Wed, April 30, 2025

Amazon-backed Glacier gets $16M to expand its robot recycling fleet

The world has a trash problem. The amount of stuff we throw away is expected to nearly double, to 3.8 billion metric tons, by 2050. Reducing what we use would go a long way to addressing the issue, but let’s face it, we’re not very good at buying less either. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, April 29, 2025

Anthropic CEO wants to open the black box of AI models by 2027

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei published an essay Thursday highlighting how little researchers understand about the inner workings of the world’s leading AI models. To address that, Amodei set an ambitious goal for Anthropic to reliably detect most AI model problems by 2027. Amodei acknowledges the challenge ahead. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, April 29, 2025

Chess.com reaches 200 million members

Chess.com reaches a new membership milestone as it nears its 20th birthday. Chess.com, the online chess platform that was founded in 2005 and launched in 2007, has surpassed 200 million members. Of those 200 million members, 1.5 million are paying users. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, April 28, 2025

Adobe wants to create a robots.txt styled indicator for images used in AI training

For years, websites included information about what kind of crawlers were not allowed on their site with a robots.txt file. Adobe, which wants to create a similar standard for images, has added a tool to content credentials with an intention to give them a bit more control over what is used to train AI models. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, April 28, 2025

Uber, Volkswagen pair up to launch robotaxi service in US with self-driving, electric microbuses

Volkswagen of America and Uber on Thursday unveiled an ambitious plan to launch a commercial robotaxi service — using autonomous electric VW ID. BUZZ vehicles — in multiple U.S. cities over the next decade. The companies expect to launch a commercial service in Los Angeles, the first city on the list, by late 2026 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, April 25, 2025

Government censorship comes to Bluesky, but not its third-party apps … yet

Government censorship has found its way to Bluesky, but there’s currently a loophole thanks to how the social network is structured. Earlier this month, Bluesky restricted access to 72 accounts in Turkey at the request of Turkish governmental authorities, according to a recent report by the Freedom of Expression Association. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, April 25, 2025

Linktree rolls out a suite of monetization features for creators

Linktree is launching a set of new features aimed at helping creators earn more money directly from its platform. The new tools include the ability to sell courses and digital products, earn from brand-sponsored links, and build shoppable storefronts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, April 24, 2025

The U.S. doesn’t refine cobalt. This startup wants to change that.

Xerion says it has a new technique to produce highly refined cobalt in a single step. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, April 24, 2025

Crowdsourced AI benchmarks have serious flaws, some experts say

AI labs are increasingly relying on crowdsourced benchmarking platforms such as Chatbot Arena to probe the strengths and weaknesses of their latest models. But some experts say that there are serious problems with this approach from an ethical and academic perspective. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, April 23, 2025

Tariff turmoil may have killed the tech M&A market’s comeback

The tech market doesn’t need to be soaring up and to the right to foster healthy M&A activity. Deals can get done even in down markets. But can M&A thrive in an uncertain market? That’s a harder question. The venture market soured in 2022 as fundraising and exits largely dried up Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, April 23, 2025

Florida draft law mandating encryption backdoors for social media accounts billed ‘dangerous and dumb’

A digital rights group blasted the Florida bill, but lawmakers voted to advanced the draft law. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, April 22, 2025

ChatGPT is referring to users by their names unprompted, and some find it ‘creepy’

Some ChatGPT users have noticed a strange phenomenon recently: occasionally, the chatbot refers to them by name as it reasons through problems. That wasn’t the default behavior previously, and several users claim ChatGPT is mentioning their names despite never having been told what to call them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, April 22, 2025

Robots run a half marathon, slowly

It looks like humanoid robots have a long way to go before catching up with human runners. Beijing’s E-Town tech hub hosted what it described as the first world’s first humanoid half-marathon on Saturday, with 21 humanoid robots competing alongside thousands of humans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, April 21, 2025

Bluesky feed builder Graze raises $1M, rolls out ads

Graze, a startup that lets people build and monetize custom feeds for Bluesky’s social network, has attracted new capital. Pre-seed investors, led by Betaworks and Salesforce Ventures, have invested $1 million in the company’s small team, which is working to give users control over their algorithms and social media experiences. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, April 21, 2025

Archer Aviation wants to help New Yorkers skip airport traffic with electric air taxis

New York City — where you can get a dollar slice at 2am or a McDonald’s delivery in under 30 minutes, but still spend two hours crawling down the highway to catch a flight. Archer Aviation wants to change that. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, April 18, 2025

TikTok takes on Google Maps by surfacing reviews in the comments tab

As TikTok continues to build out its search experience, the social network is now surfacing reviews for select places right within the comments tab of a video. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, April 18, 2025

Stop doomscrolling and watch the ‘Great Moose Migration’ livestream

You could say that TikTok is ruining our attention spans, and yet, viewers around the world are tuning in to watch a monotonous livestream from a Swedish TV station that they’ve probably never heard of. It’s time for the Great Moose Migration. For thousands of years, moose have crossed the Ångerman River each spring. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, April 17, 2025

Girls Who Code founder Reshma Saujani spills business tea with Meghan, Duchess of Sussex

Reshma Saujani, founder of the non-profit Girls Who Code, got straight to the point.  “If I had applied to be the CEO of Girls Who Code, I wouldn’t have gotten the job,” she told Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, on the latest episode of the duchess’ podcast, “Confessions of a Female Founder.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, April 17, 2025

Phantom Neuro grabs $19M to help amputees put their phantom limbs to use

The science fiction trope of humans superpowered by computer and bionic implants is fast becoming a reality, and today, a startup hoping for a role in how that plays out is announcing some funding.  Phantom Neuro, which is developing a wristband-like device that gets implanted under the skin to let a person control prosthetic limbs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, April 16, 2025

Nvidia says it plans to manufacture some AI chips in the U.S.

Nvidia says it has commissioned more than a million square feet of manufacturing space to build and test AI chips in Arizona and Texas as part of an effort to move a portion of production to the U.S. The chipmaker says that Nvidia Blackwell chips have started production at TSMC’s chip plants in Phoenix, Arizona. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, April 16, 2025

Bill Gates-backed Arnergy to expand solar access in Nigeria with $18M as demand surges

Demand for solar energy in power-starved Nigeria has soared in the last decade thanks to worsening grid reliability and rising fuel costs. That’s drawn investor interest to Arnergy, a cleantech startup meeting that need. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, April 15, 2025

How Chef Robotics found success by turning away its original customers

A few years ago, Chef Robotics was hurting. But founder Rajat Bhageria turned it around by doing something that early-stage founders fear to do. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, April 15, 2025

AI insurtech Ominimo bags its first investment at a $220M valuation

How do you get talented engineers to work for a startup in a mundane field at a time when more exciting companies are paying well and hiring aggressively? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, April 14, 2025

Microsoft inks massive carbon removal deal powered by a paper mill

The purchase covers 12 years of emissions from CO280’s first carbon capture project at a mill on the Gulf Coast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, April 14, 2025

Revent rocks the boat with a fresh $100M to invest in people and the planet

It would appear the environment and society remain relevant, whatever you might hear in some other quarters. At least, that’s one conclusion to be drawn from the news that European specialist VC Revent has closed a  €100 million ($109 million) Fund II to invest in “planetary and societal health” startups.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, April 11, 2025

Google’s enterprise cloud gets a music-generating AI model

On Wednesday, Google rolled out updates to several of its first-party media-generating AI models available through its Vertex AI cloud platform. Lyria, Google’s text-to-music model, is now available in preview for select customers, and the company’s Veo 2 video creation model has been enhanced with new editing and visual effects customization options. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, April 11, 2025

Governments identify dozens of Android apps bundled with spyware

The advisories say the spyware apps are used to target members of civil society who may oppose China’s state interests. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, April 10, 2025

Amazon says its AI video model can now generate minutes-long clips

Amazon has upgraded its AI video model, Nova Reel, with the ability to generate videos up to two minutes in length. Nova Reel, announced in December 2024, was Amazon’s first foray into the generative video space. It competes with models from OpenAI, Google, and others in what’s fast becoming a crowded market. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, April 10, 2025

Blackbird gobbles up $50M for its blockchain-based payment-loyalty app for restaurants

A founder who has carved out a name for himself building products to help restaurants connect better with would-be diners has $50 million for his latest startup: a new take on the idea of customer loyalty.  Blackbird Labs has built a payments-meets-loyalty-meets-blockchain platform for restaurants to grow repeat business while reducing some of the friction Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, April 09, 2025

IBM releases a new mainframe built for the age of AI

IBM is releasing the latest version of its mainframe hardware that includes new updates meant to accelerate AI adoption. The hardware and consulting company on Monday announced IBM z17, the latest version of its mainframe computer hardware. This fully encrypted mainframe is powered by an IBM Telum II processo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, April 09, 2025

Want to stay young? Peter Diamandis says survive the next 10 years

Peter Diamandis, a futurist with degrees from both MIT and Harvard, has spent much of the past two decades evangelizing a vision of an “abundant future” driven by exponential technologies that will lengthen our lives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, April 08, 2025

Meta releases Llama 4, a new crop of flagship AI models

Meta has released a new collection of AI models, Llama 4, in its Llama family — on a Saturday, no less. There are four new models in total: Llama 4 Scout, Llama 4 Maverick, and Llama 4 Behemoth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, April 08, 2025

X may soon start selling inactive usernames to Verified Organizations starting at $10K, code reveals

X’s plan to boost revenue by selling off dormant usernames on its service is starting to shape up. According to recent changes found in X’s web application, the company is setting up a “handle inquiry” process that will allow Verified Organizations — companies and other organizations that already have a $1,000 per month X subscription Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, April 07, 2025

You might be following Second Lady Usha Vance on Instagram now

Starting Wednesday, Meta says it will begin combining the Instagram accounts of the Second Lady of the United States, Usha Vance, and the former Second Gentleman of the United States, Doug Emhoff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, April 07, 2025

Automakers jump on Tesla’s brand woes with discount EV offers

Tesla trade-ins in the U.S. are at an all time high as some owners become disillusioned with Elon Musk’s politics, and some just want to avoid their car getting keyed by Musk haters.  Automakers are pouncing on the opportunity. Polestar, Lucid Motors, Volvo, and Ford Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, April 04, 2025

Researchers suggest OpenAI trained AI models on paywalled O’Reilly books

OpenAI has been accused by many parties of training its AI on copyrighted content sans permission. Now a new paper by an AI watchdog organization makes the serious accusation that the company increasingly relied on non-public books it didn’t license to train more sophisticated AI models. AI models are essentially complex prediction engines. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, April 04, 2025

Who are climate conscious consumers? Not who you’d expect, says Northwind Climate

Rather than divide people into demographic buckets, Northwind Climate analyzes survey responses for behavioral clues. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, April 03, 2025

Tesla records worst deliveries in two years amid Elon Musk backlash; Rivian starts a challenging year with a big slip in deliveries

Tesla recorded 336,681 deliveries, its worst quarterly performance in more than two years as the brand suffers a backlash to CEO Elon Musk’s political maneuverings. The dip in sales comes as Musk continues leading DOGE, the “advisory body” that has laid off thousands of federal employees and attempted to eliminate entire agencies and programs; Rivian delivered just 8,640 vehicles in the first three months of 2024, the company’s worst quarterly mark since the end of 2022. But the company says the slow start won’t impact its overall guidance for the year — it still expects to deliver between 46,000 and 51,000 EVs by the end of 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, April 03, 2025

Oracle under fire for its handling of separate security incidents

Oracle has denied at least one breach, despite evidence to the contrary, as it begins notifying healthcare customers of a separate patient data breach. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, April 02, 2025

Substack is rolling out a TikTok-like video feed in its app

Substack continues to double down on video amid TikTok’s uncertain future in the U.S. The company announced on Monday that it’s rolling out a scrollable video feed in its app, making it the latest platform to introduce a TikTok-like feed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, April 02, 2025

IPO-bound Chime hopes to boost growth by paying higher interest rates

As it gears up to go public, Chime is going all in on new features in an effort to attract more customers. The digital bank is offering customers who agree to have their paychecks directly deposited into a Chime savings or checking account an APY of 3.75%, it tells TechCrunch exclusively. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, April 01, 2025

Amazon unveils Nova Act, an AI agent that can control a web browser

Amazon on Monday unveiled Nova Act, a general-purpose AI agent that can take control of a web browser and independently perform some simple actions. Alongside the new agentic AI model, Amazon is releasing the Nova Act SDK, a toolkit that allows developers to build agent prototypes with Nova Act. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, April 01, 2025

Open source devs are fighting AI crawlers with cleverness and vengeance

AI web crawling bots are the cockroaches of the internet, many developers believe. FOSS devs are fighting back in ingenuous, humorous ways. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, March 31, 2025

Trump’s auto tariffs are a gift to Tesla

President Trump is slapping 25% tariffs on all cars imported to the United States, including from our immediate North American neighbors. He’s also placed a 25% tariff on certain parts used to build cars. It’s a decision that will likely supercharge the cost of new and used cars, but it’s also a gift to Tesla Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, March 31, 2025

TikTok ban is losing support among Americans, study says

Americans’ support for a TikTok ban is declining, according to a study from the Pew Research Center. This survey of over 5,000 U.S. adults found that just 34% of respondents supported banning the short form video app. When Pew ran a similar study in 2023, 50% of adults supported the TikTok ban. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, March 28, 2025

SpaceX reportedly has a secret backdoor for Chinese investment

Elon Musk’s rocket company SpaceX has allowed Chinese investors to buy stakes as long as the funds are routed through the Cayman Islands or other offshore hubs, according to reporting from ProPublica.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, March 28, 2025

AI’s coming to the classroom: Brisk raises $15M after a quick start in school

It’s virtually impossible today to determine when a student’s writing has been composed using ChatGPT or another GenAI tool, and it can be a nightmare to disprove incorrect accusations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, March 27, 2025

Earth AI’s algorithms found critical minerals in places everyone else ignored

The startup uses AI to quickly search for minerals over wide areas, identifying promising potential deposits for exploration. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, March 27, 2025

a16z and Benchmark-backed 11x has been claiming customers it doesn’t have

Last year, AI-powered sales automation startup 11x appeared to be on an explosive growth trajectory. However, nearly two dozen sources – including investors, current and former employees – tell TechCrunch that the company has experienced financial struggles, largely of its own making.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, March 26, 2025

Bill Gates-backed Commonwealth Fusion Systems hits key reactor construction milestone

Commonwealth Fusion Systems marked a major milestone Tuesday morning, announcing the installation of a key component of its Sparc demonstration reactor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, March 26, 2025

How BYD plans to make EV charging as fast as filling a gas tank

What we found mostly supports the auto makers claims, with a few caveats. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, March 25, 2025

23andMe faces an uncertain future — so does your genetic data

As 23andMe's bankruptcy looms, privacy experts warn customers to delete their DNA data. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, March 25, 2025

Russian zero-day seller is offering up to $4 million for Telegram exploits

Two sources in the zero-day industry say Operation Zero's prices for exploits against the popular messaging app Telegram will depend on different factors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, March 24, 2025

Microsoft is exploring a way to credit contributors to AI training data

Microsoft is launching a research project to estimate the influence of specific training examples on the text, images, and other types of media that generative AI models create. That’s per a job listing dating back to December that was recently recirculated on LinkedIn. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, March 24, 2025

How a $6M bet on Wiz turned into a massive 200x return for one early backer

Wiz’s $32 billion all-cash acquisition by Google parent Alphabet promises a colossal payday for the cybersecurity startup’s early-stage investors. The deal is a big win for Sequoia, one of the best-known VC firms, which stands to make $3 billion, about 25x the money it invested in the company, Bloomberg reported. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, March 21, 2025

X users treating Grok like a fact-checker spark concerns over misinformation

Some users on X are turning to Grok for fact-checking, raising concerns among fact-checkers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, March 21, 2025

Academics accuse AI startups of co-opting peer review for publicity

There’s a controversy brewing over “AI-generated” studies submitted to this year’s ICLR, a long-running academic conference focused on AI. At least three AI labs — Sakana, Intology, and Autoscience — claim to have used AI to generate studies that were accepted to ICLR workshops. At conferences like ICLR, workshop organizers typically review studies for publication Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, March 20, 2025

Researchers name several countries as potential Paragon spyware customers

The Citizen Lab said it believes several governments may be customers of spyware maker Paragon Solutions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, March 20, 2025

Waymo’s milestone SFO mapping permit comes with strings attached

Waymo has been given permission to map roadways at the San Francisco International Airport (SFO) via a temporary permit — the first step in the Alphabet company’s bid to unlock a potentially lucrative use case for its robotaxis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, March 19, 2025

This app limits your screen time by making you literally touch grass

If you’ve ever spent way too long scrolling through endless feeds about nothing, you may have been advised to touch grass. It’s a tongue-in-cheek suggestion, basically telling you to log off and go outside. But one developer took the concept to the next level. Rhys Kentish launched an iOS app last week called Touch Grass, Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, March 19, 2025

Bluesky users debate plans around user data and AI training

Social network Bluesky recently published a proposal on GitHub outlining new options it could give users to indicate whether they want their posts and data to be scraped for things like generative AI training and public archiving. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, March 18, 2025

Meta takes aim at ex-employee’s memoir ‘Careless People’

Meta won a legal victory this week against Sarah Wynn-Williams, a former employee who recently published a memoir of her time at the company titled “Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, March 18, 2025

US urges UK spy court to hold Apple ‘backdoor’ secret hearing in public; SoftBank buys old Sharp plant for OpenAI collab in Japan

U.S. bipartisan lawmakers say the U.K. order gagging Apple from disclosing the demand is unconstitutional. Also, SoftBank is marching ahead on its ambitions to build out a major AI operation in its home market of Japan, on its own steam and in strategic partnership with others like OpenAI. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, March 17, 2025

Could deeptech serve as Europe’s path to autonomy from the US?

Amidst geopolitical tensions and volatile markets, the question of Europe’s ability to weather the storms ahead, especially as President Trump seems intent on having his pound of tariffs from the continent, is looming large. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, March 17, 2025

Anti-aging zealot Bryan Johnson wants to start ‘foodome sequencing’

In the same way that genome sequencing determines the genetic makeup of an organism, Bryan Johnson — the investor and founder behind the Don’t Die movement – wants to start “foodome” sequencing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sat, March 15, 2025

UiPath is looking for a path to growth in agentic AI with its Peak.ai acquisition

A rush of agentic AI solutions is hitting the enterprise market, and now one of the bigger players in automation has scooped up a startup in the space in hopes of taking a bigger piece of that business Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, March 14, 2025

North Korean government hackers snuck spyware on Android app store

Cybersecurity firm Lookout found several samples of a North Korean spyware it calls KoSpy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, March 14, 2025

Wolf Games, backed by ‘Law & Order’ creator, uses AI to create murder mystery games

Elliot Wolf, the executive producer and son of “Law & Order” creator Dick Wolf, is entering a new venture aimed at engaging true crime fans.  He, along with co-founders Andrew Adashek (CEO) and Noah Rosenberg (CTO), are developing Wolf Games, a new startup that leverages AI to generate daily murder mystery games. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, March 13, 2025

Zolve, a neobank for global citizens moving to the US, raises $51M and secures $200M debt

Zolve, a neobanking startup targeting global citizens seeking credit, has raised $251 million in a new round to expand into Canada and launch loans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, March 13, 2025

Reshape Energy is using an acquisition playbook to drive energy upgrades for commercial real estate

Reshape Energy is betting on a more integrated approach to accelerate the decarbonization of the built environment. Founded in Munich, Germany back in May 2024, the startup is led by a team with expertise scaling energy businesses, including the German division of Octopus energy and energy price comparison platform Verivox. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, March 12, 2025

ServiceNow to buy Moveworks for $2.85B to grow its AI portfolio

ServiceNow said on Monday that it has agreed to acquire Moveworks, which develops enterprise-focused automation and AI tools. ServiceNow will pay $2.85 billion for Moveworks in a mix of cash and stock. The former expects the deal to close in the second half of 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, March 12, 2025

Following takedown operation, Garantex invites customers to ‘face-to-face’ Moscow meeting

Russian crypto exchange Garantex has yet to directly address the international law enforcement operation that resulted in the seizure of its domains, and criminal charges against two of its administrators. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, March 11, 2025

Google removes ‘underrepresented’ language from its grant website

Just weeks after Google said it would review its diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, the Google for Startups Founders Fund webpage is peppered with changes. Most notably Google is now using past tense to describe all of its fund programs for underrepresented founders.  This is a change that took place after December. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, March 11, 2025

Scale AI is being investigated by the US Department of Labor

Scale AI is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Labor for compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, March 10, 2025

Social health expert warns of leaning too heavily on AI for social connections

With the rise of AI companions who serve as online friends or romantic interests, experts are questioning how the technology affects our real-world social connections and relationships. According to Kasley Killam, author of the social health-focused book “The Art and Science of Connection: Why Social Health is the Missing Key to Living Longer." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, March 10, 2025

DuckDuckGo leans further into GenAI as its AI chat interface exits beta

Private search engine DuckDuckGo is leaning further into the generative AI opportunity. The non-tracking search engine has been dabbling with expanding the role of AI assistance in its product for the past year, including launching a chatbot-style interface last fall — available at Duck.ai. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, March 07, 2025

Russian crypto exchange Garantex seized by law enforcement operation

An international coalition of law enforcement agencies seized the official website of Garantex, which has previously been sanctioned by the U.S. and E.U. governments. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, March 07, 2025

Anthropic quietly removes Biden-era AI policy commitments from its website

Anthropic has quietly removed from its website several voluntary commitments the company made in conjunction with the Biden Administration in 2023 to promote safe and “trustworthy” AI. The commitments, which included pledges to share information on managing AI risks across industry and government and research on AI bias and discrimination, were deleted from Anthropic’s transparency Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, March 06, 2025

Ryan Breslow is back as CEO of fintech Bolt, after years of controversy

Ryan Breslow is once again the CEO of Bolt, the fintech company told TechCrunch on Wednesday. Bolt shared a communication that recently went out to investors in which Breslow wrote that “following a challenging few years,” he had been reinstated as Bolt’s CEO with “unanimous approval” of the board of the one-click checkout company. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, March 06, 2025

Funding to women-founded startups declined 12% in 2024, but that wasn’t far behind the broader market

Venture investment to startups founded by women in Europe declined 12% in 2024, but it was in line with the 11% decrease in venture investment overall. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, March 05, 2025

On a quest to revive the woolly mammoth, Colossal Biosciences has created a woolly mouse

Colossal Biosciences, known for its outlandish goal to resurrect the woolly mammoth by 2028, is claiming steady progress. It’s evidence: Genetically engineering mice to have mammoth-like fur. To engineer the woolly mouse, the company’s scientists found mouse versions of mammoth genes and then used CRISPR to edit mice embryos. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, March 05, 2025

HackerPulse wants to help enterprises spot engineering bottlenecks

HackerPulse builds dashboards of information pulled from engineering tools to show how and where engineers spend their time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, March 04, 2025

Mark Cuban offers to fund government tech unit that was cut in the middle of the night

Billionaire investor Mark Cuban waded into the latest government tech shake-up on Saturday, posting an unexpected offer of support for newly laid-off federal workers on the social network Bluesky. His message, which quickly gained traction, urged the displaced engineers and designers to turn the upheaval to their advantage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, March 04, 2025

Microsoft hangs up on Skype: service to shut down May 5, 2025

After kickstarting the market for making calls over the internet 23 years ago, Skype is closing down. Microsoft, which acquired the messaging and calling app 14 years ago, said it will be retiring it from active duty on May 5 to double down on Teams. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, March 03, 2025

Mozilla responds to backlash over new terms, saying it’s not using people’s data for AI

Mozilla has responded to user backlash over the Firefox web browser’s new Terms of Use, which critics have called out for using overly broad language that appears to give the browser maker the rights to whatever data you input or upload. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, March 03, 2025

Taktile helps fintechs build automated decision-making workflows

The automated logic behind many financial decisions — for example, decisions that determine whether a client is approved for a credit line — is hard-coded. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, February 28, 2025

Lonestar and Phison’s data center infrastructure is headed to the moon

Inception, a new Palo Alto-based company started by Stanford computer science professor Stefano Ermon, claims to have developed a novel AI model based on “diffusion” technology. Inception calls it a diffusion-based large language model, or a “DLM” for short. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, February 28, 2025

Regie.ai injects sales enablement with AI, but keeps humans in the loop

There’s no sure-fire approach to sales enablement, the process of providing a sales team with the resources it needs to close deals. Some teams are deficient on the prospecting side — that is, identifying and contacting potential customers. Others require help getting deals over the finish line. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, February 27, 2025

Framework’s first desktop PC is optimized for gaming and local AI inference

Framework, the company that is better known for its modular, repairable laptops, just released its first desktop computer. It’s a small desktop PC that punches above its weight. The most interesting part is what’s inside the device. Framework is one of the first companies to use AMD’s recently announced Strix Halo architecture. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, February 27, 2025

Google launches a free AI coding assistant with very high usage caps

On Tuesday, Google introduced a new, free consumer version of its AI code completion and assistance tool, Gemini Code Assist, and which the company calls Gemini Code Assist for Individuals. The company also rolled out Gemini Code Assist for GitHub, a code review “agent” designed to automatically look for bugs in code and offer suggestions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, February 26, 2025

Adobe launches a Photoshop iPhone app

Adobe announced on Tuesday it’s bringing its popular design and editing software Photoshop to mobile, starting with iOS. The company plans to launch a Photoshop for Android app later this year. With the new Photoshop for iPhone app, users can access both free and paid features through a mobile-friendly design that’s accessible on the go. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, February 26, 2025

Apple commits $500B to US manufacturing, including a new AI server facility in Houston

The U.S. government is leaning hard on tech companies to make more commitments to building their businesses in the country, and Big Tech is falling in line. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, February 25, 2025

Palantir CEO’s new book says Silicon Valley has ‘lost its way’

Palantir co-founder and CEO Alexander Karp opens his new book with a provocative declaration: “Silicon Valley has lost its way.” Over the past decade or so, as the data analytics company rose to prominence for its work with U.S. military and intelligence, Karp has largely stayed out of the limelight. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, February 25, 2025

Rivian inches closer to profitability but warns ‘changes to government policies’ could hurt

Rivian’s cost–cutting measures have gotten it a lot closer to profitability, but the company is warning that 2025 could still be a challenging year – especially because of the whorl of uncertainty caused by the new Trump Administration. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, February 24, 2025

Google pulls Gemini from main search app on iOS

Google is pulling its AI assistant Gemini from the main Google app for iOS devices. The move is meant to encourage users to download the standalone Gemini app instead, which would allow Google to more directly compete with other consumer-facing AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude, or Perplexity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, February 24, 2025

Mark Zuckerberg’s makeover didn’t make people like him, study shows

A study by the Pew Research Center found that Americans’ views of Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg skew more negative than positive. While Zuckerberg has sparked chatter in Silicon Valley with his sudden interest in high fashion, the Meta CEO is less popular than President Trump’s right-hand man, Elon Musk, the report found. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, February 21, 2025

Study of TikTok, X ‘For You’ feeds in Germany finds Far Right political bias ahead of federal elections

Recommendation algorithms operated by social media giants TikTok and X have shown evidence of substantial Far Right political bias in Germany ahead of a federal election that takes place Sunday, according to new research carried out by Global Witness Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, February 21, 2025

A former Etsy product manager built an AI-powered app for new parents

Career product manager Amanda DeLuca has launched a parenting management app, Riley, born out of her own experience with parental anxiety and feedback from other families. DeLuca, who previously at Google, Nerdwallet, and Eventbrite, in addition to Etsy, became pregnant three years ago. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, February 20, 2025

Superhuman introduces AI-powered categorization to reduce spammy emails in your inbox

It has been more than two years since ChatGPT burst on the scene. Shortly after that, it seemed like almost every email app integrated AI-powered email writing and summaries. Some also introduced AI-powered search for you to sift through your inbox quickly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, February 20, 2025

Hackers planted a Steam game with malware to steal gamers’ passwords

Researchers found that PirateFI was never designed to be a real game, but a vehicle to infect gamers with malware and steal their passwords with an infostealer called Vidar. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, February 19, 2025

Amazon kills ‘Inspire,’ its TikTok-style feed for discovering products

Amazon is shutting down “Inspire,” its TikTok-like, short-form video and photo feed that was previously available in its mobile app. The feed allowed users to discover products and shop from content created by influencers, brands, and other customers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, February 19, 2025

Polymath aims to make learning math as enjoyable as Roblox with its educational sandbox game

As gaming platforms like Roblox and Minecraft continue to grow in popularity among young children, and with platforms like YouTube consuming hours of their daily screen time, edtech companies face challenges in capturing their attention. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, February 18, 2025

What the US’ first major AI copyright ruling might mean for IP law

Copyright claims against AI companies just got a potential boost. A U.S. federal judge last week handed down a summary judgment in a case brought by tech conglomerate Thomson Reuters against legal tech firm Ross Intelligence. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, February 18, 2025

ICON, a pioneer in 3D home printing, raises $56M led by Norwest, Tiger Global

ICON, which builds homes using 3D printing, has closed on $56 million in Series C funding co-led by Norwest Venture Partners and Tiger Global, the company has confirmed to TechCrunch exclusively. The raise represents a first close for the Austin-based ICON, according to a spokesperson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, February 17, 2025

Airbnb CEO says it’s still too early for AI trip planning

Airbnb is planning to first introduce AI to its customer support system. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, February 17, 2025

Founded by DeepMind alumnus, Latent Labs launches with $50M to make biology programmable

A new startup founded by a former Google DeepMind scientist is exiting stealth with $50 million in funding. Latent Labs is building AI foundation models to “make biology programmable,” and it plans to partner with biotech and pharmaceutical companies to generate and optimize proteins. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, February 14, 2025

CyberArk snaps up Zilla Security for up to $175M

Information security company CyberArk has acquired identity access and governance platform Zilla Security in a deal worth up to $175 million. Founded in 1999, Boston-based CyberArk specializes in access management, including privileged access security which helps organizations protect sensitive data and critical infrastructure from external (and internal) threats. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, February 14, 2025

ChatGPT may not be as power-hungry as once assumed

ChatGPT, OpenAI’s chatbot platform, may not be as power-hungry as once assumed. But its appetite largely depends on how ChatGPT is being used, and the AI models that are answering the queries, according to a new study Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, February 13, 2025

Lanch bags $27M for a social media-skewed take on fast food

E-commerce startups built around food continue to gobble up funding as investors look for sticky consumer concepts that can scale without breaking the bank. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, February 13, 2025

Workday launches a platform for enterprises to manage all of their AI agents in one place

HR giant Workday is launching a new way for enterprises to keep track of all of their AI agents in one place. It’s also launching a few more AI agents of its own, for good measure. Silicon Valley-based Workday announced on Tuesday the release of Workday Digital Workforce Management, which is meant to help customers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, February 12, 2025

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei calls the AI Action Summit a ‘missed opportunity’

In a statement on Tuesday, Dario Amodei, the CEO of AI startup Anthropic, called the AI Action Summit in Paris this week a “missed opportunity,” and urged the AI industry — and government — to “move faster and with greater clarity.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, February 12, 2025

Critics warn UK’s secret Apple iCloud backdoor order is a global emergency

Security experts say the ‘draconian’ order would have global ramifications that make this a privacy ‘emergency for us all’ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, February 11, 2025

Lyft to launch Mobileye-powered robotaxis ‘as soon as 2026,’ starting with Dallas

Ride-hail giant Lyft plans to bring fully autonomous robotaxis, powered by Mobileye, to its app “as soon as 2026” in Dallas, with more markets to follow, TechCrunch has exclusively learned. The news comes a day before Lyft shares its fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 earnings report Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, February 11, 2025

Self Inspection raises $3M for its AI-powered vehicle inspections

A number of startups are racing to make vehicle inspections faster, easier, and cheaper. Self Inspection, a startup based in San Diego, thinks it has them all beat with its AI-powered service — and now it has convinced outside investors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, February 10, 2025

Bpifrance will invest $10B in the French AI ecosystem by 2029

France’s public investment bank announced that it plans to invest as much as €10 billion (around $10.3 billion at current exchange rates) in the artificial intelligence ecosystem in France. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, February 10, 2025

Could this startup’s compact nuclear reactors revolutionize cancer detection?

