×
Trump Admin Has Dropped a Third of All Investigations Into Big Tech, Advocates Say

Trump Admin Has Dropped a Third of All Investigations Into Big Tech, Advocates Say

Tech-news , , , ,

Trump talked a big game during the election about taking the fight to Silicon Valley. But, since taking office, the former reality star seems to have done little to make good on that promise. In fact, a recent survey of his actions claims that Trump, whose political victory was partially propelled by gargantuan gobs of cash from tech firms and their executives, has dropped a third of all investigations and enforcement actions against tech companies since taking power.

The report, published by the advocacy organization Public Citizen, notes that, at the start of Trump’s second term, there were at least 104 tech companies facing at least 142 federal investigations and enforcement actions. As of August, 47 of the enforcement actions against 45 of those tech companies “have been withdrawn or halted (38 withdrawn, nine halted).”

Companies that have had enforcement actions “paused” or “frozen” since the beginning of the year include big-name firms like Meta, PayPal, and Tesla. In many cases, enforcement actions have also been dismissed or withdrawn, including against prominent crypto companies like Coinbase, Crypto.com, and Kraken. The cryptocurrency industry was, notably, a big contributor to Trump’s campaign last year.

Those same companies whose executives and investors have recently felt the regulatory heat ease off their backs made significant political financial contributions since the beginning of 2024, the bulk of which totals some $1.2 billion, according to Public Citizen’s tally. Most of the contributions were given to the GOP, and some of them went directly to Trump (either to his businesses or his inauguration fund). The contributions were also made by the companies’ executives and investors.

Humorously, the Public Citizen report includes an entire section on Elon Musk. Indeed, of the total political spending mentioned in the report, nearly half is attributable to Musk. The report points out that, among those executives who attended Trump’s inauguration, Musk—who would go on to lead Trump’s DOGE initiative and serve (for awhile, at least) as the president’s “first buddy”—is the CEO “whose businesses face the most federal enforcement actions – at least 19 separate sets of allegations from at least nine federal agencies.”

Unfortunately for Musk, a lot of those cases remain up in the air. The report notes that, amidst the ongoing spats between the Tesla billionaire and the president, there continues to be “uncertainty into what will come of the investigations and enforcement lawsuits against Musk’s corporations.”

The loss of interest in tech company probes may be part of a broader trend of regulatory disinterest, as the report notes that the administration has “withdrawn or halted enforcement actions against 165 corporations of all types” this year, including the aforementioned tech companies.

“This massive retreat from enforcement and dropping categories of cases involving corporate misconduct is something I’ve never seen before,” Rick Claypool, a research director at Public Citizen’s President’s Office and the author of the report, told 404 Media. “Many of these cases being dropped now originated in the first Trump administration. They were, correctly in my view, pursuing crypto scams.”

The report also dutifully notes that the “existence of investigations and/or allegations of misconduct do not necessarily mean that any laws were broken, or that an enforcement action necessarily would have been brought under a different administration.” Gizmodo reached out to the Trump administration for comment.

Source link
#Trump #Admin #Dropped #Investigations #Big #Tech #Advocates

Tag

Related Posts

Well, having tried the Halliday Gen 2, I’m happy to report these are better glasses. That secret display window is gone, replaced by more traditional but discreet waveguides. They’re not like the Meta Display’s nigh-invisible screens. You can still spot the reflection if angled just right, but they’re considerably easier to see. And inside of a single-lens display, the Gen 2 has one for each eye, giving you a much larger screen to look at. Spec-wise, the Gen 2’s displays are monochrome green, with a maximum brightness of 1,600 nits and 600 by 300 pixel resolution per eye.

On my face, the Gen 2 has a nondescript design but is very lightweight compared to other display glasses I’ve tried. The display was also easily visible inside a dark bar, though I didn’t get a chance to see how it’d fare in direct sunlight. The four-mic array was able to pick up commands despite the ambient noise, and Halliday told me that it gets about 12 hours of typical use. That’s partly because these aren’t camera glasses. The exclusion of the camera was a deliberate choice, both for privacy and to extend battery life. That’s because these are more so meant to be a tool for work meetings.

With the Gen 2, Halliday is launching a feature called Meeting Flow. It’s meant to help you follow along in a conversation, using AI to surface context or facts without needing to look at your laptop or phone. I’ve seen this in other smart glasses to varying degrees of success. (Mostly non-success.) More interesting are the so-called Thread Tracker, Decision Confirmation, and Commitment Check features. The idea is to provide real-time updates about what decisions have been made in a meeting, what items need following up on, and a visualization of a meeting’s overall conversation flow. For example, Thread Tracker might show that a team meeting started off talking about budget allocations, before moving on to potential new hires and timelines for those hires. Decision Confirmation might show that the meeting concluded that all new hires should be finished by a specific date. Lastly, Commitment Check verifies if action items have been assigned (and to whom) with a clear deadline. The glasses will also provide post-meeting transcripts and summaries.

I saw a brief glimpse of what this could look like at my demo, albeit a product interview is less conducive to these kinds of features than a typical planning meeting. That said, the glasses also support more general-use AI features like captioning, real-time translations for over 45 languages, the ability to take phone calls, and teleprompters/notecards for public speakers. Users can also make use of the Halliday AI assistant for voice control.

Overall, this is a much more tightly focused vision for a pair of smart glasses than Halliday’s original glasses. That said, we’ll have to see if the AI features are all that useful. So far, I’ve had little success with AI wearables successfully intuiting what I actually need surfaced in a conversation, or deriving the correct conclusions for to-do items. And at $599, the Gen 2 comes with a pretty steep price tag for the average person. That’s not including any extra costs for prescription lenses. (Halliday claims it’ll be able to handle my prescription, which is -10 in one eye and -8.75 in the other with monster astigmatism. We shall see!)

