Tag: accelerometer

  • BlackRock-backed Minute Media acquires Indian AI startup that extracts sports highlights

    BlackRock-backed Minute Media acquires Indian AI startup that extracts sports highlights

    BlackRock- and Goldman Sachs-backed media startup Minute Media, which owns properties like Sports Illustrated, The Players’ Tribune, and 90 Minutes, announced Monday that it is acquiring VideoVerse, an Indian AI startup that lets broadcasters extract highlights and create content from sports footage. VideoVerse’s clients include the Indian Premier League and Women’s Premier League (cricket) tournaments, FIFA+, and broadcasters Nippon TV and Clubber TV.

    Mumbai-based VideoVerse was founded in 2016 by Vinayak Shrivastav, Saket Dandotia, and Alok Patil. The company is backed by Bluestone Equity Partners, A91 Partners (a fund by former Sequoia India execs), Alpha Wave, Evolvence India, and Moneta Ventures, and have raised $105 million in funding to date.

    While Minute Media or VideoVerse didn’t provide a valuation for the deal, sources told TechCrunch that VideoVerse was valued between $200 million and $250 million during its last round in 2023, and Minute Media’s deal was in a similar range.

    Minute Media CEO Asaf Peled said that VideoVerse’s acquisition is the biggest for the company in terms of both value and company size.

    Minute Media has largely grown through strategic mergers and acquisitions, including The Players’ Tribune, FanSided, Mental Floss, and STN Video.

    Shrivastav said that in its initial days, VideoVerse built multiple AI tools, including one to detect smoking and drinking, which was helpful for the Indian sensor board to flag certain scenes for movie certification. It also worked on object identification and deployed that tech for e-commerce sites for identifying items in a video. However, the startup transitioned to building video editing and detection tools for sports broadcasters.

    “In 2016, Hotstar (which is now owned by Jio) was growing, and they were looking for a solution that could identify certain action points in sports and primarily in cricket,” Shrivastav said about starting its sports journey.

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    A few years later, VideoVerse dropped its other products and concentrated on video-editing features for sports content.

    The company said that it operates like a SaaS tool for which it charges based on the number of hours of footage a broadcaster or streaming service wants to process. The company said it has grown to $65 million in revenue and a healthy EBIDTA margin of 35% to 40%.Image Credits:VideoVerse

    The company’s chief strategy officer, Prateek Sharma, said that VideoVerse has launched new AI-powered tools in the last few months that let its clients define rules to automatically generate content. For instance, for a basketball game, a broadcaster can create a package for all three-pointers scored by a particular player and automatically publish it on social media. The platform has also added AI-powered translation features to let sports properties reach fans across the globe.

    Sharma noted that while the platform uses third-party models in its AI workflows, the company uses its own core model to identify key moments in a game.

    Minute Media’s main reason behind the acquisition is to use VideoVerse’s tech and its own publisher network to better distribute content across various sports properties and generate ad revenue out of distributed content.

    The sports media company, which has raised $260 million according to Crunchbase data, said that the company reaches over 200 million monthly users through its properties. It also offers a B2B platform for content distribution, used by nearly 500 publishers. Minute Media’s Peled said that this presents a good opportunity to create more content through VideoVerse’s platform and monetize it.

    “With the VideoVerse acquisition, we can go to customers and pitch the AI suite, which is helpful for content creation. Then we can add our distribution and monetization capabilities on top of it to get more value out of the content,” Peled said.

    Minute Media wants to target more U.S.-based leagues with this new acquisition to get them to adopt the highlight-generating platform.

    Multiple reports suggest that fans are looking for a different kind of content outside traditional coverage, especially on their mobile phones. Minute Media is banking on AI to create that content. Peled said that while the company is not in an active funding round, it might look for more funds in the coming quarters for acquisitions.

