Latest Tech News

Stay updated with the latest in technology, AI, cybersecurity, and more

Filtered by: round Clear Filter

Google’s Newest AI Model Acts Like a Satellite to Track Climate Change

Google’s newest AI model is going to scour the Earth and, ideally, help it out. That's the plan, anyway. The mission is to find out once and for all, in fine detail, what we are doing to our planet. Crucially, once the model has supposedly done this it will also, apparently, explain where we might be able to best put things in place to help our world. AlphaEarth Foundations, an offshoot of Google’s DeepMind AI model, aims to leverage machine learning and all the gobs and gobs of data that Googl

Google’s Newest AI Model Acts like a Satellite to Track Climate Change

Google’s newest AI model is going to scour the Earth and, ideally, help it out. That's the plan, anyway. The mission is to find out once and for all, in fine detail, what we are doing to our planet. Crucially, once the model has supposedly done this it will also, apparently, explain where we might be able to best put things in place to help our world. AlphaEarth Foundations, an offshoot of Google’s DeepMind AI model, aims to leverage machine learning and all the gobs and gobs of data that Googl

NASA may lose close to 4,000 employees after latest deferred resignation round

The second round of deferred resignations for NASA staff closed on Friday, and the agency says roughly 3,000 employees applied to leave, according to Bloomberg . The Trump administration first offered the deferred resignation program as a buyout to government workers in January as it gutted the federal workforce under the guidance of DOGE — then led by Elon Musk — asking employees to resign while still receiving benefits and pay for a period of time. In the earlier round, 870 NASA employees repo

This soundbar delivers audio above its price point, and it's not by Sonos or JBL

Yamaha True X Bar 50A Soundbar ZDNET's key takeaways The Yamaha True X Bar 50A is available now for $499, with surround speakers sold separately (and individually). The sound produced by these speakers is rich, deep, well-blended, and spacious. I just wish the setup process were more seamless and straightforward. View now at Amazon For months, I was one hundred percent certain the JBL Bar 1000 soundbar couldn't be beat. It offers incredible clarity of sound, rich bass, and brilliant surround

Jitsi privacy flaw enables one-click stealth audio and video capture

Jitsi is an open-source web conferencing application. Jitsi also hosts a public instance, with millions of monthly active users. Attack scenario Let’s walk through an example. An attacker runs a meeting called `MiniGinger` on the public Jitsi instance meet.jit.si. When a user visits the attacker controller webpage `CuteCats.com`, in the background they are redirected to: https://meet.jit.si/MiniGinger#config.prejoinConfig.enabled=false If the user visited any other Jitsi meeting before and

CrowdStrike-backed compliance startup Vanta valued at $4 billion in new funding round

Christina Cacioppo, co-founder and CEO of Vanta, speaks at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in San Francisco on Oct. 29, 2024. Vanta, a startup with software for managing compliance with cybersecurity and privacy standards, said Wednesday that it closed its latest fundraising round at a roughly $4 billion valuation. The $150 million round, which included funding from CrowdStrike's venture arm, represents a valuation increase from $2.45 billion last year. The jump reflects continued corporate

Nevoya raises $9.3M as its EV truck fleet reaches cost parity with diesel

Los Angeles-based Nevoya came out of stealth last year with the ambitious goal of breaking the EV truck adoption logjam. Nevoya made enough progress on its goal to attract investors — and a $9.3 million seed round — to help it move even faster. The young company, which buys electric trucks and offers them to shippers, is now carrying goods for 10 different Fortune 500 companies. More importantly, it’s offering services as a carrier to those companies in California at cost parity with similar-si

This Yamaha soundbar delivers luxurious audio (and it's still $200 off)

ZDNET's key takeaways The Yamaha True X Bar 50A is available now at a discount, with surround speakers sold separately (and individually). The sound produced by these speakers is rich, deep, well-blended, and spacious. I just wish the setup process was more seamless and simple. $499.95 at B&H Photo-Video $499.95 at Crutchfield $499.99 at Best Buy more buying choices For a limited time, Amazon is selling the Yamaha True X Bar with subwoofer bundle for $200 off. For months, I was one hundred p

Enabling This One iPhone Feature Has Helped Me Get More Precious, Quality Sleep

I take sleep seriously and will honestly try anything that promises to help me get more rest. However, getting quality sleep doesn't have to involve a white noise machine or other device you have to buy with your hard-earned cash. In fact, as I discovered, it can be as simple as turning on a certain feature on your iPhone. Go figure. For the past five years, I've been getting better, longer sleep thanks to this one hidden iPhone feature. For those who also struggle with sleep and happen to have

