Plain pulls in $15M to agregate B2B customer services chats into one platform

Internal customer support platforms are moving from platforms like email ticketing systems and chat to channels like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and even Discord. But with Slack, for instance, able to host hundreds of channels, the whole thing can become quite unwieldy.  Plain, out of the UK, thinks it has the answer. Its API-first platform consolidates … Read more

A comprehensive list of 2024 and 2025 tech layoffs

The tech layoff wave continued through 2024. Following significant workforce reductions in 2022 and 2023, 2024 saw more than 150,000 job cuts across 542 companies, according to independent layoffs tracker Layoffs.fyi. Large companies like Tesla, Amazon, Google, TikTok, Snap, and Microsoft conducted sizable layoffs in 2024, while smaller-sized startups also experienced cuts, and in some … Read more

OpenAI scrubs diversity commitment web page from its site

OpenAI has eliminated a page on its website that used to express its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. The URL “https://openai.com/commitment-to-dei/” now redirects to “https://openai.com/building-dynamic-teams/,” a page that talks about people with “different backgrounds” with no use of the word “diversity.” The previous page stated that the company’s “investment in diversity, equity and inclusion” … Read more

Turo scraps plans for an IPO

Turo on Thursday withdrew its plans for an IPO, ending a three-year wait to bring the online car-sharing network to the public marketplace, according to a regulatory filing. Turo, which was founded in 2010, allows private car owners to rent out their vehicles through the startup’s website or app. The company — sometimes described as … Read more

Hotstar and JioCinema merge into JioHotstar as Reliance tightens grip on streaming in India

Hotstar and JioCinema, two widely used video streaming apps in India, have merged into JioHotstar. JioStar, a joint venture between Reliance-owned Viacom18 and Star India, said Friday it had integrated JioCinema’s vast library of content into a revamped version of Disney’s Hotstar platform. The merged app, live as of early Friday local India time, will … Read more

OpenAI removes certain content warnings from ChatGPT

OpenAI says it has removed the “warning” messages in its AI-powered chatbot platform, ChatGPT, that indicated when content might violate its terms of service. Laurentia Romaniuk, a member of OpenAI’s AI model behavior team, said in a post on X that the change was intended to cut down on “gratuitous/unexplainable denials.” Nick Turley, head of … Read more