Category : Techcrunch

From AI Assistant to image restyler: Meta’s new AI features

Meta announced a host of new AI-powered bots, features and products to be released across its messaging apps, the Meta Quest 3 and the future Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. The new features — ranging from an AI assistant to image editing — harness...

Regulators close investigation into Blue Origin’s New Shepard anomaly

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has closed the investigation into a mishap that occurred last September during a launch of Blue Origin’s New Shepard vehicle, with the regulator saying that Blue must implement 21 corrective actions befor...

Artifact takes on X and Threads with new Posts feature

Artifact, a platform built by Instagram’s co-founders, is launching the ability for users to make posts. Up until now, the platform has been an aggregator for news and links, but is now becoming more of a social network by allowing users to crea...

Meta filmed Mr Beast, Paris Hilton and 26 more to build celebrity AIs based on Llama 2

Actors are in the middle of a major, protracted battle with Hollywood over what role AI will be playing in the future of entertainment, and how they’ll be compensated for that when those AIs are basically likenesses of them. Over at Meta, it loo...

Security researcher warns of chilling effect after feds search phone at airport

A U.S. security researcher is warning of a chilling effect after he was detained on arrival at a U.S. airport, his phone was searched, and was ordered to testify to a grand jury, only to have prosecutors reverse course and drop the investigation...

Can Bird’s Spin acquisition give it the lift it needs?

After being delisted from the NYSE, regaining investor confidence won't be easy Rebecca Bellan 11 hours It’s been over a year since shared micromobility startup Bird warned shareho...

Meta’s ‘augments’ place digital objects around your physical space

Meta’s new Quest 3 mixed-reality headset will allow users to personalize their physical spaces with “augments” — a series of objects and widgets that are digitally plastered to their real-world environment. “Next year, you’ll be able to customi...

EV boat startup Arc wades into watersports with $70M in fresh funding

Arc is making a splash with investors as it wraps up deliveries of its limited edition $300,000 electric boat and eyes its next target: watersports. And, specifically the kind that require a wake. The Los Angeles-based electric boat startup, whi...

This startup wants to verify your ID without storing your personal data

As government and banking services move away from verifying identities in the real world, moving toward online ID verification, several companies have entered the market to solve this problem. A new startup from France is entering the market wit...

Headspace is bringing an immersive VR experience to Meta Quest 3 ‘soon’

Headspace is coming to Meta’s Quest 3 VR headset “soon,” Meta’s Head of Developer Relations, Melissa Brown, announced at the company’s Connect event today. The Headspace experience is a “virtual playground for your mind” and a place to hang out...

DOJ says eBay sold thousands of illegal, poisonous, and polluting products

The Department of Justice raked eBay over the proverbial coals today, accusing the online retailer of “unlawfully selling and distributing hundreds of thousands” of products that threaten the environment and public health. In a statement on Wedn...

Meta Connect 2023: Everything you need to know about Quest 3 VR, Ray-Ban smart glasses and Meta AI

Meta’s annual Connect conference started today, and this means lots of new hardware. Are you ready for an update on Meta Quest 3? Didn’t have time to tune in live? That’s okay — we summed up the most important parts from the keynote below. And a...

Meta parties like it’s 2015, brings new chatbots to its messaging apps

Meta, angling for a seat at the AI chatbot table, is launching a host of new AI-powered bots across its messaging apps, including WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram. They’re available for select users in beta in the U.S. as of today. One is an AI...

Mark Zuckerberg went 33 minutes without saying ‘metaverse’ at his keynote

When Meta rebranded from Facebook two years ago, the word “metaverse” went mainstream. Even people outside the tech world wondered if we would soon start to socialize via virtual reality headsets. But, at least according to public opinion and th...

Meta’s 512GB Quest 3 now comes with 6 months of the Quest+ subscription

Meta’s VR subscription service, Quest+, is now being bundled with the company’s Quest 3 mixed-reality headset. The subscription, which provides VR device owners the ability to two handpicked games from the Quest library each month, will now be i...