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Salesforce buys Moonhub, a startup building AI tools for hiring | TechCrunch

Salesforce buys Moonhub, a startup building AI tools for hiring | TechCrunch

Updated 1:13 p.m. Pacific: A Salesforce spokesperson told TechCrunch that Moonhub has not, in fact, been acquired (by the company’s definition of the term). Rather, Moonhub is shutting down, and only some of the company’s team — not the whole team, as MoonHub implied in its post about the news — will be joining Salesforce. The original story follows.

Salesforce has quietly snapped up Moonhub, a startup building AI to vet and hire talent. The terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

In a post on Moonhub’s website on Monday, the company said that its entire Menlo Park, California-based team will be joining Salesforce, an early investor in Moonhub.

“As a customer and investor, Salesforce has already played a role in Moonhub’s journey,” wrote Moonhub CEO Nancy Xu in the post. “From our earliest conversations, it [was] also clear that our companies share deep core values like customer trust, along with a resolute conviction in the role AI agents will play in unlocking an era of global innovation and opportunity. We are excited for the impact we will make together.”

Salesforce is on a shopping spree. Just last week, the company completed its $8 billion acquisition of Informatica, a company providing data management solutions. And last month, Salesforce bought Convergence.ai, an automation startup, to bolster the former’s AI product offerings.

Moonhub, which was founded in 2022 by Xu, an ex-Meta engineer, sells a range of tools designed to help companies recruit, evaluate, and hire job candidates. Moonhub’s AI can automatically identify candidates for roles, reaching out and assisting with tasks such as onboarding and payroll management.

Moonhub raised $14.4 million from backers including Khosla Ventures, AIX Ventures, Day One Ventures, and GV (formerly Google Ventures) in addition to Salesforce, according to Crunchbase. The company has hundreds of customers, including Fortune 500 companies, per Xu.

“By joining Salesforce, we are accelerating our mission in this next chapter,” Xu continued in her post. “Moonhub’s talented team will play a key role in advancing Salesforce’s AI strategy.”

Salesforce’s Moonhub purchase is on trend. Despite a decidedly mixed reception from job seekers, AI is increasingly being used in hiring and other HR processes. According to a recent Gallup poll, 93% of Fortune 500 chief human resource officers have begun integrating AI tools and technologies to enhance their practices.

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#Salesforce #buys #Moonhub #startup #building #tools #hiring #TechCrunch

Speech-to-text capability is now baked into all modern computers. But what if you didn’t have to dictate to your computer? What if you could type just by thinking?

Silicon Valley startup Sabi is emerging from stealth with that goal. The company is developing a brain wearable that decodes a person’s internal speech into words on a computer screen. CEO Rahul Chhabra says its first product, a brain-reading beanie, will be available by the end of the year. The company is also designing a baseball cap version.

The technology is known as a brain-computer interface, or BCI, a device that provides a direct communication pathway between the brain and an external device. While many companies such as Elon Musk’s Neuralink are developing surgically implanted BCIs for people with severe motor disabilities, Sabi’s device could allow anyone to become a cyborg.

It’s not exactly Musk’s vision of the future, which involves implanted brain chips to allow humans to merge with AI. But venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, who was an early investor in OpenAI, says a noninvasive, wearable device is the only path to getting lots of people to use BCI technology.

“The biggest and baddest application of BCI is if you can talk to your computer by thinking about it,” says Khosla, founder of Khosla Ventures, one of Sabi’s investors. “If you’re going to have a billion people use BCI for access to their computers every day, it can’t be invasive.”

Sabi’s brain-reading hat relies on EEG, or electroencephalography, which uses metal disks placed on the scalp to record the brain’s electrical activity. Decoding imagined speech from EEG is already possible, but it’s currently limited to small sets of words or commands rather than continuous, natural speech.

A very small chip shown on the pad of a finger to illustrate it's tiny scale

Photograph: Courtesy of Sabi

The drawback of a wearable system is that the sensors have to listen to the brain through a layer of skin and bone, which dampens neural signals. Surgically implanted devices pick up much stronger signals because they sit so close to neurons. Sabi thinks the way to boost accuracy with a wearable is by massively scaling up the number of sensors in its device. Most EEG devices have a dozen to a few hundred sensors. Sabi’s cap will have anywhere from 70,000 to 100,000 miniature sensors.

