News

Worldcoin, a cryptocurrency organization, has been recruiting individuals in Uganda and Kenya to scan their iris into a metallic orb in exchange for cryptocurrency. The company promotes its World ID as a novel digital identity that provides access to universal basic income, online banking, and a streamlined virtual currency payment system. However, concerns have been raised about violations of national data protection laws and the aggressive marketing tactics associated with Worldcoin. While some people are intrigued by the concept, others question the purpose and potential misuse of their biometric data. Governments, including Kenya, have initiated investigations into the project. Despite the controversies, Worldcoin’s participants see the utility and potential benefits of the World ID.

Redwood Materials, a battery-recycling startup founded by JB Straubel, a Tesla board member, has appointed Colin Campbell, Tesla’s vice president of powertrain engineering, as its chief technology officer. Redwood’s mission is to create a circular battery supply chain by turning end-of-life electric vehicle batteries and scrap into raw materials and components for new battery cells.

The company aims to localize the fragmented battery system by producing critical battery components at scale in the US, using an increasing amount of recycled content. The move follows Campbell’s 17-year tenure at Tesla and is part of Redwood’s ongoing efforts to attract top talent from the electric vehicle company. Tesla has not yet commented on the departure.

China has quietly revived its elite scientist recruitment program, the Thousand Talents Plan (TTP), under a new name and format called Qiming. The revamped initiative aims to attract foreign-trained scientists to accelerate China’s technological proficiency and achieve self-reliance in semiconductors amid US export curbs.

Qiming offers attractive perks such as home-purchase subsidies and signing bonuses ranging from $420,000 to $700,000. Despite concerns about intellectual property theft and political risks, thousands of applicants have applied, many with doctorates from top US universities, including MIT, Harvard, and Stanford.

Summary: AI startup Hugging Face has secured $235 million in a Series D funding round, led by participation from major companies such as Google, Amazon, Nvidia, Intel, AMD, Qualcomm, IBM, Salesforce, and Sound Ventures. The funding values Hugging Face at $4.5 billion, reflecting the growing demand for AI and supporting platforms.

Hugging Face offers a range of data science hosting and development tools, and its paid functionality includes features like automating AI model training and speeding up data processing. The company plans to focus on research, enterprise, and startup support with its new funding.

Shares of Better.com, a digital mortgage company, have drastically declined following its long-awaited SPAC merger and public debut. The company’s decision to go public in 2021 at a $7.7 billion valuation seemed promising at the time, with a profitable year and low mortgage interest rates. However, as the housing market slowed and the company faced financial challenges and negative publicity, it began laying off employees and experiencing significant losses. Despite these setbacks, Better.com persisted with its SPAC plans and completed the merger, but its share value has plummeted more than 90% in a single day.

This decline is not uncommon in the world of SPAC deals. The company’s CEO has expressed optimism for the future, citing a turnaround in the housing market and the potential of Better.com’s technology. With its newfound capital, Better.com will now operate as a public company, facing regular earnings reports and the opportunity to raise more capital through stock sales. Despite this, investor confidence appears low.

Nvidia’s second-quarter earnings far exceeded expectations, reaffirming the lucrative potential in selling AI hardware for generative applications. The company’s A100 and H100 AI chips have become integral to building and running AI programs like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, leading to a surge in demand. Cloud service providers and enterprise IT system providers are increasingly adopting Nvidia hardware, further fueling the transition towards generative AI.

While the gaming unit remains a significant revenue driver, Nvidia’s data center business has taken the forefront, generating a staggering $10.32 billion in revenue. Nvidia’s strategic decisions to embrace AI-powered image processing, such as ray tracing, have paid off handsomely. The company projects further growth and foresees revenue of $16 billion for the upcoming quarter. Accelerated computing is praised as a cost-effective and high-performing method, further motivating the industry to shift towards this new computing era powered by generative AI.

Digital mortgage lender Better, backed by SoftBank, announced its plans to go public on the Nasdaq stock exchange via a merger with a blank-check company. After a tumultuous two years marked by regulatory scrutiny and declining mortgage demand, the listing will test market appetite for home lenders amidst U.S. Federal Reserve rate hikes. The merger will provide Better with $550 million from SoftBank, which will be used to expand mortgage product offerings in anticipation of increased demand for refinancings next year. The company plans to go public as U.S. mortgage rates continue to rise, contributing to weakened home builder confidence in August.