Latest news with #Canary
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Hotel management platform Canary nabs $80M Series D from YC, Insight Partners
Canary, the hotel guest management platform, announced Thursday the raise of an $80 million Series D in a round led by Brighton Park Capital. Harman Singh Narula and childhood friend SJ Sawhney launched the company in 2018 to help hotels digitize and automate guest interactions. The company has raised nearly $180 million in funding to date. 'Running a hotel is increasingly complex,' Singh Narula told TechCrunch. 'Guest expectations are constantly evolving, and staffing shortages continue to strain operations. We felt the hotel market was underserved by technology and that modern solutions could help hoteliers elevate the guest experience, improve profitability, and operate more efficiently.' Singh Narula said Canary offers a product suite that encompasses every part of the guest journey, from booking to departure. He said, for example, the company offers services that let hotel guests check in on mobile devices or text the front desk for help. And it's leaning into AI in serving its customers' guests through voice, web, and text with an LLM, sometimes offering instant responses. 'The guest's user experience is completely customized and branded for each hotel,' he continued. 'So, as a guest, you may not know that Canary helped enable your travel experience. With that said, if you've stayed in hotels recently, odds are you've utilized Canary as we now work with 20,000 hotels across 100-plus countries.' Companies that use Canary include the Rosewood Hotels, Marriott, Best Western, and Wyndham. Not that Canary has no competition: Other management software companies in this space include Cloudbeds and Revinate, according to PitchBook. Singh Narula described his fundraising efforts as opportunistic. 'While we weren't actively fundraising, the opportunity emerged to bring in the right partners with strong alignment on vision, values, and where we're headed,' he said. Other investors, including Y Combinator, Insight Partners, and Fidelity, participated in the round. Singh Narula said the capital will be used to help grow the company and hire more employees. 'We see travel as one of the most powerful ways people connect with the world,' he said. 'We believe Canary has an important role to play in making those experiences more personal, more memorable, and more meaningful.' Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Hindustan Times
12-06-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Chrome may soon get AI Mode for direct answers in your browser's search bar
Google is testing a new way to bring artificial intelligence directly into its Chrome browser. Following recent moves to highlight AI features in its Google app, the company has started experimenting with an 'AI Mode' in Chrome's latest Canary build. This addition aims to give users quicker access to AI-generated answers right from the browser's search bar. The AI Mode icon appears near the existing voice and image search buttons (spotted by the Windows Report) on the Chrome New Tab page. When users click the icon, a text box opens where they can type questions or prompts. The system then provides an AI-generated response, which will let users interact and follow up easily within the browser itself. Also read: Snap to launch smart glasses for users in 2026 in challenge to Meta However, not all users will have immediate access. According to reports from a leaker, Leopeva64, Google requires users to meet specific criteria to enable AI Mode. Those who do not qualify will see a page explaining the feature with a link to more information. This test adds another option to access Google's AI-powered search, which is already available through the Google app and via a dedicated web address at The integration into Chrome could make AI tools more accessible during everyday browsing. Also read: Nintendo sells record 3.5 million Switch 2 consoles in four days In other news, Google is undergoing workforce changes amid ongoing business shifts. The company has offered voluntary buyouts to many employees across key divisions, including search, advertising, research, and engineering. These moves come as Google prepares for a court ruling that could impact its current structure. The exact number of employees affected has not been disclosed. Also read: OpenAI taps Google in unprecedented cloud deal despite AI rivalry A company spokesperson, Courtenay Mencini, clarified that some groups had already introduced voluntary exit programs with severance packages earlier this year. More teams have recently adopted similar programs to manage resources while focusing on future initiatives. Additionally, Google is encouraging remote workers living near its offices to return to hybrid work models, aiming to increase in-person collaboration among employees.
