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Taiwan to invest$250B in US semiconductor manufacturing
The U.S. struck a trade deal with Taiwan as the country looks to help boost domestic semiconductor manufacturing.
AI video startup, Higgsfield, founded by ex-Snap exec, lands $1.3B valuation
Higgsfield says its on a $200 million annual revenue run rate. So it opened its previous Series A round back up and sold another $80 million in shares.
Irans internet shutdown is now one of its longest ever, as protests continue
Irans government-imposed internet shutdown enters its second week as authorities continue their violent crackdown on protesters.
The USimposes 25% tariff on Nvidias H200 AI chips headed to China
The Trump administration formalized its 25% cut of H200 chip sales in China with a tariff that applies to certain semiconductors.
OpenAI invests in Sam Altmans brain computer interface startup Merge Labs
OpenAI is participating in a $250 million seed round into Merge Labs, Sam Altman's brain computer interface startup. The startup is valued at $850 million.
After Italy, WhatsApp excludes Brazil from rival chatbot ban
WhatsApp is allowing AI providers to continue offering their chatbots to users in Brazil, days after the country's competition agency ordered the company to suspend its new policy that bars third-party, general-purpose chatbots from the app.
Microsoft taps Indias Varaha for Asia-first durable carbon removal offtake
Microsoft is buying over 100,000 tons of carbon dioxide removal credits from India's Varaha over the next three years.
Mira Muratis startup, Thinking Machines Lab, is losing two of its co-founders to OpenAI
The abrupt change in personnel was in the works for several weeks, according to an OpenAI executive.
The FTCs data-sharing order against GM is finally settled
The order, first proposed a year ago, bans GM from collecting and then selling geolocation data to third parties, like data brokers and insurance companies.
Indias Emversity doubles valuation as it scales workers AI cant replace
Emversity has raised $30 million in a new round as it scales job-ready training in India.
Musk denies awareness of Grok sexual underage images as California AG launches probe
The California attorney general has opened a formal investigation into Elon Musk's xAI after its chatbot Grok began generating nonconsensual sexual images of real women and even children.
OpenAI signs deal, worth $10B, for compute from Cerebras
The collaboration will help OpenAI's models deliver faster response times for more difficult or time-consuming tasks, the companies said.
Netflixs first original video podcasts feature Pete Davidson and Michael Irvin
As Netflix tries to take down YouTubes dominance in the podcast space, it's getting new originals with Pete Davidson and Michael Irvin.
App downloads declined again in 2025, but consumer spending soared to nearly $156B
Global app downloads were down, but consumer spending was up to nearly $156B in 2025.
Blackstone, General Atlantic-backed Liftoff Mobile files for IPO
The company offers a platform that helps mobile app developers market their wares and has an army of bankers working on its IPO.
Digg launches its new Reddit rival to the public
Digg, a reboot of an earlier social news site, is now relaunching as a Reddit competitor focused on communities.
Googles Trends Explore page gets new Gemini capabilities
The Trends Explore page for users to analyze search interest just got a major upgrade. It now uses Gemini to identify and compare relevant trends.
Bandcamp takes a stand against AI music, banning it from the platform
We want musicians to keep making music, and for fans to have confidence that the music they find on Bandcamp was created by humans, the company said.
Bill Gates-backed Type One Energy raises $87M ahead of $250M Series B
Type One Energy has raised more than $160 million from investors to date. The new funding will help the company further refine its stellarator technology.
Robotics software makerSkildAI hits $14B valuation
Skild AI, which is building general-purpose robotic software, just raised a $1.4 billion funding round led by SoftBank.
Geminis new beta feature provides proactive responses based on your photos, emails, and more
Personal Intelligence is off by default, as users have the option to choose if and when they want to connect their Google apps to Gemini.
AI security firm, depthfirst, announces $40 million Series A
The company used an AI-native platform to help companies fight threats.
YouTube now has a way for parents to block kids from watching Shorts
Parents will be able toggle the Shorts time limit on connected children's accounts.
Tesla will only offer subscriptions for Full Self-Driving (Supervised) going forward
It's a huge change to Tesla's approach with FSD, and it could impact Musk's $1T pay package and the company's myriad legal troubles.
VoiceRun nabs $5.5M to build voice agent factory
VoiceRun, a startup that creates voice agents, raised $5.5 million in a round led by FlyBridge.
Meta to reportedly lay off 10% of Reality Labs staff
Meta is laying off 10% of staff in its Reality Labs division, which is core to developing the company's VR and metaverse products.
SkyFi raises $12.7M to turn satellite images into insights
The Austin-based marketplace offers imagery from more than 50 space-based imagery providers.
Microsoft announces glut of new data centers but says it wont let your electricity bill go up
The tech giant has pledged to be a good neighbor as it continues to invest in AI infrastructure throughout the country.
A consumer watchdog issued a warning about Googles AI agent shopping protocol Google says shes wrong
A consumer economics watchdog says Google's new Universal Commerce Protocol is ripe for misuse where consumers could pay more for items. Google denies this.
