Japanet is expanding its venture capital fund with Pegasus Tech Ventures, after early investments in firms like SpaceX, OpenAI, Anthropic and xAI showed strong growth. Japanese home shopping company Japanet is expanding its venture capital fund with San Jose-based Pegasus Tech Ventures, following the success of early bets in SpaceX, OpenAI, Anthropic and xAI. The Nagasaki-based retailer known for infomercials targeting seniors in aging Japan will allocate $200 million to the fund, up from an initial $50 million in 2021, following significant growth" in investments so far, the companies said in a statement. The fund, of which Pegasus is general partner, will focus on areas such as generative AI, robotics and space technology. Its Japan portfolio includes startup Aillis, which seeks to use artificial intelligence to analyze medical scans. Asian companies have struggled to win stakes in promising startups in Silicon Valley, hampered by a lack of personal connections and reputation for slow decision-making. Pegasus also manages startup investments on behalf of Toyota Motor-affiliate Aisin, Japanese chemical maker Denka, Taiwan's Asustek Computer and Acer and Indonesia's pharma company Kalbe Farma. Everybody wants a piece of the Silicon Valley AI action," Pegasus Chief Executive Officer Anis Uzzaman said on a video call.

Anthropic was founded in 2021 by several former employees of OpenAI. Amazon is investing an additional $5 billion in Anthropic, and may inject $20 billion more over time, a deal that deepens the companies' ties in an increasingly competitive artificial intelligence industry. Anthropic, which makes the Claude chatbot and coding tool, plans to spend more than $100 billion over the next 10 years on Amazon's cloud technologies and chips, the companies said in a statement on Monday. Amazon shares gained about 3% on the news in extended trading. Amazon was already one of Anthropic's biggest backers, with prior investments totaling $8 billion.

The company's sudden decision to pull the plug on Sora is a sign of deeper trouble. When I opened Sora this morning, I was met with a flood of strange and disturbing AI-generated videos. On OpenAI's video app, I scrolled through fabricated scenes of the Iran war and a barrage of fake Donald Trumps blabbering about Jeffrey Epstein. In my least favorite clip, I watched a man deep-fry an infant. The app lets users create fairly realistic-looking AI-generated clips--including of their own likeness--and then post them on a TikTok-like feed.

An engineer at the AgiBot factory in Shanghai, China, where the 5,000th mass-produced humanoid robot had rolled off the production line. An engineer at the AgiBot factory in Shanghai, China, where the 5,000th mass-produced humanoid robot had rolled off the production line. How close are we to the sci-fi vision of autonomous humanoid robots? C hen Liang, the founder of Guchi Robotics, an automation company headquartered in Shanghai, is a tall, heavy-set man in his mid-40s with square-rimmed glasses. His everyday manner is calm and understated, but when he is in his element - up close with the technology he builds, or in business meetings discussing the imminent replacement of human workers by robots - he wears an exuberant smile that brings to mind an intern on his first day at his dream job. Guchi makes the machines that install wheels, dashboards and windows for many of the top Chinese car brands, including BYD and Nio. He took the name from the Chinese word, "steadfast intelligence", though the fact that it sounded like an Italian luxury brand was not entirely unwelcome. For the better part of two decades, Chen has tried to solve what, to him, is an engineering problem: how to eliminate - or, in his view, liberate - as many workers in car factories as technologically possible. Late last year, I visited him at Guchi headquarters on the western outskirts of Shanghai. Next to the head office are several warehouses where Guchi's engineers tinker with robots to fit the specifications of their customers. Chen, an engineer by training, founded Guchi in 2019 with the aim of tackling the hardest automation task in the car factory: "final assembly", the last leg of production, when all the composite pieces - the dashboard, windows, wheels and seat cushions - come together. At present, his robots can mount wheels, dashboards and windows on to a car without any human intervention, but 80% of the final assembly, he estimates, has yet to be automated. That is what Chen has set his sights on. As in much of the world, AI has become part of everyday life in China . But what most excites Chinese politicians and industrialists are the strides being made in the field of robotics, which, when combined with advances in AI, could revolutionise the world of work.

