What is happening with all these new venture funds?
A growing number of venture firms may be uncorking champagne ahead of the New Year. Today, a handful of investment firms announced new funds: Artis Ventures, BoxGroup, Playground Global and Singular all closed on funds, while Partech said it was…
Boston Dynamics joins forces with firm behind ‘Avatar,’ ‘Jurassic Park’ animatronics
Since the company’s earliest days as an MIT spinoff, Boston Dynamics’ systems have always provided entertainment value. It’s something the Hyundai-owned firm has long embraced by releasing dozens of wildly viral videos over the decades. With a few exceptions, however,…
Twitch’s new nudity policy allows illustrated nipples, but not human underboob
Twitch announced sweeping updates to its sexual content policy and content classification system, which now allows previously prohibited content like illustrated nipples and “erotic dances,” in addition to clarifying what nudity is and isn’t allowed on the platform. The update…
Spotify u-turns on Uruguay exit after government gives assurances on artist payments
Spotify has reversed course on a decision to exit the Uruguayan market, after gaining assurances from the government that copyright law changes it’s introducing won’t result in Spotify incurring extra costs. For those not following all the goings-ons in Uruguay’s…
FCC issues final denial of $885M Starlink subsidy
The FCC has made a final denial of Starlink’s application for $885 million in public funds to expand its orbital communications infrastructure to cover parts of rural America, saying the company “failed to demonstrate that it could deliver the promised…
How GenAI can turn an autobiography into an interactive Black history lesson
We talk a lot about the negative side of AI, but what about the positive aspects like being able to interact with authors or historical figures based on feeding their writing into a large language model? James Lowry may not…
Fortnite maker Epic Games wins its antitrust fight against Google
On Monday, a jury sided with Epic Games over Google in an antitrust case that could reshape how app marketplaces like Google Play are allowed to operate. The unanimous verdict wraps up a three-year-long legal battle between the companies. Epic,…
Tumblr’s ‘fediverse’ integration is still being worked on, says owner and Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg
Despite delays, the plan to connect Tumblr’s blogging site to the wider world of decentralized social media, also known as the “fediverse,” is still on, it seems. Over a year ago, Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg — whose company acquired Tumblr…
SumUp taps €285M more in growth funding to weather the fintech storm
SumUp — the fintech that provides payments and related services to some 4 million small businesses in Europe, the Americas and Australia — has picked up some growth funding to navigate the choppy waters of the current fintech market, waters…
Here are the newly minted fintech unicorns
Welcome back to The Interchange, where we take a look at the hottest fintech news of the previous week. If you want to receive The Interchange directly in your inbox every Sunday, head here to sign up! We’re looking at a bunch…