“Given that high-density sensing, it pinpoints exactly what and where neural activity is happening. We use that information to get much more reliable data to decode what a person is thinking,” Chhabra says.

The company is aiming for an initial typing speed of 30 or so words per minute. That’s slower than most people type, but he says the speed will improve as users spend more time with the cap.

#Beanie #Designed #Read #Thoughtswearables,neuroscience,artificial intelligence,brain-computer interfaces">This Beanie Is Designed to Read Your ThoughtsSpeech-to-text capability is now baked into all modern computers. But what if you didn’t have to dictate to your computer? What if you could type just by thinking?Silicon Valley startup Sabi is emerging from stealth with that goal. The company is developing a brain wearable that decodes a person’s internal speech into words on a computer screen. CEO Rahul Chhabra says its first product, a brain-reading beanie, will be available by the end of the year. The company is also designing a baseball cap version.The technology is known as a brain-computer interface, or BCI, a device that provides a direct communication pathway between the brain and an external device. While many companies such as Elon Musk’s Neuralink are developing surgically implanted BCIs for people with severe motor disabilities, Sabi’s device could allow anyone to become a cyborg.It’s not exactly Musk’s vision of the future, which involves implanted brain chips to allow humans to merge with AI. But venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, who was an early investor in OpenAI, says a noninvasive, wearable device is the only path to getting lots of people to use BCI technology.“The biggest and baddest application of BCI is if you can talk to your computer by thinking about it,” says Khosla, founder of Khosla Ventures, one of Sabi’s investors. “If you’re going to have a billion people use BCI for access to their computers every day, it can’t be invasive.”Sabi’s brain-reading hat relies on EEG, or electroencephalography, which uses metal disks placed on the scalp to record the brain’s electrical activity. Decoding imagined speech from EEG is already possible, but it’s currently limited to small sets of words or commands rather than continuous, natural speech.Photograph: Courtesy of SabiThe drawback of a wearable system is that the sensors have to listen to the brain through a layer of skin and bone, which dampens neural signals. Surgically implanted devices pick up much stronger signals because they sit so close to neurons. Sabi thinks the way to boost accuracy with a wearable is by massively scaling up the number of sensors in its device. Most EEG devices have a dozen to a few hundred sensors. Sabi’s cap will have anywhere from 70,000 to 100,000 miniature sensors.“Given that high-density sensing, it pinpoints exactly what and where neural activity is happening. We use that information to get much more reliable data to decode what a person is thinking,” Chhabra says.The company is aiming for an initial typing speed of 30 or so words per minute. That’s slower than most people type, but he says the speed will improve as users spend more time with the cap.#Beanie #Designed #Read #Thoughtswearables,neuroscience,artificial intelligence,brain-computer interfaces

modern computers. But what if you didn’t have to dictate to your computer? What if you could type just by thinking?

Silicon Valley startup Sabi is emerging from stealth with that goal. The company is developing a brain wearable that decodes a person’s internal speech into words on a computer screen. CEO Rahul Chhabra says its first product, a brain-reading beanie, will be available by the end of the year. The company is also designing a baseball cap version.

The technology is known as a brain-computer interface, or BCI, a device that provides a direct communication pathway between the brain and an external device. While many companies such as Elon Musk’s Neuralink are developing surgically implanted BCIs for people with severe motor disabilities, Sabi’s device could allow anyone to become a cyborg.

It’s not exactly Musk’s vision of the future, which involves implanted brain chips to allow humans to merge with AI. But venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, who was an early investor in OpenAI, says a noninvasive, wearable device is the only path to getting lots of people to use BCI technology.

“The biggest and baddest application of BCI is if you can talk to your computer by thinking about it,” says Khosla, founder of Khosla Ventures, one of Sabi’s investors. “If you’re going to have a billion people use BCI for access to their computers every day, it can’t be invasive.”

Sabi’s brain-reading hat relies on EEG, or electroencephalography, which uses metal disks placed on the scalp to record the brain’s electrical activity. Decoding imagined speech from EEG is already possible, but it’s currently limited to small sets of words or commands rather than continuous, natural speech.

