Tel Aviv-based Hexa, which helps companies create and manage 3D models for AR/VR shopping experiences and other applications, raised a $20.5M Series A (Kyle Wiggers/TechCrunch)

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch: Tel Aviv-based Hexa, which helps companies create and manage 3D models for AR/VR shopping experiences and other applications, raised a $20.5M Series A  —  Hexa, a 3D asset visualization and management platform, today announced that it closed a $20.5 million Series A round from Point72 Ventures …

HPE reports Q1 revenue up 12% YoY to $7.8B, vs. $7.45B est., HPC & AI revenue up 34% YoY to $1.1B, and Q2 revenue guidance above estimates (Jon Swartz/MarketWatch)

Jon Swartz / MarketWatch: HPE reports Q1 revenue up 12% YoY to $7.8B, vs. $7.45B est., HPC & AI revenue up 34% YoY to $1.1B, and Q2 revenue guidance above estimates  —  Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co.’s stock climbed more than 6% in extended trading Thursday after the computing giant reported quarterly results …

A look at TikTok’s viral Bold Glamour filter, which an expert says likely uses generative adversarial networks, amid fears the tool may hurt users’ self-esteem (The Verge)

The Verge: A look at TikTok’s viral Bold Glamour filter, which an expert says likely uses generative adversarial networks, amid fears the tool may hurt users’ self-esteem  —  TikTok rolled out new AI tools for filters last month.  But the company won’t say if its new Bold Glamour effect uses them …

Taking the long view: The Deep Time Project

How would we design and build differently if we learned to live at multiple time scales? How would human communities respond to global challenges if the short-term mindset of contemporary life was expanded to encompass new dimensions of past and future — diving into the depths of geological history and projecting forward to imagine the […]

After Twitter cut off API access, Tapbots and The Iconfactory update Tweetbot and Twitterrific, asking subscribers to consider declining prorated refunds (John Gruber/Daring Fireball)

John Gruber / Daring Fireball: After Twitter cut off API access, Tapbots and The Iconfactory update Tweetbot and Twitterrific, asking subscribers to consider declining prorated refunds  —  Long story short: If you’re a subscriber to either Tweetbot or Twitterrific, you can help them out with three simple steps:

A profile of Emily M. Bender, a computational linguist at the University of Washington who co-wrote a paper in 2020 to illustrate what LLMs can and cannot do (Elizabeth Weil/New York Magazine)

Elizabeth Weil / New York Magazine: A profile of Emily M. Bender, a computational linguist at the University of Washington who co-wrote a paper in 2020 to illustrate what LLMs can and cannot do  —  Nobody likes an I-told-you-so.  But before Microsoft’s Bing started cranking out creepy love letters; before Meta’s Galactica spewed racist rants […]

Staff and analysts: the ~$43B FIS-Worldpay deal suffered from incompatibility, Worldpay’s slow response to changing user needs, and more, resulting in the split (Financial Times)

Financial Times: Staff and analysts: the ~$43B FIS-Worldpay deal suffered from incompatibility, Worldpay’s slow response to changing user needs, and more, resulting in the split  —  Integration was difficult but the deal itself had always been misguided  —  Since it was founded by former UK policeman Nick Ogden …

Integrating humans with AI in structural design

Modern fabrication tools such as 3D printers can make structural materials in shapes that would have been difficult or impossible using conventional tools. Meanwhile, new generative design systems can take great advantage of this flexibility to create innovative designs for parts of a new building, car, or virtually any other device. But such “black box” […]

A closer look at the nanoscale and beyond

Stroll past MIT.nano, the Institute’s center for nanoscience and engineering, and you can peer through large panes of glass at hundreds of tool sets ready to assist researchers in their scientific journey. Anyone who wants to take a closer look at what is happening at the nanoscale and beyond — even seeing individual atoms — […]

Filing: crypto-friendly bank Silvergate delays its annual report and cites investigations from regulators, Congress, and the US DOJ; its stock plunges 30%+ (CoinDesk)

CoinDesk: Filing: crypto-friendly bank Silvergate delays its annual report and cites investigations from regulators, Congress, and the US DOJ; its stock plunges 30%+  —  Shares fell over 10% in after-hours trading.  —  Christy Goldsmith Romero … Commissioner  —  U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Paris-based Sesamm, which uses NLP to generate insights helping companies adhere to their ESG goals, raised a €35M Series B2, taking its total funding to €50.5M (Paul Sawers/TechCrunch)

