Amazon and automaker Stellantis will work together on "smart cockpit" software for vehicles as part of a wide-ranging cloud and AI collaboration announced at today's CES. Amazon said it will buy electric delivery vans from Stellantis, formerly known as Fiat Chrysler, and Stellantis will use Amazon Web Services as its preferred cloud provider for vehicles. More: - The companies will partner on in-car dashboard software that's set to appear in "millions of vehicles" starting in 2024.
- The software would be similar to an in-car app store with personalized features for specific car brands as well as Alexa voice assistance, navigation, and other cloud-based features.
- Stellantis will use AWS' cloud to support the development of the STLA SmartCockpit, as well as tap Amazon technology to develop vehicles and train automotive software engineers.
- Amazon will also be the first commercial customer of Stellantis' all-electric Ram ProMaster van, due out in 2023.
- Stellantis was formed when Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and the French PSA Group merged in 2021. Its vehicle brands include Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and others.
SILICON ANGLE 
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 Size of China's algorithm market through 2025 (in billion yuan) China will begin enforcing new rules to regulate content-recommending algorithms on March 1, according to the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC). The rules target algorithms linked to filtering, personalized push notifications, and other internet activities as Beijing furthers its crackdown on Big Tech. More: - Under the new policy, companies will have to publicly share the inner workings of their algorithms and allow consumers to switch off personalized recommendations.
- Apps and other internet services will be barred from using models that fuel internet addiction among young people and lead to price discrimination or "excessive spending."
- The policy calls for companies to use algorithms to protect older people from fraud. Algorithms must also promote "positive energy."
- The final draft also includes a clause banning algorithms from sharing "fake" news.
- CAC published the directive, first proposed in August, along with three other government departments.
QUARTZ
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AI tech startup Fractal raised $360M from private equity firm TPG at a valuation "well north of $1 billion," according to co-founder and CEO Srikanth Velamakanni. The Mumbai and San Francisco-based firm provides custom AI and analytics solutions and consultancy for Fortune 100 companies. More: - Fractal, the second unicorn of 2022, was founded in 2000 by Velamakanni, Pranay Agrawal, Pradeep Suryanarayan, Nirmal Palaparthi, and Ramakrishna Reddy.
- Fractal provides services for turning images, text, videos, and speech into structured data.
- Its products include the revenue growth management tool Samya.ai, the intelligent investment adviser Theremin.ai, and Qure.ai for improving radiology diagnostic decisions, among others.
- The company employs 3,500 employees at 16 locations worldwide.
- It has raised $685M to date.
THE ECONOMIC TIMES
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 Consumers are wary of current self-driving technologies but believe autonomous vehicles are an inevitability on the road, according to DTS's 2022 Vehicle Predictions report. The Xperi subsidiary surveyed nearly 2,000 car owners/lessees about the future of cars. Key findings: - 69% of respondents expressed distrust in today's self-driving technologies.
- However, 80% believe that safe and fully automated cars will eventually be commonplace.
- 30% believe they will become common in the next five years.
- 34% predict that more EVs will be sold than gasoline-powered vehicles within five years.
- 40% said they think autonomous vehicles will eventually be the safest way to travel.
- 57% believe AI will never operate a vehicle as safely as a human.
- 38% said they were interested in owning a self-driving car.
BUSINESS WIRE
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The Pentagon has contracted with medical research centers to develop a tool for treating burn wounds using machine learning. The tool would help soldiers without any medical background assess and treat the wounds on the battlefield. More: - The aim is to create a portable tool that would use ML algorithms and imaging techniques to determine the severity of burns.
- To develop the technology, the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research has partnered with the Beckman Laser Institute and Medical Clinic at the University of California, Irvine.
- Researchers there will work on creating machine learning algorithms based on data collected from imaging data from SFDI and LSI systems.
- Within two years, they hope to create a no-contact device that can map a 3D profile of a person's burned skin and report its depth and its surface area on the body.
NEXTGOV
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🍋 FRESH FUNDING 🍋 - Weka (Campbell, Calif.), data platform for AI: $73M led by Hitachi Ventures, participation from Hewlett Packard Enterprise, NVIDIA, Micron, Cisco, et Al.
- YouiBot (Shenzhen, China), industrial mobile robots: $47.2M B led by FG Venture, Xicheng Jinrui, participation from IDG, Pine Venture, SIG, BlueRun Venture, SoftBank, et al.
- Ready Player Me (New York, N.Y.), avatar platform for the metaverse: $13M A led by Taavet+Sten, participation from Tom Preston-Werner, the co-founder of GitHub, Konvoy Ventures, Nordic Ninja, et al.
- Groyyo (Mumbai, India), B2B manufacturing and automation: $4.6M Seed led by Alpha Wave Incubation, participation from DisruptAD, ADQ, et al.
- Labrador (Las Vegas, Nev.), assistive robots to allow individuals to live alone: $3.1M led by Amazon's Alexa Fund, iRobot Ventures, participation from SOSV, Grep VC.
For the latest on AI startup funding and more in the VC community, subscribe to our newsletter Inside Venture Capital.
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Quick Hits: - Mobility tech company Siera.AI, a provider of AI solutions to prevent forklift accidents, raised $6.8M in seed funding from Parkway Venture Capital and Ubiquity Ventures.
- German stock photo agency Smarterpix is now selling AI-generated and licensable stock photos of people who don't exist.
- University of Tokyo researchers used machine learning to develop an algorithm that verifies quantum devices.
- Sensory Inc. launched a beta version of its "AI as a service" platform for cloud-based AI processing.
- AI software firm Algonomy is acquiring Linear Squared, a cloud-based tech company focused on building SaaS forecasting products with AI/ML.
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 |  | Beth is an Inside Analyst and a former public policy/investigative reporter. She has covered AI, VR, technology, and e-commerce for Inside. When she's not busy writing, she's hiking in Arizona's desert, playing pickleball, or trying out new Mexican food recipes. |   | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 Ford. | |
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