16 C 
The fallout from HPs Humane acquisition
Welcome back to Week in Review. This week were looking at the internal chaos surrounding HPs $116 million acquisition of AI Pin maker Humane; Mira Muratis new AI venture coming out of stealth; Duolingo killing its iconic owl mascot with a Cybertruck; and more! Lets get into it. Humanes AI pin is dead. The hardware [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Trump administration reportedly shutting down federal EV chargers nationwide
The General Services Administration, the agency that manages buildings owned by the federal government, is planning to shut down its entire network of electric vehicle chargers, according to a report in The Verge. The GSA reportedly operates a network of hundreds of EV chargers with a total of 8,000 plugs that can be used to [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Explore the online world of Apple TVs Severance
Apple has been steadily working to expand the world of the Apple TV+ series Severance, through online materials, e-books, podcasts, and other content and so have its fans. Taking advantage of its platform power, the Cupertino tech giant has been able to easily distribute supplemental material that adds to the shows storytelling abilities, offering [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Andhra Woos Tesla For EV Manufacturing Facility: Report
Amid the EV manufacturing push in the country, Andhra Pradesh is reportedly making efforts to attract Elon Musks Tesla to
IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez visits India to discuss sustainable maritime practices
TK Ramachandran, Secretary of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW), welcomed International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez at the Ministry as part of his ongoing visit to India.
Govt Receives 67 Proposals For Building AI Foundational Model
The union government has reportedly received at least 67 proposals for building an indigenously-designed and developed artificial intelligence (AI) foundational
Court filings show Meta staffers discussed using copyrighted content for AI training
For years, Meta employees have internally discussed using copyrighted works obtained through legally questionable means to train the companys AI models, according to court documents unsealed on Thursday. The documents were submitted by plaintiffs in the case Kadrey v. Meta, one of many AI copyright disputes slowly winding through the U.S. court system. The defendant, [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Brian Armstrong says Coinbase spent $50M fighting SEC lawsuit and beat it
Coinbase on Friday said the SEC has agreed to drop the lawsuit against the company with prejudice, meaning it cannot be filed again. The move, which is still subject to the approval of the SECs Commissioners, is yet another signal that the Trump administration plans to be more friendly to crypto than the SEC was [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
iOS 18.4 will bring Apple Intelligence-powered Priority Notifications
Apple on Friday released its first developer beta for iOS 18.4, which adds a new Priority Notifications feature, powered by Apple Intelligence. The addition aims to help users manage their notifications by prioritizing important alerts and minimizing distractions from less important ones. These priority notifications are displayed in a separate section on the phones Lock [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says market got it wrong about DeepSeeks impact
Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang said the market got it wrong when it comes to DeepSeeks technological advancements and its potential to negatively impact the chipmakers business. Instead, Huang called DeepSeeks R1 open source reasoning model incredibly exciting while speaking with Alex Bouzari, CEO of DataDirect Networks, in a pre-recorded interview that was released [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Report: OpenAI plans to shift compute needs from Microsoft to SoftBank
OpenAI is forecasting a major shift in the next five years around who it gets most of its computing power from, The Information reported on Friday. By 2030, OpenAI expects to get three-quarters of its data center capacity from Stargate, a project thats expected to be heavily financed by SoftBank, one of OpenAIs newest financial [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Norways 1X is building a humanoid robot for the home
Norwegian robotics firm 1X unveiled its latest home robot, Neo Gamma, on Friday. The humanoid system will succeed Neo Beta, which debuted in August. Like its predecessors, the Neo Gamma is a prototype designed for testing in the home environment. Images of the robot show it performing a number of household tasks like making coffee, [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Sakana walks back claims that its AI can dramatically speed up model training
This week, Sakana AI, a Nvidia-backed startup thats raised hundreds of millions of dollars from VC firms, made a remarkable claim. The company said it had created an AI system, the AI CUDA Engineer, that could effectively speed up the training of certain AI models by a factor of up to 100x. The only problem [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Despite recent layoffs, Meta is expanding in India