A very small chip shown on the pad of a finger to illustrate it's tiny scale

Photograph: Courtesy of Sabi

The drawback of a wearable system is that the sensors have to listen to the brain through a layer of skin and bone, which dampens neural signals. Surgically implanted devices pick up much stronger signals because they sit so close to neurons. Sabi thinks the way to boost accuracy with a wearable is by massively scaling up the number of sensors in its device. Most EEG devices have a dozen to a few hundred sensors. Sabi’s cap will have anywhere from 70,000 to 100,000 miniature sensors.

“Given that high-density sensing, it pinpoints exactly what and where neural activity is happening. We use that information to get much more reliable data to decode what a person is thinking,” Chhabra says.

The company is aiming for an initial typing speed of 30 or so words per minute. That’s slower than most people type, but he says the speed will improve as users spend more time with the cap.

#Beanie #Designed #Read #Thoughtswearables,neuroscience,artificial intelligence,brain-computer interfaces">This Beanie Is Designed to Read Your Thoughts

Speech-to-text capability is now baked into all modern computers. But what if you didn’t have to dictate to your computer? What if you could type just by thinking?

Silicon Valley startup Sabi is emerging from stealth with that goal. The company is developing a brain wearable that decodes a person’s internal speech into words on a computer screen. CEO Rahul Chhabra says its first product, a brain-reading beanie, will be available by the end of the year. The company is also designing a baseball cap version.

The technology is known as a brain-computer interface, or BCI, a device that provides a direct communication pathway between the brain and an external device. While many companies such as Elon Musk’s Neuralink are developing surgically implanted BCIs for people with severe motor disabilities, Sabi’s device could allow anyone to become a cyborg.

It’s not exactly Musk’s vision of the future, which involves implanted brain chips to allow humans to merge with AI. But venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, who was an early investor in OpenAI, says a noninvasive, wearable device is the only path to getting lots of people to use BCI technology.

“The biggest and baddest application of BCI is if you can talk to your computer by thinking about it,” says Khosla, founder of Khosla Ventures, one of Sabi’s investors. “If you’re going to have a billion people use BCI for access to their computers every day, it can’t be invasive.”

Sabi’s brain-reading hat relies on EEG, or electroencephalography, which uses metal disks placed on the scalp to record the brain’s electrical activity. Decoding imagined speech from EEG is already possible, but it’s currently limited to small sets of words or commands rather than continuous, natural speech.

A very small chip shown on the pad of a finger to illustrate it's tiny scale

Photograph: Courtesy of Sabi

The drawback of a wearable system is that the sensors have to listen to the brain through a layer of skin and bone, which dampens neural signals. Surgically implanted devices pick up much stronger signals because they sit so close to neurons. Sabi thinks the way to boost accuracy with a wearable is by massively scaling up the number of sensors in its device. Most EEG devices have a dozen to a few hundred sensors. Sabi’s cap will have anywhere from 70,000 to 100,000 miniature sensors.

“Given that high-density sensing, it pinpoints exactly what and where neural activity is happening. We use that information to get much more reliable data to decode what a person is thinking,” Chhabra says.

The company is aiming for an initial typing speed of 30 or so words per minute. That’s slower than most people type, but he says the speed will improve as users spend more time with the cap.

#Beanie #Designed #Read #Thoughtswearables,neuroscience,artificial intelligence,brain-computer interfaces

Val Kilmer AI deepfake film As Deep as the Grave has just released its first trailer. The internet has responded with overwhelming disgust.

A widely recognised actor known for his roles in films such as Top Gun, Batman Forever, and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Kilmer died from pneumonia last April at 65 years old. Upcoming film As Deep as the Grave has now used generative AI to create a digital puppet in Kilmer’s likeness, having it portray a character appearing in “a significant part” of the historical film.

As Deep as the Grave follows married archaeologists Ann Axtell Morris (Abigail Lawrie) and Earl H. Morris (Tom Felton), who conducted fieldwork in the U.S. southwest during the 1920s. Kilmer’s AI-generated likeness will be used to depict Father Fintan, a Catholic priest who is also a Native American spiritualist. The film also features Abigail Breslin, Wes Studi, and Finn Jones.

Though Kilmer was cast in As Deep as the Grave prior to his death, delays in production and issues with his health meant he never shot any scenes. Kilmer had previously given a tech-assisted performance in Top Gun: Maverick, which digitally altered his real voice. He also worked with UK company Sonantic to create an AI speaking voice based on his old recordings. However, As Deep as the Grave will be the first time his likeness and voice will be completely AI-generated in a film.

