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Steve Ballmer blasts founder he backed who pleaded guilty to fraud: I was duped and feel silly
Steve Ballmer wrote a fiery letter in the sentencing of disgraced founder Joseph Sanberg documenting all the harm that's befalling him as an investor.
Palantir is reportedly helping the IRS investigate financial crimes
The IRS has used Palantir's software since at least 2018, The Intercept reports.
Cohere acquires, merges with Germany-based startup to create a transatlantic AI powerhouse
Cohere, the Canada-based AI company that makes AI tools for businesses in regulated industries, announced Friday it would merge with Aleph Alpha, a German company that also builds AI systems for businesses and governments.
Two college kids raise a $5.1 million pre-seed to build an AI social network in iMessage
Series, a social networking app that's grown popular on college campuses, announced a $5.1 million pre-seed round from some big names in tech.
Metas loss is Thinking Machines gain
Meta has been poaching talent from Thinking Machines Lab. But it's a two-way street.
X-energy stock pops 27% on first day of trading following upsized IPO
Investors flocked to nuclear power startup X-energy in its first day of public trading on the Nasdaq.
X launches stand-alone XChat app on iOS
X's new app promises private chats, disappearing messages, audio and video calls, and more.
Google to invest up to $40B in Anthropic in cash and compute
Google plans up to $40B investment in Anthropic as AI rivals race to secure massive compute capacity, following the limited release of its powerful, cybersecurity-focused Mythos model.
Marked-up Mac minis flood eBay amid shortages driven by AI
Apples sold-out Mac mini is spawning marked-up eBay listings as demand surges for the compact desktop, now favored for running local AI models and tools.
Another spyware maker caught distributing fake Android snooping apps
Researchers have found a new case where government authorities used a fake Android app to plant spyware on a targets phone. The company that allegedly developed the spyware was not previously known to sell this type of software.
Uber CTO Praveen Neppalli Naga joins stacked StrictlyVC SF lineup for April 30 event
Surprise! StrictlyVC San Francisco, which will kick off this years events lineup for TechCrunch on April 30 at the Sentro Filipino Cultural Center, is getting a new addition to its increasingly stacked lineup of speakers. Uber CTO Praveen Neppalli Naga will join the rest of the lineup to discuss operating at scale in the age of AI.
Nothing introduces an AI-powered dictation tool
Nothing's new on-device dictation tool supports over 100 languages.
DeepSeek previews new AI model that closes the gap with frontier models
DeepSeek says both models are more efficient and performant than DeepSeek V3.2 due to architectural improvements, and have almost closed the gap with current leading models, both open and closed, on reasoning benchmarks.
Porsche is adding an all-electric Cayenne coupe to its lineup
Porsche will start selling the Cayenne Coupe Electric in late summer.
The soldier is accused of using classified government information to inform a wager on the prediction market Polymarket.
Redwood Materials loses COO amid layoffs, restructuring
Former Tesla executive Chris Lister is retiring, and at least three other VPs have left Redwood around the recent restructuring, TechCrunch has learned.
Instagram tests a new Instants app for sharing disappearing photos
The app lets users share disappearing photos with their friends that can be viewed only once and remain available for 24 hours.
Meet Noscroll, an AI bot that does your doomscrolling for you
Noscroll wants to cure doomscrolling with an AI bot that reads the internet for you.
Trumps pick to run US cyber agency CISA asks to drop out
Sean Plankey has requested to withdraw his name to run the U.S. cybersecurity agency after a tumultuous year of chaotic temporary leadership.
Dont stop hiring humans stop hiring the wrong humans, Artisans founder says
Artisan may be known for their bold Stop Hiring Humans campaign but the reality is every founder needs to assemble the right team if they want to scale.
Meta is revamping its cross-app management system
Meta's Accounts Center will transition to the Meta Account, which is supposed to make it easier to manage your experience on various Meta apps and devices.
Era raises $11M to build a software platform for AI gadgets
Era thinks that we will see many form factors of AI hardware, including glasses, rings, and pendants
Salmon raises $100M in equity and debt to bring digital credit to underbanked Filipinos
Salmon is targeting underbanked Filipinos, with little to no credit history, as well as people unhappy with the incumbent lenders' reliability issues.
Vercel says some of its customers data was stolen prior to its recent hack
The app and website hosting company has found evidence of a second compromise of customer accounts after expanding its initial investigation following a breach in early April.