Meta is expanding in India, despite recent layoffs of what the tech giant controversially deemed low performers. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Apple takes on recipe apps with Apple News+ Food
Recipe app developers just got new competition. On Friday, Apple introduced a soon-to-launch feature for Apple News+ subscribers called Apple News+ Food, a new section that will allow users to search, discover, save, and easily cook recipes from dozens of existing News+ publishing partners. Its set to roll out as part of iOS 18.4 and [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
The Vision Pro is getting Apple Intelligence in April
Apple Intelligence is heading to the Vision Pro as part of an upcoming operating system update. Apple confirmed on Friday that its generative AI platform will arrive on the extended reality headset as part of visionOS 2.4. A beta version of the software is currently available for developers. The public version is set for an [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Augury and Hightouch joined the unicorn club
Welcome to Startups Weekly your weekly recap of everything you cant miss from the world of startups. Want it in your inbox every Friday? Sign up here. Startup life is a story of births and deaths. This week confirmed this, and it confirmed that unicorn rounds are not dead. Most interesting startup stories from [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Crypto exchange Bybit says it was hacked and lost around $1.4B
Crypto exchange Bitby disclosed a breach that that amounts to a loss of $1.4 billion, the largest crypto theft of all time. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
The real reason why oil and gas companies are bullish on carbon capture
Occidental CEO Vicki Hollub compared using CO2 in enhanced oil recovery to fracking, the technology that sent U.S. oil and gas production skyrocketing. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
How automotive exec Crystal Brown founded CircNova, an AI drug discovery biotech
Tiny Michigan biotech startup CircNova has raised a $3.3 million seed round for its technology that uses AI to target so-called circular RNA. The development holds promise as a new method to quickly develop therapies for conditions that currently have no drug treatments. The new funding is also a victory lap for co-founder and CEO [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Five of the most important fintech VCs investing heavily in the sector
Global investing in fintech startups is starting to see an uptick. Just this week, KPMG issued its Pulse of Fintech report for the second half of 2024. In the fourth quarter of 2024, investment climbed to $25.9 billion from $18 billion in the third quarter, according to KPMG. Granted, this is not the enthusiasm of [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Zomato, Jio Financial Services Included In Nifty 50
Months after making its way into the benchmark index BSE Sensex, Zomato and Jio Financial Services have now been included
Apply to Speak at TechCrunch Sessions: AI before the deadline
AI Innovators, seize your moment! Have insights that could inspire 1,200 AI founders, investors, and enthusiasts eager to advance the future of AI? Take center stage, influence the AI conversation, and exchange ideas at TechCrunch Sessions: AI on June 5 at UC Berkeleys Zellerbach Hall. Were gathering top AI visionaries from the startup world to [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Apple pulls iCloud end-to-end encryption feature for UK users after government demanded backdoor
In an unprecedented step, Apple caved to a reported U.K. governments demand to prevent users from using end-to-end encryption in iCloud. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
DeepSeek to open source parts of online services code
Chinese AI lab DeepSeek plans to open source portions of its online services code as part of an open source week event next week. DeepSeek will open source five code repositories that have been documented, deployed and battle-tested in production, the company said in a post on X on Thursday. Code repositories are storage locations [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
A huge trove of leaked Black Basta chat logs expose the ransomware gangs key members and victims
A leaker allegedly published the leaked internal messages after the group allegedly targeted Russian banks 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Swiggy Allots 1.7 Cr Equity Shares Under ESOP Schemes
Listed foodtech major Swiggy has allotted 1.7 Cr equity shares under two different employee stock option (ESOP) schemes. In an
Three reasons every founder and VC should be at TechCrunch All Stage 2025
From idea to IPO where are you on your startup journey? If any of that sounds like you or if youre in between stages and ready to level up TechCrunch All Stage 2025 (formerly Early Stage) is the place to be. Join 1,200 founders to exchange ideas and meet the right VC [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
TechCrunch Disrupt 2025: Lowest prices of the year end in 7 days
You read that headline correctly! The best deals for TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 tickets are about to end in just 7 days. Save up to $1,130 on individual passes and up to 30% on group tickets. Dont wait these offers end on February 28 at 11:59 p.m. PT. Join us in celebrating 20 years of [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
