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Voicemod has created 20 “AI humans,” digital personas that allow gamers to speak in voices other than their own.

Voicemod

An artificial intelligence firm in Spain has unveiled a number of “AI humans” that allow people to modify their voices in video games — in real time.

Voicemod, which is based in Valencia, on Wednesday released 20 humanlike characters, ranging from a 20-something woman to an elderly man. The voices are trained on voices from professional human voice actors. 

In a demonstration of the tech on a call with CNBC, Voicemod’s CEO, Jaime Bosch, showed himself speaking regularly and changing it to several different voices, from a high-pitched female speaker to a baritone male voice.

Gamers can download the app on their Apple Mac or Windows PC and incorporate Voicemod’s technology as a “virtual microphone” that sits in between the microphone application they’re using to start speaking through the alternative personas. 

Voicemod, which counts talent from leading technical universities in Valencia and Barcelona, has been working on voice synthesis and interactive audio features since 2014, with many of its employees specializing in music technology and audio. 

Used by more than 40 million people, Voicemod’s tech can be used by people in the social app Discord to speak with each other in voices other than their own while playing games. 

“We have an amazing creativity community using this mainly to have fun, enjoy it with their friends and have a sense of belonging,” Bosch said in an interview with CNBC.

“One of the biggest use cases I love the most is shy people — we have some people who write to us saying I wasn’t able to really socialize with people who are now able to do that.”

It’s a milestone in the world of conversational AI. While many of today’s AI algorithms allow people to submit text and receive something AI generated back, the feat of ensuring this is done in real time is much harder.

The technology requires a significant amount of computing power. And producing and patenting the proprietary algorithm models behind it takes a lot of investment, and talent. 

To that end, Voicemod has raised $23 million in cash from several venture capitalists including Leadwind and Bitkraft Ventures.

Bosch is also no stranger to the risks surrounding how the technology can end up being abused — voice-changing technology could be used to imitate leading political figures or scam people, for example.

“This is something I think of every single day, something we’re thinking about in the company every single day when it comes to the creation of voices,” he said.

The company is close to finishing a “watermarking” solution that can identify whether voices have been generated using modification systems. It is also in discussions with other firms about standardization of such systems and ensuring voice-changing tech is released safely.

“One thing is, clear laws will come,” Bosch said. “We know Europe is working on that. The reality is that, usually, companies go faster than the laws.”

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Uber beats on revenue, announces $20 billion stock buyback

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Uber beats on revenue, announces  billion stock buyback

Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber, speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box outside the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 22, 2025.

Gerry Miller | CNBC

Uber reported second-quarter results on Wednesday that beat on revenue and announced the authorization of a $20 billion stock buyback.

Here’s how the company did versus analysts’ estimates compiled by LSEG:

  • Earnings per share: 63 cents vs. 63 cents expected.
  • Revenue: $12.65 billion vs. $12.46 billion expected.

Here are the key segment numbers:

  • Mobility (gross bookings): $23.76 billion, up 18% year over year
  • Delivery (gross bookings): $21.73 billion, up 20% year over year

Uber’s revenue increased 18% from $10.7 billion a year earlier. For the quarter ending June 30, net income rose to $1.36 billion, or 63 cents per share, from $1.02 billion, or 47 cents per share, a year ago.

Gross bookings rose 17% to $46.8 billion, and the company reported adjusted earnings of $2.12 billion.

Uber’s “monthly active platform consumers” increased 15% to 180 million in the second quarter. The company said users booked around 3.3 billion trips during the period, up 18% from a year earlier.

CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in prepared remarks that Uber sees “enormous potential in better serving families across all stages of life.”

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In the second quarter, Uber launched Senior Accounts, including an “app experience” that features larger text and icons, and other features that allow family organizers to book and manage rides for others.

The company also recently started testing a new feature in the U.S. that allows women riders or drivers to avoid being paired with men in their ride when possible.

In some international markets, Uber Eats’ food delivery service is more popular than ride hailing, and the company is working to increase “cross-platform activity” to drive sales growth, Khosrowshahi said.

Uber shares are up 48% this year as of Tuesday’s close, while the Nasdaq has gained about 8% over that stretch.

Executives will go over results and the company’s outlook on a call with analysts at 8 a.m. ET.

