1 DISA data breach: Personal information of 3.3 million people leaked!
DISA Global Solutions, an American company providing employee screening services, suffered a major cyber attack, leaking personal information of more than 3.3 million people. This includes sensitive information such as social security numbers, credit card details and government identity cards. According to the report, hackers broke into the company’s system on February 9, 2024 and kept stealing data for two months without getting caught, while the company came to know about it on April 22. In particular, 3.6 lakh people of Massachusetts have been affected by this data leak. It is not yet clear who carried out this attack and how the hackers accessed the company’s system.
2 Google’s new free AI coding tool!
Google has launched a new and free AI tool called “Gemini Code Assist for Individuals”, which will help developers in coding. It helps in finding bugs, understanding and improving the code. Google has linked it with GitHub, so that it can identify mistakes in the code and give suggestions. This tool works on the Gemini 2.0 AI model and can be used in software like VS Code, JetBrains. Its free limit is much higher than GitHub Copilot, which will provide more features to users. Sign-up is open now! 🚀
3 🚀 AI startup “Perfect” raises $23 million!
Israeli startup Perfect raised $23 million in funding to make the hiring process easier and faster for recruiters. This AI-powered platform helps recruiters post jobs, find the right candidates, and manage responses, saving recruiters up to 25 hours per week. It has already been adopted by 200+ companies such as Fiverr, eToro, McCann. Founder Ilon Eitstein, previously the founder of facial recognition company AnyVision, developed the platform with its own AI technology, which does not rely on other companies’ big AI models. This funding includes big investors like Target Global, RTP Global, Pitango and former Samsung president. In future, Perfect is also going to launch a free AI tool for job seekers!
4 📉 Smartwatch sales declined in India, but Apple’s tremendous growth!
Smartwatch sales in India declined by 30% in 2024, as people started moving away from cheap and unknown brands. But Apple gained a growth of 141% on the contrary. Apple Watch dominated the expensive smartwatch market, in which it had a share of 50%. At the same time, companies like Samsung and OnePlus were able to take only 4% and 1% share in this segment.
5 🚀 New partnership of Tenstorrent and Koyeb!
Tenstorrent recently raised $700 million in funding and now developers can use its AI chips on Koyeb’s cloud platform. Tenstorrent is making chips that can be an easy alternative to Nvidia’s GPU and CUDA software. Koyeb has installed Tenstorrent’s chips in its data centers and launched two new AI systems—TT-N300S and TT-Loudbox—with faster processing power and more memory. This partnership could help make AI technology accessible to more developers and provide a new alternative to Nvidia.
6 🚀 Adobe Photoshop for iPhone is here!
Mobile users can now easily edit photos with smart tools like layers, masks and AI-enabled photo editing. There are both free and paid versions, with a $7.99/month plan for more features. Adobe has created it specifically for mobile creators, allowing them to create posters, album covers, video thumbnails and memes. Designed to compete with apps like Canva and Snapseed, the app is available on the Apple App Store from today! 📱🎨
7 Big controversy over Optifye.ai’s AI cameras!
A video by Y Combinator-backed Optifye.ai sparked controversy on social media, showing a factory supervisor scolding an employee for doing less work with the help of AI cameras. The employee was referred to as “number 17” in the video, which angered people and called it “surveillance software for workers”. Y Combinator had to remove the video after protests on X (Twitter) and Hacker News. Many people are concerned that those working with AI technology will be overly monitored, but despite this, investors are still investing in such startups.
8 AI vs Pokémon: Fun gameplay on Twitch!
Anthropic’s Claude 3.7 Sonnet managed to win three gym badges while playing Pokémon Red on Twitch, but got stuck in front of a stone wall. Some people in the Twitch chat described it as Twitch Plays Pokémon, while others called the AI’s slow but thoughtful play style interesting. The livestream showed the AI’s thinking process on the screen, making the experience even more special. The question is, is this just a fun experiment or the future of AI gaming?
9 🚀 Apptronik and Jabil’s new partnership!
Apptronik announced a new partnership with Jabil two weeks after its $350 million funding. Earlier, a pilot project with Mercedes-Benz was also started. Now the Apollo robot will be tested in Jabil’s factory doing small tasks like sorting and transporting parts. If it is successful, Jabil will start mass producing it. Apptronik aims to bring its robot to market by 2026. It is also working with Google DeepMind to further improve the AI in its robot.
