Chinese marketplace DHgate becomes a top US app as trade war intensifies

Trump’s Trade War Spurs Viral TikTok Trend, Catapults DHgate to Top of App Store A wave of TikTok videos revealing behind-the-scenes details of global manufacturing has propelled Chinese...

Meet Neptune, a TikTok alternative where creators can hide likes and follower counts

by Hana.haghani

2025-04-15

Meet Neptune, a TikTok alternative where creators can hide likes and follower counts

New Short-Form Video App Neptune Gears Up for App Store LaunchNeptune, a rising short-form video platform aiming to rival TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts, is preparing for...

Hertz says customers’ personal data and driver’s licenses stolen in data breach

by Hana.haghani

2025-04-15

Hertz says customers’ personal data and driver’s licenses stolen in data breach

Hertz Notifies Customers of Data Breach Linked to Vendor CyberattackCar rental giant Hertz is alerting customers about a data breach that compromised sensitive personal information, including driver’s license...

Google’s newest AI model is designed to help study dolphin ‘speech’

by Hana.haghani

2025-04-15

Google’s newest AI model is designed to help study dolphin ‘speech’

Google DeepMind has announced the development of a new AI model, DolphinGemma, designed to assist researchers in decoding dolphin communication. The tool represents a significant step forward in...

Google Classroom gives teachers an AI feature for quiz questions

by Hana.haghani

2025-04-15

Google Classroom gives teachers an AI feature for quiz questions

Google Classroom has rolled out a new AI-powered feature designed to assist teachers in generating custom questions based on specific text inputs. Announced on Monday, the tool uses...

Blue Origin’s all-female crew, including Katy Perry, successfully launched

by Hana.haghani

2025-04-15

Blue Origin’s all-female crew, including Katy Perry, successfully launched

Blue Origin, the space exploration company founded by Jeff Bezos, successfully launched its New Shepard rocket on Monday at approximately 9:30 a.m. ET, reinforcing its efforts to compete...

Chipolo’s newest AirTag competitor works with both Apple and Google’s finding networks

by Hana.haghani

2025-04-15

Chipolo’s newest AirTag competitor works with both Apple and Google’s finding networks

Chipolo unveiled the latest version of its tracking device, Chipolo POP, which now supports both Apple’s and Google’s lost-item tracking networks right out of the box. This marks...

Meta to start training its AI models on public content in the EU

by Hana.haghani

2025-04-15

Meta to start training its AI models on public content in the EU

Meta announced that it will begin training its AI models on public content from Facebook and Instagram users in the European Union. This includes posts and comments, as...

Hugging Face buys a humanoid robotics startup

by Hana.haghani

2025-04-15

$Self-driving truck startup Kodiak Robotics has announced plans to go public through a merger with Ares Acquisition Corporation II, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). This deal values Kodiak, which has secured approximately $243 million in funding to date, at around $2.5 billion before the merger. The transaction is backed by both new and existing institutional investors, including Soros Fund Management, ARK Investments, and Ares, who have collectively provided or pledged over $110 million in financing, alongside about $551 million in cash held in trust. The merger is anticipated to finalize in the second half of 2025. Opting to go public via a SPAC is a notable choice, especially as the self-driving truck industry has faced significant challenges, including the shutdowns of prominent players like Embark and TuSimple. Moreover, SPACs have diminished in appeal since their peak in 2021, particularly for capital-heavy ventures such as autonomous vehicle and electric vehicle startups. Nonetheless, Kodiak has some advantages, primarily its revenue generation, albeit modest. The company claims to have autonomously driven 2.6 million miles and aims to commercialize long-haul trucking operations in the future. In the meantime, Kodiak is focusing on off-road autonomy as a more immediate route to market. Earlier this year, Kodiak marked its first commercial venture by delivering two autonomous trucks to Atlas Energy Solutions, which has placed an initial order for 100 trucks to assist in frac sand deliveries in the remote Permian Basin of West Texas. This initial revenue stream enhances the credibility of Kodiak’s technology compared to many pre-revenue startups, which have predominantly been involved in SPAC mergers in recent years, potentially paving the way for additional PIPE (private investment in public equity) funding. However, achieving profitability is expected to be a lengthy journey, given the substantial capital requirements inherent in the autonomous vehicle sector. TechCrunch inquired with Kodiak about the longevity of their current funding runway but did not receive a timely response. Kodiak’s entry into the public market occurs during a tumultuous time, largely influenced by President Trump’s tariffs and the accompanying trade war. This development also coincides with one of Kodiak’s key competitors, Aurora Innovation, set to launch fully driverless commercial trucking operations this month. Kodiak CEO Don Burnette co-founded the company in 2018 after gaining extensive experience in autonomous driving technology, having worked on it at Google before moving on in early 2016 to co-launch Otto, an autonomous vehicle startup alongside Anthony Levandowski, Lior Ron, and Claire Delaunay. Otto was later acquired by Uber, but the venture faced significant legal issues when Waymo sued Uber, alleging trade secret theft by Levandowski. Uber ultimately settled with Waymo, while Levandowski faced criminal charges, pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to 18 months in prison, receiving a pardon from President Trump before serving his sentence. Burnette, who had left Otto prior to the legal controversies, managed to sidestep the fallout and focus on his vision—that trucking would be the pivotal application for autonomy. “We believe going public will help accelerate our strategy to strengthen our existing partnerships, extend our technology to a wider customer base, and provide enhanced solutions across the commercial trucking and public sector industries,” Burnette stated.$

AI development platform Hugging Face has acquired French robotics startup Pollen Robotics for an undisclosed sum. According to Wired, Hugging Face intends to offer Pollen’s humanoid robot, Reachy...

Autonomous trucking startup Kodiak Robotics to go public via SPAC

by Hana.haghani

2025-04-15

Autonomous trucking startup Kodiak Robotics to go public via SPAC

Self-driving truck startup Kodiak Robotics has announced plans to go public through a merger with Ares Acquisition Corporation II, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). This deal values...