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Musk says Tesla is training an upgraded Full Self-Driving model which could be released next month

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Musk says Tesla is training an upgraded Full Self-Driving model which could be released next month

The Tesla Motors Inc. logo.

Michael Short | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Tesla is now training a new Full Self-Driving model boasting “big” video improvements and size upgrades, CEO Elon Musk said Wednesday on social media.

“Tesla is training a new FSD model with ~10X params and a big improvement to video compression loss. Probably ready for public release end of next month if testing goes well,” the tech billionaire said in an update on the X social media platform.

FSD is a partially automated driving system that seeks to enable Tesla vehicles to navigate and maneuver in driving situations with minimal driver assistance. Owners must keep their hands on the wheel, and remain ready to take over steering or braking at any time. It also serves as an upgrade to the company’s Autopilot driver assistant, which is already available in Europe and China.

The system is based on an artificial intelligence model that helps the car’s cameras and sensors perceive the world around it. Musk’s comment on “10X params” refers to a larger parameter size. In the case of AI models, that usually means it is a bigger model that is trained on more data and is more capable.

FSD has been a central pillar of Musk’s strategy for Tesla’s revenue growth and tech advancement in the increasingly competitive electric vehicle market, where Chinese automakers have stepped up to the plate.

Tesla bulls expect the company’s future will be in autonomy as Musk’s automaker focuses on ramping up its offering of self-driving features.

Tesla launched its robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, this year.

But right now, the market is focused on how Tesla’s core business of selling cars is doing. And it has been challenging. Tesla most recently reported a 16% decline in automotive revenue in the second quarter and has also been notching steep declines in its European sales.

The company’s stock has taken a bruising this year that has been exacerbated by reputational damage from Musk’s now-severed relationship with the White House administration. Tesla shares were down 23.55% this year as of Wednesday morning.

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U.S. charges two Chinese nationals for illegally shipping Nvidia AI chips to China

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U.S. charges two Chinese nationals for illegally shipping Nvidia AI chips to China

China is one of Nvidia’s largest markets, particularly for data centers, gaming and artificial intelligence applications.

Avishek Das | Lightrocket | Getty Images

Two Chinese nationals in California have been arrested and charged with the illegal shipment of tens of millions of dollars worth of AI chips, including from Nvidia, the Department of Justice said Tuesday. 

Chuan Geng, 28, and Shiwei Yang, 28, exported the sensitive chips and other technology to China from October 2022 through July 2025 without obtaining the required licenses, the DOJ said.

The illicit shipments included Nvidia’s H100 general processing units, according to a criminal complaint provided to CNBC. The H100 is amongst the U.S. chipmaker’s most cutting-edge chips used in artificial intelligence applications. 

The Department of Commerce has placed such chips under export controls since 2022 as part of broader efforts by the U.S. to restrict China’s access to the most advanced semiconductor technology. 

This case demonstrates that smuggling is a “nonstarter,” Nvidia told CNBC. “We primarily sell our products to well-known partners, including OEMs, who help us ensure that all sales comply with U.S. export control rules.”

“Even relatively small exporters and shipments are subject to thorough review and scrutiny, and any diverted products would have no service, support, or updates,” the chipmaker added.

Geng and Yang’s California-based company, ALX Solutions, had been founded shortly after the U.S. chip controls first came into place. 

According to the DOJ, law enforcement searched ALX Solutions’ office and seized phones belonging to Geng and Yang, which revealed incriminating communications between the defendants, including those about evading U.S. export laws by shipping sensitive chips to China through Malaysia.

The review also showed that in December 2024, ALX Solutions made over 20 shipments from the U.S. to shipping and freight-forwarding companies in Singapore and Malaysia, which the DOJ said are commonly used as transshipment points to conceal illicit shipments to China.

ALX Solutions did not appear to have been paid by entities they purportedly exported goods to, instead receiving numerous payments from companies based in Hong Kong and China.

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security and the FBI are continuing to investigate the matter.

The smuggling of advanced microchips has become a growing concern in Washington. According to a report from the Financial Times last month, at least $1 billion worth of Nvidia’s chips entered China after Donald Trump tightened chip export controls earlier this year. 

In response to the report, Nvidia had said that data centers built with smuggled chips were a “losing proposition” and that it does not support unauthorized products.

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