  • Sacks, Chamath Describe 'Surreal' White House Dinner With Trump And Tech Elite

    Sacks, Chamath Describe 'Surreal' White House Dinner With Trump And Tech Elite

    President Donald Trump hosted a high-profile dinner at the White House, drawing a roster of Silicon Valley’s most influential leaders to discuss artificial intelligence and U.S. investment. The gathering included Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Apple’s Tim Cook, Microsoft’s Bill Gates, and OpenAI’s Sam Altman, many of whom have publicly criticized Trump in the past. Elon Musk, once a close Trump ally, was notably absent, with scheduling conflicts and a public falling-out underscoring strains in their relationship.

    AI and Crypto Czar David Sacks and Chamath Palihapitiya, both attendees of the dinner, offered an insider account of the event on the “All-In” podcast. “It started with a group that Chamath organized in Silicon Valley. They were the core nucleus, and then more and more people wanted to join,” Sacks said. “Pretty soon, the president invited the top tech leaders, and it turned into the room you saw. It’s pretty amazing—President Trump’s ability to convene all these folks. I’d say maybe half the tech industry was there by market cap.”

    Palihapitiya agreed with Sacks, explaining how being in that room “felt surreal.”

    You’re seeing the leaders of the most important companies in the world, all sitting together, with this sense of alignment and cooperation. That was really cool,” Palihapitiya said. “These folks don’t have to show up anywhere, but the fact that the president could convene them says a lot about him and his agenda.”

    Palihapitiya said that attendees were “incredibly supportive” of Trump’s policies, which he contrasted with “the difficulties under Biden,” noting that, “Even hard-core liberals like Tim Cook and Bill Gates have now fully embraced President Trump.”

    That’s a testament to his agenda,” he said.

    Palihapitiya then offered a play-by-play account of Trump hosting the tech leaders inside the Roosevelt Room. “You’re seeing the most powerful people who’ve built these incredible businesses—about 30 folks, but the table only fits 15. So you’ve got Tim Cook, Sam Altman, and Satya Nadella sitting on a couch, Dylan Field and Alan Wag nearby, just chilling,” Palihapitiya recounted. “In their own worlds, they’re kings, but in the White House, they’re American citizens there to meet the president. Everyone’s egos were checked.”

    Then they had us line up single file – Sundar, Satya, Bill Gates – like we’re backstage at a Zeppelin concert,” he added.

    The group’s visit to the Oval Office added a ceremonial touch.

    A visit to the Oval Office added ceremony, with attendees like Oracle’s Safra Catz and her husband mingling for photos at the Resolute Desk. An impromptu moment came when Catz’s husband asked for a pen, prompting Trump to hand out challenge coins and pens. Google’s Sergey Brin sparked a policy discussion that carried into dinner, while an attendee’s request for Trump’s playlist led to Fleetwood Mac playing in the Rose Garden, as captured by AMD’s Lisa Su. The camaraderie, however, couldn’t mask the underlying tension: these leaders, once vocal critics, now appeared to prioritize access and influence over their past principles, casting doubt on whether their earlier opposition was genuine or merely posturing for public favor.

    The event raised questions about the motives of tech leaders who once opposed Trump. Zuckerberg, who banned Trump from Meta’s platforms in 2021 after the January 6 Capitol riot, had justified the move as a stand against incitement, drawing accusations of censorship from Trump’s supporters. In 2016, Zuckerberg criticized Trump’s immigration rhetoric as divisive during Meta’s F8 conference. Cook, a vocal advocate for social justice, opposed Trump’s 2017 travel ban, calling it “not the right approach,” while Altman compared Trump to “hateful” demagogues.

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  • Elon Musk’s Starship Rocket Launches Into the Future

    Elon Musk’s Starship Rocket Launches Into the Future

    Starship Update: Boosters Vanish, Crew Still Soars

    In a moment that feels more like a plot twist than a technical report, SpaceX’s latest Starship capsule has finished its ascent burn and is now drifting through the cosmos. Unfortunately, the shuttle’s booster has gone… internet‑wise.