Grab a ticket today: The first StrictlyVC of 2026 kicks off in just a week in San Francisco
StrictlyVC San Francisco is in just a week. Nows the time to grab yourself a ticket. Join VCs and founders at Sentro Filipino Cultural Center on April 30.
Another customer of troubled startup Delve suffered a big security incident
TechCrunch has confirmed that Delve was the compliance company that performed the security certifications for Context AI, the AI agent training startup that last week disclosed a security incident.
Labor unrest at Samsung may worsen memory chip supply issues
Tens of thousands of Samsung Electronics workers held a rally at the companys Pyeongtaek campus in South Korea on Thursday to signal they are prepared to walk off the job for an 18-day strike next month.
Tesla drops Musks $29B interim award after Delaware court restored larger pay package
The company is following through on its promise to not let Musk double dip if he won his appeal to restore Tesla's 2018 compensation package, worth $56 billion.
WhatsApp adds prepaid phone recharges in India as its payments usage still lags
WhatsApp is rolling out prepaid phone recharges to its 500 million users in India via PayU.
AI galaxy hunters are adding to the global GPU crunch
Astronomers are turning to GPUs to find needles in the galactic haystack.
Beehiiv rolls out new creator tools, including webinars and customizable paywalls
Beehiiv is clearly done being just a newsletter platform based on today's launch of a new webinar feature, customizable paywalls, and more.
Meta will now allow parents to see the topics their child discussed with Meta AI
Topics can range from School, Entertainment, and Lifestyle to Travel, Writing, and Health and Wellbeing, among others, Meta says.
Indias app market is booming but global platforms are capturing most of the gains
Non-gaming apps, led by streaming and AI, are driving growth, even as India's spending per user lags global peers.
Shade lands $14M to let creative teams search their video libraries in plain English
Shade has its own filesystem that lets you stream files directly to your local drive
Tesla just increased its capex to $25B. Heres where the money is going.
Tesla's planned capex for 2026 is three times higher than what the company has historically spent. Its CFO said, as a result, Tesla will have a negative free cash flow the rest of the year.
Google updates Workspace to make AI your new office intern
Google has introduced a host of new automated functions into Workspace, all of which are driven by Workspace Intelligence, its new AI system.
Elon Musk admits millions of Tesla owners need upgrades for true Full Self-Driving
The admission could open Tesla to legal challenges after it spent years promising customers they were just one software update away from owning fully autonomous cars.
Hands on with Xs new AI-powered custom feeds
X's AI-powered custom timelines are replacing Communities, with Grok-curated feeds...and new ad slots.
Tesla Q1 revenue rises, driven by EV sales and FSD subscriptions
Sales rebounded a bit from the first quarter of 2025, as Tesla throws a ton of money at massive bets like robotics, AI, and its own chip fab.
Rivian R2 production has started despite tornado damage to factory
The company's all-important mass-market EV is just about ready to start heading to customers.
Cosmetics giant Rituals confirms data breach of customer membership records
The cosmetics retailer, which counts 41 million customers in its membership data, declined to provide an accurate total number of customers affected.
Cathie Woods ARK makes its first lead investment in startup Lucra and it isnt AI
Lucra offers corporate loyalty programs reimagined as interactive eSports. But winning ARK as a lead wasn't easy.
OpenAI teams up with Infosys to bring AI tools to more businesses
Infosys said the integration will be used to help its clients modernize software development, automate workflows and deploy AI systems, initially focusing software engineering, legacy modernization, and DevOps.
UK government says 100 countries have spyware that can hack peoples phones
The U.K.'s cybersecurity chief warned that U.K. businesses and critical infrastructure are underestimating the threat from spyware attacks and other cyberthreats, with more governments having access to the powerful surveillance technology than ever.
X makes it more expensive to post links through its API
Posting links on X through its API is now 1,900% more costly
Amazon Music partners with Bandsintown for concert listings
Users will be able to see live events of an artist on their Amazon Music profile
Snap Maps new Place Loyalty badges will show the spots you visit most often
If youre in the top 25% of users who visit a certain place, youll see your ranking on the Snap Map and can choose to share it with others.
Exclusive: Google deepens Thinking Machines Lab ties with new multi-billion-dollar deal
Mira Murati's Thinking Machines Lab has signed a multi-billion-dollar deal with Google Cloud for AI infrastructure powered by Nvidia's latest GB300 chips, TechCrunch has exclusively learned.
