Insempra raises $20M for organic lipids: German startup Insempra turns oil yeast into lipids, which can be used in cosmetics and foods. Today lipids tend to come from “environmentally problematic petrochemicals,” so Insempra could bring a green edge to lipid production. Read More
Luminar cites Tesla as leading customer: LiDAR company Luminar generated more than 10% of its first-quarter revenue from Tesla, despite the EV company’s CEO saying that Lidar sensors are a “crutch” for autonomous vehicles. Luminar went public via a SPAC back in 2020, and it expects a deal with Volvo to greatly expand its revenue later this year. Read More
Bluesky wants to become a dating app: Not really. But, you see, any digital service that has a private messaging feature is really just a dating app. And now that Bluesky is planning to add DMs, well, here we are. The Twitter alternative says that it is also working on custom feeds, more moderation tools, support for 90-second videos and more. Read More
The UK wants more social media filtering: To protect the kids, of course. Instagram and more than 100,000 other services are going to fall under a new push by Ofcom to “run better age checks, filter and downrank content, and apply around 40 other steps to assess harmful content,” TechCrunch’s Natasha Lomas writes. Read More
US finally makes it mandatory for online platforms to report shady people: U.S. President Joe Biden signed the REPORT Act into law on Tuesday, which requires websites and social media platforms to report crimes related to trafficking, grooming, and the “enticement of children.” Companies that fail to do so could face six-figure fines. Read More
Google Wallet comes to India: Google has brought its Wallet service to India. However, Google Pay is sticking around in that market. Why? Well, Google Pay is the company’s “primary payments use case” according to the company, while Google Wallet “is specifically tailored for thinking about the non-payment use cases.” Read More
A glimpse at Apple’s progress with AI: Everyone’s been talking about hardware in the wake of Apple’s iPad event, but Sarah Perez reports that in between the hardware news were notes and hints about Apple’s AI strategy. Of the tech majors, Apple has been the quietest on the AI front thus far, so even this little bit of news is interesting. Read More
Another day, another hack: I’ve never heard of Brandywine Realty Trust, but I have heard of a lot of ransomware attacks. The issue is being contained, per the company, but it’s not clear if critical data was lost in the breach. Read More