    Twitter Buzz – The Inside Scoop

    • Scott Manley posted: “The booster is lost. Booster is GONE”
    • SpaceX team added: “Starship’s ascent burn is complete and is now coasting through space.”

    What does that mean in plain language? The rocket’s heavy “first‑stage” partner didn’t survive the skyward fling, but the star‑ship itself is still happily cruising the outer reaches—a testament to the resilience of the program.

    Why It Matters

    • Starship remains operational and on track for the next launch milestones.
    • Boosters are expendable; losing one is expected during ballistic trajectories.
    • The mission’s success still demonstrates SpaceX’s growing confidence in reusable launch systems.

    Takeaway

    Even when a booster doesn’t come back, the story of Starship keeps soaring—quite literally. SpaceX gives us a reminder that progress isn’t about perfection; it’s about learning, adapting, and blasting forward almost every time. Keep watching; the next chapter is just a launch away.

    Starship 9: The Countdown Story

    SpaceX just pushed the launch button for Starship’s 9th test flight in Starbase, Texas. The mission’s drama unfolded in real‑time on Twitter, with a mix of suspense, humor, and a splash of Elon Musk’s “multiplanetary” optimism.

    Key Moments in Chronological Order

    • 1916 ET – The launch window opens. “Watch Live Today’s mission: Starship’s flight trajectory” reads the tweet, and the world’s eyes turn to the Texas sky.
    • 1930 ET – T‑40 seconds pause. Teams perform last‑minute checks, putting the countdown on a hold to ensure every system is for‑go.
    • 1937 ET – “Launch! Liftoff of Starship!” – the moment’s captured in a dramatic burst of fireworks and the ship’s roar.

    Behind the Scenes

    Elon Musk was more than amused by the plan. Half a day earlier he announced:

    • He’ll host a livestream on X titled “Making Life Multiplanetary” at 1 pm ET.
    • The talk is just hours before the rocket and will cover reusability, reliability, and the next steps toward Mars and the Moon.
    • He also teased that the podcast is postponed until after the launch, hinting at the high stakes and the intense prep crew work.

    What Went Wrong Before?

    SpaceX has had a rocky past. “The last two test flights ended in midair explosions,” the company noted. “That’s the nature of experimental flight testing – each failure provides critical data.” These lessons are now powering an even more polished approach for Flight 9.

    Watch the Live Webcast

    The launch window is slated to open around 7 pm ET. A live stream will start 30 minutes earlier on X and the X TV app. Fans can tune in to see the moment Starship clears the ground and the world’s first multiresource future vehicle carry out a hop off the Earth.

    Bottom Line

    With Elon’s teaser talk, the meticulous countdown, and a team that’s learned hard lessons, SpaceX’s Starship 9 is the next big step toward making life truly multiplanetary — and for now, it’s All About Caitwolves, fireworks, and that famous “boom” sound you can’t help but whistle along to.

    Starship Reflight Scenarios: The Experimental Drama

    Why We Do It

    After the 8th flight hiccup, the team decided to crank up the research dial. The goal? Make Starship a little wiser and more replay‑ready.

    What’s on the Checklist

    • First Reuse of the Super‑Heavy – the same booster from flight #7 gets a second shot.
    • Booster Flip, Not Random Flip – using thrust‑vectoring to swathe the freaky direction that had us all asking “What kinda abrupt twist did that?”
    • High‑Angle Re‑Entry – sliding into the sky like a slow‑mo dance to wring the most drag out of the system, meaning less fuel for landing.
    • Engine “Tough‑Guy” Test – only two Raptor engines used for the final touchdown; ready for a splash‑down in the Gulf like some heroic amphibian.

    Upper Stage Shenanigans

    • Deploy eight mini‑Starlink swankers – they’re built for a goodbye crash.
    • Doing a bit of wankin’ in space: re‑ignite a Raptor engine mid‑fly.
    • Cool new heat‑shield tricks – some active cooling onboard, testing the upper‑stage flap and thermal armour at peak pressure.