Google Maps is about to get a big dose of AI
Generative AI is being infused into Google's popular feature within Maps.
Duolingo is now giving free users access to advanced learning content
Duolingo is opening up its advanced language learning content offering to free users, allowing them to acquire skills that were previously reserved to paid subscribers.
The most interesting startups showcased at Google Cloud Next2026
Google wants AI startups on its cloud and has showcased a long list of them at its annual conference.
Redwood Materials lays off 10% in restructuring to chase energy storage business
The company is restructuring some teams to accommodate a booming energy storage business, according to emails viewed by TechCrunch.
Meta will record employees keystrokes and use it to train its AI models
Meta says that it has a new internal tool that is converting mouse movements and button clicks into data that can train its AI models.
Unauthorized group has gained access to Anthropics exclusive cyber tool Mythos, report claims
Anthropic told TechCrunch it is investigating the claims, but maintains that there is no evidence that its systems have been impacted.
A look at Tim Cooks 15-year legacy as CEO of Apple
Cook, who joined Apple in 1998, succeeded Steve Jobs as CEO in 2011 and went on to transform Apple into a $4 trillion powerhouse.
Clarifai deletes 3 million photos that OkCupid provided to train facial recognition AI, report says
The photo deletion comes after an FTC settlement with Clarifai. The company had asked OkCupid whose executives had invested in Clarifai to share data in 2014, according to court documents.
AI Dungeon maker Latitude unveils Voyage, a platform for creating AI-powered RPGs
Latitude's new AI-native platform, Voyage, aims to help gamers create their very own role-playing game.
Former Pinterest team redesigns email with Extra and its actually good
Extra, from a team of former Pinterest designers and engineers, reimagines email around your life instead of the traditional inbox.
Ransomware negotiator pleads guilty to helping ransomware gang
A former employee of a cybersecurity firm pleaded guilty to aiding ransomware criminals to maximize their profits, with the goal of taking a cut of the ransom.
Bond, a new social media platform, wants to use AI to help you kick your doomscrolling habit
Bond wants you to get off the couch and get back into the real world, its creator says. The new platform's AI system is designed to motivate users to do things away from the app.
YouTube expands its AI likeness detection technology to celebrities
YouTube is expanding its AI likeness detection tool to celebrities, giving talent and their reps a way to find and remove deepfakes.
Amazon taps Swedens Einride for its electric big rigs
The agreement comes just as Einride is finalizing a merger with blank-check company Legato Merger Corp. to go public.
GRAI believes AI can make music more social, not replace artists
AI music startup GRAI says fans want to remix tracks, not generate songs from scratch.
Whats the key to better vegan cheese? Microbreweries, one startup says
AuX Labs says it has found a better way to make vegan cheese that tastes and feels like the real thing and costs the same.
Cash App is targeting a new kind of customer: 6-12 year olds
Tech companies are constantly on the hunt for new customers, and Cash App, the fintech company owned by Jack Dorseys Block, believes it has found a promising new demographic: children. The company, which already offers financial services to teens, said this week that it is expanding its youth-focused services in an effort to build a []
Blue Energy raises $380M to build grid-scale nuclear reactors in shipyards
By building reactors in shipyards, Blue Energy says it will tame nuclear power's cost problems, giving it access to cheaper financing.
AvenuesAI Subsidiary Rediff Pre-Files DRHP
AvenuesAIs (formerly Infibeam Ventures) subsidiary Rediff has filed its IPO papers via the confidential route with SEBI. Rediff.com India Limited,
Xovian Aerospace Raises $2 Mn To Launch RF Satellite
Spacetech startup Xovian Aerospace has secured $2 Mn (about 18.7 Cr) in a fresh funding round led by ace investor
SIP Investing Guide: Young Professionals Aged 21-35 Earning 20K-75K Monthly
AMFI-registered mutual fund distributor's SIP guide: 21-35 yr olds 20K-75K. SEBI-compliant education on categories, allocation, step-up strategy. The post SIP Investing Guide: Young Professionals Aged 21-35 Earning 20K-75K Monthly appeared first on Startup Success Stories India - News & Updates for Indian Entrepreneurs .
NODWINs Pre-IPO Round, Funding Tanks In Q1 2026 & More
NODWINs Pre-IPO Funding Meal NODWIN Gaming is moving beyond gaming and esports. Emerging from the shadows of its former parent