The Halliday Gen 2 are available for preorder starting today with a $10 deposit and a subsequent $100 discount on the final price. The glasses are expected to ship in September.

#Hallidays #latest #smart #glasses #feature #muchimproved #displayAI,Gadgets,Hands-on,News,Reviews,Tech,Wearable">Halliday’s latest smart glasses feature a much-improved displayI first slipped on Halliday’s original smart glasses at CES 2025. I was not a fan. The glasses had a tiny, movable display window embedded into the frame that was incredibly finicky to see, and my 30-minute demo left me with achy eyeballs. It was an interesting concept with terrible execution, especially compared to the several other smart glasses on the show floor. So I was skeptical when a few weeks ago, Halliday reached out to say its second attempt at smart glasses was much better.Well, having tried the Halliday Gen 2, I’m happy to report these are better glasses. That secret display window is gone, replaced by more traditional but discreet waveguides. They’re not like the Meta Display’s nigh-invisible screens. You can still spot the reflection if angled just right, but they’re considerably easier to see. And inside of a single-lens display, the Gen 2 has one for each eye, giving you a much larger screen to look at. Spec-wise, the Gen 2’s displays are monochrome green, with a maximum brightness of 1,600 nits and 600 by 300 pixel resolution per eye.On my face, the Gen 2 has a nondescript design but is very lightweight compared to other display glasses I’ve tried. The display was also easily visible inside a dark bar, though I didn’t get a chance to see how it’d fare in direct sunlight. The four-mic array was able to pick up commands despite the ambient noise, and Halliday told me that it gets about 12 hours of typical use. That’s partly because these aren’t camera glasses. The exclusion of the camera was a deliberate choice, both for privacy and to extend battery life. That’s because these are more so meant to be a tool for work meetings.With the Gen 2, Halliday is launching a feature called Meeting Flow. It’s meant to help you follow along in a conversation, using AI to surface context or facts without needing to look at your laptop or phone. I’ve seen this in other smart glasses to varying degrees of success. (Mostly non-success.) More interesting are the so-called Thread Tracker, Decision Confirmation, and Commitment Check features. The idea is to provide real-time updates about what decisions have been made in a meeting, what items need following up on, and a visualization of a meeting’s overall conversation flow. For example, Thread Tracker might show that a team meeting started off talking about budget allocations, before moving on to potential new hires and timelines for those hires. Decision Confirmation might show that the meeting concluded that all new hires should be finished by a specific date. Lastly, Commitment Check verifies if action items have been assigned (and to whom) with a clear deadline. The glasses will also provide post-meeting transcripts and summaries.I saw a brief glimpse of what this could look like at my demo, albeit a product interview is less conducive to these kinds of features than a typical planning meeting. That said, the glasses also support more general-use AI features like captioning, real-time translations for over 45 languages, the ability to take phone calls, and teleprompters/notecards for public speakers. Users can also make use of the Halliday AI assistant for voice control.Overall, this is a much more tightly focused vision for a pair of smart glasses than Halliday’s original glasses. That said, we’ll have to see if the AI features are all that useful. So far, I’ve had little success with AI wearables successfully intuiting what I actually need surfaced in a conversation, or deriving the correct conclusions for to-do items. And at 9, the Gen 2 comes with a pretty steep price tag for the average person. That’s not including any extra costs for prescription lenses. (Halliday claims it’ll be able to handle my prescription, which is -10 in one eye and -8.75 in the other with monster astigmatism. We shall see!)The Halliday Gen 2 are available for preorder starting today with a deposit and a subsequent 0 discount on the final price. The glasses are expected to ship in September.#Hallidays #latest #smart #glasses #feature #muchimproved #displayAI,Gadgets,Hands-on,News,Reviews,Tech,Wearable

Halliday’s original smart glasses at CES 2025. I was not a fan. The glasses had a tiny, movable display window embedded into the frame that was incredibly finicky to see, and my 30-minute demo left me with achy eyeballs. It was an interesting concept with terrible execution, especially compared to the several other smart glasses on the show floor. So I was skeptical when a few weeks ago, Halliday reached out to say its second attempt at smart glasses was much better.

Well, having tried the Halliday Gen 2, I’m happy to report these are better glasses. That secret display window is gone, replaced by more traditional but discreet waveguides. They’re not like the Meta Display’s nigh-invisible screens. You can still spot the reflection if angled just right, but they’re considerably easier to see. And inside of a single-lens display, the Gen 2 has one for each eye, giving you a much larger screen to look at. Spec-wise, the Gen 2’s displays are monochrome green, with a maximum brightness of 1,600 nits and 600 by 300 pixel resolution per eye.

On my face, the Gen 2 has a nondescript design but is very lightweight compared to other display glasses I’ve tried. The display was also easily visible inside a dark bar, though I didn’t get a chance to see how it’d fare in direct sunlight. The four-mic array was able to pick up commands despite the ambient noise, and Halliday told me that it gets about 12 hours of typical use. That’s partly because these aren’t camera glasses. The exclusion of the camera was a deliberate choice, both for privacy and to extend battery life. That’s because these are more so meant to be a tool for work meetings.

With the Gen 2, Halliday is launching a feature called Meeting Flow. It’s meant to help you follow along in a conversation, using AI to surface context or facts without needing to look at your laptop or phone. I’ve seen this in other smart glasses to varying degrees of success. (Mostly non-success.) More interesting are the so-called Thread Tracker, Decision Confirmation, and Commitment Check features. The idea is to provide real-time updates about what decisions have been made in a meeting, what items need following up on, and a visualization of a meeting’s overall conversation flow. For example, Thread Tracker might show that a team meeting started off talking about budget allocations, before moving on to potential new hires and timelines for those hires. Decision Confirmation might show that the meeting concluded that all new hires should be finished by a specific date. Lastly, Commitment Check verifies if action items have been assigned (and to whom) with a clear deadline. The glasses will also provide post-meeting transcripts and summaries.

