Welcome to TechCrunch AM! This morning, we've got disruption in the photo storage arena, chatbots gaining ground on OpenAi, and fresh VC funds for defense and manufacturing. We've also got updates on OpenAI's new models, Intel's new strategy, capital for chipmaking upstarts, China's challenge to SpaceX, the latest politician to join Bluesky, and more. | | | 1. A disruptor emerges: If you're starting to rethink backing up all the pictures chronicling your life with big tech companies like Google, you might want to consider Ente. The open-source project offers end-to-end encrypted photo storage, which means it cannot access users' photos at all. Read More 2. The world outside ChatGPT: While OpenAI's chatbot may be the favorite today, rival services are gaining steam. Google's Gemini and Microsoft's Copilot are leading the charge, followed by Anthropic's Claude and Chinese AI Lab DeepSeek. Read More 3. Defense on fire: Early-stage VC firm Construct Capital is taking advantage of the influx of money in defense and manufacturing. The Washington, D.C.-based firm just closed its third fund at $300 million to invest in defese and manufacturing startups. Read More | | | Image Credits: Silas Stein / picture alliance / Getty Images | 🎨 Come one, come all: OpenAI's new image generator is now available to all users, not just paying customers. Because how else is OpenAI going to advertise the bounty of being able to rip off Studio Ghibli or create fraudulent receipts without a free taste? Read More 🏭 Side of chips: U.S. chipmaker Retym is the latest startup to benefit from AI's glow-up — it just raised a fresh $75 million. Its chips don't process AI workloads directly, but rather serve to help the "innards of data centers" communicate faster internally and externally. Read More 🙊 Amazon talked big game when it showcased the agentic capabilities of Alexa+, like being able to order takeout or generate bedtime stories. But at launch, the service doesn't have many of the promised features. Read More 👐 Open up: OpenAI says it will release its first "open" language model since GPT-2. The company is inviting developers and researchers to weigh in on what they'd like to see in an open-weight model and which open models they have used in the past. Read More 🌪️ Coming in hot: Intel's new CEO Lip-Bu Tan isn't wasting any time. Without providing specifics, he said at the Intel Vision conference that the company will spin off assets that aren't core to its mission. Intel will also launch new products like custom semiconductors. Read More Success? OpenAI finally closed its much anticipated $40 billion round, valuing the company at $300 billion post-money. It's one of the largest private funding rounds in history and comes as experts question whether all that money is really necessary for AI breakthroughs. Read More | | | 📽️ Lights, camera, action: Amazon MGM Studios has a new strategy. The New York Times reports the company will release about 14 big commercial films per year to theaters around the world. The question is, will we see more incredible indie movies get the light they deserve, or more computer generated drivel like "Red One"? Read More ✈️ Travel safely: The start of Trump's second term has correlated with an uptick in foreign visitors, and even legal residents, being denied entry to the U.S. and detained at the border. Wired has a rundown of the situation as well as tips on how to get past customs with your privacy intact. Read More 🛰️ Race to the skies: Rest of World has a look at a Chinese satellite internet startup called SpaceSail that appears to be taking aim at Starlink. Shanghai-backed SpaceSail has launched 90 satellites since last year, and hopes to scale quickly by tapping into markets where Elon Musk has created friction. Read More | | | 💙 After Obama, Hilary Clinton has now joined Bluesky. Her first post on the platform sought to raise awareness about the Wisconsin Supreme Court election taking place today. Elon Musk has spent $20 million backing a Republican candidate for the election, and another $2 million to buy a couple of votes. Read More Note: Yesterday's edition misstated the name of Thrive Capital's owner. We regret the error. | | | 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 | | | | |
