Techmeme: Analysis: of the 750 data brokers registered in at least one US state, many haven't registered in states with transparency laws, undermining data deletion tools (Electronic Frontier Foundation)

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Maxwell Zeff / TechCrunch:

Google launches Gemini CLI, an agentic AI tool that lets developers make natural language requests in terminals by connecting Gemini models to local codebases — Google is launching a new agentic AI tool that will put its Gemini AI models closer to where developers are already coding.

Antonio Regalado / MIT Technology Review:

Google DeepMind unveils AlphaGenome, an AI tool to predict the effects of DNA changes on molecular processes, available via an API for non-commercial research — When scientists first sequenced the human genome in 2003, they revealed the full set of DNA instructions that make a person.

More: Google DeepMind and STAT

X: @googleai, @pushmeet, @iterintellectus, @pushmeet, @s6juncheng, @iterintellectus, @s6juncheng, and @googledeepmind

Stephen Katte / Cointelegraph:

Coinbase says it played a “key role” in the US Secret Service's seizure of $225M linked to crypto investment scams, and Tether burned the $225M in frozen USDT — Coinbase says it helped the US Secret Service seize $225 million in crypto allegedly stolen by scammers, the largest crypto seizure in the agency's history.

More: Coinbase, Unchained, Bitcoin Insider, Yahoo Finance, Cryptopolitan, crypto.news, CryptoSlate, InsuranceNewsNet, The Crypto Times, and The Block. Forums: r/ethtrader

Financial Times:

As Apple rolls out CarPlay Ultra, many carmakers are developing their own infotainment systems in hopes of generating more revenue from in-car services and data — CarPlay Ultra rollout comes as auto groups are introducing their own infotainment systems Apple is facing pushback …

More: Ars Technica, AppleInsider, PCMag, 9to5Mac, PYMNTS.com, MacRumors, Macworld, Beebom, iClarified, Mashable, Cult of Mac, Redmond Pie, and Yahoo Finance

Forums: r/Polestar and MacRumors Forums

Samantha Subin / CNBC:

Bumble plans to lay off 30% of its workforce, or ~240 roles, and invest the up to $40M saved annually into new product and tech development; BMBL jumps 15%+ — Bumble shares rallied more than 26% Wednesday after the dating app company revealed in a securities filing that it intends to slash 30% of its workforce, or about 240 roles.

More: CNN, Benzinga, TechCrunch, Yahoo Finance, The Guardian, Wall Street Journal, Barron's Online, Silicon UK, Bloomberg, and Reuters

Threads: @carnage4life. X: @exec_sum. Forums: r/technology and r/Bumble

Andrew Liszewski / The Verge:

Fairphone announces the €599 Fairphone 6, with a 6.31" 120Hz LTPO OLED, a Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 chip, 8GB of RAM, and enhanced modularity via 12 swappable parts — The repairable smartphone is now even more modular with new accessories that expand its functionality.

More: Android Central, HotHardware, 9to5Google, Engadget, PhoneArena, Android Headlines, NERDS.xyz, CNET, and GSMArena.com

Forums: Hacker News, r/gadgets, r/fairphone, r/Android, r/fairphone, r/gadgets, and r/technology

Google Developers Blog:

Imagen 4 is now available in the Gemini API and Google AI Studio, priced at $0.04/image or $0.06/image for the Ultra model that “precisely” follows instructions — We're thrilled to bring Imagen 4, our best text-to-image model yet, to paid preview in the Gemini API and for limited free testing in Google AI Studio.

More: Engadget, WinBuzzer, The Decoder, NERDS.xyz, TestingCatalog, and BleepingComputer

Mike Rogoway / Oregonian:

Leaked memo: Intel will shut down its automotive business and lay off “most” employees working in the unit, the latest step in Intel's downsizing — Intel will shut down its small automotive business and lay off the majority of the workers in that segment, the latest step in the chipmaker's dramatic downsizing.

More: Tom's Hardware, Proactive, Guru3D, CTech, Quartz, FlatpanelsHD, TechPowerUp, Silicon Valley Business …, and TipRanks Financial

Forums: r/technology, r/Polestar, r/hardware, r/intelstock, and Slashdot

Jordan Novet / CNBC:

Data management software vendor Rubrik agrees to acquire Predibase, which helps with deploying AI models; a source says Rubrik intends to pay $100M to $500M — Data management software vendor Rubrik said Wednesday that it's buying Predibase, a startup that helps with the deployment of artificial intelligence models.

More: CyberScoop, Barron's Online, MarketWatch, Greylock, and Rubrik. LinkedIn: Varun Grover

Sarah Kessler / New York Times:

A surge in AI-generated résumés is overwhelming employers, who are turning to AI screening and video interviewing tools to assess responses and rank candidates — Candidates are frustrated. Employers are overwhelmed. The problem? An untenable pile of applications …

More: Ars Technica, Futurism, VentureBeat, Tom's Guide, and Verdict

Bluesky: @carnage4life, @renouncehope, and @avielroshwald. Mastodon: @jalefkowit@vmst.io

X: @ty_geri, @rohanpaul_ai, @emollick, @marekposard, @ednewtonrex, and @sundeep

LinkedIn: Jeremy Schifeling, Lauren K. Fernández, and Jeff Pan

Forums: r/recruitinghell, Beehaw, and Ars OpenForum

Mark Lane / Financial Times:

How AI, AR, and VR tech developed for agriculture, from watering systems to robotic mowers, is trickling down to smaller-scale domestic growers and gardens — From laser scarecrows and solar-powered weeding robots to trees bred to capture more carbon, high-tech horticulture is in full germination

Beatrice Nolan / Fortune:

London-based Metaview, which builds AI tools to automate hiring, like via interview notetaking and job description generation, raised a $35M Series B led by GV — Recruiting, which is heavy on admin, is ripe for disruption when it comes to developing AI tools.

