recovering

Agentic AI was the new race for Big Tech and Meta was far behind. It has bought the company most capable of recovering

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Meta has closed the purchase of manusa Singapore-based artificial intelligence startup, for more than $2 billion. Throughout this year, Meta has reinforced its AI operations by acquiring several companies focused on different specialties. In July bought Play AIfocused on voice with AI. In August acquired WaveFormsan audio-focused startup. And in September was done with Rivosa company specialized in the design of semiconductors and RISC-V chips. Manus’s is already the fourth major purchase this year, and it is his hope not to be diluted in the race to dominate AI when all this time he has focused his efforts on Llama and his open weights approach. Why it is important. The Agentic AI (agents capable of performing complex tasks with minimal human supervision) has long become the new battlefield for big technology companies. Although companies like Microsoft or OpenAI had sufficient resources to develop in this field, Meta needed to strengthen its position in this segment if it did not want to be left behind. Manus came to reach 100 million dollars in annual recurring revenue just eight months after its launch, which offers Meta a product that generates money right away, something not very common in this sector. What does Manus do? The startup rose to fame in March with a video demo that went viral, showing how its AI agent was able to produce detailed research reports, build custom web pages, filter job candidates, plan vacations, and analyze investment portfolios. All using AI models developed by companies such as Anthropic and Alibaba. At the time, Manus even claimed to surpass OpenAI’s Deep Research. Currently, the company has around 100 employees, mainly in Singapore, offers subscriptions of $20 to $200 per month and already has a user base of millions. Initial success. Manus emerged a few months after the debut of DeepSeekthe Chinese model that shook the foundations of the industry due to its capabilities supposedly developed with less computing power than its American rivals. Just like account WSJ, the startup secured a $75 million funding round led by Benchmark in April, which valued the company at $500 million. Among its investors are firms such as Tencent, ZhenFund or HSG. Untying ties in China. The parent company behind Manus, Butterfly Effect, was founded in 2022 in Beijing by two Chinese entrepreneurs, including its CEO Xiao Hong, known as ‘Red’. Although most of its researchers and engineers were located in China, Manus launched outside the country because it used American AI models that are not available there. Shortly after securing its investment with Benchmark, the company officially moved its headquarters to Singapore. According to account WSJ, Manus has ruled out developing a version for the Chinese market. Goal declared to Nikkei Asia that, following the acquisition, Manus will have no ties to Chinese investors and will no longer operate in China. All existing investors have been excluded from the operation, according to they count from Bloomberg. What’s coming now? Meta plans to keep Manus running independently while integrating its agents into Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, platforms where Meta AI is available. According to WSJManus CEO Xiao Hong will report directly to Javier Olivan, Meta’s chief operating officer. “Joining Meta allows us to build on a stronger, more sustainable foundation without changing how Manus works or how decisions are made,” Xiao stated in the official announcement. No return guarantees. Mark Zuckerberg continues his mission to prove that AI can deliver tangible returns. Goal plans to spend $600 billion in American infrastructure over the next three years, much of it related to AI. Just like assures Bloomberg, it is an amount that causes some skepticism in some investors, since there are no guarantees that this expense will generate significant income soon. Cover image | TechCrunch In Xataka | NVIDIA has paid $20 billion to “license” Groq’s technology. He actually bought it

With half of Europe debating recovering the military, in Spain there is a phenomenon that is gaining strength: military camps for young people