Paul Sawers / TechCrunch: Paris-based Sesamm, which uses NLP to generate insights helping companies adhere to their ESG goals, raised a €35M Series B2, taking its total funding to €50.5M  —  Sesamm, a French startup that helps financial firms and corporates adhere to their ESG goals by using natural language processing …

Snowflake reports Q4 revenue up 53% YoY to $589M, vs. $576M est., lowers FY 2024 guidance below est., and authorizes a $2B share buyback program; SNOW drops 5%+ (Emily Bary/MarketWatch)

Emily Bary / MarketWatch: Snowflake reports Q4 revenue up 53% YoY to $589M, vs. $576M est., lowers FY 2024 guidance below est., and authorizes a $2B share buyback program; SNOW drops 5%+  —  Company lowers full-year forecast relative to an initial view offered in November  —  This update corrects the FactSet consensus …

STEAM power on the runway

Science Surfaces, a capsule collection of body coverings and accessories, serve as canvases for digital prints of ideas inspired by award-winning biomedical images produced by life science research labs at MIT. The exhibition, now on display in the Koch Institute Public Galleries, is the result of the inaugural Peers + Pros Project, a Boston Fashion […]

TikTok adds new well-being features for teens and others, including screen time controls, default settings for teens, and expanded Family Pairing (Aisha Malik/TechCrunch)

Aisha Malik / TechCrunch: TikTok adds new well-being features for teens and others, including screen time controls, default settings for teens, and expanded Family Pairing  —  TikTok announced today that it’s introducing new well-being features for teens, families and its broader community.

Twitter users globally report multiple outages for over an hour, including its timeline failing to load on web and mobile; most users can still tweet (James Vincent/The Verge)

James Vincent / The Verge: Twitter users globally report multiple outages for over an hour, including its timeline failing to load on web and mobile; most users can still tweet  —  Twitter seems to be having difficulties, with users reporting that the site’s timeline isn’t loading on either the web or mobile apps.

A look at Belarus’ once-vibrant tech startup scene, decimated after ruthless repression by Alexander Lukashenko’s regime and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (Clément Girardot/Rest of World)

Clément Girardot / Rest of World: A look at Belarus’ once-vibrant tech startup scene, decimated after ruthless repression by Alexander Lukashenko’s regime and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine  —  Ruthless political repression has decimated Belarus’ once-thriving tech scene.  —  • VILNIUS, LITHUANIA

3 Questions: Daniel Auguste on why “successful entrepreneurs don’t fall from the sky”

A lack of access to critical resources has prevented many middle- and low-income entrepreneurs from starting successful businesses, economic sociologist Daniel Auguste told an MIT audience in a Feb. 9 presentation on barriers to entrepreneurship in under-resourced communities of America. That’s a fundamental problem because entrepreneurship is one of society’s most significant pathways to economic […]

Q&A with iHeartMedia’s Conal Byrne on overseeing podcasting at the company, the industry maturing, RSS, radio and podcast ads, subscriptions, and exclusivity (Nilay Patel/The Verge)

Nilay Patel / The Verge: Q&A with iHeartMedia’s Conal Byrne on overseeing podcasting at the company, the industry maturing, RSS, radio and podcast ads, subscriptions, and exclusivity  —  Amid layoffs and a looming recession, folks are concerned about the audio industry. iHeart’s podcast head Conal Byrne is not worried.

Twitter changes its violent speech policy to ban users from voicing “wishes of harm” on people, a policy reversal, as well as homes and essential infrastructure (Karissa Bell/Engadget)

Karissa Bell / Engadget: Twitter changes its violent speech policy to ban users from voicing “wishes of harm” on people, a policy reversal, as well as homes and essential infrastructure  —  Twitter is once again tightening its rules around what users are permitted to say on the platform.

HP reports Q1 revenue down 19% YoY to $13.8B, vs. $14.1B est., Personal Systems net revenue down 24% YoY to $9.2B, and Printing net revenue down 5% YoY to $4.6B (Reuters)

Reuters: HP reports Q1 revenue down 19% YoY to $13.8B, vs. $14.1B est., Personal Systems net revenue down 24% YoY to $9.2B, and Printing net revenue down 5% YoY to $4.6B  —  HP Inc (HPQ.N) on Tuesday reported the steepest fall in quarterly revenue since 2016 and missed analysts’ estimates …

Hari Balakrishnan awarded Marconi Prize

The 2023 Marconi Prize has been awarded to Hari Balakrishnan, the Fujitsu Professor in MIT’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) and a principal investigator in the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL). The Marconi Prize, widely considered to be the top honor within the field of communications technology, is given […]