I saw a brief glimpse of what this could look like at my demo, albeit a product interview is less conducive to these kinds of features than a typical planning meeting. That said, the glasses also support more general-use AI features like captioning, real-time translations for over 45 languages, the ability to take phone calls, and teleprompters/notecards for public speakers. Users can also make use of the Halliday AI assistant for voice control.

Overall, this is a much more tightly focused vision for a pair of smart glasses than Halliday’s original glasses. That said, we’ll have to see if the AI features are all that useful. So far, I’ve had little success with AI wearables successfully intuiting what I actually need surfaced in a conversation, or deriving the correct conclusions for to-do items. And at $599, the Gen 2 comes with a pretty steep price tag for the average person. That’s not including any extra costs for prescription lenses. (Halliday claims it’ll be able to handle my prescription, which is -10 in one eye and -8.75 in the other with monster astigmatism. We shall see!)

The Halliday Gen 2 are available for preorder starting today with a $10 deposit and a subsequent $100 discount on the final price. The glasses are expected to ship in September.

#Hallidays #latest #smart #glasses #feature #muchimproved #displayAI,Gadgets,Hands-on,News,Reviews,Tech,Wearable">Halliday’s latest smart glasses feature a much-improved display

I first slipped on Halliday’s original smart glasses at CES 2025. I was not a fan. The glasses had a tiny, movable display window embedded into the frame that was incredibly finicky to see, and my 30-minute demo left me with achy eyeballs. It was an interesting concept with terrible execution, especially compared to the several other smart glasses on the show floor. So I was skeptical when a few weeks ago, Halliday reached out to say its second attempt at smart glasses was much better.

Well, having tried the Halliday Gen 2, I’m happy to report these are better glasses. That secret display window is gone, replaced by more traditional but discreet waveguides. They’re not like the Meta Display’s nigh-invisible screens. You can still spot the reflection if angled just right, but they’re considerably easier to see. And inside of a single-lens display, the Gen 2 has one for each eye, giving you a much larger screen to look at. Spec-wise, the Gen 2’s displays are monochrome green, with a maximum brightness of 1,600 nits and 600 by 300 pixel resolution per eye.

On my face, the Gen 2 has a nondescript design but is very lightweight compared to other display glasses I’ve tried. The display was also easily visible inside a dark bar, though I didn’t get a chance to see how it’d fare in direct sunlight. The four-mic array was able to pick up commands despite the ambient noise, and Halliday told me that it gets about 12 hours of typical use. That’s partly because these aren’t camera glasses. The exclusion of the camera was a deliberate choice, both for privacy and to extend battery life. That’s because these are more so meant to be a tool for work meetings.

With the Gen 2, Halliday is launching a feature called Meeting Flow. It’s meant to help you follow along in a conversation, using AI to surface context or facts without needing to look at your laptop or phone. I’ve seen this in other smart glasses to varying degrees of success. (Mostly non-success.) More interesting are the so-called Thread Tracker, Decision Confirmation, and Commitment Check features. The idea is to provide real-time updates about what decisions have been made in a meeting, what items need following up on, and a visualization of a meeting’s overall conversation flow. For example, Thread Tracker might show that a team meeting started off talking about budget allocations, before moving on to potential new hires and timelines for those hires. Decision Confirmation might show that the meeting concluded that all new hires should be finished by a specific date. Lastly, Commitment Check verifies if action items have been assigned (and to whom) with a clear deadline. The glasses will also provide post-meeting transcripts and summaries.

I saw a brief glimpse of what this could look like at my demo, albeit a product interview is less conducive to these kinds of features than a typical planning meeting. That said, the glasses also support more general-use AI features like captioning, real-time translations for over 45 languages, the ability to take phone calls, and teleprompters/notecards for public speakers. Users can also make use of the Halliday AI assistant for voice control.

Overall, this is a much more tightly focused vision for a pair of smart glasses than Halliday’s original glasses. That said, we’ll have to see if the AI features are all that useful. So far, I’ve had little success with AI wearables successfully intuiting what I actually need surfaced in a conversation, or deriving the correct conclusions for to-do items. And at $599, the Gen 2 comes with a pretty steep price tag for the average person. That’s not including any extra costs for prescription lenses. (Halliday claims it’ll be able to handle my prescription, which is -10 in one eye and -8.75 in the other with monster astigmatism. We shall see!)

The Halliday Gen 2 are available for preorder starting today with a $10 deposit and a subsequent $100 discount on the final price. The glasses are expected to ship in September.

#Hallidays #latest #smart #glasses #feature #muchimproved #displayAI,Gadgets,Hands-on,News,Reviews,Tech,Wearable
One of the most important things happening on Earth today is the solar energy build-out. Around the world, companies and countries are racing to deploy solar and batteries to achieve energy independence and limit the effects of climate change.

That build-out, though, is running into a labor market challenge, with a limited supply of workers to meet a growing demand for installation. Robots could be an answer, but industrial robots have historically struggled in unstructured environments, at least until now. The latest generation of AI models may have changed that equation.

That’s the driving idea behind Gritt, a start-up founded by two Carnegie Mellon-trained roboticists, CEO Puneet Puri and CTO Vishal Dugar. The company exited stealth Tuesday morning with a $26 million Series A round of funding led by Obvious Ventures with participation from Union Square Ventures and Active Impact Investment. That brings its total funding to $34 million, following an earlier seed round backed by First Round Capital, Climactic, Congruent Ventures, and VSC Ventures. The startup is building an intelligent system to “help civilization build infrastructure faster,” in Puri’s words.

“Our thesis is that if we truly want to speed up construction,” Puri tells TechCrunch, “you need an intelligence which can work in the outdoor, chaotic environments of these construction sites, and it has to be generalizable enough that it can work in these varied environments.”