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Moncloa has said it clearly: (at least today) there is no question of following in the footsteps of other neighboring nations, like germanyand recover military service. Not even on a voluntary basis. That does not mean that in Spain there is a type of initiative that is gaining strength: youth camps that emulate (in part) the old ‘military’ and promise a cocktail based on military discipline, sport, nature and survival lessons worthy of the preppers. And that tells us a lot about Spanish society. A percentage: 42% a few months ago a YouGov study generated debate with a percentage: 42%. According to their calculations, that is the proportion of Spaniards who welcome young people having to undergo compulsory military service, the old ‘mili’a benefit that disappeared in our country almost 24 years ago. The percentage is lower that of other neighboring nations, such as France (68%), Germany (58%) or Italy (49%) and also reveals that there are 58% of Spaniards who either oppose the return of the ‘military’ or do not have a firm opinion on the matter; but it yields another reading that is equally unquestionable: there is a considerable number of Spaniards (especially among the conservative party voters and older citizens) who are recognized in favor of compulsory military training. Don’t say military, say camp. Today the Government he doesn’t seem very willing to recover the military (Pedro Sánchez came to admit which for him was “a waste of time”), but that does not mean that there are initiatives and businesses that are prospering in the heat of this renewed military push. I confirmed it a few days ago The Confidential in a report in which he puts the thermometer to the interest that camps with military echoes are awakening in our country. There are two pieces of information that corroborate this. According to the newspaperright now these courses mobilize more than 2,000 young people each summer and account for around 5% of the turnover of the summer camp sector, a wide range that includes urban camps and those oriented to languages ​​and sciences. It may not seem like much, but a decade ago they barely existed. “Detect weak points”. A quick Google search is enough to find military camps in Madrid, Castile-La Mancha wave Valencian Community. Its activities focus on summer, they give a key role to young people and, although there may be differences Among them, they share a series of ingredients: uniforms, nature, sport, a discourse very focused on discipline and training in basic notions aimed at survival, which includes everything from lessons to orient yourself with the help of a compass to how to stop bleeding. In some the equation even adds weapons airsoft. “Our camp is military, not military. We are not the entrance hall to the army nor do we prepare young people to enter any other body such as the National Police or the Civil Guard,” explains José Gómeza 54-year-old former military man who has promoted a summer camp in Sigüenza aimed at young people. “It seeks to detect each person’s weak points and help them improve.” The bet doesn’t go badly at all. It started four years ago with just 14 children and in the last edition it exceeded 200. “In a week the kids leave here hardened.” “15 days do not change life”. The camps stand out for their discipline and “values ​​such as loyalty, sacrifice and teamwork”, such as stands out the person responsible for one of these facilities. Not everyone shares his optimism, however. In 2024 elDiario.es echoed from the opinion of some experts who questioned its effectiveness for parents seeking to instill discipline in their children. “You shouldn’t think that taking (a child) to a camp that works at the drop of a hat is going to give him back changed. 15 days doesn’t change anyone’s life,” reflected Mónica Nadal, from the Bofill Foundation. The Youth Institute (Injuve) also has shown his suspicion before this type of camps. Does it only happen in Spain? No. In fact there are other countries in which military camps for youth have been established for some time, such as USA, Russia either China. Again the details may vary, but there are certain elements in common, such as discipline, paramilitary echoes and patriotic discourse. The phenomenon is not foreign to Europe either and goes beyond young people. In the midst of the debate on the increase of defense spendingwith the war in Ukraine as a backdrop, an emboldened Putin and Trump sowing doubts about the future of the US in NATO, in the EU there are countries that have reopened the debate about the military or they have directly begun to recover it. One of the last has been Germany, which has reinforced its Armed Forces with a voluntary military service. The example of Denmark. Denmark leaves another interesting example. There the National Guard (Hjemmeværnet or HJV) is experiencing a real boom, with recruitment data that has not been seen since the 80s, in the middle of the Cold War. During the first trimester something more than 1,700 Danes They filled out and confirmed the form to register in this body made up of volunteers trained to intervene in an emergency and provide support to the country’s army. As a reference, during the first quarter of 2024, just over 1,000 had registered and in 2023 the figure did not even reach 700. The members of the HJV are volunteers, people who in their daily lives work in offices, stores, factories, schools… but receive training to, for example, collaborate during surveillance work, searches or in weather emergencies. With the focus on Gen Z. The phenomenon does not only coincide with a turbulent geopolitical scenario. As pointed out recently Elisabeth Braw in a column of Financial Timesalso connects with some obsessions of the youngest cohort, precisely the one that is now reaching recruitment age. “An epidemic of loneliness and Generation Z’s obsession with physical exercise could help Western countries strengthen civil defense,” … Read more

With war drums playing in Europe, Germany has made a radical decision: recovering the “mili”

