OpenAI says it’s launching a program to award ten $100,000 grants to fund experiments in setting up a democratic process for deciding what rules AI systems should follow — “within the bounds defined by the law.” Concretely, OpenAI says it’s seeking to fund individuals, teams and organizations to develop proof-of-concepts for a “democratic process” that could answer questions about guardrails for … [Read more...]

Follow me on Twitter @Jacqmelinek for breaking crypto news, memes and more. Welcome back to Chain Reaction. Got coin? No? Well, Worldcoin did. Tools for Humanity, the team building Worldcoin, raised $115 million in a Series C round led by Blockchain Capital. The crypto-focused project was co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman with a three-part mission: create a global ID, a global currency and an … [Read more...]

Twitter announced a new API tier today called Twitter API Pro for startups that costs $5,000 per month. The tier gives developers the ability to fetch 1 million tweets per month, post 300,000 tweets per month, and access to the full archive search end-point. 📣 Calling all start-ups 📣 Today we are launching our new access tier, Twitter API Pro! Experiment, build, and scale your … [Read more...]

A number of native Detroiters have asked me what I think about their city so far. The simple answer is that I don’t feel qualified to offer much insight yet. I’ve been here for roughly three days as I write this, and I haven’t seen all that much of the city. Ask me what I think about the Huntington Place convention center, on the other hand, and I can speak with great authority I admit that I’m … [Read more...]

South Korea’s economic model has for decades leaned on export-led manufacturing operated by family-owned corporate giants. A 2015 report from McKinsey outlined how the country would need small companies to drive an innovative model in preparation for the next phase of economic growth. “The key to fostering such innovation is a vibrant startup community. … Currently, the Korean startup community … [Read more...]

Despite being U.S.- and iOS-only ahead of today’s expansion to 11 more global markets, OpenAI’s ChatGPT app has been off to a stellar start. The app has already surpassed half a million downloads in its first six days since launch, according to a new analysis by app intelligence provider data.ai. That ranks it as one of the highest-performing new app releases across both this year and the last, … [Read more...]

Stories are over — at least on YouTube, that is. The Google-owned video site announced today that YouTube Stories will be shutting down on June 26, 2023, as the company aims to focus on other key areas, like Shorts, Community posts, and live videos, in addition to its traditional long-form content. Creators will be alerted to the shutdown through various channels, like forum posts, in-app … [Read more...]

Google announced today that it’s starting to open up access to new generative AI capabilities in Search after teasing them at its I/O event two weeks ago. The tech giant is opening up access to Search Labs, a new program that allows people to sign up for experiments, including the Search Generative Experience, and test them out before the wider release. If you signed up for for Search Labs, you … [Read more...]

Vietnamese automaker Vinfast has issued its first recall for some of its 2023 VF8 vehicles over a software glitch that causes the dashboard screen to go blank. The recall was issued after federal regulators warned that drivers were at an increased risk of crashing because a blank display doesn’t show critical information such as the speedometer or warning lights. Vinfast said it can fix the … [Read more...]

Earlier this month, we noticed that several popular American fintech companies were seeing rapid revenue growth thanks to high interest rates. Basically, interest-driven revenue was helping offset declines in consumer trading activity at Coinbase and Robinhood as people pulled back from active trading when the economy soured. The Exchange explores startups, markets and money. Read it every … [Read more...]

Security researchers have discovered new industrial control system malware, dubbed “CosmicEnergy,” which they say could be used to disrupt critical infrastructure systems and electric grids. The malware was uncovered by researchers at Mandiant, who have likened CosmicEnergy’s capabilities to the destructive Industroyer malware that the Russian state-backed “Sandworm” hacking group used to cut … [Read more...]

As promised, MoviePass is returning. After last year’s Labor Day beta/waiting list launch, the movie theater subscription service is open to all in the U.S. just head of the Memorial Day holiday. After years of rocky history, the company promised to return to the straight and narrow, with a more measured approach to new movie access, following the free-for-all that was MoviePass 1.0. “By opening … [Read more...]

Following a bankruptcy process, the assets of the failed crypto lender Celsius Network are about to be acquired by a consortium called Fahrenheit. Behind this name, you will find a group of bidders led by investment firm Arrington Capital. The other members of the consortium are crypto mining firm US Bitcoin Corp., Proof Group, Steven Kokinos and Ravi Kaza. As the name suggests, Arrington Capital … [Read more...]

When media literacy hits rock bottom and AI is on the upswing, we have a perfect storm Haje Jan Kamps 7 hours Something really scary is happening on the internet. It’s a horror story unfolding in front of us, in three simple acts. Back in 1993, we joked about it: Anyone could hide behind a screen name, but how bad could it get? Maybe we’re … [Read more...]

We’ve all been there. Shopping online and desperately searching for a promo code so that you can save some money on a purchase. Well, at least I’ve been there. Enter Checkmate.  The startup wants to make those days of promo/discount/coupon code hunting a thing of the past. And it’s just raised another $15 million in Series A funding to help make that happen. A few things about this raise … [Read more...]

Two months after announcing that it was beginning to test ads in search results, Instagram said today that it now allows for ads in search results via the Instagram Marketing API. These ads will show up in the feed that people can scroll through when they tap into a post from search results. In March, Instagram said was testing ads in search results to reach people actively searching for … [Read more...]

Historically, startups have built their products on blockchains outside of the Bitcoin network to avoid its slow transaction speeds, high fees and inability to communicate cross-chain. But thanks to efforts like the Lightning Network and Taproot (formerly Taro), which have improved the Bitcoin network’s accessibility, speed and scalability, a number of enthusiasts are building on top of … [Read more...]

WhatsApp has long relied on phone numbers as the only identity for accounts. Users need a phone number to create an account. Anyone in an individual or a group chat can see your phone number. This might be changing as WhatsApp is working on introducing usernames. The latest beta version of WhatsApp’s app suggests that the company could introduce this feature in the future, according to a report … [Read more...]

Fresh from telling US lawmakers he’s a fan of regulation and laws are needed to mitigate the risks around artificial intelligence — and, indeed, calling for an international regulatory body for AI — OpenAI CEO’s Sam Altman is on a tour of Europe this week to meet European regulators and warn against, er, too much regulation of AI. This is a familiar dance. Big Tech CEOs love to claim they support … [Read more...]

Mexican fintech company Kapital grabbed a fresh round of capital, $20 million in Series A and $45 million in a debt facility, less than a year after securing a $8.6 million seed round. The company, founded by Rene Saul and Fernando Sandoval in 2020, got started after the pair sold their previous business and wanted to build a platform that could provide a way for small and medium-sized businesses … [Read more...]