WeWard, an app that offers users rewards for logging their steps, is launching a feature called “Walking Mode” that allows users to restrict their use of chosen apps until they hit a certain step count. The feature is supposed to motivate people to walk while also helping them reduce their screen time, if that’s something they’re looking to do.

If a user wants to scroll less on TikTok or Instagram while also making sure they make time for a daily walk, they could restrict access to the apps until they walk 3,000 steps, for example. The step goals and apps locked are customizable.

Until now, WeWard encouraged users to go on a walk by awarding them “Wards,” an in-app currency that can be exchanged for cash, gift cards, or donations. There’s also a gamified leaderboard feature, so you can engage in some gentle competition with your friends. But the addition of screen time reduction features makes sense for the app, since many users are looking for new ways to limit unnecessary phone and social media use.

With funding from tennis star and angel investor Venus Williams, the France-based app says that it has 30 million users across 29 countries, including 4 million U.S. users. The platform also says it has been shown to increase walking time by almost 25%.

“We believe the next generation of products should be designed to create healthier behaviors in the real world, not simply capture more attention,” WeWard co-founder Yves Benchimol told TechCrunch. “Walking Mode is our contribution to that vision, and we hope it inspires a broader conversation about mindful design and how the industry defines success.”

WeWard says that users spend only a few minutes per day in the app, which it considers a positive statistic, since the app isn’t trying to monopolize attention.

While some rewards apps fund their payouts by collecting and selling user data to third parties, WeWard says that it does not engage in these practices. Instead, it makes money from in-app purchases, affiliate marketing, premium subscriptions, and advertising.

Kevin Weil, a veteran tech executive known for stints at Twitter, Meta, Planet Labs and OpenAI, has joined the board of Stoke Space, a well-funded Seattle startup building reusable rockets to compete with SpaceX.

“It’s real simple for me,” Stoke CEO Andy Lapsa told TechCrunch of meeting Weil when he cofounded Stoke in 2020 and soon after joined Y Combinator’s winter batch. “I came out of engineering, started a company, had no idea how to fundraise. I had no idea how Silicon Valley worked. I had no network. Kevin [an early investor in the company with his wife Elizabeth, through their fund Scribble Ventures] comes with all of that background and was able to help me think about fundraising and getting the company off the ground.

The two kept talking while Lapsa raised $1.34 billion — including a $510 million Series D funding round in 2025 — to build a rapidly reusable rocket that could fly this year. Now, the time is apparently right for Weil to join the board as a director to help continue scaling the company. Stoke declined to make Weil available for an interview, and he didn’t respond to TechCrunch’s outreach.

Weil’s past work has focused on digital products and platforms, which aren’t obviously on Stoke’s roadmap. He was most recently the head of OpenAI’s efforts to accelerate scientific research, leaving the company after that program’s work was spread more widely across the frontier lab in April. He had previously served as OpenAI’s chief product officer from June 2024 until October 2025.

Weil’s last job raises one obvious question: OpenAI’s Sam Altman was reportedly kicking the tires on Stoke last year, contemplating an investment in his own SpaceX competitor. Could Weil be the link between the frontier AI lab and a possible partner in space? Lapsa declined to comment on “gossip and rumors” about OpenAI, saying Weil’s role was to focus on Stoke itself.

Stoke is building a rocket, Nova, that is intended to be completely reusable and can be flown again and again. No one has ever done that before, with the SpaceX coming the closest with its enormous Starship rocket. The technological challenges of reusing a rocket—particularly its ability to survive the extreme heat of reentering the Earth’s atmosphere from space—deterred even space investors with the deepest pockets. Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, where Lapsa once worked, has flirted with the approach, but hasn’t prioritized it.

Now, though, SpaceX’s blockbuster stock market debut—with much of its value resting on Elon Musk’s promises that Starship will be flying operational missions this year—has proven Lapsa’s foresight. Despite many billions of dollars invested in new launch vehicles, there aren’t enough rockets to go around, and the next company to get a reasonably-priced rocket flying regularly promises to make a killing.

“The world is realizing that launch is still not solved,” Lapsa said. “The idea of full, rapid reuse was a little bit out there at that time…that’s now been rather normalized, and people see the inevitable now.”

