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OpenAI Bot Crushes Small E-commerce Site

2025-01-10

OpenAI Bot Crushes Small E-commerce Site

Triplegangers, a seven-person e-commerce company, had its website crippled by OpenAI's GPTBot in a DDoS-like attack. GPTBot relentlessly scraped images and descriptions of over 65,000 products, causing the site to crash and incurring significant AWS charges. Triplegangers discovered their robots.txt file was improperly configured, failing to effectively block GPTBot. While OpenAI claims to respect robots.txt, its bot didn't immediately respond to the updated file. This incident highlights the potential risks of AI data scraping for small businesses and OpenAI's delayed opt-out tool.

(techcrunch.com)

Tech AI data scraping DDoS attack

India's Digital Payments Strategy Sidelines Visa and Mastercard

2025-01-10

India's Digital Payments Strategy Sidelines Visa and Mastercard

India is strategically reducing its reliance on Western payment networks like Visa and Mastercard, leveraging its homegrown Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and RuPay. UPI's massive transaction volume and user-friendliness have made it the dominant payment method, while RuPay, with exclusive rights to process credit card transactions through UPI, is rapidly gaining market share. This strategy lowers merchant fees, boosts India's digital economy independence, and presents a significant challenge to Visa and Mastercard.

(techcrunch.com)

Tech Digital Payments

TikTok's LA Staff Face Paid Time Off Crunch Amid Wildfires

2025-01-10

TikTok's LA Staff Face Paid Time Off Crunch Amid Wildfires

Devastating wildfires in Los Angeles have forced the closure of TikTok's LA office, leaving employees scrambling. The company is instructing staff to work from home if possible, but those unable to do so are told to use their personal/sick days. Many employees are facing power outages, internet disruptions, or even evacuation orders at home. TikTok's strict return-to-office policy, requiring three days a week in the office, exacerbates the issue, as employees are forced to use paid time off even for illness. While the company claims to prioritize employee safety, this policy has sparked controversy for its lack of flexibility during a natural disaster.

(techcrunch.com)

Tech Employee benefits

May Mobility Unveils Electric Autonomous Minibus at CES 2025

2025-01-10

May Mobility Unveils Electric Autonomous Minibus at CES 2025

Autonomous vehicle startup May Mobility revealed its latest creation at CES 2025: an electric, autonomous minibus developed in partnership with European electric bus manufacturer Tecnobus. Capable of carrying up to 30 passengers, including wheelchair users, this minibus is slated to join May Mobility's existing fleet of 40 retrofitted Toyota Siennas by late 2026. Designed for urban transit, corporate campuses, airports, and planned communities, it features swappable batteries for minimal downtime and is approved for use in Europe and Canada. May Mobility currently operates autonomous shuttle services in several US cities and has a pilot program in Japan with NTT.

(techcrunch.com)

Tech

Zuckerberg Approved Meta's Use of Pirated Data to Train Llama, Lawsuit Claims

2025-01-09

Zuckerberg Approved Meta's Use of Pirated Data to Train Llama, Lawsuit Claims

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg allegedly approved the use of a dataset called LibGen, containing pirated ebooks and articles, to train Meta's Llama AI models. Plaintiffs, including bestselling authors Sarah Silverman and Ta-Nehisi Coates, accuse Meta of copyright infringement. Meta claims fair use, but plaintiffs argue Meta attempted to conceal infringement by stripping copyright information and even using torrenting to obtain LibGen, exacerbating the violation. The case currently only pertains to Meta's earliest Llama models, and the outcome remains uncertain, but the allegations have already damaged Meta's reputation.

(techcrunch.com)

AI

Zero-Day Exploit in Ivanti VPN Allows Hackers Network Access

2025-01-09

Zero-Day Exploit in Ivanti VPN Allows Hackers Network Access

A critical zero-day vulnerability (CVE-2025-0282) in Ivanti's widely used enterprise VPN appliance has been exploited by hackers to compromise corporate networks. The vulnerability affects Connect Secure, Policy Secure, and ZTA Gateways products, with Connect Secure being the most widely adopted SSL VPN. Mandiant and Microsoft researchers observed exploitation as early as mid-December 2024. The attack shows hallmarks of an advanced persistent threat (APT), and suspicions point towards a China-linked cyberespionage group. Ivanti has released a patch for Connect Secure, with patches for others coming January 21st.

(techcrunch.com)

Tech zero-day exploit

Nvidia Unveils Cosmos WFMs: Physics-Aware Open World Models

2025-01-09

Nvidia Unveils Cosmos WFMs: Physics-Aware Open World Models

At CES 2025, Nvidia launched Cosmos World Foundation Models (Cosmos WFMs), a family of AI world models capable of predicting and generating physics-aware videos. These models, categorized as Nano, Super, and Ultra based on size and performance (4 to 14 billion parameters), are designed for robotics, autonomous driving, and more. While Nvidia calls them 'open,' they aren't fully open-source, and their training data, reportedly including unauthorized YouTube videos, is controversial. Despite this, several companies have already adopted Cosmos WFMs for various applications.

