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Robot AI startup Physical Intelligence raises $400 mln from Bezos, OpenAI

The new funds were raised at a $2 billion valuation, PitchBook data showed

Published by Samiullah Farid

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(Reuters) - Physical Intelligence, a startup that is developing foundational software for robots, said on Monday it has raised $400 million in early-stage funding from Amazon's Jeff Bezos, OpenAI, venture capital firms Thrive Capital and Lux Capital.

The new funds were raised at a $2 billion valuation, PitchBook data showed.

Physical Intelligence is seeking to make software that would work on any robot, eliminating the need to develop software for each specific task.

The largest tech companies — Microsoft, Google, Meta, Amazon, and Nvidia — are investing billions in adopting AI. Funding of AI and cloud companies in the U.S., Europe, and Israel is estimated to hit $79.2 billion by the end of 2024, according to venture capital firm Accel.

Multiple startups are foraying into the robotic AI space, including Vicarious, which was acquired by Alphabet-owned Intrinsic in 2022, Universal Robots, Seegrid, and Covariant.

Elon Musk earlier said that there will be at least 10 billion humanoid robots priced between $20,000 and $25,000 by 2040. Tesla also showed the latest version of its Optimus humanoid robot at the Robotaxi unveiling event.

Last week, Physical Intelligence published a paper, that showed how its software, called π0, or pi-zero, enabled robots to fold laundry, bag groceries, and take toast out of a toaster.

 

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World

Kamala Harris' ancestral village in India to pray for her election victory

At the temple, Harris' name is engraved into a stone that lists public donations 

Published by Samiullah Farid

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New Delhi (Reuters) - Residents in US Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris' ancestral village in southern India were preparing to hold prayers on election day on Tuesday in a Hindu temple more than 8,000 miles (13,000 km) from Washington.

Harris' maternal grandfather P.V. Gopalan was born more than a century ago in the leafy village of Thulasendrapuram in what is now southern India's Tamil Nadu state.

"There will be a special prayer on Tuesday morning at the temple," G. Manikandan, a villager who runs a small store near the temple, said. "Celebrations will follow if she wins."

At the temple, Harris' name is engraved into a stone that lists public donations, along with that of her grandfather.

Outside, a large banner wishes "the daughter of the land" success in the election.

Gopalan and his family migrated a few hundred miles to the coastal city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu's capital, where he worked as a high-ranking government official until his retirement.

The village received global attention four years ago, when its residents prayed for victory for Harris' Democratic Party in 2020 before celebrating her inauguration as US Vice President by setting off firecrackers and distributing food.

Harris and her Republican rival Donald Trump were scrambling to get supporters to the polls in a historically close contest, which means it could take days for the winner to emerge.

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Pakistan

PTI rejects newly-approved bills, accuses govt of silencing opposition

PTI leader says the legislative process had been rushed, leaving many lawmakers uninformed

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Islamabad: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan condemned the swift passage of six controversial bills in parliament, accusing the government of using the legislature as a “rubber stamp.”

Speaking to media outside the Parliament House on Monday, he criticised the recent legislative push, which included bills impacting both judicial and military appointments.

The PTI leader asserted that the legislative process had been rushed, leaving many lawmakers uninformed about the content of the bills they had just approved.

He accused the government of diminishing parliamentary debate, saying, “Pakistan’s parliament is being made a rubber-stamp. The opposition’s voice in the House is being silenced. This monarchy cannot be the fate of the Pakistani nation.”

Among the key bills passed were the “Supreme Court Number of Judges (Amendment) Bill, 2024,” which would increase the number of judges in the Supreme Court to 34, purportedly to reduce the backlog of cases.

Other amendments included changes to the Islamabad High Court structure, as well as adjustments to laws governing the Pakistan Army, Navy, and Air Force.

Barrister Gohar argued that the government’s amendments sought to interfere in the judiciary, suggesting the legislation was aimed at enabling the government to appoint a chief justice of its choosing. “A state has three pillars; if you weaken one, you are weakening the whole state,” he added.

He further criticised the potential implications for democracy and the rights of Pakistan’s citizens, stating that these bills push the nation toward an authoritarian model. “The people of Pakistan reject any legislation that would lead the country towards a monarchy,” he said.

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