    Bottom Line

    With keepin’ the boosters reusable, firing fewer engines for the landing, and re‑testing the upper stage at sky‑high speeds, SpaceX is making sure the next flight is more solid than a lady’s hat on a windy day.

    SpaceX’s Launch Day: Musk Takes a Tiny Step Away from DOGE

    What’s the Scoop?

    Elon Musk is sidestepping the DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) so that SpaceX can focus on its cosmic ambitions. The launch is set for tomorrow but the plot twist is that the mastermind behind the rockets is shifting his workload toward Mars and the Moon.

    Why the Move?

    While the world watches Musk’s DOGE debut, he’s also juggling a brand repair crew for Tesla that’s been bruised by left‑leaning media and NGOs. By putting the rocket science primary and rolling back administrative distractions, the tech titan stays ready to blast notes off Earth.

    What DOGE Feels Like
    • It’s a misnomer – DOGE sounds like a typo but it isn’t.
    • The name stirred laughs and criticism from the far‑left.
    • Media outlets used the buzz to dip on Tesla’s reputation.

    Repairing Tesla’s Brand

    With a shuffle away from DOGE, Musk can sharpen the Tesla image. The company has to keep its hands in the wheel while smoothing out recent controversies. Going forward, the focus will be on preserving Tesla’s electric voice and spreading positive news beyond the raccoon‑mining scandal.

    Ready to Face the Future?

    Roll up your sleeves. With rockets tugging at the stars and brands steering through confusion, the next century of growth is at hand. Musk’s hands are cleared so he can keep building a brighter planetary map—Mars and Moon included.

  • Cocoa Beach Spring Sports Surge: Baseball, Softball, Lacrosse Ignite Space Coast’s Economy and Culture

    Cocoa Beach Spring Sports Surge: Baseball, Softball, Lacrosse Ignite Space Coast’s Economy and Culture

    hotels, restaurants, attractions and local sports teams benefit from Cocoa Beach Spring Training

    Cocoa Beach Spring Training: Where Baseball Dreams Meet the Sun

    Every spring, teams from colleges and high schools across the United States make a pilgrimage to the sunny paradise of the Space Coast. The goal? A week of intense baseball, softball, and even a touch of lacrosse in the legendary Cocoa Beach Spring Training.

    Why Is This a Big Deal?

    It’s not just about swinging bats and cheering crowds. The event is one of the nation’s oldest and largest spring‑training programs, and it gives Brevard County a massive boost both economically and culturally.

    • Millions of dollars pumped into local businesses each year.
    • A surge of visitors who fill the beach bars, souvenir shops, and local restaurants.
    • A vibrant sports atmosphere that keeps the community buzzing year-round.

    Meet the Scheduler Who Makes Magic Happen

    Coach Loren McClanahan, the mastermind behind scheduling at Cocoa Beach, sits beside the Florida state‑of‑the‑art facilities run by USSSA Stadium and Sports Complex. Together, they shelve the chaos of team logistics with a plan that matches past win‑loss records, talent depth, and even team preferences.

    “Tough days on the field turn into relaxing nights on the beach,” says Coach McClanahan. “And that balance is what makes our training truly special.”

    What Happens When the Team Arrives?

    Players drop their gear, hit the field for practice, then stroll into the harbor to chase sunsets. The combination of beach air and competitive sport is a recipe for both skill sharpening and pure fun.

    • One‑on‑one drills with top‑tube coaches.
    • Full‑field games to test strategy and stamina.
    • Even after the game, teams can catch die‑hard, sun‑kissed waves.

    Ready for an Unforgettable Spring?

    If your team wants a high‑energy training week that comes wrapped in sun, sand, and great vibes, Cocoa Beach Spring Training is the spot to check out.

    Learn more about the next event at CocoaBeachBaseballSpringTraining.com.