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The Ukraine War and the elongated shadow of Putin have not only reactivated the debate on Military spending In NATO. He has also recovered a word closely linked to that discussion and that for decades has been taboo in much of Europe: ‘milli’. Germany has decided that it changes. Your government has launched The legislative machinery to recover military service, suspended in the country since 2011. will do so with a voluntary recruitment system, although it already warns that this could change if the army does not grow to the Desired rhythm. And the starting goal is ambitious. What happened? That Germany has moved to recover military service. Yesterday, Friedrich Merz’s government government approved the bill that will open the doors to a new volunteer mili with which the country aspires to strengthen its defense. He did it after months of debatein a context in which each even more countries from Europe its military services are rethink and with a staging loaded with intentions: the announcement was made after a cabinet meeting in the Ministry of Defense, something that did not happen for several decades. What do you want to do? At the moment implement a voluntary mili, although the Foreign Minister himself It has slipped That in a few years the government has not achieved its objectives will seek ways to achieve “a greater commitment.” What we will see in the short term is a Germany that reactivates the service with certain peculiarities: it will send a letter to all the men and women born from 2008 to respond whether they are interested or not to participate. In the same questionnaire questions about academic preparation and the state of physical form will be included. Among those who respond affirmatively, a group of volunteers will be chosen who must undergo a medical examination. If everything is correct they will participate in a military service of at least half a year, a extendable term that will also include financial compensation. Selected young people can choose which of the army branches want to acquire skills, which includes the bodies of the marine, armed, air force and specialized units in cyberspace. Are more details known? Yes. To begin with, the schedule that the government handles. The law must still receive the guarantee of Parliament, but Merz Trust in which the new mili can be released “immediately”, from 2026. It is also known that there will be A small difference Between men and women. Both will receive the questionnaire, but only they must cover it if they do not want to receive a fine. After that difference, Clarify The countrythere is a mixture of historical and legislative factors. Until 2011, the year in which Germany said goodbye to the mandatory military service, the only ones who participated were the men. The government never eliminated the service, only suspended it, and expand the obligation now to women would require modifying the Constitution, which would further complicate the process. Will it always be voluntary? The million dollar question. And it is not easy to answer it. At the moment the mili will return to German with a voluntary character, but Merz has left the door open To that change in the medium term: “If in the next one, two or three years the objectives are not met, we have created a mechanism in the law that will lead to greater commitment.” The change, of course, will demand that the Government and Parliament return to position themselves. The norm would therefore allow the recruitment approach to be reviewed without the need for the geopolitical context. The voluntary (or mandatory) character of the service has been the great disagreement point and the detail that has most tensioned the discussion between the different political forces. The conservatives advocate a mechanism that allows recruits to be captured in a more agile way in the event that the Government considers it necessary and Christianocial Union even goes further by demanding the return to the mandatory mili. In the opposite pole there are who argues than the Bundeswehr I would arouse greater interest if the working conditions it offers to the young Germans. Will you do something in that line? Yes. Conscious of the debate, Minister Boris Pistorius insisted Yesterday when the Executive is improving the conditions of the recruits. “In the future the salary will be 2,300 euros, a remarkable increase. There are no accommodation or medical insurance expenses. Therefore it is a package that considerably increases the attractiveness compared to the current situation.” In an attempt to make the more attractive offer for recruits, he insisted that “flexible training schedules” and the possibility of participating in courses will be offered. What the government has also decided is that From 2028 It will implement a mandatory medical examination for all young people between 18 and 25 years old, which will allow the country to know its “really available recruits” base. What is the goal? Reinforce the defense. Something that is better understood with figures. Right now the German army is made up of about 183,000 active men and women. What the government wants is to reach 260,000 at the beginning of the next decade, amount that NATO Consider adequate For the country. Another of Merz’s team is extend 200,000. To reach these figures will also involve a challenge for the German administration itself. “We all want to see that increase quickly, but there are a number of objective criteria that must be met. The two basics are the locations and instructors. If we do not have them we cannot call rows to 350,000 young people from Germany. We are missing barracks and instructors. That means that now everything has to grow again from below, an increase that is being promoted,” Merz recognized yesterday. Why now? By the European geopolitical context, marked by two major factors. The main one, the role of Russia and its relationship with Europe since the Kremlin decided to start the military occupation of Ukrainein 2022. The … Read more

