We’ve now gotten our own brief look at the $700 PS5 Pro, coming this November. Fair warning: it’s a very limited look indeed. Just photos, no touching yet!
Technology
Google funds FireSat launch to detect and track wildfires
Google has backed FireSat, a constellation of satellites intended to detect, track, and perhaps even prevent wildfires from spreading. The first satellite in the FireSat program is expected to launch early next year.
Google is backing the FireSat satellite launch
Google Maps and Search services have been alerting users about nearby wildfire boundaries since 2020. The search giant has been mapping the wildfires in detail ensuring users are aware of the potential danger. Google also sends notifications and instructions on how to stay safe.
Google has infused $13m into an initiative led by the Earth Fire Alliance that aims to “detect and track wildfires the size of a classroom within 20 minutes”. A blog post published this week details FireSat. Essentially, it is a new constellation of satellites to monitor, detect, and track early-stage wildfires.
In addition to financially backing FireSat, Google Research will also contribute to this project. The entire platform will have Artificial Intelligence (AI) to provide a better way to monitor and manage wildfires.
Google has indicated that the Google Research team will plug relevant data into Machine Learning (ML) technology. This would help develop AI-driven enhancements aimed at detecting wildfires when they are small.
How will FireSat help detect wildfires and save lives?
Wildfires are notoriously difficult to detect. Oftentimes, there are false alarms. Moreover, current-generation satellite imagery used for wildfire detection has low-resolution imagery and infrequent updates.
All these restrictions usually mean wildfires remain undetected until they become as large as football fields. Needless to say, such delays allow wildfires to rapidly expand, destroy habitats, and threaten nearby towns. Google and the FireSat constellation aim to bring down, or perhaps eliminate, the aforementioned limitations, and speed up detection.
The first FireSat satellite, which Google is helping launch, is expected to happen early next year. Fully deployed, this constellation should have 50 satellites in low-earth orbit.
The FireSat satellites are equipped with infrared sensors that detect small fires. Some reports suggest the constellation could eventually detect a fire as small as 5 by 5 meters or about the size of a classroom.
FireSat should be able to provide accurate and actionable information about the location, size, and intensity of early-stage wildfires. This early detection, coupled with real-time updates, could mean agencies can douse wildfires before they pose any serious threat.
Technology
India’s Physics Wallah raises $210M at $2.8B valuation even as edtech funding remains scarce
Physics Wallah, an Indian edtech startup, has secured $210 million in fresh financing amid a tough funding environment for edtech companies in the country following the collapse of Byju’s, once the biggest company in the space.
Physics Wallah said on Friday the Series B round was led by the hedge fund Hornbill Capital, a venture between China’s Orchid Asia and India’s Hornbill, with Lightspeed Ventures Partners “significantly” participating, alongside existing backers WestBridge and GSV. The round values Physics Wallah at $2.8 billion, a substantial increase from the previous $1.1 billion valuation it scored in June 2022.
The startup has raised over $310 million to date. The new funding, largest by an Indian edtech since 2022, included a secondary transaction of about $35 million that saw its founders and employees selling some of their shares.
Physics Wallah began its journey as a YouTube channel in 2016, where co-founder and teacher Alakh Pandey posted his lectures for free to help students who — like he had — lacked the financial means to enroll in premium coaching classes. By 2020, Physics Wallah had grown to become the largest Indian education community on YouTube, prompting Pandey to formalize his efforts into a company that now serves 46 million students in five vernacular languages.
“He always felt that he couldn’t crack the IIT entrance exam because he didn’t have access to quality education,” said Prateek Maheshwari, co-founder of Physics Wallah, explaining the motivation behind the startup’s mission.
India, the world’s most populous nation, boasts one of the largest education markets globally, with approximately 250 million students attending school and about 4 million giving entrance exams for engineering colleges and medical schools every year.
Physics Wallah caters to a broad spectrum of this market, serving students from third grade through those preparing for competitive engineering and medical entrance exams and government positions. It even offers live classes that typically draw tens of thousands of simultaneous attendees.