Rather than building its own robots from scratch, Gritt uses off-the-shelf hardware—thus far, rented skidders and robotic arms built by companies like Kawasaki—to build platforms that are controlled by its AI models. The first job its systems handle is unloading large, glass solar panels, carrying them toward the metal frames where they need to be installed, and positioning them on the frames with sub-millimeter accuracy so workers can fasten them.

“There are people who used to build rockets that went into space and had infinite budget for the smallest little part, and then there are people who know what it means to get into dirty, dull, and dangerous jobs and scale them like mad,” said Andrew Beebe, the partner at Obvious Ventures who led Gritt’s Series A round. “These guys are in the second camp, and that’s a special kind of entrepreneur that has the technical chops, the AI, and the machine vision skills to make it work.”

Gritt has two systems currently deployed in the field, using the data they collect to improve their behavior. Puri says that a typical eight-person crew workers can install 800 panels a day, but the same crew working with Gritt’s systems can install 3,000 to 4,000 panels each day.

Now, the company says it is contracted to help install 2.8 gigawatts of solar panels in the next 18 months, and that its customers include three of the top 10 US power construction companies. The company hopes to be operating 48 of its systems within the next six months.

TechCrunch spoke to one Gritt customer who declined to be identified for competitive reasons, but who was enthusiastic about the system’s ability to improve his work. He expects it to be easier to work at remote sites where it is difficult to attract workers, and anticipates a reduction in injuries since workers won’t have to repeatedly lift 100-pound panels overhead.

Gritt is competing against companies with their own panel-installing robots like Luminous Robotics, Cosmic, and China’s Trinabot. Those companies are building their own hardware, rather than focusing on off-the-shelf vehicles and arms like Gritt, a difference that could shape who grows faster and with a leaner cost structure as demand grows.

Gritt wants to add new manipulation tasks to its system so it can fasten the solar panels, drill posts, and even build the racks they sit on. Longer term, it also wants to move into other common, labor-intensive construction tasks, like tying rebar before concrete is poured over it.

What’s enabled the startup to pursue this vision? Mainly, the rise of new AI models, the founders say.

“Making a system for one solution was still possible to some extent five years ago, right?” Puri said, but AI is now making that work generalizable — the same underlying pipeline can be reused and improve across tasks. As an example, he noted that training the system to stack cinder blocks took weeks, while a similar demo with rebar tying took just a day using the same software.

But training new tasks is just the beginning of Gritt’s vision. The founders believe the suite of sensors and intelligence its systems bring to worksites can do more than install panels; it can boost management and decision-making. For instance, they imagine their system noticing a trench is open while a storm approaches, allowing it to alert workers to cover it before rain damages components, or flagging missing inventory.

“Gritt becomes now this layer of physical AI, which is doing this dextrous, labor-intensive task, plus it can help you take decisions on the site,” Puri said.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.

#Gritt #exits #stealth #million #robots #build #solar #plantsthen #TechCrunchExclusive">Gritt exits stealth with million for robots to build solar plants—then, everything else | TechCrunch One of the most important things happening on Earth today is the solar energy build-out. Around the world, companies and countries are racing to deploy solar and batteries to achieve energy independence and limit the effects of climate change. That build-out, though, is running into a labor market challenge, with a limited supply of workers to meet a growing demand for installation. Robots could be an answer, but industrial robots have historically struggled in unstructured environments, at least until now. The latest generation of AI models may have changed that equation. That’s the driving idea behind Gritt, a start-up founded by two Carnegie Mellon-trained roboticists, CEO Puneet Puri and CTO Vishal Dugar. The company exited stealth Tuesday morning with a million Series A round of funding led by Obvious Ventures with participation from Union Square Ventures and Active Impact Investment. That brings its total funding to million, following an earlier seed round backed by First Round Capital, Climactic, Congruent Ventures, and VSC Ventures. The startup is building an intelligent system to “help civilization build infrastructure faster,” in Puri’s words. “Our thesis is that if we truly want to speed up construction,” Puri tells TechCrunch, “you need an intelligence which can work in the outdoor, chaotic environments of these construction sites, and it has to be generalizable enough that it can work in these varied environments.” Rather than building its own robots from scratch, Gritt uses off-the-shelf hardware—thus far, rented skidders and robotic arms built by companies like Kawasaki—to build platforms that are controlled by its AI models. The first job its systems handle is unloading large, glass solar panels, carrying them toward the metal frames where they need to be installed, and positioning them on the frames with sub-millimeter accuracy so workers can fasten them. “There are people who used to build rockets that went into space and had infinite budget for the smallest little part, and then there are people who know what it means to get into dirty, dull, and dangerous jobs and scale them like mad,” said Andrew Beebe, the partner at Obvious Ventures who led Gritt’s Series A round. “These guys are in the second camp, and that’s a special kind of entrepreneur that has the technical chops, the AI, and the machine vision skills to make it work.” Gritt has two systems currently deployed in the field, using the data they collect to improve their behavior. Puri says that a typical eight-person crew workers can install 800 panels a day, but the same crew working with Gritt’s systems can install 3,000 to 4,000 panels each day. Now, the company says it is contracted to help install 2.8 gigawatts of solar panels in the next 18 months, and that its customers include three of the top 10 US power construction companies. The company hopes to be operating 48 of its systems within the next six months. TechCrunch spoke to one Gritt customer who declined to be identified for competitive reasons, but who was enthusiastic about the system’s ability to improve his work. He expects it to be easier to work at remote sites where it is difficult to attract workers, and anticipates a reduction in injuries since workers won’t have to repeatedly lift 100-pound panels overhead. Gritt is competing against companies with their own panel-installing robots like Luminous Robotics, Cosmic, and China’s Trinabot. Those companies are building their own hardware, rather than focusing on off-the-shelf vehicles and arms like Gritt, a difference that could shape who grows faster and with a leaner cost structure as demand grows. Gritt wants to add new manipulation tasks to its system so it can fasten the solar panels, drill posts, and even build the racks they sit on. Longer term, it also wants to move into other common, labor-intensive construction tasks, like tying rebar before concrete is poured over it. What’s enabled the startup to pursue this vision? Mainly, the rise of new AI models, the founders say. “Making a system for one solution was still possible to some extent five years ago, right?” Puri said, but AI is now making that work generalizable — the same underlying pipeline can be reused and improve across tasks. As an example, he noted that training the system to stack cinder blocks took weeks, while a similar demo with rebar tying took just a day using the same software. But training new tasks is just the beginning of Gritt’s vision. The founders believe the suite of sensors and intelligence its systems bring to worksites can do more than install panels; it can boost management and decision-making. For instance, they imagine their system noticing a trench is open while a storm approaches, allowing it to alert workers to cover it before rain damages components, or flagging missing inventory. “Gritt becomes now this layer of physical AI, which is doing this dextrous, labor-intensive task, plus it can help you take decisions on the site,” Puri said. When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.#Gritt #exits #stealth #million #robots #build #solar #plantsthen #TechCrunchExclusive