As cancer rates in the West, and globally, tack upwards due to lifestyle and environmental pollution, so does the need for the nuclear isotopes used in detecting those cancers in a medical setting. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, February 07, 2025

Shein gets more questions from EU about DSA compliance

After consumer protection scrutiny dialed up on fast-fashion giant Shein in the European Union on Wednesday, the bloc’s executive announced Thursday that it’s sent a fresh request for information to the ecommerce platform under the Digital Services Act (DSA), a pan-EU online governance framework Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, February 07, 2025

Modern Synthesis is making compostable materials that last a lifetime

Modern Synthesis’s fibers can be manipulated in ways that simple plant fibers cannot. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, February 06, 2025

CodeSignal wants you to practice soft skills with its AI-powered guide

Both startups and big tech companies have aggressively used AI to help developers write code or learn programming better. People have used chatbots to prepare for different scenarios in life, like interviews. Tech assessment platform CodeSignal, which introduced a learning platform for technical subjects with AI assistants last year, launched soft skill courses on its platform Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, February 06, 2025

Two space startups have merged to create the next generation of telescopes

On a clear spring evening in Michigan, the stars aligned — just not in the way Upfront Ventures partner Nick Kim expected. He’d just led a $9.5 million seed round for OurSky, a software platform for space observational data, and was eager to see what its telescope partner PlaneWave Instruments could do.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, February 05, 2025

Opera launches a mindfulness-focused browser with break reminders and soundscapes

Norway-based browser maker Opera on Tuesday launched a new browser called “Opera Air,” which focuses on mental well-being and mindfulness with features like break reminders, breathing exercises, soundscapes, and binaural beats for better focus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, February 05, 2025

Hero’s all-in-one, AI productivity app takes on Google’s Calendar and others

People often use multiple apps for notes, schedule management, and to-dos. But why not combine them all in one app? That’s the ethos behind Hero, an all-in-one productivity app with an AI assistant (of course!). The iOS app was developed by former Meta employees Brad Kowalk and Seung W. Lee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, February 04, 2025

AI systems with ‘unacceptable risk’ are now banned in the EU

As of Sunday in the European Union, the bloc’s regulators can ban the use of AI systems they deem to pose “unacceptable risk” or harm. February 2 is the first compliance deadline for the EU’s AI Act, the comprehensive AI regulatory framework that the European Parliament finally approved last March after years of development. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, February 04, 2025

Apple CEO says DeepSeek shows ‘innovation that drives efficiency’

Apple CEO Tim Cook said DeepSeek’s AI models represent “innovation that drives efficiency” on an earnings call on Thursday while fielding questions from analysts about the iPhone maker’s ambitions around AI. “In general, I think innovation that drives efficiency is a good thing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, February 03, 2025

WhatsApp says it disrupted a hacking campaign targeting journalists with spyware

The Meta-owned company said the campaign was linked to Israeli spyware maker Paragon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, February 03, 2025

SoftBank in talks to invest as much as $25B in OpenA

SoftBank is in talks to invest up to $25 billion in OpenAI as part of a broader partnership that could see the Japanese conglomerate spend more than $40 billion on AI initiatives with the Microsoft-backed startup, according to Financial Times. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, January 31, 2025

Little Umbrella’s next Jackbox-style game pits you and your friends against an AI game show host

Web-based party games are making a comeback, now with the infusion of generative AI. Among the startups joining the trend, the current forecast looks good for one startup, Little Umbrella, which leverages AI for its social party games.  The company announced on Thursday its $2 million seed funding round. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, January 31, 2025

Clutch grabs $20M to build out its non-human security ID platform

When it comes to the world of cybersecurity, identity is often thought of as a “perimeter” around an organization. So many breaches begin through techniques like password theft, phishing, and credential stuffing; ergo, securing the identities of not only users, but also applications and machines, is the key to securing the whole system.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, January 30, 2025

Meteomatics eyes U.S. expansion for its enterprise-focused weather forecasting tools

Martin Fengler knows a lot about the weather. Fengler got his Ph.D. in mathematics, focused on numerical weather prediction, before working for Meteomedia AG, a network of weather stations in Switzerland and Germany. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, January 30, 2025

Hugging Face makes it easier for devs to run AI models on third-party clouds

AI dev platform Hugging Face has partnered with third-party cloud vendors including SambaNova to launch Inference Providers, a feature designed to make it easier for devs on Hugging Face to run AI models using the infrastructure of their choice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, January 29, 2025

Spotify says it paid $10 billion to music industry last year

Audio streaming company Spotify said Tuesday that it paid $10 billion to the music industry last year. The company added that it has given nearly $60 billion in industry payouts since its inception. This is another effort from Spotify to dispel reports that the company doesn’t reward artists properly for their work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, January 29, 2025

Lydian Labs can make aviation fuel wherever there’s CO2 and electricity

Replacing inexpensive fossil fuels is a tall hurdle, but Lydian thinks it has cracked the problem Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, January 28, 2025

DeepSeek gets Silicon Valley talking

Since Chinese AI company DeepSeek released an open version of its reasoning model R1 at the beginning of this week, many in the tech industry have been making grand pronouncements about what the company achieved, and what it means for the state of AI. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, January 28, 2025

LG Electronics takes majority stake in Bear Robotics, reportedly valuing startup at $600M

LG Electronics is betting on robotics as its next big growth driver. The South Korean electronics company said on Friday that it has agreed to acquire an additional 30% stake in Bear Robotics, a California-based startup it previously backed that is building AI-powered server robots for restaurants. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, January 27, 2025

Flip, the TikTok Shop rival, launches a creator fund that grants up to $100M of equity

Flip is a social commerce app that lets shoppers become creators. They can share honest reviews and earn cash based on engagement on the platform. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, January 27, 2025

Streaming service Plex gets more social with public profiles and reviews

Streaming service Plex has long since grown beyond its original focus of being a home for personal media to offer a more comprehensive solution for discovering, streaming, and sharing content across services, including Plex’s own ad-supported free TV and movies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, January 24, 2025

UK probes Apple and Google over ‘mobile ecosystem’ market power

The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is launching so-called “strategic market status” (SMS) investigations into the mobile ecosystems of Apple and Google. The investigations constitute part of the new Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCCA) which passed last year and came into effect in January. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, January 24, 2025

Lindus Health raises $55M to ‘fix the broken clinical trial industry’

A four-year-old London startup backed by Peter Thiel has raised a $55 million Series B round as it sets about “fixing the broken clinical trial industry.” The announcement comes as artificial intelligence is shaping up to revolutionize drug discovery and development. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, January 23, 2025

Truecaller brings real-time caller ID to iPhone users

Truecaller for iOS has been updated with live caller ID support for its premium iPhone users. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, January 23, 2025

Karmen secures $9.4 million for its revenue-based financing products

French startup Karmen has secured a small funding round so that it can improve its instant financing products. The company offers short-term loans to small companies facing a working capital crunch. It’s a €9 million equity-and-debt round ($9.4 million at today’s exchange rates) with Seventure Partners buying a stake in the small startup. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, January 22, 2025

Friend delays shipments of its AI companion pendant

Friend, a startup creating a $99, AI-powered necklace designed to be treated as a digital companion, has delayed its first batch of shipments until Q3. Friend had planned to ship devices to pre-order customers in Q1. But according to co-founder and CEO Avi Schiffman, that’s no longer feasible. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, January 22, 2025

AI isn’t very good at history, new paper finds

Top LLMs performed poorly on a high-level history test, a new paper has found. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, January 21, 2025

The Pentagon says AI is speeding up its ‘kill chain’

Leading AI developers, such as OpenAI and Anthropic, are threading a delicate needle to sell software to the United States military: make the Pentagon more efficient, without letting their AI kill people. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, January 21, 2025

Nord Security founders launch Nexos.ai to help enterprises take AI projects from pilot to production

A new AI orchestration startup from the founders of Lithuanian unicorn Nord Security is setting out to help enterprises put their AI projects into production, with an initial focus on bringing greater visibility, security and adaptability to large language models (LLMs). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, January 20, 2025

Climate tech matured in 2024 as investors favored bigger rounds, later stages

Climate tech may have had a down year in 2024, but new data also shows a maturing sector with larger deal sizes. Venture investment in the climate tech sector was down 7% to $12.9 billion, $1 billion shy of 2023’s tally, according to data in a new PitchBook report. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, January 20, 2025

Google strikes world’s largest biochar carbon removal deal with Indian startup Varaha

Google has agreed to purchase 100,000 tons of carbon dioxide removal credits from Indian startup Varaha. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, January 17, 2025

Clop ransomware gang names dozens of victims hit by Cleo mass-hack, but several firms dispute breaches

The Russia-linked ransomware group is threatening to leak data stolen from almost 60 Cleo Software customers if ransoms aren't paid Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, January 17, 2025

Hinge’s new AI feature determines if your prompt response is too basic

Hinge today launched a new AI-powered feature called “Prompt Feedback,” which aims to improve your dating profile by analyzing how you answer prompts and assessing if it needs to be more specific or authentic.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, January 16, 2025

SoftBank veteran hunts for profits in payments infrastructure plumbing

Former SoftBank exec Akshay Naheta's startup, Distributed Technologies Research, is trying to bridge the gap between banking and blockchain tech. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, January 16, 2025

Steppin is a new app that locks your social media apps unless you get out and walk

App stores are filled with different services that are designed to help you cut down on your screen time and count your steps. A new iOS app called Steppin combines these two ideas to help users do both at the same time to bridge the gap between physical and mental health Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, January 15, 2025

OpenAI’s AI reasoning model ‘thinks’ in Chinese sometimes and no one really knows why

Shortly after OpenAI released o1, its first “reasoning” AI model, people began noting a curious phenomenon. The model would sometimes begin “thinking” in Chinese, Persian, or some other language — even when asked a question in English. Given a problem to sort out — e.g. “How many R’s are in the word ‘strawberry?'” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, January 15, 2025

OpenAI presents its preferred version of AI regulation in a new ‘blueprint’

OpenAI on Monday published what it’s calling an “economic blueprint” for AI: a living document that lays out policies the company thinks it can build on with the U.S. government and its allies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, January 14, 2025

UK throws its hat into the AI fire

In 2023, the U.K. made a big song and dance about the need to consider the harms of AI, giving itself a leading role in the wider conversation around AI safety. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, January 14, 2025

Automattic says it will reduce its contribution to WordPress core project to match WP Engine

It’s a new year, but drama in the WordPress community keeps going. Automattic, the company that runs WordPress.com, said that it would reduce its contribution to WordPress core, the open-source project that acts as the backbone of most of Automattic’s products and ensures the longevity of WordPress as a technology and community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, January 13, 2025

Comcast and other TV streamers are now chasing YouTube’s ad dollars instead of the other way around

TV providers and streamers’ real competition isn’t each other, it’s social video. Or at least that’s what the president of Comcast Advertising, James Rooke, said during an interview on Wednesday at CES 2025 in Las Vegas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, January 13, 2025

Matt Mullenweg deactivates WordPress accounts of contributors planning a fork

Automattic CEO and WordPress co-creator Matt Mullenweg has deactivated the accounts of several WordPress.org community members, some of whom have been spearheading a push to create a new fork of the open source WordPress project. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, January 10, 2025

CES 2025: Nvidia’s AI avatar sat on my computer screen and weirded me out

Nvidia unveiled a prototype AI avatar at CES 2025 that lives on your PC’s desktop. The AI assistant,  R2X , looks like a video game character, and it can help you navigate apps on your computer. The R2X avatar is rendered and animated using Nvidia’s AI models, and users can run the avatar on popular LLMs of their choice, such as OpenAI’s GPT-4o or xAI’s Grok. Users can talk with R2X through text and voice, upload files to it for processing, or even enable the AI assistant to view what’s happening live on your screen or camera. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, January 09, 2025

CES 2025: Where have all the US automakers gone?

The old chestnut passed around by industry watchers for the past decade was that CES — one of the world’s largest consumer tech trade events — had turned into an auto show. Maybe even the most important auto show of the year. And there was ample evidence of that. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, January 09, 2025

CES 2025: Halliday's Smart Glasses

Walk up to someone wearing a pair of  Halliday’s smart glasses , and you might not notice they’re looking at smartphone notifications, live language translations, or advice from an AI assistant. The only giveaway is the tiny green dot of light on their eyeball. Wearables startup Halliday launched a pair of smart glasses at  CES 2025  that projects a 3.5-inch round display into your line of sight. The device creating the display is called the DigiWindow, and it’s a tiny round module — smaller than your pinky nail — that sits on the inside of the Halliday’s frames just above your right eye. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, January 08, 2025

CES 2025: Zugu's Case of Death', Basketball rebounding robot, and Omi's Brain Interface

If a user’s heart rate stops suddenly, and their body temperature and blood oxygen level also drop dramatically, the smart ring knows that its user has died and sends a signal to the In Case of Death app to trigger the ‘Death Protections’ chosen by the user when they first enrolled in the app and set it up. Davy Robot’s Datic 1 nabbed a good bit of attention this week at CES 2025, as attendees lined up to shoot some hoops on the busy show floor. The bot sits under a hoop, rebounding the ball after you take a shot. And San Francisco startup Based Hardware announced the launch of a new AI wearable, Omi, to boost productivity during the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas this week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, January 08, 2025

CES 2025: Honda's futuristic ‘0 SUV’ prototype, German Bionic’s new exoskeleton, and Beatbot's robot turtle

Honda unveiled Tuesday at  CES 2025  the latest EV in its so-called  0 Series  — a mid-sized SUV prototype dubbed, surely enough, the 0 SUV. Honda’s take on the SUV will join the 0 Saloon that the automaker showed off at last year’s show; At CES 2025, German Bionic announced the Apogee Ultra, a new robotic exoskeleton it claims is the “world’s most powerful.” What did the system do to earn such a lofty title? It offers up to 80 pounds of dynamic lift assistance. That means a payload of 70 pounds feels more like nine to 11 pounds to the lifter’s lower back; and Beatbot makes robotic pool cleaners. In fact, the company is showing off a new one with a docking station this week at CES 2025. What really caught our eye on the show floor, however, is RoboTurtle, because, well, it’s a robot that looks like a turtle. The turtle, sadly, seems to very much be in the concept stages, as the firm focuses on more commercial endeavors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, January 07, 2025

CES 2025: Peacock is experimenting with mini-games and short videos, Reddit intros new trends tools for businesses, and Meta to phase back in political content

As Peacock continues to trail behind major players in the entertainment industry like Netflix, TikTok, and YouTube, the streaming service is adopting strategies similar to its rivals with two new initiatives:  mini-games and a short-form vertical video feed . The company previewed these experiments at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Monday; Reddit  unveiled  new trends tools aimed at businesses and a new ad format for its Ask Me Anything (AMA) Q&A sessions; As a part of a significant  overhaul of its content moderation policies  announced on Tuesday, Meta admitted that its approach to limiting political content across its platforms had been “pretty blunt” and would now be addressed. The company said it would once again phase in political content into Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, allowing people who want political content in their feeds to see more of it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, January 07, 2025

CES 2025: Toyota is 'exploring rockets' and John Deere's new robot mowers

Japanese automaker Toyota is “exploring rockets,” chairman Akio Toyoda  announced on stage at CES 2025  on Monday, while hinting at the idea of moving people through space. The rocketry mention on the CES 2025 stage came while Toyoda was in the middle of explaining how he views his company’s myriad technologies as “invention by kakezan,” or “invention by multiplication.” John Deere has a bunch of new products that it just showed off at  CES 2025 , including an electric robot lawnmower meant for commercial-grade landscaping. Powered by a 21.4kWh battery — roughly a quarter the size of what you’d find on a passenger EV — the company says the mower is supposed to be able to operate for up to 10 hours. It uses four pairs of stereo cameras, two on each side, to see in 360 degrees. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, January 06, 2025

CES 2025: Therabody launches Coach, Full Nature Farms SmartAg, Kidde's Detectors with Ring Tech, and Hulu Live teaming with Fubo

Therabody, the maker of popular massage guns and other wellness devices, announced at CES 2025 that it’s launching an AI-powered digital recovery app called Coach by Therabody. While Therabody’s flagship app is designed to give you easy-to-follow proprietary routines, Coach takes recovery and wellness a step further by using data to understand users’ current needs; Agriculture, which consumes about 70% of global freshwater, is grappling with increased water scarcity and inefficient irrigation systems. Traditional methods of irrigation not only lead to wasted water and nutrients, but also contribute to lower crop yields, food insecurity, and unnecessary carbon emissions; Amazon announced a partnership with Kidde at CES 2025 on Monday that brings its Ring technology to the home safety stalwart’s smoke alarms. There will be multiple versions of the hybrid smoke and CO2 detectors, ranging in price from $55 to $75; In a surprising deal announced on Monday, Disney is set to combine its Hulu Live TV business with Fubo, the live TV streaming service known for its extensive sports coverage. Under the terms of the deal, Disney will own about 70% of Fubo, which will continue to be available to viewers as a separate offering. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, January 06, 2025

Timekettle’s new earbuds, Circular's Ring 2, Birdfy's Smart Birdbath, and Roborock's RoboVac RoboArm

CES is this week in Las Vegas. Timekettle unveiled its latest earbuds, the W4 Pro. The product aims to up the ante on the startup’s focus by bringing real-time two-way translation to phone and video calls; Smart ring maker  Circular  announced its next-gen Ring 2 with ECG (electrocardiogram) functionality and AFib (atrial fibrillation) detection. The wearable is set to go on sale in February or Mach for $380; Birdify is showcasing the Bath Pro, taking a cue from products like the Bird Buddy and applying them to a big saucer of water with a solar-powered fountain in the middle; Roborock announced the Saros Z70. The Roomba competitor showcases what the company believes will be the next big step in robovac evolution: an arm. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, January 03, 2025

US sanctions Chinese cyber firm linked to Flax Typhoon hacks

U.S. officials say the sanctioned Chinese firm provided botnet infrastructure for the China-backed hacking group Flax Typhoon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, January 03, 2025

Will Smith eating spaghetti and other weird AI benchmarks that took off in 2024

When a company releases a new AI video generator, it’s not long before someone uses it to make a video of actor Will Smith eating spaghetti. It’s become something of a meme as well as a benchmark: Seeing whether a new video generator can realistically render Smith slurping down a bowl of noodles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, January 02, 2025

Volkswagen leak exposed, Free Apple TV+, Samsung now largest shareholder of Rainbow Robotics, and

The data was found exposed on an Amazon cloud server, and contained precise location data on thousands of vehicles. Also, the Competition and Markets Authority, the U.K.’s antitrust watchdog, has opened an investigation into whether IBM’s planned acquisition of cloud software vendor HashiCorp would affect competition. The CMA said Monday it was inviting comment on the merger from interested parties by January 16; Apple is allowing anyone to access its Apple TV+ streaming service for free this weekend, from January 3 to 5. The company made the announcement on Monday alongside a short video featuring its most popular TV shows, including “Severance,” “Slow Horses,” “Shrinking,” and more; Samsung Electronics said on Tuesday that it has become the largest shareholder of South Korea-based robotics maker Rainbow Robotics, increasing its stake from 14.7% to 35% for KRW 267 billion (about $181 billion). The electronics giant, which paid KRW 86.8 billion for the 14.7% stake in 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, January 02, 2025

A Waymo robotaxi and a Serve delivery robot collided in Los Angeles ... and more Tech news

On December 27, a Waymo robotaxi and a Serve Robotics sidewalk delivery robot collided at a Los Angeles intersection, according to a video that’s circulating on social media. The footage shows a Serve bot crossing a street in West Hollywood at night and trying to get onto the sidewalk. Also, Treasury officials attributed the December theft of unclassified documents to China ... and Nearly a quarter century after its founding, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin is gearing up to launch an orbital rocket for the first time — and finally enter the competitive launch industry that is currently dominated by SpaceX.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, January 01, 2025

The online moments that defined 2024

Ah, 2024: the year we debated how to pronounce “hawk tuah,” pondered the health benefits of eating rocks, and held space for a Broadway showstopper. It was a year when the discourse could feel shockingly pure and joyful — at least for a few minutes, before we all came tumbling back down to reality. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, January 01, 2025

New Year’s cybersecurity resolutions that every startup should keep

These simple cybersecurity resolutions can help keep your startup protected from most malicious hackers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, December 31, 2024

Crypto industry groups sue IRS over broker reporting rule ... and more tech news

Three crypto industry groups — the DeFi Education Fund, the Blockchain Association, and the Texas Blockchain Council — are suing the Internal Revenue Service to block new regulations that require decentralized finance (DeFi) entities to report customer information. The IRS has been finalizing crypto tax regulations as part of the Biden Administration’s Infrastructure Investment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, December 30, 2024

Onyx Motorbikes is back, one year after its owner died leaving the company in shambles

A year after Onyx Motorbikes owner James Khatiblou died suddenly, leaving customers with unfulfilled orders and millions in unpaid debts, the brand has been revived by its original founder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, December 30, 2024

Executive assistants, high salaries, and other ways early-stage founders will trigger a seed VC

While most seed investors believe founders should spend their raised cash however they want to, those VCs will still be judging founders’ cash management. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, December 23, 2024

‘Genius Girl’ goes from inspiring a Korean TV show character to raising a $100 million AI fund

Principle Venture Partners will write early-stage checks anywhere from $100,000 to “single digit millions.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, December 23, 2024

Why Apple sends spyware victims to this nonprofit security lab

Before the elections, the cybersecurity team of U.S. vice president and then-presidential candidate Kamala Harris reached out to Apple asking for help, according to Forbes, after a tool that’s designed to detect spyware on iPhones flagged anomalies on two devices belonging to campaign staffers. Apple declined to forensically analyze the phones. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, December 20, 2024

Bluesky launches Million Dollar fund, Apple and Meta battle it out, California banning ICE ... and more tech news

With 25M users, Bluesky launches a $1M fund to take on social media and AI. The fund will offer grants to those building on BlueSky’s open source AT Protocol. Apple and Meta go to war over interoperability vs. privacy. The two are warring in Europe over the balance between interoperability and privacy, Reuters reports. The fight focuses on the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), a competition regulation that requires designated gatekeepers (including Apple and Meta) not to restrict rivals’ access to so-called core platform services. California can ban new gas cars starting in 2035. California’s phase out would begin in 2026, when the state will require 35% of automakers’ sales to be zero emissions vehicles. Bugs in a major McDonald’s India delivery system exposed sensitive customer data. McDonald's India exposed the personal information of customers and drivers due to security flaws impacting its APIs. Tracker firm Hapn spilling names of thousands of GPS tracking customers. A security researcher found customer names and workplace affiliations spilling directly from Hapn's servers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, December 20, 2024

With Neverless, former Revolut execs want to make meme coins easy to buy

There’s an ocean of meme coins beyond Dogecoin, and a new startup called Neverless wants to make it easier to get started with trading crypto, with a particular focus on providing access to small-cap tokens. This is an interesting new crypto startup, founded by three former executives at Revolut, the London-based fintech juggernaut. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, December 19, 2024

The DOJ wants a Perplexity executive to testify in its Google antitrust case

The US government is calling on a Perplexity executive to help make its case that Google is a monopolist. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, December 19, 2024

AI is burying company web sites in search results, but Otterly.AI thinks it can help

Many sites saw their organic traffic decline in 2024, in big part due to the rise of AI-generated search results. Many queries no longer lead to click-throughs, and even when users click, it is hard for companies to get more context on searches made within apps like ChatGPT or Perplexity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, December 18, 2024

Pineapple on pizza is delicious — and if you disagree, you can’t log in to WordPress.org ... and more Tech News

There are few matters in life that divide a room more than the prudence of putting pineapple on pizza. But if you’re of the persuasion that tropical fruit has no place on a pie, you’ll have to swallow a bitter pill — if you want to access the WordPress.org developer portal and forum, at least. Waymo will begin testing its autonomous vehicle technology in Tokyo in early 2025, the first time the Alphabet company’s robotaxis have driven on public roads outside the U.S. The move to Japan is part of Waymo’s “road trips,” a development program that involves bringing its technology to a variety of cities. TikTok and ByteDance asked the United States Supreme Court to block the law that forces TikTok to be sold off or banned in the United States, according to an emergency filing with America’s top court on Monday. The social media company requested that the Supreme Court consider blocking the sell-or-ban law passed earlier this year. ChatGPT Search, OpenAI’s AI-powered web search experience, is now live for all ChatGPT users — with several new features in tow. By default, ChatGPT will automatically determine which questions to route through ChatGPT Search, or users can tap a new “Search the web” icon in the ChatGPT interface. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, December 18, 2024

Google DeepMind unveils a new video model to rival Sora

Google DeepMind, Google’s flagship AI research lab, wants to beat OpenAI at the video generation game — and it might just, at least for a little while. On Monday, DeepMind announced Veo 2, a next-gen video-generating AI and the successor to Veo, which powers a growing number of products across Google’s portfolio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, December 17, 2024

UK’s internet watchdog finalizes first set of rules for Online Safety law

On Monday, the U.K.’s internet regulator, Ofcom, published the first set of final guidelines for online service providers subject to the Online Safety Act. This starts the clock ticking on the sprawling online harms law’s first compliance deadline, which the regulator expects to kick in in three months’ time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, December 17, 2024

What exactly is an AI agent?

Regardless of how they're defined, the agents are for helping complete tasks in an automated way with as little human interaction as possible. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, December 16, 2024

Bluesky is at a crossroads and OpenAI blames ChatGPT outage on a ‘new telemetry service’

Now with 25 million users, Bluesky is facing a test that will determine whether or not its platform will still be seen as a safe space and place of refuge from the toxicity of X. Also, OpenAI is blaming one of the longest outages in its history on a “new telemetry service” gone awry. On Wednesday, OpenAI’s AI-powered chatbot platform, ChatGPT; its video generator, Sora; and its developer-facing API experienced major disruptions starting at around 3 p.m. Pacific. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, December 16, 2024

Controversial EU ad campaign on X broke bloc’s own privacy rules

The European Union’s executive body is facing an embarrassing privacy scandal after it was confirmed on Friday that a Commission ad campaign on X (formerly Twitter) breached the EU’s own data protection rules. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, December 13, 2024

United and Air Canada can now use Apple AirTags to track lost luggage

Arriving in time for holiday travel and potentially lost luggage, a new feature that allows Apple AirTag owners to share the location of a lost item is now integrated with the customer service systems of two major airlines. United and Air Canada are the first launch partners for Apple’s “Find My Share Item Location” feature, Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, December 13, 2024

Google wants to sell those Project Astra AR glasses some day, but it won’t be today

Google is slowly peeling back the curtain on its vision to, one day, sell you glasses with augmented reality and multimodal AI capabilities. The company’s plans for those glasses, however, are still blurry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, December 12, 2024

Researchers uncover Chinese spyware used to target Android devices

The spyware, called EagleMsgSpy, has been used by Chinese law enforcement, according to cybersecurity firm Lookout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, December 12, 2024

Electrified Thermal Solutions has a plan to help industry replace natural gas with bricks

The startup has been working to imbue the humble brick with the ability to transform electricity into heat and store it for hours on end. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, December 11, 2024

A new wave of desalination startups argues that deeper is better

Advances in robotics and seabed electrification have enabled a trio of startups to pursue deep sea reverse osmosis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, December 11, 2024

Yelp adds AI-powered review insights to restaurants

Yelp is releasing several new features as part of its year-end release, including AI-powered review insights, a personalized home feed with new content types, and a redesigned inbox for business owners. When it comes to user-facing features, the company is now highlighting reviews in different categories, including food quality, service, and ambiance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, December 10, 2024

Dimension raises $500M second fund for investing at the intersection tech and life sciences

Many VCs, particularly newer firms, readily admit that 2024 has been a challenging year for raising fresh capital. Dimension Capital, a two-year-old venture outfit, had a different experience when raising its second fund.   “Every investor from fund one came back very quickly." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, December 10, 2024

ByteDance asks appeals court to temporarily block sell-or-ban law, Apple sued over abandoning CSAM detection for iCloud ... and more tech news

ByteDance and TikTok filed an emergency motion on Monday asking an appeals court to temporally block the law that would ban TikTok in the U.S. unless the social network divests from Chinese ownership by January 19. Also, Apple is being sued over its decision not to implement a system that would have scanned iCloud photos for child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The lawsuit argues that by not doing more to prevent the spread of this material, it’s forcing victims to relive their trauma, according to The New York Times; A U.S. breast-screening program claims to demonstrate the potential benefits of using artificial intelligence (AI) in mammography screening, with women who paid for AI-enhanced scans 21% more likely to have cancer detected. DeepHealth, an AI firm owned by radiology giant RadNet, presented its findings at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America; When it comes to market capitalization, Nvidia is currently the second-biggest public company in the world, behind Apple. That’s why all eyes are on Nvidia these days. And now, as Bloomberg spotted, China Central Television, a public TV broadcaster, is reporting that China’s market regulator has opened a probe into Nvidia’s acquisition of Mellanox; Nikola Corp., a producer of battery and hydrogen-electric trucks, has taken several steps to repay its debts and raise equity, including offering up to $100 million in a common stock sale.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, December 09, 2024

Former Lakers star launches VC firm, Lucid Motors completes Gravity SUV, Amp Robotics raises $91M, and Fly Ventures sets its eyes on technical founders

Former NBA Lakers star Metta Sandiford-Artest (formerly known as Metta World Peace), has teamed up with Stephen Stokols, the former CEO of Boost Mobile, to launch Tru Skye Ventures, a firm looking to invest in sports and health tech, according to Sportico. Also, The first Lucid Motors Gravity SUV has rolled off the company’s production line in Casa Grande, Arizona, according to a post on X. The company will now set its aim on ramping up production of the new electric vehicle and making the first deliveries. Recently, Amp Robotics changed its business model to focus on running entire facilities that sort recyclables. Fly Ventures, the Berlin-based VC that invests in seed-stage European startups within enterprise and deep tech, has launched its third fund at €80 million. The firm raised its last €53 million fund in 2020. Aiming at technical founders, the firm claims Fund III was oversubscribed and raised in a single closing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, December 09, 2024

OpenAI’s o1 model sure tries to deceive humans a lot

OpenAI finally released the full version of o1, which gives smarter answers than GPT-4o by using additional compute to “think” about questions. However, AI safety testers found that o1’s reasoning abilities also make it try to deceive humans at a higher rate than GPT-4o. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, December 06, 2024

Waymo outsources fleet operations to African fintech Moove in Phoenix and Miami

Waymo is partnering with Moove, an African mobility fintech that offers vehicle financing to gig workers, to handle fleet management operations for its robotaxi service in Phoenix and, soon, Miami.  The partnership marks several firsts, like Waymo’s entry into Miami. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, December 06, 2024

Bluesky CEO Jay Graber is reshaping social media, but advertising isn’t off the table

Bluesky has blown up this year thanks to a vibrant community of posters, user customization choices, and a decentralized protocol that doesn’t lock users into the choices of a billionaire CEO. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, December 05, 2024

Growl is building the Peloton of boxing

There’s a new connected fitness device in town and it’s called Growl. Inspired by hardware companies like Peloton or Tonal, Growl is building a boxing bag that you can attach to your wall at home. Users can then start immersive, gamified boxing classes from the comfort of their home. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, December 05, 2024

Spotify Wrapped 2024 adds an AI podcast powered by Google’s NotebookLM

Spotify Wrapped, the streamer’s highly anticipated annual listening recap, has arrived. In addition to its usual personalized summary detailing your favorite artists, songs, podcasts, and more, the company this year is introducing two new features, including most notably, an AI-powered podcast of your 2024 Wrapped created with Google’s AI summarization tool, NotebookLM. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, December 04, 2024

The race is on to make AI agents do your online shopping for you

Millions of Americans will pop open their laptops to buy gifts this holiday season, but tech companies are racing to turn the job of online shopping over to AI agents instead. Perplexity recently released an AI shopping agent for its paying customers in the United States. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, December 04, 2024

US agency proposes new rule blocking data brokers from selling Americans’ sensitive personal data

The U.S. consumer protection agency said it's closing the loophole to block the "widespread evasion" of federal law by data brokers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, December 03, 2024

Study of ChatGPT citations makes dismal reading for publishers

As more publishers cut content licensing deals with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, a study put out this week by the Tow Center for Digital Journalism — looking at how the AI chatbot produces citations (i.e. sources) for publishers’ content — makes for interesting, or, well, concerning, reading Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, December 03, 2024

Bluesky promises more verification and an ‘aggressive’ approach to impersonation

As more celebrities and popular influencers join Bluesky, the fast-growing social media service has been facing more concerns around impersonation and verified identity. The Bluesky Safety team posted Friday that the company has updated its impersonation policy to be “more aggressive,” adding that “impersonation and handle-squatting accounts will be removed.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, December 02, 2024

Intenty nudges you to provide a reason every time you unlock your phone

Intentional phone usage is a tricky habit to develop. Operating systems like iOS and Android, along with social media networks like Instagram and TikTok, have built timers, nudges, and controls around the usage of the apps or the platform. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, December 02, 2024

Meta plans to build a $10B subsea cable spanning the world

Meta, the parent of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, is the second-biggest driver of internet usage globally. Its properties — and their billions of users — account for 10% of all fixed and 22% of all mobile traffic. Meta’s investments into artificial intelligence stand to boost that usage even further. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, November 29, 2024

FTC finds that smart device makers fail to make clear how long their products will be supported

A new paper from the Federal Trade Commission found that many smart device makers fail to disclose to consumers how long they will provide software updates for their products. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, November 29, 2024

Audio platform Pocket FM taps into AI tools help it expand content catalog

India-based audio platform Pocket FM has more than 200,000 hours of content on the service. However, the company’s CEO, Rohan Nayak, believes that the platform still has room to grow in terms of creating original content and expanding its library to multiple genres and sub-genres. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, November 27, 2024

Intel and Biden Administration finalize $7.86B deal to fund domestic chip manufacturing

The U.S. Department of Commerce today confirmed it has awarded $7.865 billion to chip giant Intel under the U.S. CHIPS and Science Act, a federal statute signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2022 to boost domestic semiconductor manufacturing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, November 27, 2024

Say goodbye to freeform ‘dockless’ e-bike parking in London: TFL debuts new rules to reduce bike mess on streets

London is putting the brakes on the mess of e-bikes that litter the streets of the city. Today, the local transportation authority, Transport for London, announced a new enforcement policy that will restrict parking for the tens of thousands of e-bikes rented on-demand from companies like Lime, HumanForest and Dott. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, November 26, 2024

Apple will never stop thinking about making a TV, Aussie government drops misinformation bill, Bending Spoons taking Brightcove private, and a digital “you” can sit through your Zoom calls

It’s not exactly a secret that Apple has explored the possibility of building a television. Before his death in 2011, co-founder Steve Jobs famously told biographer Walter Isaacson that he’d “finally cracked it,” but no full-fledged Apple TV (as opposed to the Apple TV set-top box) has emerged in the years since; The Australian government has withdrawn a bill that would have fined online platforms up to 5 percent of their global revenue if they failed to stop the spread of misinformation. The bill, which was backed by the Labor government, would have allowed the Australian Communications and Media Authority to create enforceable rules around misinformation; Brightcove, a cloud platform that helps businesses manage and monetize video content, is being taken private by Italian technology company Bending Spoons, in a deal valued at $233 million. Founded in 2004, Brightcove develops tools and services for creating, hosting, streaming, marketing, and monetizing video content; Now you can appear to be on a Zoom call in your office, even when you’re sipping a margarita in a hammock far, far away. Courtesy of a months-old startup called Pickle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, November 26, 2024

Raspberry Pi releases the Pico 2 W, a $7 wireless-enabled microcontroller board

Meet the Raspberry Pi Pico 2 W, a tiny board designed around a microcontroller that lets you build hardware projects at scale. Raspberry Pi is once again using the RP2350, its own, well-documented microcontroller. But what is a microcontroller again? As the name suggests, microcontrollers let you control other electronic components or devices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, November 25, 2024

Brave Search adds AI chat for follow-up questions after your initial query

Brave announced on Thursday that it’s introducing an AI chat mode for follow-up questions based on initial queries on Brave Search. Earlier this year, the company launched “Answer with AI” summaries that appear above search results after you submit a query to give you an easy-to-read answer in response to a question. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, November 25, 2024

Texas AG opens investigation into advertising group that Elon Musk sued for ‘boycotting’ X

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced on Thursday he is opening an investigation into the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) to determine whether the trade group’s members conspired to boycott “certain social media platforms.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, November 22, 2024

Lightning looks to make managing AI a piece of cake

AI may be the hottest thing since sliced bread. But that doesn’t mean it’s getting easier to develop and run. According to a recent Boston Consulting Group poll, 74% of organizations are struggling to derive value from their AI investments Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, November 22, 2024

‘PDF to Brainrot’ study tools are a strange iteration on a TikTok trend

Several AI-based study tools are capitalizing on a “PDF to Brainrot” trend, which will read the text of a document you upload over “oddly satisfying” videos, like ASMR clips of mixing paint and cutting soap, or gameplay footage from Minecraft and Subway Surfers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, November 21, 2024

Kim Kardashian has befriended Optimus, the Tesla bot, VW taps former Rivian exec, and more

Kim Kardashian’s new beaux is a Tesla bot named Optimus. The fashion mogul got some hands-on experience with Tesla’s bipedal, human-shaped robot, which is not yet available to the general public. In Kardashian’s videos with the robot — posted to X and her Instagram story; Volkswagen of America has a new CEO: Rivian’s recently departed chief commercial officer Kjell Gruner. The appointment comes just one week after VW parent company Volkswagen Group formalized a $5.8 billion joint venture with Rivian, which will be focused on EV architecture and software; Apple said the security update for Macs, iPhones, and iPads is "recommended for all users."; Meta hired Salesforce’s CEO of AI, Clara Shih, to lead a new organization building AI tools for businesses that use Meta’s apps to reach consumers, according to a LinkedIn post from Shih on Tuesday. Meta confirmed the appointment and the new Business AI group in a statement to TechCrunch Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, November 21, 2024

UK open to social media ban for kids as gov’t kicks off feasibility study

The U.K. government is not ruling out further beefing up existing online safety rules by adding an Australian-style ban on social media for under 16s technology secretary, Peter Kyle, has said. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, November 20, 2024

Itching to write a book? AI publisher Spines wants to make a deal

Generative AI has upended how we write things… or even if we write at all. Now a startup wants to be the main character in the next chapter of that story: AI that replaces the role of the publisher. Spines is a self-publishing platform that claims that — thanks to being powered by artificial intelligence Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, November 20, 2024

Google Lens can now check prices and inventory when shopping in the real world

After building out Google Lens to help users shop online more easily, Google is now updating the product to help people shop when they’re in a physical store by offering product insights, price comparisons, and local inventory availability. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, November 19, 2024

Roblox no longer allows users under 13 to message others outside of games

Roblox will not let users under the age of 13 message others outside of games and experiences on the platform, the company said Friday. Roblox also announced a series of other built-in protections for young users, such as age-gating certain experiences, along with enhanced parental controls.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, November 19, 2024

What is Bluesky when it’s not the underdog?