The startup, which also operates about 180 brick-and-mortar centres, employs teaching assistants and AI to address student queries, and has developed an app called AI Guru that helps students solve problems in their learning material. Physics Wallah has trained the AI on its own data, Maheshwari said.
One of Physics Wallah’s key strengths is the affordability of its courses, with prices starting as low as $50 for an entire year. More than 5.5 million students are paying subscribers, the startup said.
“We are covering nearly all exams in India, and for all the special ones – JEE, NEET, GATE, UPSC, and CAT — we are No. 1 in terms of revenue and the size of the student base served,” Maheshwari said.
That traction is serving Physics Wallah well: It reported revenue of $96.2 million in the year ended March 2023, and the startup told TechCrunch revenue increased 2.5x between March last year and March 2024. It expects its fiscal year ending March 2025 to be its most profitable yet in EBITDA terms.
Dev Khare, a partner at Lightspeed and one of the earliest investors in Indian edtech startups, told TechCrunch that many trends have converged to help Physics Wallah grow. “When you bring the price point down, it just makes things way more accessible,” he said, pointing to budget-hotel chain Oyo, quick-commerce startup Zepto, and storytelling platform PocketFM as other examples of Lightspeed’s portfolio startups that run similar playbooks.
Maheshwari said Physics Wallah will explore inorganic growth opportunities with the fresh funds, but added that the company largely raised the capital because the funding was available and the investors saw value in doing so. The company, which has acquired about 10 firms in the last three years, is thinking about an IPO, but he cautioned that it would not make any immediate moves soon.
The new funding arrives as India’s edtech sector faces significant headwinds. Online learning startups, which saw rapid growth during the COVID-19 pandemic when schools were closed, have seen a sharp decline in usage since.
Unacademy, a major edtech company based in Bengaluru, has cut approximately 2,000 jobs since 2022. The company cut another 250 positions in July this year, citing the need to restructure for profitability.
Byju’s, formerly India’s most valuable startup at $22 billion, has suffered a dramatic downturn over the past two years. The company now faces the prospect of bankruptcy proceedings.
Maheshwari said recent industry events haven’t affected the market opportunity. “From a student’s lens, things haven’t changed much post-COVID. The market is entirely hybrid and students are enjoying the best of both worlds to strengthen their preparation,” he said.
Physics Wallah is a “rare combination of vision, execution, and impact with a thriving 3C model – Content, Community, and Commerce,” said Manoj Thakur, founder of Hornbill Capital, in a statement. “We are excited to see PW’s use of AI not only to help improve students’ outcomes but also their emotional well-being.”
No investment bank was appointed for the deal.
Technology
Up close with Sony’s PS5 Pro — and the 30th Anniversary model
Given how little Sony has yet shared about its big, pricy console refresh, and the excitement for the company’s just-announced limited-edition PlayStation 30th Anniversary Collection, I figure you may want a peek anyhow.
Plus, I can now confirm its arrangement of USB ports: unlike what we’d previously heard, both of the console’s USB-C ports will be on the front, with two USB-A around back.
So here are some photos. First, the PS5 Pro. Then, the PlayStation 30th Anniversary Collection, including throwback grey versions of the PS5 Pro, PS5, DualSense, DualSense Edge, and PlayStation Portal — which all include a new version of Sony’s easter egg microtexture that includes a “30” next to the other PlayStation symbols.
PlayStation 30th Anniversary:
More photos of both in our gallery below:
1/23
Photography by Sean Hollister / The Verge
Technology
The Huawei Watch D2 is a surprise sequel to one of 2022’s weirdest watches
The Huawei Watch D was one of the weirdest wearables of 2022, and now the airbag-packing, blood-pressure-tracking marvel is back.
Released this week as one of six new Huawei Watch models, the D2 builds on the ground-breaking blood pressure tracking of the first D model. In a world-first for any smartwatch, its ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) system is now certified by China’s National Medical Products Administration and the EU’s Medical Device Regulation body.
The blood pressure monitoring tech is housed inside a revised chassis that’s slimmer and lighter than the original Huawei Watch D. Say what you want about the cool health tech, the last one was pretty ugly. The new version is a lot more Apple Watch-esque and features a 1.82-inch AMOLED display. While not a stunning design by any means, it’s at least more agreeable on the eye and a much less offensive housing for some otherwise smashing health gear.