YouTube reportedly launching new premium lite tier soon
YouTube is close to announcing a new lower-priced premium lite version of its subscription service, Bloomberg reports. The new tier is expected to launch in the United States, Australia, Germany, and Thailand soon. The tier will give users access to YouTubes library of podcasts and how-to clips without ads, Bloomberg notes. Premium lite will be [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
[Update] Awfis Provisionally Attached Bank Accounts Restored
Update | February 21, 4:14 PM Coworking space provider Awfis bank accounts, which were frozen by tax authorities, have now
Trifecta Capital Onboards Its Investor Saurabh Singh As Partner
Trifecta Capital, which provides venture debt to startups, has onboarded its investor Saurabh Singh as partner. With over 15 years
MobiKwik To Pick Up Additional 3.39% Stake In Blostem Fintech
Fintech major MobiKwik is acquiring an additional 3.39% stake in B2B banking infrastructure company Blostem Fintech Private Limited for INR
OpenAI rolls out its AI agent, Operator, in several countries
OpenAI said on Friday that it is rolling out Operator, its so-called AI agent that can perform tasks on behalf of users, for ChatGPT Pro subscribers in Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, the U.K., and more countries. OpenAI said Operator will be available in most places where ChatGPT is available, apart from [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
India and the US are set to begin negotiations on a bilateral trade agreement, aiming to double commerce to $500 billion by 2030. The Indian commerce ministry will consult various departments to address trade issues, including reciprocal tariffs, as discussions with the US trade team start.
Clean energy was lifting manufacturing. Now investment is in jeopardy
U.S. manufacturing is seeing significant investments in clean energy and semiconductor plants.
Hit By Protests, Samsung Calls On TN Govt To Ensure Ease Of Doing Business
Amid the ongoing workers protest at its Sriperumbudur plant, tech giant Samsung has reportedly called on the Tamil Nadu government
Gujarat Budget 2025-26: Motor Tax On EVs Reduced To 1%
In a major relief for electric vehicle (EV) buyers in the state, Gujarat finance Minister Kanubhai Desai has proposed offering
Solar crushed 2024, but emissions were up as industry used more natural gas
Solar and wind together now represent nearly a quarter of electricity demand and nearly 10% of all energy consumption in the U.S. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
6 new tech unicorns were minted in January 2025
Despite a still tight venture capital market, new unicorns are still being created every month. Using data from Crunchbase and PitchBook, TechCrunch tracked down the newly VC-backed startup minted unicorns so far this year (as of the end of January). These include healthcare companies like Hippocratic AI and satellite space companies like Loft Orbital. This [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Rivian inches closer to profitability but warns changes to government policies could hurt
Rivians costcutting 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. The company announced Thursday its fourth quarter and full-year 2024 financial results, and along with it, shared [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
CEO of Clearview AI, a controversial facial recognition startup, has resigned
The CEO of controversial facial recognition startup Clearview AI has resigned, he confirms to TechCrunch. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Your Android phone could have stalkerware. Heres how to remove it
This simple guide helps you identify and remove common consumer-grade spyware apps from your Android phone. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Mark Zuckerbergs makeover didnt 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 Trumps right-hand man, Elon Musk, the report found. While about [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Hacked, leaked, exposed: Why you should never use stalkerware apps
Using stalkerware is creepy, unethical, potentially illegal, and puts your data and that of your loved ones in danger. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Bankrupt Nikola wants to sell its whole business by April
Electric trucking startup Nikola is hoping to sell what remains of its whole business as early as April, lawyers for the company told a judge Thursday during the first hearing of its bankruptcy case in Delaware. The lawyers claimed Nikola already has at least three interested buyers (who they did not name) and that the [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Meta starts accepting sign-ups for Community Notes on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads
Meta announced in a blog post on Thursday that its now accepting sign-ups for its Community Notes program on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. The announcement follows Meta news last month that its going to end its third-party fact-checking program and is instead moving to a Community Notes model similar to the one at X. In [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Tesla to test virtual queues at Supercharging locations
