Welcome to TechCrunch AM! This morning, we're reading about improvements to AI chatbots, how 11x fudged the numbers, and Chinese chips that could compete with Nvidia. We've also got notes on gains in nuclear fusion, Waymo's continued expansion, fresh funds for French VC, an agritech bankruptcy, the return of Napster, and more. — Rebecca | | | Image Credits: Moor Studio / Getty Images | 1. Hey, bestie: OpenAI says its new updates to Advanced Voice Mode make ChatGPT way better to have conversations with. Apparently, the voice mode is more personable and interrupts users less frequently. Read More 2. Fudging the numbers: A TechCrunch investigation has found that 11x, an a16z- and Benchmark-backed sales automation AI startup, has been claiming customers and revenue it doesn't have. Read More 3. Look out, Jensen: Chinese fintech giant Ant Group claims it was able to use Chinese chips made by Alibaba and Huawei to cut AI training costs by 20%. The company also said the Chinese-made chips performed about as well as Nvidia's. Look out, Jensen. Read More | | | Image Credits: Commonwealth Fusion Systems | 🛣️ The road to fusion: Commonwealth Fusion Systems has installed a key component of its Sparc demonstration reactor – a 24-foot wide, 75-ton stainless steel circle that forms the foundation of the reactor's heart. It's a key milestone as CFS works to get the reactor online by 2027. Read More 🚕 Coming to a city near you: Waymo plans to launch its robotaxi service in Washington, D.C. in 2026. The company has been racing to expand its coverage ahead of potential competitors like Tesla. Read More 🥖 Vive la French VC: Daphni has announced the first close of its third fund, Daphni Blue. The firm has raised $215 million and expects to raise another $55 million by the end of the year — money that will be invested in 40 startups with a focus on science (not just AI). Read More 🤓 Measuring "intelligence": The Arc Prize Foundation has come up with a challenging new test to measure the general intelligence of leading AI models. So far, the test has stumped most of them. OpenAI o1-pro and DeepSeek R1 languished at around 1%. Read More 🌽 Plenty of problems: Vertical farming company Plenty, which raised nearly $1 billion from heavy hitters like SoftBank and Jeff Bezos, has filed for bankruptcy protection. The company is getting $20.7 million in debtor-in-possession financing as part of a restructuring plan. Read More | | | 🤖 Are AI agents bad for business? AI agents promise to perform tasks as well as a person can, like ordering food from DoorDash. But that could spell trouble for consumer apps that rely on people coming to their platforms, making AI firms powerful intermediaries, writes The Information. Read More 😛 Blast from the past: 3D technology company Infinite Reality has acquired Napster (yes, Napster) for $207 million, reports CNBC. The company intends to use Napster's one-time file-sharing technology for marketing in the metaverse. Read More 📉 IPO woes: Cerebras Systems has been in IPO limbo for months amid a national security review that the company had hoped the Trump administration would wave on through, reports Reuters. The AI chipmaker's anticipated listing is also delayed as it waits for the White House to fill key political positions. Read More | | | 🤦 Seriously?! The Trump admin's national security leaders accidentally added The Atlantic's top editor, Jeffrey Goldberg, to a chat on Signal that involved discussions of confidential plans to attack Yemen's Houthis. Goldberg wrote he "could not believe that the national-security leadership…would communicate on Signal about imminent war plans." Read More | | | Featured jobs from CrunchBoard | | | Has this been forwarded to you? Click here to subscribe to this newsletter. | | | Update your preferences here at any time | | Copyright © 2024 TechCrunch, All rights reserved.Yahoo Inc. 680 Folsom Street,San Francisco,CA | | | | |