The Huawei Watch D2 paradox
The advent of Huawei’s Watch D2 continues this device’s heritage as a bit of an enigma. Including blood pressure technology in a device the size of a wristwatch is a marvelous technological feat. Like the previous model, the D2 houses a narrow mechanical airbag in its strap, and on paper, this is the ultimate wearable for anyone with blood pressure issues.
However, Huawei remains banned in the U.S., vastly limiting its reach, and precluding the inclusion of Google‘s Mobile Services. As such, even where you can buy Huawei devices, the ecosystem is incredibly limited and requires the use of a lot of alternative services.
Still, Huawei has taken the best of the Watch D and repackaged inside a much more amiable second iteration. Sadly, it seems the innovative (and arguably life-saving) blood pressure tech will continue to be held back by Huawei’s usual issues.
Blood pressure monitoring in more mainstream smartwatch models remains out of reach. Behind the scenes, Apple has been working on blood pressure monitoring on the Apple Watch for years. Most recently Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman reported that the Apple Watch Series 10‘s redesign caused a delay with the feature due to problems during testing. The best Apple Watch is now available in stores, with a new titanium finish and a larger display in tow, but no BP technology.
You might also like…
Technology
Field Tested in the Galapagos
Normally we share updates through long articles, but writing about photography is like dancing about math. What if we share it in a video? (Spoiler: we are not launching a video app.) If you dig the new format, let us know in the video comments or through Halide@mastodon.social
Technology
Cold war spy satellites and AI detect ancient underground aqueducts
Most of the ancient underground aqueducts that enabled humans to settle in the world’s hottest and driest regions have been lost over time. Now, archaeologists are rediscovering them by using artificial intelligence to analyse spy satellite images taken during the cold war.
The oldest known underground aqueducts that are found across much of North Africa and the Middle East are called qanats and are up to 3000 years old. They were designed to carry water from highland or mountain…
Technology
How generative AI changes consumer lifestyles
Host Andrew McDougall sits down with technology experts Jason Thomson and Thomas Slide to discuss the future of generative AI. What can brands do to connect with consumers using the latest generative AI technology? How will this change the way consumers look for information, and what is the next “big” breakthrough in this space? Listen to find out more.
-
Sport16 hours ago
Joshua vs Dubois: Chris Eubank Jr says ‘AJ’ could beat Tyson Fury and any other heavyweight in the world
-
News2 days ago
You’re a Hypocrite, And So Am I
-
News17 hours ago
Israel strikes Lebanese targets as Hizbollah chief warns of ‘red lines’ crossed
-
Science & Environment19 hours ago
‘Running of the bulls’ festival crowds move like charged particles
-
Sport16 hours ago
UFC Edmonton fight card revealed, including Brandon Moreno vs. Amir Albazi headliner
-
Technology15 hours ago
iPhone 15 Pro Max Camera Review: Depth and Reach
-
Science & Environment23 hours ago
Quantum ‘supersolid’ matter stirred using magnets
-
CryptoCurrency15 hours ago
Ethereum is a 'contrarian bet' into 2025, says Bitwise exec
-
Science & Environment19 hours ago
How one theory ties together everything we know about the universe
-
Science & Environment1 day ago
Sunlight-trapping device can generate temperatures over 1000°C
-
News14 hours ago
Brian Tyree Henry on voicing young Megatron, his love for villain roles
-
Science & Environment1 day ago
Quantum time travel: The experiment to ‘send a particle into the past’
-
Science & Environment1 day ago
Physicists are grappling with their own reproducibility crisis
-
CryptoCurrency16 hours ago
2 auditors miss $27M Penpie flaw, Pythia’s ‘claim rewards’ bug: Crypto-Sec
-
CryptoCurrency16 hours ago
Bitcoin miners steamrolled after electricity thefts, exchange ‘closure’ scam: Asia Express
-
CryptoCurrency16 hours ago
Cardano founder to meet Argentina president Javier Milei
-
CryptoCurrency16 hours ago
Dorsey’s ‘marketplace of algorithms’ could fix social media… so why hasn’t it?