Road rage has been around for a while. A newer phenomenon thats cropping up is EV charging rage the feeling when a fellow EV owner cuts the line to grab one of the only working charge ports. Its common enough that people posted altercations between EV drivers on social media and forums. In at [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Beta Technologies bet on electric flight and Hyundais new Tesla charging port comes up short
Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. Sign up here for free just click TechCrunch Mobility! Fifteen years ago, I started writing about a little EV startup that was trying to survive even as others failed in the clean tech boom-and-bust cycle. Back [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Electric aircraft founder Kyle Clark threw out the Silicon Valley playbook
On a cool morning last November, 800 people gathered before sunrise in a South Burlington hangar to witness the maiden flight of Beta Technologies first electric aircraft to be built on its new scaled production line. Kyle Clark, Betas enigmatic founder and CEO, piloted the Alia CX300 one of the startups two aircraft models [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Trumps FTC is looking into censorship on tech platforms
The Federal Trade Commission announced on Thursday that it will launch a public inquiry into censorship by tech platforms, soliciting comments from people who feel they have been demonetized, banned, or otherwise censored due to their speech or affiliations. Tech firms should not be bullying their users, said FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson in a statement. [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Amazon shuts down Chime, its Zoom alternative
Amazon Chime, the tech giants underwhelming alternative to Zoom and Google Meet, is shutting down for good. The company on Wednesday confirmed it will end support for Chime, including its Business Calling features, on February 20, 2026. As part of this transition, Amazon stopped accepting new Chime accounts as of February 19, 2025. From now [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Pre-seed firm Afore Capital has a fresh $185M fund and a new program to help founders discover ideas
Afore Capital, a firm that claims to be the largest dedicated pre-seed investor, was founded on the idea that the first check into a new startup should be larger than what most accelerators and early-stage investors were offering. When Afore raised its third $150 million fund in 2022, the firm wrote checks ranging from $1 [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
61 US startups became unicorns in 2024: Heres the full list
The list included Elon Musks xAI, as well as a good number of other AI startups. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Cherryrock Capital raises new $172M fund from all-star investors to back diverse founders
Cherryrock Capital, founded by ex-TaskRabbit CEO Stacy Brown-Philpot, announced Wednesday the closing of its $172 million Fund I with an all-star limited partner list that includes JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, MassMutual, Melinda French Gates Pivotal Ventures, Reid Hoffman, Mellody Hobson, and Sheryl Sandberg. Brown-Philpot told Bloomberg that the fund actually closed in January. The firm launched [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Figures humanoid robot takes voice orders to help around the house
Figure founder and CEO Brett Adcock Thursday revealed a new machine learning model for humanoid robots. The news, which arrives two weeks after Adcock announced the Bay Area robotics firms decision to step away from an OpenAI collaboration, is centered around Helix, a generalist Vision-Language-Action (VLA) model. VLAs are a new phenomenon for robotics, leveraging [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
FirstCrys Company Secretary Resigns To Pursue New Avenues
Omnichannel kidswear brand FirstCry will soon part ways with its company secretary and compliance officer Neelam Jethani. In an exchange
Andhra & Maharashtra Telecom Depts Fine Airtel For Flouting Norms
Telecommunications giant Bharti Airtel has been slapped with penalties to the tune of nearly INR 8 Lakh by the telecom
Tesla Prepares For India Entry, Begins Process To Ship EVs: Report
Elon Musk-led Tesla, which is gearing up for its entry in the Indian market, has reportedly begun the process to
Instagrams new ad format lets creators get paid for testimonials in comments
Instagram is introducing a new way for creators to work with brands to make money by recommending products. On Thursday, Meta introduced an addition to its Partnership Ads called Testimonials, which allows creators to get paid via written endorsements, shared as comments on the brands social media posts and advertisements. The new ad format is [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Spotify partners with ElevenLabs to expand its library of AI-narrated audiobooks
On Thursday, Spotify announced that it now accepts audiobooks narrated using ElevenLabs AI voice technology. Given that ElevenLabs is currently among the most recognized AI audio providers, this new partnership is expected to boost the quantity of AI-narrated audiobooks on the platform. To upload an audiobook narrated by AI, authors need to download the file [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
The California agency said National Public Data failed to register in the state as a data broker. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Substack now lets creators monetize videos and post them directly from its app