Bluesky is having a moment — a moment that’s already stretched on for nearly three months. Over the summer, the social media app saw a wave of new signups in Brazil after X (formerly Twitter) was temporarily banned there. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, November 18, 2024

JobGet, a ‘LinkedIn’ for hourly workers, acquires rival Snagajob

If you’re an hourly worker, the number of go-to options you have for finding new jobs is shrinking a little. JobGet — a Boston startup that operates an hourly job-hunting site with social features built in, a la LinkedIn — is acquiring Snagajob, one of its rivals in the U.S. market. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, November 18, 2024

How social app Spill plans to capitalize on the exodus from X

Social networking rivals continue to benefit from the user exodus from X. Spill, the social app founded by two former Twitter employees, released a statement claiming it has also seen a jump in users after the U.S. Presidential election, following similar news by Bluesky, which gained more than 2 million users during that time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, November 15, 2024

Spotify will start paying video podcast hosts based on how well their videos perform

Spotify announced on Wednesday that it will start paying podcast hosts who make popular videos on its streaming platform, as the company looks to take on YouTube’s dominance in the video podcast space. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, November 15, 2024

PayPal will once again let you pool money from family and friends to pay for things together

PayPal is launching a few features that let users in groups pool money with friends or family, to collectively pay for trips, travels, gifts, and anything else. The company is launching this feature in the U.S., Germany, the U.K., Italy, and Spain Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, November 14, 2024

Generative disinfo is real — you’re just not the target, warns deepfake tracking nonprofit

Many feared that the 2024 election would be affected, and perhaps decided, by AI-generated disinformation. While there was some to be found, it was far less than anticipated. But don’t let that fool you: the disinfo threat is real — you’re just not the target. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, November 14, 2024

NASA awards ‘sustainable’ aircraft concepts $11.5M

The future of aircraft may look very similar to today’s superficially — but under the hood (or sitting next to the tailfins) they will likely be quite different. That’s the future NASA is hoping to nurture with five research awards worth $11.5 million. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, November 13, 2024

Red Hat acquires AI optimization startup Neural Magic

Red Hat, the IBM-owned open source software firm, is acquiring Neural Magic, a startup that optimizes AI algorithms to run on commodity processors. The transaction is subject to applicable regulatory reviews and other customary closing conditions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, November 13, 2024

Amazon attempts to lure AI researchers with $110M in grants and credits

There’s an AI chip battle brewing among the major cloud vendors. Google’s Trillium, a custom chip for training and running AI models, recently entered preview, and Microsoft’s Maia is expected to follow in short order. Not to be outdone, Amazon Web Services has AI chips, too: Trainium, Inferentia, and Graviton. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, November 12, 2024

Standing desks don’t do squat, X testing a free version of Grok, TSMC halted advanced chip shipments, and Encore is an AI-powered search engine for your thrifting needs

Over the years, numerous startups have gained traction by designing, making and selling standing desks as part of a workspace innovation trend to promote better health, and a lot of executives swear by them, including Apple CEO Tim Cook, who once called sitting “the new cancer.”; Social network X has so far limited its AI chatbot Grok (built by Elon Musk’s other company xAI) to its premium, paying users. However, the platform is seemingly preparing to open up the chatbot to free users; After a chip manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company was found inside a Huawei processor, the US Department of Commerce has ordered the company to halt shipments of advanced chips to Chinese customers, according to a report in Reuters; Former Apple engineer Alex Ruber and former Twitter and Asana engineer Parth Chopra first met on Y Combinator’s founder match platform, then met in person at a thrift store for shopping. They later went on a thrift store shopping trip where they talked about solving problems with finding the right product in the online space. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, November 12, 2024

From self-driving cars to AI that writes enterprise software: Cogna founder raises $15M

A founder who was an early mover in the race to build autonomous vehicles has raised $15 million for his next act: a startup that claims its AI can write enterprise software on its own. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, November 11, 2024

Productivity hacks are overrated, says a16z VC who sold his own startup for $1.25B

What’s the secret to success? It isn’t any of the trends that so many founders in Silicon Valley subscribe to. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, November 11, 2024

It’s the Senate’s last chance to pass the PRESS Act

The PRESS Act would protect a journalist's sources, and gained unanimous bipartisan support when passed by the House in January. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, November 08, 2024

Anthropic teams up with Palantir and AWS to sell its AI to defense customers

Anthropic today announced that it’s teaming up with Palantir, the data-mining company, and Amazon Web Services to provide U.S. intelligence and defense agencies access to Anthropic’s Claude 3 and 3.5 family of AI models. The news comes as a growing number of AI vendors, for strategic and revenue-related reasons, look to ink deals with U.S. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, November 08, 2024

The FTC comes after neobank Dave for misleading marketing, hidden fees

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced on Tuesday it will be taking action against the online cash app and neobank Dave, which it says used “misleading marketing to deceive consumers.” At issue is how Dave marketed $500 cash advances to consumers that it rarely offered. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, November 07, 2024

AI coding assistants can help startups develop products, seed VCs believe

By now, there’s hardly a coder in the world who isn’t using an AI copilot in some way. But using GitHub Copilot or Cursor.AI to ask technical questions and get debugging help could be just the beginning. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, November 07, 2024

Lyft partners with May Mobility, Mobileye to bring autonomous vehicles to the app

It seems Lyft is hoping to catch up to Uber’s string of autonomous vehicle partnerships. Lyft announced Wednesday three separate partnerships — with startup May Mobility, automated driving company Mobileye and smart dashcam firm Nexar — all aimed at establishing a foothold in the emerging autonomous vehicle market. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, November 06, 2024

AI safety advocates tell founders to slow down

“Move cautiously and red-team things” is sadly not as catchy as “move fast and break things.” But three AI safety advocates made it clear to startup founders that going too fast can lead to ethical issues in the long run. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, November 06, 2024

Can Pictionary and Minecraft test AI models’ ingenuity?

Most AI benchmarks don’t tell us much. They ask questions that can be solved with rote memorization, or cover topics that aren’t relevant to the majority of users. So some AI enthusiasts are turning to games as a way to test AIs’ problem-solving skills. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, November 05, 2024

X updates block feature, letting blocked users see your public posts, Threads now has 275M monthly active users, OpenAI has hired the co-founder of Pebble, and MIT debuted am LLM-inspired method for teaching robots new skills

Go to TechCrunch.com for more tech stories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, November 05, 2024

U.S. laws regulating AI prove elusive, but there may be hope

Can the U.S. meaningfully regulate AI? It’s not at all clear yet. Policymakers have achieved progress in recent months, but they’ve also had setbacks, illustrating the challenging nature of laws imposing guardrails on the technology. In March, Tennessee became the first state to protect voice artists from unauthorized AI cloning. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, November 04, 2024

Google Maps is getting new AI features powered by Gemini

Google Maps is getting new features powered by Gemini, Google’s generative AI model. On Thursday the company announced incoming updates that will allow Google Maps users in the U.S. to tap into AI to help them find new places to visit and answer questions about different locations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, November 04, 2024

Carl Pei says Nothing could build its own operating system

Two mobile operating systems currently comprise nearly 100% of the global smartphone market. Building one is hard, and for most phone makers, there are better uses of resources, especially when Android is right there for the taking Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, November 01, 2024

Space CEOs talk about the challenges and opportunities of selling defense tech

Space executives took the stage at TechCrunch Disrupt on Monday to talk about the challenges and opportunities of building out dual-use technology, or tech that has both a defense and a commercial use case.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, November 01, 2024

Temu’s low cost marketplace faces formal probe in EU over raft of DSA compliance concerns

The European Union has expanded its scrutiny of online marketplaces by opening a formal proceeding on Chinese low cost ecommerce platform, Temu, under the Digital Services Act (DSA), the Commission announced Thursday. Enforcers of the online governance framework will now dial up their oversight of Temu. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, October 31, 2024

ForceField helps detect deepfakes and digital deception by verifying source data

A new startup setting out to combat the scourge of deepfakes and spoofed evidence in the age of AI is showing off its wares on the Startup Battlefield stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 this week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, October 31, 2024

Archon emerges from stealth and Haptic’s touch-based navigation helps blind and sighted alike

Meet Luna, a health and well-being app for teen girls that is designed to help them navigate teenhood. The app lets teens ask questions about their health and wellness and get responses from experts. It also lets them track their periods, moods, and skin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, October 30, 2024

Why Crosscut Ventures is ‘following the founders’ into climate, space, and beyond

The focus of the new $100 million fund, Crosscut’s sixth, will include energy and power, space and underwater exploration, advanced manufacturing, advanced materials, and security and defense. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, October 30, 2024

Popular calendar app Fantastical lands on Windows

Buzzy calendar apps tend to make a big splash and disappear after a while. Sometimes they get acquired, sometimes the company pivots to something else. That’s not the case with Fantastical, a popular calendar app for macOS, iOS, and other Apple platforms. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, October 29, 2024

McDonald’s broken ice cream machines could get fixed faster thanks to new federal rule ... and more tech news

McDonald’s ice cream machines have developed a lousy reputation for being broken when you visit the restaurant, largely due to strict copyright laws that only permit specially licensed technicians to legally repair them. The manufacturers have to license each technician, and they put locks on the McFlurry machines to prevent others from repairing them; A federal jury ruled Friday that Masimo smartwatches infringed Apple patents, but Apple isn’t getting a big payday. Bloomberg Law reports that the company was only seeking the statutory minimum of $250, and that’s all it was awarded; a few months after acquiring equity management company Easop, Remote, an HR platform for managing geographically distributed teams, is doubling down on its focus on managing equity compensation with a new product, Remote Equity. Remote already makes it easy for companies to work with talent all around the globe; Authorities have gained 'full access' to the servers used by the two notorious infostealers; The popularity of an Instagram video can affect its actual video quality: According to Adam Mosseri (the Meta executive who leads Instagram and Threads), videos that are more popular get shown in higher quality, while less popular videos get shown in lower quality. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, October 29, 2024

What are AI ‘world models,’ and why do they matter?

World models, also known as world simulators, are being touted by some as the next big thing in AI. AI pioneer Fei-Fei Li’s World Labs has raised $230 million to build “large world models,” and DeepMind hired one of the creators of OpenAI’s video generator, Sora, to work on “world simulators.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, October 28, 2024

Scout reveals its EV vision and it includes a model with a gas-powered generator

Scout Motors, the Volkswagen Group spinoff, unveiled Thursday two EVs it hopes will hook American customers with modern-meets-rugged styling that downplays digital and embraces the mechanical. The catch? The company will also offer variants to its all-electric Scout Traveler SUV and Scout Terra Truck that will come equipped with a built-in gas-powered generator. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, October 28, 2024

Airdog’s founders are back with a precision-strike drone meant for modern warfare

The war in Ukraine has shown that warfare changes by the day. It’s also clear that the tech used to make war today is costly: While larger countries can afford legions of tanks, helicopters, and precision-strike systems, smaller nations find themselves scrambling for cheaper ways to defend themselves. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sat, October 26, 2024

Cafeteria raises $3M so teens can tell Nike to get Adam Sandler as a brand ambassador

Brands often rely on scraping the web and monitoring social media to understand what customers are saying about them and get insights for product development. Cafeteria is a startup that wants to connect brands to their most opinionated customers: teens. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, October 25, 2024

After selling Anchor to Spotify, co-founders reunite to build AI educational startup Oboe

The co-founders who sold their last startup to Spotify are working on a new project: an AI-powered educational startup called Oboe backed by a $4 million seed investment. The new company, hailing from Nir Zicherman and Michael Mignano, aims to democratize access to learning the way that their prior startup, Anchor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, October 25, 2024

Ex-SpaceX engineers land $14M to scale new method for 3D printing metal

3D printing objects using metal is a well-established technique, but it tends to be too complex, expensive, or imprecise to match traditional methods at scale. Armed with $14 million from Nvidia and Boeing, Freeform aims to change that, building a new metal additive printing process that they say changes the game Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, October 24, 2024

Anthropic’s new AI model can control your PC

Anthropic has released an updated version of its Claude 3.5 Sonnet model with a new Computer Use feature that can interact with apps on a PC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, October 24, 2024

Passionfroot is a marketplace for business-focused content creators looking for brand partnerships — and vice versa

As the creator economy is growing rapidly, brand partnerships remain one of the prime ways creators can earn money. Other services like link-in-bio apps with affiliate links or Pateron-like subscriptions become secondary ways to increase creators’ income. For platforms and startup, the biggest challenge remains to match brands and creators for collaboration Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, October 23, 2024

Tim Cook's safe choice, Meta's Ray Bans hot sellers, Meta suspends accounts tracking celebs, Zoom partners with Suki, and Highlight spins out of Medal

This week’s cover of WSJ Magazine is extremely minimalistic. That’s not surprising given that the main story is an in-depth interview with Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple and the king of minimalistic design; Instagram and Threads accounts that track the private jets of celebrities – including Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Kim Kardashian, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Kylie Jenner – were suspended on Monday, according to the owner of many such accounts, Florida college student, Jack Sweeney. Links to Instagram/Threads accounts tracking the flights of the former President; Zoom is partnering with Suki, an AI medical note-taking app, to let doctors use an AI scribe that will take notes of their consultations with patients; Earlier this year, Medal, a startup known for its video game clipping features, launched a cross-platform AI assistant called Highlight. Now, the company is spinning off Highlight into a new entity, which has raised $10 million in a funding round. General Catalyst led the funding round with Valor, SV Angel, and Conviction Embed Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, October 23, 2024

Meta tests facial recognition for spotting ‘celeb-bait’ ads scams and easier account recovery

Meta is expanding tests of facial recognition as an anti-scam measure to combat celebrity scam ads and more broadly, the Facebook owner announced Monday. Monika Bickert, Meta’s VP of content policy, wrote in a blog post that some of the tests aim to bolster its existing anti-scam measures Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, October 22, 2024

Perplexity looking to fundraise at an $8B valuation, Lyft is working on a ‘service animal opt-in feature’, DJI sues Department of Defense, and Can AI sandbag safety checks?

AI search engine Perplexity is in fundraising talks and hopes to raise around $500 million at an $8 billion valuation, according to the Wall Street Journal. If a deal happens with those terms, it would more than double Perplexity’s valuation from its $3 billion valuation when it raised from SoftBank over the summer; Uber and Lyft need to do more to support disabled passengers, especially those who are blind or visually impaired, according to protesters who gathered outside the companies’ headquarters on October 15; Drone-maker DJI filed a lawsuit Friday against the US Department of Defense over its inclusion on a DoD list of “Chinese military companies.” A DJI spokesperson said the company filed the suit after “attempting to engage with the DoD for more than sixteen months” and deciding “it had no alternative other than to seek relief; AI companies claim to have robust safety checks in place that ensure that models don’t say or do weird, illegal, or unsafe stuff. But what if the models were capable of evading those checks and, for some reason, trying to sabotage or mislead users? Turns out they can do this, according to Anthropic researchers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, October 21, 2024

Experts say OpenAI’s patent pledge amounts to little more than ‘virtue signaling’

OpenAI quietly published a statement on its website pledging not to use its patents offensively. Asserting its commitment to the principles of “broad access” and “collaboration,” OpenAI said that it would only use its patents in a way that supports innovation Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sat, October 19, 2024

Sam Altman’s Worldcoin becomes World, and shows new iris-scanning ‘Orb’ to prove your humanity

Worldcoin, the Sam Altman co-founded “proof of personhood” crypto startup that scans people’s eyeballs, announced on Thursday that it dropped the “coin” from its name and is now just “World.” The startup also unveiled its next generation of iris-scanning “Orb” and other tools at a live event in San Francisco Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, October 18, 2024

Instagram rolls out new safety features to protect teens from sextortion

Instagram is introducing a series of new safety features to protect users from sextortion scammers, the company announced on Thursday. Most notably, the company is no longer going to allow people to screenshot or screen record ephemeral images or videos sent in private messages. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, October 18, 2024

Can AI make us feel less alone? The founder of Manifest thinks so

Amy Wu, founder of the AI-based mental health app Manifest, has a bold prediction for the next wave of tech. “Separately from the AI trend, I think so many people are seeing this loneliness epidemic that’s happening with Gen Z,” she said. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, October 17, 2024

Doctors complain of IT ‘in the stone age’, Waymo's honking apology, Mastodon toys, and more

The United Kingdom’s NHS — the world’s largest public health service — is working on creaking IT infrastructure. In any sector, that’s a ticking time bomb. But when you consider that the NHS holds medical records for nearly 67 million people, a breach of that system could become a meltdown; Sophia Tung set up a livestream this past summer, showing self-driving Waymo cars honking from the San Francisco parking lot near her apartment at all hours of the night; Meta’s X rival Threads is rolling out a new “activity status” feature that will let you see when someone on the social network is online. Instagram head Adam Mosseri announced the feature on Tuesday in a Threads post, noting that it’s meant to act as “a way to help you find others to engage with; and if you like open-source, decentralized social networks that put the power in the hands of the people instead of billionaires, you can now support that cause…by buying toys. On Tuesday, Mastodon, a decentralized alternative to X, began selling its own merchandise in the form of cute, plushie mastodons – the proto-elephants with long tusks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, October 17, 2024

How Tesla’s plans for ‘unsupervised FSD’ and robotaxis could run into red tape

During Tesla’s much-hyped robotaxi reveal event last week, CEO Elon Musk said he expects Tesla to release an “unsupervised” version of FSD, the automaker’s advanced driver assistance system, in Texas and California in 2025 on certain Model 3 and Model Y vehicles.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, October 16, 2024

Tesla Optimus bots were controlled by humans during the ‘We, Robot’ event

During Tesla’s “We, Robot” event last week, which TechCrunch covered late into the night,, sources on the ground sent me a handful of videos of the automaker’s Optimus humanoid robots walking around the party, dancing, mixing drinks, and talking to guests. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, October 16, 2024

Google signed a deal to power data centers with nuclear micro-reactors from Kairos — but the 2030 timeline is very optimistic

With the deal, Google joins Microsoft and Amazon in turning to nuclear power to satiate its thirst for electricity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, October 15, 2024

Constellation Technologies & Operations wants to work with telecom operators to deliver 5G internet from space

The telecom industry is undergoing its greatest period of disruption since the telegraph, as companies work to open up space as the next frontier for communications. French startup Constellation hopes to take part by repurposing 5G tech to provide a Starlink-like satellite broadband that uses telecoms’ existing assets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, October 15, 2024

Casio confirms customer data compromised in ransomware attack

A ransomware and extortion racket called Underground has claimed responsibility for the breach on its dark web leak site, which TechCrunch has seen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, October 14, 2024

SpaceX alums are working to raise a hefty $550M first deep tech fund

Interlagos, the venture capital firm started by former senior SpaceX leaders, is looking to raise $550 million for its first venture fund, according to regulatory filings and a confidential deck sent to prospective LPs and viewed by TechCrunch.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, October 14, 2024

Bluesky joins Threads to court users frustrated by Meta’s moderation issues

Social networking startup Bluesky is seizing the moment. Amid ongoing moderation issues affecting X rival Instagram Threads, the decentralized X competitor Bluesky has created an account on Meta’s newest platform. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, October 11, 2024

A reporter used AI to apply to 2,843 jobs, Internet Archive slammed by DDoS attack, Scope3 starts tracking the carbon footprint of AI, and Opera’s new feature lets you group, pin and close tabs through natural language commands

AI is spamming up job applications. 404 Media’s Jason Koebler writes about how he used a free tool, AI Hawk, to apply for 17 jobs in an hour while working a restaurant shift — only stopping when he’d reached 2,843; The Internet Archive, the nonprofit organization that digitizes and archives materials like web pages, came under attack Wednesday; The startup, which already monitors the climate impact of digital advertising, is expanding to include artificial intelligence; Opera browser has a new AI-powered feature that lets you take action on tabs through natural language queries. Things you can do include grouping, pinning, bookmarking and closing tabs with these commands. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, October 11, 2024

Antitrust challenge to Facebook’s ‘superprofiling’ finally wraps in Germany — with Meta agreeing to data limits

A multi-year competition challenge to Facebook (aka Meta), which saw Germany’s antitrust authority become a pioneering champion for privacy rights in 2019 after it sought to block the social media giant’s ‘superprofiling’ of users on the grounds that consentless cross-site tracking of users is an “exploitative abuse” of Facebook’s monopoly position, finally concluded Thursday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, October 10, 2024

North American robotics sales declined in first half of 2024

Even a category as hot as robotics is not immune from macroeconomic trends. According to figures from automation advocacy group, A3, the North American robotics market declined in the first half of 2024, both in terms of sales and revenue. The number of industrial robotics ordered in H1 declined 7.5% year-over-year to 15,705. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, October 10, 2024

Billionaire Robinhood co-founder launches Aetherflux, a space-based solar power startup

It’s been the stuff of science fiction for decades: to provide gigawatts of cheap, clean power anywhere on Earth, day or night, using satellites that collect and transmit solar energy directly on orbit Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, October 09, 2024

Adobe proposes a way to protect artists from AI ripoffs

As the engine powering the world’s digital artists, Adobe has a big responsibility to mitigate the rise of AI-driven deepfakes, misinformation, and content theft. In the first quarter of 2025, Adobe is launching its Content Authenticity web app in beta, allowing creators to apply content credentials to their work, certifying it as their own. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, October 09, 2024

Emma Watson invests in reproductive health company Hertility

Actress Emma Watson has made a previously undisclosed investment into the women’s health company Hertility, bringing its total funding to more than $14 million, the company told TechCrunch in an interview on Monday. Watson is known for her interest in the environment and supporting women-led initiatives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, October 08, 2024

Sonair takes a cue from dolphins to build autonomous 3D vision sans LIDAR

Ultrasound is perhaps best known as the technology that enables non-invasive body scans, underwater communication, and to help us park our cars. A young startup called Sonair out of Norway wants to employ it for something else: 3D computer vision used in autonomous hardware applications. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, October 08, 2024

What’s in the rug? How TikTok got swept into a real-time true crime story

A woman in Ohio is being haunted by ghosts. Or, maybe she’s not. There’s a dead body buried underneath her house, rolled up inside a rug. Or, there’s actually no body at all, despite signals from cadaver dogs. This week’s biggest drama on TikTok tells the story of a woman from Ohio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, October 07, 2024

Rivian deliveries fall, Waymo’s next robotaxi will be the Hyundai IONIQ 5, and YouTube takes on TikTok

Rivian says it will build fewer vehicles this year than it did in 2023, the result of a supply chain problem that popped up in the third quarter that has “become more acute in recent weeks.” The company did not specify what specific component is impacted; Waymo has struck a deal with Hyundai to bring the IONIQ 5 EV to its robotaxi network, adding another autonomous vehicle option as it scales up its business. The autonomous vehicle company announced Friday that it expects to start on-road testing a Waymo-equipped IONIQ 5 by late 2025, with the AV becoming available to riders; YouTube on Thursday announced a series of updates for its short-form video product, YouTube Shorts. These include the ability for creators to upload videos up to three minutes in length. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, October 07, 2024

Even the ‘godmother of AI’ has no idea what AGI is

Are you confused about artificial general intelligence, or AGI? It’s that thing OpenAI is obsessed with ultimately creating in a way that “benefits all of humanity.” You may want to take them seriously since they just raised $6.6 billion to get closer to that goal Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, October 04, 2024

Hedosophia leads $7M seed round into retail supply chain AI startup Ameba

Ameba takes the unstructured data in a retailer’s supply chain systems, sprinkles in some generative AI, and makes the whole thing more efficient.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, October 04, 2024

Femtech startup Perelel is acquiring Founders Fund-backed sexual health startup LOOM

The past few years have seen the topic of women’s health thrown into the sociopolitical spotlight. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, October 03, 2024

Hedosophia leads $7M seed round into retail supply chain AI startup Ameba

Ameba takes the unstructured data in a retailer’s supply chain systems, sprinkles in some generative AI, and makes the whole thing more efficient.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, October 03, 2024

Femtech startup Perelel is acquiring Founders Fund-backed sexual health startup LOOM

The past few years have seen the topic of women’s health thrown into the sociopolitical spotlight. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, October 02, 2024

UK unmasks LockBit ransomware affiliate as high-ranking hacker in Russia state-backed cybercrime gang

Evil Corp maintains a "privileged" relationship with the Kremlin, and was often tasked with launching cyberattacks on behalf of Russia.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, October 02, 2024

Microsoft Copilot can now read your screen, think deeply, and speak aloud to you

Microsoft has given its Copilot assistant on Windows a makeover — and a voice. Copilot can now read your screen, speak aloud, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, October 01, 2024

Gov. Newsom vetoes California’s controversial AI bill, SB 1047

California Governor Gavin Newsom has vetoed SB 1047, a high-profile bill that would have was regulated the development of AI. The bill was authored by State Senator Scott Wiener and would have made companies that develop the largest AI models liable for implementing safety protocols to prevent “critical harms.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, September 30, 2024

Canoo hit with two supplier lawsuits as last remaining co-founder leaves

EV startup Canoo has been hit with two new lawsuits from suppliers linked to the drivetrains that power its electric vehicles, just weeks after the company kicked off a major reorganization that included the departure of its chief technology officer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, September 30, 2024

Meta offers a glimpse through its supposed iPhone killer: Orion

For years, Silicon Valley and Wall Street have questioned Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to invest tens of billions of dollars into Reality Labs. This week, Meta’s wearables division unveiled a prototype of its Orion smart glasses, a form factor the company believes one day could replace the iPhone. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, September 27, 2024

As war rages in Ukraine, investment in European defense and dual-use tech skyrockets

A new Dealroom report shows that VC investment in defense-related tech is outpacing any other type of investment across NATO member states and allies.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, September 27, 2024

After is a new dating app that tries to tackle ghosting

A new female-founded dating app called After is launching in Austin, Texas on Thursday with the mission of tackling ghosting and holding people accountable.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, September 26, 2024

Tomasz Tunguz’s Theory Ventures bets $12M on Initia, the ‘iOS for web3’

The promise of blockchain to change the world hasn’t materialized. For the most part, the technology has instead enabled people to speculate on a new asset class. A big hurdle to realizing blockchain’s full potential, web3 proponents argue, is that decentralized services are incredibly hard to build. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, September 26, 2024

Legal ping-pong in the WordPress world continues as Automattic sends WP Engine a cease-and-desist letter alleging trademark infringement

The brouhaha in the WordPress community looks likely to escalate into a legal battle around trademarks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, September 25, 2024

Rivian reveals first $10M in grants for long-promised Rivian Foundation

Rivian has revealed the first $10 million worth of grants from the Rivian Foundation, just three years after promising to make the “natural world” a “stakeholder in our success.” The company launched a website for the foundation on Monday that details 41 grantees who will collectively receive just north of $10 million in funding. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, September 25, 2024

How Big Tech embraced nuclear power

Companies are eyeing nuclear power as a way to reconcile their breakneck data center growth with their commitments to hit net zero carbon emissions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, September 24, 2024

Electric outboard startup Pure Watercraft is selling itself for parts

A tough market seems to have put an end to Pure's ambitions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, September 24, 2024

Ibotta’s CEO explains why startups shouldn’t try to time the IPO market

The IPO market has not roared back in 2024 as many investors hoped it would — not yet, at least. Elevated interest rates (this week’s 50 bps rate cut notwithstanding) and uncertainty related to the U.S. election have prompted many companies to stay private and wait for better market conditions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, September 23, 2024

Elon Musk’s reposts of Kamala Harris deepfakes may not fly under new California law

California’s newest law could land social media users who post, or repost, AI deepfakes that deceive voters about upcoming elections in legal trouble. Governor Gavin Newsom suggests that AB 2839, which went into effect immediately after he signed it on Tuesday, could be used to reel in Elon Musk’s retweets, among others who spread deceptive messages. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, September 23, 2024

MIT's 3D printed glass blocks for construction, a robotic knee, a lucrative side hustle, and Varma abandons human musicians

The team points to glass’ optical properties and its “infinite recyclability” as reasons for turning to the material; Also, test subjects were required to move a 30-pound kettlebell up and down a flight of stairs; a New York Times article Thursday highlighted a lucrative side hustle that is emblematic of the times we live in: gaming algorithms to earn money. In this case, folks figured out they could maximize the payout from Lyft’s Citibike “bike angels” program by taking advantage of a company algorithm used to meet its supply-and-demand needs; Indian filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma is ditching human musicians for artificial intelligence, saying he’ll use only AI-generated tunes in future projects, a move that underscores AI’s growing reach in creative industries; Cruise is returning to the streets of Sunnyvale and Mountain View for the first time since it paused operations in the Bay Area after a robotaxi struck a pedestrian in October 2023. The company said Thursday that it will put “several” vehicles driven by humans in the two cities that will initially perform mapping. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, September 20, 2024

Amazon releases a video generator — but only for ads

Like its rival, Google, Amazon has launched an AI-powered video generator — but it’s only for advertisers at the moment, and somewhat limited in what it can do. Today at its Accelerate conference, Amazon unveiled Video generator, which turns a single product image into a few-seconds-long video clip after a few minutes of processing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, September 20, 2024

Upchieve, an online tutor app for low-income students, launches a free tool for teachers

Upchieve, the free, 24/7 online tutoring and college counseling app for low-income students, announced Thursday it’s giving teachers in Title 1 middle schools and high schools a new tool to ensure their students get the academic support they need. The new offering, called “Upchieve for Teachers,” allows teachers to offer 1:1 support to their students. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, September 19, 2024

California’s 5 new AI laws crack down on election deepfakes and actor clones

On Tuesday, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed some of America’s toughest laws yet regulating the artificial intelligence sector. Three of these laws crack down on AI deepfakes that could influence elections, while two others prohibit Hollywood studios from creating an AI clone of an actor’s body or voice without their consent. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, September 19, 2024

23andMe sees independent board directors quit en masse, BlackRock & Microsoft planning megafund, and more news

23andMe, the personal genomics company, went public in early 2021 via a merger with a blank check company that valued it at $3.5 billion. Then its fortunes began to sink. Fading interest in DNA kits – 23andMe’s main product – was one driver.; Investment powerhouse BlackRock is set to launch a massive AI-focused investment fund, exceeding $30 billion, in collaboration with Microsoft and the Abu Dhabi-backed investment outfit MGX, the FT reported today. According to the outlet, the fund — among Wall Street’s largest — will focus on creating data centers and funding energy infrastructure to support AI; Discord will now offer audio and video calls that even the company won't be able to listen in on; NASA wants to establish a permanent human presence on the Moon, but right now, astronauts have to be in direct line of sight with Earth to phone home. The space agency is looking to change that with its developing Near Space Network; Every month, 400,000 free members upgrade to paid memberships, the company says. According to Patreon, Autopilot improved the rate of free-to-paid membership upgrades by an average of 19% in testing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, September 18, 2024

Slack is turning into an AI agent hub. Should it?