Your iPhone Has a White Noise Function. Here's How to Turn It On

Listening to natural sounds can lower stress, relieve perceived pain and foster a more positive disposition, according to research from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Other studies suggest that white noise could help parents get their babies to sleep, adults learn words and improve learning in environments full of distractions. And if you're looking to buy a white noise machine for yourself or your child, your iPhone can function as one, saving you money on a new device. R

The Nex Playground will wear out your energetic kids, and it’s $60 off during Prime Day

is an editor covering deals and commerce. He joined in 2018, and covers gaming, PCs, accessories, and more. The Nex Playground is a console full of kid-friendly games that operate solely with motion controls. It’s cooler than it sounds; the little cube’s camera can track two players’ movements in a multitude of games — five of which come free with the console. It’s a great way to exhaust your little ones when going outside isn’t an option, and it’s $60 off for Prime Day. Normally $249.99, you

This Yamaha soundbar delivers luxurious audio (and it's $200 off)

ZDNET's key takeaways The Yamaha True X Bar 50A is available now at a discount, with surround speakers sold separately (and individually). The sound produced by these speakers is rich, deep, well-blended, and spacious. I just wish the setup process was more seamless and simple. $499.95 at Amazon $499.95 at B&H Photo-Video $499.95 at Crutchfield more buying choices For a limited time, Amazon is selling the Yamaha True X Bar with subwoofer bundle for $200 off. For months, I was one hundred per

This Yamaha soundbar delivers audio that competes with systems twice its price (and it's $200 off)

ZDNET's key takeaways The Yamaha True X Bar 50A is available now at a discount, with surround speakers sold separately (and individually). The sound produced by these speakers is rich, deep, well-blended, and spacious. I just wish the setup process was more seamless and simple. $499.95 at Amazon $499.95 at B&H Photo-Video $499.95 at Crutchfield more buying choices For a limited time, Amazon is selling the Yamaha True X Bar with subwoofer bundle for $200 off. For months, I was one hundred per

Everything You Can Do in the Photoshop Mobile App

You know your software is a success when its name becomes a verb: You'll now commonly hear about images being photoshopped, even if the editing wasn't done with the Adobe image editor. Adobe might not like it, but the usage shows how dominant its flagship product has become. On mobile though, Photoshop hasn't achieved the same kind of ubiquity or brand recognition. We've had official Photoshop apps of various types down the years, but none of them have really translated the power and feature se

Experimental Playgrounds

When you picture a playground, what do you see? Perhaps a space with slides, swings, climbing bars, and merry-go-rounds, with asphalt underneath, or maybe a bouncier, colourful surface that undulates. If it’s a bigger playground, it might have wooden huts on stilts with wood chips underneath – even a zip line, if you’re lucky. Here’s what it won’t have: kids setting fires, sawing wood, cooking food, writing operettas, or constructing 50ft towers. It won’t look like a literal bomb site or junk y

This Yamaha soundbar delivered me the audio quality of speakers twice the price

ZDNET's key takeaways The Yamaha True X Bar 50A is available now at a discount, with surround speakers sold separately (and individually). The sound produced by these speakers is rich, deep, well-blended, and spacious. I just wish the setup process was more seamless and simple. $499.95 at Amazon $499.95 at B&H Photo-Video $499.95 at Crutchfield more buying choices For months, I was one hundred percent certain the JBL Bar 1000 soundbar couldn't be beat. It offers incredible clarity of sound, r

Apple’s Invites app just added a lot more backgrounds for your events

Apple Invites, the new app that debuted earlier this year for organizing events, has just been updated to add a lot more background options than before. Apple’s Invites app is now up to version 1.3, with the newest addition being new background options for your events. The latest App Store release notes say: New event backgrounds help bring to life your next pool day, drinks with friends, watch party for the big game, and more! Browsing the updated app, Apple has clearly expanded the built-i

macOS Tahoe 26 beta 2 includes toggle to restore menu bar background

Apple has added a new toggle to show the menu bar background in macOS Tahoe 26 beta 2. The option was added after beta 1 arrived with no menu bar background and no toggle to restore it. The new option is available in Settings > Menu Bar > Show menu bar background. Currently off by default, the toggle works as advertised by simply restoring the frosted layer of menu bar background across the width of your Mac display. The toggle does not affect the placement of menu bar items or text. Apple rem

