GM. This is Take Off, the travel guide of tech. We'll help you navigate the breathtaking landscapes of the tech world, ensuring you experience all the must-see landmarks and hidden gems along the way.

Here's what we're serving up today:

• When life gives you lemons, make Lemon(8) 🍋

• The Twitter Saga Continues 🇽

• AI Audit 🧐

When life gives you lemons, make Lemon(8) 🍋

Hey there! Have you heard about Lemon8, TikTok's new sibling that's like Instagram and Pinterest had a baby? We hadn’t heard much about it, but apparently it’s making quite the splash! It's been downloaded a whopping 17 million times globally since its March 2020 launch. In just the past week and a half, it's been downloaded 650,000 times in the US alone! 🇺🇸📲

Lemon8 has been climbing the charts, reaching No. 1 on the App Store (overtaking it’s metaphorical parents Instagram and Pinterest) and No. 7 on Google Play, as a lifestyle app which is focused on image and text.

Curious about Lemon8's origins? Well, it sneakily launched in the U.S. and U.K. markets in February after making its global debut in Japan in 2020. And guess what? ByteDance has been a little sneaky, too! 🕵️‍♂️ They're keeping their distance from Lemon8, registering it under a Singapore-based company called Heliophilia Pte. But reporters have uncovered its connection to TikTok and ByteDance through shared addresses and key personnel (We see what you did there ByteDance). Word on the street is that ByteDance is trying to diversify it’s portfolio and incase TikTok gets banned, Lemon8 could be the ByteDance-backed app that saves the day! 🚀🎉

 The Twitter Saga Continues 🇽

Well, folks, it's official: Twitter has left the building! The birdie has flown the coop and merged with Elon Musk's mysterious X Corp (Is it just us or do you also feel that’s a name that Lex Luthor would keep for his companies) . The only thing we know for sure is that Twitter "no longer exists" as an independent company.

The new company name “X Corp” doesn't come as a surprise as Elon has been long attached to the letter X. Try if you can spot a pattern.

1. X.com - His first company that merged to become PayPal

2. SpaceX - His company that shoots rockets into space

3. Tesla Model X - His car with the falcon wings

4. X Æ A-12 - His first child’s name (Tbh, we still can’t pronounce it)

Musk has previously hinted at an "everything app" called X. It seems like he's got his eyes on WeChat's super-app throne or he could be cooking up an Alphabet-like structure for all his companies where X Holdings Corp. serves as the parent of Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink, and Boring Company. Maybe he's going for a "one big happy family" vibe for his companies. Our guess is as good as yours! We're all just waiting for the next plot twist! 🍿🎬😄

AI Audit 🧐

You know how AI has been making headlines left, right, and center? Well, the US Commerce Department is finally stepping up to the plate, inviting the public to chime in on how to craft some nifty AI safety rules. 🧐

Meanwhile, China has released a 20-point draft of measures to manage AI services, covering accuracy and privacy. With the rapid rise in popularity of generative apps like ChatGPT, it's no surprise that countries are looking to establish some oversight.

The Commerce Department's NTIA is asking for input on how the federal government can ensure AI algorithms are transparent and safe. They're considering options like audits, prizes, or even bounties for finding bias in algorithms. 🏆

But the road to responsible AI is a tricky one, and getting everyone to agree on the rules is a challenge in itself. What’s your take on this?

☄️ Asteroids ☄️

OpenAI is playing "Bounty Hunter" by offering rewards from $200 to a whopping $20,000 for folks who can spot bugs and vulnerabilities in their AI systems like ChatGPT. 🕵️💰

Alibaba's jumping into the AI chatbot game with Tongyi Qianwen, their very own ChatGPT rival, ready to take on tasks like note-taking and email drafting. 📝📧

Visa is stepping in to smooth out the digital payments kerfuffle with Visa+, a nifty service that'll let folks send money between PayPal and Venmo without breaking a sweat. 💵

💰 Wednesday Wires 💰

Infogrid raises $90M for its AI-driven building monitoring tech.

Fintech startup Clear Street raises $270M at a $2B valuation.

Staytuned bags $34M in equity, debt to build ‘Salesforce suite for e-commerce’.

Honeycomb scores $50M investment as observability platform thrives.

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