The head of Slack, Denise Dresser, tells TechCrunch she is shifting the business chat platform into a “work operating system,” specifically by making Slack a hub for AI applications from Salesforce, Adobe, and Anthropic Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, September 18, 2024

Instagram tightens restrictions on teen use, putting parents in control

Instagram is introducing Teen Accounts to automatically enroll young users into an app experience with built-in protections. The company announced that starting on Tuesday, it will start placing all current and future accounts held by a teenager into a Teen Account. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, September 17, 2024

IBM makes developing for quantum computers easier with the Qiskit Functions Catalog

IBM today launched the Qiskit Functions Catalog, a new set of services that aims to make programming quantum computers easier by abstracting away many of the complexities of working with these machines. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, September 17, 2024

U.S. government expands sanctions against spyware maker Intellexa

This latest round of government sanctions land months after Intellexa's founder Tal Dilian was sanctioned for selling the Predator spyware. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, September 16, 2024

Shopsense AI lets music fans buy dupes inspired by red-carpet looks at the VMAs

At the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) on Wednesday night, new technology allowed fans to shop their favorite artist’s styles as they appeared on the screen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, September 16, 2024

Waymo robotaxis in Austin & Atlanta soon, Spotify and parent-managed accounts for kids, Meta making AI info less visible, and Alternative app stores allowed on Apple iPad soon

Uber riders in Austin and Atlanta will be able to hail a Waymo robotaxi through the app in early 2025 as part of an expanded partnership between the two companies.  Waymo’s autonomous vehicles have been available on the Uber app in Phoenix since October 2023; Following the moves of other tech giants, Spotify announced on Friday it’s introducing in-app parental controls in the form of “managed accounts” for listeners under the age of 13. The new feature will initially be offered as a pilot program for parents or guardians on a Family plan in select markets, including Denmark, New Zealand and others; making the AI info label harder to find, it might be easier for users to be deceived by content that was edited with AI, especially as editing tools become more and more advanced; It was a matter of time, but Apple is going to allow third-party app stores on the iPad starting next week, on September 16. This change will occur with the next major release of iPadOS, the operating system specifically designed for the iPad. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, September 13, 2024

iFixit marks iPhone 16 arrival with battery-powered soldering iron launch

iFixit, everyone’s favorite gadget repair gadfly, is launching a portable soldering iron. The gadget is designed to make component repair more accessible for home users. The timing of the announcement isn’t lost on anyone, dropping the same week as Apple’s “It’s Glowtime” event. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, September 13, 2024

Apple AirPods Pro granted FDA approval to serve as hearing aids ... and more tech news

The FDA on Thursday announced that it has granted what it calls “the first over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aid software device, Hearing Aid Feature.”; DeepMind employed a new learning platform, ALOHA Unleashed, paired with its simulation program, DemoStart, to teach robots by watching humans; Google Wallet will test a feature that turns your US passport into a digital ID; The White House has announced that several major AI vendors, including OpenAI and Microsoft, have committed to taking steps to combat nonconsensual deepfakes and child sexual abuse material. Adobe, Cohere, Microsoft, OpenAI and data provider Common Crawl said that they’ll “responsibly” source and safeguard the datasets they create and use to train AI from image-based Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, September 12, 2024

SpaceX calls out “superfluous” regulatory delays holding up Starship flights

SpaceX has put on its most public and aggressive offensive against regulators to date, with a blog post published Tuesday urging more expeditious launch licensing — lest the country lose its place as the leader in the global space race.  Orbital launch is a tightly regulated industry governed chiefly by the Federal Aviation Administration, though Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, September 12, 2024

Senate leaders ask FTC to investigate AI content summaries as anti-competitive

A group of Democratic senators is urging the FTC and Justice Department to investigate whether AI tools that summarize and regurgitate online content like news and recipes may amount to anti-competitive practices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, September 11, 2024

The real power of Apple Intelligence will show up in third-party apps

Apple Intelligence, the iPhone maker’s new set of AI capabilities arriving in iOS 18, is laying the groundwork for a new way to use apps. Today, the dated App Store model is under constant regulatory attack. Meanwhile, users can accomplish a lot of tasks with fairly simple questions to an AI assistant like ChatGPT. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, September 11, 2024

Bumble to leverage AI to help users with profile creation and conversations

Bumble is increasing its investments in AI and branching out with new features to stay relevant amid a generational shift in dating behavior among younger users. During Goldman Sachs’ annual  technology conference  on Monday, Bumble CEO Lidiane Jones unveiled more details about the app’s upcoming AI capabilities, including a photo selection tool as well as features to help with conversations and profile creation.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, September 10, 2024

Apple Intelligence delays could impede iPhone 16 ‘supercycle’, Bluesky grows to 9M+ users, and more

When Apple unveiled its AI plans at WWDC in June, analysts suggested the feature could put the iPhone 16 on track for another “supercycle.” Like the addition of 5G before it, industry watchers believed that Apple Intelligence’s arrival might convince holdouts to bite the bullet and upgrade their device. Also, Bluesky keeps growing: The company announced that as of Friday morning, it had added 3 million new users, bringing its total user count to more than 9 million. In other words, the social platform’s user base has grown by around 50 percent in the week or so since a Brazilian court banned X (formerly Twitter). And the car rental giant says personal information, credit card information, and driver's license numbers were stolen in the August cyberattack. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, September 10, 2024

The Try Guys say their subscription strategy is starting to work and Bending Spoons laying off workers

After a rough couple years, YouTube creators The Try Guys said they’re on-track to reach profitability, with subscriptions to their three-month-old, ad-free service 2nd Try now accounting for 20% of the company’s revenue. Of course, those numbers also mean The Try Guys remain reliant on other revenue streams, including YouTube advertising. Also, Italy-based app company Bending Spoons, which owns Evernote and Meetup, is planning to lay off 75% of the staff of file transfer service WeTransfer, TechCrunch has learned. Bending Spoons acquired the Dutch company in July for an undisclosed amount. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, September 09, 2024

Mintlify is building a next-gen platform for writing software docs

Mintlify offers a collection of documentation-authoring tools, including tools that can auto-generate docs from codebases. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, September 09, 2024

Salesforce acquires data management firm Own for $1.9B in cash

Salesforce has acquired Own Company, a provider of data management and protection solutions, for $1.9 billion in cash. In a press release, Salesforce GM Steve Fisher said in a statement that Own “underscores [Salesforce’s] commitment to providing secure, end-to-end solutions that protect our customers’ most valuable data.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, September 06, 2024

E-bike maker Cowboy raises a small funding round as it targets profitability next year

Cowboy has closed funding of around $5.5 million. With this recent funding round, Cowboy is now valued at €40 million on a pre-money basis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, September 06, 2024

Verizon acquires Frontier, Publishers prevail in lawsuit, Starliner home without its crew on Friday, and The Cosmos Institute launche grant programs

Some major consolidation is afoot in the world of internet communications — and it will have implications for competition and consumer internet access in U.S. On Thursday, Verizon announced that it would gobble up Frontier Communications for $20 billion — more than double Frontier’s market cap at the close of trading the night before; A long-running lawsuit over the Internet Archive’s “emergency” ebook lending practices during the COVID-19 pandemic has ended in a loss for the website and a victory for publishers. The lawsuit concerned the Internet Archive’s National Emergency Library, a program it established at the beginning of the pandemic to allow wider access to some 1.3 million ebooks; These final maneuvers will bring to a close a troubled first crewed mission for the Boeing-made Starliner; The Cosmos Institute, a nonprofit whose founding fellows include Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark and former Defense Department technologist Brendan McCord, has announced a venture program and research initiatives to — in the organization’s words — “cultivate a new generation of technologists and entrepreneurs equipped with deep philosophical thinking to navigate the uncharted territory. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, September 05, 2024

DubClub wants amateur sports betters to win more

The American sports betting market produced $10.9 billion in revenue in 2023 for casinos, sportsbooks and iGaming, according to the American Gambling Association. One of the reasons this industry is so lucrative is because the majority of people who bet on sports lose. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, September 05, 2024

Anthropic launches Claude Enterprise plan to compete with OpenAI

Anthropic is launching a new subscription plan for its AI chatbot, Claude, catered towards enterprise customers that want more administrative controls and increased security. Claude Enterprise will compete with OpenAI’s business-specific solution, ChatGPT Enterprise, released roughly a year ago. Claude Enterprise allows businesses to upload proprietary company knowledge into Anthropic’s AI chatbot. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, September 04, 2024

Oxylus Energy strikes “beautiful balance” to make e-fuels for aviation and shipping

Flexible green methanol, which is made without fossil fuels, could rid carbon pollution from a range of industries. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, September 04, 2024

Spotter launches AI tools to help YouTubers brainstorm video ideas, thumbnails and more

Spotter, the startup that provides financial solutions to content creators, announced Tuesday the launch of its new AI-powered creative suite. Dubbed Spotter Studio, the solution aims to support YouTubers throughout the creative process, such as helping them brainstorm video concepts, generate thumbnail and title ideas, plan projects, organize tasks, and collaborate with their team. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, September 03, 2024

Why do so many home robots still suck?

Home robots’ unfulfilled potential is neither because of lack of demand on the part of consumers nor lack of effort from manufacturers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, September 03, 2024

Apple saying goodbye to USB-A, TikTok's new feature, Bluesky tops the charts, and more Tech news

The Mac mini will be the next Apple device to say goodbye to USB-A, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. Apple customers have probably gotten used to seeing the familiar, rectangular USB-A ports replaced with their thinner USB-C siblings. And while USB-C has its advantages, the transition can sometimes leave users confused and scrambling for adapters; TikTok is introducing a new “Manage Topics” feature that will give you more control over what you see on your For You feed, the company announced on Friday. The new feature is rolling out to users in the U.S. With the new tool, you can tailor your For You feed to show you more; a Brazilian court’s decision to ban X (formerly Twitter) seems to benefiting its rivals, especially Bluesky. The microblogging platform announced late Friday that it was seeing “all-time-highs for activity” with 500,000 new users joining in the previous two days. It’s also number one on the free iPhone app chart in Brazil today; In the latest twist in Bolt’s aggressive fundraising efforts, the fintech company’s CEO appears to have made a veiled threat of legal action against Silverbear Capital, the investment bank whose involvement in the deal remains in some dispute. “We believe there was some internal miscommunication at Silverbear Capital, one of our lead investors; No matter who powerful generative AI becomes, writer Ted Chiang says it will never create true art. Chiang is one of the most admired science fiction authors writing today, best known for the novella “Story Of Your Life” (which was adapted into the movie “Arrival”). But he’s also published terrific pieces for The New Yorker. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, September 02, 2024

Former Riot Games employees leverage generative AI to power NPCs in new video game

Jam & Tea Studios is the latest gaming startup implementing generative AI to transform the way players interact with non-playable characters (NPCs) in video games.  Traditionally, video game NPCs are directed by predetermined scripts, which can feel repetitive, unrealistic, and boring Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, September 02, 2024

Google is working on AI that can hear signs of sickness, Apple and Nvidia could be OpenAI’s next big investors ... and more news

Given everything you’ve already heard about AI, you may not be surprised to learn that Google is among other outfits beginning to use sound signals to predict early signs of disease.  How? According to Bloomberg, Google has trained its foundation AI model with 300 million pieces of audio that included coughs, sniffles, and labored breathing; Nvidia and Apple are reportedly in talks to contribute to OpenAI’s next fundraising round — a round that could value the ChatGPT maker at $100 billion. Per its sources, the New York Times says earlier OpenAI investor Thrive Capital would lead the deal should it happen; It seems that the Ministry of Truth has been busy at Tesla. Some sharp-eyed folks, including reporters at Electrek, noticed that Tesla has deleted all of its blog posts prior to 2019; Gmail users on Android devices can now chat directly with Google’s AI assistant, Gemini, about their emails in the Gmail app. Google rolled out the new feature, Gmail Q&A, on Thursday to users who pay for Gemini, according to a blog post, and announced the feature would be coming to iOS devices. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, August 30, 2024

UK’s Wayve secures strategic investment from Uber to further develop self-driving tech

Uber is making a strategic investment into Wayve as an extension of the U.K.-born startup’s previously announced $1.05 billion Series C round. The partnership will also see the two companies work with automakers to integrate Wayve’s AI into consumer vehicles that will one day operate on the ride-hail giant’s platform. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, August 30, 2024

OpenAI in talks to close a new funding round, Bolt’s backer the London Fund, has been scrubbing its web page, Apple's AI-powered object remover, and NEA reentered the secondaries market

OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, could be in talks to raise a massive tranche of cash. The Wall Street Journal reports that OpenAI may be close to closing a fundraising round led by Thrive Capital, a previous investor, that’d value the AI company at over $100 billion; One-click checkout tech company Bolt is still waiting to find out if shareholders will sign off on a proposed funding round with stipulations that founder Ryan Breslow would return as CEO; Apple released the new developer betas for iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS 15.1 Sequoia. With this update, the company is launching new Apple Intelligence features including the ability to remove objects from photos; New Enterprise Associates is getting back into the secondaries game.  The Silicon Valley-based VC raised more than $468 million for NEA Secondary Opportunity Fund, according to an SEC filing. The fundraise closed on July 3, according to a source familiar with the matter, but hasn’t received much attention Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, August 29, 2024

CoinSwitch sues WazirX to recover trapped funds

CoinSwitch, a prominent Indian cryptocurrency exchange, is suing rival platform WazirX to recover trapped funds. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, August 29, 2024

The U.S. military’s latest psyop? Advertising on Tinder ... and more news

Tinder removed the U.S. military ads, saying the campaign violated the company's policies; Elon Musk’s X has already declared it aims to compete with LinkedIn for job listings and PayPal for payments. Now, it wants to take on the likes of Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams with a video conferencing tool; Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander failed to reach the moon because of a problem with a single valve in the propulsion system, according to a report on the mission released Tuesday. Company leadership said in a press conference that engineers have redesigned the valve and introduced additional redundancy into the propulsion system of its next lander. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, August 28, 2024

Meta and Instagram spotted developing a new social music-sharing feature

Meta and Spotify are exploring deeper music integration in Meta’s Instagram app. New findings indicate the companies are testing a feature that would allow users to continuously share what music they’re listening to through Instagram’s Notes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, August 27, 2024

Uber fined $324M over EU driver data transfer breach

Ride-hailing platform Uber has been fined €290 million — around $324 million at current exchanges rates — by the Netherlands’ privacy watchdog for breaching the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, August 27, 2024

Apple iPhone 16 lineup on Sept. 10, RealPage sued by Justice Dept, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov arrested ... and more news

Apple will be unveiling new products on September 10, with the announced phones going on sale on September 20, according to a report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. That lineup will reportedly include the iPhone 16, with larger screens on the Pro models and a new button just for taking pictures.; RealPage, which makes property management software, was sued Friday by the U.S. Justice Department and eight attorneys general for allegedly helping apartment and building managers around the country collude to drive up unit prices; Pavel Durov, founder and CEO of messaging app Telegram, was arrested on Saturday evening at France’s Bourget airport, according to French television network TF1. Neither Telegram nor a spokesperson for France’s national anti-fraud office ONAF immediately responded to a request for comment; Disappearing posts on social networks are handy if you have a habit of deleting them through third-party tools or the context of those posts is short-lived. Earlier this month, Threads said it is testing ephemeral posts only as an internal prototype; Boeing’s Starliner mission is coming back to Earth — empty. After months of data analysis and internal deliberation, NASA leadership announced today that Starliner will be coming back to Earth in September, without a crew. Meanwhile, astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams will remain on-board the International Space Station until February; Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, August 26, 2024

Cache Energy’s mysterious white pellets could help kill coal and natural gas

The pellets can be stored in piles or silos, moved around using conveyor belts, and transported via rail cars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, August 26, 2024

Waymo wants to chauffeur your kids, get paid to be a Robot, Mineral sold technology to John Deere, and DeepMind workers protest Google’s defense contracts

Soon, parents in range of Waymo robotaxis might not have to worry about picking up their kids from after-school activities — or anytime, really. The San Francisco Standard reports that Waymo, the Alphabet subsidiary, is considering a subscription program that would let teens hail one of its cars solo and send pickup and drop-off alerts; Tesla is hiring individuals standing between 5’7 and 5’11 to carry up to 30 pounds for seven hours a day to train its Optimus robot; Citing a crowded market and profit concerns, Mineral ceased operation and pivoted to technology licensing; At least 200 workers at DeepMind, Google’s AI R&D division, are displeased with Google’s reported defense contracts — and according to Time, they circulated a letter internally back in May to say as much. The letter, dated May 16, says the undersigned are concerned by “Google’s contracts with military organizations,” citing articles about the tech Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, August 23, 2024

Harmonyze built AI agents that sit between franchisors and their franchisees

For some businesses, there is a clear path to growth that doesn’t involve acquiring other companies or expanding organically: franchising. The U.S. has more than 800,000 franchise businesses, according to Statista, and that number is predicted to keep growing year over year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, August 23, 2024

Apple is bringing audio sharing to Beats Studio Pro, Deepfake scam costs Telecom $1M, Aviron branches out into bikes and more news

A firmware update is delivering multi-user audio sharing, allowing music to be streamed to multiple headphones at once; also Microsoft demonstrated its leadership in accessible gaming hardware again on Wednesday with the announcement of a new one-handed joystick controller for Xbox and PC. The Xbox Adaptive Joystick works with the company’s already robust accessibility hardware stack, and even includes support for custom 3D-printed parts; early this year, AI-powered fake audio of President Biden reached voters in New Hampshire. The FCC struck back swiftly, identifying the perpetrator as the Texas-based Life Corporation, which has been behind similar scams over the years, and whacked them and an associated individual with a $6 million fine; At around $2,000, the Fit Bike places the system between Peloton’s entry-level Bike ($1,500) and Bike+ ($2,500). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, August 22, 2024

Ford says a pickup truck will be the first EV built on its low-cost platform

The first vehicle that will be built on the low-cost EV platform Ford’s been developing in secret will be a mid-size pickup due out in 2027, the automaker announced Wednesday morning. The news comes as part of a much larger rewriting of Ford’s electrification plans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, August 22, 2024

The banks that loaned Musk $13B to buy Twitter might be having regrets ... and more tech news

X looks like a pretty bad investment right about now. As readers might recall, billionaire Elon Musk borrowed $13 billion from Morgan Stanley, Bank of America and five other major banks to help finance the $44 billion acquisition of Twitter, as it was then called; OpenAI signs deal to train on Condé Nast content, surface stories in ChatGPT; WeTransfer’s expiry dates haven’t gone away, but you can at least extend them; Is your company AI-washing? Rippling founder Parker Conrad thinks it might be. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, August 21, 2024

YouTube takes on TikTok Shop with expanded Shopify partnership

As TikTok Shop gains traction, YouTube is expanding its partnership with Shopify to onboard more brands for its YouTube Shopping affiliate program, the company announced on Tuesday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, August 21, 2024

LiveNation lawsuit, a million on a Zoom call, and Waymo numbers are up

The United States Department of Justice filed a major lawsuit against Live Nation-Ticketmaster in May, arguing that the entertainment giant is acting as a monopoly. An additional 10 state attorneys general joined the suit this week, bringing the total to 39 states and the District of Columbia; also, Zoom on Monday announced a new single-user webinar feature that caps out at 1 million attendees. The addition comes less than a month after the #WinWithBlackWomen fundraiser for Vice President Kamala Harris peaked at 44,000 users before crashing; and Waymo disclosed Tuesday it’s now giving more than 100,000 paid robotaxi rides every week across its three main commercial markets in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Phoenix. Those figures were shared by Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana in a social media post on X. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, August 20, 2024

As CO2 emissions from supply chains come into focus, this startup is aiming at farms

Root helps food and beverage companies collect primary data on their agricultural supply chains.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, August 20, 2024

GM cuts 1,000 software jobs as it prioritizes quality and AI

General Motors is cutting around 1,000 software workers around the world in a bid to focus on more “high-priority” initiatives like improving its Super Cruise driver assistance system, the quality of its infotainment platform and exploring the use of AI. The job cuts are not about cost cutting or individual performance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, August 19, 2024

Rivian launches smaller $1,400 camp kitchen, five years after initial demo

The Rivian camp kitchen attracted buzz from almost the moment it appeared as a prototype in 2019 at Overland Expo West. Despite interest in the accessory, Rivian never actually sold the camp kitchen, which was kind of massive and designed to slide into the R1T pickup truck’s trademark gear tunnel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, August 19, 2024

OpenAI shuts down election influence operation using ChatGPT

OpenAI has banned a cluster of ChatGPT accounts linked to an Iranian influence operation that was generating content about the U.S. presidential election, according to a blog post on Friday. The company says the operation created AI-generated articles and social media posts, though it doesn’t seem that it reached much of an audience. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, August 16, 2024

Meta axed CrowdTangle, a tool for tracking disinformation. Critics claim its replacement has just ‘1% of the features’

Journalists, researchers, and politicians are mourning Meta’s shutdown of CrowdTangle, which they used to track the spread of disinformation on Facebook and Instagram. In CrowdTangle’s place, Meta is offering its Content Library – but is limiting usage to people from “qualified academic or nonprofit institutions who are pursuing scientific or public interest research.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, August 16, 2024

TipRanks, an AI-based stock tip evaluator created after its founder got burned by bad advice, sells for $200M to Prytek

Prytek had already been a big investor in TipRanks since 2017, most recently leading a $77 million round in the company in 2021. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, August 15, 2024

The first post-quantum cryptography standards are here

For many companies, this also means that now is the time to start implementing these algorithms. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, August 15, 2024

Kiteworks captures $456M at a $1B+ valuation to help secure sensitive data

Search engine optimization (SEO) has been top of mind for brands for more than a decade to ensure their websites and products capture as many eyeballs as possible by ranking high up on search results pages. But search is changing, and as consumers increasingly turn to AI chatbots like ChatGPT or Claude Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, August 14, 2024

SoundCloud launches its own merch store, will let artists create their own designs

Music streaming service SoundCloud has launched a merch marketplace called SoundCloud Store. The store will sell SoundCloud-themed items, but will also act as a service for artists to put out their own designs. The first edition of the store features designs from Wiz Khalifa, Denzel Curry, wolfacejoeyy, Bk The Rula, and Armani White. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, August 14, 2024

She grew up a gearhead — now her startup has raised $4M to cut CO2 from trucking

The irony was not lost on her. Growing up the daughter of a racing car enthusiast father, Danielle Walsh had become — in her late 20s — the head of HSBC’s ‘Future Cities’ project, the global banking giant’s effort to serve clients’ climate change mandates. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, August 13, 2024

As Alexa turns 10, Amazon looks to generative AI

While Amazon has continued releasing Echo devices, including an upgraded Spot announced last month, the company has taken its foot off the gas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, August 13, 2024

Maybe Friend wasn’t crazy for spending $1.8M on a domain after all

Avi Schiffmann, the founder and CEO of Friend, told TechCrunch over email that the purchase has already paid for itself. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, August 12, 2024

Rocket Lab’s sunny outlook bodes well for future constellation plans

Rocket Lab surpassed $100 million in quarterly revenue for the first time, a 71% increase from the same quarter of last year. This is just one of several shiny accomplishments executives showed off to investors on Thursday — and a good omen for the space company’s medium-term ambitious plans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, August 12, 2024

Spotify and Epic Games call Apple’s revised DMA compliance plan ‘confusing,’ ‘illegal’ and ‘unacceptable’

Count Spotify and Epic Games among the Apple critics who are not happy with the iPhone maker’s newly revised compliance plan for the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). Shortly after Apple announced the updated version on Tuesday, including loosened restrictions along with the addition of two more fees, Spotify shared a statement with TechCrunch Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, August 09, 2024

UK launches formal probe into Amazon’s ties with AI startup Anthropic

The U.K.’s antitrust regulator has confirmed that it’s carrying out a formal antitrust investigation into Amazon’s ties with Anthropic, after Amazon recently completed a $4 billion investment into the AI startup. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, August 08, 2024

Airbnb details plans to expand beyond short-term rentals, including co-hosting and relaunching ‘experiences’

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky suggested on Tuesday’s Q2 earnings call with investors that the company will soon expand into new products and services, including co-hosting, a relaunch of Airbnb’s “experiences,” guest services, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, August 08, 2024

Lyft to ‘open up a can of whoop ass’ on surge pricing

Ride-hail giant Lyft will pilot a new feature called Price Lock that will let a rider purchase a monthly subscription “that caps the price for a specific route at a specific time,” according to CEO David Risher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, August 07, 2024

Figure’s new humanoid robot leverages OpenAI for natural speech conversations

Figure 02 is outfitted with speakers and microphones to speak and listen to people at work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, August 07, 2024

Uber highlights autonomous vehicle efforts with Tesla in its rearview mirror

Uber reported strong second-quarter results, with gross bookings and net profit both up decently. But the company has chosen to highlight the success of its autonomous vehicle effort, likely to assuage investors concerned about incoming competition from Tesla, which aims to reveal its first robotaxi in October. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, August 06, 2024

AWS launches Mithra to identify and mitigate malicious domains across its massive system

When a company is the size of Amazon, a lot of bad actors will come after it and its customers, which makes defending the network a monster job. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, August 06, 2024

How the theft of 40M UK voter register records was entirely preventable

A scathing rebuke by the U.K. data protection watchdog reveals what led to the compromise of tens of millions of U.K. voters' information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, August 05, 2024

iPad sales help bail out Apple amid a continued iPhone slide

In spite of a drop for the quarter, iPhone remained Apple’s most important category by a wide margin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, August 05, 2024

AI music startup Suno claims training model on copyrighted music is ‘fair use’

Following the recent lawsuit filed by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) against music generation startups Udio and Suno, Suno admitted in a court filing on Thursday that it did, in fact, train its AI model using copyrighted songs. But it claimed that doing so was legal under the fair-use doctrine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, August 02, 2024

Google Cloud now has a dedicated cluster of Nvidia GPUs for Y Combinator startups

Google Cloud is giving Y Combinator startups access to a dedicated, subsidized cluster of Nvidia graphics processing units and Google tensor processing units to build AI models. It’s part of Google Cloud’s effort to cozy up with promising early-stage AI startups, in hopes some of them will evolve into massive, compute-hungry business Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, August 02, 2024

Vast plans microgravity lab on its Haven-1 private space station

Commercial space station company Vast is building a private microgravity research lab as part of its wider Haven-1 station plans. The module is set to launch no earlier than the second half of 2025, the company said Thursday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, August 01, 2024

Bumble and Hinge allowed stalkers to pinpoint users’ locations down to 2 meters

Badoo, Bumble, Grindr, happn, Hinge and Hily all had the same vulnerability that could have helped a malicious user to identify the near-exact location of another user, according to the researchers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, August 01, 2024

Controversial internet bill KOSA passed by Senate

The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) has passed in the Senate after Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) pushed the internet bill to a vote. Proposed in 2022, KOSA requires that online platforms take reasonable steps to protect users from harm, and could become the most significant children’s online safety legislation to take effect since COPPA Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, July 31, 2024

Zoe, a microbiome-focused nutrition company, raises $15 million to expand in the U.S.

Zoe sends customers at-home testing materials to collect blood or feces to test blood fat, blood sugar, and gut microbiome health. Following those results, the company scores every food (on a scale from 0 to 100), so people can make better choices of what to eat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, July 31, 2024

Disinformation may ‘go nuclear’ rather than ‘go viral,’ researchers say

We say something “goes viral” because we tend to think of rumors and disinformation spreading the way that an infection spreads. But these days it may be more accurate to say something “goes nuclear,” according to a new paper that models disinfo as a form of fission reaction Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, July 30, 2024

A tale of two foldables

Samsung is still foldables’ 500-pound gorilla, but the company successes have made the category significantly less lonely in recent years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, July 29, 2024

UK’s Zapp EV plans to expand globally with an early start in India

Zapp is launching its urban electric two-wheeler in India in 2025 as it plans to expand globally. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, July 29, 2024

Data breach exposes US spyware maker behind Windows, Mac, Android and Chromebook malware

Exclusive: The Minnesota-based spyware maker Spytech snooped on thousands of devices before it was hacked earlier this year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, July 26, 2024

Lodestar’s robotic arm will be an orbital ‘first responder’ for satellites in need

Satellites are among our most critical infrastructure, providing everything from GPS to disaster coordination, yet their inherent inaccessibility leaves them vulnerable to relatively simple technical issues or attacks. London-based Lodestar is looking to change that with a “first responder” service in space using advanced robotic sentries. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, July 26, 2024

GM-backed Addionics aims to make lithium-ion batteries cheaper with wavy foil

The startup has developed a way to create copper and aluminum foils that are laced with tiny holes and riddled with undulating peaks and valleys. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, July 25, 2024

Spotify CEO says company is in ‘early days’ of hi-fi audio plans

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek says the streaming service is still in the “early days” of its plans to bring hi-fi support to the platform. During the company’s earnings call on Tuesday, the executive offered details about an upcoming deluxe tier. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, July 25, 2024

How to prevent your software update from being the next CrowdStrike

There is no fool proof way to prevent a buggy update like CrowdStrike's, but there are best practices that could mitigate the fallout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, July 24, 2024

Rosotics wants to manufacture massive orbital shipyards using 3D printing

Mesa, Arizona-based Rosotics has kept a low profile. From the startup’s website, one would think they are solely focused on selling large metal 3D printers to aerospace and defense customers.   For the past three years, the company’s been quietly architecting plans that involve launching multiple massive spacecraft, each containing dozens of smaller spacecraft Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, July 24, 2024

Former Tesla humanoid head launches a robotics startup

In spite of maintaining stealth until now, Mytra has already drummed up interest with big names. The startup has a pilot with grocery giant Albertsons, among others. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, July 23, 2024

Linx emerges from stealth with $33M to lock down the new security perimeter: Identity

Identity management is one of the most common fulcrums around which security breaches have pivoted in the last several years, and one of the main reasons it’s the gift that keeps on giving to malicious hackers is that it’s a nightmare for organizations to track. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, July 23, 2024

Pesa unlocks new markets to keep remittances flowing to emerging economies

Founders of Pesa, a remittance fintech, know too well how costly, inaccessible and unreliable remittance services drive people to opt for risky informal channels — like WhatsApp groups — to transfer money.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, July 22, 2024

Waymo wants to bring robotaxis to SFO

Waymo would need a ground transportation permit to operate at SFO, which has yet to be approved. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, July 22, 2024

Apple Vision Pro debuts immersive content featuring NBA players, The Weeknd and more

Apple on Thursday announced its upcoming lineup of immersive video content for the Vision Pro. The list includes behind-the-scenes footage of the 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend, an immersive performance by The Weeknd, new series, films, concerts and more. The headset launched in February with more than 150 3D movies and immersive titles Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, July 19, 2024

NASA cancels $450M Viper moon mission, dashing ice prospecting dreams

The now-scrapped moon mission would have been the U.S. space agency's first resource-mapping mission off planet Earth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, July 19, 2024

Ford’s EV plans are in flux once again as it invests $3B into its biggest trucks

Ford is still pushing forward on electrification, notably by increasing hybrid options. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, July 18, 2024

Shaped raises $8M Series A and launches its self-serve recommendations and search service

Whether it’s an online marketplace, store, or social media platform, virtually every site today uses some kind of recommendation service to personalize its offerings. Shaped, which is announcing an $8 million seed funding round today, wants to make it easier for businesses of all sizes to combine the data they already have with large language models. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, July 18, 2024

The Way app offers a chance to meditate alongside a Zen Master

A new app called The Way is aiming to help people explore the deeper side of meditation through a single, structured path guided by an authorized Zen Master. Founded by uncle-and-nephew duo Henry Shukman and Jack Shukman, The Way wants to help people move beyond modern mindfulness practices offered by popular meditation apps like Headspace Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, July 17, 2024

Ultrahuman’s smart ring gets FDA-approved AFib detection

The smart ring has long played second fiddle to the smart watch. While tech giants like Apple and Google duked it out over wrists for years, the ring has been significantly quieter, a space where plucky startups have a chance to make their mark. Things are quickly changing, however. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, July 17, 2024

Kaspersky to shut down US operations

The Russia-based security software maker said its U.S. business is "no longer viable" following a U.S. Commerce Department sales ban. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, July 16, 2024

Google reportedly in talks to acquire cloud security company Wiz for $23B

Google’s parent company Alphabet might be on the verge of making its biggest acquisition ever. The Wall Street Journal reports that Alphabet is in advanced talks to acquire Wiz for around $23 billion. While the deal isn’t finalized, the WSJ says it could come together soon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, July 16, 2024