“Very fitting that this trailer includes a scene where a corpse is unceremoniously yanked out of the ground,” read one of the top comments on As Deep as the Grave‘s trailer at time of writing.

CGI likenesses of deceased actors have been used in feature films before. In 2016, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story gained attention for using CGI and motion capture to resurrect Peter Cushing and portray a younger Carrie Fisher for a few minutes of the film. In 2015, Furious 7 used similar techniques to insert Paul Walker into the remainder of the film after he died mid-shoot. Though Furious 7 largely received a pass due to the circumstances, Rogue One received criticism regarding the ethics of its CGI Cushing. Using generative AI to completely create a performance out of nothing appears to go a step even further, completely removing any actors from the process.

Writer and director Coerte Voorhees told Variety that he chose to use AI rather than recast the role due to budget constraints, and that Kilmer’s children gave the project their blessing. Even so, online commenters have labelled it disgusting and disrespectful, not only for digitally reanimating Kilmer but also for the damaging precedent As Deep as the Grave‘s use of AI could set for the film industry as a whole.

#Val #Kilmer #deepfake #Deep #Grave #trailer #sparks #outrage">Val Kilmer AI deepfake in ‘As Deep as the Grave’ trailer sparks outrage
                        Val Kilmer AI deepfake film As Deep as the Grave has just released its first trailer. The internet has responded with overwhelming disgust.A widely recognised actor known for his roles in films such as Top Gun, Batman Forever, and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Kilmer died from pneumonia last April at 65 years old. Upcoming film As Deep as the Grave has now used generative AI to create a digital puppet in Kilmer’s likeness, having it portray a character appearing in “a significant part” of the historical film.As Deep as the Grave follows married archaeologists Ann Axtell Morris (Abigail Lawrie) and Earl H. Morris (Tom Felton), who conducted fieldwork in the U.S. southwest during the 1920s. Kilmer’s AI-generated likeness will be used to depict Father Fintan, a Catholic priest who is also a Native American spiritualist. The film also features Abigail Breslin, Wes Studi, and Finn Jones.Though Kilmer was cast in As Deep as the Grave prior to his death, delays in production and issues with his health meant he never shot any scenes. Kilmer had previously given a tech-assisted performance in Top Gun: Maverick, which digitally altered his real voice. He also worked with UK company Sonantic to create an AI speaking voice based on his old recordings. However, As Deep as the Grave will be the first time his likeness and voice will be completely AI-generated in a film.“Very fitting that this trailer includes a scene where a corpse is unceremoniously yanked out of the ground,” read one of the top comments on As Deep as the Grave‘s trailer at time of writing.
CGI likenesses of deceased actors have been used in feature films before. In 2016, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story gained attention for using CGI and motion capture to resurrect Peter Cushing and portray a younger Carrie Fisher for a few minutes of the film. In 2015, Furious 7 used similar techniques to insert Paul Walker into the remainder of the film after he died mid-shoot. Though Furious 7 largely received a pass due to the circumstances, Rogue One received criticism regarding the ethics of its CGI Cushing. Using generative AI to completely create a performance out of nothing appears to go a step even further, completely removing any actors from the process.Writer and director Coerte Voorhees told Variety that he chose to use AI rather than recast the role due to budget constraints, and that Kilmer’s children gave the project their blessing. Even so, online commenters have labelled it disgusting and disrespectful, not only for digitally reanimating Kilmer but also for the damaging precedent As Deep as the Grave‘s use of AI could set for the film industry as a whole.



                            
                    
                
                    #Val #Kilmer #deepfake #Deep #Grave #trailer #sparks #outrage

Val Kilmer AI deepfake film As Deep as the Grave has just released its first trailer. The internet has responded with overwhelming disgust.

A widely recognised actor known for his roles in films such as Top Gun, Batman Forever, and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Kilmer died from pneumonia last April at 65 years old. Upcoming film As Deep as the Grave has now used generative AI to create a digital puppet in Kilmer’s likeness, having it portray a character appearing in “a significant part” of the historical film.