Neo humanoid maker 1X releases world modelto help botslearn what they see
1X released a new world model that it says is a solid step toward its robots being able to teach themselves new tasks.
India reportedly tells quick-commerce firms to drop 10-minute delivery promise
India's labor ministry is pushing the country's booming quick-commerce sector to prioritize the wellness and safety of its gig workers.
ElevenLabs CEO says the voice AI startup crossed $330 million ARR last year
The company said it took only five months to go from $200 million to $330 million in annual recurring revenue.
Apple launches Creator Studio bundle of apps for $12.99 per month
The bundle includes access to Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, and Pixelmator Pro on Mac and iPad, as well as Motion, Compressor, and MainStage on Mac.
Deepgram raises $130M at $1.3B valuation and buys a YC AI startup
Deepgram is raising its Series C round at a $1.3 billion valuation.
Salesforce unveils Slackbot, a new AI agent that allows users to complete tasks across multiple enterprise applications from Slack.
Superorganism raises $25M to backbiodiversity startups
Superorganism launched in 2023 as what it claims is the first venture capital firm focused on biodiversity, aiming to serve as the conservationist on the cap table for nature-friendly startups. Now, the firm has closed its first fund, securing $25.9 million in capital commitments from Cisco Foundation, AMB Holdings, and Builders Vision, among others, along []
Brazil orders Meta to suspend policy banning third-party AI chatbots from WhatsApp
Brazil's competition watchdog has ordered WhatsApp to put on hold its policy that bars third-party AI companies from using its business API to offer chatbots on the app. The agency has also started an investigation against the company to determine if the policy is anti-competitive.
Converge Bio raises $25M, backed by Bessemer and execs from Meta, OpenAI, Wiz
AI drug discovery startup Converge Bio raised $25 million in a Series A led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with additional backing from executives at Meta, OpenAI, and Wiz.
More than 100 new tech unicorns were minted in 2025 here they are
Using data from Crunchbase and PitchBook, TechCrunch tracked down the VC-backed startups that became unicorns so far this year.
OpenAI buys tiny health records startup Torch for, reportedly, $100M
AI health records startup Torch will be using its tech for OpenAI's new ChatGPT Health, according to co-founder Ilya Abyzov.
Hands-on with Bee, Amazons latest AI wearable
We tried Amazon's new AI wearable Bee. It's not for pro users yet, but more features are expected this year.
Anthropic announces Claude for Healthcare following OpenAIs ChatGPT Health reveal
Anthropic's Claude for Healthcare is unveiled about a week after OpenAI announced its ChatGPT Health product.
Pebble founder says his new company is not a startup
Pebble's founder talks about how his new company is doing things differently.
Anthropics new Cowork tool offers Claude Code without the code
Built into the Claude Desktop app, Cowork lets users designate a specific folder where Claude can read or modify files, with further instructions given through the standard chat interface.
Trumps EPA plans to ignore health affects of air pollution
The Trump administration is planning to stop assigning value to human life when analyzing the costs and benefits of air pollution controls.
Amazon says 97% of its devices can support Alexa+
Amazon is counting on its Alexa footprint to help it gain traction in the consumer AI race.
Developers have made $550 billion on Apples App Store since 2008
Apple says its services had a ecord-breaking year, as Apple TV, Apple Music, and Apple Pay also soared.
Googles Gemini to power Apples AI features like Siri
Apple and Google have embarked on a non-exclusive, multi-year partnership that will involve Apple using Gemini models and Google cloud technology for future foundational models.
Paramount files lawsuit against Warner Bros. amidst controversial Netflix merger
Paramount has filed a lawsuit against Warner Bros. Discovery, demanding greater financial disclosure regarding Netflix's $82.7 billion acquisition.
A New Jersey lawsuit shows how hard it is to fight deepfake porn
For more than two years, an app called ClothOff has been terrorizing young women online and its been maddeningly difficult to stop. The app has been taken down from the two major app stores and its banned from most social platforms, but its still available on the web and through a Telegram bot. In []
Netflix had a huge night at the 2026 Golden Globes with 7 wins
As Netflix gears up to acquire Warner Bros., the streaming giant took home 7 awards at the Golden Globes last night.
Luminar lines up $22 million bidder for its lidar business
The bid comes from Quantum Computing Inc., which already lined up to buy Luminar's semiconductor division. Luminar founder Austin Russell has also expressed interest.
Meta hires former Trump advisor Dina Powell McCormick as president and vice chair
Before joining Meta, Powell McCormick was working as deputy national security advisor to PresidentDonald Trump.
Harmattan AI raises $200M Series B led by Dassault Aviation, becomes defense unicorn
French defense tech company Harmattan AI is now valued at $1.4 billion after raising a $200 million Series B round led by Dassault Aviation, which is best known for making the Rafale fighter jet.
inDrive turns to ads and groceries to diversify revenue
Advertising on inDrive is being rolled out across its top 20 markets following mid-2025 tests.
Why understanding matters more than returns when deploying capital?
Wealthy individuals are increasingly investing in complex private credit and structured strategies. These investments carry inherent risks due to limited liquidity and infrequent price visibility.