Notably, the idea of building distributed data centers in space to leverage solar power and escape political restrictions on Earth has captured the imagination of some venture capitalists. The key obstacle there is the cost of getting all those computer chips into orbit. Space data centers “really only make sense with full rapid reuse,” Lapsa said, which could be a key differentiator for Stoke as its rocket starts flying.

Military contracts will also be key to the company’s success, and Weil has experience bridging the gap between Silicon Valley and the Department of Defense; he was one of four tech movers and shakers who joined the US Army Reserve in a bid to improve recruitment and cooperation between the Army and industry. And this isn’t his first time in the space business. Weil served as the president of Planet Labs, a satellite earth observation company, for three years as it went public 2021.

Whatever Weil can add to the company’s strategy as it closes in on delivering an operational launch vehicle, though, the company has to execute.

“We’ve got a good chunk of the risk behind us, we’ve got more to go,” Lapsa said. “We’ll work as hard as we can, and we’ll go when it’s ready.”

An unsubtle shot at Chrome.

Other Portable Power Stations I Tested

Photograph: Simon Hill

Jackery Portable Power Station Explorer 2000 Plus for $899: The versatile, expandable, durable, and dependable Explorer 2000 Plus was my top pick for a while, and it’s still a good choice if you find it on sale, though the Bluetti Elite 300 that unseated it packs more power into a smaller form. It does still offer some advantages, chiefly that you can double or triple the 2,042-watt-hour capacity by adding battery packs. In my tests, the capacity consistently matched up with Jackery’s claims. It had no trouble with the kettle test (UK kettles hit 3,000 watts), though it chewed through 6 percent of the power. You can charge it speedily from the mains (AC outlet), but it also works as a solar generator. I filled it from 32 percent in a single scorching day with Jackery’s SolarSaga 200-watt solar panel. The fan is relatively quiet at around 30 decibels, but it comes on frequently. It weighs a whopping 62 pounds, and though there are indented handles on either side, a telescopic handle, and two wheels, it can still be tough to move around. The covers on the car port, inputs, and expansion port on the back are annoyingly tight. (I sometimes had to use a screwdriver to open them.) The Wi-Fi connection is 2.4 GHz only, and it took me a while to figure out that the connection mode requires you to press the AC and DC buttons together, since that doesn’t seem to be documented anywhere. Minor niggles aside, this is a great power station to serve as a home backup or off-grid generator. The warranty is three years, but you can extend it to five years by registering with Jackery.

Photograph: Simon Hill

Bluetti Elite 200 V2 for $799: While the Elite 300 is my new recommendation, if a 2,074-watt-hour capacity is enough for you, this power station has similarly strong build quality and mostly the same features (wattage is 2,600 and 3,900 at peak, and UPS has a 15-millisecond delay). It’s relatively fast to charge, can easily power your gadgets and small appliances, and has an info-packed display that’s legible outdoors.

BioLite BaseCharge 1500 for $1,020: Weighing 29 pounds, it has recessed handles at each side for carrying, though this is as big a power station as I can imagine lugging any real distance. There’s no superfluous app. You can do everything using the buttons and the display on the front. It has a good mix of ports to cover a lot of small gadgets like phones, tablets, and laptops. There’s even a wireless charging pad on top. I wouldn’t run anything too demanding on it, but it coped fine with an electric drill and blender. I tested it with BioLite’s SolarPanel 100, but the BaseCharge 1500 has a standard High Power Port (HPP) input, so you don’t have to use BioLite’s solar panels. It finished just on either side of the stated capacity in my tests. Sadly, the BaseCharge 1500 takes a long time to charge. Even from a wall outlet, you need a day, though you can speed it slightly by using the PD USB-C as a second input. Solar charging from a single SolarPanel 100 takes several days. The battery is also a Li-NMC, so it likely won’t last as long as some of our other picks. The BaseCharge 1500 comes with a two-year warranty.

Ampace Andes 600 Pro for $449: This compact power station weighs 19 pounds and has an easy-carry handle on top. It stores 584 watt-hours of power and can be fully charged in an hour (30 dB sleep mode). It can deliver 600 watts (1,800 W surge), and has lots of ports (2 x AC, 2 x USB-C, 2 x USB-A, 2 x DC 5521, 1 x Car). There’s also a remote control app where you can change the light bar function or the colored light on top. It worked well in my tests and could be handy if you want something portable for small gadgets on a camping trip, but the EcoFlow River 2 Pro above gives you more power for less.