Android Authority
06-06-2025
- Android Authority
Chrome's Material 3 Expressive redesign has finally been spotted in the wild
Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority TL;DR Google has implemented Chrome's Material 3 Expressive redesign on the Canary channel. The revamp introduces a minor refresh for the overflow menu, more colorful tab groups, and a new animation for the tab switcher. You can expect these changes to roll out to Chrome on the stable channel in the coming weeks. Google is steadily updating its apps in line with Android's new Material 3 Expressive design language. After releasing updates for Gmail, Google Messages, and Google Photos in the past few days, the company has now revamped Chrome for Android. Reddit user Leopeva64-2 spotted the Material 3 Expressive changes in the latest Chrome Canary release. The update introduces a slightly refreshed overflow menu with a lighter background and new circular buttons at the top, as shown in the following screenshot. Chrome tab group UI in the latest release is much more colorful, with the selected color applied to the entire tab group card. In the current stable build, the chosen color only appears in a dot beside the tab group card. Google has also updated the color selector, and it now features pill-shaped chips that are more in line with the Material 3 Expressive design language. Furthermore, Google has added a bouncy animation to the tab switcher button that you can trigger by opening a link in a new tab. Along with these Material 3 Expressive design changes, the latest Chrome Canary update introduces a new feature that lets you archive tabs by dragging and dropping them in the 'Inactive tabs' section. These changes will likely reach beta users in the coming weeks before a broader rollout on the stable channel. We'll update this post as soon as Chrome's Material 3 Expressive revamp is widely available. Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Microsoft Brings Notepad Closer to Word With New Features
Microsoft has started rolling out an update to Notepad for Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels on Windows 11. The updated version 11.2504.50.0 brings lightweight formatting options to the classic text editor. With this update, Notepad now supports Markdown-style input and files, meaning that if you prefer to work directly with this markup language, you can do so more easily. The new formatting toolbar lets you apply text styling such as bold and italics, add hyperlinks, and create simple lists and headings. All this means that Notepad is now more effective for organizing notes or documents with basic formatting without needing to switch to a full word processor such as Microsoft Word or Google Docs, now that WordPad is gone. You can switch between a formatted Markdown view and a plain Markdown syntax view from the View menu or by using a toggle button in the status bar. If you want to return to plain text at any time, you can clear all formatting using the toolbar or the Edit menu. And for those who prefer the original Notepad experience, there is an option in the app settings to disable formatting entirely. Microsoft has asked users to share their thoughts and suggestions through the Feedback Hub under Apps > Notepad.
Local Spain
02-06-2025
- Politics
- Local Spain
Tenerife airport chaos strengthens case for Brits' e-gate access in Spain
Several UK tabloids recently reported how on May 26th hundreds of British holidaymakers faced "third-world', 'inhumane' and "cattle-like" conditions at Tenerife South Airport. As four UK flights landed in quick succession, a bottleneck formed at passport control which meant passengers queued for more than two hours in stifling and overcrowded airport lounges. Travellers complained that only two booths were manned for hundreds of British visitors, as well as speaking out about the 'claustrophobic' conditions and no access to toilets. The problems were reported to have been made worse by the fact that children were unable to use e-gates to check their passports. Rosa Dávila, president of Tenerife's Council, called an emergency meeting after the incident saying that chaos and long queues have become a common problem at the airport during peak tourist periods. Dávila called the situation 'unacceptable' and blamed Madrid for failing to provide sufficient immigration officers to the Canary island since Brexit. 'This is a structural issue,' she explained. We can't continue to operate with the same staffing levels we had pre-Brexit'. The incident strengthens the case for Britons to be able to use e-gates in Spain - without the need for a passport stamp - as soon as possible, in order to avoid repeats and potential crushes at passport control. Spain is one of only a handful of EU countries already allowing limited e-gate access for UK citizens, but only at selected airports. Even then, they often still require a passport stamp, despite their passport also being processed automatically. During the recent UK-EU 'reset' talks, the UK and the European Commission promised to "continue their exchanges on smooth border management for the benefit of their citizens, including the potential use of e-gates where appropriate". They stated that "there will be no legal barriers to e-gates use for British nationals travelling to and from the European Union member states after the introduction of the European Union Entry/Exit System". This means that it's likely that UK citizens will not have access to e-gates until the introduction of the new EES (Entry/Exit System), which scheduled for later this year in October 2025. "After that it's up to the member states. But this gives us the possibility, I'd say the probability, that people will be able to use the e-gates in future, which is not a possibility at the moment," Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden told the BBC. Unfortunately, this won't help the situation this summer when thousands of Brits will be descending on Spain for their annual holidays, with the potential to cause chaos at even more airports across the country, not just in Tenerife. Spain has long been a favourite holiday destination for British tourists and the Spain-UK route is one of the busiest flight routes in the world. Spain received more than 17.5 million British holidaymakers during the first 11 months of 2024. There are also over 400,000 UK nationals officially registered as living in Spain according to Spain's National Institute of Statistics (INE) data from 2024. Recent events at Tenerife South Airport highlight the recurring problems that come about since barriers were put in up between two countries linked together by more than 200 daily flights. Even though granting British travellers access to all Spanish airports' e-gates seems like a feasible way to reduce these Brexit-fuelled holdups, there are fears that the implementation of the EES across the EU in October will also cause chaos before the system is running smoothly. However, once EES is fully operational, and queues for passport stamps are no longer necessary, it's possible that scenes such as that at Tenerife South will be a thing of the past.