Gritt, a start-up founded by two Carnegie Mellon-trained roboticists, CEO Puneet Puri and CTO Vishal Dugar. The company exited stealth Tuesday morning with a $26 million Series A round of funding led by Obvious Ventures with participation from Union Square Ventures and Active Impact Investment. That brings its total funding to $34 million, following an earlier seed round backed by First Round Capital, Climactic, Congruent Ventures, and VSC Ventures. The startup is building an intelligent system to “help civilization build infrastructure faster,” in Puri’s words.

“Our thesis is that if we truly want to speed up construction,” Puri tells TechCrunch, “you need an intelligence which can work in the outdoor, chaotic environments of these construction sites, and it has to be generalizable enough that it can work in these varied environments.”

Rather than building its own robots from scratch, Gritt uses off-the-shelf hardware—thus far, rented skidders and robotic arms built by companies like Kawasaki—to build platforms that are controlled by its AI models. The first job its systems handle is unloading large, glass solar panels, carrying them toward the metal frames where they need to be installed, and positioning them on the frames with sub-millimeter accuracy so workers can fasten them.

“There are people who used to build rockets that went into space and had infinite budget for the smallest little part, and then there are people who know what it means to get into dirty, dull, and dangerous jobs and scale them like mad,” said Andrew Beebe, the partner at Obvious Ventures who led Gritt’s Series A round. “These guys are in the second camp, and that’s a special kind of entrepreneur that has the technical chops, the AI, and the machine vision skills to make it work.”

Gritt has two systems currently deployed in the field, using the data they collect to improve their behavior. Puri says that a typical eight-person crew workers can install 800 panels a day, but the same crew working with Gritt’s systems can install 3,000 to 4,000 panels each day.

Now, the company says it is contracted to help install 2.8 gigawatts of solar panels in the next 18 months, and that its customers include three of the top 10 US power construction companies. The company hopes to be operating 48 of its systems within the next six months.

TechCrunch spoke to one Gritt customer who declined to be identified for competitive reasons, but who was enthusiastic about the system’s ability to improve his work. He expects it to be easier to work at remote sites where it is difficult to attract workers, and anticipates a reduction in injuries since workers won’t have to repeatedly lift 100-pound panels overhead.

Gritt is competing against companies with their own panel-installing robots like Luminous Robotics, Cosmic, and China’s Trinabot. Those companies are building their own hardware, rather than focusing on off-the-shelf vehicles and arms like Gritt, a difference that could shape who grows faster and with a leaner cost structure as demand grows.

Gritt wants to add new manipulation tasks to its system so it can fasten the solar panels, drill posts, and even build the racks they sit on. Longer term, it also wants to move into other common, labor-intensive construction tasks, like tying rebar before concrete is poured over it.

What’s enabled the startup to pursue this vision? Mainly, the rise of new AI models, the founders say.

“Making a system for one solution was still possible to some extent five years ago, right?” Puri said, but AI is now making that work generalizable — the same underlying pipeline can be reused and improve across tasks. As an example, he noted that training the system to stack cinder blocks took weeks, while a similar demo with rebar tying took just a day using the same software.

But training new tasks is just the beginning of Gritt’s vision. The founders believe the suite of sensors and intelligence its systems bring to worksites can do more than install panels; it can boost management and decision-making. For instance, they imagine their system noticing a trench is open while a storm approaches, allowing it to alert workers to cover it before rain damages components, or flagging missing inventory.

“Gritt becomes now this layer of physical AI, which is doing this dextrous, labor-intensive task, plus it can help you take decisions on the site,” Puri said.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.

#Gritt #exits #stealth #million #robots #build #solar #plantsthen #TechCrunchExclusive">Gritt exits stealth with $34 million for robots to build solar plants—then, everything else | TechCrunch

One of the most important things happening on Earth today is the solar energy build-out. Around the world, companies and countries are racing to deploy solar and batteries to achieve energy independence and limit the effects of climate change.

That build-out, though, is running into a labor market challenge, with a limited supply of workers to meet a growing demand for installation. Robots could be an answer, but industrial robots have historically struggled in unstructured environments, at least until now. The latest generation of AI models may have changed that equation.

That’s the driving idea behind Gritt, a start-up founded by two Carnegie Mellon-trained roboticists, CEO Puneet Puri and CTO Vishal Dugar. The company exited stealth Tuesday morning with a $26 million Series A round of funding led by Obvious Ventures with participation from Union Square Ventures and Active Impact Investment. That brings its total funding to $34 million, following an earlier seed round backed by First Round Capital, Climactic, Congruent Ventures, and VSC Ventures. The startup is building an intelligent system to “help civilization build infrastructure faster,” in Puri’s words.

