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They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and Google seems to agree. On Tuesday, the company added a feature to its AI-powered Gemini chatbot that the company is calling Canvas. Similar in concept to OpenAI’s identically named Canvas tool for ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Artifacts, Canvas provides Gemini users with an interactive space where they can create, refine, and share writing and coding projects. “Canvas is designed for seamless collaboration with Gemini,” Gemini product director Dave Citron wrote in a blog post shared with TechCrunch. “With these new features, Gemini is becoming an even more effective collaborator, helping you…

AI coding assistants are becoming wildly popular, with the vast majority of respondents in GitHub’s latest poll saying that they’ve adopted AI tools in some form. Y Combinator partner Jared Friedman recently claimed that a quarter of YC’s W25 startup batch have 95% of their codebases generated by AI. Sensing an opportunity, VCs are rushing to back startups developing AI-powered assistive programming tools. One of these startups, Graphite, on Tuesday announced that it raised $52 million in a Series B round led by Accel, with participation from Anthropic’s Anthology Fund with Menlo Ventures, Shopify Ventures, Figma Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz and The General Partnership. Tomas…

Arcade, an AI agent infrastructure startup founded by former Okta exec Alex Salazar and former Redis engineer Sam Partee, has raised $12 million from Laude Ventures. Laude is the new fund launched in 2024 by Perplexity co-founder Andy Konwinski, the UC Berkeley computer scientist who also co-founded Databricks. This isn’t the only check Laude has cut. But it is the first publicly announced one, Laude co-founder and general partner Pete Sonsini told TechCrunch. Sonsini is well-known for his years at NEA, where he led early investments in Databricks, Anyscale, and Perplexity. As for Salazar, he’s a repeat founder. He landed at Okta after…

In a brief message Tuesday morning on Threads, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the company’s “open” AI model family, Llama, hit 1 billion downloads. That’s up from 650 million downloads as of early December 2024 — a 153% increase over a roughly-three-month period. Llama, which powers Meta’s AI assistant, Meta AI, across the tech giant’s various platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, is a part of Meta’s yearslong bid to foster a wide-ranging AI product ecosystem. The company makes the models, as well as the tools required to fine-tune and customize them, available for free under a proprietary license. Some…

It’s time to make your voice heard. After receiving an overwhelming amount of applications for speakers at TechCrunch Sessions: AI, we have chosen six incredible finalists. TC Sessions: AI takes place on June 5 in Zellerbach Hall at UC Berkeley — and you have the power to decide who you want to take the stage to share their wisdom with 1,200 AI leaders and enthusiasts. Audience Choice voting lasts until March 21 at 11:59 p.m. PT. You can only pick one speaker, so make your vote count! Also, don’t forget to register your ticket now to save up to $210…

At least 11 state-sponsored threat groups have been abusing Windows shortcut files for espionage and data theft, according to an analysis by Trend Micro’s Zero Day Initiative (ZDI). Shortcut files, also referred to as LNK or .lnk files, use the Shell Link binary file format to store information for accessing other data objects. These LNK files can point to files, folders or applications.  However, for years threat actors have been using specially crafted LNK files that embed command-line arguments for Cmd or PowerShell that are designed to download and execute malware. ZDI has identified nearly 1,000 malicious LNK files set…

Ekuiti Nasional Berhad (Ekuinas) has announced a strategic investment in Bluesify Solutions, a leading Malaysian Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP).Founded in 2012 by Izman Ibrahim and Faroze Mohd Salleh, Bluesify offers a comprehensive suite of cybersecurity services. These include a 24/7 Managed Cyber Detection and Response Centre, Managed Threat Intelligence and Threat Hunting, Cyber Incident Response Services, and Cyber Resilience and Consulting Services. The company caters to a diverse clientele, including financial institutions, energy and infrastructure firms, healthcare providers, government agencies, and statutory bodies.Ekuinas CEO Dato’ Syed Yasir Arafat Syed Abd Kadir said, “Cyberattacks have significantly increased in both scale…

Protectt.ai, a leading provider of AI-powered mobile app security solutions, has secured INR 76Cr ($8.7m) in a Series A funding round led by Bessemer Venture Partners.The investment will fuel the company’s efforts to enhance its AI-driven security platform, accelerate product development, and expand its operations internationally, with a focus on the US, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific region.The funds will also be allocated to strengthening Protectt.ai’s cybersecurity capabilities, particularly in AI security, and to recruiting niche talent in the field.With cyber threats growing at an alarming rate, the company aims to bolster protection for mobile apps across industries, including…

HITRUST has secured a growth investment from Brighton Park Capital to further its expansion and innovation in cybersecurity and information risk assurance.The investment aims to support HITRUST’s mission as global concerns over cyber threats and regulatory compliance continue to rise. Despite the new backing, HITRUST will remain under the leadership of CEO Daniel Nutkis, with no changes to its strategic direction. The funding will be directed toward expanding its international presence, venturing into new verticals, and enhancing its product portfolio.Founded in 2007 by Nutkis, HITRUST has positioned itself as a leading provider of information security assurance, offering solutions that help…

Google on Tuesday confirmed reports that it’s in the process of acquiring cloud security giant Wiz in a $32 billion all-cash deal. Once the transaction is completed, Wiz will join Google Cloud, which also includes Mandiant (acquired for $5.4 billion in 2022).  “This acquisition represents an investment by Google Cloud to accelerate two large and growing trends in the AI era: improved cloud security and the ability to use multiple clouds (multicloud),” Google said.  A possible acquisition of Wiz by Google was first announced in July 2024, when the deal was reportedly valued at $23 billion. Wiz walked away from…