-
CryptoCurrency16 hours ago
Low users, sex predators kill Korean metaverses, 3AC sues Terra: Asia Express
-
Business15 hours ago
How Labour donor’s largesse tarnished government’s squeaky clean image
-
Politics1 day ago
Keir Starmer facing flashpoints with the trade unions
-
News16 hours ago
Freed Between the Lines: Banned Books Week
-
MMA16 hours ago
UFC’s Cory Sandhagen says Deiveson Figueiredo turned down fight offer
-
MMA16 hours ago
Diego Lopes declines Movsar Evloev’s request to step in at UFC 307
-
Football16 hours ago
Niamh Charles: Chelsea defender has successful shoulder surgery
-
Football16 hours ago
Slot's midfield tweak key to Liverpool victory in Milan
-
Science & Environment19 hours ago
Hyperelastic gel is one of the stretchiest materials known to science
-
Science & Environment19 hours ago
How to wrap your head around the most mind-bending theories of reality
-
Technology2 days ago
Can technology fix the ‘broken’ concert ticketing system?
-
Fashion Models15 hours ago
Miranda Kerr nude
-
Fashion Models15 hours ago
“Playmate of the Year” magazine covers of Playboy from 1971–1980
-
News3 days ago
Did the Pandemic Break Our Brains?
-
Science & Environment24 hours ago
A new kind of experiment at the Large Hadron Collider could unravel quantum reality
-
Politics15 hours ago
Labour MP urges UK government to nationalise Grangemouth refinery
-
Science & Environment23 hours ago
How Peter Higgs revealed the forces that hold the universe together
-
Science & Environment1 day ago
Maxwell’s demon charges quantum batteries inside of a quantum computer
-
Science & Environment1 day ago
Quantum forces used to automatically assemble tiny device
-
Science & Environment19 hours ago
Rethinking space and time could let us do away with dark matter
-
Science & Environment1 day ago
ITER: Is the world’s biggest fusion experiment dead after new delay to 2035?
-
Science & Environment1 day ago
How to wrap your mind around the real multiverse
-
Science & Environment1 day ago
X-ray laser fires most powerful pulse ever recorded
-
Science & Environment16 hours ago
We may have spotted a parallel universe going backwards in time
-
CryptoCurrency16 hours ago
Arthur Hayes’ ‘sub $50K’ Bitcoin call, Mt. Gox CEO’s new exchange, and more: Hodler’s Digest, Sept. 1 – 7
-
CryptoCurrency16 hours ago
Treason in Taiwan paid in Tether, East’s crypto exchange resurgence: Asia Express
-
CryptoCurrency16 hours ago
Leaked Chainalysis video suggests Monero transactions may be traceable
-
CryptoCurrency16 hours ago
Journeys: Robby Yung on Animoca’s Web3 investments, TON and the Mocaverse
-
CryptoCurrency16 hours ago
Louisiana takes first crypto payment over Bitcoin Lightning
-
CryptoCurrency16 hours ago
Are there ‘too many’ blockchains for gaming? Sui’s randomness feature: Web3 Gamer
-
CryptoCurrency16 hours ago
Crypto whales like Humpy are gaming DAO votes — but there are solutions
-
CryptoCurrency16 hours ago
Help! My parents are addicted to Pi Network crypto tapper
-
CryptoCurrency16 hours ago
$12.1M fraud suspect with ‘new face’ arrested, crypto scam boiler rooms busted: Asia Express
-
CryptoCurrency16 hours ago
‘Everything feels like it’s going to shit’: Peter McCormack reveals new podcast
-
Science & Environment19 hours ago
Why we need to invoke philosophy to judge bizarre concepts in science
-
Science & Environment19 hours ago
Future of fusion: How the UK’s JET reactor paved the way for ITER
-
CryptoCurrency16 hours ago
SEC sues ‘fake’ crypto exchanges in first action on pig butchering scams
-
CryptoCurrency16 hours ago
Fed rate cut may be politically motivated, will increase inflation: Arthur Hayes
-
CryptoCurrency16 hours ago
Decentraland X account hacked, phishing scam targets MANA airdrop
-
CryptoCurrency16 hours ago