Whistleblowers accuse OpenAI of ‘illegally restrictive’ NDAs

Whistleblowers have accused OpenAI of placing illegal restrictions on how employees can communicate with government regulators, according to a letter obtained by The Washington Post. Lawyers representing anonymous whistleblowers sent the letter to Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, July 15, 2024

Amazon AI chatbot Rufus is now live for all U.S. customers

Amazon’s AI-powered shopping assistant, named “Rufus,” is now live for all U.S. customers in the Amazon mobile app, the retailer announced on Friday. The assistant, which lives on the bottom right of the app’s main navigation bar, is designed to offer customers help with finding products, performing product comparisons, and getting recommendations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, July 15, 2024

Archer’s vision of an air taxi network could benefit from Southwest customer data

Archer Aviation and Southwest Airlines are teaming up to figure out what it will take to build out a network of electric air taxis at California airports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, July 12, 2024

FTC study finds ‘dark patterns’ used by a majority of subscription apps and websites

Dark patterns refer to a range of design techniques that can subtly encourage users to take some sort of action or put their privacy at risk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, July 12, 2024

More ex-military officials are becoming VCs as defense tech investment reached $35 billion

As venture capitalists continue to pour money into defense tech startups, they’re turning to a new hiring pool: ex-military officials.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, July 11, 2024

Anthropic’s Claude adds a prompt playground to quickly improve your AI apps

Prompt engineering became a hot job last year in the AI industry, but it seems Anthropic is now developing tools to at least partially automate it. Anthropic released several new features on Tuesday to help developers create more useful applications with the startup’s language model, Claude, according to a company blog post. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, July 11, 2024

Whataburger app becomes unlikely power outage map after Houston hurricane

Fast food chain Whataburger’s app has gone viral in the wake of Hurricane Beryl, which left around 1.8 million utility customers in Houston, Texas without power. Hundreds of thousands of those people may remain without power for days as Houston anticipates a heat wave, with temperatures climbing into the mid-90s. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, July 10, 2024

Data workers detail exploitation by tech industry in DAIR report

The essential labor of data work, like moderation and annotation, is systematically hidden from those who benefit from the fruits of that labor. A new project puts the lived experiences data workers around the world in the spotlight, showing firsthand the costs and opportunities of tech work abroad. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, July 10, 2024

Quora’s Poe now lets users create and share web apps

Poe, Quora’s subscription-based, cross-platform aggregator for AI-powered chatbots like Anthropic’s Claude and OpenAI’s GPT-4o, has launched a feature called Previews that lets users create interactive apps directly in chats with chatbots. Previews allows Poe users to build data visualizations, games and even drum machines Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, July 09, 2024

YouTube and LinkedIn have games now, and here’s how you can play them

Here are the latest companies venturing into the gaming scene and details about each offering, including pricing, examples of titles and supported devices.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, July 09, 2024

Waymo robotaxi pulled over by Phoenix police after driving into the wrong lane

A police officer pulled over a self-driving Waymo vehicle in Phoenix after it ran a red light and pulled into a lane of oncoming traffic, according to dispatch records. The incident took place on June 19, but local media including Arizona Republic released bodycam footage of the traffic stop this week, showing the vehicle weaving. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, July 08, 2024

Noplace, a mashup of Twitter and MySpace for Gen Z, hits No. 1 on the App Store

Aiming to bring the “social” back to “social media,” a new app called noplace has surged to the top of the App Store as it launches out of invite-only mode Wednesday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, July 08, 2024

Fizz, the anonymous Gen Z social app, adds a marketplace for college students

Teddy Solomon just moved to a new house in Palo Alto, so he turned to the Stanford community on Fizz to furnish his room. “Every time I show up to buy something from somebody, I grill them about the marketplace, because I’m really curious about their experience,” Solomon, a co-founder of Fizz, told TechCrunch. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, July 05, 2024

Epic Games calls out Apple for rejecting its Games Store in the EU

Fortnite maker Epic Games has hit a stumbling block in its plans to bring the company’s alternative app store, the Epic Games Store, to the EU. As now permitted by the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), Epic Games announced earlier this year it planned to bring both the digital storefront and its flagship game, Fortnite. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, July 05, 2024

X weighs adding a downvote button to replies — but it doesn’t want to emulate Reddit

Code references found in the X iOS app indicate that the company could be considering adding downvotes for replies only to improve how they're ranked. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, July 04, 2024

Twitter/X alternative Mastodon appeals to journalists with new ‘byline’ feature

Mastodon, the open source, decentralized alternative to X (formerly Twitter), is today rolling out a new feature meant to make the app more appealing to those who use it to keep up with news and information from writers and journalists Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, July 04, 2024

Google’s environmental report pointedly avoids AI’s actual energy cost

Google totally dodges the question of how much energy is AI is using — perhaps because the answer is "way more than we'd care to say." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, July 03, 2024

Figma disables its AI design feature that appeared to be ripping off Apple’s Weather app

Figma CEO Dylan Field says the company will temporarily disable its “Make Design” AI feature that was said to be ripping off the designs of Apple’s own Weather app. The problem was first spotted by Andy Allen, the founder of NotBoring Software, which makes a suite of apps that includes a popular, skinnable Weather app Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, July 03, 2024

Anthropic looks to fund a new, more comprehensive generation of AI benchmarks

Anthropic is launching a program to fund the development of new types of benchmarks capable of evaluating the performance and impact of AI models, including generative models like its own Claude. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, July 02, 2024

MIT’s soft robotic system is designed to pack groceries

RoboGrocery combines computer vision with a soft robotic gripper to bag a wide range of different items. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, July 02, 2024

Meta changes its label from ‘Made with AI’ to ‘AI info’ to indicate use of AI in photos

After Meta started tagging photos with a “Made with AI” label in May, photographers complained that the social networking company had been applying labels to real photos where they had used some basic editing tools. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, July 01, 2024

MagicSchool thinks AI in the classroom is inevitable, so it’s aiming to help teachers and students use it properly

These days, when you hear about students and generative AI, chances are that you’re getting a taste of the debate over the adoption of tools like ChatGPT. Are they a help? (Yay! Great for research! Fast!) Or are they a harm? (Boo! Misinfo! Cheating!). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, July 01, 2024

Zuckerberg disses closed-source AI competitors as trying to ‘create God’

In the conversation, Zuckerberg said there needs to be a lot of different AIs that get created to reflect people's different interests. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sat, June 29, 2024

Directo turns a TikTok travel hack into a deal-finding Chrome extension

A travel hack that went viral on TikTok teaches users how to save money on hotels and Airbnbs by booking directly with the properties themselves. Now, a new startup, Directo, will help travelers find those same deals with the help of a Chrome extension that points you to the property’s website, Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, June 28, 2024

Amazon hit with fresh class action-style suit in UK — $3.4BN in competition damages sought for 200,000+ sellers

Amazon is facing another competition lawsuit in the UK. The latest claim, which was filed Thursday, is seeking more than £2.7BN in damages — or around $3.4BN at current exchange rates — before the UK’s Competition Appeals Tribunal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, June 28, 2024

Climate X founders, who mortgaged their houses to stay afloat, now raise a $18 million Series A

To date, most of the hottest software platforms in the ClimateTech space have been about carbon accounting, offsets, removals, and regulatory disclosure. For instance, New York’s Persefoni (accounting) raised $164.2 million to date, Plan A (accounting/monitoring) in Berlin raised $43 million and at the lower end, Supercritical (removals) raised $15.8 million while CUR8 (removals) raised Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, June 27, 2024

VW to invest up to $5B into Rivian in software deal

VW Group invest $1 billion into EV startup Rivian as part of a software development deal that could expand to as much as $5 billion. The deal, which was announced Tuesday afternoon, sent Rivian’s shares up more than 36% in after-hours trading. The two companies will create a joint venture focused on next-generation electrical architecture Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, June 27, 2024

Snapchat introduces new safety features to limit bad actors from contacting users

Snapchat on Tuesday announced a new suite of safety features, including updates to its account blocking functionality and enhanced friending safeguards, making it difficult for strangers to contact users on its platform. The new move comes amid concerns over predators exploiting teens on social media apps, which often results in severe incidents, including sextortion Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, June 26, 2024

Uber Freight and self driving trucks startup Aurora partner for the long haul

Uber Freight and Aurora Innovation have announced a multi-year collaboration that will see Aurora’s autonomous driving technology offered on the Uber Freight network through 2030.  The deal gives Aurora access to shipping customers as it prepares to launch its fully driverless commercial service later this year. It also helps Aurora also secure longer-term customers through Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, June 26, 2024

Apple might partner with Meta on AI

As Apple enters the AI race, it’s also looking for help from partners. During the announcement of Apple Intelligence earlier this month, Apple said it would be partnering with OpenAI to bring ChatGPT into the revamped version of Siri. Now, the Wall Street Journal reports that Apple and Facebook’s parent company Meta are in talks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, June 25, 2024

Meta makes its AI chatbot available to all users in India

After a few months of testing during the general elections, Meta is making its Llama-3-powered AI chatbot available to all users in India. However, Meta AI currently only supports English and no other local languages. The company started testing Meta AI in India across WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, and Facebook in April. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, June 25, 2024

Google is pausing its experiment of allowing real-money games on the Play Store

Google said today that it is globally pausing its experiment of allowing real-money games on the Play Store, where there was no central body for this kind of app. In January, the company said it would start allowing real-money apps widely in June in India, Brazil, and Mexico. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, June 24, 2024

YouTube confirms crackdown on VPN users accessing cheaper Premium plans

YouTube appears to be taking a firm stance against Premium subscribers who attempt to use a VPN (Virtual Private Network) to access cheaper subscription prices in other countries. This week, a number of users took to Reddit to express their frustration after their Premium plans were canceled for using a VPN to purchase the subscription Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, June 24, 2024

US bans sale of Kaspersky software citing security risk from Russia

U.S. officials imposed the “first of its kind” ban arguing that Kaspersky threatens U.S. national security because of its links to Russia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, June 21, 2024

Amazon extends generative AI-powered product listings to Europe

Amazon is bringing its generative AI listing smarts to more sellers, revealing today that those in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the U.K. can now access tools designed to improve product listings by generating product descriptions, titles, and associated details. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, June 21, 2024

Spotify quietly lets all podcasters upload videos, surpasses 250K shows

Non-hosted podcasters can now upload videos to Spotify. Over 250K video podcasts are on the platform. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, June 20, 2024

Genspark is the latest attempt at an AI-powered search engine

Genspark taps generative AI to write custom summaries in response to search queries. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, June 20, 2024

iOS 18 could ‘sherlock’ $400M in app revenue

Apple's changes may affect apps that today have an estimated $393 million in revenue and have been downloaded roughly 58 million times over the past year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, June 19, 2024

Snap previews its real-time image model that can generate AR experiences

At the Augmented World Expo on Tuesday, Snap teased an early version of its real-time, on-device image diffusion model that can generate vivid AR experiences. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, June 19, 2024

Threads finally launches its API for developers

Meta said today that it finally launched its much-awaited API for Threads so developers can build experiences around it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, June 18, 2024

XReal introduces a $200 device that brings Android apps to its AR glasses

The $200 Beam pro looks like an Android phone, but instead it's a mobile device designed specifically for Xreal’s glasses. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, June 17, 2024

Former NSA head joins OpenAI board and safety committee

The high-profile addition is likely intended to satisfy critics who think that OpenAI is moving faster than is wise for its customers and possibly humanity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, June 17, 2024

Amazon says it’ll spend $230 million on generative AI startups

Amazon says that it’ll commit up to $230 million to startups building generative AI-powered applications. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, June 14, 2024

iOS 18 cracks down on apps asking for full address book access

To give users more control over the contacts an app can and cannot access, the permissions screen has two stages. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, June 14, 2024

Ford’s secretive low-cost EV team is growing with talent from Rivian, Tesla and Apple

A TechCrunch review of LinkedIn data found that Ford has built this team up to around 300 employees over the last year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, June 13, 2024

Apex’s off-the-shelf satellite bus business attracts $95M in new funding

Fresh off the success of its first mission, satellite manufacturer Apex has closed $95 million in new capital to scale its operations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, June 13, 2024

Biden administration looks to give Rocket Lab $24M to boost space-grade solar cell production

In addition to the federal funding, the state of New Mexico — where SolAero is based — committed to providing financing and incentives that value $25.5 million. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, June 12, 2024

Elon Musk threatens to ban Apple devices from his companies over Apple’s ChatGPT integrations

Elon Musk is threatening to ban iPhones from all his companies over the newly announced OpenAI integrations Apple announced at WWDC 2024 on Monday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, June 12, 2024

The mystery of an alleged data broker’s data breach

Since April, a hacker with a history of selling stolen data has claimed a data breach of billions of records — impacting at least 300 million people — from a U.S. data broker, which would make  it one of the largest alleged data breaches of the year Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, June 11, 2024

Bereave wants employers to suck a little less at navigating death

If death and taxes are inevitable, why are companies so prepared for taxes, but not for death? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, June 11, 2024

New York moves to limit kids’ access to ‘addictive feeds’

New York’s state legislature has passed a bill that would prohibit social media companies from showing so-called “addictive feeds” to children under 18, unless they obtain parental consent. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, June 10, 2024

Siri and Google Assistant look to generative AI for a new lease on life

Voice assistants in general are having an existential moment, and generative AI is poised to be the logical successor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, June 10, 2024

Shopify acquires Threads (no, not that one)

Shopify has acquired Threads.com, the Seqiuoa-backed Slack alternative, Threads said on its website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, June 07, 2024

Robinhood acquires global crypto exchange Bitstamp for $200M

Stock-trading platform Robinhood is diving deeper into the cryptocurrency realm with the acquisition of crytpo exchange Bitstamp. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, June 07, 2024

Amazon buys Indian video streaming service MX Player

Amazon has agreed to acquire Indian video streaming service MX Player from the local media powerhouse Times Internet, the latest step by the e-commerce giant to make its services and brand popular in smaller cities and towns in the key overseas market.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, June 06, 2024

Dive goes cloud-native for its computational fluid dynamics simulation service

Spun out of Bosch, Dive wants to change how manufacturers use computer simulations by both using modern mathematical approaches and cloud computing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, June 06, 2024

Asana introduces ‘AI teammates’ designed to work alongside human employees

Asana is using its work graph to train LLMs with the goal of creating AI assistants that work alongside human employees in company workflows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, June 05, 2024

GetWhy, a market research AI platform that extracts insights from video interviews, raises $34.5M

GetWhy helps businesses carry out market studies and extract insights from video-based interviews using AI. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, June 05, 2024

Travel app Sékr wants to help you plan your next road trip with its new AI tool

Sékr, a startup that offers a mobile app for outdoor enthusiasts and campers, is launching a new AI tool for planning road trips. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, June 04, 2024

Spotify to increase premium pricing in the US to $11.99 per month

Spotify has announced that it’s hiking subscriptions for customers in the U.S., the second such price increase in the space of a year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, June 04, 2024

X tweaks rules to formally allow adult content

X will now allow users to post consensually produced NSFW content as long as it is prominently labeled as such. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, June 03, 2024

Spain bans Meta from launching election features on Facebook, Instagram over privacy fears

Meta has been banned from launching features on Facebook and Instagram that would have collected data on voters in Spain using the social networks ahead of next month’s European Elections. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, June 03, 2024

Instagram now lets teens limit interactions to their ‘Close Friends’ group to combat harassment

Instagram is expanding the scope of its "Limits" tool specifically for teenagers that would let them restrict unwanted interactions with people. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sat, June 01, 2024

Billionaire Groupon founder Lefkofsky is back with another IPO: AI healthtech Tempus

Eric Lefkofsky knows the public listing rodeo well and is about to enter it for a fourth time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, May 31, 2024

Redpanda acquires Benthos to expand its end-to-end streaming data platform

Redpanda has already integrated Benthos into its own service and has made it the core technology of its new Redpanda Connect service. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, May 30, 2024

How Clean Energy Ventures avoided the pandemic bubble and raised a $305M fund

When other firms were investing and raising eye-popping sums, Clean Energy Ventures took a different approach. It appears to be paying off. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, May 30, 2024

YouTube’s free games catalog ‘Playables’ rolls out to all users

YouTube's free Playables don't directly challenge the app store model or break Apple's rules. However, they do compete with the App Store's free games. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, May 29, 2024

Félix Pago raises $15.5 million to help Latino workers send money home via WhatsApp

Remittances from workers in the U.S. to their families and friends in Latin America amounted to $155 billion in 2023. With such a huge opportunity, banks, money transfer companies, retailers, and fintechs are all trying make transfers more convenient on both sides of the transaction. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, May 29, 2024

LumApps, the French ‘intranet superapp,’ sells majority stake to Bridgepoint in a $650M deal

Big news today for LumApps, the French startup that has described itself as an “intranet superapp” with a platform for building and provisioning internal communications and apps for workforces. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, May 28, 2024

Canva launches a proper enterprise product — and they mean it this time

Back in 2019, Canva, the wildly successful design tool, introduced what the company was calling an enterprise product, but in reality it was more geared towards teams than fulfilling true enterprise requirements. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, May 28, 2024

Spotify to shut off Car Thing for good, leading users to demand refunds

Spotify is notifying customers who purchased its Car Thing product that the devices will stop working after December 9, 2024 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, May 27, 2024

Using memes, social media users have become red teams for half-baked AI features

“Running with scissors is a cardio exercise that can increase your heart rate and require concentration and focus,” says Google’s new AI search feature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, May 27, 2024

Google invests $350 million in India’s Flipkart

Google is investing nearly $350 million in Flipkart, becoming the latest high-profile name to back the Indian e-commerce startup. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, May 24, 2024

Google to build first subsea fibre optic cable connecting Africa with Australia

Google is preparing to build what will be the first subsea fibre optic cable connecting the continents of Africa and Australia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, May 24, 2024

Meta’s new AI council is comprised entirely of white men

Meanwhile, women and people of color are disproportionately impacted by irresponsible AI. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, May 23, 2024

Why Spotify is launching its own font, Spotify Mix

Spotify launched its own font, the company announced on Wednesday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, May 23, 2024

Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses now let you share images directly to your Instagram Story

Meta is updating its Ray-Ban smart glasses with new hands-free functionality Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, May 22, 2024

Meta, Match, Coinbase and others team up to fight online fraud and crypto scams

The new coalition, Tech Against Scams, will work together to find ways to fight back against the tools used by scammers and to better educate the public against financial scams. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, May 22, 2024

Aurora unveils self-driving truck with Volvo

A new self-driving truck — manufactured by Volvo and loaded with autonomous vehicle tech developed by Aurora Innovation — could be on public highways as early as this summer.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, May 21, 2024

Hollywood agency CAA aims to help stars manage their own AI likenesses

Creative Artists Agency, one of the top entertainment and sports talent agencies, is hoping to be at the forefront of AI protection services for celebrities in Hollywood. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, May 21, 2024

OpenAI to remove ChatGPT’s Scarlett Johansson-like voice

OpenAI is removing one of the voices used by ChatGPT after users found that it sounded similar to Scarlett Johansson, the company announced on Monday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, May 20, 2024

A US trustee wants troubled fintech Synapse to be liquidated via Chapter 7 bankruptcy, cites ‘gross mismanagement’

The prospects for troubled banking-as-a-service startup Synapse have gone from bad to worse this week after the United States Trustee filed an emergency motion on Wednesday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, May 20, 2024

Microsoft warned it could be fined billions by EU over missing GenAI risk info

The European Union has warned Microsoft it could be fined up to 1% of its global annual turnover under the bloc’s online governance regime, the Digital Services Act . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, May 17, 2024

Shipping logistics startup Harbor Lab raises $16M Series A led by Atomico

Cargo ships docking at a commercial port incur costs called “disbursements” and “port call expenses.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, May 17, 2024

Cannabis and gaming payments startup Aeropay is now offering an alternative to Mastercard and Visa

The key to taking on legacy players in the financial technology industry may be to go where they have not gone before Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, May 16, 2024

Netflix to take on Google and Amazon by building its own ad server

The announcement signifies a significant shake-up in the streaming giant's advertising approach. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, May 16, 2024

Restaurant365 orders in $175M at a $1B+ valuation to supersize its food service software stack

The restaurant industry in the U.S. is expected to pass $1 trillion in sales for the first time this year, despite wider economic pressures on consumer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, May 15, 2024

Accel has a fresh $650M to back European early-stage startups

Accel has invested in more than 200 startups in the region to date, making it one of the more prolific VCs in this market. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, May 15, 2024

Uber to acquire Foodpanda’s Taiwan unit from Delivery Hero for $950M in cash

Uber Technologies announced Tuesday that it will buy the Taiwan unit of Delivery Hero’s Foodpanda for $950 million in cash. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, May 14, 2024

The buzziest EV IPO of the year is a Chinese automaker

Zeekr's market hype is noteworthy and may indicate that investors see value in the high-quality, low-price offerings of Chinese automakers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, May 14, 2024

Anthropic now lets kids use its AI tech — within limits

AI startup Anthropic is changing its policies to allow minors to use its generative AI tools — in certain circumstances, at least.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, May 13, 2024

Microsoft is launching its mobile game store in July

Microsoft will launch its own mobile game store in July, the company announced at the Bloomberg Technology Summit on Thursday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mon, May 13, 2024

Oura launches two new heart health features

Smart ring maker Oura is launching two new features focused on heart health, the company announced on Friday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sat, May 11, 2024

Bluesky now lets you personalize its main Discover feed using new controls

The social network has announced an updated version of its app that lets you offer feedback about its algorithmic feed so you can better customize it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, May 10, 2024

Always-on video portal lets people in NYC and Dublin interact in real time

A new sculpture going live on Wednesday in the Flatiron South Public Plaza in New York is not your typical artwork. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fri, May 10, 2024

Match looks to Hinge as Tinder fails

Match Group, the company that owns several dating apps, including Tinder and Hinge, released its first-quarter earnings report on Tuesday, which shows that Tinder’s paying user base has decreased for the sixth quarter in a row. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, May 09, 2024

Bedrock Studio is Amazon’s attempt to simplify generative AI app development

Amazon is launching a new tool, Bedrock Studio, designed to let organizations experiment with generative AI models, collaborate on those models, and ultimately build generative AI-powered apps. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thu, May 09, 2024

Rivian loses $1.45 billion as cost-cutting measures continu

Rivian lost $1.45 billion in the first quarter, showing that its recent company-wide cost-cutting measures have a ways to go before it can approach profitability. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, May 08, 2024

Threads is testing cross-posting from Instagram globally

Meta is encouraging more users to post to its X rival Threads. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wed, May 08, 2024

Apple teased AI improvements, including the M4’s neural engine, at its iPad event

Tuesday's theme focused on the new hardware devices themselves — devices like new iPads and an updated Apple Pencil — not on the AI advances Apple is making under the hood. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tue, May 07, 2024

Match-owned Archer hits over half a million installs amid dating app slump

It’s been almost one year since Match Group announced the launch of Archer, the online dating giant’s first app for gay, bi, and queer men. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, May 07, 2024

Farewell, dunks? Threads launches quote controls for all users

Threads users can now exert more control over who can quote their posts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, May 06, 2024

UnitedHealth data breach should be a wakeup call for the UK and NHS

The ransomware attack that has engulfed U.S. health insurance giant UnitedHealth Group and its tech subsidiary Change Healthcare is a data privacy nightmare for millions of U.S. patients, with CEO Andrew Witty confirming this week that it may impact as much as one-third of the country. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, May 06, 2024

NASA is expanding its Wallops Island facility to support three times as many launches

NASA is kicking off a formal environmental assessment of its facilities on Wallops Island, Virginia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, May 03, 2024

NASA orders studies from private space companies on Mars mission support roles

Mars exploration has been always been the exclusive purview of national space agencies, but NASA is trying to change that, awarding a dozen research tasks to private companies as a prelude to commercial support for future missions to the Red Planet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, May 03, 2024

Peloton announces 400 layoffs, 15% of the workforce, as CEO Barry McCarthy departs

Peloton, the exercise equipment maker and creator of online fitness classes, has announced that it’s laying off 15 percent of its workforce — 400 people — as CEO, president, and board director Barry McCarthy steps down after two years in the role. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, May 02, 2024

Amazon CodeWhisperer is now called Q Developer and is expanding its functions

Pour one out for CodeWhisperer, Amazon’s AI-powered assistive coding tool. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, May 02, 2024

Elon Musk guts Tesla’s charging team after winning over major automakers

Tesla has gutted its charging team in a new round of layoffs, despite recently winning over major automakers like Ford and General Motors and making its connector the defacto standard in North America. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, May 01, 2024

Bumble’s “Opening Move” feature takes the pressure off women to come up with a new message every time

As Bumble prepares for its app relaunch this summer, the women-first dating platform announced a series of product updates on Tuesday, including a new feature that lets women prepare questions to send to matches, additional dating intention preferences and prompts, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, May 01, 2024

The first-ever race between four self-driving cars and a Formula 1 driver just happened in Abu Dhabi

Wander the pits at any professional motorsports event, especially something like Formula 1, and you’ll see endless computer displays full of telemetry Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, April 30, 2024

Zomato’s quick commerce unit Blinkit eclipses core food business in value, says Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs said in a report late Thursday that Indian food delivery giant Zomato’s quick commerce arm Blinkit is now more valuable than its core food delivery business, as per the bank’s sum-of-the-parts analysis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, April 30, 2024

OpenAI inks strategic tie-up with UK’s Financial Times, including content use

OpenAI, maker of the viral AI chatbot ChatGPT, has netted another news licensing deal in Europe, adding London’s Financial Times to a growing list of publishers it’s paying for content access. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, April 29, 2024

Google’s new ‘Speaking practice’ feature uses AI to help users improve their English skills

Google is testing a new “Speaking practice” feature in Search that helps users improve their conversational English skills. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, April 29, 2024

The IBM-HashiCorp coupling could be more complicated than it seems

At a quick glance the IBM-HashiCorp deal seems like a good one for both sides, but upon closer inspection, perhaps not. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, April 26, 2024

TikTok pulls feature from Lite app in EU over addiction concerns

TikTok suspended a gamification feature in the European Union following an intervention by the bloc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, April 26, 2024

Mark Zuckerberg says Threads has 150 million monthly active users

Meta’s Twitter/X rival Threads is growing at a stable pace. The social network now has more than 150 million monthly active users Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, April 25, 2024

Tesla profits drop 55%, company says EV sales ‘under pressure’ from hybrids

Tesla profits fell 55% to $1.13 billion in the first quarter from the same year-ago period as a protracted EV price-cutting strategy continued to cut into the automaker’s bottom line Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, April 25, 2024

X is launching a TV app for videos ‘soon’

X, the company formerly known as Twitter, is launching a dedicated TV app for videos uploaded to the social network soon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, April 24, 2024

Framework’s repairability philosophy is set to expand beyond the laptop

Framework Computer was ahead of the curve. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, April 24, 2024

Perplexity is raising $250M+ at a $2.5-$3B valuation for its AI search platform, sources say

Perplexity, the AI search engine startup, is a hot property at the moment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, April 23, 2024

TikTok Shop expands its secondhand luxury fashion offering to the UK

TikTok Shop, TikTok’s social commerce marketplace, is launching a secondhand luxury category in the U.K., putting it in closer competition with The RealReal, Vestiaire Collective, Depop, Poshmark, and Mercari, among others. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, April 23, 2024

Tinder gets a ‘Share My Date’ feature for users to send date plans to their curious friends

It’s not uncommon for people to screenshot dating profiles and send them to their friends and loved ones, either to get feedback or to let them know who they’re seeing that weekend Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, April 22, 2024

Robots can make jobs less meaningful for human colleagues

Much has been (and will continue to be) written about automation’s impact on the jobs market. In the short term, many employers have complained of an inability to fill roles and retain workers, further accelerating robotic adoption. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, April 22, 2024

Internet users are getting younger; now the UK is weighing up if AI can help protect them

Artificial intelligence has been in the crosshairs of governments concerned about how it might be misused for fraud, disinformation and other malicious online activity Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, April 19, 2024

Alphabet X’s Bellwether harnesses AI to help predict natural disasters

The world is on fire. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, April 19, 2024

Ramp raises another $150 million co-led by Khosla, Founders Fund at a $7.65B valuation

Spend management startup Ramp has raised another $150 million at a valuation of $7.65 billion, the company confirmed to TechCrunch today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, April 18, 2024

Kickstarter launches pre-orders for completed campaigns

Once a Kickstarter campaign is complete, you need to turn to a creator’s own page to pre-order the products — that is, until now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, April 18, 2024

Waymo begins robotaxi testing in Atlanta

Waymo, the self-driving company under Alphabet, began testing its robotaxis in Atlanta on Tuesday, adding another city to its ever-expanding testing and deployment domain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, April 17, 2024

Meta’s Oversight Board probes explicit AI-generated images posted on Instagram and Facebook

The Oversight Board, Meta’s semi-independent policy council, it turning its attention to how the company’s social platforms are handling explicit, AI-generated images. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, April 16, 2024

Bluesky now allows heads of states to sign up for the social network

Social networking platform Bluesky lifted its ban on sign-ups for heads of state over the weeken Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, April 16, 2024

Meta’s ‘consent or pay’ tactic must not prevail over privacy, EU rights groups warn

Ahead of a full meeting of the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) this week (April 16 and 17), which is expected to produce guidance on a controversial tactic used by Meta to force Facebook and Instagram users to consent to its tracking, almost two dozen civil society groups and nonprofits have penned an open letter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, April 15, 2024

Space Force tees up new ‘responsive space’ mission from Rocket Lab and True Anomaly

Each company will design and build a satellite capable of rendezvousing with other spacecraft in orbit at close proximity, as well as command and control centers for the mission. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, April 15, 2024

X is removing ability to hide checkmarks for premium users

Last year, Elon Musk-owned social network X rolled out a feature for paid users to hide their checkmarks from others. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, April 12, 2024

Elon Musk accused of profiting from tragedy as study finds X rewards hate targeting Israel-Gaza war

A few weeks after defeating Elon Musk’s attempt to silence it in court, anti-hate research nonprofit, the Center for Countering Digital Hate, is back with a new piece of research into Musk’s social media platform X. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, April 12, 2024

Apple opens access to used iPhone components for repair

Apple announced that it has opened its iPhone repair process to include used components. Starting this fall, customers and independent repair shops will be able to fix the handset using compatible components. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, April 11, 2024

Proxima Fusion raises $21M to build on its ‘stellarator’ approach to nuclear fusion

Munich-based Proxima has raised €20 million ($21.7M) in a seed round to begin building its first generation of fusion power plants. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, April 11, 2024

Tesla risks losing its lead without an inexpensive EV

Given flagging sales of the company’s existing product line, a mass-market electric vehicle would be a welcome shot in the arm. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, April 10, 2024

With Vertex AI Agent Builder, Google Cloud aims to simplify agent creation

AI agents are the new hot craze in generative AI. Unlike the previous generation of chatbots, these agents can do more than simply answer questions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, April 10, 2024

Google announces Axion, its first custom Arm-based data center processor

Google says its Axion instances offer 30% better performance than other Arm-based instances from competitors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, April 09, 2024

Microsoft AI gets a new London hub fronted by former Inflection and Deepmind scientist Jordan Hoffmann

Microsoft has announced a new London hub for its recently unveiled consumer AI division. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, April 09, 2024

Spotify launches personalized AI playlists that you can build using prompts

AI playlists will initially become available to users on Android and iOS devices in the U.K. and Australia and will be iterated on in the months ahead. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, April 08, 2024

Ford delays new EVs once more, showing why legacy automakers need to adopt a startup mentality

Ford is unusual in that it performs best when thinking like a startup, something it appears to have taken to heart recently, EV delays notwithstanding. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, April 08, 2024

Tesla slashes Model Y inventory prices by as much as $7,000

Tesla is dropping prices of unsold Model Y SUVs in the U.S. by thousands of dollars in an attempt to clear out an unprecedented backlog of inventory. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sat, April 06, 2024

Rooms, a 3D design app and ‘cozy game,’ gets a major update as users jump to 250K

Five months ago, Rooms, a 3D design platform made by ex-Google employees, launched its beta version on the App Store. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, April 05, 2024

X is giving blue checks to influential users (which is what blue checks were supposed to be all along)

So, basically this means that if you are a popular poster, you will get a blue check. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, April 04, 2024

Opera allows users to download and use LLMs locally

Web browser company Opera announced today it will now allow users to download and use Large Language Models (LLMs) locally on their computer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, April 04, 2024

AWS unveils new service for cloud-based rendering projects

Amazon announced Deadline Cloud, a new service that lets customers set up, deploy and scale up graphics and visual effects rendering pipelines on AWS cloud infrastructure. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, April 03, 2024

TikTok is bringing its dedicated STEM feed to Europe

As TikTok continues to face increased pressure in the U.S. and the U.K., the company is signaling its commitment to fostering educational content on its app. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, April 03, 2024

Indeed announces AI-powered work experience writer and support for multiple resumes

Hiring portal Indeed has redesigned the profile page for users, allowing individuals to use an AI-powered writer to fill up work experience and also added support for multiple resumes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, April 02, 2024

MIT tool shows climate change could cost Texans a month and a half of outdoor time by 2080

Finally, something that makes climate change relatable. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, April 02, 2024

TikTok ban could harm Amazon sellers looking for alternatives

In March, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill that could force ByteDance to divest TikTok or face a ban in U.S. app stores. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, April 01, 2024

Apple dismisses Microsoft monopoly comparisons

A week after finding itself at the business end of a landmark lawsuit from the United States Department of Justice, Apple is staunchly denying any parallels between itself and Microsoft in the 1990s. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, April 01, 2024

X’s Grok chatbot will soon get an upgraded model, Grok-1.5

X.ai, Elon Musk’s AI startup, has revealed its latest generative AI model, Grok-1.5. Set to power social network X’s Grok chatbot in the not-to-distant future (“in the coming days,” X.ai writes in a blog post), © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, March 29, 2024

LinkedIn is experimenting with a TikTok-like video feed in its app

LinkedIn is testing a new TikTok-like short-form video feed, the company confirmed to TechCrunch on Wednesday. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, March 29, 2024

Oregon signs right to repair into law

Oregon Governor Tina Kotek on Tuesday signed Senate Bill 1596 into law, joining California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts and Minnesota in a growing list of states embracing a right to repair for citizens. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, March 28, 2024

NASA’s snake robot is designed to search out life in the icy oceans of a Saturn moon

The snake robot form factor has existed for decades. In addition to the diversity it adds to the world of automation, the design has several pragmatic attributes. The first is redundancy, which allows for the system to keep chugging even after a module is damaged. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, March 28, 2024

Facebook snooped on users’ Snapchat traffic in secret project, documents reveal

In 2016, Facebook launched a secret project designed to intercept and decrypt the network traffic between people using Snapchat’s app and its servers. The goal was to understand users’ behavior and help Facebook compete with Snapchat, according to newly unsealed court documents. Facebook called this “Project Ghostbusters" © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, March 27, 2024

Profluent, spurred by Salesforce research and backed by Jeff Dean, uses AI to discover medicines

Last year, Salesforce, the company best known for its cloud sales support software (and Slack), spearheaded a project called ProGen to design proteins using generative AI. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, March 27, 2024

Spotify tests video courses to teach everything from music production to excel

In its ongoing efforts to get its 600 million+ users to spend more time and money on its platform, Spotify is spinning up a new line of content: e-learning. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, March 26, 2024

Telegram’s peer-to-peer SMS login service is a privacy nightmare

Telegram has introduced a controversial new feature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, March 26, 2024

Lordstown Motors’ ousted CEO settles with SEC for misleading investors

Steve Burns, the ousted founder, chairman and CEO of bankrupt EV startup Lordstown Motors, has settled with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over misleading investors about demand for the company’s flagship all-electric Endurance pickup truck. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, March 25, 2024

Boeing CEO to leave company by year-end, after a wave of safety incidents

Boeing’s chief executive Dave Calhoun will leave the plane-maker by the end of 2024, according to the company. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, March 25, 2024

AT&T won’t say how its customers’ data spilled online

Customers say leaked AT&T customer data — names, addresses, phone numbers and Social Security numbers — is accurate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, March 22, 2024

Why is AI so bad at spelling?

