Generative AI game studio raises $55M, Stealth consumer wearable startup raises $100M, DuckDuckGo launches AI search bot
Generative AI game studio raises $55M, Stealth consumer wearable startup raises $100M, DuckDuckGo launches AI search bot
Believer, an LA-based game studio that plans to build multiplayer open-world games using generative AI, raised $55M led by Lightspeed with participation from a16z - Link
DuckDuckGo’s ChatGPT-powered search bot, called DuckAssist, is now available for free in beta; the search bot gathers information from sources like Wikipedia and Encyclopedia Britannica - Link
Humane, a stealth startup founded by two former Apple execs that plans to launch a consumer wearable device this spring, raised $100M led by Kindred Ventures and announced partnerships with Microsoft and OpenAI - Link
Kresus, a startup building a web3 “SuperApp,” raised a $25M Series led by Liberty City Ventures, with participation from Craft, Marc Benioff, and the Winklevoss twins; Kresus will enable crypto users to buy and sell NFTs, access financial services, and more - Link
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Jason opens the show by answering listener questions for 20+ minutes! (1:19) Then, Lon Harris joins to break down Netflix's newest mega-hit, the death of network TV, and more! (30:22)- Link
FT sources: Ukrainian troops reported outages of Starlink communication devices; one person familiar with the matter said the outages are likely due to Starlink trying to prevent misuse by Russian forces in newly-liberated territories - Link
Bloomberg sources: Amazon is scaling back Scout, its delivery robot program, but has not yet announced layoffs; the Scout team has ~400 people working on it, and the company will keep a “skeleton crew” working on an autonomous delivery robot - Link
The White House has issued stricter regulations on exporting semiconductors and chip-making equipment to China to slow the progress of Chinese military programs - Link
Meta warned 1M Facebook users that 400+ apps may have stolen their account information after using a "Login with Facebook" button on App Store and Google Play; many of the apps that Meta identified were barely functional after users logged in - Link
A judge has granted Elon Musk’s request to halt the Twitter trial and says that if the deal does not close by EOD on October 28, the trial will begin in November; this follows Musk announcing he intends to complete the deal at its original price - Link
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