Posts by Liam Redmond
International Expansion: Japan Opens a Door for Founders
Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry announced on Monday that it will host Global Startup EXPO 2026 in Osaka from October 5 to 7, pitching the event squarely at overseas venture firms looking for a way into the Japanese market. Andreessen Horowitz, New Enterprise Associates and Atomico have all confirmed they are coming. A…
Read MoreBuilding Responsibly: How AI Data Centers Are Navigating the Power and Water Crunch
As AI development accelerates, attention is increasingly turning to the physical infrastructure needed to support it. The past few years have been marked by rapid development of AI models and platforms from major technology companies. As AI deployment expands, there is increasing demand for the data centers, electrical infrastructure and power capacity required to support…
Read MoreAI Regulation Gets a Push From Anthropic and OpenAI
Global AI stocks fell on Monday after Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei published a weekend essay asking rival labs to deliberately slow frontier model development. SoftBank closed Tokyo trading 10.7% under last week’s finish, a brutal session for a firm holding 13% of OpenAI. Nasdaq futures pointed 1.9% lower ahead of the US open. The…
Read MoreGeorgia mayor, 23, ousted 10 months after making history as state’s youngest mayor
Georgia’s youngest elected mayor was removed from office just 10 months after taking the job following allegations that he misused city funds and exchanged sexually suggestive messages and images with an 18-year-old high school student. Jayden Williams, who recently turned 23, was impeached by the Stockbridge City Council in the city south of Atlanta after…
Read MoreDemocratic leaders panic and GOP divides as AI fears spread
WASHINGTON — President Trump on Monday forcefully rejected calls to slow the development of artificial intelligence, dismissing concerns about its risks as a “hoax” and warning the United States remains locked in a fierce technological race with China. The president’s position has put him at odds with a growing chorus of industry leaders and bipartisan lawmakers warning…
Read MoreAI Content Creation Drives Pocket FM Past $500M ARR
Pocket Entertainment, the parent company of audio drama platform Pocket FM, announced on September 10 that it has passed $500 million in annual revenue run rate, growing 70% year over year. The company runs on a network of more than 550,000 creators and an ai content creation stack that handles production, localization, and distribution. The…
Read MoreAI Job Displacement Fears Miss What Main Street Did
Small businesses that started using artificial intelligence added staff faster than comparable businesses that did not, according to research Gusto published on September 10. The payroll company tracked 1,593 adopters against 669 firms that knew about AI but had not deployed it. Adopters expanded payroll roughly 7% faster over the following year, which cuts against…
Read MoreStartup Funding Reaches Founders Who Left Silicon Valley
Furo’s three co-founders are all 28, and they traded the Bay Area for Germany before closing $4 million from mostly American backers, TechCrunch reported on September 10. Lena Sophia Voss, Leonie Wagner, and Simon Wittner all spent time in the Bay Area, at UC Berkeley and Stanford, and each held a job offer and a…
Read MoreVendor Risk Management: 5 Moves After the IDScan Breach
Identity checking company IDScan has confirmed that hackers pulled driver’s license records out of its cloud systems, TechCrunch reported on September 10. The stolen material includes full names, license numbers, and ID numbers lifted from passports and similar official paperwork. IDScan says on its own site that it holds more than 150 million license records,…
Read MoreStartup Valuation Reset: Miro Sells at 92% Discount
The Italian software buyer Bending Spoons will pay $1.36 billion in cash for collaboration software maker Miro, TechCrunch reported on September 10. Miro carried a $17.5 billion price tag after a 2021 round. That puts the cash price roughly 92% below the old mark, which makes this the clearest startup valuation comparable of the year.…
Read MoreCalifornia gig drivers secure collective bargaining power with new union
California regulators certified a union representing Uber and Lyft drivers, marking a milestone in a years-long fight by gig workers in the state. The California Gig Workers Union will give drivers a seat at the table to negotiate pay, working conditions and benefits, union organizers said. California is the third state to allow ride-hailing drivers…
Read MoreBecerra backers with business in Sacramento spend tens of millions boosting his gubernatorial bid
Companies and special interest groups with some of the diciest issues expected to land on California’s next governor’s desk are among the top financial backers of Democrat Xavier Becerra, the gubernatorial front-runner. Money from Big Tech, the healthcare industry, labor unions and tribes helped propel Becerra’s bid for governor, which languished at the outset then…
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