Photograph: Simon Hill

EcoFlow Delta 3 Plus for $519: I like the stylish, compact design of EcoFlow’s Delta 3 Plus, with the screen and ports at one end. It offers 1,024 watt-hours, can consistently provide 1,800 watts, and has a 2,600-W surge mode. It can also charge up in an hour and has lots of ports (6 x AC, 1 x Car, 2 x USB-A, 2 x USB-C, 2 x DC5521). You can add capacity with EcoFlow’s impressively compact and stackable add-on battery ($599), though it is pricey. The Plus version includes two solar ports for faster solar charging and can pull UPS duty with an impressive 10-millisecond response time. The reason it misses out on a full recommendation is the fan. The fan turned on all the time, even when I was only charging a single phone, and continued at around 55 decibels after it was fully charged and unplugged. It got louder when I charged the Delta 3 Plus from a wall outlet. It could disturb you, and it gave me concerns about overheating. Fan noise aside, I liked this power station, and the app also works well if you want to remote-control it. There is a quiet charging mode, but it drops the rate to 200 watts, meaning it will take more than five hours to fully charge.

Photograph: Simon Hill

Bluetti AC200L for $799: This was replaced by the Elite 200 V2 above, but it is still a decent power station with a similar feature set. It has slightly lower capacity, and it’s heavier and pricier right now, but it is expandable up to 8,192 watt-hours with Bluetti’s add-on batteries. The design and performance are similar, but the Elite 200 V2 edges it for me and is a better buy, especially if you can pick it up for less.

Dabbsson DBS1000 Pro Portable Power Station for $619: This 1024-watt-hour power station has a LiFePO4 battery and a decent mix of ports to charge and power your gadgetry. The US model has four AC outlets, three USB-A ports, three USB-C ports, a car socket, and two DC5521 barrel ports. It can charge to 80 percent in under an hour when plugged in, but expect some fan noise. You can also charge from solar panels or through the car port. You can connect via Wi-Fi and control it from the app, but the display still gives you the info you need without it, and it has a customizable light underneath. The 2,000-watt output is impressive, and there are boost and surge modes to briefly take it to 3,000 and 4,000 watts, respectively. It performed well in my tests and can act as an EPS with a 15-millisecond delay. It’s a solid alternative to our picks above, but doesn’t stand out. The fan comes on frequently and can be annoying. I also had an issue with one of the USB ports sometimes refusing to charge a phone. Buy the DBS2000B battery expansion to boost capacity to 3,072 watt-hours and increase output to 2,400 watts. It comes with a five-year warranty with registration.

Bluetti AC180 for $449: This small Bluetti power station is a solid option if you don’t need as much juice. The AC180 also has a LiFePO4 battery inside, but with a 1,152-watt-hour capacity. It maxes out at 1,800 watts but can surge up to 2,700 watts for short bursts. The US model has four AC outlets, one USB-C (100 W), and four USB-A ports (15 W apiece). There’s even a wireless charging spot on top that goes up to 15 watts. You can fully charge the AC180 from an outlet in an hour, and it comes with solar and car charging cables as alternatives. It can also act as a UPS with a 20-millisecond switching time. This power station is good for small gadgets and appliances like a TV or a mini fridge. Fan noise hit around 45 decibels under a heavy load, which isn’t too bad. What I don’t like is the weight (35 pounds seems relatively heavy for this capacity), and I’d prefer more USB-C ports.

Zendure SuperBase Pro 2000 for $1,200: With a whopping 2,096-watt-hour capacity, tons of outlets (6 x AC, 1 x Car, 3 x DC5521, 4 x USB-C), and a maximum output of 2,000 watts (surge 3,000 watts), this is a great portable power station. It is 47 pounds but has two wheels, a carry handle, and a separate telescopic handle. Zendure’s app is slick; this power station can serve as an uninterruptible power supply and performed well in my tests, though the fans were almost constantly on. I also have concerns about its longevity. The SuperBase Pro 2000 has a Li-NMC battery inside, probably because it offers greater energy density than LiFePO4 (the similarly sized SuperBase Pro 1500 has a LiFePO4 battery and just 1440-watt-hour capacity), but Li-NMC batteries don’t last as long. The warranty is 2 years, but you can extend it by a year by registering with Zendure.