AIs are easily acing the SAT, defeating chess grandmasters and debugging code like it’s nothing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, March 22, 2024

Pelikan Mobility's software-enabled commercial EV leasing solution; Candela’s electric ferries multiply

Chances are you may have noticed that many commercial vehicles are now electric vehicles; Electric boat maker Candela is approaching cruising speed with $25 million in new funding and the first commercial deployment of its new P-12 ferry, in New Zealand. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, March 21, 2024

White House proposes up to $8.5B to fund Intel’s domestic chip manufacturing

Well before President Joe Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act into law back in August 2022, Intel has been a cornerstone of U.S. efforts to increase domestic chip manufacturing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, March 21, 2024

Nvidia and Qualcomm join Open Source Robotics Alliance to support ROS development

The Open Source Robotics Foundation (OSRF) this week announced the launch of the similarly named Open Source Robotics Alliance (OSRA). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, March 20, 2024

Quilt is building AI assistants for solutions teams

The job of so-called “solutions professionals” — people like sales engineers, solutions architects and consultants — revolves around pitching complex enterprise tech to potential customers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, March 20, 2024

Meta offers lower cost for EU ad-free subscription under privacy review

Meta has proposed to drop the price of an ad-free subscription in the European Union Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, March 19, 2024

Tech giant Fujitsu says it was hacked, warns of data breach

Multinational technology giant Fujitsu confirmed a cyberattack in a statement Friday, and warned that hackers may have stolen personal data and customer information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, March 19, 2024

Scrap coercive ‘privacy fee’, MEPs urge Meta’s Nick Clegg in open letter

Meta is facing a call from lawmakers in the European Union to scrap its controversial “consent or pay” tactic on Facebook and Instagram. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, March 18, 2024

Mercedes begins piloting Apptronik humanoid robots

Pilot season has officially begun for the world of humanoid robotics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, March 18, 2024

Apple acquires AI startup specializing in overlooking manufacturing components

Apple has added another AI startup to its acquisition list with Canada-based DarwinAI, which specializes in vision-based tech to observe components during manufacturing to improve efficiency, Bloomberg reported. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, March 15, 2024

A bug in an Irish government website took two years to publicly disclose

The Irish government fixed a vulnerability two years ago in its national COVID-19 vaccination portal that exposed the vaccination records of around a million residents. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, March 15, 2024

Amazon now lets sellers create listings through a URL by using AI

Amazon launched generative AI-powered features last year to help sellers quickly create listings by entering just a few words about the product. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, March 14, 2024

Furno bets that super-efficient, modular kilns will turn the cement industry upside down

Cement startup promises to slash carbon emissions in the process, helping the company raise a $6.5 million seed round. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, March 14, 2024

Orbio Earth finds methane leaks that could cost oil companies $9 billion this year

Investors bet the startup’s algorithms, which feed on satellite data, will fill a significant gap in the methane market. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, March 13, 2024

Tierra Biosciences nabs $11 million to create new AI-guided proteins

By using cell-free technology, Tierra is able to cut down protein manufacturing from months to weeks and enable customers to order proteins online.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, March 13, 2024

Google confirms it’s restricting Gemini election queries globally

If you want to ask Google’s AI chatbot a question about an upcoming election, you will have to do it from a country where there are no elections taking place. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, March 12, 2024

‘Banking as a Service’ startup Griffin riases $24M and attains full banking licence

Founded by former Silicon Valley engineers, UK-based Griffin Bank bills itself as an API-driven ‘Banking as a Service’ platform. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, March 12, 2024

Elon Musk says xAI will open-source Grok this week

Elon Musk said Monday he will open-source Grok, X’s AI chatbot rivaling ChatGPT, this week, days after suing OpenAI and complaining that the Microsoft-backed startup had deviated from its open roots. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, March 11, 2024

Artemis Fund has a fresh $36 million to back diverse founders solving ‘big, hairy problems’

For Fund II, Artemis intends to continue leading and co-leading investments and will target around 20 new companies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, March 11, 2024

Faraday Future survives long enough to issue its first recall

Troubled EV startup Faraday Future has issued its first recall, covering all 11 vehicles it built last year, as it fights to hold onto its Los Angeles headquarters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, March 08, 2024

Saildrone’s first aluminum Surveyor autonomous vessel splashes down for Navy testing

Ocean intelligence company Saildrone has just put the first of a new generation of Surveyor autonomous vessels in the water: an aluminum version that the Navy is keen to take advantage of. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, March 08, 2024

Telegram now lets users to convert personal accounts to business accounts

Telegram founder Pavel Durov announced Wednesday that users on the chat app with personal accounts can now convert them into business accounts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, March 07, 2024

Binance made crypto perfume in a baffling attempt to woo women

What does crypto smell like? Ozone, salt and moss, according to Binance’s new fragrance, “CRYPTO.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, March 07, 2024

Amazon teams with recycling robot firm to track package waste

Amazon generate a lot of trash. Precisely how much is a matter of some debate. In 2021, the company says it used 214 million or so pounds of single-use plastic in its packaging. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, March 06, 2024

NSA says it’s tracking Ivanti cyberattacks as hackers hit US defense sector

The U.S. National Security Agency has confirmed that hackers exploiting flaws in Ivanti’s widely used enterprise VPN appliance have targeted organizations across the U.S. defense sector. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, March 06, 2024

Fohm rebrands to Saintly, for a heavenly clean bottom

When it comes to doing business — not startups, that other kind of business, that you have a whole separate room for in your house — we need to talk about wipes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, March 05, 2024

Now the EU is asking questions about Meta’s ‘pay or be tracked’ consent model

Meta’s controversial pay or be tracked ‘consent’ choice for users the European Union is facing questions from the European Commission. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, March 05, 2024

Apple reverses decision about blocking web apps on iPhones in the EU

Apple has reversed its decision about blocking web apps, also known as Progressive Web Apps (PWAs), on iPhones in the EU. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, March 04, 2024

Karma3 Labs raises $4.5M to improve trust in web3 with ratings and recommendations

There’s no reputation system in the decentralized world of web3, so it’s hard to figure out which entities and individuals to trust and depend on. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, March 04, 2024

Spotify launches a $9.99/mo standalone audiobooks service for its free users

After adding 15 hours of free audiobooks listening to its subscription plan late last year, Spotify today is introducing a $9.99 per month option that will allow its free users to also access its audiobooks collection. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, March 01, 2024

Google brings Stack Overflow’s knowledge base to Gemini for Google Cloud

Developer Q&A site Stack Overflow is launching a new program today that will give AI companies access to its knowledge base through a new API, aptly named OverflowAPI. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, March 01, 2024

Vibe helps small companies buy video ads on streaming services

As streaming apps and services are gradually showing more ads to viewers, adtech startup Vibe plans to help small businesses take advantage of that trend by letting them access that ad inventory with a self-serve ad platform. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, February 29, 2024

Reliance and Disney to merge media assets in India

Reliance, its media asset Viacom18 and Disney are merging their media businesses in India, creating the largest media conglomerate in the South Asian market. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, February 29, 2024

Yolk is a social app where users swap custom live stickers — no text allowed

With so much fresh competition in social apps right now — plus the usual set of social media platforms and messaging giants sucking up attention — it might feel like there’s precious little room to innovate in this slice of the consumer market. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, February 28, 2024

SeatGeek’s new tools help fans resell tickets at the best price

Ticketing platform and resale marketplace SeatGeek is introducing three features to simplify the ticket-selling experience for users wanting to resell. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, February 28, 2024

Threads widens the gap with X, with triple the daily downloads on iOS

Although an app’s downloads aren’t an exact proxy for usage, they can hint at where the market is headed. And in the case of the alt-Twitter wars, the app winning the game right now is Instagram’s Threads. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, February 27, 2024

The Supreme Court could decide the fate of content moderation — or it could punt

The Supreme Court is considering the fate of two state laws that limit how social media companies can moderate the content on their platforms. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, February 27, 2024

Winning wireless with American strengths

Eric Schmidt Contributor Eric Schmidt was the CEO of Google from 2001 to 2011 and executive chairman of Google and its successor company, Alphabet, from 2011 to 2017. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, February 26, 2024

Spyware leak offers ‘first-of-its-kind’ look inside Chinese government hacking efforts

Over the weekend, someone posted a cache of files and documents apparently stolen from the Chinese government hacking contractor, I-Soon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, February 26, 2024

Hackers are exploiting ConnectWise flaws to deploy LockBit ransomware, security experts warn

Security experts are warning that a pair of high-risk flaws in a popular remote access tool are being exploited by hackers to deploy LockBit ransomware — days after authorities announced that they had disrupted the notorious Russia-linked cybercrime gang. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, February 23, 2024

Byju’s investors unanimously vote to remove founder

A group of Byju’s investors on Friday voted to remove the edtech group’s founder and chief executive Byju Raveendran. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, February 23, 2024

Bioptimus raises $35 million seed round to develop AI foundational model focused on biology

There’s a new generative AI startup based in Paris. But what makes Bioptimus interesting is that it plans to apply everything we’ve collectively learned about AI models over the past few years with a narrow, exclusive focus on biology. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, February 22, 2024

Tinder is expanding ID verification to the US, UK, Brazil and Mexico

Tinder is expanding its identify verification program to users in the U.S., U.K., Brazil and Mexico, the company announced on Tuesday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, February 22, 2024

YouTube rolls out new channel pages for creators on its TV app

YouTube is changing the design for creators’ channels on the big screen, the company announced today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, February 21, 2024

YouTube dominates TV streaming in U.S., per Nielsen’s latest report

Nielsen today released its January report on viewing usage across linear TV and streaming, which revealed that YouTube is once again the overall top streaming service in the U.S., with 8.6% of viewing on television screens. Netflix, meanwhile, saw 7.9% of TV usage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, February 21, 2024

With Twilio under activist pressure, Segment could be put up for sale

With Twilio under pressure from activist investors, it's looking at whether to sell Segment, the company it bought in 2020 for $3.2 billion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, February 20, 2024

SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son is reportedly seeking $100B to build a new AI chip venture

SoftBank Group’s Masayoshi Son has made no secret of his intent to double down on red-hot artificial intelligence industry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, February 19, 2024

Feds open second probe into Fisker’s Ocean SUV after rollaway complaints

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened a second investigation into EV startup Fisker’s Ocean SUV, after the agency received four complaints about the vehicle rolling away unexpectedly, including one injury. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, February 19, 2024

European digital rights group say the future of online privacy is on a knife edge

A coalition of more than two dozen digital and democratic rights groups, NGOs and not-for-profits, including noyb and Wikimedia Europe, have written to the European Union’s regulatory body for data protection urging it to reject a tactic that’s been controversially seized upon by Meta in its latest bid to circumvent the bloc’s privacy laws. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, February 16, 2024

Lucid Motors drops the price of its cheapest EV by more than $8,000

Lucid Motors is lopping thousands of dollars off the price of its most affordable electric sedans as it looks to boost demand after a disappointing year of sales. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, February 16, 2024

TikTok launches a ‘reimagined’ app for the Apple Vision Pro

TikTok has launched a native and “reimagined” app on the Apple Vision Pro, the company announced on Thursday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, February 15, 2024

General Atlantic leads $50M Series C into Bold to grow digital payments in Colombia

Bold provides low-cost payment terminals, called dataphones, that enable small and medium businesses to accept link payments. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, February 15, 2024

US military notifies 20,000 of data breach after cloud email leak

The U.S. Department of Defense is notifying tens of thousands of individuals that their personal information was exposed in an email data spill last year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, February 14, 2024

Hackers uncover new TheTruthSpy stalkerware victims: Is your Android device compromised?

A consumer-grade spyware operation called TheTruthSpy poses an ongoing security and privacy risk to thousands of people whose Android devices are unknowingly compromised with its mobile surveillance apps, not least due to a simple security flaw that its operators never fixed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, February 13, 2024

Cruise names first chief safety officer following crash and controversy

Cruise has named its first “chief safety officer” as part of the company’s effort to rehabilitate itself following an incident — and ensuing controversy — last year that left a pedestrian stuck under and then dragged by one of its robotaxis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, February 13, 2024

Bugcrowd snaps up $102M for a ‘bug bounty’ security platform that taps 500K+ hackers

Bugcrowd — the startup that taps into a database of half a million hackers to help organizations like OpenAI and the U.S. government set up and run bug bounty programs, cash rewards to freelancers who can identify bugs and vulnerabilities in their code — has picked up a big cash award. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, February 12, 2024

Apple defends parts pairing as Oregon mulls right-to-repair bill

Oregon may soon become the latest state to pass right-to-repair legislation. Last month, Google lent its support in an open letter, calling Senate Bill 1596 “a compelling model for other states to follow.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, February 12, 2024

Pinterest announces a new ad deal with Google as it approaches 500M MAUs

Pinterest announced a new ad deal with Google as the company aims to ramp up its ad revenue. Google is the social platform’s second third-party ad partner after Amazon signed a multiyear deal with Pinterest last year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sat, February 10, 2024

Meta challenges EU’s Digital Services Act supervisory fee as unfair

Meta is challenging a fee levied by the European Union on larger online platforms under its rebooted ecommerce rules. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, February 09, 2024

FCC officially declares AI-voiced robocalls illegal

The FCC’s war on robocalls has gained a new weapon in its arsenal with the declaration of AI-generated voices as “artificial” and therefore by definitely against the law when used in automated calling scams. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, February 09, 2024

Californian regulator looking into Waymo’s collision with a cyclist

California’s auto regulator, the Department of Motor Vehicles, is investigating an incident that occurred on Tuesday, where a driverless Waymo car collided with a cyclist, according to a report by Reuters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, February 08, 2024

Snap is looking to unify user experience across Spotlight and Stories

Snap’s stock plunged 30% on Tuesday after announcing Q4 2023 results that didn’t meet analyst expectations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, February 08, 2024

WhatsApp is preparing to roll out third-party chat support

With a month away from the Digital Markets Act (DMA) deadline, WhatsApp is preparing to allow other messaging networks in its app. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, February 07, 2024

Invite-only dating app Blush launches with $7M in seed funding

Invite-only dating app Blush has raised $7 million in seed funding to scale and expand its exclusive platform. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, February 07, 2024

Yandex to sell its remaining Russian businesses for $5.2B — half its market value

Yandex N.V., the Dutch parent company of the eponymous Russian internet giant, is selling the last of its remaining Russian businesses at a steep discount. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, February 06, 2024

Bluesky is now open for anyone to join

After almost a year as an invite-only app, Bluesky is now open to the public. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, February 06, 2024

Meta cuts off third-party access to Facebook Groups, leaving developers and customers in disarray

The recent surprise announcement that Meta will soon be shutting down a Facebook Groups API is throwing some businesses and social media marketers into disarray. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, February 05, 2024

Stalkerware apps PhoneSpector and Highster appear to shut down

The makers of two phone surveillance services appear to have shuttered after the owner agreed to settle state accusations of illegally promoting spyware that his companies developed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, February 05, 2024

As Podcastle raises $13.5M, its founder credits AI-driven growth in Armenia’s ‘Mini-Silicon Valley’

Podcastle, a podcasting platform that has boosted its product with various generative AI-driven features, has raised $13.5 million in a Series Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sat, February 03, 2024

FTC orders Blackbaud to overhaul ‘reckless’ security practices in wake of 2020 breach

Education tech company Blackbaud agreed to settle with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission over the company’s security practices that resulted in a 2020 data breach. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, February 02, 2024

MessageBird rebrands as Bird, and slashes prices by 90% on SMS to take on Twilio

No, don’t think Bird Scooters. Think Bird, formerly MessageBird. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, February 02, 2024

Three San Francisco supervisors receive threats following YC President Garry Tan’s tweet

Aaron Peskin says Garry Tan’s now deleted X post did “harm to democratic discourse." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, February 01, 2024

Sundar Pichai says Google One cloud storage service has nearly 100M subscribers

Google CEO Sudar Pichai said that the company’s Google One cloud storage service is ” just about to cross” 100 million subscribers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, February 01, 2024

Universal Music Group plans to pull song catalog from TikTok

Universal Music Group (UMG), the label representing artists including Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, and Ariana Grande, says that it’ll pull its music from TikTok tomorrow at midnight after failing to reach a deal with the platform’s parent company, ByteDance, over royalties. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, January 31, 2024

Yelp launches revamped feed with AI-powered business summaries

Yelp is releasing new features as part of its winter release, which includes a more visual feed, AI-powered summaries of businesses, and number masking while contacting businesses for better privacy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, January 31, 2024

Streaming media company Plex raises new funds as it nears profitability

Media streamer Plex has raised new capital. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, January 30, 2024

Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal leaves board

Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal has resigned from the e-commerce group’s board, the two said Saturday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, January 30, 2024

Spotify calls Apple’s DMA compliance plan ‘extortion’ and a ‘complete and total farce’

Count Spotify among those not thrilled with how Apple has chosen to comply with the EU’s Digital Markets Act, which sets the stage for sideloading apps, alternative app stores, browser choice, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, January 29, 2024

General purpose humanoid robots? Bill Gates is a believer

The robotics industry loves a good, healthy debate. Of late, one of the most intense ones centers around humanoid robots. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, January 29, 2024

OpenAI responds to Congressional Black Caucus about lack of diversity on its board

OpenAI has been criticized for the lack of diversity on its board. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, January 26, 2024

Pokemon Company says it intends to investigate Palworld

The Pokemon Company said Thursday it has not granted any permission to “another company,” referring to Palworld-developer Pocketpair, to use Pokemon intellectual property or assets and “intends to investigate and take appropriate measures” against the fast-growing survival game operator. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, January 26, 2024

Meta is rolling out tighter teen messaging limitations and parental controls

Meta announced today that it is rolling out new DM restrictions on both Facebook and Instagram for teens that prevent anyone from messaging teens. Until now, Instagram restricts adults over the age of 18 from messaging teens who don’t follow them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, January 25, 2024

BeReal, which now has 23M DAUs, is onboarding brands and celebs

BeReal, a rising social media app that emphasizes authenticity, is making its first outreach to brands and celebrities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, January 25, 2024

Etsy launches ‘Gift Mode,’ a new AI-powered feature that generates 200+ gift guides

E-commerce site Etsy today launched “Gift Mode,” a new AI-powered feature to match you with tailored gift ideas based on specific preferences. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, January 24, 2024

Apple will pay artists more to have a spatial audio version on Apple Music

Apple will pay additional royalties starting this month to artists if they have a spatial audio version on Apple Music, according to multiple reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, January 24, 2024

Telegram is rolling out ‘view-once’ voice and video messages

Telegram is rolling out a bunch of upgrades as part of its January feature drop including “view-once” video and audio messages, the ability to pause recording while sending a video or an audio message, and new read-time controls. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, January 23, 2024

Chronosphere acquires Calyptia to extend its observability platform

Chronosphere, a startup that offers a cloud native observability platform, today announced that it has acquired Calyptia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, January 23, 2024

Sony tells Zee it’s terminating the $10 billion India merger

Sony called off the merger between its India unit and Zee Entertainment on Monday, ending a two-year acquisition deliberation that would have created a $10 billion media powerhouse in the South Asian market. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, January 22, 2024

X says a bug caused numerous posts to be labeled as ‘Sensitive Media’

A bug on X, formerly Twitter, was causing numerous posts over the weekend to be flagged as “Sensitive Media,” thwarting the company’s own attempts to make its platform more approachable to advertisers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, January 22, 2024

TikTok faces Iowa lawsuit accusing the company of ‘lying’ to parents

The state of Iowa is suing TikTok, alleging that the social media company misleads parents about the kinds of content available to young users. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sat, January 20, 2024

Spotify’s astrology-like Daylists go viral, but its micro-genre mastermind was let go last month

Is it a “fearful vocaloid wednesday morning,” a “yearning cottagecore thursday afternoon,” or perhaps a “heartbroken karaoke friday evening”? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, January 19, 2024

Unredacted Meta documents reveal ‘historical reluctance’ to protect children

Internal Meta documents about child safety have been unsealed as part of a lawsuit filed by the New Mexico Department of Justice against both Meta and its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, January 19, 2024

Land Moto accelerates its electric bike battery play with $3M infusion

Cleveland-based electric motorcycle startup Land Moto is looking to diversify by powering up the battery design side of its tech. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, January 18, 2024

NASA’s robotic, self-assembling structures could be the next phase of space construction

Bad news if you want to move to the Moon or Mars: housing is a little hard to come by. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, January 18, 2024

Apple tops Samsung in worldwide smartphone shipments for the first time

Apple’s iPhone has overtaken Samsung for the first time ever as the best-selling smartphone in 2023, according to a new report from IDC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, January 17, 2024

FedEx announces its own commerce platform for merchants

Logistics company FedEx announced its own commerce platform called FDX today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, January 17, 2024

Elon’s Tesla robot is sort of ‘ok’ at folding laundry in pre-scripted demo

Elon Musk’s Optimus humanoid robot from Tesla is doing more stuff — this time folding a t-shirt on a table in a development facility. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, January 16, 2024

Google will allow more real-money games on the Play Store

Google announced today that the company plans to support more real-money games (RMG) on the Play Store this year by allowing more types of games in the category following local laws. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, January 16, 2024

LG opens its first US EV charging factory in Texas

LG Electronics has opened its first electric vehicle (EV) charger facility outside of South Korea — in Fort Worth, Texas — to capture a share of North America’s competitive EV charging market.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, January 15, 2024

As Disney pushes towards streaming profitability, Pixar to undergo layoffs in 2024

Disney-owned animation studio Pixar is poised to undergo layoffs this year, TechCrunch has learned and the company confirmed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, January 12, 2024

Google Cloud rolls out new gen AI products for retailers

Google wants to inject a little generative AI into retail. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, January 12, 2024

Smart molluscs – yes, smart molluscs – could watch our waterways 24/7 for pollution

If the clams could speak, what would they say? Surely we all ask ourselves this question every day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, January 11, 2024

App economy recovered in 2023, with $171B in consumer spending, but downloads were flat

After the app economy slowed for the first time ever in 2022, things picked up pace again over the past year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, January 10, 2024

X removes support for NFT profile pictures

On Tuesday, Elon Musk’s X wrote about a grand vision for the company in 2024, which includes launching peer-to-peer payments and more AI-powered tools. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, January 10, 2024

Threads accidentally rolls out the feature to view latest search results

Multiple Threads users on the iOS app reported earlier today that they are seeing a new “Latest” option to sort search results on the new social network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, January 09, 2024

After taking credibility hit, Carta announces it is exiting the secondaries business: “We have decided to prioritize trust”

Roughly 72 hours after a prominent startup customer complained that Carta was misusing information with which it was entrusted — scaring many of Carta’s tens of thousands of other customers in the process. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, January 09, 2024

Astrobotic lander on its way to the moon with ULA’s historic flight

It’s hard to understate just how much was at stake in Monday’s early morning launch of United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur rocket. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, January 08, 2024

RIP? Third-party podcast app Castro appears to be dead, company goes quiet

The once popular third-party podcast app Castro has seemingly shut down, after earlier saying that it was “actively seeking a new home” for its product. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sat, January 06, 2024

Logan Paul promises CryptoZoo refunds, as long as you don’t sue him

Logan Paul is offering refunds for CryptoZoo, the failed and allegedly fraudulent Pokémon-inspired NFT game that he launched in 2021. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, January 05, 2024

Aurora and Continental pass first major hurdle in commercial self-driving trucks deal

Aurora and automotive supplier Continental have wrapped up the first phase of a more than $300 million project to mass produce autonomous vehicle hardware for commercial self-driving trucks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, January 05, 2024

Superpedestrian to auction 20,000 e-scooters after shutting down

More than 20,000 electric scooters belonging to Superpedestrian will be auctioned off later this month, along with other equipment from the startup’s U.S. operations, after closing its doors December 31 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, January 04, 2024

Intel spins out a new enterprise-focused gen AI software company

Intel, intent on making bigger moves in the market for AI-powered enterprise software, is spinning out a new platform company with the backing of Boca Raton, Florida-based asset manager and investor DigitalBridge. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, January 04, 2024

Telegram’s latest update brings a redesigned call interface that uses less of your phone’s battery

Telegram is rolling out a new update that introduces improved calls with a new design that uses less of your phone’s battery. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, January 03, 2024

Moonwalker robotic shoes get lighter and smarter

Next week at CES, Austin-based Shift Robotics will debut a revamped version of their viral hit robotic shoes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, January 03, 2024

OpenAI moves to shrink regulatory risk in EU around data privacy

While most of Europe was still knuckle deep in the holiday chocolate selection box late last month, ChatGPT maker OpenAI was busy firing out an email with details of an incoming update to its terms that looks intended to shrink its regulatory risk in the European Union. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, January 02, 2024

Fidelity marks down X valuation by 71.5%

Mutual fund company Fidelity has marked down its investment in X holdings Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, January 02, 2024

Try these apps to reach your New Year’s resolutions in 2024

As the new year approaches, many of us are reminded of all the things we accomplished this year — getting a promotion, being more productive or even showing up to places on time — as well as things we failed to do. © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, January 02, 2024

2023 showed cybersecurity isn’t immune from brutal layoffs

Despite a rise in cyberattacks and breaches, the cybersecurity industry is by no means exempt from the uncertainty inspired by the current economy. 2023 will likely be remembered as the “year of the layoff.” While many expected the tide to shift after a rough 2022 that saw more than 130,000 tech workers lose their jobs. © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Mon, January 01, 2024

6 great audiobook apps that aren’t Audible

Audiobooks are a great way to bring words on a page to life and fit reading into your schedule throughout the day when you’re doing things like working out, cooking, driving and relaxing. Amazon-owned Audible is arguably the most popular audiobook app out there, but there are several other lesser-known options. © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Fri, December 29, 2023

India government agency seeks to block Binance and Kraken

Financial Intelligence Unit, an Indian government agency which scrutinizes financial transactions, said Thursday nine global crypto exchanges — including Binance, Kraken, Kucoin and Mexc — are operating “illegally” in the country without complying with the local anti-money laundering act and requested the IT Ministry to block their websites. © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Fri, December 29, 2023

Meet the cyber-criminals of 2023

Once again we look back at the past year in cybercrime and those who we lost… to the law. This year was no different to last: we saw another round of high-profile busts, arrests, sanctions, and prison time for some of the most prolific cybercriminals in recent years. This is our look back at who […] © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Thu, December 28, 2023

Xiaomi’s first EV is the freshest take on a ‘smartphone on wheels’

Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi has revealed its first electric car, a sharp-looking sedan called the SU7. Slated to roll out in China next year, it’s another entry into an increasingly-crowded market for EVs. It’s also another attempt in this software-obsessed world to match up the technology people find in their phones to what goes on […] © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Thu, December 28, 2023

Hackers stole $2 billion in crypto in 2023, data shows

For yet another year, hackers stole billions of dollars in crypto. But for the first time since 2020, the trend is downwards, according to crypto security firms. This year, hackers stole around $2 billion dollars in crypto across dozens of cyberattacks and thefts, according to De.FI, the web3 security firm that runs the Rekt leaderboard. […] © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Wed, December 27, 2023

Apple Vision Pro tipped for late Jan/early Feb release

We’ve known about the Vision Pro for more than half-a-year now (not to mention the years of rumors), but Apple’s first “spatial computing” device is one of consumer electronics’ biggest question marks heading into the new year. The $3,499 headset was given an “early-2024” release time frame when it was unveiled at WWDC in June, […] © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Wed, December 27, 2023

Fintech’s biggest hits and misses of 2023

"As 2023 comes to a close, we’re here to look back at the biggest fintech stories of the year. Silicon Valley Bank’s implosion felt like a fintech story in that a number of startups (Brex, Arc and Mercury, for example) in the space leapt to fill the hole left by its collapse. But it truly […] © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only."

Sat, December 23, 2023

A dual-use ‘Slack+location+payments’ startup raises Seed to serve humanitarian, military scenarios

When Helsing raised a $223 million Series B round, the tech world saw it as continued confirmation that Defence was unquestionably back on the investing agenda. Further confirmation comes today in the form of a $5.5 million Seed round for UK defense tech startup Labrys Technologies, led by Germany’s Project A Ventures. Also participating were […] © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Fri, December 22, 2023

Cisco to acquire cloud-native networking and security startup Isovalent

Cisco announced this morning that it intends to acquire Isovalent, a cloud-native security and networking startup that should fit well with the company’s core networking and security strategy.

Thu, December 21, 2023

PaintJet is building big industrial robots for big industrial paint jobs

Construction may well prove to be the next major focus for robotics investment.

Thu, December 21, 2023

AR platform Really launches ‘Fandime’ NFTs to reward users with exclusive movie-related content

Traditionally, being a hardcore movie fan means collecting physical memorabilia like autographed posters to show dedication.

Wed, December 20, 2023

Spill is now in open beta on iOS and Android

It’s been more than a year since Elon Musk purchased Twitter, yet we’re still seeing the reverberations of that deal on other social platforms, including the new ones that have cropped up since.

Wed, December 20, 2023

OpenAI buffs safety team and gives board veto power on risky AI

OpenAI is expanding its internal safety processes to fend off the threat of harmful AI. A new “safety advisory group” will sit above the technical teams and make recommendations to leadership, and the board has been granted veto power.

Tue, December 19, 2023

Google says it will pay $700M as a part of Play Store dispute settlement

Google said today it will pay $700 million — $630 million to U.S. consumers and $70 to a fund used by U.S. states — in a settlement over Play Store reached in September.

Tue, December 19, 2023

Google moves to end geofence warrants, a surveillance problem it largely created

Google will soon allow users to store their location data on their devices rather than on Google’s servers.

Mon, December 18, 2023

Meltwater, the media monitoring startup, gets a $65M investment from Verdane

Meltwater, which first made its name around media monitoring and then got active in business intelligence using AI and big data analytics techniques, is picking up a new investor.

Mon, December 18, 2023

Waymo launches curbside robotaxi pickup at Phoenix airport

Select Waymo One riders can now get picked up or dropped off by the company’s robotaxis curbside at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

Sat, December 16, 2023

Credit Karma co-founder Nichole Mustard stepping down after more than 16 years

Credit Karma co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer Nichole Mustard is leaving the company after 16-and-a-half years.

Fri, December 15, 2023

Microsoft disrupts cybercrime operation selling fraudulent accounts to notorious hacking gang

Microsoft says it has successfully dismantled the infrastructure of a cybercrime operation that sold access to fraudulent Outlook accounts to other hackers, including the notorious Scattered Spider gang.

Fri, December 15, 2023

Apple will no longer give police users’ push notification data without a warrant

Apple said it will no longer give over records of users’ push notifications to law enforcement unless the company receives a valid judge’s order.

Thu, December 14, 2023

China’s autonomous vehicle regulation requires safety operators, in-car recordings

When it comes to spurring the development of cutting-edge technologies, the Chinese government is rather pragmatic in its policymaking process.

