HBO's financial thriller "Industry" is captivating viewers with a storyline centered around a fraudulent fintech company, while Apple is reportedly exploring the integration of AI chatbots like ChatGPT into its CarPlay system. Meanwhile, the Super Bowl showcased the growing influence of AI in advertising, and a carbon-removal startup, Terradot, acquired a competitor. These developments highlight the dynamic interplay of technology, finance, and societal trends.
"Industry's" current season features Harper Stern, who is investigating a fintech company called Tender, according to TechCrunch. Stern suspects the company is built on fabricated numbers, with fake users driving fake revenue. Her associates were sent to Ghana to investigate, and their findings were "damning," as Sweetpea told Harper.
Apple is reportedly working on integrating AI chatbots into CarPlay, according to Bloomberg, as reported by TechCrunch. This would allow users to interact with AI assistants through their vehicle's infotainment system. The next-generation CarPlay Ultra, which includes a central touchscreen display and digital dashboard, could further enhance this integration.
The Super Bowl advertisements also reflected the increasing prominence of AI. Svedka Vodka created what it touts as the first primarily AI-generated national Super Bowl spot, featuring its robot characters. The ad, titled "Shake Your Bots Off," showcased the technology's growing role in marketing.
In other tech news, carbon-removal startup Terradot acquired its competitor Eion, as announced by the companies and reported by TechCrunch. The acquisition was driven by large investors seeking companies capable of handling large contracts. Eion CEO Anastasia Pavlovic Hans told The Wall Street Journal that Eion was simply too small. Both companies utilize enhanced rock weathering (EWR), a process of spreading pulverized rocks on farm fields to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. While EWR has the potential to be a low-cost carbon removal method, the spread between what companies would like to charge and what buyers would like to pay remains wide, according to a survey by CDR.fyi.
In a separate development, an advisor to Prince Andrew pitched Jeffrey Epstein on investing in EV startups like Lucid Motors, according to TechCrunch. David Stern, a close advisor to Prince Andrew, saw an opportunity to break the logjam for Lucid Motors' Series D funding round by bringing in Jeffrey Epstein. Stern wrote to Epstein in emails, "Jia has massive cash issues at Faraday, he wrote, and needs to sell now to make payroll for his other business." These emails were released as part of the Department of Justice's latest disclosure of documents related to Epstein.
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