CZ and Binance face new lawsuit, RFK Jr suspends campaign, and more: Hodler’s Digest Aug. 18 – 24
-
CryptoCurrency16 hours ago
CertiK Ventures discloses $45M investment plan to boost Web3
-
CryptoCurrency16 hours ago
Memecoins not the ‘right move’ for celebs, but DApps might be — Skale Labs CMO
-
CryptoCurrency16 hours ago
Telegram bot Banana Gun’s users drained of over $1.9M
-
CryptoCurrency16 hours ago
DZ Bank partners with Boerse Stuttgart for crypto trading
-
CryptoCurrency16 hours ago
RedStone integrates first oracle price feeds on TON blockchain
-
CryptoCurrency16 hours ago
Bitcoin bulls target $64K BTC price hurdle as US stocks eye new record
-
CryptoCurrency16 hours ago
SEC asks court for four months to produce documents for Coinbase
-
CryptoCurrency16 hours ago
‘No matter how bad it gets, there’s a lot going on with NFTs’: 24 Hours of Art, NFT Creator
-
CryptoCurrency16 hours ago
Blockdaemon mulls 2026 IPO: Report
-
Business16 hours ago
Thames Water seeks extension on debt terms to avoid renationalisation
-
Politics16 hours ago
The Guardian view on 10 Downing Street: Labour risks losing the plot | Editorial
-
Politics15 hours ago
I’m in control, says Keir Starmer after Sue Gray pay leaks
-
Politics15 hours ago
‘Appalling’ rows over Sue Gray must stop, senior ministers say | Sue Gray
-
Business15 hours ago
UK hospitals with potentially dangerous concrete to be redeveloped
-
Business14 hours ago
Axel Springer top team close to making eight times their money in KKR deal
-
News14 hours ago
“Beast Games” contestants sue MrBeast’s production company over “chronic mistreatment”
-
News14 hours ago
Sean “Diddy” Combs denied bail again in federal sex trafficking case
-
News14 hours ago
Sean “Diddy” Combs denied bail again in federal sex trafficking case in New York
-
News14 hours ago
Brian Tyree Henry on his love for playing villains ahead of “Transformers One” release
-
News14 hours ago
Brian Tyree Henry on voicing young Megatron, his love for villain roles
-
CryptoCurrency14 hours ago
Coinbase’s cbBTC surges to third-largest wrapped BTC token in just one week
-
Technology4 days ago
YouTube restricts teenager access to fitness videos
-
News18 hours ago
Church same-sex split affecting bishop appointments
-
Politics2 days ago
Trump says he will meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi next week
-
Politics1 day ago
What is the House of Lords, how does it work and how is it changing?
-
Science & Environment1 day ago
Why this is a golden age for life to thrive across the universe
-
Health & fitness2 days ago
Why you should take a cheat day from your diet, and how many calories to eat
-
Technology17 hours ago
Fivetran targets data security by adding Hybrid Deployment
-
News4 days ago
Nathan Simpson appears in court over murder of Rachelle Simpson
-
Science & Environment2 days ago
Elon Musk’s SpaceX contracted to destroy retired space station
-
Science & Environment23 hours ago
Single atoms captured morphing into quantum waves in startling image
-
Politics3 days ago
Starmer ally Hollie Ridley appointed as Labour general secretary | Labour
-
Technology3 days ago
‘The dark web in your pocket’
-
Business3 days ago
Guardian in talks to sell world’s oldest Sunday paper
-
Money3 days ago
6 free issues + gift
-
Sport16 hours ago
UFC’s Dan Ige feels confident after Diego Lopes dominates Brian Ortega
-
Science & Environment19 hours ago
The physicist searching for quantum gravity in gravitational rainbows
-
Football16 hours ago
Football Daily
-
Fashion Models15 hours ago
Achtung Magazine
-
Fashion Models15 hours ago
Numéro Switzerland
-
Politics3 days ago
Trump Media breached ARC Global share agreement, judge rules
-
Health & fitness2 days ago
11 reasons why you should stop your fizzy drink habit in 2022
-
Fashion Models15 hours ago
Mixte
You must be logged in to post a comment Login