Portable Power Stations to Avoid

Photograph: Simon Hill

Acer 600W Portable Power Station: This power station is certainly portable, with a LiFePO4 battery offering 512 watt-hours via nine ports (two AC, two USB-A, two USB-C, two DC5521, and a car port). It’s a decent size for a campsite and suitable for lighting and charging portable gadgets, but with a maximum output of 600 watts, I wouldn’t plug in anything too demanding. You can fully charge it from a wall outlet in around two hours. There’s a small LCD for remaining battery percentage, estimated remaining run time at current usage rates, and wattage input and output. It worked fine in my tests, but it seems to be available only in the UK and is pricey for the capacity.

Vtoman FlashSpeed Pro 3600: Huge and heavy for its capacity (3,096 watt-hours), this power station has wheels and a telescopic handle to enable you to move it around without injury. The first unit I tested was faulty, so Vtoman supplied me with a replacement. While it worked far better, I can’t recommend this power station. The Bluetti Elite 300 above is cheaper, far more compact, and will suit most folks better, though the Vtoman has a clear advantage in potential output (it can sustain 3,600 watts and peak at over 7,000 watts for short bursts). Unfortunately, I hate the plastic front panel that you must lift to access the ports; the display is too dim to read outdoors; the build quality is suspect (it’s all a bit creaky); and it’s way, way too big.

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It means the company must keep allowing rival services to interoperate with all its app stores.

Toshio Fukuda has been blazing trails for most of his career. He is considered to be one of the most prolific scholars in robotics, writing more than 2,000 research papers and authoring several books on the field. He’s an influential figure thanks to his pioneering work developing biomedical robotic systems, industrial robots, micro-nano robotics, mechatronics, and AI-driven automation.

Fukuda launched one of the first robotics conferences, the IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS). It is still popular almost 40 years later.

An IEEE Life Fellow, he is a professor emeritus in the department of micro-nano systems engineering and a visiting professor at Nagoya University, in Japan, where he taught for nearly 25 years. Currently, he is a vice president of research at the Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology, in Alexandria, Egypt.

Within IEEE, Fukuda has held top volunteer positions including the organization’s highest office: He served as IEEE president in 2020, becoming the first person of Asian descent to hold the role.

He’s a former program director of Japan’s Moonshot program, which by 2050 intends to develop advanced AI robots.

Born in Japan, Fukuda has been recognized by the country for his contributions to science with two of its highest awards: the Medal of Honor with a purple ribbon in 2015 and the Order of the Sacred Treasure in 2022.

IEEE honored him with this year’s Richard M. Emberson Award for “distinguished service advancing the technical objectives of IEEE, especially in the area of robotics.” The IEEE Board-level award is sponsored by the IEEE Technical Activities Board. Fukuda received the award on 24 April at a ceremony in New York City.

As a former IEEE president who has served as a master of ceremonies at several of the organization’s major award events, Fukuda noted that he is more accustomed to bestowing awards than receiving them.

“It’s very interesting to be on the receiving end,” he says.

As a teenager, Fukuda spent his summer breaks teaching himself how to build things including transistor radios and steam engines.

“It was very nice to have a hands-on hobby and make these kinds of things myself,” he says. His experimentation led him to study engineering.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering in 1971 from Waseda University, in Tokyo. He says one of his professors there—Ichiro Kato, regarded as the father of Japanese robotics research—was a good mentor who made a positive impact.

Fukuda’s research interests were robotics and mechatronics, a field that combines robotics, electronics, computer science, and control systems.

He went on to earn a master’s degree and a doctorate in science from the University of Tokyo, in 1971 and 1977. During those years, he also attended Yale, where he conducted research on advanced control theory in 1973.

He reflects fondly on his time at Yale: “It was a very nice environment and a kind of free-thinking atmosphere. It motivated me to study more.”

“IEEE doesn’t care who you are, what you do, what country you are from, or whether you are male or female. IEEE accepts people who have energy and passion.”

