amazon Amazon Offers Logistics and On-Site Vaccine Support to Biden Administration Amazon pledges its operations, technology, and healthcare partnerships to help President Biden achieve his goal of vaccinating 100 million Americans in 100 days.
ivf Israeli Startup Leverages AI to Increase IVF Success Rates Embryonics develops an algorithm that uses time-lapsed imaging to predict embryo implantation probability, aiming to reduce the number of costly IVF cycles women endure.
whitehouse.gov Biden Administration Adds Dark Mode and Accessibility Features to WhiteHouse.gov The newly inaugurated Biden administration immediately updates WhiteHouse.gov with a trendy dark mode, large text toggle, and a strict pledge to meet modern web accessibility standards.
anthony levandowski Trump Pardons Former Uber Engineer Convicted of Stealing Waymo Trade Secrets President Trump grants a full pardon to Anthony Levandowski, erasing his 18-month prison sentence for stealing self-driving car documents from Google. The controversial move draws support from tech leaders despite the judge calling it the biggest trade secret crime he had ever seen.
anthony levandowski Trump Pardons Former Google Engineer Convicted of Self-Driving Trade Secret Theft Former Google engineer Anthony Levandowski receives a full presidential pardon after serving time for stealing driverless car trade secrets. The move has backing from notable tech figures including Peter Thiel and Palmer Luckey.
microsoft Microsoft Joins $2 Billion Investment in GM's Cruise Autonomous Unit Microsoft partners with General Motors and Cruise to accelerate self-driving technology, contributing to a $2 billion funding round that values Cruise at $30 billion. The tech giant will also serve as the preferred cloud provider for both companies.
cruise Microsoft Invests $2 Billion in Cruise to Push Autonomous Rides Cruise secures a massive $2 billion funding round led by Microsoft, pairing new capital with a strategic cloud partnership to scale its self-driving ride-hailing ambitions.
traceair Construction Startup TraceAir Secures $3.5M to Expand Drone Site Management TraceAir raises $3.5 million in a Series A round led by XTX Ventures to grow its drone-based construction monitoring platform. The funding aims to boost sales and marketing while supporting remote project management during the pandemic.
facebook Facebook and Instagram Upgrade AI Image Captions with Richer Details Facebook and Instagram significantly improve their automatic alt text AI to include ten times more concepts and optional on-demand detailed descriptions. This upgrade provides visually impaired users with much richer context about the photos in their feeds.
anthony levandowski Trump Pardons Former Google Engineer Anthony Levandowski for Trade Secret Theft Former Google engineer Anthony Levandowski receives a full presidential pardon for stealing self-driving car trade secrets, avoiding his 18-month prison sentence. The pardon draws support from major tech figures including Peter Thiel and Palmer Luckey.
autonomous vehicles Nuro Secures First Commercial Autonomous Vehicle Permit in California Nuro becomes the first company to receive a California DMV permit for the commercial deployment of autonomous vehicles on public streets. The company plans to launch driverless delivery services in the Bay Area using a fleet of Prius and custom R2 vehicles.
whatsapp WhatsApp Delays Privacy Policy Enforcement Amid User Backlash WhatsApp postpones its controversial privacy policy update to May 15th after widespread user confusion and a massive exodus to rival messaging apps. The company insists the changes do not expand its ability to share user data with parent company Facebook.
joe biden Biden Grants Cabinet Status to Science Adviser, Nominates Eric Lander President-elect Joe Biden nominates Eric Lander as his science adviser and elevates the role to cabinet rank. Biden also outlines five key priorities for science, including pandemic recovery, climate change, and economic prosperity.
salesforce Salesforce Ventures Leads $15M Investment in Indian HR Startup Darwinbox Indian HR tech startup Darwinbox raises $15 million in a Series C round led by Salesforce Ventures to expand its cloud-based platform across Asia.
ces CES Shifts Focus to In-Vehicle Screens as Uber Plans New Spinoff This week's transportation news highlights a CES dominated by vehicle infotainment and giant screens rather than autonomous driving tech, alongside hints at another Uber spinoff.