“Our thesis is that if we truly want to speed up construction,” Puri tells TechCrunch, “you need an intelligence which can work in the outdoor, chaotic environments of these construction sites, and it has to be generalizable enough that it can work in these varied environments.”

Rather than building its own robots from scratch, Gritt uses off-the-shelf hardware—thus far, rented skidders and robotic arms built by companies like Kawasaki—to build platforms that are controlled by its AI models. The first job its systems handle is unloading large, glass solar panels, carrying them toward the metal frames where they need to be installed, and positioning them on the frames with sub-millimeter accuracy so workers can fasten them.

“There are people who used to build rockets that went into space and had infinite budget for the smallest little part, and then there are people who know what it means to get into dirty, dull, and dangerous jobs and scale them like mad,” said Andrew Beebe, the partner at Obvious Ventures who led Gritt’s Series A round. “These guys are in the second camp, and that’s a special kind of entrepreneur that has the technical chops, the AI, and the machine vision skills to make it work.”

Gritt has two systems currently deployed in the field, using the data they collect to improve their behavior. Puri says that a typical eight-person crew workers can install 800 panels a day, but the same crew working with Gritt’s systems can install 3,000 to 4,000 panels each day.

Now, the company says it is contracted to help install 2.8 gigawatts of solar panels in the next 18 months, and that its customers include three of the top 10 US power construction companies. The company hopes to be operating 48 of its systems within the next six months.

TechCrunch spoke to one Gritt customer who declined to be identified for competitive reasons, but who was enthusiastic about the system’s ability to improve his work. He expects it to be easier to work at remote sites where it is difficult to attract workers, and anticipates a reduction in injuries since workers won’t have to repeatedly lift 100-pound panels overhead.

Gritt is competing against companies with their own panel-installing robots like Luminous Robotics, Cosmic, and China’s Trinabot. Those companies are building their own hardware, rather than focusing on off-the-shelf vehicles and arms like Gritt, a difference that could shape who grows faster and with a leaner cost structure as demand grows.

Gritt wants to add new manipulation tasks to its system so it can fasten the solar panels, drill posts, and even build the racks they sit on. Longer term, it also wants to move into other common, labor-intensive construction tasks, like tying rebar before concrete is poured over it.

What’s enabled the startup to pursue this vision? Mainly, the rise of new AI models, the founders say.

“Making a system for one solution was still possible to some extent five years ago, right?” Puri said, but AI is now making that work generalizable — the same underlying pipeline can be reused and improve across tasks. As an example, he noted that training the system to stack cinder blocks took weeks, while a similar demo with rebar tying took just a day using the same software.

But training new tasks is just the beginning of Gritt’s vision. The founders believe the suite of sensors and intelligence its systems bring to worksites can do more than install panels; it can boost management and decision-making. For instance, they imagine their system noticing a trench is open while a storm approaches, allowing it to alert workers to cover it before rain damages components, or flagging missing inventory.

“Gritt becomes now this layer of physical AI, which is doing this dextrous, labor-intensive task, plus it can help you take decisions on the site,” Puri said.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.

#Gritt #exits #stealth #million #robots #build #solar #plantsthen #TechCrunchExclusive
introducing the ASUS Pad T3201. The new tablet combines a premium OLED screen, performance, and portability. It has been built using the MediaTek Dimensity 8300 SoC and targets those users who like to stream, game, study, and work while traveling. The tablet’s launch date is set for August 6.

ASUS Pad T3201 Specifications and Features

ASUS Pad T3201 Launched in India With OLED Display: Price, Features, and Availability ASUS has expanded its product lineup in India by introducing the ASUS Pad T3201. The new tablet combines a premium OLED screen, performance, and portability. It has been built using the MediaTek Dimensity 8300 SoC and targets those users who like to stream, game, study, and work while traveling. The tablet’s launch date is set for August 6. ASUS Pad T3201 Specifications and Features ASUS has designed the Pad T3201 for both entertainment and productivity. It is equipped with a 12.2-inch dual-layer OLED screen featuring 2.8K resolution and a 144 Hz refresh rate. The display can deliver up to 2,000 nits of brightness and support the 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, making it perfect for entertainment such as watching movies, gaming, and reading. The phone runs on the MediaTek Dimensity 8300 chipset and features 8 GB of LPDDR5X RAM. It runs on Android 16 and ensures efficient use for the user. ASUS has also equipped the device with Wi-Fi 6E, which provides a reliable, fast internet connection. Buyers can choose 128GB or 256GB storage, while a microSD card expands storage up to 1TB. The ASUS Pad T3201 packs a 9,000mAh battery with 45W fast charging support. ASUS says the battery charges from 0 to 50 percent in about 30 minutes. The tablet weighs 523g and measures 6.5mm thin, making it easy to carry. It also includes quad speakers with Dolby Atmos for immersive sound. For photography and communication, the tablet includes a 13MP rear camera and a 5MP front camera. It supports ASUS Pen 2.0, a Bluetooth keyboard, and GlideX for seamless file sharing. ASUS also bundles a protective folio case with the device. Users can also use Google Circle to Search without switching apps. Launch and Availability The ASUS Pad T3201 is set to launch in India on August 6 at 12 PM. This product will be sold both online at Flipkart and the ASUS E-Shop website. Offline purchasing is possible at ASUS and ROG stores, as well as Reliance Digital, among others. At the moment, ASUS has not announced the tablet’s price. #ASUS #Pad #T3201 #Launched #India #OLED #Display #Price #Features #AvailabilityAsus

ASUS has designed the Pad T3201 for both entertainment and productivity. It is equipped with a 12.2-inch dual-layer OLED screen featuring 2.8K resolution and a 144 Hz refresh rate. The display can deliver up to 2,000 nits of brightness and support the 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, making it perfect for entertainment such as watching movies, gaming, and reading. The phone runs on the MediaTek Dimensity 8300 chipset and features 8 GB of LPDDR5X RAM. It runs on Android 16 and ensures efficient use for the user. ASUS has also equipped the device with Wi-Fi 6E, which provides a reliable, fast internet connection. Buyers can choose 128GB or 256GB storage, while a microSD card expands storage up to 1TB.