NTT Global Data Centers is working on 34 projects to double its capacity to 4 gigawatts within as little as two years, CEO Doug Adams said, as it races to meet surging global demand driven by the AI boom. NTT Global Data Centers, the world's third-largest data center provider outside of China, is working to double its capacity to 4 gigawatts to meet the rising global demand for the critical digital infrastructure amid an artificial intelligence boom. The unit of Japan's NTT is working on 34 projects that will double its capacity in as soon as two years, according to the data center business's Chief Executive Officer Doug Adams. Capacity will continue to increase from there, and will be "well over 5 gigawatts" in five years, Adams said in an interview. NTT GDC has seen increasing demand from companies moving more of their software and operations to the cloud as well as businesses hunting for extra capacity to run AI programs. The business's revenue is expected to keep growing at more than 20% a year, Adams said, declining to give a specific time period.

The city's narrow streets and brutal traffic will present a'pressure test' for the tech, its CEO said. US self-driving startup Nuro, which is backed by the likes of NVIDIA, Toyota and Uber, has started testing its autonomous vehicles on Tokyo's challenging streets, reported. The company, which plans to launch a robotaxi service with Uber and Lucid in San Francisco this year, will be testing a handful of vehicles in the city. Human safety drivers will be at the wheel, as is required by Japanese law. Tokyo presents a challenge for autonomous vehicles, given its narrow, crowded streets and left side of the road driving.

East Japan Railway has said it will launch a trial in April of a system that uses artificial intelligence to monitor pantographs on trains running on its busy Yamanote Line in Tokyo to detect defects at an early stage. The railway operator, known as JR East, also plans to use drones to inspect overhead wires and other infrastructure, aiming to reduce the time required to resume operations by 30% when transport service disruptions occur due to equipment problems. Cameras to monitor pantographs, which are located on the roof of a train car and connect the carriage to overheard electrical wires, will be installed near Shimbashi, Ebisu, Mejiro and Uguisudani stations in the capital, the company said Tuesday. The AI system will analyze the images in real time, and if damage is detected, it will notify the control room or other relevant sections. Drones will be dispatched later to inspect overhead wires and other equipment, facilitating faster restoration work.

It generally takes 18 to 36 months to build a hyperscale AI site - such as, presumably, one of the world's most powerful supercomputers. It generally takes 18 to 36 months to build a hyperscale AI site - such as, presumably, one of the world's most powerful supercomputers. From press release to scrap metal site: the Essex'supercomputer' that's still a scaffolding yard Nscale's AI project still in use as depot ahead of pledged completion date - with planning permission filed after Guardian's inquiries Revealed: UK's multibillion AI drive is built on'phantom investments' T he press releases announcing a gleaming supercomputer on the outskirts of north London depict a glass and concrete building, rising from a tree-lined street. Accompanied by images of glowing blue robot faces, it looks like the centre of a technological revolution. By the end of this year, that artist's impression is supposed to be a reality.

CEO Jack Dorsey being interviewed on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on 19 November 2015. CEO Jack Dorsey being interviewed on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on 19 November 2015. Current and former Block workers say AI can't do their jobs after Jack Dorsey's mass layoffs: 'You can't really AI that' The CEO said he cut the company's workforce by 4,000 people - almost in half - because of gains in AI productivity M ark remembers the first time he wondered whether he was teaching Block's AI tools how to do his job - and maybe even replace him. He was at his fintech company's extravagant anniversary party last September. As executives led a presentation on the productivity benefits of a new internal AI tool, Mark, who worked in the product department, discussed his worries with colleagues. While he wasn't sure what would happen in a few years, he told a co-worker sitting next to him that for now, there was no way the technology was so advanced that it could move the business forward without employees like him to help drive vision and strategy.

Jack Dorsey leaves the Élysée Palace in Paris, France, on 7 June 2019. Jack Dorsey leaves the Élysée Palace in Paris, France, on 7 June 2019. What was really behind Jack Dorsey laying off nearly half of Block's staff? Jack Dorsey cited AI as the driving force behind cutting 40% of his company's employees, but other factors such as a weak crypto market, overstaffing and a declining stock price may also have motivated the move. Last week, the financial technology company Block announced that it would lay off 4,000 of its 10,000 workers.