Techcrunch blog!: Generative AI startup Typeface secures unicorn valuation after closing $100M Series B

Thursday, June 29, 2023

Today, like so many of our days, was full of artificial intelligence news. One of the top stories involved Typeface's valuation entering unicorn territory after securing a whopping $100 million in new funding. The company provides generative AI tools so that enterprise customers, most of them brands, can deliver personalized content. And that's not all A-I have for you:

Oh wait, there's more: Just when it seems like Microsoft has applied artificial intelligence to everything it has, the software giant surprises us with another announcement, this time with new AI-powered shopping tools for Bing and Edge.

So yesterday, we told you about DoorDash's new hourly option for its delivery people, and today we have more information on why "hourly" might not be so hourly.

Now over to Meta, where we have a pair of stories related to its recommendation models. One questioned if it was necessary for the social media giant to prepare for behavior analysis systems that are "orders of magnitude" bigger than the biggest large language models out there, while the other discussed why we are seeing the recommendations we do.

Meanwhile, we tell you how Virgin Galactic's, shall we say "virgin," commercial flight went.

Image Credits: piranka / Getty Images

More top stories

When funding falls: India's startup funding is down 68%, which could be blamed on Tiger and SoftBank making virtually no deals in the region during the first half of the year.

That one time, in school…: A high school in Illinois changed every student's password to "Ch@ngeme!," which gave students a chance to hack into each other's accounts.

Lightspeed's first Africa investment: Ghana's Berry Health got a $1.6 million boost from investors, including Lightspeed, to tackle mental health.

Vrooom: In today's car talk, Halo.Car launches a remote-piloted rental car delivery service in Las Vegas, VW subsidiary Electrify America gets in on the Tesla connector craze and we report on how Porsche plans to grow its margins with luxury and speed.

Concrete plans for growth: Material Evolution snagged $19 million in fresh capital to decarbonize the cement industry.

Connecting the dots: The faster companies can identify cyberattacks, the better they can thwart them. Enter Cyware, which secured $30 million for its approach to modern cybersecurity operations.

More layoffs: Streaming app Plex lays off 20% of its workforce amid advertising slowdown, while Pokémon GO maker Niantic laid off even more employees today.

Haus has a new house: Popular aperitif maker Haus is back on virtual shelves now after being acquired by The Naked Market.

Power picker: Warehouses are big, but B Garage wants to make it easier for companies to locate their inventory with the help of drones. It raised $20 million to continue building its technology and tackling labor shortages.

Add these to your reading list, too:

Level wants to back your fund — and your portfolio companies too

Social trading app Shares receives EU stock trading license

Millions affected by MOVEit mass-hacks as list of casualties continues to grow

Snapchat+ reaches 4 million paid subscribers since launching a year ago

How to see who viewed your TikTok profile

Image Credits: Getty Images

Ready to pimp your applications with an AI agent?

Crypto losses halved in Q2 2023 to $204M

Are the rug pulls, exploits and pump-and-dump schemes that have scammed so many crypto consumers becoming a thing of the past?

According to a report by De.Fi that used information from REKT, “losses in the second quarter were 55% narrower than in Q1 2023, when the industry lost a whopping $462.3 million to hacks and scams,” writes Jacquelyn Melinek.

Four more from the TC+ team:

Big tech corporate venture capital 🤝 generative AI startups

Batteries beat oil and gas as AI startup pivots to critical minerals exploration

When companies have more influence than countries

As $100M+ venture rounds evaporate, IPOs might have to carry the weight

TechCrunch+ is our membership program that helps founders and startup teams get ahead of the pack. You can sign up here. Use code "DC" for a 15% discount on an annual subscription.