10 Apple rejects anti-DEI proposal
Apple shareholders voted down a proposal that demanded the company to end its diversity and equality (DEI) policies. The proposal was made by a conservative group, but the board recommended rejecting it. Meanwhile, other tech companies are making changes to their DEI programs—Meta stopped them altogether, Amazon stopped some initiatives, and Google decided to review its programs. Apple CEO Tim Cook said that the company may need to change some policies due to changing laws.
11 🔴 OpenAI expands Deep Research feature for ChatGPT users!
OpenAI has now announced to give 10 deep research questions every month to ChatGPT Plus, Team, Enterprise and Edu users, while Pro users will get 120 questions. There is a tough competition between OpenAI, Google and Perplexity to stay ahead in AI research. Recently, Google has launched this feature for its Gemini Advanced users. Tech companies want to make their AI subscriptions more profitable through these tools. At the same time, OpenAI is investigating how people are using these tools and how they can be made better. 🚀
12 Tumblr gives financial support to Tapestry app!
Tumblr has funded a new app called Tapestry, which helps to show posts and news from platforms like RSS, Mastodon, Bluesky, YouTube and Reddit in one place. The app was launched on Kickstarter in January 2024 and raised $177,000 from crowdfunding. Now with the help of Tumblr, a new version of it will be made for Mac computers. It has been designed by a company named Iconfactory, which has previously created the Twitterific app. This app gives people the freedom to view their favorite blogs, news and social media updates in their own way, without depending on the algorithm of any big platform. A new sponsorship program has also been added to it with funding from Tumblr, which will support small creators.
13 🚀 Quora’s Poe Apps: Now anyone can easily create AI apps!
Quora has launched Poe Apps, allowing users to create their own apps by combining AI tools like OpenAI, Google. This new tool allows users to edit and improve AI-generated code. Some examples include creating 3D anime-style images with GPT-4o and removing things from photos with Bria Eraser. Currently it is available on the web, but will soon come to iOS and Android as well. To use it, there will be a Poe Points system, where free and paid users will get separate access. Quora also said that in the future people will be able to earn from their Poe Apps! 🚀
14 💰 Brex’s Rise: Towards $500M Revenue!
Fintech company Brex is expecting to reach $500 million in annual revenue in 2025. Its business has grown 3 times, and the number of its large customers has increased by 80%. It now serves more than 150 large companies, such as Anthropic and Robinhood. According to CEO Pedro Franceschi, Brex could become profitable by 2025, which has increased the possibility of listing on the stock market. 🚀
15 Bluesky added to Opera browser!
Opera browser has added Bluesky to its sidebar, allowing users to easily use it along with services like Slack, Discord, WhatsApp, X and ChatGPT. This change has been made on the demand of the people so that the browser is easier to use and there is no need to switch between multiple apps. Bluesky, a new social network, has now reached more than 32 million users and is competing with big platforms like X and Meta’s Threads. Opera One browser is already known for smart tab management and AI features, giving people a fast and convenient browsing experience.
16 🚀 Lovable: Create apps without coding, startup raises $15M!
Swedish AI startup Lovable has raised $15 million investment from Creandum, allowing anyone to create apps without learning coding. This platform creates fully functional web apps with the help of OpenAI, Google Gemini and Anthropic. So far 500,000 people have used it and more than 25,000 new apps are created every day. The company’s annual revenue has reached $17 million and 30,000 customers are paying for it. Founder Anton Osika says he wants everyone to be able to create software with the help of AI. Now it plans to connect with new services like Supabase and GitHub.
17 🚀 IBM approved to buy HashiCorp!
The UK’s competition watchdog (CMA) has given IBM the go-ahead to buy HashiCorp for $6.4 billion, which will strengthen its cloud business. The decision came after a 10-month investigation, when the CMA began reviewing the deal. The British government wants the CMA to be less involved in deals of foreign companies, and this decision is in that direction. However, the deal is not yet completed as the US trade watchdog (FTC) is investigating it and a decision is pending.
18 🚀 YouTube is getting a big change to mid-roll ads!
Starting May 12, YouTube will start showing mid-roll ads that don’t interrupt the video, but instead appear at the correct break points. Videos uploaded before February 24 will see this change automatically, and creators who set up ads themselves will get a new tool to help them see if their ads are in the right place. YouTube says creators who use both auto and manual ads can see an average 5% increase in revenue by keeping viewers on their videos longer.
