Southeast Asia's AI startups accounted for $1.7B of the roughly $20B raised in the Asia-Pacific region, indicating a much smaller share of regional funding.
confirmed 1 article 2024-12-22
Southeast Asia AI startups Asia-Pacific AI startups
Preqin data: Southeast Asia's AI startups raised just $1.7B across 122 deals so far in 2024, out of ~$20B across 1,845 deals for the whole Asia-Pacific region
Bloomberg · 2024-12-22 · #9
Tether expects to invest $2.5 billion to $3 billion in 2025 across AI, finance, biotech, education, and mining.
confirmed 1 article 2024-12-22
Tether $2.5B-$3B 2025 AI finance biotech education mining
Tether says it is on track for a record $10B net profit in 2024 and expects to invest $2.5B to $3B in 2025 across AI, finance, biotech, education, and mining
Axios · 2024-12-22 · #19
Sensor Tower reports Blinkit had 30M monthly active users in Nov 2024, up from 28M in May 2022.
confirmed 1 article 2024-12-22
Blinkit 30M (Nov 2024) 28M (May 2022)
A report projects India's online food delivery market will reach $15B by March 2029.
rumored 1 article 2024-12-22
Online food delivery market in India
A look at India's quick food delivery market as Swiggy and Zomato enter the sector; report: online food delivery market in India to reach $15B by March 2029
Bloomberg · 2024-12-22 · #13
Preqin reports the whole Asia-Pacific region's AI startups raised roughly $20B across 1,845 deals in 2024.
confirmed 1 article 2024-12-22
Preqin Asia-Pacific AI startups
Preqin data: Southeast Asia's AI startups raised just $1.7B across 122 deals so far in 2024, out of ~$20B across 1,845 deals for the whole Asia-Pacific region
Bloomberg · 2024-12-22 · #9
RUM shares jump over 35% after hours following the announcement.
confirmed 1 article 2024-12-21
Rumble RUM
Rumble announces a $775M investment from Tether and plans to use $525M to fund a tender offer for ~70M shares of its common stock; RUM jumps 35%+ after hours
CoinDesk · 2024-12-21 · #29
Rumble announces a $775M investment from Tether.
confirmed 1 article 2024-12-21
Rumble Tether
Rumble announces a $775M investment from Tether and plans to use $525M to fund a tender offer for ~70M shares of its common stock; RUM jumps 35%+ after hours
CoinDesk · 2024-12-21 · #29
Rumble plans to use $525M to fund a tender offer for approximately 70 million shares of its common stock.
confirmed 1 article 2024-12-21
Rumble common stock (~70M shares)
Rumble announces a $775M investment from Tether and plans to use $525M to fund a tender offer for ~70M shares of its common stock; RUM jumps 35%+ after hours
CoinDesk · 2024-12-21 · #29
Sources say David Sacks will not divest from Craft, which is cited as a reason his White House AI and crypto role would be limited.
denied 1 article 2024-12-21
David Sacks Craft
Sources: David Sacks' role as WH AI and crypto czar will be limited to an adviser role, overseen by Michael Kratsios, partly because he won't divest from Craft
Fortune · 2024-12-21 · #27
Sensor Tower data indicates Zepto surpassed rival Blinkit in monthly active users for the first time in Nov 2024 (31M vs 30M).
confirmed 1 article 2024-12-21
Zepto Blinkit MAUs (Nov 2024)
Sensor Tower: Indian quick commerce startup Zepto had 31M MAUs in Nov. 2024, up from 6M in May 2022; Blinkit had 30M MAUs in Nov. 2024, up from 28M in May 2022
India Dispatch · 2024-12-21 · #16
Sensor Tower data shows Blinkit's monthly active users were 30M in Nov 2024, up from 28M in May 2022.
confirmed 1 article 2024-12-21
Blinkit 30M (Nov 2024) 28M (May 2022)
Sensor Tower: Indian quick commerce startup Zepto had 31M MAUs in Nov. 2024, up from 6M in May 2022; Blinkit had 30M MAUs in Nov. 2024, up from 28M in May 2022
India Dispatch · 2024-12-21 · #16
Reportedly, the total compute cost for the ARC evaluation was around $1,600,250 and the top-end o3 system runs at roughly $10k per task.
confirmed 1 article 2024-12-21
o3 ~$1,600,250 total compute (reported) $10k per-task top-end system (reported)
o3, trained on the ARC-AGI-1 Public Training set, scored 87.5% on ARC Prize's Semi-Private Evaluation in a high-compute configuration; GPT-4o scored 5% in 2024
ARC Prize · 2024-12-21 · #13
GPT-4o scored 5% on the ARC Prize Semi-Private Evaluation in 2024.
confirmed 1 article 2024-12-21
GPT-4o ARC Prize Semi-Private Evaluation
o3, trained on the ARC-AGI-1 Public Training set, scored 87.5% on ARC Prize's Semi-Private Evaluation in a high-compute configuration; GPT-4o scored 5% in 2024
ARC Prize · 2024-12-21 · #13
Sensor Tower data shows Zepto's monthly active users rose to 31M in Nov 2024, up from 6M in May 2022.
confirmed 1 article 2024-12-21
Zepto 31M (Nov 2024) 6M (May 2022)
Sensor Tower: Indian quick commerce startup Zepto had 31M MAUs in Nov. 2024, up from 6M in May 2022; Blinkit had 30M MAUs in Nov. 2024, up from 28M in May 2022
India Dispatch · 2024-12-21 · #16
The U.S. awards Texas Instruments a $1.6 billion CHIPS Act grant to support new semiconductor factories in Texas and Utah.
