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Hacker tricks ChatGPT into giving out detailed instructions for making homemade bombs

AI /

If you ask ChatGPT to help you make a homemade fertilizer bomb, similar to the one used in the 1995 Oklahoma City terrorist bombing, the chatbot refuses.  “I can’t assist with that,” ChatGPT told me during a test on Tuesday. “Providing instructions on how to create dangerous or illegal items, such as a fertilizer bomb, […]

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OffDeal wants to help small businesses find big exits with AI agents

AI /

Small businesses are the unsung heroes of the American economy, employing nearly half of America’s workforce and making up 44% of the country’s GDP. But when it’s time for small business owners to sell their companies, their options are limited. Some go to small business brokers or pass the business on to their children, while

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Media talent app HUSSLUP shuts down as workers in Hollywood continue to face job slowdown

Startups /

HUSSLUP founder and CEO H Schuster notified users on Wednesday that it would be taking an “indefinite hiatus” starting Friday, according to an email seen by TechCrunch. The job search and networking app for the entertainment industry was launched to the public in January after being in an invite-only beta phase for the past three

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Connectly, now backed by Alibaba, taps AI to personalize text messages to customers

Startups /

Stefanos Loukakos, formerly a director at Meta’s business-focused Messenger division and, briefly, the tech giant’s blockchain org, noticed several years ago that online retailers were struggling to connect with potential shoppers. The problem, in his opinion, was that their marketing campaigns weren’t tailored enough. Merchants were sending generic social media, text, and email blasts that failed to

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French embedded insurance startup Neat secures $55 million

Fundraising /

It’s not every day that you hear about a large funding round for a French startup in the current funding environment. But Neat, a Paris-based insurtech startup, has managed to raise €50 million (around $55 million at current exchange rates). There is some fine print however. In addition to the traditional equity-for-cash financial transaction, a

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EV warranty startup Amber launches a remote diagnostic service for Teslas

Transportation /

EV warranty startup Amber is expanding nationwide, bringing on new vehicles and offering a new remote diagnostic scan — all signs that the one-year-old company is putting its recent $3.18 million seed round to good use. The startup launched an aftermarket warranty product for Tesla vehicles called AmberCare — which is a suite of warranty

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Spare fixes cities’ outdated transport services for disabled residents

Fundraising /

Cities spend hundreds of millions each year on paratransit services, or public rides for disabled residents, yet those services remain limited and unpredictable. Wheelchair users often face late pickups, hindering them from getting to work or medical appointments on time. As populations age, the strain on these services and city budgets continues to grow.  Vancouver-based

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Hardware companies dominate a list of promising climate tech startups

Climate /

What will it take for a startup to make a dent in climate change? The most promising candidates tend to be hardware startups that have spent years developing and proving their technologies, according to a new report. Oh, and it helps to specialize in energy or raw materials. The report, published by Congruent Ventures and

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Sri Mandir helps Hindus visit sacred temples and offer donations, virtually from their phones

Apps /

While living in the U.S., the Trivedi family was looking for a solution to follow a ritual practice of worshiping at one of India’s Jyotirlingas — a holy representation of the Hindu god Shiva. After searching on YouTube for ways to offer flowers and other items ceremonially at the Indian temple one Sunday in 2023,

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Alpha Partners raises $153M third fund for pro-rata investments

Fundraising /

Steve Brotman started Alpha Partners in 2014 with a novel idea at the time: investing alongside early-stage VCs to help preserve their ownership in promising companies as they transition to later funding rounds. Alpha’s first fund was a mere $10 million. But as startups started staying private for longer, the VC industry invented various mechanisms

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