Waymo to launch robotaxi service in Los Angeles

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Waymo said it plans to launch a robotaxi service in Los Angeles, another sign that the Alphabet subsidiary is accelerating its commercial ramp up. Waymo has had a presence in Los Angeles since 2019, periodically coming in to map neighborhoods, including downtown, Miracle Mile, Koreatown, Santa Monica, Westwood and West Hollywood. The announcement Wednesday has … Read more

BMW to invest $1.7B to build EVs in South Carolina

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BMW plans to invest $1.7 billion to build at least six EV models in the U.S. by the end of the decade. The investment announced Wednesday includes $1 billion toward BMW’s factory in Spartanburg, South Carolina and $700 million to fund a new battery cell plant nearby. The factory, which builds BMW’s portfolio of X … Read more

Design patterns for serial inference on Amazon SageMaker

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As machine learning (ML) goes mainstream and gains wider adoption, ML-powered applications are becoming increasingly common to solve a range of complex business problems. The solution to these complex business problems often requires using multiple ML models. These models can be sequentially combined to perform various tasks, such as preprocessing, data transformation, model selection, inference … Read more

Here’s what’s happening on day two of Disrupt

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Day one of TechCrunch Disrupt is in the rearview mirror, and what a great day it was! We hope you’re well rested and well fed, because day two — October 19 — comes fully loaded with action, connection and opportunity. Latecomers still welcome: Buy a pass right here. All righty, let’s take a quick look … Read more

Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari signs the Nigeria Start-up Act into law

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Last May, the Nigerian presidency launched the Nigeria Startup Bill in collaboration with a group of Nigerian tech leaders and several government bodies to govern how startups and regulatory bodies operate and collaborate in the multi-billion-dollar tech ecosystem. Today, that bill has been signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari. This news was made known … Read more

The Portland Van Abductions

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Some hours before he was abducted by a squad of feds in camouflage tactical gear, Mark Pettibone was playing a pickup game of Frisbee. It was what had become a normal night for the summer of 2020 in Portland, Oregon. The city was now four months into the pandemic and two months into the ongoing … Read more

Don’t worry, Uber WILL find a way to advertise to you

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Uber has officially launched its advertising division and unveiled its in-app ad experience, Journey Ads, in an attempt to drive more revenue. The company said Wednesday it will sell ad space inside its ride-hailing and Uber Eats apps, as well as in-vehicle digital ads, sponsored mails and storefront ads. Uber has historically tried to add … Read more