The ASUS Pad T3201 packs a 9,000mAh battery with 45W fast charging support. ASUS says the battery charges from 0 to 50 percent in about 30 minutes. The tablet weighs 523g and measures 6.5mm thin, making it easy to carry. It also includes quad speakers with Dolby Atmos for immersive sound. For photography and communication, the tablet includes a 13MP rear camera and a 5MP front camera. It supports ASUS Pen 2.0, a Bluetooth keyboard, and GlideX for seamless file sharing. ASUS also bundles a protective folio case with the device. Users can also use Google Circle to Search without switching apps.

Launch and Availability

The ASUS Pad T3201 is set to launch in India on August 6 at 12 PM. This product will be sold both online at Flipkart and the ASUS E-Shop website. Offline purchasing is possible at ASUS and ROG stores, as well as Reliance Digital, among others. At the moment, ASUS has not announced the tablet’s price.

#ASUS #Pad #T3201 #Launched #India #OLED #Display #Price #Features #AvailabilityAsus">ASUS Pad T3201 Launched in India With OLED Display: Price, Features, and Availability ASUS has expanded its product lineup in India by introducing the ASUS Pad T3201. The new tablet combines a premium OLED screen, performance, and portability. It has been built using the MediaTek Dimensity 8300 SoC and targets those users who like to stream, game, study, and work while traveling. The tablet’s launch date is set for August 6. ASUS Pad T3201 Specifications and Features ASUS has designed the Pad T3201 for both entertainment and productivity. It is equipped with a 12.2-inch dual-layer OLED screen featuring 2.8K resolution and a 144 Hz refresh rate. The display can deliver up to 2,000 nits of brightness and support the 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, making it perfect for entertainment such as watching movies, gaming, and reading. The phone runs on the MediaTek Dimensity 8300 chipset and features 8 GB of LPDDR5X RAM. It runs on Android 16 and ensures efficient use for the user. ASUS has also equipped the device with Wi-Fi 6E, which provides a reliable, fast internet connection. Buyers can choose 128GB or 256GB storage, while a microSD card expands storage up to 1TB. The ASUS Pad T3201 packs a 9,000mAh battery with 45W fast charging support. ASUS says the battery charges from 0 to 50 percent in about 30 minutes. The tablet weighs 523g and measures 6.5mm thin, making it easy to carry. It also includes quad speakers with Dolby Atmos for immersive sound. For photography and communication, the tablet includes a 13MP rear camera and a 5MP front camera. It supports ASUS Pen 2.0, a Bluetooth keyboard, and GlideX for seamless file sharing. ASUS also bundles a protective folio case with the device. Users can also use Google Circle to Search without switching apps. Launch and Availability The ASUS Pad T3201 is set to launch in India on August 6 at 12 PM. This product will be sold both online at Flipkart and the ASUS E-Shop website. Offline purchasing is possible at ASUS and ROG stores, as well as Reliance Digital, among others. At the moment, ASUS has not announced the tablet’s price. #ASUS #Pad #T3201 #Launched #India #OLED #Display #Price #Features #AvailabilityAsus

the ASUS Pad T3201. The new tablet combines a premium OLED screen, performance, and portability. It has been built using the MediaTek Dimensity 8300 SoC and targets those users who like to stream, game, study, and work while traveling. The tablet’s launch date is set for August 6.

ASUS Pad T3201 Specifications and Features

ASUS Pad T3201 Launched in India With OLED Display: Price, Features, and Availability ASUS has expanded its product lineup in India by introducing the ASUS Pad T3201. The new tablet combines a premium OLED screen, performance, and portability. It has been built using the MediaTek Dimensity 8300 SoC and targets those users who like to stream, game, study, and work while traveling. The tablet’s launch date is set for August 6. ASUS Pad T3201 Specifications and Features ASUS has designed the Pad T3201 for both entertainment and productivity. It is equipped with a 12.2-inch dual-layer OLED screen featuring 2.8K resolution and a 144 Hz refresh rate. The display can deliver up to 2,000 nits of brightness and support the 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, making it perfect for entertainment such as watching movies, gaming, and reading. The phone runs on the MediaTek Dimensity 8300 chipset and features 8 GB of LPDDR5X RAM. It runs on Android 16 and ensures efficient use for the user. ASUS has also equipped the device with Wi-Fi 6E, which provides a reliable, fast internet connection. Buyers can choose 128GB or 256GB storage, while a microSD card expands storage up to 1TB. The ASUS Pad T3201 packs a 9,000mAh battery with 45W fast charging support. ASUS says the battery charges from 0 to 50 percent in about 30 minutes. The tablet weighs 523g and measures 6.5mm thin, making it easy to carry. It also includes quad speakers with Dolby Atmos for immersive sound. For photography and communication, the tablet includes a 13MP rear camera and a 5MP front camera. It supports ASUS Pen 2.0, a Bluetooth keyboard, and GlideX for seamless file sharing. ASUS also bundles a protective folio case with the device. Users can also use Google Circle to Search without switching apps. Launch and Availability The ASUS Pad T3201 is set to launch in India on August 6 at 12 PM. This product will be sold both online at Flipkart and the ASUS E-Shop website. Offline purchasing is possible at ASUS and ROG stores, as well as Reliance Digital, among others. At the moment, ASUS has not announced the tablet’s price. #ASUS #Pad #T3201 #Launched #India #OLED #Display #Price #Features #AvailabilityAsus

ASUS has designed the Pad T3201 for both entertainment and productivity. It is equipped with a 12.2-inch dual-layer OLED screen featuring 2.8K resolution and a 144 Hz refresh rate. The display can deliver up to 2,000 nits of brightness and support the 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, making it perfect for entertainment such as watching movies, gaming, and reading. The phone runs on the MediaTek Dimensity 8300 chipset and features 8 GB of LPDDR5X RAM. It runs on Android 16 and ensures efficient use for the user. ASUS has also equipped the device with Wi-Fi 6E, which provides a reliable, fast internet connection. Buyers can choose 128GB or 256GB storage, while a microSD card expands storage up to 1TB.