Pedro Sánchez is confident in recovering the “soon” supply without giving deadlines and asks for caution and “a responsible use of the mobile”

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The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has appeared after six in the afternoon after the National Security Council meeting to address The mass blackout that affects Spain and Portugal From 12:32 a.m. on Monday, asking for caution and avoiding moving hypotheses about its causes. “The causes are still being studied. It is better not to speculate,” said Sanchez during his brief intervention of seven minutes, without admitting questions from journalists. The EU, in any case, has ruled out the theory of a cyber attack. The Portuguese operator has mentioned “A strange atmospheric phenomenon“ The current situation. The president has placed the origin of the incidence in “a strong oscillation in the European electrical system” that has triggered the interruption of the supply throughout the Iberian Peninsula and parts of France. Sánchez has confirmed that the Executive has declared the electricity crisis and will assume the management of the blackout in Andalusia, Extremadura and Madrid after the request of these communities to activate level three of Civil Protection emergency. “We will spend a few critical hours until we recover electricity,” he warned. What is happening. Sanchez stressed that the operation of hydroelectric plants is already restored, expressing his confidence that the supply will recover “soon”, although without giving concrete deadlines. The recovery of the supply in areas of the north and south of the country has been achieved, according to the president, thanks to the collaboration of the authorities of France and Morocco, to whom he thanked his “solidarity.” Official recommendations. The president has transferred three recommendations to the citizens: Minimize displacements. Follow only official information and not disseminate information from “doubtful origin.” Make responsible use of the mobile, making short calls and contacting emergencies only if it is strictly necessary. Next steps. Sanchez has announced that the National Security Council will meet again at seven in the afternoon, an hour after its appearance, to continue evaluating the situation. He also reported that the government is in permanent contact with the King’s house, parliamentary groups, European partners and NATO. “The priority is to work so that the sooner we recover normality,” he stressed at the end of his appearance. In Xataka | What is the “energy zero” and why the supply can go suddenly but it takes hours to recover Outstanding image | Moncloa