While at Yale, Fukuda served as an assistant to his advisor—which led him to consider a career in academia, he says, because he enjoyed the freedom that research work afforded him.

But he realized that such freedom comes with a price. University researchers are expected to raise the money that funds their work. He compares researchers to small-business owners who have to bring in money to keep their enterprise afloat.

That realization led him to select robotics as his field because he intended to develop technologies useful to industry, he says.

After earning his doctorate, he returned to Japan in 1977 to work as a research scientist at the government’s Mechanical Engineering Laboratory, later renamed the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, in Tsukuba.

“There was a lot of research going on at the lab, including practical robotics and theory,” he says.

He left Japan in 1979 to become a visiting research fellow at the University of Stuttgart, in Germany. During his year there, he studied systems, software problems, and related topics.

He returned to Japan and was hired as an associate professor of mechanical engineering at the Tokyo University of Science. He conducted research into practical uses for robots by visiting industrial plants. He decided to develop robots that inspect industrial equipment such as those used in assembly plants, oil refineries, and power stations—places that “can be hostile environments for humans,” he says.

His work drew interest from chemical, oil, and utility companies.

“I got a lot of money from them for this very practical application, which funded my research,” he says, laughing.

Developing popular robotic systems

Fukuda grew tired of making those robots, he says, so he switched to creating ones for scientific applications. He developed many techniques, but he probably is best known for his modular, cellular robotic systems (CEBOTs), which he introduced in 1985.

He has described how CEBOTs work in numerous papers published in the IEEE Xplore Digital Library.

The CEBOT system is composed of a number of autonomous robotic cells that stick together like interlocking Lego plastic bricks, he says.

Each cell is a fundamental modular unit that has a function. When a simple task is given, the system can analyze it and generate the structure of the cellular manipulator. The cells connect to and detach from each other through connection mechanisms and cooperate mutually, creating complex structures and configurations.

“You start developing from the component-wise to the cell-wise to a small functional unit—and then you come up with clusters that make bigger systems. We can make a society of robot beings like that,” he explained in his oral history published on the Engineering and Technology History Wiki. “It’s a distributed robotic system, a self-organized robotic system, and also an evolutionary robotic system.

“It’s also a fault-tolerant robot system because if something is wrong, you just remove those things and make a new one. You keep the system working. That’s a great thing.”

Today CEBOTs are used for a variety of tasks such as delivering medication in hospitals, assisting with planting crops, and transporting products in distribution centers. Check out IEEE Spectrum’s Robots Guide for news from the world of robotics.

In 1989 Fukuda joined Nagoya University as a professor of mechanical engineering and micro-nano systems engineering. During his 24-year career there, he was director of the university’s Center for Micro-Nano Mechatronics. He developed a long list of technologies at the university, including many for medical applications. He also conducted groundbreaking research into intelligent robotic systems and micro- and nano-robotics.

Another technology he is known for is brachiation robots, which he helped develop in 1988. He calls them monkey robots because they’re based on the pendulum-like movement of monkeys swinging from tree to tree. The gravity-based locomotion enables continuous movement.

Brachiation robots now are inspecting high-voltage transmission towers and bridges, searching damaged buildings for survivors, and performing maintenance on pipelines and cables.

Fukuda retired from the university in 2013 and was named professor emeritus.

He didn’t stay retired for long, though. He next held a teaching appointment at Meijo University, in Nagoya, until he left in 2022 to join the Egypt-Japan University.

A prominent volunteer

He joined IEEE in 1980 at the encouragement of one of his research advisors, Professor Fumio Harashima, now an IEEE Life Fellow. After attending conferences and reading the organization’s publications, Fukuda says, he looked forward to becoming more involved.

“I wanted to know how to organize a conference and how to edit a paper for one of its Transactions,” he says. “I wanted to know what was going on from inside the organization, not just the outside.”

In 1988 he was the founding chair and organizer of IROS, in Tokyo. The conference had 330 attendees that year, and was supported by Harashima. Today it is one of the largest and most prestigious conferences on the topic, attracting more than 9,000 people annually. Out of 120,000 conferences, it was the only conference in the Nature Index database for this year, Fukuda says.

