Also: How Apple is trying to improve its AI models
Welcome to TechCrunch AM! This morning, we're looking at why DHgate is No. 3 on the App Store; breakthroughs in prosthetics; and Apple's efforts to improve its AI. We've also got notes on: fresh funds for startups spanning car insurance, nuclear fusion and robotics; more drama in the Deel-Rippling case; Uber and Waymo's next big launch, and more. Let's dive in! — Rebecca | | | Image Credits: Marshmallow | 1. Skip the middleman: If everything is made in China anyway and marked up for Western labels, why not just go directly to the source? That's what some people are doing to avoid Trump's tariffs. Chinese wholesale marketplace app DHgate surged to become the No. 3 top free iPhone app in the U.S. App Store yesterday. Read More 2. The good kind of sci-fi: Phantom Neuro thinks it can use amputees' phantom limb syndrome to help them control prosthetic limbs, and it's just raised $19 million to fund its wristband-like device that gets implanted under the skin to "read" nerve impulses. Read More 3. S'more insurance: U.K. startup Marshmallow has signed on a million drivers and reached ARR of $500 million by using data science to put together car insurance policies for immigrants. Now, it's raised a fresh $90 million to expand into financial services. Read More | | | Image Credits: Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto / Getty Images | 🏃♀️ Scrambling: Apple hopes to address criticism about its underwhelming AI products by analyzing user data privately with the aid of synthetic data. While Apple isn't directly training its AI models on private data, it's relying on access to device analytics. Read More 🤖 Building blocks: South Korean startup RLWRLD has come out of stealth with $14.8 million to build a foundation AI model for robotics that will allow robots to do more than just repetitive tasks. Read More 🔋 Fusion supply chains: Nuclear fusion startups have many hurdles to jump, including the overlooked issue of where to source a key ingredient: a specific isotope of lithium. Hexium has emerged from stealth with $8 million to solve that problem using lasers. Read More 🍿 Hot and piping tea: HR tech startup Rippling is trying to serve Deel's CEO Alex Bouaziz with papers as part of its lawsuit against. But French bailiffs can't seem to find Bouaziz. Read More 🚕 Midnight robotaxi to Georgia: Uber is gearing up to launch ridesharing on Waymo robotaxis in Atlanta. Locals can join a list to be the first to use the service, launching this summer. Read More | | | 🙃 Calling the sky blue: During Meta's antitrust trial, Mark Zuckerberg attempted to squash allegations that Facebook is a social networking monopoly by saying that, actually, Facebook isn't really about friends anymore, per Business Insider. Read More 🛰️ Silicon dome: U.S. satellite startup Astranis Space Technologies is partnering with Taiwan's biggest telco to launch a MicroGEO satellite in a bid to strengthen its defense against potential Chinese attempts to impose information blackouts, per Bloomberg. Read More 🈲 Play nice: Japan's Fair Trade Commission has ordered Google to stop forcing its local smartphone manufacturers to use its apps, per Bloomberg. The order comes ahead of high-stakes trade negotiations with the U.S. this week. Read More | | | 🤳 Back to basics: Neptune is a new short-form video app hoping to compete with TikTok, and one of its unique selling points is that creators can hide likes and follower counts. Founder Ashely Darling says she's hearing from creators and users that they "miss when social media was fun. When it was about creativity, not competition." Read More | | | Featured jobs from CrunchBoard | | | Has this been forwarded to you? Click here to subscribe to this newsletter. | | | Update your preferences here at any time | | Copyright © 2024 TechCrunch, All rights reserved.Yahoo Inc. 680 Folsom Street,San Francisco,CA | | | | |
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