Author: IQ TIMES MEDIA
Design platform Figma said today that it has acquired AI-powered image and video generation company Weavy. The startup will join Figma under a new brand called Figma Weave. Figma said that 20 people from Weavy will join the company, but didn’t disclose the valuation of the deal. The Tel Aviv-based startup was founded in 2024 and raised $4 million in a seed round in June led by Entrée Capital, with participation from Designer Fund, Founder Collective, and Fiverr founder Micha Kaufman. Figma said that Weavy will exist as a standalone product for now and that, in the future, it will…
People are increasingly asking AI, not Google, to help them discover products. A recent shopping report says Americans, this holiday season, will likely turn to large language models to find gifts, deals, and sales instead of traditional search. Retailers could see up to a 520% increase in traffic from chatbots and AI prompts in 2025 compared to 2024, according to the report. For brands, that means figuring out how to show up in AI-generated recommendations, and fast. This surge in AI-driven traffic is the bet behind The Prompting Company, a YC-backed startup helping products get mentioned in AI apps through…
A former Virginia teacher who was shot by a 6-year-old student in her classroom in 2023 testified Thursday that she thought she had died that day. Abby Zwerner testified in her $40 million lawsuit filed against a former assistant principal who is accused of ignoring multiple warnings that the student had a gun.Zwerner was shot in the hand and chest in January 2023 as she sat at a reading table in her first-grade classroom at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News. Zwerner spent nearly two weeks in the hospital, required six surgeries and does not have the full use of…
Have you heard about the podcasting dogs?A few months ago, the Montreal-based social app DogPack started posting AI videos on Instagram of a pair of dogs cracking jokes on a podcast about their owners and other breeds.An example: “She says it’s rude to beg at the table, bro. She went on a second date just to get a free dinner.”The original idea was to get people to download DogPack — which connects dog owners — but the canine caper quickly developed a life of its own. They’ve accumulated more than 1 million followers on Instagram and TikTok, and signed with talent…
Tesla’s inner workings are famously secretive — and a newly unsealed court filing reveals the lengths Elon Musk’s electric car company goes to safeguard its prized Autopilot technology.In a sworn declaration made public this month in a wrongful-death lawsuit involving Autopilot, Tesla engineer Christopher Payne described how closely the company guards the technology behind its driver-assist system — even from many of its own employees.”Access to certain software, specifically within the Autopilot group, is limited to certain individuals and their access is dependent upon the justification for the need to have access,” Payne wrote.Payne said that even if someone is…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is forging ahead with plans to eject some nonprofits from a popular student loan forgiveness program if their work is deemed to have a “substantial illegal purpose” — a move that could cut off some teachers, doctors and other public workers from federal loan cancellation.New rules finalized Thursday give the Education Department expanded power to ban organizations from the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. The Trump administration calls it necessary to block taxpayer money from lawbreakers. Critics say it turns the program into a tool of political retribution.Set to take effect in July, the…
Charlie Sheen says that hiding his HIV diagnosis was “a lot worse” than managing his condition.Although his diagnosis was “really depressing,” he said he found comfort in knowing there were treatment options.”You know, it’s not the best news. But there was other news that could have been a lot worse, you know?” Sheen said.Charlie Sheen says the weight of hiding his HIV diagnosis took a greater toll on him than managing the condition itself.On Thursday’s episode of “In Depth with Graham Bensinger,” the actor spoke about his new memoir and shed light on his journey living with HIV.”Keeping it under…
Meta’s third-quarter earnings report did not land well with investors.In after-hours trading, Meta shares tumbled nearly 9% on Wednesday during the investor call.Meta beat Wall Street estimates with a reported revenue of $51.24 billion. However, a $15.9 billion tax charge, an earnings per share that missed expectations, and some concerns over whether Meta’s huge investments in AI will translate to profit, weighed down the company’s shares.From Meta’s burgeoning capital expenditure to what is driving revenue for the company, here are the biggest takeaways from the social media giant’s call with analysts.1. The cost of ‘novel capabilities’Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and…
Three Rhesus monkeys remain on the loose in eastern Mississippi on Wednesday, Oct. 29, after escaping from a truck that crashed while transporting them from Tulane University in New Orleans a day earlier. Contrary to initial reports, the monkeys were not exposed to any infectious diseases, the university said.The Jasper County Sheriff’s Department shared on Facebook that one monkey had escaped after the crash, but later updated the post after “officials from Tulane were able to get inside the truck and get a correct count.”Out of the 21 monkeys that were in the overturned vehicle, thirteen have been recaptured, five are…
JAKARTA (Reuters) -Indonesian authorities are investigating food poisoning cases involving nearly 700 children in Yogyakarta province this week, after students ate meals prepared under President Prabowo Subianto’s key free school meal programme, an official said.The school meal programme, rolled out in January, was a major election campaign promise from Prabowo, but some 15,000 children have fallen ill as of October 29, data from the non-governmental organisation known locally as JPPI showed.The JPPI has called for the programme to be suspended.Improper food storage and late delivery of cooked meals are often to blame for the poisoning, authorities have said.In the Indonesian…