confirmed 1 article 2024-12-21
United States Texas Instruments new factories in Texas and Utah $1.6B
The US awards a $4.75B CHIPS Act grant to Samsung and $1.6B to Texas Instruments for new factories in Texas and Utah, rounding out the program's largest grants
Bloomberg · 2024-12-21 · #11
The U.S. awards Samsung a $4.75 billion CHIPS Act grant to support new semiconductor factories in Texas and Utah.
confirmed 1 article 2024-12-21
United States Samsung new factories in Texas and Utah $4.75B
The US awards a $4.75B CHIPS Act grant to Samsung and $1.6B to Texas Instruments for new factories in Texas and Utah, rounding out the program's largest grants
Bloomberg · 2024-12-21 · #11
The Biden administration is racing to complete and disburse federal CHIPS Act grants, including the largest awards of the program.
confirmed 1 article 2024-12-21
Biden administration CHIPS Act grants
The US awards a $4.75B CHIPS Act grant to Samsung and $1.6B to Texas Instruments for new factories in Texas and Utah, rounding out the program's largest grants
Bloomberg · 2024-12-21 · #11
OpenAI's o3 model scored 87.5% on the ARC Prize Semi-Private Evaluation in a high-compute (172x) configuration.
confirmed 1 article 2024-12-21
o3 ARC Prize Semi-Private Evaluation high-compute configuration (172x)
o3, trained on the ARC-AGI-1 Public Training set, scored 87.5% on ARC Prize's Semi-Private Evaluation in a high-compute configuration; GPT-4o scored 5% in 2024
ARC Prize · 2024-12-21 · #13
Orion's development is reportedly constrained by very high computing/training costs.
rumored 1 article 2024-12-21
OpenAI GPT-5 (Orion)
Sources: OpenAI's GPT-5, codenamed Orion, is behind schedule and faces technical hurdles, including high computing costs and limited high-quality training data
Wall Street Journal · 2024-12-21 · #6
TrendForce projects global shipments of VR and MR headsets will reach approximately 9.6 million units in 2024, an 8.8% year-over-year increase.
rumored 1 article 2024-12-21
TrendForce VR and MR headsets
Global shipments of VR and MR headsets are expected to reach ~9.6M units in 2024, up 8.8% YoY; Meta remains the global leader with a 73% market share
TrendForce · 2024-12-21 · #25
TrendForce reports Meta remains the global leader in VR and MR headsets with a 73% market share.
rumored 1 article 2024-12-21
Meta VR and MR headsets
Global shipments of VR and MR headsets are expected to reach ~9.6M units in 2024, up 8.8% YoY; Meta remains the global leader with a 73% market share
TrendForce · 2024-12-21 · #25
Linden Lab says it has paid out $1.1 billion to creators on Second Life.
confirmed 1 article 2024-12-20
Linden Lab creators $1.1B
Linden Lab says it has spent $1.3B building Second Life since 2003, paid out $1.1B to creators, and the virtual world has an economy of ~$650M per year
VentureBeat · 2024-12-20 · #4
Second Life has an economy of approximately $650 million per year, according to Linden Lab.
confirmed 1 article 2024-12-20
Second Life $650M per year
Linden Lab says it has spent $1.3B building Second Life since 2003, paid out $1.1B to creators, and the virtual world has an economy of ~$650M per year
VentureBeat · 2024-12-20 · #4
Sony's shares in Japan rose over 50% from an August low to reach a new all-time high since 2000 last week.
confirmed 1 article 2024-12-20
Sony
Sony's shares in Japan surged 50%+ from an August low to reach its new all-time high since 2000 last week, as investors are bullish on its gaming growth in 2025
Bloomberg · 2024-12-20 · #8
Linden Lab says it has spent $1.3 billion building the Second Life virtual world since 2003.
confirmed 1 article 2024-12-20
Linden Lab Second Life $1.3B
Linden Lab says it has spent $1.3B building Second Life since 2003, paid out $1.1B to creators, and the virtual world has an economy of ~$650M per year
VentureBeat · 2024-12-20 · #4
Investors are bullish on Sony's gaming growth in 2025, which is cited as a driver of the stock rally.
confirmed 1 article 2024-12-20
Investors Sony gaming growth 2025
Sony's shares in Japan surged 50%+ from an August low to reach its new all-time high since 2000 last week, as investors are bullish on its gaming growth in 2025
Bloomberg · 2024-12-20 · #8
Backflip raises a $30M Series A round co-led by NEA and a16z.
confirmed 1 article 2024-12-20
Backflip NEA a16z
Backflip, which is building AI models that can generate 3D designs using text, sketches, or photos as prompts, raised a $30M Series A co-led by NEA and a16z
TechCrunch · 2024-12-20 · #27
Anysphere's valuation reportedly increased from $400M in August 2024 to $2.6B.
rumored 1 article 2024-12-20
Anysphere
Sources: Anysphere, developer of GitHub Copilot rival Cursor, raised a $100M Series B at a $2.6B valuation, up from a $400M valuation in August 2024
TechCrunch · 2024-12-20 · #23
Singapore-based bolttech raises $100M+ in a Series C round led by Dragon Fund at a $2.1B valuation.
confirmed 1 article 2024-12-20
bolttech Dragon Fund
Singapore-based bolttech, a B2B2C startup that offers “embedded” insurance products, raised a $100M+ Series C led by Dragon Fund at a $2.1B valuation
Reuters · 2024-12-20 · #22
Charlotte-based Aiwyn raised $113M in a funding round led by KKR and Bessemer, bringing its total funding to $127M.
confirmed 1 article 2024-12-20
Aiwyn KKR Bessemer
Charlotte, NC-based Aiwyn, which provides automation software for accounting firms, raised $113M led by KKR and Bessemer, bringing its total funding to $127M
TechCrunch · 2024-12-20 · #25