tech in cement plants.

4. Cyble Secures $24M - The Series B Funding co-led by Blackbird Ventures and King River Capital in an effort to expand dark web risk monitoring.

5. Scaling Small Businesses with AI - Topline Pro, an AI startup aiding home service businesses, raised a $12M Series A led by Forerunner.

Companies to Watch:

New Relic to Go Private in High-Stakes Deal - The real-time web and mobile app monitoring ‘observability’ provider is angling for a $6.5B all-cash deal with TPG and Francisco Partners.

Tradeshift + HSBC = B2B - The AI-powered B2B commerce startup, has raised $70M from HSBC and others to roll out financing products in a JV with HSBC, focused on B2B trade.

Dynatrace Grabs Rookout for $60M - The software intelligence platform aims to bolster its code-level, developer-first platform for observability in cloud environments.

Ex-Google Innovators Secure $5.5M - 1Bstories got backing from Northstar Group and 47 others to launch their AI-driven video creation tool.

Healthmap Adds $100M - The Tampa company gains private equity support to advanced its tech and reduce costs in kidney treatments.

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The Tech Buzz Team