In 1996 he and other members launched IEEE Transactions on Mechatronics.

He was the founding president of the IEEE Nanotechnology Council, which was established in 2002. He is considered a pioneer in nanotechnology research, particularly regarding how it relates to robotics.

Over the years, he has held numerous volunteer positions on IEEE editorial boards and committees.

He was the 1998–1999 president of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society, becoming the first non-U.S. member to hold the title.

He was director of IEEE Division X (2001–2002 and 2017–2018), which covers intelligent systems, biological engineering, robotics, control systems, and photonic technologies. He served as the 2013–2014 director of IEEE Region 10 (Asia-Pacific).

As the 2020 IEEE president, Fukuda saw the organization through the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of travel restrictions, he realized IEEE should change how it offered its in-person services, specifically educational programs. He encouraged IEEE Educational Activities to develop an online learning platform. The IEEE Learning Network started with just three courses and now offers nearly 2,000 courses, webinars, and learning materials.

An award-winning member

The Emberson Award joins a slew of other recognitions Fukuda has received from IEEE. They include several from the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society: a 2004 Pioneer Award, a 2009 Saridis Leadership Award, and the 2011 Harashima Award for Innovative Technologies. He is also a recipient of the Board-level 2010 IEEE Robotics and Automation Technical Field Award.

He says he feels strongly that IEEE should be a diverse organization that is welcoming to all. As IEEE president, he led efforts to devise a diversity, equity, and inclusion program. Several policies, procedures, and bylaws were revised to give members a safe, inclusive place for discourse.

“It’s important for IEEE to make everyone feel comfortable,” he says. “DEI programs are important. All people should be equal. IEEE doesn’t care who you are, what you do, what country you are from, or whether you are male or female. IEEE accepts people who have energy and passion.

“It accepted me, from the Far East. That’s why I like it.”

You can learn more about Fukuda and his career from the oral history conducted by the IEEE History Center.

The days of Nvidia’s unparalleled market dominance aren’t over, but challengers and choices are arising from all directions.

ZML, a hot French AI startup endorsed by Turing Award winner Yann LeCun, has released inference-performance software that allows a variety of open-source large language models to run on a variety of chips — including Nvidia’s, AMD’s, Google’s TPU, Apple Metal and Intel Arc.

With ZML/LLMD, the newly launched LLM inference server, the company’s ambition is to break existing silos and make different chips available for AI use cases at their maximum available speed, and sometimes faster, ZML founder Steeve Morin told TechCrunch.

As AI becomes integrated into our work and everyday lives, optimizing inference — aka, the processing of prompts — has been outpacing model training in importance, but often feels patchy behind the scenes, with software and architecture barriers that lead to vendor lock-in, Morin said.

The promise of achieving peak performance across a variety of chips is a technological feat, but it could also be a market disruptor, amid mounting fears over AI-related costs.

ZML hopes to provide enterprises and clouds with the option to use a mix of chips, some of which might be less costly or consume less energy. “The idea is to give people back the power to create their own system and achieve real efficiency gains that allow [AI] to be disseminated,” Morin said.

Such a software assist may help novel AI chipmakers, many of which happen to be from Europe, Morin observed, citing Axelera, Fractile, Kalray, OLIX, Q.ANT, SiPearl, SpiNNcloud, and VSORA. But more than their region of origin, what matters to him is that ZML can work with them on “things that haven’t been done before anywhere in the world.”

That doesn’t mean Morin is bearish on Nvidia. He’s not, in part because of its existing supply. He told TechCrunch that ZML has a good relationship with the AI chip giant, which has been gearing up for the rise of inference.

Inference has been an area of such intense investment, that the trend has been hailed the “inference gold rush.” So ZML has competition such as Baseten, recently valued at $13 billion; Inferact, from the creators of open source project vLLM; as well as RadixArk, the commercial company behind SGLang.

Both vLLM and SGLang partially compete with LLMD, but Morin’s ambitions for ZML cover a broader spectrum. “We have reached the point where we are co-designing silicon,” he said. He further credited ZML’s lean team of 20 people as the reason why the Paris-based startup has been able to move fast, with more releases in the plans.

