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Google Alum’s AI Startup Raises $24 Million for Biotech Work

Google Alum’s AI Startup Raises $24 Million for Biotech Work

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European biotech startup Cradle has secured $24 million in funding, marking a significant leap in its quest to employ AI in revolutionizing protein design and engineering. Spearheading this Series A funding is Index Ventures, accompanied by Kindred Capital, Chris Gibson (co-founder of Recursion Pharmaceuticals Inc.), and Tom Glocer (former CEO of Thomson Reuters Corp. and Merck & Co. board member), as announced by Cradle on Tuesday. The company has now amassed a total of $33 million, including its previous seed round.

Google Alum’s AI Startup Raises $24 Million for Biotech Work

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Cradle distinguishes itself through its utilization of generative artificial intelligence to transcend natural protein boundaries. Its primary focus lies in expediting the creation of protein sequences and 3D structures for a spectrum of applications spanning enzymes, vaccines, lab-grown food, and various materials. Noteworthy clients in its portfolio encompass Johnson & Johnson, Novozymes A/S, and Twist Bioscience Corp. Operating from offices in Delft, Netherlands, and Zurich, the startup has made significant strides since its establishment in 2021.

Bridging AI and Biotech

The convergence of generative AI and biotech stands as a pivotal endeavor for Cradle. Its proprietary AI, trained on vast protein sequence data and internal laboratory insights, empowers biologists to optimize protein design and hasten research and development. Stef van Grieken, former head of product development at Google Brain and now Cradle’s CEO, underscores the technology’s efficiency, revealing that it streamlines experiments, accelerating progress.

Pioneering Solutions and Future Prospects

Highlighting the transformative potential of generative AI in drug development, Cradle aims to address complex protein engineering challenges. The company’s insights reveal that biopharma firms expend substantial resources—$22 million and 42 months of research—on a single potential product, with only a third advancing to clinical trials. Cradle’s innovative AI-driven approach intends to significantly enhance success rates in this domain.

Also Read: How to Disable Copilot on Windows 11 Top 3 Ways

Emphasizing the nascent stage of this fusion of science and AI, Van Grieken likens their progress to “maybe GPT 0.5.” Cradle’s web-based software facilitates seamless integration of biotech data into AI and machine learning tools. With plans to bolster its team, expand engineering capacities, and establish additional lab facilities, the company envisions a transformative journey at the intersection of biology and AI.

Sofia Dolfe, a partner at Index Ventures, envisions the profound impact of AI in biology, signifying the transformative potential Cradle’s work holds for the biotech landscape. As Cradle continues to pioneer AI-powered solutions, the biotech industry anticipates groundbreaking advancements catalyzed by this innovative approach.

Google has announced that its Bard AI chatbot can now answer questions about YouTube videos.

Google Bard AI Can Now Watch YouTube Videos And Answer Your Questions; Here’s How To Use The New Feature

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Google is adding new functionality to its Bard AI chatbot, such as the capacity to collect data from particular YouTube videos. According to Google, this is Bard’s most advanced version until now and can provide more accurate and high-quality answers to requests.

In a blog post, updating about the upcoming changes to the YouTube extension, Google wrote, “We're taking the first steps in Bard's ability to understand YouTube videos. For example, if you’re looking for videos on how to make olive oil cake, you can now also ask how many eggs the recipe in the first video requires."

“We’ve heard you want deeper engagement with YouTube videos. So we’re expanding the YouTube Extension to understand some video content so you can have a richer conversation with Bard about it." the company added.

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When the YouTube Bard extension was first released in September, TechCrunch pointed out that it was limited to being utilised to locate particular movies. But with the most recent upgrade, Bard may now save viewers’ time and enhance their comprehension by responding to precise requests about the relevant YouTube video.

Google has announced that its Bard AI chatbot can now answer questions about YouTube videos.

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With the most recent upgrade, Bard can now understand the content of videos on YouTube, giving viewers the option to ask particular inquiries about the subject they are viewing. Bard seeks to enable deeper dialogues depending on the subject matter of videos, whether a user is looking for more details on a location in a trip video or a recipe for a cheesecake.

Also Read: How to block pop-up ads and unwanted notifications on Android?

YouTube's Generative AI Features:

  • The recent introduction of some fascinating new AI capabilities by the world’s largest video streaming company on YouTube to improve the watching and engagement experience coincides with the release of the latest version of Bard. Some YouTube Premium users might be able to try these capabilities out at youtube.com/new, even if they’re still in the initial testing stages.
  • The initial trial tries to make it easier to browse through long video comment sections. Artificial Intelligence is being used to categorise comments into themes that are simple to comprehend. Another new element, which offers questions and answers to promote a better comprehension of the material, is meant to improve learning results.
Google will delete millions of Gmail accounts next month

Google Will Delete Millions of Gmail Accounts Next Month – Here’s What You Need to Know

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In December, Google plans to finish a huge cleanup of its Gmail service, during which it expects to remove millions of user accounts. a few months ago, the firm announced that Gmail accounts would be deleted. The primary reasons for this action were “inactivity” and the desire to make Gmail a safer and more secure alternative.

