Sakana AI raises $135M Series B at a $2.65B valuation to continue building AI models for Japan
Sakana AI raised about $135M at a $2.65B post-money valuation in one of Japan’s largest fundraises this year.
Tech
Jeff Bezos will be co-CEO of AI startup Project Prometheus
Jeff Bezos is getting a new job. He’ll reportedly become co-CEO of Project Prometheus, a new startup that he’s partly funding. The company’s exact plans are still unknown, but its focus is on AI that could improve manufacturing in fields including computing, automobiles, and aerospace. The New York Times reports that Project Prometheus is already […]
Danish startup FlatPay joins the club of European fintech unicorns to track
Flatpay’s bet is that it can challenge larger players by charging small merchants a flat transaction rate to use its card terminals and point-of-sales systems.
Europe banned new gas cars after 2035 — now it’s reconsidering
Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius is the eternal optimist, and for good reason. He has long pushed the European Union to roll back its lofty goal of phasing out new internal combustion engine cars, arguing that weakening the rules was a return to pragmatism and not capitulation to opponents of Europe’s green agenda. His push is […]
Sky Sports killed off its female-focused Halo brand after just three days
That Sky Sports felt the need to launch a TikTok channel specifically marketed towards women and billed as its “lil sis” was questionable enough. But once people got a taste of the content on Halo, it was clear the company had absolutely no idea what it was doing. Halo didn’t focus on women’s sports, nor […]
You need to listen to the searing noise pop album Forever in Your Heart
There’s something irresistible about music that sounds as if it’s coming apart at the seams. The Black Dresses are masters of barely contained chaos. All of their records feel as if they’re in danger of collapsing into pure noise at any moment. But never have they so expertly woven the various threads of their sound […]
Beloved SF cat’s death fuels Waymo criticism
The death of a neighborhood bodega cat named Kit Kat has shaken San Francisco’s Mission District and prompted new debates about robotaxi safety.
BNPL is expanding fast, and that should worry everyone
As Morris watches his BNPL investments from the other side of the table, he seems to understand the warning signs better than most.
Are we nearing the end of Apple’s Tim Cook era?
Apple is getting serious about succession planning, according to a new report.
Stereogum soldiers on in the era of streaming and AI
If you’re an indie rock fan of a certain age, the name Stereogum will probably conjure strong feelings. The site was launched “January 1st, 2002, on a whim,” founder Scott Lapatine told The Verge. Originally, this early staple of the music blog era was focused almost entirely on music discovery and posting MP3s. “It was […]