Tech

Mercedes begins piloting Apptronik humanoid robots

Pilot season has officially begun for the world of humanoid robotics. Last year, Amazon began testing Agility’s Digit robots in select fulfillment centers, while this January, Figure announced a deal with BMW. Now Apptronik is getting in on the action, courtesy of a partnership with Mercedes-Benz. According to the Austin-based robotics startup, “as part of […]
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India cuts import taxes on EVs in win for Tesla’s entry plans

India will lower import taxes on certain electric vehicles for companies committing to invest at least $500 million and setting up a local manufacturing facility within three years, a policy shift that could potentially bolster Tesla’s plans to enter the South Asian market. Companies must invest a minimum of $500 million in the country and […]
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Abu Dhabi’s ADIA explores investment in India’s Pocket FM, sources say

Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund ADIA is in talks to back Pocket FM in a large new round of funding, two sources familiar with the matter told TechCrunch, as the Indian audio-storytelling platform makes deeper inroads in the U.S. The talks for the new round, which have been ongoing for more than a month, follows […]
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Apple acquires AI startup specializing in overlooking manufacturing components

Apple has added another AI startup to its acquisition list with Canada-based DarwinAI, which specializes in vision-based tech to observe components during manufacturing to improve efficiency, Bloomberg reported. While Apple or DarwinAI haven’t announced this deal, several members of the startup’s team joined Apple’s machine learning teams in January, as per their LinkedIn profiles. DarwinAI […]
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Paytm secures license it needed to survive

India’s Paytm has secured a vital license it needed to survive and maintain continuity of several core features of its eponymous payments app, a day before the firm’s banking unit is scheduled to cease operations because of regulatory clampdown. The National Payments Corporation of India, the firm that built the eponymous UPI rail in the […]
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Pornhub disables access in Texas due to age verification law

Texas residents can no longer access Pornhub — without a VPN. As of Thursday, when people in Texas try to access any of the porn sites owned by Aylo, formerly MindGeek, they’ll instead see a long message in opposition to age verification laws. Laws requiring age verification on adult entertainment sites have already gone into […]
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Zscaler buys Avalor to bring more AI into its security tools

Zscaler, a cloud security company with headquarters in San Jose, California, has acquired cybersecurity startup Avalor 26 months after its founding, reportedly for $310 million in cash and equity. In a press release announcing the news, Zscaler founder and CEO Jay Chaudhry said that the deal would expand Zscaler’s platform with capabilities including streamlined reporting of […]
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Google I/O set for May 14, 15

The sun is peeking out behind the clouds and the birds are singing. That can only mean one thing: developer season is nearly upon us. While the rest of you are out there touching the proverbial and literal grass, the world’s developers are jamming into conference halls to find out what the next year holds […]
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‘AI-powered’ ad ignites creator controversy on Instagram

A new ad from Under Armour featuring boxer Anthony Joshua has come under fire from creatives on Instagram after its director claimed it as the “first Ai-powered sports commercial” — but critics in the industry say it blatantly reused others’ work without credit as part of an AI hype cycle cash grab. Director Wes Walker […]
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