“People want the products and services they use online to be safe and secure. Which is why we have invested in technology and tools to protect our users from security threats, like spam, phishing scams and account hijacking,” Ruth Kricheli, VP of Product Management at Google, shared in a post.

“Even with these protections, if an account hasn’t been used for an extended period of time, it is more likely to be compromised. This is because forgotten or unattended accounts often rely on old or re-used passwords that may have been compromised, haven’t had two-factor authentication set up, and receive fewer security checks by the user.”

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Google will delete millions of Gmail accounts next month

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Even though we’ve been aware of the impending Gmail purge for a few months, people who don’t follow the media closely could have failed to receive the announcement. It is crucial that consumers understand what is going on here, as the cleanup will begin in less than a month’s time.

How to secure your Gmail account from removal

You must continue to use your Gmail account in order to prevent massive removal and to continue to keep it operational. That might mean several different things, but generally speaking, you have to log into your Google account in order to utilise it for various purposes, such as viewing YouTube videos or reading emails.

Also Read: How to Use Two WhatsApp Accounts on Your Phone at Once: A Step-by-Step Guide

By doing this, you may make sure that when Google launches its major Gmail cleanse next month, your login and account are not counted as inactive. However, deleting outdated and potentially hacked accounts is a wise precautionary measure as well. It also implies that usernames that have been occupied for an extended period of time may be removed; thus, if you’ve been hoping to switch to a better username, it could become vacant once the purge starts. Of course, there’s no certainty.

Google Didn't Rush Bard Chatbot to Beat Microsoft, Executive Says, Prioritizing Quality Over Speed

Google Didn’t Rush Bard Chatbot to Beat Microsoft, Executive Says, Prioritizing Quality Over Speed

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A top Google official denied claims that the business hastily released Bard, a chatbot powered by artificial intelligence, Previously, this year to outperform competitor Microsoft Corp.’s product.

The Vice President of Search, Elizabeth Reid, said amid Google’s defence testimony in the Justice Department’s antitrust lawsuit in opposition to the search engine giant that Bard provided a wrong answer when it was first unveiled to the people in February. However, she disregarded David Dahlquist, a government attorney, who said that Bard was hastily released following Microsoft’s announcement that it would be incorporating generative artificial intelligence into the company’s Bing search engine.

“I don’t think you can make that conclusion,” Reid said. “Microsoft’s announcement also had several errors in it. The technology is very nascent. It makes mistakes. That’s why we’ve been hesitant to put it forward.”

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Google keeps its search engine monopoly by blocking competitors, DOJ Says

Google Didn't Rush Bard Chatbot to Beat Microsoft, Executive Says, Prioritizing Quality Over Speed

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The Justice Department is attempting to demonstrate in its historic competition case how Google keeps its search dominance by isolating competitors like Microsoft. Government solicitors have been attempting to demonstrate that, in addition to its supremacy, Google purposefully delayed technical advancements if they potentially jeopardise its position.

After years of developing Google Maps as well as local search tools, Reid joined Google, a division of Alphabet Inc., as a vice president of search in 2021. She discussed in her testimony the organization’s attempts to create local search and its latest foray into artificial intelligence (AI) with the Search Generative Service, a limited edition driven by generative Intelligence.

Throughout the trial, several Google officials have spoken about the business’s attempts to use machine learning and artificial intelligence in its products.

On Monday, February 6, Google revealed the release of Bard, referring to it as an essential next phase of its artificial intelligence a statement made by CEO Sundar Pichai. The next day, Microsoft announced that it was adding ChatGPT technology from Open AI to Bing.

Also Read: Mozilla ‘Failed’ Bet on Yahoo Takes Spotlight in Google Trial

The public display of Bard by Google failed to impress financiers. Bard was questioned once on recent findings from the James Webb Space Telescope. False information was provided by the chatbot about the usage of the telescope to capture the first images of a planet outside of our solar system.

In 2004, NASA took the first images of a planet known as an exoplanet, however, the Webb telescope became the first to take a picture of a specific planet outside of our solar system. Alphabet’s shares fell sharply as a result of the error.

“It’s a very subtle language difference,” Reid said in explaining the error in her testimony Wednesday. “The amount of effort to ensure that a paragraph is correct is quite a lot of work.”

“The challenges of fact-checking are hard,” she added.