It also helped that this small team is well funded for its size. Thanks to his track record as VP of engineering of Zenly, which Snapchat acquired for nine figures in 2017, Morin raised $20 million from venture firms including Harry Stebbings’ 20VC, >commit, AALVC, Drysdale Ventures, Xavier Niel’s Kima Ventures, Kindred Capital, LocalGlobe, and Puzzle Ventures.

Unlike ZML’s first public project, the inference-focused ML framework released in 2024 and updated in March, ZML/LLMD is not open source. But it is launching as a free product with the goal of learning about usage. “I’d rather measure and [then generate revenue] where it is most effective without hindering my growth stupidly because I have been too greedy from the get-go,” Morin said.

It is too early to tell when ZML/LLMD might become a paid product, and what its adoption will look like. But the startup’s cap table confirms that other founders are paying attention, including Dagger and Docker founder Solomon Hykes, Clément Delangue and Julien Chaumond from Hugging Face, as well LeCun, now with AMI Labs. This also builds the case that Europe’s AI startups can now build from home. “I couldn’t do ZML anywhere but in Paris,” Morin said.

[This is a sponsored article written in collaboration with Tropicana Corporation Berhad.]

There was a time when buying a home was simply about finding the right location, enough space, and a practical layout. Today, expectations around homeownership have evolved.

Today’s home buyers want more than just a place to live. They’re looking for a home that complements the way they live, where leisure, convenience, and everyday experiences become part of homeownership. 

In tune with this shift, premium developers like Tropicana are going beyond traditional selling points like location and facilities. They’re pairing properties with lifestyle perks and exclusive benefits that actually mean something.

Enter the Tropicana Live+ Campaign, where signing for your dream home unlocks more than just a new address. 

In fact, you could even stand a chance to enjoy a 1-year Tropicana Golf & Country Resort membership and 50% Homeownership Savings off your property. But we’ll get to that part in a bit.

Lifestyle Is Becoming The New Luxury

The Tropicana Live+ Campaign runs across three seasons, each with its own theme and rewards. With Season 2: Live+ Prestige now underway, golf lovers and sports enthusiasts alike get to enjoy a deal that’s hard to pass up.  

Between 1 July and 30 September, you could win a 1-year golf membership at Tropicana Golf & Country Resort when purchasing a qualifying Tropicana property. 

We’re talking weekend tee times, access to one of Malaysia’s most established golf clubs and its clubhouse facilities, and yes, a pretty solid conversation starter at your next dinner party.

After all, premium homeownership isn’t just about owning a beautiful home; it’s about choosing the kind of life you want to come home to every day.

Your Pinterest Board, But Make It Real

No two buyers picture their dream home the same way. Some dream of cooler mountain mornings, while others want to wake up by the beach or stay close to the city’s buzz. 

Whatever your lifestyle looks like, Tropicana offers a range of developments designed to match it. 

If your ideal mornings involve cooler weather

At Breeze Hill Service Apartments, Tropicana Avalon, Genting Highlands becomes more than just a weekend getaway. Surrounded by lush greenery, your morning coffee comes with a view and crisp mountain air.

Just nearby, Mercure Living Genting Highlands, Tropicana Grandhill offers a similar escape. Tucked away from the city’s constant rush, it balances resort-style living with everyday practicality, especially suitable if you’d rather trade KL’s hustle and bustle for a cooler and calmer environment.

If you’d rather have the beach as your backyard

If coastal living is more your thing, Clarissa Serviced Suites at Tropicana Cenang places you just moments away from Langkawi’s famous beaches. Imagine mornings spent strolling along the beach or unwinding by the shore after a long day.

Homeowners get to enjoy one of Langkawi’s liveliest beach destinations without having to book a holiday every time you want an ocean getaway.

If you’re happiest when daily essentials are within easy reach

At SouthPlace 2 Shoppes & Residences at Tropicana Metropark, Subang Jaya, you’re surrounded by everyday essentials right below your home. 

Less time spent commuting means you can effortlessly squeeze in a late-night workout session at the gym, grab fresh premium groceries at the supermarket, or pick up wellness essentials at the nearby pharmacy—giving you true convenience without the rush. 

Meanwhile, Avisa Residences at Tropicana Alam, Puncak Alam offers a quieter pace of life without compromising on the essentials, with spacious homes and everyday conveniences that cater to families and working professionals alike.