Archaeologists are recovering them in a counterreloj

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Five years ago, NASA published a document as imposing as sad: a Timelapse that showed how Alaska glaciers have melted For half a century. It is not something exclusive to them, since, as The average temperature has increasedglaciers around the world They have diminished. And this, in addition to Increase sea levelallows us to take an eye on the past. The reason? The glaciers are full of garbage, objects and human remains of thousands of years ago. Ötzi. That glaciers lose ice implies that they expose everything that was used once. When that white layer goes, The bodies appearand perhaps, everyone’s most famous is Ötzi. NicknamedIce man‘, Ötzi was a man who died 5,000 years ago in the Ötzal Alps. It was discovered by a couple of mountaineers in 1991 and relevant for several reasons. Ötzi reconstruction. Not so bad to be 5,000 years old The first, because before their finding, archaeologists had not sought in the glaciers because they assumed that, as archaeologist Andreas Putzer affirms BBC“Humans could not pass by because the land was very difficult.” The second, because it was the best preserved ancient body in history. It is something that allowed to rebuild his body, study the reason for his death, Your tattoos And the objects that carried, such as the arch, the arrows, their clothes, tools and bear skin hat. And the third is obvious: the glaciers were losing their ice, exposing elements of the past. Digging up the past. It is not a case as extreme as Ötzi’s, but this corpses that emerge in the thaw It is almost everyday something. Passers -by and ski stations workers are running in Switzerland with corpses that have been there decades. Some, even since World War II. This is the case of Marcelin and Francine Dumoulin, two farmers who went out for a walk along the mountain, suffered an accident in August 1942 and there they stayed. Until Their bodies emerged in 2017. What was wearing Nothing new. In 2012, two British mountaineers who toured the Aletsch glacier found human remains in the middle of the road along with several boots, clothing and mountain equipment. In 2014, near the top of Matterhorn, more than 4,000 meters of altitude, the remains of a British mountaineer disappeared in 1979 were located. That same year, the body of a Czech explorer lost since 1974 was also recovered. In 2016, the thaw of the Morteratsch glacier revealed the remains of a German skier that had been lost in 1963. And, in 2019, another group of mountaineers ran into human remains also in Matterhorn. On this occasion, they were two Japanese climbers missing in 1970 to about 2,800 meters of altitude. Reconstruction of the objects carried Ötzi Not only bodies. They are examples, among many others, of the human remains appeared throughout these years due to the increase in temperatures. But, although recovering those bodies is important, so are the objects that have come to light because it allows us to rediscover the story or relocate the date on which a technology that we consider later, appeared for the first time. Thus, we have found many arrows Prehistoric with stone tips and intact feathers used in hunting, tools such as canes, stakes or hunting utensils, clothing leather that allow us to know the techniques of making stone. Artifacts that suggest spiritual practices, the Ötzi axa comb for lice and rackets To walk in the snow of 1,700 years ago or Roman coins. Also animals with intact internal organs, such as a slut of 4,000 years ago or the bone marrow of a reindeer 4,200 years ago. Bad matter. For archeology, it is a blessing. Ice allows you to conserve organic materials that would not survive in other environments, which allows you to study with great detail how they lived millennia ago. But it is evident that the underlying problem is much more important: climate change seems not to stop, which glaciers melt is one of the dire consequences and that these remains appear forces archaeologists to work against the clock. An example of thaw: the Bouldert glacier, which has backed up more than 400 meters in 30 years Turning off the freezer. Thomas Reitmaier is the director of the archaeological service of the Canton of Grisons, in Switzerland, and in the same article he comments that the thaw and what we are finding is similar to “leaving the freezer open. At some point, the frozen meat rots and disappears”. In fact, and taking into account that many of the discoveries have been made by chance, Reitmaier asks for community help to get all possible archaeological samples before they disappear. “We need to call to the public, who are going to the Alps, so that they let us know if they see a possible finding, because these areas are enormous and we cannot control them all,” says the researcher, adding that you have to save everything that can be known since “even the smallest object can tell an exciting story.” Planetary registration. Reitmaier’s fear is that this archeology of glaciers is “a very short field: Once ice disappearswe will not have that architect file. ”But beyond the amount of human objects that are being discovered, this phenomenon implies that we can also know more about our planet. Glacier ice contains information About the abrupt climatic changes that occurred thousands of years ago, which can help us understand historical patterns, but also to understand that opening a factory in Manchester It has an impact on the other side of the world. And, if in addition to exploring glaciers in search of remains, We stop turning them into a landfillbetter than better. Images | Wolfgang Sauber, 120, Mauri Pelt, Davemor In Xataka | Three hours of tail at 8,848 meters high: Everest is already another tourist monster

The box office did not treat it well, but this stimulating apocalyptic fable now reaches prime video and it is worth recovering it

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There are those who tire postapocalyptic films with arbitrary rules that must be met to survive. Do not make noise. Don’t look. Don’t talk. Do not move. And in ‘You never release‘, that now premiere prime videothe rule is clear from the first moment: do not stop grabbing your classmates, do not stay alone, or get on the way. However, this proposal starts from that point to go in a very dike direction A manido start, yes, but effective and reserves a good amount of surprises. Everything fits that in command of this party we have Alexandre Aja, the Frenchman who terrified us at the beginning of his career with the extraordinary remake of ‘Las Colinas has eyes’, and that he has then developed a career full of ups and downs, yes, but With pieces of pure horror as estimated as ‘high voltage’, ‘Piraña 3D’, ‘Hell underwater’ or ‘oxygen’. On this occasion, Aja presents us with two twin children who live sections in a cabin in the depth of the forest with his mother (Halle Berry), which tells them about a dangerous spirit that lives abroad. To survive they must always be together, even tied by strings. It is a measure that will begin to question according to children are growing and suspect that the world does not work as they have told them. Mental illnesses, traumas and overprotection are some of the ingredients of this tense story not exactly apocalyptic (although moods are very there). Full of macabre details that certify the good visual taste of AJA, ‘You never let go’, unfortunately, it was received very timidly at the box officeand raised only 21.8 million dollars compared to the already lean 20 that had a budget. It is time to recover it and give it a new opportunity. In Xataka | ‘Oxygen’: a science fiction thriller of Netflix and Alexandre Aja (‘High voltage’) in which surprises and claustrophobia abound

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