 Google, Waymo, and UC Berkeley researchers used AI technology to create 3D renderings of San Francisco neighborhoods based on millions of photos. Their technique, called "Block-NeRF," reconstructed the large-scale scenes from images taken from self-driving vehicles. More: - The technique is based on "neural radiance fields" (NeRF), a technique introduced by Google in 2020 that maps the color and light of 2D photos. It's now being used to create 3D objects from 2D photos in seconds.
- In this case, researchers fed Block-NeRF with 2.8 million images taken over three months (day and night) from cameras mounted on Waymo cars.
- The images were used to reconstruct SF's Alamo Square neighborhood. Researchers used multiple NeRFs to combine all the renderings based on the visual data.
- Each "Block-NeRF" represents different neighborhood blocks. The researchers also recreated the Bay Bridge and the Embarcadero area, the Moscone Center, and downtown San Francisco, each of which required millions of photos to render in 3D.
PETAPIXEL 
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Three former employees of DeepMind have formed EquiLibre Technologies, which plans to use algorithms for stock and crypto trading, CNBC reports. Martin Schmid, Rudolf Kadlec, and Matej Moravcik left DeepMind, Alphabet's AI subsidiary, in January to form their own startup focused on next-gen algorithmic trading. More: - The trio relocated from Edmonton to Prague to set up EquiLibre Technologies.
- The startup intends to use reinforcement learning — a machine-learning training method based on trial-and-error — to train AI to buy and sell shares.
- According to Schmid, most current trading is algorithm-based: "We just want to do better algorithms than the ones that are already out there."
- The idea is to apply state-of-the-art ML to trading, which still uses many old AI models and methods.
- The startup could use its AI technology as the basis for a hedge fund or sell it to a bank or other investor(s).
Zoom-out: - Before DeepMind, the trio worked together at IBM. Moravcik and Schmid were among the authors of DeepStack, the first computer program to beat a professional player in no-limit Poker.
- Business Insider recently profiled 13 startups and other ventures founded by alumni of DeepMind, Google's AI research lab.
CNBC
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Israeli startup Coro announced a $60M funding round for its cybersecurity platform that leverages a smart AI engine. The platform is geared to mid-market and small and medium-sized businesses, which are targeted in an estimated 70% of cyber attacks. More: - Coro said its platform enables businesses to offload 98% of their IT security workload onto Coro's AI and automation.
- Its entire system is built upon AI, according to CEO Guy Moskowitz.
- Coro's smart AI engine "is being fed from every attack vector," he said, "so not only is it not just as good but a whole lot better than any point solution because it doesn't have blind spots."
- The SaaS platform is sold to businesses via a monthly subscription.
- In addition to the $60M Series C round, Coro announced a previously undisclosed $20M round raised in the past six months.
- The funding will be used to accelerate company growth by tripling its global headcount, with many positions opening up in Chicago.
THE JERUSALEM POST
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Endel, a startup using AI to create personalized soundscapes, announced a $15M Series B round led by Waverley Capital and True Ventures. Endel takes data about a person's movement, heart rate, location, and other factors and applies AI to generate soundscapes that it says adapt to changes in real-time. More: - Berlin-based Endel says it now has more than 1 million monthly active users on its AI-powered apps for iOS, Android, Mac, Amazon Alexa, and Apple TV.
- It's partnered with James Blake, Alan Watts, Miguel, Grimes, and other artists to create the soundscapes, which are designed to help users focus, relax, sleep, study, and more.
- The startup's existing backers include Amazon's Alexa Fund and Impulse VC, the venture capital firm backed by Roman Abramovich.
- Endel founder Oleg Stavitsky defended the startup's relationship with Impulse VC and Abramovich, the Russian-Israeli billionaire and Chelsea Football Club owner who was recently sanctioned by the U.K., Canada, and the EU in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
- Abramovich, who could still face U.S. sanctions, was the target of the sanctions and not Impulse, which is "very professional and highly involved," Stavitsky told Business Insider.
TECHCRUNCH
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Gupshup acquired Active.Ai, a conversational AI platform for digital financial services, for an undisclosed sum. Active.Ai's Conversational Banking as a Service (CBaaS) platform is used by banks and fintech companies in 43 countries. More: - Singapore-based Active.Ai said it's supported 300 million user interactions in voice, video, and messaging.
- Webaroo-operated Gupshup offers conversational messaging services to businesses.
- The acquisition is expected to help Gupshup strengthen its AI-enabled customer service for banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) customers.
- Active.AI's platform will add more vertical depth to Gupshup's product stack, according to Gupshup CEO co-founder Beerud Sheth.
PYMNTS.COM
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Quick Hits: - Microsoft said it will bring AI-enabled automatic framing and eye contact to Windows 11. The features, which don't have a release date yet, are intended to make videoconferencing more "personal and human."
- University of Stirling researchers developed AI-powered camera systems that are now being used to detect wildlife in the central African country of Gabon. The algorithm was trained to detect humans with guns to assist in anti-poaching efforts.
- Health innovation company Real Chemistry acquired conversationHEALTH, a conversational AI platform for health care and life sciences.
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 |  | Beth is a writer and analyst at Inside.com covering artificial intelligence and daily tech news. Since starting work at Inside, she has covered various topics including virtual reality, drones, and e-commerce. Prior to that she was a public policy and investigative reporter for The Arizona Republic, where she won a Pulitzer Prize nomination and First Amendment Award for reporting on the rising costs of pensions. Reach her at Beth.Duckett@inside.com. |   | | 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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