If you see home as a long-term lifestyle investment

As Johor Bahru’s first Branded Residence managed by the prestigious Banyan Group, Skypark Kepler Branded Residences at Lido Waterfront Boulevard lets you wake up to sweeping waterfront views and international hospitality standards every day. 

Located just 5km from the RTS Link and CIQ Causeway, residents get cross-border connectivity alongside a stunning 2.5km coastal boardwalk right outside your door. Think breezy walks by the promenade and front-row seat to sunsets that don’t require a weekend road trip.

A little further inland, Fraser Heights Terrace Homes at Tropicana Uplands, Gelang Patah offers a quieter suburban setting for growing families and retirees alike. With more space to spread out, you could host barbecues every weekend or start those gardening projects you’ve always talked about.

If you’re looking for a commercial investment

For those on the hunt to also grow their business or diversify their investments, you could consider Varia Shop Offices, Tropicana Aman in Kota Kemuning, where business takes on a more grounded, community-driven rhythm.

Surrounded by a growing residential catchment, the development places your storefront right where neighbourhood activity and local conveniences converge.

If you prefer somewhere closer to the city, there is Edelweiss Shoppes, Tropicana Gardens in Kota Damansara. With established residential towers, retail components, and lifestyle hubs in the vicinity, it offers a more dynamic environment that’s connected to IOI Mall Damansara (formerly known as Tropicana Gardens Mall) and Surian IOI Mall Damansara MRT station via a link bridge. 

Oh, There’s Also 50% Homeownership Savings Off Your Property

The Season 2: Live+ Prestige rewards are available across 10 participating developments spanning the Klang Valley, Genting Highlands, Langkawi and Johor Bahru, including:

• Varia Shop Offices, Tropicana Aman @ Kota Kemuning
• Avisa Residences, Tropicana Alam @ Puncak Alam
• Clarissa Serviced Suites, Tropicana Cenang @ Langkawi
• SouthPlace Shoppes, Tropicana Metropark @ Subang Jaya
• SouthPlace 2 Residence, Tropicana Metropark @ Subang Jaya
• Edelweiss Shoppes, Tropicana Gardens @ Tropicana Indah
• Breeze Hill Service Apartments, Tropicana Avalon @ Genting Highlands
• Mercure Living Genting Highlands, Tropicana Grandhill at Tropicana WindCity
• Skypark Kepler Branded Residences, Lido Waterfront Boulevard @ Johor Bahru
• Fraser Heights Terrace Homes, Tropicana Uplands @ Johor Bahru

The 1-year golf membership isn’t the only reward up for grabs.

In addition to the seasonal prizes, buyers who purchase selected Tropicana properties will stand a chance to enjoy 50% Homeownership Savings through the campaign’s Grand Prize draw, running from 18 April to 31 December 2026. 

The Grand Prize applies to the following participating developments:

• Avisa Residences, Tropicana Alam @ Puncak Alam
• Clarissa Serviced Suites, Tropicana Cenang @ Langkawi
• SouthPlace 2 Residence, Tropicana Metropark @ Subang Jaya
• Breeze Hill Service Apartments, Tropicana Avalon @ Genting Highlands
• Fraser Heights Terrace Homes, Tropicana Uplands @ Johor Bahru

That’s a chunk of capital freed up before you’ve even unpacked.

Every qualifying purchase comes with:

• 100% legal fees borne by Tropicana.
• Hassle-free furnishing solutions via The Makeover Guys and Signature Kitchen.
• Flexible financing through Maybank MyDeco and an Easy Payment Scheme. 
• Referral rewards of up to RM80,000.

Together, you’ll receive practical support that makes the whole process of buying and moving in feel a lot less like a headache.

Regardless of whether you are a first-time homeowner, a growing family seeking a larger space, or an investor searching for a strategic opportunity, this list of Tropicana developments offers a variety of options to suit your needs.

If you’re already planning to make your move, the Tropicana Live+ Campaign makes it even more rewarding.  It’s a chance to enjoy more than just a new address, but a lifestyle and rewards that begin from day one. For more details, visit the website HERE or call 03-7663 6888 to find out more. (T&Cs apply).