At an event today focused on AI and security tools and new Surface devices, Microsoft announced that Windows 11 users will soon be able to take better advantage of passkeys, the digital credentials that can be used as an authentication method for websites and apps. Once the expanded passkeys support rolls out, Windows 11 users…
News aggregation startup Artifact co-founder Kevin Systrom doesn’t believe in AI doomerism, even as he’s developing a new app that’s embracing novel AI technologies. The Instagram co-founder, speaking onstage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2023, said it’s good that people are questioning the potential impacts of AI but feels it’s more likely that people will become “super-powered”…
FinanceGPT is a generative AI startup built to help companies in their financial analysis tasks. Initially built for startups without in-house finance teams, and VCs looking to run financial health checks for their portfolios in Africa, FinanceGPT (Ipoxcap) says it has over the last two years grown to attract a diverse range of clientele including…
YouTube this morning introduced a new app for creators, YouTube Create, that will offer a suite of easy-to-use, free tools that will allow them to make both Shorts and longer videos. The tool aims to address some of the challenges creators face, including the editing process and the ability to leverage creative tools, including things…
Proton, the Swiss company that develops privacy-focused online services such as email, has developed its very own CAPTCHA service to help discern between genuine login attempts and bots — and it touts the new system as the world’s first CAPTCHA that is “censorship resistant.” The company said it has already been testing its CAPTCHA system…
Olivia Deramus didn’t plan on becoming an entrepreneur. She grew up in Washington, D.C., obtained a degree in international relations and went the nonprofit route, helming campaigns around anti-violence work. Somewhere along the line, she pondered about the lack of digital safe spaces for women. Tolls, harassment and abuse run rampant on the internet, alongside…
Erika Brodnock describes herself as an outside-the-box thinker. That’s no surprise: Her father is a founder, and now she herself is an academic DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) researcher. Early, Brodnock had the drive and understanding that change is created — and data can help her drive it. Last year, she took her passions to…
People with diabetes have to monitor their blood sugar levels regularly by pricking their skin. Many glucose-monitoring device makers worldwide are pursuing needle-free approaches to make this painful process more manageable. Among them is a South Korean company called HME Square, which uses photoacoustics to test glucose levels noninvasively. HME Square was founded in 2020…
Most electronic waste isn’t recycled; instead, our dumped devices (and the toxic metals within) pile up in landfills, polluting the air and contaminating nearby soil and groundwater. Ghana-based AppCyclers aims to tackle this crisis across Africa via an online marketplace, where individuals and businesses can buy and sell recyclable e-waste. The startup says its mission…
You know what’s really awesome? Watching founders pitch on the TechCrunch Disrupt stage as part of Startup Battlefield 200. The pitches are world class, and the founders do such a good job, even as they are being grilled by the investors onstage. I’ve pitched onstage; it’s absolutely nerve-wracking. But throughout the week, I noticed several…