As TikToks future in the U.S. remains uncertain, Substack tries to lure creators to its platform by doubling down on video. The company announced on Wednesday that its now allowing creators to monetize their videos on the platform, and letting them publish video posts directly from the Substack app. Previously, creators have been able to [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Twitch caps streamers storage at 100 hours of highlights and uploads
Twitch on Wednesday announced it will begin limiting streamers to 100 hours of highlights and uploads, and will delete content if a channel exceeds the limit. The company said its introducing the change because highlights havent been effective in driving discovery or engagement, and because storage is costly. The storage cap goes into effect on [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
OpenAI now serves 400M users every week
OpenAI is increasingly looking like a consumer company, telling CNBC that it now has 400 million weekly active users. Usage is still growing at a rapid pace as the AI developer behind the AI chatbot, ChatGPT, only had 300 million users in December 2024. Though OpenAI has not revealed the number of paid customers with [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
UK healthcare giant HCRG confirms hack after ransomware gang claims theft of sensitive data
The prolific Medusa ransomware group claims to have stolen troves of data from HCRG, including patients sensitive health data 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
SmartSuite raises $38M to be the final word on enterprise collaboration
Three founders who built out one of the bigger startups in risk management are scaling a new company to take on another pain point in the world of work. SmartSuites platform lets teams collaborate on projects, build automations around that work, and search and access work across larger libraries of data spanning a disparate number [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Mercor, an AI recruiting startup founded by 21-year-olds, raises $100M at $2B valuation
Mercor, the AI recruiting startup founded by three 21-year-old Thiel Fellows, has raised $100 million in a Series B round, the company confirmed to TechCrunch. Menlo Park-based Felicis led the round, valuing Mercor at $2 billioneight times its previous valuation, the Wall Street Journal previously reported. Existing investors Benchmark, General Catalyst, and DST Global also [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Amazon is shutting down its app store on Android
Amazon will discontinue its app store for Android on August 20 this year. The company sent a notice to developers indicating that they will no longer be able to submit new apps to the store. The company said on a support page that it will also discontinue its Coins digital currency, which could be used [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
ValarAtomics comes out of stealth with $19M and a pilot reactor site
Companies developing small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) have raised more than $1.5 billion in the past year, as tech companies hunger for power to train AI models and governments decide to commit to the industry. For example, X-energy raised $700 million this month, and Paris-based Newcleo raised $151 million last year, and one would be [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
How Stockwiz Is Leveraging AI To Democratise F&O Trading For Retail Investors
What do Groww, Zerodha and Dhan (part of Raise Financial Services) have in common? Well, almost anyone can answer that.
ideaForge Backs US-Based Vantage Robotics
Listed drone tech company ideaForge has infused $1.83 Mn (around INR 15.96 Cr) in California-based unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) manufacturing
PE Funds Hone India Exits Playbook Amid Startup IPO Wave
For Indias private equity ecosystem, the wave of startup IPOs has unlocked new insights into the Indian market and in
Tether backs stablecoin liquidity provider Mansa in $10M seed round
As payment companies increasingly explore stablecoins for cross-border payments and real-time settlement, some startups are tapping into the zeitgeist by providing liquidity via a revolving line of credit in stablecoins. One of them is Dubai-based but Africa-focused Mansa, whose offering allows payments companies to settle transactions and fund customer accounts instantly. The startup has raised [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Spore.Bio raises $23M to apply machine learning to microbiology testing
Recalls in the food and beverage industry due to contamination incidents can have catastrophic effects. Not only do companies have to pay fines and damages, but the impacts on the brands reputation can be long-lasting. Thats why Spore.Bio, a Paris-based deeptech startup, is trying to reinvent microbiology testing to avoid the next PR crisis in [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Bitcoin Scam: ED Attaches INR 10.63 Cr Dubai Assets
The Enforcement Directorate has reportedly attached assets worth more than INR 10 Cr, as part of a money laundering probe
Maritime carbon tax 'matter of survival' for Pacific isles
A carbon tax on maritime transport is deemed crucial for the survival of Pacific islands, as discussed at an International Maritime Organisation meeting. The tax could help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support poorer nations.