The ASUS Pad T3201 packs a 9,000mAh battery with 45W fast charging support. ASUS says the battery charges from 0 to 50 percent in about 30 minutes. The tablet weighs 523g and measures 6.5mm thin, making it easy to carry. It also includes quad speakers with Dolby Atmos for immersive sound. For photography and communication, the tablet includes a 13MP rear camera and a 5MP front camera. It supports ASUS Pen 2.0, a Bluetooth keyboard, and GlideX for seamless file sharing. ASUS also bundles a protective folio case with the device. Users can also use Google Circle to Search without switching apps.

Launch and Availability

The ASUS Pad T3201 is set to launch in India on August 6 at 12 PM. This product will be sold both online at Flipkart and the ASUS E-Shop website. Offline purchasing is possible at ASUS and ROG stores, as well as Reliance Digital, among others. At the moment, ASUS has not announced the tablet’s price.

#ASUS #Pad #T3201 #Launched #India #OLED #Display #Price #Features #AvailabilityAsus">ASUS Pad T3201 Launched in India With OLED Display: Price, Features, and Availability

ASUS has expanded its product lineup in India by introducing the ASUS Pad T3201. The new tablet combines a premium OLED screen, performance, and portability. It has been built using the MediaTek Dimensity 8300 SoC and targets those users who like to stream, game, study, and work while traveling. The tablet’s launch date is set for August 6.

ASUS Pad T3201 Specifications and Features

ASUS Pad T3201 Launched in India With OLED Display: Price, Features, and Availability ASUS has expanded its product lineup in India by introducing the ASUS Pad T3201. The new tablet combines a premium OLED screen, performance, and portability. It has been built using the MediaTek Dimensity 8300 SoC and targets those users who like to stream, game, study, and work while traveling. The tablet’s launch date is set for August 6. ASUS Pad T3201 Specifications and Features ASUS has designed the Pad T3201 for both entertainment and productivity. It is equipped with a 12.2-inch dual-layer OLED screen featuring 2.8K resolution and a 144 Hz refresh rate. The display can deliver up to 2,000 nits of brightness and support the 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, making it perfect for entertainment such as watching movies, gaming, and reading. The phone runs on the MediaTek Dimensity 8300 chipset and features 8 GB of LPDDR5X RAM. It runs on Android 16 and ensures efficient use for the user. ASUS has also equipped the device with Wi-Fi 6E, which provides a reliable, fast internet connection. Buyers can choose 128GB or 256GB storage, while a microSD card expands storage up to 1TB. The ASUS Pad T3201 packs a 9,000mAh battery with 45W fast charging support. ASUS says the battery charges from 0 to 50 percent in about 30 minutes. The tablet weighs 523g and measures 6.5mm thin, making it easy to carry. It also includes quad speakers with Dolby Atmos for immersive sound. For photography and communication, the tablet includes a 13MP rear camera and a 5MP front camera. It supports ASUS Pen 2.0, a Bluetooth keyboard, and GlideX for seamless file sharing. ASUS also bundles a protective folio case with the device. Users can also use Google Circle to Search without switching apps. Launch and Availability The ASUS Pad T3201 is set to launch in India on August 6 at 12 PM. This product will be sold both online at Flipkart and the ASUS E-Shop website. Offline purchasing is possible at ASUS and ROG stores, as well as Reliance Digital, among others. At the moment, ASUS has not announced the tablet’s price. #ASUS #Pad #T3201 #Launched #India #OLED #Display #Price #Features #AvailabilityAsus

ASUS has designed the Pad T3201 for both entertainment and productivity. It is equipped with a 12.2-inch dual-layer OLED screen featuring 2.8K resolution and a 144 Hz refresh rate. The display can deliver up to 2,000 nits of brightness and support the 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, making it perfect for entertainment such as watching movies, gaming, and reading. The phone runs on the MediaTek Dimensity 8300 chipset and features 8 GB of LPDDR5X RAM. It runs on Android 16 and ensures efficient use for the user. ASUS has also equipped the device with Wi-Fi 6E, which provides a reliable, fast internet connection. Buyers can choose 128GB or 256GB storage, while a microSD card expands storage up to 1TB.

The ASUS Pad T3201 packs a 9,000mAh battery with 45W fast charging support. ASUS says the battery charges from 0 to 50 percent in about 30 minutes. The tablet weighs 523g and measures 6.5mm thin, making it easy to carry. It also includes quad speakers with Dolby Atmos for immersive sound. For photography and communication, the tablet includes a 13MP rear camera and a 5MP front camera. It supports ASUS Pen 2.0, a Bluetooth keyboard, and GlideX for seamless file sharing. ASUS also bundles a protective folio case with the device. Users can also use Google Circle to Search without switching apps.

Launch and Availability

The ASUS Pad T3201 is set to launch in India on August 6 at 12 PM. This product will be sold both online at Flipkart and the ASUS E-Shop website. Offline purchasing is possible at ASUS and ROG stores, as well as Reliance Digital, among others. At the moment, ASUS has not announced the tablet’s price.

#ASUS #Pad #T3201 #Launched #India #OLED #Display #Price #Features #AvailabilityAsus

Post Comment