Mira Murati’s Thinking Machines Lab closes on $2B at $10B valuation

In Brief Thinking Machines Lab, the secretive AI startup founded by OpenAI’s former chief technology officer Mira Murati, has closed a $2 billion seed round, according to The Financial Times. The deal values the six-month-old startup at $10 billion. The company’s work remains unclear. The startup has leveraged Murati’s reputation and other high-profile AI researchers who have joined the team to attract investors in what could be the largest seed round in history. According to sources familiar

I found a portable soundbar that sounds as impressive as speakers twice its price

ZDNET's key takeaways The Vizio 5.1 Soundbar SE system is available now for only $249. It has immersive surround sound at an affordable price thanks to customizable EQ settings and sound modes. The Bluetooth connection can sometimes be spotty, and be prepared to hide lots of wires. $249.99 at Target $249.99 at Best Buy more buying choices One of the easiest ways to upgrade your movie- or TV-viewing experience is by upgrading your TV's sound with a soundbar. However, not all soundbars are crea

College baseball, venture capital, and the long maybe

The Pitch Deck. The deck is often the introduction of a venture capitalist to a company, sent after a warm intro. For the athlete, the pitch deck consists of video and some metrics, posted on Twitter (the LinkedIn of college baseball). In both cases, the best story is (naturally) being told: they aren’t dishonest, but they also aren’t going to emphasize flaws or risks. In my experience, pitch decks are important, but not as important as the underlying business; similarly, terrific video of a bul

College Baseball, Venture Capital, and the Long Maybe

The Pitch Deck. The deck is often the introduction of a venture capitalist to a company, sent after a warm intro. For the athlete, the pitch deck consists of video and some metrics, posted on Twitter (the LinkedIn of college baseball). In both cases, the best story is (naturally) being told: they aren’t dishonest, but they also aren’t going to emphasize flaws or risks. In my experience, pitch decks are important, but not as important as the underlying business; similarly, terrific video of a bul

Nvidia’s AI empire: A look at its top startup investments

No company has capitalized on the AI revolution more dramatically than Nvidia. Its revenue, profitability, and cash reserves have skyrocketed since the introduction of ChatGPT over two years ago — and the many competitive generative AI services that have launched since. And its stock price soared. During that period, the world’s leading high-performance GPU maker has used its ballooning fortunes to significantly increase investments in all sorts of startups but particularly in AI startups. The

Here are the 24 US AI startups that have raised $100M or more in 2025

Last year was monumental for the AI industry in the U.S. and beyond. There were 49 startups that raised funding rounds worth $100 million or more in 2024, per our count at TechCrunch; three companies raised more than one “mega-round,” and seven companies raised rounds that were $1 billion in size or larger. How will 2025 compare? It’s still the first half of the year, but so far it looks like 2024’s momentum will continue this year. There have already been multiple billion-dollar rounds this y

Unlock purpose-driven growth at TechCrunch All Stage, and get $210 off for 6 more days

T-minus 6 days until TechCrunch All Stage ticket prices rise. From now until June 22 at 11:59 p.m. PT, founders save $210 and investors save $200 on passes. Are you ready to push your startup to the next level? Or are you an investor looking to back the next big breakthrough? Join TC All Stage on July 15 at SoWa Power Station in Boston for the founder summit built for traction and breakout growth. Give your startup a competitive edge. Secure your pass now and save up to $210. Why attend TC Al

Hacker steals 1 million Cock.li user records in webmail data breach

Email hosting provider Cock.li has confirmed it suffered a data breach after threat actors exploited flaws in its now-retired Roundcube webmail platform to steal over a million user records. The incident exposed all users who had logged in to the mail service since 2016, estimated at 1,023,800 people, along with contact entries for an additional 93,000 users. Cock.li is a Germany-based free email hosting provider with a privacy-focused ethos and lax moderation policies, run by a single operato

Obsidian Entertainment has big ambitions for Grounded 2's small world

Obsidian Entertainment has been an incredibly versatile game developer over the years, even venturing outside its RPG comfort zone with the original Grounded. As a survival adventure game where you're shrunken down and explore the hidden, vast world of a backyard, it became a well-loved hit, and it evolved even further throughout its early access period. But now, the developers have big plans for Grounded 2, which has new features and a larger scope that was too big for the original to contain.

Roundtable (YC S23) Is Hiring a President / CRO

Roundtable is a research and deployment company building the proof-of-human layer in digital identity. Roundtable seeks to research and build real-world Turing Tests, and to productize these developments in bot detection, fraud prevention, and continuous authentication. You’ll be joining Roundtable’s C-suite alongside CEO Mayank Agrawal and CTO Mathew Hardy. The primary job will be to design, manage, and execute the commercial muscle of the company. You should be prepared to spend your time do