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Business and Entrepreneurship

Behind the Scenes of 'Meet the Drapers': A Glimpse into Entrepreneurial TV

'Meet the Drapers' offers a behind-the-scenes look at venture capital investments through a 'Shark Tank'-style competition. The show, hosted by Tim Draper, features entrepreneurs pitching their businesses to a panel of judges. Startups like Cheeky Cocktails and KivviMed have gained exposure through the show, praising its ability to connect founders with a broad audience. The show is part of Draper's broader media empire, DraperTV, which aims to showcase the future of technology and entrepreneurship.

Artificial Intelligence

ChatGPT as the Next-Gen OS: OpenAI's Vision

Nick Turley, head of ChatGPT at OpenAI, envisions transforming ChatGPT into an operating system with third-party apps, drawing inspiration from web browsers. This evolution aims to make ChatGPT a central platform for various applications, similar to how browsers have become essential for online activities.

OpenAI is working with Jony Ive on hardware devices and exploring e-commerce integration within ChatGPT, allowing transactions through apps from companies like Expedia, DoorDash, and Uber. This approach provides developers access to ChatGPT’s 800 million users and the ability to build interactive experiences.

Turley emphasizes that ChatGPT will be the delivery vehicle for OpenAI’s mission to distribute AGI, benefiting humanity. The company is also focusing on user privacy by requesting developers to disclose data usage and planning to implement fine-grained data access controls.

OpenAI aims to balance app prioritization and user experience, considering various distribution mechanisms, including potential paid placement. Turley also highlighted that the evolution of the platform will enable diverse applications, enhancing its utility and accessibility for a wide range of users, including educational and assistive tools.

Business & Finance

Musk Settles $128M Lawsuit with Ex-Twitter Executives

Elon Musk has agreed to settle a $128 million lawsuit with four former Twitter executives he fired after acquiring the company in 2022. The executives, including former CEO Parag Agrawal and CFO Ned Segal, claimed they were denied severance payments for holding Musk to his original $44 billion acquisition commitment. The terms of the settlement are currently undisclosed. This follows a previous settlement with 6,000 laid-off Twitter employees over unpaid severance.

Telecommunications

Verizon and AST SpaceMobile Partner to Expand Cellular Broadband Across the US

AST SpaceMobile and Verizon have entered into a partnership to deliver space-based cellular broadband across the United States. Verizon will integrate AST's satellite network with its terrestrial infrastructure, utilizing Verizon's 850 MHz spectrum to extend coverage in remote areas.

This agreement builds upon a previous commitment of $100 million from Verizon to support AST's service rollout. AST has already launched its first five BlueBird satellites into low Earth orbit and is developing the next generation of satellites with plans to deploy 45-60 satellites by 2026.

The satellite-to-cell market is rapidly evolving, with competitors like SpaceX's Starlink also rolling out direct-to-cell services. AST has demonstrated 4G and 5G connections between its satellites and smartphones.

Artificial Intelligence & Shopping

Google's AI-Powered Virtual Try-On Expands to Shoes and New Regions

Google is expanding its AI virtual try-on feature to Australia, Canada, and Japan, now including shoes.

Users can upload a photo to see how clothes and shoes look on them virtually.

The feature is accessible via the "Try It On" button on Google product listings.

Google also launched Doppl, an experimental app for deeper virtual try-on experiences.

Amazon and Walmart have also introduced similar virtual try-on technologies.

Artificial Intelligence

Google's Gemini CLI Opens to Third-Party Extensions, Empowering Developers

Google has introduced Gemini CLI Extensions, enabling third-party integrations with its command-line AI system. This launch, featuring extensions from companies like Figma and Stripe, follows OpenAI's integration of apps in ChatGPT. Unlike the curated access in ChatGPT, Gemini CLI extensions are openly available on GitHub, fostering an open ecosystem.
The first extension is Google's Nanobanana image generator, allowing users to generate images directly from the Gemini CLI terminal. With over one million users, Gemini CLI is heavily utilized by software developers, including Google's own codebase development.
Google aims to transform Gemini CLI into an extensible platform, connecting it to various tools within a developer's toolchain, according to Ryan J. Salva, Google's senior director of product management for developer tools.

Finance & Venture Capital

Qapita Secures Funding, Partners with Charles Schwab to Expand Equity Management Services

Qapita, a Singapore-based equity management platform, has raised $26.5 million in a Series B round led by Charles Schwab. This partnership introduces Schwab Private Issuer Equity Services, powered by Qapita, aimed at U.S. startups for managing cap tables and stock plans. Founded in 2019, Qapita helps private companies track ownership and manage employee equity across Southeast Asia and the U.S. With 2,700 companies using its platform, Qapita is expanding its presence in the U.S. through this collaboration. The funding will also support the launch of a fund admin product across multiple markets.

Finance

Revolut Enters India to Disrupt Cross-Border Payments Market

British fintech Revolut is launching in India to tackle the underserved cross-border payments market. Revolut aims to compete with traditional banks and fintech players by offering a prepaid wallet with UPI support, domestic and international Visa cards, and dedicated kids and teens accounts. The company has invested $45 million in India and plans to onboard 20 million users by 2030, processing $7 billion in transactions. Revolut has already secured regulatory approvals, including a PPI license, and acquired Arvog Forex to offer remittance and multi-currency account services. They will focus on full-KYC wallets to attract high-intent customers, measuring success through user engagement and profitability.

Artificial Intelligence

Zelda Williams Condemns AI Deepfakes of Her Late Father, Robin Williams

Zelda Williams, the daughter of Robin Williams, has publicly denounced the creation and sharing of AI-generated deepfake videos of her father. Her statement comes after the release of OpenAI's Sora 2 video model, which allows users to create realistic deepfakes. Williams expressed her distress and disapproval, emphasizing that such content is disrespectful and not what her father would have wanted. OpenAI's Sora 2 model has faced criticism for enabling the creation of deepfakes of deceased individuals without consent, raising ethical concerns about the use of AI technology to manipulate and exploit the likeness of the dead.

Artificial Intelligence

Google Expands AI Vibe-Coding App Opal to 15 More Countries with Enhanced Features

Google is expanding access to Opal, its AI-powered vibe-coding app, to 15 additional countries, including Canada, India, Japan, South Korea, and Brazil. The app enables users to create mini web apps using text prompts.

Early adopters in the U.S. surprised Google with sophisticated and practical apps, prompting the global expansion.

Opal allows users to describe their desired app, and Google's models generate it. Users can customize the app's visual workflow, edit prompts, and add new steps. Apps can be published and shared for others to test.

Google has improved Opal's debugging program, keeping it no-code. Users can run workflows step-by-step, tweak steps in the console, and see errors in context.

Performance improvements have significantly reduced app creation time. Steps can now run in parallel for complex workflows.