Wed, December 13, 2023

Verve Motion raises $20M to grow its exosuit business

Verve Motion, a startup building a robotic “exosuit” designed to help workers complete physically demanding tasks in factories and other like environments, today announced that it raised $20 million in a Series B round.

Wed, December 13, 2023

China’s WeRide tests autonomous buses in Singapore, accelerate global ambition

After years of aggressive expansion at home, China’s autonomous vehicle upstarts are now setting their gaze on overseas markets.

Tue, December 12, 2023

Hasbro to cut 1,100 jobs despite Dungeons & Dragons thriving

Hasbro is laying off 1,100 employees, according to an SEC filing. The company behind franchises like Dungeons & Dragons and Transformers, Hasbro already laid off 800 employees in January.

Tue, December 12, 2023

US-China tech war escalates over EV battery dominance

Semiconductors have in recent years become a focal point in the U.S.’s efforts to impede China’s technological advancement.

Mon, December 11, 2023

TikTok to invest $1.5B in GoTo’s Indonesia e-commerce business

ByteDance’s TikTok will take a 75.01% controlling stake in a joint venture entity formed in partnership with GoTo’s e-commerce unit Tokopedia.

Mon, December 11, 2023

Threads is rolling out its hashtags without the hash symbol globally

Meta’s social network Threads got a major update Thursday as the company started rolling out tags (without the hash symbol) on the platform.

Fri, December 08, 2023

Google’s best Gemini demo was faked

Google’s new Gemini AI model is getting a mixed reception after its big debut yesterday, but users may have less confidence in the company’s tech or integrity after finding out that the most impressive demo of Gemini was pretty much faked.

Fri, December 08, 2023

EU ‘final’ talks to fix AI rules to run into second day — but deal on foundational models is on the table

As European Union lawmakers clock up 20+ hours of negotiating time in a marathon attempt to reach agreement on how to regulate artificial intelligence a preliminary accord on how to handle one sticky element.

Thu, December 07, 2023

Meta finally starts rolling out default end-to-end encryption for Messenger

After years of promises and limited tests, Meta has started rolling out default end-to-end encryption protection for Messenger.

Thu, December 07, 2023

Bing’s new ‘Deep Search’ feature offers more comprehensive answers to complex search queries

Microsoft Bing is getting a new “Deep Search” feature powered by OpenAI’s GPT-4.

Wed, December 06, 2023

X is now licensed for payment processing in a dozen U.S states

Elon Musk is moving forward with his plans to turn the company formerly known as Twitter, now called X, into an “everything app” that includes its own payments system.

Wed, December 06, 2023

Meta set to discontinue cross-messaging between Instagram and Facebook

Meta has silently updated its support pages to indicate that the company won’t let users on Instagram message their Facebook contacts anymore.

Tue, December 05, 2023

Cruise faces fines in California for withholding key details in robotaxi accident

Cruise keeps getting kicked while it’s down.

Tue, December 05, 2023

TikTok expands its in-app Ticketmaster ticketing feature to users in 20 countries

TikTok and Ticketmaster are expanding their partnership into 20 new countries after initially launching it in the United States back in August 2022.

Mon, December 04, 2023

Meta faces $600M competition damages claim in Spain as media owners pursue privacy breach lawsuit

Meta is facing a major legal challenge and damages claim in Spain that argues the adtech giant’s years of failing to have a valid legal basis for processing people’s data for ads under European Union data protection rules.

Mon, December 04, 2023

Smartphone sales to rebound on AI gains, Morgan Stanley says

Smartphone sales will mount a comeback starting in 2024, defying growing warnings of a prolonged slump across the mobile sector, according to separate projections by Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley reviewed by TechCrunch.

Fri, December 01, 2023

Former Blue Origin rocket engine manager alleges wrongful termination for whistleblowing on safety

The former program manager of Blue Origin’s BE-4 rocket engines has filed a lawsuit against the company alleging whistleblower retaliation after he spoke up about safety issues.

Fri, December 01, 2023

Immensa, a MENA-based additive manufacturing and digital inventory platform, raises $20 million

The global energy spare parts market is valued at over $90 billion, with the Middle East representing about 35% of this sector.

Thu, November 30, 2023

Here’s your reminder that Google is deleting inactive accounts tomorrow

As Google ramps up its security measures, the company is deleting inactive accounts that haven’t been touched for two years as a way of protecting users from security threats, such as identity theft, unwanted spam and scams.

Thu, November 30, 2023

Polestar’s climate-tweeting bot isn’t actually a bot, for good reason

“When is a bot a person?,” my colleague Kirsten asked after I learned that Polestar’s climate bot is more human than machine.

Wed, November 29, 2023

London’s iconic black cabs can soon be hailed on Uber

Uber has secured another win over the struggling taxi industry. Soon, riders in London will be able to hail an iconic black cab in the city.

Wed, November 29, 2023

AWS brings Amazon One palm-scanning authentication to the enterprise

Amazon’s cloud computing subsidiary AWS (Amazon Web Services) has lifted the lid on a new palm-scanning identity service that allows companies to authenticate people when entering physical premises.

Tue, November 28, 2023

Apple partner Foxconn to invest $1.5 billion in India

Foxconn plans to invest $1.54 billion in India, the latest in its growing expansion plan, following a surge in revenues in the South Asian market.

Tue, November 28, 2023

X loses Paris Hilton’s 11:11 Media partnership in latest brand pull-out

Paris Hilton’s 11:11 Media is pulling out of its partnership with the X.

Mon, November 27, 2023

After two ambitious years, TikTok parent ByteDance starts mass layoffs in gaming

ByteDance’s gaming ambition has been an expensive, short-lived pursuit.

Thu, November 23, 2023

OpenAI will benefit from unity of purpose with Sam Altman’s return

In case you missed it, Sam Altman is back as OpenAI CEO. His reinstatement comes after a whirlwind few days in which we saw unusual corporate governance lead to an attempt to oust Altman, despite support from both Microsoft and the vast majority of OpenAI’s workforce. While the whole process was incredibly messy, the result […] © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Wed, November 22, 2023

Florida judge finds Tesla, Elon Musk knew of defective Autopilot system

There is “reasonable evidence” to conclude that Tesla and its officers, including CEO Elon Musk, knew its vehicles had defective Autopilot systems but still allowed the cars to be driven in areas “not safe for that technology,” a Florida judge found. The ruling last week from Judge Reid Scott, in the Circuit Court for Palm […] © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Wed, November 22, 2023

Generative AI startup AI21 Labs raises cash in the midst of OpenAI chaos

One AI startup’s undoing is another’s opportunity. Case in point: today, AI21 Labs, a company developing generative AI products along the lines of OpenAI’s GPT-4 and ChatGPT, closed a $53 million extension to its previously-announced Series C funding round.

Tue, November 21, 2023

Chaos at OpenAI adds fuel to the AI talent poaching war

It may be difficult for just any company to court OpenAI employees even if compensation packages are eye-poppingly high because of loyalty to Sam Altman. 

Tue, November 21, 2023

Tinder redesigns profile pages with prompts, info tags and quiz

Tinder is revamping its profile pages to make them more informative and create easier starting points for conversations.

Mon, November 20, 2023

Altman won’t return as OpenAI’s CEO after all

Capping off a tumultuous weekend at OpenAI that culminated in investors — and a contingent of employees — attempting to convince the company’s board to hire back former Y Combinator president Sam Altman after firing him on Friday, Altman won’t be returning as CEO

Mon, November 20, 2023

Signal details costs of keeping its private messaging service alive

What price privacy? End-to-end encrypted (E2EE) messaging app Signal has put out an interesting overview of the costs required to develop and maintain its pro-privacy systems which shield user data from tracking by default.

Fri, November 17, 2023

Wattpad Premium subscribers now have access to 5 free monthly Wattpad Originals

Wattpad announced today “Premium Picks,” a new offering that gives Premium and Premium+ subscribers monthly access to five free Wattpad Originals—the recently launched freemium model where select authors can choose to monetize chapters.

Fri, November 17, 2023

DeepMind and YouTube release Lyria, a gen-AI model for music, and Dream Track to build AI tunes

Back in January, Google made some waves — soundwaves, that is — when it quietly released some research on AI-based music creation software that built tunes based on word prompts.

Thu, November 16, 2023

Toyota is turning to startup Redwood Materials for critical battery materials

Battery cells produced at Toyota’s future North American EV factory will someday contain a little Redwood Materials DNA.

Thu, November 16, 2023

GM inserts exec at Cruise as safety review expands, manual self driving paused

General Motors is taking a more active role in shaping the safety culture at Cruise.

Wed, November 15, 2023

Tesla hits reverse on threat to sue Cybertruck resellers

Tesla seems to be walking back the punitive limits it placed on buyers of its yet-to-be-released Cybertrucks.

Wed, November 15, 2023

Venmo gets a new way to split expenses among groups

PayPal-owned Venmo is rolling out a new feature starting today that will allow its users to track and manage multiple expenses among groups.

Tue, November 14, 2023

TikTok’s newest feature lets you save favorite songs directly to Spotify or Amazon Music

TikTok is teaming up with streaming music services, including Spotify and Amazon Music, on a new feature that will allow users to save the songs they hear in TikTok videos directly to their preferred streaming music app.

Tue, November 14, 2023

Shekel Mobility, a B2B marketplace for auto dealers in Africa, raises $7M led by Ventures Platform and MaC VC

The World Economic Forum states that Africa has an average annual demand for 2.4 million cars and 300,000 commercial vehicles.

Mon, November 13, 2023

Bose QuietComfort Ultra earn their name and maybe even their $429 price tag

For years, any time someone asked what brand of headphones they should buy for a flight, the answer was a simple one syllable: Bose.

Mon, November 13, 2023

Ghost, now OpenAI-backed, claims LLMs will overcome self-driving setbacks — but experts are skeptical

It’s not hyperbolic to say that the self-driving car industry is facing a reckoning.

Fri, November 10, 2023

Tumblr to run on skeleton crew as parent company Automattic absorbs staff

According to a leaked memo, Tumblr’s longterm financial woes have reached a breaking point.

Fri, November 10, 2023

Lyft picks comfort over sharing in bid to compete with Uber

Lyft is introducing a “more affordable sort of higher-end ride” in an attempt to offer ride-hail products that customers actually want.

Thu, November 09, 2023

OpenAI blames DDoS attack for ongoing ChatGPT outage

OpenAI has confirmed that a DDoS (distributed denial-of-service) attack is behind “periodic outages” affecting ChatGPT and its developer tools.

Thu, November 09, 2023

Instagram is finally testing a feature to let you turn off read receipts for DMs

By Ivan Mehta - Instagram is finally testing a feature that will let users turn off read receipts for Instagram DMs.

Wed, November 08, 2023

Samsung unveils ChatGPT alternative Samsung Gauss that can generate text, code and images

Written by Kate Park - Just a few days after OpenAI’s developer event, Samsung unveiled its own generative AI model, Samsung Gauss, at the Samsung AI Forum 2023.

Wed, November 08, 2023

GM halts production of Cruise Origin robotaxi amid suspended operations

Cruise is pausing production of its purpose-built robotaxi, the Origin — the autonomous vehicle company’s latest setback amid suspended operations and increased scrutiny from regulators.

Tue, November 07, 2023

WeWork, once worth $47 billion, files for bankruptcy

Flexible-office-space firm WeWork has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, a stunning change in fortune for the once high-flying startup co-founded by Adam Neumann and bankrolled by SoftBank.

Tue, November 07, 2023

People are turning to Snap Map for firsthand perspectives from Gaza

The world is watching the humanitarian crisis in Gaza unfold in real time through firsthand accounts documented on, of all places, Snapchat. 

Mon, November 06, 2023

Android’s new real-time app scanning aims to fight malicious sideloaded apps

Android’s in-built security engine Google Play Protect has a new feature that conducts a real-time analysis of an Android app’s code and blocks it from installing the app if it’s considered potentially harmful.

Mon, November 06, 2023

DoorDash adds new safety tools for its delivery people, including ‘driving insights’

DoorDash is launching three new in-app safety tools for its delivery people, the company announced on Friday.

Fri, November 03, 2023

X runs ‘timeline takeover’ ad promoting anti-trans film

Thursday on X (Twitter), all users saw the same pinned topic under the “What’s happening?” sidebar.

Fri, November 03, 2023

Dashtoon uses AI to turn storytellers into comics artists

Dashtoon wants to make anyone with a story to tell into a comics artist, even if they can’t draw.

Thu, November 02, 2023

Apple Music shuts down its Siri-only Voice Plan nearly two years later

Apple Music just shut down its cheapest option—the Voice Plan.

Thu, November 02, 2023

Politicians commit to collaborate to tackle AI safety, US launches safety institute

By Ingrid Lunden. The world is locked in a race, and competition, over dominance in AI, but today, a few of them appeared to come together to say that they would prefer to collaborate when it comes to mitigating risk.

Wed, November 01, 2023

YouTube is now cracking down on ad-blockers globally

Written by Ivan Mehta. YouTube is now cracking down on ad-blocker usage globally, by showing warnings about breaking the platform’s terms of service. In some cases, the company is preventing users from viewing more videos unless they disable ad blocks.

Wed, November 01, 2023

Apple brought back the best Mac colorway with the new M3 MacBook Pro

Apple has a new range of updated MacBook Pro notebooks, and while they get a pretty nice internal upgrade courtesy mostly of the new M3 processor lineup, the big news for aesthetes is on the outside.

Tue, October 31, 2023

Apple’s ‘Scary Fast’ event video was shot on iPhone

In tech, ‘dogfooding’ means using your own stuff in the way you intend for your users to, which is helpful to make sure your stuff lives up to your marketing claims.

Tue, October 31, 2023

Shein adds struggling UK brand Missguided to its fashion empire

Shein, the fast fashion giant that has thrived on its nimble supply chain in China, is expanding its product range by scooping up competitors.

Mon, October 30, 2023

President Biden issues executive order to set standards for AI safety and security

U.S. President Joe Biden has issued an executive order that seeks to establish “new standards” for AI safety and security.

Mon, October 30, 2023

Cruise pauses all driverless robotaxi operations to ‘rebuild public trust’

Cruise said Thursday evening it has paused all driverless operations, a decision that comes just two days after the California DMV suspended Cruise’s deployment and driverless testing permits effectively ending its robotaxi operations in the state.

Fri, October 27, 2023

A year after Musk’s takeover, X says an average user spends 32 minutes per day on the platform

On the eve of the one-year anniversary of Musk taking over Twitter (now X), the company published a retrospective blog post examining how it has fared under the new management.

Fri, October 27, 2023

Meta says users and businesses have 600 million chats on its platforms every day

Meta is doubling down on business messages for revenue generation, as Mark Zuckerberg indicated during the company’s earnings call for Q3 2023.

Thu, October 26, 2023

Will X’s addition of audio and video calling create stickiness in the app?

Elon Musk announced Wednesday that an early version of video and audio calling is now available on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Thu, October 26, 2023

California agency pulls Cruise’s commercial robotaxi permit following DMV action

The California Public Utilities Commission has suspended Cruise’s authority to carry and charge passengers for its robotaxi service.

Wed, October 25, 2023

Google is actively looking to insert different types of ads in its generative AI search

Google confirmed on its earnings call that it is working on different ad formats for its generative AI-powered search experience.

Wed, October 25, 2023

FCC aims to investigate the risk of AI-enhanced robocalls

As if robocalling wasn’t already enough of a problem, the advent of easily accessible, realistic AI-powered writing and synthetic voice could supercharge the practice.

Tue, October 24, 2023

Feds expand Tesla investigation to include vehicle range, personal benefits

Tesla has the attention of the U.S. Department of Justice — again.

Tue, October 24, 2023

After $43B valuation, Databricks acquires data replication startup Arcion for $100M

Databricks has remained a hot startup at a time when interest from investors has cooled across the ecosystem.

Mon, October 23, 2023

Tinder’s app gets more social by letting friends play matchmaker

Dating app users will often sit with friends as they swipe through their matches in order to gain feedback, or even hand over their phone and let their friends swipe for them.

Mon, October 23, 2023

Google takes aim at Duolingo with new English tutoring tool

Google’s gunning for Duolingo with a new Google Search feature designed to help people practice — and improve — their English skills.

Fri, October 20, 2023

Elon Musk confirms X is soon launching two new premium tiers

Elon Musk today said that X (formerly Twitter) is going to soon launch two new premium tiers, confirming previous reports and code sightings.

Fri, October 20, 2023

Sidebar thinks the key to career dev is small peer groups

Sidebar, a company developing a group coaching program focused on driving individual career growth, today announced that it raised $13.3 million in a seed round from investors.

Thu, October 19, 2023

WhatsApp will now let log into two accounts simultaneously

WhatsApp announced today that it is rolling out the ability for users to use two accounts simultaneously.

Thu, October 19, 2023

Foxconn and Nvidia are building ‘AI factories’ to accelerate self-driving cars

Nvidia and Foxconn are working together to build so-called “AI factories,” a new class of data centers that promise to provide supercomputing powers to accelerate the development of self-driving cars, autonomous machines and industrial robots.

Wed, October 18, 2023

X starts experimenting with a $1 per year fee for new users

X, formerly Twitter, announced today that is starting a new experiment to charge a $1 per year fee for “new unverified” users to interact with posts.

Wed, October 18, 2023

YouTube is launching new playback and creator-focused features

YouTube is rolling out a new set of features for better mobile-based playback, song search, and creator-friendly tools.

Tue, October 17, 2023

WhatsApp is launching passkey support on Android

WhatsApp is introducing support for passkeys on Android, the Meta-owned messaging service has announced.

Tue, October 17, 2023

General Catalyst and European early stage fund La Famiglia ‘join forces’ to invest in European startups

In a move that will help cement the incursion of US-based VCs into the European ecosystem, General Catalyst and La Famiglia have announced they are, in their words, “joining forces”.

Mon, October 16, 2023

Leucine makes drug manufacturing compliance less onerous

The compliance process at pharmaceutical manufacturers is a complicated and prone to errors because many still use paper-based systems to record manufacturing steps.

Mon, October 16, 2023

Ford increases wages at planned EV battery factories amid UAW strike

Ford and its joint venture partner SK On, will increase wages at two planned EV battery factories in Kentucky and Tennessee in an effort to assuage striking autoworkers.

Fri, October 13, 2023

Microsoft’s $68.7B Activision acquisition clears final hurdle as UK approves restructured deal

Microsoft’s near-two year attempt to buy gaming giant Activision is finally happening, after the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) accepted a restructured proposal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, October 13, 2023

Twitch adds anti-harassment features to stop banned users from watching streams

Twitch streamers can finally block banned users from watching their streams, thanks to a recent update to the platform’s anti-harassment features. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, October 12, 2023

Linda Yaccarino responds to EU: 700 Community Notes, 5K+ images shared on Israel-Hamas war, “thousands” of pieces of content removed

X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter, came under fire earlier this week in Europe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, October 12, 2023

Recs is a social ‘wallet’ for stashing and sharing your favorite places

The most popular apps suck us into the technological equivalent of couch lock, but it’s easy to imagine how things might have gone differently. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, October 11, 2023

Klarna launches a suite of new features, including an AI-powered image-search tool

Klarna is introducing a suite of new features, including an AI-powered image-search tool called Shopping lens, the company announced on Wednesday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, October 11, 2023

Consumer payments startup Braid shuts down, cites struggles with ‘leveraging third-party software’

Braid, a four-year-old startup that aimed to make shared wallets more mainstream among consumers, has shut down. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, October 10, 2023

X’s new control lets only verified accounts reply to a post

X has introduced a new control that limits replies to only verified accounts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, October 10, 2023

Prosus-backed fast-fashion startup Virgio, valued at $161 million, shuts down

Fast-fashion startup Virgio, founded by former Myntra chief, is shutting down its operations less than a year after raising funds at a valuation of over $160 million. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, October 09, 2023

Waymo-Zeekr robotaxi poised for US testing by end of 2023

Nearly two years after Waymo and Geely struck a deal to develop robotaxis for the U.S. market, we are seeing concrete progress in the collaboration. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, October 09, 2023

Netflix’s 6.5M India subscribers dwarfed by Prime Video and Disney, Bernstein says

Netflix has “not succeeded” in scaling up its business in India despite the global streaming giant consistently lowering the subscription costs in the country, analysts at AllianceBernstein wrote in a report to clients Thursday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, October 06, 2023

All eyes on VW after Hyundai, Kia adopt Tesla charging standard

Hyundai and Kia have finally announced their plans to adopt Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) ports for their electric vehicles in the U.S. and Canada, joining the swells of automakers that have also promised to do so. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, October 06, 2023

Union Square Ventures backs Indian EV infra startup Bolt.Earth in $20M funding

Bolt.Earth, an Indian startup that offers charging infrastructure and software solutions for electric vehicles, has raised $20 million in a funding round to expand its presence within the South Asian nation and enter into new markets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, October 05, 2023

X cuts headlines from link previews as Musk wants users posting directly on the platform

X, formerly Twitter, has started cutting headlines from link cards on the iOS app and on the web. This means you will see just an image with the domain name of the link on the bottom left, which is easy to miss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, October 05, 2023

In latest Cruise incident, video shows pedestrian struck by human-driven car, then run over by robotaxi

The San Francisco Police Department is investigating an October 2 incident that left a woman stuck underneath a Cruise robotaxi after being hit by a human-driven vehicle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, October 04, 2023

Electric Hydrogen is the green hydrogen industry’s first unicorn

Investors have historically been skeptical of green hydrogen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, October 04, 2023

Cloaked manages your logins with proxy emails, phone numbers and a built-in password manager

Boston-based privacy and security startup Cloaked, launched its apps today to let users create unique proxy emails, phone numbers, and passwords for online accounts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, October 03, 2023

Stitch raises $25M Series A extension led by Ribbit Capital, increasing the round’s total to $46M

Open banking, in which traditional banks release their data via application programming interfaces (APIs) to enable the development of new financial services for their consumers, has been one of the most significant disruptions in global payments over the past decade. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, October 03, 2023

VW bails on its plan for a $2.1B EV plant in Germany

Volkswagen’s $2.1 billion plan to launch a dedicated electric-vehicle factory in Wolfsburg, Germany is kaput.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, October 02, 2023

BeReal pushes back at report that it’s losing steam, says it now has 25M daily users

Just under a year ago, the buzzy new social app BeReal looked to be on the rise, with reportedly 20 million users launching the app every day to snap their candid photos. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, October 02, 2023

SpaceX’s defense-focused Starshield satellite internet business lands first contract

SpaceX won its first contract for Starshield, the defense-focused version of its Starlink satellite internet service, from the U.S. Space Force. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, September 29, 2023

Judge upholds $18 minimum pay for NYC delivery workers

In a blow to Uber, DoorDash and Grubhub, a New York judge on Thursday ruled to allow the implementation of the minimum pay rate of $18 per hour for New York City’s food delivery workers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, September 29, 2023

Vivaldi launches an iOS version of its browser

Almost eight years after former Opera CEO Jon von Tetzchner launched a new browser for desktop users, his company named Vivaldi has introduced its iOS version today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, September 28, 2023

X will be profitable in 2024, CEO claims in tense interview

According to X CEO Linda Yaccarino, the company formerly known as Twitter will be profitable by early 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, September 28, 2023

Google launches earthquake alerts on Android in India

Google has announced the launch of its earthquake alert system for Android devices in India. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, September 27, 2023

The writers strike is over: here’s how AI negotiations shook out

After almost five months, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) has reached an agreement with Hollywood studios to end the writers strike. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, September 27, 2023

Meta says separate account deletion for Threads will roll out by December

After launching its text-based social network Threads in July, Meta faced criticism as there was no way for users to delete their Threads account without deleting their Instagram account. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, September 26, 2023

Google Podcasts to shut down in 2024 with listeners migrated to YouTube Music

Google announced this morning it will be shutting down its Google Podcasts app later in 2024 as part of its broader transition to move its streaming listeners over to YouTube Music. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, September 26, 2023

Snap partners with Microsoft on ads in its ‘My AI’ chatbot feature

Snapchat has a new advertising partner in Microsoft for the ads it’s inserting into its AI product, My AI, an AI chatbot introduced earlier this year to the wider Snapchat user base. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, September 25, 2023

X will make audio and video calls a premium subscriber-only feature

Last month X CEO Linda Yaccarino confirmed that video calls would be coming to the app formerly known as Twitter as part of its transition into an “everything app.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, September 25, 2023

Microsoft-Activision: UK looks poised to clear restructured deal

The UK’s competition watchdog has signalled it’s preparing to greenlight a restructured proposal for Microsoft to acquire Activision. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, September 22, 2023

Threads adds easy profile switching to its mobile apps

Meta-owned Twitter rival Threads has finally added a way to switch between multiple accounts without logging out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, September 22, 2023

Auctoria uses generative AI to create video game models

Several years ago, Aleksander Caban, the co-founder of Carbon Studio, a Polish VR game developer, observed a major problem in modern game design. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, September 21, 2023

Waabi and Uber Freight partner to accelerate autonomous trucking

Autonomous trucking startup Waabi is committing billions of miles of driverless capacity to the Uber Freight network as part of a 10-year strategic partnership between the two companies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, September 21, 2023

Substack redesigns its mobile app to boost discovery and engagement

Substack is overhauling its mobile app with a redesigned Home experience to boost discovery and engagement, the company announced on Wednesday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, September 20, 2023

Airbnb is verifying all properties in its top five markets including the U.S.

Airbnb is trying to crack down on fake listings by verifying all listings in its top five markets — US, Canada, Australia, UK, and France. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, September 20, 2023

Outschool launches an AI-powered tool to help teachers write progress reports

Outschool, the online learning platform that offers kid-friendly academic and interest-based classes, announced today the launch of its AI Teaching Assistant, a tool for tutors to generate progress reports for their students. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, September 19, 2023

Darrow gets served $35M for an AI that parses public documents for class action lawsuit potential

The U.S. is famous (or infamous) for its litigiousness. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, September 19, 2023

Bird Buddy, the AI-powered bird feeder startup, now lets anyone use its app to birdwatch

Bird Buddy, the startup behind multiple AI-powered smart bird feeders, including the recently announced smart Hummingbird Feeder and Bird Bath, is today launching its latest product — and it’s not another bird feeder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, September 18, 2023

Lyft to pay $10M fine to SEC for failure to disclose board member’s role in pre-IPO share sale

Lyft has agreed to pay a $10 million fine over a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charge that the ride-hailing company failed to disclose a board director’s role in the sale of $424 million worth of private shares before to its initial public offering.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, September 18, 2023

Meta says not planning ads on WhatsApp

Meta on Friday disputed a media report that claimed the social giant was exploring bringing ads on the popular messaging app WhatsApp. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, September 15, 2023

X launches account verification based on government ID

X, formerly Twitter, has launched government ID-based account verification for paid users to prevent impersonation and give them benefits such as “prioritized support.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, September 15, 2023

UK DeepTech gets another boost with new $100M SCVC fund out of Bristol

Europe has far too few VCs created by former founders, or “Operators” as the industry often likes to call them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, September 14, 2023

San Francisco requests redo on Cruise, Waymo robotaxi expansion hearing

San Francisco has formally requested state regulators redo an August hearing that expanded robotaxi permits for Cruise and Waymo, giving both companies permission to widen commercial operations throughout the city 24/7. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, September 14, 2023

Telegram adds a self-custodial crypto wallet worldwide, excluding the US

Telegram, the popular chat app with 800 million monthly active users, is rolling out a self-custodial crypto wallet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, September 13, 2023

French watchdog temporarily halts iPhone 12 sales over radiation levels

Just a few hours after Apple unveiled the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro, France’s radiation watchdog (ANFR) released a public statement announcing that the iPhone 12 breaches radiation levels. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, September 13, 2023

English learning platform ELSA lands $22.5M Series C

ELSA, the English language learning platform, announced today it has raised $22.5 million in Series C funding. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, September 12, 2023

TikTok Shop officially launches in the U.S.

After months of testing, TikTok has finally launched its e-commerce product, TikTok Shop, in the U.S — where it has more than 150 million users. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, September 12, 2023

Google.org to invest $20M into AI-focused grants for think tanks and academic institutions

Ahead of Wednesday’s AI-focused private Congressional meeting with tech giants, Google this morning announced a new initiative aimed at supporting researchers and public policy solutions around AI with the debut of the Digital Futures Project. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, September 11, 2023

WhatsApp has reluctantly started work on cross-platform messaging due to EU regulation

Last week, the European Union named the six big tech companies that should be considered as gatekeepers in one way or another under the Digital Markets Act. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, September 11, 2023

Google flips the switch on interest-based ads with ‘Privacy Sandbox’ rollout

Google is now rolling out Privacy Sandbox — its tech to replace third-party cookies — to all Chrome users. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, September 08, 2023

BMW feels the heat, stops charging for warming cheeks

When BMW started charging an $18 per month subscription for heated seats in 2022, the backlash was swift and brutal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, September 08, 2023

Instagram is testing a feature to let you share feed posts just with ‘Close Friends’

Instagram users have been complaining for a while about the impersonal nature of the social network largely due to its algorithmic feed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, September 07, 2023

Gaming browser Opera GX integrates ChatGPT-powered AI feature

Powered by OpenAI’s ChatGPT, the AI browser Aria launched on Opera in May to give users an easier way to search on the web, ask questions and write code. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, September 07, 2023

Arduino nabs $22 million in fresh funding to support expansion into enterprise

Odds are if you know the name Arduino, it’s through its connection to the DIY community. Much like Raspberry Pi, the company built its reputation creating microcontrollers for hobbyists. But the last few years have seen it expanding that horizon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, September 06, 2023

MetaMask now allows crypto cash-out to PayPal and banks, but fees could be high

MetaMask, the world’s biggest self-custodial hot (internet-connected) wallet with over 22 million users, has added the option for users to convert cryptocurrencies into fiats like USD, as a growing list of web3 players strive to make digital assets usable in the real world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, September 06, 2023

Envisics closes $100M to advance AR heads-up display tech in cars

Envisics, a UK-based holographics company building in-car technology that projects navigation, safety alerts and other data onto the inside of a windscreen, has closed a $100 million Series C round. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, September 05, 2023

ThetaRay nabs $57M for AI tools to ID and fight money laundering

Money laundering — the process of transferring assets around in order to disguise the illicit origin of the money behind them — has been a huge and growing business for years, used by terrorists to finance their work, criminals to wash their spoils, (some) fat cats to avoid taxes and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, September 04, 2023

Lawsuit alleges no due diligence in Amazon’s Project Kuiper launch contracts to Blue Origin, ULA

An institutional investor is suing Amazon and its board, including founder and executive chairman Jeff Bezos, over hefty launch contracts they awarded to Bezos’ space company, Blue Origin Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, September 04, 2023

How the FBI took down the notorious Qakbot botnet

A global law enforcement operation this week took down and dismantled the notorious Qakbot botnet, touted as the largest U.S.-led financial and technical disruption of a botnet infrastructure. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, September 01, 2023

Google pulls popular but controversial live video chat app Chamet from the Play Store

Google has removed a popular but controversial live video chat app Chamet from the Play Store. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, September 01, 2023

OpenAI-backed language learning app Speak raises $16M to expand to the U.S.