(techcrunch.com)

AI AI models

VLC Hits 6 Billion Downloads, Teases AI-Powered Subtitles

2025-01-09

VLC Hits 6 Billion Downloads, Teases AI-Powered Subtitles

The popular open-source media player VLC has surpassed 6 billion downloads. At CES 2025, VideoLAN showcased a new AI-powered subtitle system that generates and translates subtitles in real-time using locally-run open-source AI models. This eliminates the need for internet connectivity. While a release date wasn't announced, this innovative feature demonstrates VLC's continued commitment to free, ad-free, and cutting-edge technology.

(techcrunch.com)

Tech AI subtitles

Nvidia CEO: AI Chip Performance Outpaces Moore's Law

2025-01-08

Nvidia CEO: AI Chip Performance Outpaces Moore's Law

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang declared at CES 2025 that the company's AI chips are improving faster than Moore's Law. He attributed this to Nvidia's ability to simultaneously innovate across the entire stack – architecture, chip, system, libraries, and algorithms. The new GB200 NVL72 data center superchip boasts a 30-40x performance increase in AI inference workloads compared to its predecessor. Huang believes this will lead to lower AI inference costs and further advancements in AI model capabilities.

(techcrunch.com)

Tech AI chips

Microsoft Bets Big on India's AI Future: A $3 Billion Investment

2025-01-07

Microsoft Bets Big on India's AI Future: A $3 Billion Investment

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced a $3 billion investment in India to expand its AI and Azure cloud services, leveraging India's massive population to fuel revenue growth. The plan includes training 10 million Indians in AI skills. This investment will build a scalable AI computing ecosystem for Indian startups and researchers, highlighting the intense competition among tech giants for the Indian market and its potential as a leading developer hub.

(techcrunch.com)

Tech

Nvidia Unveils Project Digits: A Personal AI Supercomputer

2025-01-07

Nvidia Unveils Project Digits: A Personal AI Supercomputer

At CES 2025, Nvidia launched Project Digits, a compact 'personal AI supercomputer' providing access to its Grace Blackwell hardware platform. Powered by the new GB10 Grace Blackwell Superchip, it boasts up to a petaflop of computing power, capable of running AI models with up to 200 billion parameters. Targeted at AI researchers, data scientists, and students, Project Digits costs $3,000 and will be available from select partners starting in May.

(techcrunch.com)

Hardware Supercomputer

Gift Card Site Leaks Hundreds of Thousands of Identity Documents

2025-01-03

Gift Card Site Leaks Hundreds of Thousands of Identity Documents

A US online gift card store, MyGiftCardSupply, suffered a massive security breach exposing hundreds of thousands of customer identity documents. Security researcher JayeLTee discovered an unsecured server containing over 600,000 images of driver's licenses, passports, and selfies from around 200,000 customers. MyGiftCardSupply claimed the data was collected for anti-money laundering compliance ('know your customer' checks), but its founder admitted the security lapse, stating the data is now secured. However, the company hasn't disclosed the duration of the exposure or plans to notify affected users. This incident highlights the ongoing risks associated with KYC procedures and data breaches.

(techcrunch.com)

Tech

India Pulls Cloudflare's VPN App and Others from App Stores

2025-01-03

India Pulls Cloudflare's VPN App and Others from App Stores

India has removed several VPN apps, including Cloudflare's popular 1.1.1.1, from its app stores citing a 2022 regulation requiring VPN providers to store user data for five years. This move has sparked backlash from the industry, with some VPN providers withdrawing from India or ceasing marketing there. The action marks a significant tightening of VPN regulations in India.

(techcrunch.com)

Tech

India Delays Rules to Break PhonePe-Google Pay Duopoly Again

2025-01-01

India Delays Rules to Break PhonePe-Google Pay Duopoly Again

India has once again postponed plans to curb the dominance of major tech companies in the country's digital payments system. The deadline for implementing a 30% cap on any single app's UPI transaction share has been pushed back to December 31, 2026. This provides relief to PhonePe and Google Pay, which together control over 85% of UPI transactions. The regulator cited concerns about disrupting service for millions of users. The delay also marks another setback in India's efforts to rein in the power of global tech giants in its burgeoning digital economy. The initial proposal was made in 2020.

(techcrunch.com)

Tech digital payments

OpenAI Misses Deadline for Creator Opt-Out Tool, Fueling Copyright Concerns

2025-01-01

OpenAI Misses Deadline for Creator Opt-Out Tool, Fueling Copyright Concerns

OpenAI's promised Media Manager tool, designed to let creators control how their work is used in AI training data, has yet to launch, missing its 2025 deadline. This delay fuels ongoing copyright disputes, with OpenAI facing lawsuits from artists, writers, and media companies alleging unauthorized use of their work. While OpenAI offers alternative opt-out methods, these are deemed insufficient. The missed deadline and lack of transparency heighten tensions surrounding AI copyright and underscore the industry's challenges in addressing intellectual property issues.