German industry slams Trump's car tariff threat, calls for deal
Germany's car lobby group criticizes U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to impose 25% tariffs on car imports, calling it a 'provocation' and urging Brussels to negotiate. With 13% of German car exports going to the U.S., the potential tariffs could harm Germany's automotive industry significantly.
For You feeds are not for creators, Patreon says
Patreon has continued on its crusade against algorithmic feeds with its latest State of Create report, a look at trends in the creator economy based on internal data, and its an effort creators can get behind. In its survey of 1,000 creators and 2,000 fans, the membership platform reported that 53% of creators think it [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Saronic raises $600M to mass produce autonomous warships
Austin-based defense startup Saronic has raised a $600 million Series C to build an autonomous ship factory called Port Alpha, it announced. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
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. The non-government organization (NGO) undertook an analysis of social media content displayed to new users via algorithmically [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
After raising $1 billion, fintech Varo closes another $29 million, replaces founder CEO
Fintech Varo has been hoping to raise a $55 million Series G round but has, so far, closed on $29 million to date, according to a recent SEC filing. Varo declined to comment on this new round but the fintech has raised just over $1 billion in funding since its 2015 inception, according to PitchBook. [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Uberditches commissions in favor of fees for auto rickshaw drivers in India
Uber has introduced daily fees for auto rickshaw drivers in India to move away from its typical commission-based model. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Mark Zuckerbergs charity U-turns, ends DEI efforts
Mark Zuckerbergs charity has eliminated its DEI programs and efforts just weeks after assuring staff it would continue supporting DEI efforts, the Guardian reports. The Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), co-founded by Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan, will end internal DEI programs and no longer provide social advocacy funding, which provided grants for racial equity and [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Brand new womens focused Swizzle Ventures skyrockets past its fundraising target
Swizzle Ventures has closed its Fund I at $6.6 million, bypassing its initial $3 million target, Jessica Kamada, the firms founder, told TechCrunch. Back in December, TechCrunch previously reported that the firm, which quietly launched in 2023, was raising and has already bypassed $5 million, per its SEC filing. The thesis of Fund I will [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Spanish spyware startup Mollitiam Industries shuts down
The little-known surveillance vendor filed for bankruptcy in January, after years of peddling spyware to countries like Colombia. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
IVF insurance startup Future Family promises a baby or your money back
For decades, couples going through in vitro fertilization have had to spend tens of thousands of dollars on the procedures with no guarantee of success. Its not only an emotionally draining process, but a financially exhausting one as well. San Francisco-based startup Future Family wants to help ease some of that burden for couples with [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Karman+ digs up $20M to build an asteroid-mining autonomous spacecraft
Investors on the lookout for startups working at the frontiers of technology are casting their nets ever further into unchartered territory, sometimes literally as well as figuratively. In one of the latest examples, a startup called Karman+ with ambitions to build autonomous spacecraft that can travel to asteroids and then mine them for materials has [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
This Week in AI: Maybe we should ignore AI benchmarks for now
Welcome to TechCrunchs regular AI newsletter! Were going on hiatus for a bit, but you can find all our AI coverage, including my columns, our daily analysis, and breaking news stories, at TechCrunch. If you want those stories and much more in your inbox every day, sign up for our daily newslettershere. This week, billionaire [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Googles Career Dreamer uses AI to help you explore job possibilities
Google is launching a new experiment that uses AI to help people explore more career possibilities. The company announced on Wednesday that a new Career Dreamer tool can find patterns between your experiences, educational background, skills, and interests to connect you with careers that might be a good fit. With Career Dreamer, you can use [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
