Eric David
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Google’s AlphaGo AI is getting smarter without any human input
DeepMind Technologies Inc.’s AlphaGo is already better at the ancient board game Go than any human player, but the Alphabet Inc.-owned lab has continued improving its artificial intelligence champion. In a new research paper published today, DeepMind showed just how far AlphaGo has come in the last two years: It’s now so smart that it’s learning almost entirely ...
Torch 3D raises $3.5M to help businesses prototype products in virtual reality
Torch 3D Inc., a Portland-based startup that created a prototyping platform for virtual reality, announced today that it has raised $3.5 million in a seed funding round. The round was led by The Venture Reality Fund and Silicon Valley Data Capital. Other investors include Seven Peaks Ventures, GVR Fund, Presence Capital, Antipodean Ventures, Jerome Capital and TWB ...
Google’s Project Wing drones will deliver medicine and – yes – burritos in Australia
Google LLC owner Alphabet Inc.’s drone delivery initiative Project Wing has run thousands of test flights in relatively controlled environments, but thanks to a new partnership with two Australian businesses, Project Wing’s drones will soon be dropping deliveries directly into people’s backyards. Alphabet has partnered with Mexican food chain Guzman y Gomez and retail pharmacy chain Chemist Warehouse to ...
Facebook acquires tbh, an anonymous compliment app for teens
Facebook Inc. has proven again and again that it’s willing to lay down some major cash to keep teens from migrating to competitors, from its $1 billion acquisition of Instagram to its $19 billion acquisition of WhatsApp. Now Facebook is once again looking to stay ahead of the curve with its acquisition Monday of tbh, a mobile ...
As legal battle heats up, Qualcomm pushes for iPhone ban in China
The ongoing legal battles between Qualcomm Technologies Inc. and Apple Inc. just got nastier, as Qualcomm is now pushing to have iPhones banned from being sold or manufactured in China, Bloomberg reported Friday. Qualcomm accused Apple of patent infringement in the lawsuit, which was filed in Beijing Sept. 29 but not yet made public by the court. ...
Visual Vocal raises $3.6M to help enterprises collaborate in VR
Visual Vocal, a Seattle-based startup that wants to help companies collaborate in virtual and mixed reality, announced today that it has raised $3.6 million in seed funding. The funding round was led by Eniac Ventures, and it also included participation from Scout Ventures, Spider Capital and the Alliance of Angels. Visual Vocal said it will ...
Shutterstock’s new image search uses AI to let you search by image composition
If internet memes have proven anything, it is that there is an oddly specific stock photo out there for almost any situation, but finding the right photo out of millions can take a lot of time and effort. Stock photo company Shutterstock Inc. wants to make that process easier with its new Composition Aware Search, a ...
Security startup Attivo Networks raises $21M for its ‘deception solutions’
Cybersecurity startup Attivo Networks Inc. announced today that it has raised $21 million in a third major financing. The Series C round was led by Trident Capital Cybersecurity and also included participation by existing investors Bain Capital Ventures and Omidyar Technology Ventures, and it brings Attivo’s total funding to date to more than $45 million. Founded ...
Andela raises $40M to teach and recruit coders in Africa
Andela, a startup that trains coders in Africa, announced today that it has raised $40 million in a late-stage financing. The Series C round was led by CRE, a venture capital firm dedicated to “building category-defining tech companies in Africa,” and it also included participation by other investors, including Salesforce Ventures, TLcom, DBL and Amplo. According ...
Dubai Airport will use face-scanning aquariums as security checkpoints
Dubai has developed a reputation for excess, from its over-the-top skyscrapers to its intricately shaped manmade islands. Now, the city’s airport is taking on security in an equally extravagant way by replacing its security checkpoints with tunnel-shaped virtual aquariums that scan visitors’ faces, The National reports. According to Obaid Al Hameeri, deputy director general of Dubai residency and ...