As Deep as the Grave follows married archaeologists Ann Axtell Morris (Abigail Lawrie) and Earl H. Morris (Tom Felton), who conducted fieldwork in the U.S. southwest during the 1920s. Kilmer’s AI-generated likeness will be used to depict Father Fintan, a Catholic priest who is also a Native American spiritualist. The film also features Abigail Breslin, Wes Studi, and Finn Jones.

Though Kilmer was cast in As Deep as the Grave prior to his death, delays in production and issues with his health meant he never shot any scenes. Kilmer had previously given a tech-assisted performance in Top Gun: Maverick, which digitally altered his real voice. He also worked with UK company Sonantic to create an AI speaking voice based on his old recordings. However, As Deep as the Grave will be the first time his likeness and voice will be completely AI-generated in a film.

“Very fitting that this trailer includes a scene where a corpse is unceremoniously yanked out of the ground,” read one of the top comments on As Deep as the Grave‘s trailer at time of writing.

CGI likenesses of deceased actors have been used in feature films before. In 2016, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story gained attention for using CGI and motion capture to resurrect Peter Cushing and portray a younger Carrie Fisher for a few minutes of the film. In 2015, Furious 7 used similar techniques to insert Paul Walker into the remainder of the film after he died mid-shoot. Though Furious 7 largely received a pass due to the circumstances, Rogue One received criticism regarding the ethics of its CGI Cushing. Using generative AI to completely create a performance out of nothing appears to go a step even further, completely removing any actors from the process.

Writer and director Coerte Voorhees told Variety that he chose to use AI rather than recast the role due to budget constraints, and that Kilmer’s children gave the project their blessing. Even so, online commenters have labelled it disgusting and disrespectful, not only for digitally reanimating Kilmer but also for the damaging precedent As Deep as the Grave‘s use of AI could set for the film industry as a whole.

#Val #Kilmer #deepfake #Deep #Grave #trailer #sparks #outrage">Val Kilmer AI deepfake in ‘As Deep as the Grave’ trailer sparks outrage

Val Kilmer AI deepfake film As Deep as the Grave has just released its first trailer. The internet has responded with overwhelming disgust.

A widely recognised actor known for his roles in films such as Top Gun, Batman Forever, and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Kilmer died from pneumonia last April at 65 years old. Upcoming film As Deep as the Grave has now used generative AI to create a digital puppet in Kilmer’s likeness, having it portray a character appearing in “a significant part” of the historical film.

As Deep as the Grave follows married archaeologists Ann Axtell Morris (Abigail Lawrie) and Earl H. Morris (Tom Felton), who conducted fieldwork in the U.S. southwest during the 1920s. Kilmer’s AI-generated likeness will be used to depict Father Fintan, a Catholic priest who is also a Native American spiritualist. The film also features Abigail Breslin, Wes Studi, and Finn Jones.

Though Kilmer was cast in As Deep as the Grave prior to his death, delays in production and issues with his health meant he never shot any scenes. Kilmer had previously given a tech-assisted performance in Top Gun: Maverick, which digitally altered his real voice. He also worked with UK company Sonantic to create an AI speaking voice based on his old recordings. However, As Deep as the Grave will be the first time his likeness and voice will be completely AI-generated in a film.

“Very fitting that this trailer includes a scene where a corpse is unceremoniously yanked out of the ground,” read one of the top comments on As Deep as the Grave‘s trailer at time of writing.

CGI likenesses of deceased actors have been used in feature films before. In 2016, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story gained attention for using CGI and motion capture to resurrect Peter Cushing and portray a younger Carrie Fisher for a few minutes of the film. In 2015, Furious 7 used similar techniques to insert Paul Walker into the remainder of the film after he died mid-shoot. Though Furious 7 largely received a pass due to the circumstances, Rogue One received criticism regarding the ethics of its CGI Cushing. Using generative AI to completely create a performance out of nothing appears to go a step even further, completely removing any actors from the process.

Writer and director Coerte Voorhees told Variety that he chose to use AI rather than recast the role due to budget constraints, and that Kilmer’s children gave the project their blessing. Even so, online commenters have labelled it disgusting and disrespectful, not only for digitally reanimating Kilmer but also for the damaging precedent As Deep as the Grave‘s use of AI could set for the film industry as a whole.

#Val #Kilmer #deepfake #Deep #Grave #trailer #sparks #outrage

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