The CrowdStrike outage is a plot point in a rom-com
There’s a man in Florida right now who wants to propose to his girlfriend while they’re on a beach vacation. He couldn’t get the engagement ring before he flew down from New England, but it didn’t seem like that big of an issue — his girlfriend’s daughter Nicole was planning to join them in Florida to celebrate her mom’s birthday, so he asked her to pick up the ring before her flight. In a perfect world, Nicole — who didn’t want her last name to be published in case her mom finds out about the surprise proposal — would fly…
As Microsoft leaves its observer seat, OpenAI says it won’t have any more observers
Months after Microsoft gained an observer seat on OpenAI’s board, the company is leaving the position of the non-voting seat. In a letter sent to OpenAI on Tuesday, Microsoft said that the company has seen enough progress being made in the AI company and is confident in its direction, according to Axios. OpenAI said that after this change, there won’t be any more observers on the board. That likely rules out reports of Apple gaining an observer seat. “We’re grateful to Microsoft for voicing confidence in the Board and the direction of the company, and we look forward to continuing…
Intelmatix raises $20M Series A to enable MENA businesses to tap AI for decision-making
Intelmatix, a deep tech B2B startup that’s targeting businesses in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region wanting help to tap into the power of AI for decision-making, has closed a $20 million Series A funding round — one of the largest such rounds for a regional company of this type. The startup, which has offices in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; London, U.K.; and Boston, U.S. was founded back in 2021 but only launched its enterprise AI platform, EDIX, in March 2024. It told TechCrunch it’s picked up 10 enterprise customers so far — but flush with fresh funding, the…
Google brings Gemini-powered search history and Lens to Chrome desktop
Google Thursday said that it is introducing new Gemini-powered features for Chrome’s desktop version, including Lens for desktop, tab compare for shopping assistance, and natural language integration for search history. Years after introducing and evolving Google Lens on mobile, the feature is finally coming to desktop. Rolling out to users across the world in the coming days, Lens will live in the address bar, as well as the three-dot menu. After clicking, you can select a part of a page and ask more questions to get search results. You can also tap on objects, such as someone’s backpack in a…
How to opt out of facial recognition at airports (if you’re American)
U.S. airports are rolling out facial-recognition technology to scan the faces of travelers before they board their flight. Americans, at least, get to opt out. More than 230 U.S. airports have already rolled out facial-recognition technology, according to the website of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the federal agency tasked with border security. On one hand, the government claims that facial recognition reduces paper tickets and that it can be more efficient for travelers. But facial recognition remains imperfect and controversial. Technical problems and reliability issues plagued the initial rollout of airport facial recognition, and independent testing called…
