‘System failure’ paralyzes Baidu robotaxis in China
Passengers in Baidu’s robotaxis were trapped for up to two hours.
A new dating app, Sonder, has a deliberately annoying sign-up process (and it’s working)
Sonder profiles are completely unstructured, encouraging users to build something that looks like a mood board or a digital collage. Think MySpace rather than LinkedIn.
Startup funding shatters all records in Q1
The record quarterly fundraise largely fueled four mega-deals into OpenAI, Anthropic, xAI, and Waymo. But it also indicates a generally hot market.
Apple releases security fix for older iPhones and iPads to protect against DarkSword attacks
The security update protects a raft of older iPhones and iPads from attacks linked to leaked hacking tools called DarkSword.
Meta’s natural gas binge could power South Dakota
Meta’s upcoming Hyperion AI data center will be powered by 10 new natural gas plants.
Cameo partners with TikTok to boost popularity
Cameo launched a new TikTok integration that allows U.S. creators to offer personalized videos through the app.
WhatsApp notifies hundreds of users who installed a fake app that was actually government spyware
The Meta-owned company said it identified around 200 users who were tricked into installing a fake version of WhatsApp that was actually Italian-made spyware.
Cognichip wants AI to design the chips that power AI, and just raised $60M to try
The firm says it can can reduce the cost of chip development by more than 75% and cut the timeline by more than half.
SpaceX files confidentially for IPO in mega listing potentially valued at $1.75 trillion, report says
The company has also lined up an unusually large number of 21 banks to manage the mega IPO, internally codenamed “Project Apex.”
Less than a month: StrictlyVC San Francisco brings leaders from TDK Ventures, Replit, and more together
StrictlyVC San Francisco brings leaders from TDK Ventures, Replit, and more together on April 30. Space is limited. Register here for your pass.