Speak, an English language learning platform backed by OpenAI’s startup investment fund, the OpenAI Startup Fund, today announced that it raised $16 million in a Series B-2 funding round led by angel investor Lachy Groom. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, August 31, 2023

X is now letting paid users hide their likes

Elon Musk-owned X, formerly Twitter, is now rolling out a feature for paid users to let them hide their likes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, August 30, 2023

Google discontinues its Pixel Pass subscription, which combined phones and services

Google is discontinuing its Pixel Pass subscription service, which allowed people to get a Pixel phone combined with premium services including YouTube Premium, Google Play Pass, and YouTube Premium for a monthly fee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, August 30, 2023

Apollo.io, a full-stack sales tech platform, bags $100M at a $1.6B valuation

While working at his first startup, BrainGenie, a math and science skills practice website, Tim Zheng experienced firsthand the challenge of maintaining a small business — and expanding it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, August 29, 2023

Eldercare robot ElliQ nabs another $25 million in funding

Intuition Robotics isn’t hurting for funding these days. The Israeli firm announced a $36 million Series B in the early days of the pandemic, and now it’s adding another $25 million. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, August 29, 2023

Splinter group officially launches OpenTF fork of HashiCorp Terraform

Earlier this month HashiCorp announced that it was changing the open source license it uses for Terraform and its other developer tools. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, August 28, 2023

X saw weekly active users and rankings drop post rebrand, but Twitter Lite installs grew

Reports that X (formerly Twitter)’s downloads decreased after Elon Musk’s rebranding of the microblogging social network only tell part of the story. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, August 28, 2023

Reddit launches moderator rewards program amid sitewide discontent

Reddit is launching the “Mod Helper Program” to reward moderators who offer helpful advice to other moderators, along with an updated moderator help center.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sat, August 26, 2023

You can finally buy Lego’s Braille Bricks

Building with Lego bricks has stayed a formative and important practice for kids around the world, partly because it’s so easily enjoyed by anyone, regardless of location, language, or ability. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, August 25, 2023

Better.com’s stock tanks after SPAC combination brings it to the public markets

Shares of Better.com are getting hammered into the ground Thursday morning after the digital mortgage company completed its long-delayed SPAC merger and began to trade as a public company for the first time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, August 24, 2023

OpenAI partners with Scale AI to allow companies to fine-tune GPT-3.5

OpenAI, the AI startup behind the viral AI-powered chatbot ChatGPT, plans to partner with third party vendors to make it easier for developers — specifically enterprises — to fine-tune its AI models using custom data. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, August 24, 2023

Automakers now have to comply with MA’s Right to Repair law

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Tuesday automakers can comply with a Massachusetts Right to Repair law, reversing a previous directive to ignore the state legislation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, August 23, 2023

iOS 17 beta includes further hints that the iPhone 15 Pro will have an ‘Action Button’

Apple has released iOS 17 beta 7 to developers and it includes further hints that the iPhone 15 Pro will have an “Action Button.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, August 23, 2023

Chip company Arm files for Nasdaq listing in IPO anticipated to be this year’s biggest

Arm, the U.K.-based chipmaker owned by Japan’s SoftBank since 2016, has filed for a Nasdaq listing under the ticker symbol “ARM,” five months after announcing it had filed confidential, preliminary IPO paperwork with U.S. regulators. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, August 22, 2023

X is planning to hide headlines from news links for ‘improved aesthetics’

Elon Musk-owned X, formerly Twitter, is planning to roll out a new way to display news links without any headline or description. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, August 22, 2023

Mycoprotein producer Enough raises €40M toward doubling its production capacity

Now with the Netherlands factory online, Enough is ramping up to produce over a tonne of Abunda every hour and around 10,000 metric tonnes per year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, August 21, 2023

Cruise told by regulators to ‘immediately’ reduce robotaxi fleet 50% following crash

Cruise told by regulators to ‘immediately’ reduce robotaxi fleet 50% following crash Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, August 21, 2023

Tumblr is rolling out a new web interface, and it looks a lot like X (formerly Twitter)

Tumblr is officially rolling out a new look for its web browser after testing it with select users over the past month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, August 18, 2023

Cruise and Waymo see a surge in robotaxi app downloads

Consumer interest in Cruise and Waymo’s competing robotaxi services surged following a vote last week by the California Public Utilities Commission that allowed the two companies to expand and charge for their driverless car operations in San Francisco. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, August 18, 2023

New York City bans TikTok on government-issued devices

New York City becomes the latest government to issue new rules banning TikTok, a measure meant to ward off potential security threats from China. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, August 17, 2023

EV maker Vinfast still worth more than Ford and GM after stock tanks 19%

Vietnamese EV maker VinFast’s debut Tuesday on the Nasdaq public exchange was nothing short of remarkable. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, August 17, 2023

Electrify America-backed 75MW solar farm kicks off operations

Electrify America, the EV charging company created by Volkswagen in the aftermath of its diesel emissions scandal, said on Tuesday that a new, 75 megawatt solar farm in Southern California is now up and running. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, August 16, 2023

Bluesky adds self-labeling for posts and a dedicated media tab for profiles

X- (previously Twitter) and Threads-rival Bluesky has started allowing users to self-tag their posts so they can be automatically filtered. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wed, August 16, 2023

Tesla reassures Chinese users on data security amid spying concerns

The relationship between American tech giants and the Chinese government has never been an easy one. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, August 15, 2023

Rocket Lab to launch a pair of climate satellites for NASA

Rocket Lab will launch two small satellites for NASA that could help scientists better understand how a warming climate will affect the massive ice shelves at the Earth’s poles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tue, August 15, 2023

Bugs in transportation app Moovit gave hackers free rides

Hackers could have hijacked the user accounts of a popular transportation app and used them to get free rides and access people’s personal information, according to a security researcher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, August 14, 2023

Mastercard to purchase a minority stake in MTN’s $5.2B fintech business

Mastercard has agreed to purchase a minority stake in the fintech division of MTN Group, Africa’s largest cellphone provider, which it values at $5.2 billion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mon, August 14, 2023

Electric aircraft makers Wisk and Archer end bitter legal dispute, agree to work together

Electric aircraft rivals Wisk and Archer Aviation have settled their trade secret legal dispute more than two years after the lawsuit was originally filed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, August 11, 2023

Cruise and Waymo win robotaxi expansions in San Francisco

In a win for the autonomous vehicle industry, California regulators have given the green light to Cruise and Waymo to offer commercial robotaxi services across San Francisco 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fri, August 11, 2023

VLGE opens SDK for its no-code virtual world builder aimed at fashion, beauty and art industries

We’ve seen the rise of no-code and low-code platforms being applied to any number of applications and use-cases. What would happen if this thinking was applied to metaverse-style virtual worlds? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, August 10, 2023

Belarus hackers target foreign diplomats with help of local ISPs, researchers say

Hackers with apparent links to the Belarusian government have been targeting foreign diplomats in the country for nearly 10 years, according to security researchers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thu, August 10, 2023

Duolingo spotted developing a music learning app

Work on Duolingo’s next big app, Duolingo Music, is well on its way, according to new findings.

Wed, August 09, 2023

Astranis gives its “secret satellite” a formal introduction

When news broke last month that Astranis’ first commercial satellite in orbit malfunctioned, the company made an unexpected announcement: it had a backup.

Wed, August 09, 2023

Paramount+ tops 61 million subscribers after Showtime merger

Paramount said that it added 700,000 subscribers to Paramount+ in Q2 2023 after the company launched a subscription tier with Showtime integration in June.

Tue, August 08, 2023

Europe confirms in-depth probe for Adobe’s $20B Figma acquisition

Tue, August 08, 2023

India pushes ahead with data privacy bill despite pushback from critics

India’s lower house of parliament greenlit the revised data privacy legislation presented the previous week, even as the bill has received criticism, with many believing that it grants significant discretionary authority to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government. 

Tue, August 08, 2023

Array Labs is scanning the Earth from space to equip autonomous vehicles with 3D maps

It’s an oft-told story: the boom of space startups today can be traced to dramatically lowered cost in launch and satellite manufacturing over the past ten years.

Mon, August 07, 2023

AI.com flips from ChatGPT to Elon Musk’s X.ai

There was a bit of a hubbub in February as it emerged that OpenAI had seemingly purchased AI.com in order to redirect it to the ChatGPT web interface. 

Fri, August 04, 2023

GoStudent adds another $95M to its war-chest to go after VR and AI-enhanced tutoring

GoStudent — the late-stage tutor marketplace that has raised $686.3 million so far – has now raised another $95 million in what it calls as strategic fundraise.

Fri, August 04, 2023

DJI’s new GoPro competitor launches at $399

The DJI/GoPro relationship has been an uneasy one ever since planned drone collaboration fell back down to earth some eight or so years back. 

Thu, August 03, 2023

Waymo is bringing its robotaxi service to Austin

Waymo plans to launch a robotaxi service in Austin  — putting the company once again in direct competition with rival Cruise. 

Thu, August 03, 2023

Tinder to launch a ‘high-end’ membership this fall amid product refresh

Tinder is preparing to launch a new “high-end” membership later this fall as well as a product refresh aimed at better catering to Gen Z users.

Wed, August 02, 2023

This California agency wants to know what happens to all that connected car data

The troves of data collected by today’s modern connected cars has long been viewed as a cash cow — a yet untapped opportunity that could boost profits for automakers. 

Wed, August 02, 2023

Rapyd acquires a piece of PayU from Prosus for $610M to scale its fintech-as-a-service platform

Rapyd, the fintech-as-a-service startup that provides APIs to enable payments, card issuing, digital wallet and other financial services to companies like Uber and Ikea, is taking a significant step forward in its growth with a big acquisition.

Tue, August 01, 2023

Reddit updates its site design for logged-out users

Reddit is rolling out a number of updates to its website for logged-out users, including improved performance, a more helpful search results page and better communities and related post suggestions. 

Tue, August 01, 2023

China’s cutthroat e-commerce tactic goes global as Shein-Temu war escalates

The battle between two of China’s largest e-commerce firms is heating up, as they take the cutthroat tactics that have long been around in the country to the international markets they both covet.

Mon, July 31, 2023

Walmart pays $1.4 billion to buy Tiger Global’s remaining Flipkart stake

Walmart paid $1.4 billion to buy out Tiger Global’s remaining holding of Flipkart shares as the retail giant further expands its stake in the Indian e-commerce startup. 

Mon, July 31, 2023

A new study found that Facebook’s Pages and Groups shape its ideological echo chambers

New research published Thursday offers an unprecedented dive into political behavior across Facebook and Instagram — two major online hubs where people express and engage with their political beliefs. 

Fri, July 28, 2023

AMD plans to invest $400 million in India by 2028

AMD plans to invest around $400 million in India over the next five years and set up its largest R&D facility in the country’s southern city of Bengaluru.

Fri, July 28, 2023

Cash-strapped instant delivery giant Getir, trying to close funding, pulls out of Spain, Italy and Portugal

More tough times for the instant-delivery startups that once flooded the markets of Europe. 

Thu, July 27, 2023

Hackers are infecting Call of Duty players with a self-spreading malware

Hackers are infecting players of an old Call of Duty game with a worm that spreads automatically in online lobbies, according to two analyses of the malware. 

Thu, July 27, 2023

Amazon makes bid to settle UK antitrust probe into seller data, Buy Box and Prime

In a move seeking to settle an open antitrust investigation in the UK, Amazon has offered to limit its use of data on marketplace sellers.

Wed, July 26, 2023

Trustmi lands $17M to scale its payments fraud prevention tech

Shai Gabay and Eli Ben-Nun, two entrepreneurs based in Israel, met in 2018 while working at Cynet, a cybersecurity startup developing extended detection and response tools

Wed, July 26, 2023

Thales enters app security market with $3.6B Imperva acquisition

French aerospace and defence group Thales is procuring cybersecurity company Imperva from Thoma Bravo in a deal worth $3.6 billion. 

Tue, July 25, 2023

Spotify reports strong user growth as it is raising subscription price

Spotify just reported its second-quarter earnings and the two most impressive metrics are the number of subscribers and the total number of Spotify users. 

Tue, July 25, 2023

Spotify confirms price hike

Spotify has announced that it’s raising its premium plan prices, confirming reports that first started to surface over the weekend. 

Mon, July 24, 2023

Twitter has officially changed its logo to ‘X’

Twitter has removed the iconic bird logo and adopted ‘X’ as its official logo. 

Mon, July 24, 2023

SpaceX’s Swarm Technologies is halting new device sales

Swarm, the Internet-of-Things connectivity provider that was acquired by SpaceX, will no longer be selling new devices, according to an email sent to customers earlier this month. 

Fri, July 21, 2023

Autonomous vehicle company Aurora sells $820M worth of stock

Aurora Innovation, the self-driving technology company that aims to launch an autonomous trucking business in 2024, has completed a capital raise of $820 million from a public and concurrent private offering of its stock. The company expects the deal to close Friday. 

Fri, July 21, 2023

Kitchen robot Botinkit raises $13M from DJI angel and others

Having worked in the food industry for several years, Shirley Chen saw firsthand the challenges of managing staffing and training for restaurant expansion. 

Thu, July 20, 2023

Former NHTSA head blasts Cruise’s ‘Humans are terrible drivers’ ad

A former administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has responded to a full-page ad taken out in several major newspapers by Cruise, General Motors’ self-driving subsidiary, that calls humans terrible drivers.

Thu, July 20, 2023

Farizon, Geely’s truck unit, raised $600M to expand outside China

Farizon, a maker of hybrid and electric trucks owned by China’s Geely, has closed a $600 million Series A raise, the company said in a statement.

Wed, July 19, 2023

UK provisionally approves Broadcom’s $69B VMware acquisition

The U.K.’s competition authority has said that it plans to greenlight Broadcom’s $69 billion bid for virtualization software giant VMware. 

Wed, July 19, 2023

TikTok’s new program aims to identify rising artists in the music industry

TikTok is launching a new program that is designed to identify the next wave of rising artists in the music industry, the company announced on Tuesday. 

Tue, July 18, 2023

Hammerspace ingests $56M for a new approach to work with vast amounts of unstructured data

Data may be “the new oil,” but only when it can be extracted and put to use. 

Tue, July 18, 2023

Intel backs Figure’s Humanoid robot to the tune of $9 million

Bay Area-based robotics firm Figure this week announced that its humanoid officially took its first steps — a milestone it hit a few days shy of of the company’s first anniversary. 

Mon, July 17, 2023

Tesla announces first Cybertruck build ahead of Q2 earnings

Tesla over the weekend said its first much anticipated Cybertruck came off the electric vehicle maker’s production line in Texas. 

Mon, July 17, 2023

Google Play Games beta for PC expands to over 60 new countries including India

Google has finally launched its Play Games beta for PC project, which lets users play Android games on their Windows systems, in India after introducing it in more than 50 countries.

Fri, July 14, 2023

India’s Chandrayaan-3 blasts off to the moon

Chandrayaan-3, India’s third mission to the moon, has taken off successfully — almost four years after its predecessor failed to touch down on the lunar surface in 2019. 

Fri, July 14, 2023

Cruise, Waymo say humans are bad drivers amid robotaxi permit delays

Autonomous vehicle companies Cruise and Waymo have separately pushed a narrative this week that humans are bad drivers, and that their technologies are crucial to making roads safer.

Thu, July 13, 2023

Defacto gets new credit facility to provide instant financing to small companies

French startup Defacto has closed a new securitization fund that will be used to provide short-term loans to small and medium enterprises via an embedded, API-first approach. 

Thu, July 13, 2023

Google’s Bard chatbot finally launches in the EU, now supports more than 40 languages

Google is making its ChatGPT rival Bard available to a wider audience today, launching the generative AI chatbot in more than 40 languages and finally bringing it to the European Union (EU) after an initial delay due to data privacy concerns.

Wed, July 12, 2023

Gmail brings in Calendly-style availability sharing from Google Calendar

On Tuesday, Google released new scheduling-related features for Gmail with Google Calendar integration including quick event creation and easy availability sharing. 

Wed, July 12, 2023

Roku users can now buy products from Shopify merchants with their TV remote

Roku is partnering with Shopify to give users the ability to purchase products from Shopify merchants through their TVs, the hardware company announced Tuesday. 

Tue, July 11, 2023

Discord introduces new opt-in parental controls for teens

Discord is introducing a new Family Center opt-in-tool that is designed to make it easy for parents and guardians to learn more about who their teens are friends with and talk to on the platform, the company announced on Tuesday. 

Tue, July 11, 2023

Instagram’s Threads app reaches 100 million users within just five days

Instagram’s text-based app Threads has achieved the mark of 100 million sign-ups in just five days. 

Mon, July 10, 2023

If you don’t buy Jony Ive’s $60,000 turntable, are you really a music fan?

You enjoyed his iMacs, his iPhones, his iPads. You thrilled at the way he said “aluminium” [sic]. You admired the typeface. 

Mon, July 10, 2023

Tesla to provide more info on its driver alert system amid Autopilot probe

U.S. regulators have requested more information from Tesla to assist in their ongoing investigation into 830,000 Tesla vehicles that include Autopilot, the automaker’s advanced driver assistance system.

Sat, July 08, 2023

EV truck maker Nikola fails again to secure enough shareholder support to issue more shares

Nikola failed for the second time since June to get enough shareholders to vote on a proposal that would allow the EV truck maker to issue more shares in a bid to raise more capital. 

Fri, July 07, 2023

TikTok launches a music streaming service in Brazil and Indonesia called ‘TikTok Music’

TikTok has already dominated the short-video and social media market, and is now looking to take on Spotify and Apple Music with its latest offering. 

Fri, July 07, 2023

Threads won’t be fun — but it will give brands a home away from Twitter

There are many Twitters now, but we may never have another Twitter again. 

Thu, July 06, 2023

China’s WeRide secures self-driving vehicle license from UAE

The United Arab Emirates has given Chinese autonomous driving company WeRide the first national license for self-driving vehicles. 

Thu, July 06, 2023

Rivian delivers first electric vans to Amazon in Europe

Amazon has begun rolling out its custom electric delivery vans from Rivian in Europe, the e-commerce giant said Monday. 

Wed, July 05, 2023

Kentucky is the latest state to mandate Tesla’s charging plug

Kentucky now requires that electric vehicle charging companies include Tesla’s charging plug if they want to secure federal funds from a state program to electrify highways, Reuters reports.

Mon, July 03, 2023

Fidelity deepens valuation cut for Reddit and Discord

Fidelity has further slashed the estimated worth of its holding in social platform Reddit and chat app Discord as well as SaaS startup Gupshup.

Mon, July 03, 2023

TikTok parent ByteDance launches music creation and audio editing app in closed beta in the US

TikTok’s parent company ByteDance announced today that it’s launching a new, free-to-use music production app in closed beta in the United States. 

Fri, June 30, 2023

Get a clue, says panel about generative AI: it’s being “deployed as surveillance”

At a Bloomberg conference in San Francisco, some of the biggest names in AI turned up.

Fri, June 30, 2023

Halo Car launches remotely piloted rental car deliveries in Las Vegas

Halo Car, a startup that uses remote operators to deliver rental cars to a customer’s door, has launched driverless operations in Las Vegas. 

Thu, June 29, 2023

Techstars raising $150 million for new accelerator fund

The accelerator is seeking new capital ahead of the end of the deployment period of its third institutionally-backed fund, Techstars Accelerator 2021, late this year.

Thu, June 29, 2023

Reddit protest plunges user engagement, site activity and ad portal visits

Reddit community moderators made a bold move earlier this month that caused quite a stir online. 

Wed, June 28, 2023

Rocket Lab doubles down on marine booster recovery with next Electron launch

Rocket Lab’s next Electron mission will include another marine recovery attempt of the rocket’s booster, the latest step by the company to advance its reusability program. 

Wed, June 28, 2023

CalypsoAI raises $23M to add guardrails to generative AI models

Companies are increasingly embracing generative AI. 

Tue, June 27, 2023

Redpanda nabs $100M Series C as streaming service experiences significant growth

Redpanda helps companies capture data in real time in a modern context, providing a new way to stream data while maintaining backwards compatibility with Kafka, the popular open source streaming project. 

Tue, June 27, 2023

Aston Martin taps Lucid to help develop electric vehicles

Lucid Group, the U.S. automaker that produces the luxury all-electric Air sedan, will supply Aston Martin with powertrain components for future electric vehicle models, the companies said Monday. 

Mon, June 26, 2023

UTU raises $35M to help travelers get more from tax-free shopping

Utu, a travel tech company that helps flyers get more out of their tax-free shopping, announced today it has raised a $35 million Series B led by SC Ventures. 

Thu, June 22, 2023

SoulCycle to offer trainer-guided virtual work sessions with the FLOWN startup

FLOWN is a startup that took the idea of the sort of ‘virtual co-working’ some of us during the pandemic just have some company during lockdowns, and created a model of guided “deep work” sessions with actual coaches.  

Thu, June 22, 2023

Apple’s Vision Pro SDK is now available, in-person developer labs launch next month

Time to get a jump on all of that spatial computing. Apple today announced that its visionOS software development kit is now available, allowing 3D parties to begin building content for the Vision Pro.

Wed, June 21, 2023

Twitch will require new labels for streams with sexual themes, gambling and M-rated games

Twitch is rethinking the way it flags mature content, swapping its existing toggle for a more granular set of topic-specific labels. The company announced Tuesday that it would introduce a new set of content labels that require streamers to signal when their channels will contain sexual themes, graphic violence, “drugs, intoxication, or excessive tobacco use.  

Wed, June 21, 2023

Roblox invites its community to build mature experiences for 17+ users

Roblox is well aware that its young users are getting older, and the company is making every effort to grow up along with them. The platform, once synonymous with younger kids, announced Tuesday that it would allow creators to build mature content designed for users age 17 and up. 

Tue, June 20, 2023

Consumer group calls on EU to urgently investigate ‘the risks of generative AI’

European regulators are at a crossroads over how AI will be regulated — and ultimately used commercially and non-commercially — in the region, and today the EU’s largest consumer group, the BEUC, weighed in with its own position: stop dragging your feet, and “launch urgent investigations into the risks of generative AI” now, it said.  

Tue, June 20, 2023

Oracle launches its ‘sovereign cloud’ for EU customers

Oracle is formally launching its “EU Sovereign cloud” for customers in the European Union (EU) today, nearly a year after firs revealing plans for the initiative. So-called “digital sovereignty” has emerged as a critical issue for companies operating across the EU.

Tue, June 20, 2023

Mercedes is adding ChatGPT to its infotainment system, for some reason

Mercedes owners in the U.S. will soon add a new luxury to their already luxurious vehicles: ChatGPT.

Mon, June 19, 2023

Twitter competitor Spill launches in beta on iOS

From a team of ex-Twitter employees, the new social platform Spill launched in an invite-only beta on the App Store.

Mon, June 19, 2023

Feds catch another LockBit hacker, Justice Department announces

The Justice Department has arrested and charged a Russian national for his alleged role in multiple LockBit ransomware attacks against victims in the U.S. and around the world.

Fri, June 16, 2023

Amazon’s $1.7B iRobot acquisition greenlighted by UK antitrust regulator

The U.K.’s antitrust regulator has given the go-ahead to Amazon’s proposed billion-dollar iRobot acquisition, concluding that the deal “would not lead to competition concerns in the U.K.” 

Thu, June 15, 2023

BYD is overtaking Tesla, but its EV dream skips the US for now

A Chinese electric vehicle brand that’s rarely spotted in the U.S. is quickly catching up to Tesla’s dominance of the global EV market. BYD, which started in Shenzhen 28 years ago, delivered 547,917 passenger EVs, including hybrids, a category it’s known for, in the first quarter of 2023.

Thu, June 15, 2023

Ransomware gang lists first victims of MOVEit mass-hacks, including US banks and universities

Clop, the ransomware gang responsible for exploiting a critical security vulnerability in a popular corporate file transfer tool, has begun listing victims of the mass-hacks, including a number of U.S. banks and universities. The Russia-linked ransomware gang has been exploiting the security flaw in MOVEit Transfer, a tool used by corporations and enterprises to share.

Wed, June 14, 2023

EV laggard Toyota says its next-gen EVs will have over 600 miles range

Toyota plans to introduce a high-performance lithium-ion battery to its next-generation electric vehicles by 2026, part of the automaker’s new technology roadmap revealed Tuesday. The batteries will deliver quicker charging and around 620 miles (1,000 kilometers) of range, which would put Toyota’s vehicles ahead of the competition. Toyota has historically trailed behind other major automakers.

Wed, June 14, 2023

Uber leads $20M round in India’s Everest Fleet for EV expansion

Uber has led a $20 million round into Everest Fleet, a Mumbai-based fleet management company that boasts over 10,000 vehicles running on rideshare platforms Uber and Ola throughout India. The company will use the funds to accelerate its transition to electric vehicles, with a goal of having 10,000 EVs in its fleet by 2026. 

Wed, June 14, 2023

Striveworks snaps up first funding of $33M to build tools for machine learning operations

MLOps, or DevOps for those working with machine learning models, has seen a boom of interest in the last year, and that should come as no surprise.

Tue, June 13, 2023

US intelligence confirms it buys Americans’ personal data

A newly declassified government report confirms for the first time that U.S. intelligence and spy agencies purchase vast amounts of commercially available information on Americans, including data from connected vehicles, web browsing data, and smartphones. 

Tue, June 13, 2023

London lures a16z’s first international office with ‘predictable’ crypto regs

US VC giant Andreessen Horowitz — which has about $35bn in assets under management — is to open its first (yes, the first) international office in London, led by one of the firm’s general partners, Sriram Krishnan. 

Mon, June 12, 2023

Barracuda urges customers to remove and replace vulnerable hardware exploited by hackers

Barracuda Networks has told customers they must replace vulnerable email gateway appliances following the disclosure of a critical security flaw. 

Mon, June 12, 2023

Nasdaq to acquire financial services software company Adenza from Thoma Bravo for $10.5B

Nasdaq today revealed that it’s doling out $10.5 billion to acquire Adenza, a company that develops risk-management and related regulatory software for the financial services market. 

Fri, June 09, 2023

Meta to appeal court ruling declaring content moderatos as its employees

Meta is set to appeal Kenya’s court decision declaring it as the primary employer of the moderators that review content on its platforms in sub-Saharan Africa. 

Fri, June 09, 2023

Adobe brings Firefly to the enterprise

Adobe today announced that it is bringing its Firefly generative image generator to its enterprise customers and allowing them to customize the model with their own branded assets. 

Thu, June 08, 2023

Uber is taking its car-sharing service to North America

Uber plans to bring peer-to-peer car sharing to North America, starting with Toronto and Boston, the company said Thursday at its Go-Get product event in London. 

Thu, June 08, 2023

Automattic launches an AI writing assistant for WordPress

Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com and the main contributor to the open-source WordPress project, launched an AI assistant for the popular content management system on Tuesday. 

Wed, June 07, 2023

Blush, the AI lover from the same team as Replika, is more than just a sexbot

The team behind the AI friendship bot Replika is launching another AI companion — one that’s made to flirt. 

Wed, June 07, 2023

Apple Vision Pro: Here’s everything you need to know

At its annual WWDC 2023 conference, Apple took the wraps off of the Vision Pro, its long-rumored augmented reality (AR) headset.

Tue, June 06, 2023

Byju’s files suit challenging acceleration of $1.2B loan, seeks to disqualify Redwood for ‘predatory’ tactics

Indian edtech giant Byju’s has filed a complaint in the New York Supreme Court to challenge the acceleration of the $1.2 billion term loan B and to disqualify Redwood, who it alleges has conducted a series of predatory tactics. 

Tue, June 06, 2023

As Deeptech and AI explodes, European Deeptech VC IQ Capital closes new $200M fund

European Deeptech startups get another shot in the arm this week in the shape of IQ Capital’s new $200m venture fund. The new fund takes its assets under management to more than $1bn.  

Mon, June 05, 2023

YouTube rolls back its rules against election misinformation

YouTube was the slowest major platform to disallow misinformation during the 2020 U.S. election and almost three years later, the company will toss that policy out altogether.

Mon, June 05, 2023

NestAway, once valued at over $225 million, sells for $11 million

PropTech firm Aurum is acquiring NestAway, a once high-flying Indian startup operating in the same space, for up to $10.9 million, in a deal that marks a near complete erosion in value for the startup’s investors.

Fri, June 02, 2023

Shopify’s Shop app introduces a new ‘Shop Cash’ rewards program

Shopify’s Shop app is introducing a new rewards program called Shop Cash, the e-commerce platform announced on Friday. 

Fri, June 02, 2023

Enzo Biochem says ransomware attack exposed clinical test data of 2.5 million patients

Enzo Biochem, a New York-based biotechnology company, has confirmed that a ransomware attack exposed the clinical test information of almost 2.5 million patients. 

Thu, June 01, 2023

Legal tech firm Casepoint investigates breach after hackers claim theft of government data

Casepoint says it’s investigating a potential cybersecurity incident after hackers claimed to have compromised the legal technology platform to steal terabytes of sensitive data.

Thu, June 01, 2023

Flighty’s tool will help you connect with fellow WWDC attendees

Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) is now just less than a week away. Many developer communities are already organizing watch parties across the world. 

Wed, May 31, 2023

Volvo’s new small EV tries to optimize space with Scandinavian design

Volvo is continuing to drip-feed more information about its upcoming electric Volvo EX30 small SUV. Last week the automaker promised the new EV would have the smallest carbon footprint of any previously made Volvo vehicle.

Wed, May 31, 2023

OpenAI’s ChatGPT iOS app now available in Canada, India, Brazil and 30 more countries

OpenAI has expanded the availability of its ChatGPT app for iOS users in India and 32 other countries — just a week after its launching it in the U.S. 

Tue, May 30, 2023

Bernstein pegs Reliance as India’s eventual e-commerce kingpin

The Indian conglomerate Reliance is poised to outpace Amazon and Walmart-backed Flipkart in the race for the country’s $150 billion e-commerce market

Tue, May 30, 2023

Ford to bring Tesla’s charging tech into its future EVs

Ford has reached an agreement with rival Tesla that will give owners of Ford’s EVs access to more than 12,000 Superchargers across the U.S. and Canada.

Mon, May 29, 2023

Applied Intuition to buy autonomous trucking SPAC Embark for $71M

Embark Trucks, the autonomous trucking company that recently cut 70% of its workforce, is being acquired by Applied Intuition, a simulation and software provider for autonomous vehicle development.

Mon, May 29, 2023

Ambani’s Reliance targets Indian fashion e-commerce with low-cost model

Reliance Industries, run by India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani, is gearing up to deploy a winning strategy from its past playbook for the fashion market: low-cost products. 

Fri, May 26, 2023

Elon Musk says Tesla might ‘open source more code’ to other automakers

Elon Musk suggested Thursday during a Twitter Spaces with Ford CEO Jim Farley that Tesla might open up some of its automotive operating system code to other automakers. 

Fri, May 26, 2023

Arc browser’s new tool lets you remove some elements from a website

The Browser Company, the company behind the web browser Arc, introduced a fun new tool today called Boosts.

Thu, May 25, 2023

The official ChatGPT app is now available in 11 more countries

OpenAI has announced in a tweet that the official ChatGPT mobile app is now available in more countries. 

Thu, May 25, 2023

SoundCloud lays off 8% of staff as it aims to reach profitability this year

Music streaming platform SoundCloud has laid off 8% of its staff according to multiple reports.

Wed, May 24, 2023

Figure raises $70M to build its humanoid robots

I spent a bit of time at Figure’s Sunnyvale offices during a recent visit to the South Bay. 

Wed, May 24, 2023

Proton launches family subscription plan for privacy app suite starting at $20 per month

Privacy-centric software maker Proton has launched a new family plan starting at $19.99 (€19.99) per month, giving up to six family members access to its entire application suite. 

Tue, May 23, 2023

Former Apple engineer’s Mimestream app is a nifty Gmail client for Mac

Former Apple engineer Neil Jhaveri has been working on an email app for Mac called Mimestream. It is now out of beta after a long test phase of more than two years.

Tue, May 23, 2023

Meta ordered to suspend Facebook EU data flows as it’s hit with €1.2BN privacy fine

It’s finally happened: Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, has been hit with a formal suspension order requiring it to stop exporting European Union user data to the US for processing. 

Mon, May 22, 2023

China bans Micron chips in key infrastructure over ‘national security’ risks

China has banned some sales of Micron products after launching a probe into the American memory chip giant for cybersecurity risks in early April. 

Mon, May 22, 2023

Restaurant365 gobbles up $135M to supersize its software for the food service industry

The price of food continues to go up and up, but surprisingly that hasn’t (yet?) played out as pressure on the wider restaurant industry.

Fri, May 19, 2023

Apple releases iOS 16.5 with a new sports tab in Apple News

Apple released iOS 16.5 Thursday to all users with a new sports tab in the Apple News app. The tab acts as a hub for scores, match schedules, and articles for your favorite sports teams. 

Fri, May 19, 2023

FTC says popular fertility tracking app Premom shared sensitive data with Chinese analytics firms

A popular fertility tracking app shared users’ sensitive health information with third-party advertisers without their consent, a new Federal Trade Commission complaint alleges. 

Thu, May 18, 2023

1Password’s new service lets businesses quickly adopt passkeys

Password manager 1Password today launched a new service, Passage by 1Password, that’s designed to allow businesses to build passkey authentication into their apps and websites without having to maintain their own security infrastructure. 

Thu, May 18, 2023

Disney+ changes up its release model, plans to launch all ‘Echo’ episodes at once

President of Marvel Studios Kevin Fiege took to the Disney Upfront stage Tuesday to announce that Marvel’s new Disney+ show, “Echo,” is getting a binge release– a first for an MCU series. 

Wed, May 17, 2023

Amazon undercuts the Echo Dot with the $40 Echo Pop

You know the old saying: If you don’t like Amazon Echo’s form factors, just wait a few minutes. 

Wed, May 17, 2023

Youth mental health startup Somethings launches with a $3.2M raise led by General Catalyst

When he was 10 years old, Patrick Gilligan’s childhood struggle with food began. 

Tue, May 16, 2023

UK’s Space Forge debuts new reentry tech for in-space manufacturing satellites

Welsh in-space manufacturing startup Space Forge has developed a satellite reentry system to enable rapid recovery and reuse of its in-space manufacturing spacecraft. 

Tue, May 16, 2023

US pharmacy giant says hackers accessed personal data of almost 6 million patients

One of the largest pharmacy service providers in the United States has confirmed that hackers accessed the personal data of almost six million patients. 

Mon, May 15, 2023

Apple partner Foxconn to invest $500 million in India’s Telangana

Foxconn will invest $500 million to set up manufacturing plants in the southern Indian state of Telangana, the latest in a series of bets from the key Apple contract partner as it expands its base in the South Asian market. 

Mon, May 15, 2023

Toyota Japan exposed data on millions of vehicles for a decade

Toyota Japan has apologized after admitting to leaving millions of customers’ vehicle details on the public internet for a decade. 

Fri, May 12, 2023

TikTok turns up on the volume on its music play with NewMusic search feature

TikTok has upended how music is discovered, used and consumed these days; now, its long-term effort to build a business around that is getting a boost. 

Fri, May 12, 2023

Pinterest is combining Pins and Idea Pins into a single format

As Pinterest further shifts its focus to video content following the development of its video-focused Idea Pins, the company says it will now streamline its tools for all Pin formats into one creation flow.

Thu, May 11, 2023

Study says App Store revenue of small developers grew by 71% in last two years

Apple just released findings from an independent study, which highlighted that the revenue of small developers on the App Store grew by 71% from 2020 to 2022. 

Thu, May 11, 2023

Clearview fined again in France for failing to comply with privacy orders

Clearview AI, the US startup that’s attracted notoriety in recent years for a massive privacy violation after it scraped selfies off the Internet and used people’s data to build a facial recognition tool it pitched to law enforcement and others, has been hit with another fine in France.

Wed, May 10, 2023

Vast and SpaceX aim to put the first commercial space station in orbit in 2025

Artificial gravity space station startup Vast announced that it intends to put the first commercial space station in orbit in August 2025 via launch partner SpaceX.