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Hello , okay friends , and welcome to Week in Review ( WiR ) , TechCrunch ’s even recapitulation of noteworthy occurrence in tech over the retiring few day . Our team on the ground at CES 2024 had heap to report from the show — and more ’s on the style . ( Here arethoroughroundupsofalltheannouncements . ) But the humanity did n’t give up turning for CES .
In this edition of WiR , we brood Carta ’s allegedly unethical tactics , Samsung ’s Ballie house golem , Volkswagen bringing ChatGPT into its cars and Amazon embracing more procreative AI . Also on the agenda is the launching of OpenAI ’s GPT Store , Logan Paul ’s CryptoZoo debacle , Harvard ’s golem exoskeleton and a major hack at Fidelity Financial .
It ’s a lot to get through , so we wo n’t detain . But first , a reminder tosign up hereto have WiR in your inbox every Saturday if you have n’t already done so .
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Carta ’s ethics in head : Carta , the capital tabular array management outfit , is being accused of unethical tactics by startup Linear ’s chief operating officer Karri Saarinen . Saarinen alleged in a LinkedIn post that Carta misused sensitive entropy that startups leave to the company in spare-time activity of its own goal . Carta decided toexitsecondary trading follow the credibility impinge on .
Samsung ’s Ballie returns : RememberBallie , Samsung ’s spherical home golem from CES 2020 ? Samsung brought it back at this twelvemonth ’s tonic with a few on - trend AI raise . The new and improved Ballie is around the size of a bowling testis , sporting a 1080p projector and a spatial lidar sensor to help it navigate suite and obstacles .
Volkswagen cars get ChatGPT : Volkswagen is catch into the ChatGPT biz . On Monday , the German automaker foretell plans to add an AI - powered chatbot into all Volkswagen models equipped with its IDA voice assistant . Why ? For drivers who want an AI - found chatbot to read explore content out loudly to them , of course .
Amazon , GenAI and apparel : After recently turn togenerative AI to heighten its production reviews , Amazon this calendar week deal how it ’s now using AI to help customers shop for clothing online . The company ’s use personalized sizing good word , a “ fit insights ” tool for trafficker , AI - power highlights from fit review go forth by other customer and reimagined size charts to enable client to find better - fitting clothing in the Amazon market .
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OpenAI ’s GPT Store : OpenAI has launched a storage forGPTs , custom chatbot apps powered by its text- and prototype - engender AI models ( for instance ,GPT-4andDALL - E 3 ) . The GPT Store , as it ’s called , lives in a new tab in the ChatGPT node on the web and boast a chain of GPTs developed both by OpenAI ’s partners and the wider dev biotic community .
CryptoZoo refunds . . . maybe : Logan Paul is offer repayment for CryptoZoo , the failed and allegedly fraudulent Pokémon - inspired NFT game that he launched in 2021 . The catch ? You ca n’t sue him if you get a refund . Morgan has the full tarradiddle .
New day , new exoskeleton : A joint team from Harvard and Boston University has developed a sonant robotic exoskeleton that detects crusade and utilizes algorithms to estimate the footer ’s gait . line - drive actuators kick in , assisting walk midstride . If the bright early final result are any indication , this newfangled technology could someday be commercialized , Brian writes .
Fidelity cut : Real landed estate services hulk Fidelity National Financial has confirmed hackers steal data on 1.3 million of its customers during a November cyberattack that strike hard the company offline for a week . In a filing with Union regulators , Fidelity did n’t say which specific client datum was steal — but , as Zack writes , all signs level to it being personal or sensible in nature .
KYC and GenAI : KYC , or “ know your customer , ” is a appendage intended to aid financial institutions , fintech startups and banks verify the identity of their customers . Not uncommonly , KYC hallmark involves “ ID range , ” or cross - checked selfies used to corroborate a someone is who they say they are . But GenAI could sow doubt into these checks .
Twitch layoff : Another round of layoffs is hitting Twitch . The Amazon - possess livestreaming platform will cut 35 % of its staff , or roughly 500 employees — the belated blow for the already - beleaguered company , which slew hundreds of jobs last class amid leadership change , mount operating costs and community discontentedness .
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Need a podcast to take heed to while you do the dishes , commute to work or otherwise go about the solar day ’s chores ? safe news — TechCrunch is boil out episodes that ’ll do the prank .
OnEquity‘s newly vamp Wednesday episode , the crew dug into news that PhotoRoom is raising more money , Treasure Financial is cut staff , and two micromobility companies are tie the knot to hear and use scale to their advantage . They also looked at what ’s going on in the world of AI hardware , why Keith Rabois is heading back to Khosla Ventures , and Seedstars Africa Ventures adding $ 30 million to its forthcoming fund .
Meanwhile , the folk atFoundspoke with Markus Witte , co - father of Babbel , a oral communication learn app that had been operate since 2007 . Markus speak about why he decided to step down as CEO and take on the role of chairman and how all four cobalt - founders have worked together to stick to the original mission of Babbel even after nigh 20 year .
And onChain Reaction , Jacquelyn interview Michael Sonnenshein , the chief operating officer at Grayscale Investments . Grayscale is a digital asset investment funds firm that aims to supply mathematical product and services to institutional and individual investors ; it ’s well known for its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust and now its new bitcoin spot exchange traded fund product .
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The Siri quandary : Haje write that Apple ’s Siri demand to get a lot smart , and quickly — lest it be left in the dust by competitors ( take it has n’t been already ) .
enterprisingness skeptical of GenAI : Generative AI gets a lot of press , from image - bring forth tools like Midjourney to Runway to OpenAI ’s ChatGPT . But businesses are n’t convinced of the technical school ’s potential drop to positively involve their bottom lines ; at least , that ’s what resume evoke .
The $ 1 trillion liquidness gap : Just how backed up are the speculation working capital markets today ? The value of the most fledged startups in the United States that need to find an exit neared the $ 1 trillion mark through Q3 2023 , Alex reports — a monolithic ( and growing ) job .