More: FinSMEs, Tech.eu, and EU-Startups

FinSMEs:

Paraform, which operates a hiring marketplace with AI-powered candidate relationship management and other tools, raised a $20M Series A led by Felicis Ventures — Paraform, a San Francisco, CA-based marketplace built for elite recruiters, raised $20M in Series A funding.

More: Forbes and Pulse 2.0

X: @paraformtalent, @0xjohnkim, @felicis, and @jeffreyw5000

Financial Times:

Analysis: A7A5, billed as the first Russian ruble-pegged stablecoin for cross-border payments, has moved $9.3B on a dedicated exchange after a February launch — The A7A5 token aims to facilitate financial flows disrupted after Ukraine war — A new cryptocurrency token designed …

More: crypto.news, Cryptopolitan, and Cointelegraph

Business Insider:

Scale AI used Google Docs to track work for customers like Google, Meta, and xAI, and left confidential AI training documents accessible to anyone with the link — - Scale AI routinely uses public Google Docs for work with Google, Meta, and xAI. — BI reviewed thousands of files …

More: Computerworld, WinBuzzer, and New York Post

Bluesky: @romitmehta.com and @joemenn

X: @natolambert and @charlesrollet1

LinkedIn: Charles Rollet and Meghan Morris

Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge:

Ring rolls out Video Descriptions, an AI-powered beta feature that generates text summaries of motion activity from its doorbells and cameras — Ring is adding AI-powered descriptions of motion activity to its camera and video doorbell notifications.

More: About Amazon, Engadget, How-To Geek, CNET, 9to5Mac, PCWorld, Android Authority, Neowin, and WeRSM

Yuliya Chernova / Wall Street Journal:

OpenRouter, which directs prompts to LLMs based on factors like cost and speed, raised $40M across a seed and Series A; source: the startup is valued at ~$500M — The startup, now valued at about $500 million, directs artificial-intelligence prompts to various large language models based on cost, speed and other factors

LinkedIn: Chris Clark

Mike Wheatley / SiliconANGLE:

Andy Konwinski, a co-founder of Databricks and Perplexity AI, launches the nonprofit Laude Institute, self-funded with $100M for grants to AI projects and labs — Databricks Inc. co-founder and Apache Spark creator Andy Konwinski this week announced the creation of a new artificial intelligence …

More: Laude Institute, Laude Institute, Maginative, Observer, TechCrunch, and Fast Company

X: @andykonwinski, @andykonwinski, @jeffdean, @jpineau1, @laudeinstitute, @andykonwinski, @berkeleycdss, @andykonwinski, and @andykonwinski

Electronic Frontier Foundation:

Analysis: of the 750 data brokers registered in at least one US state, many haven't registered in states with transparency laws, undermining data deletion tools — Written in collaboration with Privacy Rights Clearinghouse — Hundreds of data brokers have not registered with state consumer protection agencies.

Forums: r/technology

Nicholas Gordon / Fortune:

Centific, an AI “data foundry” that works with businesses to develop, train, and deploy their AI models, raised a $60M Series A led by Granite Asia — “The future is not just in North America, it's global,” Centific CEO Venkat Rangapuram told Fortune. — COURTESY OF CENTIFIC

More: FinSMEs and Centific Global Solutions …

Cate Lawrence / Tech.eu:

Paris-based Zama, which is developing fully homomorphic encryption tech for blockchain and AI apps, raised a $57M Series B at a $1B+ valuation — With GPU scaling, chip development, and Ethereum-compatible tools, Zama is turning FHE from theoretical to practical at scale.

More: EU-Startups

Sana Pashankar / Bloomberg:

Colorado-based Maxar Intelligence debuts Sentry, an AI tool that helps its satellites monitor cities, shipyards, airports, and other sites for unusual patterns — In the days after President Donald Trump announced the US had “completely and totally obliterated” nuclear sites in Iran …

More: SpaceNews

Arabelle Sicardi / The Verge:

How AI is changing perfume creation, as startup Osmo promises 48-hour sample turnarounds and conglomerates DSM-Firmenich, Givaudan, IFF, and Symrise embrace it — AI is rapidly changing how fragrance is created — and who gets credit. Some say it's innovation. Others call it erasure.

Jocelyn Gecker / Associated Press:

Gallup: ~60% of 2,232 teachers at US K-12 public schools say they used AI tools in the 2024-25 school year; regulars estimate weekly time savings of 5.9 hours — For her 6th grade honors class, math teacher Ana Sepúlveda wanted to make geometry fun.

More: Gallup, TechSpot, The Decoder, and Gallup. Bluesky: @marygillis

Bloomberg:

French payments group Worldline's stock drops 20%+ after articles by European journalism network EIC alleged that the company covered up its customers' fraud — Worldline SA shares fell by more than a fifth on Wednesday, wiping out around €300 million ($350 million) …

More: PYMNTS.com, Telegraph, Capital Brief, and Reuters

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