(techcrunch.com)

AI AI Copyright

Troubled Accounting Startup Bench Acquired After Sudden Shutdown

2024-12-30

Troubled Accounting Startup Bench Acquired After Sudden Shutdown

Bench, the VC-backed accounting startup that abruptly shut down last week, locking thousands of customers out of their accounts, has been acquired by Employer.com for an undisclosed price. Employer.com, a San Francisco-based HR tech company focusing on payroll and onboarding, will revive Bench's platform. Customers will be able to transfer their data or continue service under the new ownership. The previous recommendation for customers to file for a six-month extension with the IRS is no longer necessary if they choose to stay with the service.

(techcrunch.com)

Startup startup acquisition accounting HR tech

Apple and Meta Clash Over Interoperability and Privacy

2024-12-30

Apple and Meta Clash Over Interoperability and Privacy

Apple and Meta are locked in a battle in Europe over the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA). The DMA mandates interoperability, requiring designated gatekeepers like Apple and Meta to allow competitors access to core platform services. Meta has submitted 15 interoperability requests to Apple, prompting Apple to warn of significant privacy and security risks if granted, potentially exposing user data extensively. Meta counters that Apple's privacy concerns are unfounded and a pretext to stifle competition. This conflict highlights the tension between interoperability and user privacy, and the challenges faced by EU regulators in enforcing the DMA.

(techcrunch.com)

Tech

Joco's Comeback: From Near-Death to Profitable E-bike Delivery Service

2024-12-28

Joco's Comeback: From Near-Death to Profitable E-bike Delivery Service

Joco, an e-bike sharing startup, launched in NYC in 2021 and nearly failed. Initially aiming to compete with Citi Bike, a lawsuit from the NYC Department of Transportation forced a pivot to last-mile delivery services. This proved pivotal. Joco now provides rentals, maintenance, battery-swap cabinets, and community hubs offering riders rest and charging. They've achieved profitability, partnering with major logistics firms like Grubhub across New York, Chicago, and Miami. Their success stems from customer-centric service, exceeding expectations, and financial prudence—avoiding early marketing spend.

(techcrunch.com)

Startup e-bike sharing delivery services

Apple Directs Spyware Victims to Nonprofit Security Lab

2024-12-23

Apple Directs Spyware Victims to Nonprofit Security Lab

Instead of conducting its own investigations, Apple directs victims of suspected government spyware attacks on iPhones to the nonprofit Access Now for assistance. This approach is supported by cybersecurity experts who believe Access Now is better equipped for systematic investigation and support. Access Now's digital helpline has received 4,337 requests in 2024, becoming a crucial tool in combating spyware. While Apple also employs other security measures like Lockdown Mode, this partnership provides invaluable support for those affected by government spyware.

(techcrunch.com)

Tech Spyware

Google's Gemini Code Assist Adds Third-Party Tool Integration

2024-12-20

Google's Gemini Code Assist Adds Third-Party Tool Integration

Google announced support for third-party tools in Gemini Code Assist, its enterprise-focused AI code completion service. This allows integration with tools like Jira, GitHub, and Sentry via plugins, reducing context switching and boosting developer productivity. Currently in private preview for Google Cloud partners, this feature directly competes with GitHub's Copilot Enterprise, though Google highlights advantages like on-premises codebase support. The addition of tools aims to streamline workflows and enhance efficiency for developers.

(techcrunch.com)

Development AI code assistant third-party tool integration

California Orders Uber to Fingerprint Drivers for Teen Rides

2024-12-20

California Orders Uber to Fingerprint Drivers for Teen Rides

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) ruled that Uber must fingerprint drivers for its teen ride-hailing service, Uber for Teens, to continue operating in the state. This decision stems from safety concerns regarding unaccompanied minors. While Uber has historically resisted fingerprint-based background checks, the CPUC cited the importance of protecting children from potential sexual offenders. The ruling significantly impacts Uber's operations, while competitor HopSkipDrive, which already employs stricter safety measures including fingerprinting, supports the decision. The added cost of fingerprinting may lead to higher prices for Uber's teen ride service.

(techcrunch.com)

Tech teen rider safety fingerprint background checks

Carta's Difficult Subscription Cancellation Process Sparks Outrage Among Founders

2024-12-12

Carta's Difficult Subscription Cancellation Process Sparks Outrage Among Founders

Funding management software Carta is facing criticism for its cumbersome subscription cancellation process. Several founders have taken to social media to complain about the difficulty of cancelling their subscriptions, citing mandatory meetings scheduled well after their renewal dates. While Carta attributes the issue to a temporary staffing shortage, competitors highlight their straightforward cancellation methods, involving simple clicks or emails. This controversy raises concerns about Carta's customer service and cancellation policies, underscoring the importance of careful consideration when choosing service providers.

(techcrunch.com)

Startup subscription cancellation startup

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