Artists including Drake, Rihanna, The Weeknd, and Kendrick Lamar are returning to TikTok, as the platform has reached a new agreement with Universal Music Group (UMG). UMG had recently begun pulling its music from TikTok after their old contract expired, and the two companies couldn’t reach an agreement in new negotiations. What Does The New Partnership Mean? The joint agreement aims to mark a new era of collaboration, built on a shared commitment to help UMG’s artists and songwriters achieve their creative and commercial potential. They are also working together to realize new monetization opportunities utilizing
Ovom Care, a pioneering German startup in the fertility sector, recently closed €4.8 million ($5.1 million) in seed funding to expand its services across Europe, according to Tech Funding News. Led by an all-female founding team, Ovom Care is at the forefront of integrating empathetic reproductive healthcare by using a combination of generative AI and computer vision. This investment round, led by Alpha Intelligence Capital and supported by Ananda Impact Ventures and Merantix, makes the company’s total funding €6.1 million ($6.5 million). The startup is set to open its first clinic in Portugal by late 2024,
FKA Twigs has been developing an AI-powered version of herself, designed to interact with fans and journalists online. The British singer testified before Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property on Tuesday, calling for regulation to protect artists. AI Twigs: Revolutionizing Artist-Fan Engagement FKA Twigs recently announced the creation of her deepfake, a digital persona aptly named “AI Twigs.” “In the past year, I have developed my own deepfake version of myself that is not only trained in my personality but also can use my exact tone of voice to speak
A high school athletic director in Baltimore has been accused of using AI to impersonate a principal on an audio recording that included racist and  antisemitic comments, authorities said on Thursday. The principal was placed on leave and had police outside his home after he received hate-filled messages and death threats over the fake recoridng. What Happened? Dazhon Darien, a 31-year-old high school athletic director in Maryland, reportedly created the AI audio recording to retaliate against Pikesville High School’s principal Eric Eisworth. Eisworth was investigating Darien over allegations that he
Venita Cooper and Vincent Sanders have created an AI-powered sneaker resale price-prediction startup – Arbit. According to their website, Arbit is the only price prediction model designed to empower sneaker buyers to get fair prices in the resell market. They collect real-time prices from trusted sites, providing pricing insights and trend analysis that allows users to shop prices on one app. Arbit’s Journey Cooper’s passion for sneaker culture began in 2019 when she opened Silhouette Sneakers and Art in Tulsa, which attracted attention from Brian Brackeen in 2021. After more than four years in the business, Cooper announced
Toro Taxes and Trez, two Latine-owned companies, have formed a strategic partnership to better deliver their services to Latine entrepreneurs across the U.S. The Partnership The Latine market represents nearly 19% of the country’s population and continues to be the fastest-growing demographic in the US. Toro Taxes, the largest Hispanic tax preparation and business services franchise in the U.S., operates over 200 locations nationwide. Trez, a specialized payroll and benefits platform designed for the Latine community, will serve as the primary platform for onboarding the Toro Taxes’ clients onto the
Black-owned AI analytics platform AI Squared has announced a $13.8 million Series A funding round led by Ansa Capital with participation from Latimer Ventures, NEA and Ridgeline. AI Squared As investments in AI increase, data science teams in businesses and governments are looking to implement AI models that can utilize more value from their data to improve decision-making. AI Squared, founded in 2019 by Benjamin Harvey, PhD, helps organizations deliver data and AI insights into their business applications. The company estimates that up to 90% of AI models enterprises develop do not make it
Digital health startup Acclinate has partnered with Quilt.AI to enhance its Black maternal health initiatives through AI and cultural understanding. Increasing Culturally Competent Healthcare Professionals Black women in the U.S. are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than white women. Acclinate is a digital health startup focused on improving health equity through technology and community engagement, particularly within communities of color. Thanks to Acclinate’s NOWINCLUDED community platform, significant strides have been made in understanding the healthcare needs of Black mothers over the past year. Data from the Mommy Listening
UrbanGeekz, the digital news platform, has announced a content syndication deal with Moovn, a Black-owned ride-hailing service. The collaboration marks the first time a Black-owned news platform has partnered with a ridesharing app to distribute media directly to passengers. Redefining Passenger Experience Embedded within the Moovn app, the content from UrbanGeekz will be accessible to passengers as they travel, transforming ride time into an engaging opportunity for consuming news, feature stories, and videos. “I’ve always been someone who thinks outside the box,” said UrbanGeekz founder and CEO Kunbi Tinuoye. “For years, I’ve had this
MyFiLi is a new AI-powered edtech platform designed to transform how families, schools, and nonprofits engage with financial literacy. The Urgent Need for Financial Literacy Currently, consumer credit card debt in the U.S. has hit an all-time high of $1.79 trillion, and savings account balances average just $4,521. MyFiLi.com addresses this gap by providing tools and knowledge that help users navigate the complex nature of financial management. According to BlackNews, Founder and CEO Joseph Green‘s mission is to empower everyone to develop a healthy relationship with money. “By making financial literacy education accessible,