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Mozilla ‘Failed’ Bet on Yahoo Takes Spotlight in Google Trial

Mozilla ‘Failed’ Bet on Yahoo Takes Spotlight in Google Trial

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In 2014, Mozilla Foundation made a significant decision to change the default search engine in its Firefox browser from Google to Yahoo. This bold move was based on Yahoo’s promises of a better search experience for Firefox users. However, in hindsight, Mozilla’s bet on Yahoo can be considered a significant failure, resulting in a degradation of the user experience.

The Rise and Fall of Mozilla's Yahoo Experiment

Mozilla’s Chief Executive Officer, Mitchell Baker, candidly admitted the failure of the Yahoo partnership during a videotaped interview from 2022, which was presented as part of Google’s defense in the Justice Department’s antitrust trial. This decision to switch to Yahoo’s technology was initiated under the leadership of Yahoo’s CEO at the time, Marissa Mayer, who pledged to make a substantial investment in Mozilla.

However, as Mitchell Baker emphasized, “That bet failed.” The once-promising search experience Yahoo was supposed to provide to Firefox users began to deteriorate. This significant shift in default search engine providers marked a unique case in the browser industry, making it a focal point in the ongoing antitrust trial between Google and the Justice Department.

The Broken Promises of the Yahoo-Mozilla Partnership

Mozilla ‘Failed’ Bet on Yahoo Takes Spotlight in Google Trial

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One of the primary reasons behind Mozilla’s decision to switch from Google to Yahoo was the financial incentive. Yahoo agreed to pay Mozilla a minimum of $375 million, surpassing Google’s annual offering of $276 million. Additionally, Yahoo promised to reduce the number of ads and offer less user tracking compared to Google. These promises were appealing to both Mozilla and its users.

  Also Read: Tesla Stock Falls Below $200 for First Time Since May

However, as time passed, Yahoo failed to live up to its commitments. Instead of providing a better user experience with fewer ads and reduced tracking, Yahoo began showing more advertising, ultimately diminishing the quality of the search experience for Firefox users. This shift in Yahoo’s approach not only affected Mozilla’s revenue but also resulted in a less desirable browsing experience for Firefox users.

In conclusion, Mozilla’s experiment with Yahoo as the default search engine in Firefox stands as a glaring example of a promising partnership that went awry. The decision to make a significant bet on Yahoo, based on their promises, ultimately resulted in a failed venture, leading to a deteriorated user experience and raising questions about the reliability of search engine partnerships in the tech industry. This case serves as a significant point of contention in the ongoing antitrust trial, with both Google and the Justice Department using it to support their respective arguments.

Google’s 2019 ‘Code Yellow’ Blurred Line Between Search, Ads

Google’s 2019 ‘Code Yellow’ Blurred Line Between Search, Ads

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Emails presented in the Justice Department’s historic antitrust hearing in opposition to the search engine giant revealed that in February 2019, the previous head of search at Alphabet Inc.’s child firm Google complained to coworkers that his team was getting excessively involved with advertising for the beneficial aspects of the product and company.

Google’s 2019 ‘Code Yellow’ Blurred Line Between Search, Ads

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To allow its engineers to develop on Google’s search engine without being constrained by the team whose aim is to maximise advertising income, Google keeps a firewall across its search and ad teams. However, in February 2019, when evidence from the antitrust trial was made public on Tuesday, Google secretly issued a “Code Yellow” due to worries that the business could miss its quarterly targets for search revenue.

Documents state that during the seven-week crisis, engineers from Google’s search as well as Chrome browser divisions were transferred to investigate the reason behind the slowdown in user inquiries.

Justice Division Ben Gomes, a previously employed Google employee, was contacted by the firm to defend itself and demonstrate the progress it has achieved in search, especially in the mobile space. On interrogation, however, attorney David Dahlquist of the Justice Department brought to light the conflicts that existed between Gomes’ search department and its marketing competitors.

The goal of the interrogation was to disprove Google’s claims that its search team only concentrates on enhancing user experience and is occasionally drawn into the advertising space, where the Department of Justice claims Google has been able to hike prices without facing opposition.

In its eighth week of trial, the fundamental question is whether Google used billions of dollars to suppress competition and retain its monopoly over internet search, in violation of the law.

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Google Chief Executive Officer Pichai refutes the Department of Justice's Claims of Evidence Erasure.

Google refuted the notion that the firm’s advertising revenue targets had an impact on results from searches and innovation in a statement.

“The organic results you see in search are not affected by our ads systems or by the ads we show for a query,” said Peter Schottenfels, a Google spokesperson.

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Google claims that its improved offering has allowed them to grab almost 90 percent of the search engine market, and that the general public has benefited from its innovations in internet search. However, emails shown in court on Tuesday indicated that several important members of the search team at the business expressed worry about Google prioritising revenue above innovation.