The AI startup market is sprawling, from companies looking to develop new chips, to those using AI to build robots, to others looking to use AI to create niche solutions for industry-specific workflows. There are a lot of potential areas for venture capitalists to invest in, but there are clearly a few subsectors they are [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

The general hype around all things AI is not lifting all boats: Certain startups continue to struggle and are looking for exits. In one of the latest developments, TechCrunch has learned from a reliable source that Metropolis, an AI-powered parking platform, is buying Oosto, the controversial computer vision company that used to be known as [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Zomatos quick commerce unit Blinkit is accelerating its expansion and expects continued losses as competition intensifies in Indias instant delivery market. Blinkit now aims to reach 2,000 dark stores small warehouses in residential areas that exclusively service online orders by December 2025, a year ahead of its previous guidance, after exceeding 1,000 stores [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Social network X is trying to capitalize on the removal of ByteDance apps like TikTok and Lemon8 from U.S. app stores by launching a dedicated vertical video feed. The company is adding a video tab in the apps bottom bar for users in the U.S. to let them quickly access video content on the platform. [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

At a recent investor meeting, early-stage African investor Oui Capital informed limited partners that it had returned its $4 million debut fund following the sale of some shares in the business banking platform Moniepoint. The African fintech unicorn has so far proven to be a standout investment for five-year-old Oui Capital. When it launched its [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

It is the product shipping time for all social networks withTikToks services in the restoration phase,and the app still unavailable in the App Store and the Play Store. Bluesky said Sunday that it is launching a custom feed for vertical video in its app. Users can see a trending videos section in the explore tab [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Donald Trump will take the presidential oath of office on Monday in front of the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., once again. The event takes place at noon ET and is expected to attract considerable attention from both supporters and opponents. How to stream Trumps inauguration You can watch the inauguration live with cable or [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Peter Conway has recruited for some of the buzziest defense and hard tech firms in Silicon Valley over the last decade, like Palantir and Mach Industries. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

An organization developing math benchmarks for AI didnt disclose that it had received funding from OpenAI until relatively recently, drawing allegations of impropriety from some in the AI community. Epoch AI, a nonprofit primarily funded by Open Philanthropy, a research and grantmaking foundation, revealed on December 20 that OpenAI had supported the creation of FrontierMath. [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

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. Today, their tools are not being used as weapons, but AI is giving the Department of Defense a significant advantage in identifying, tracking, [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Meta today announced a new video editing app called Edits, after ByteDances video editing app CapCut was removed from Apples App Store and the Google Play Store as part of the TikTok ban. Instagram head Adam Mosseri (pictured above) said on Threads that the app will launch next month on iOS, with an Android version [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Barely more than 12 hours after TikTok went dark in the United States, the video-sharing app is coming back online. In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service, the company said in a statement. We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

TikTok went dark for users in the US on Saturday night, but it may not be gone for long. President-elect Donald Trump posted on Truth Social Sunday morning that he will issue an executive order Monday that will extend the period of time before the laws prohibitions take effect, so that we can make a [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

As if losing your job when the startup you work for collapses isnt bad enough, now a security researcher has found that employees at failed startups are at particular risk of having their data stolen. This ranges from their private Slack messages to Social Security numbers and, potentially, bank accounts. The researcher who discovered the [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Top LLMs performed poorly on a high-level history test, a new paper has found. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Amid the TikTok shutdown, in a rare move, Apple published a statement and a support document listing all affected apps that are inaccessible in the U.S. The iPhone maker typically doesnt publish information for when it blocks apps. Notably, other ByteDance apps, including CapCut, Lemon8 which surged in the last few months and [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

With a TikTok ban looming in the United States, Perplexity AI is the latest bidder hoping to give the video app a new corporate home. CNBC first reported on Perplexitys interest. A source with knowledge of the offer confirmed to TechCrunch that Perplexity (whose CEO Aravind Srinivas is pictured above) has submitted a bid to [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

The Federal Trade Commission said in a staff report issued Friday that there are potential competitive issues in partnerships between big tech companies and generative AI developers specifically, Microsofts backing of OpenAI and Amazon and Alphabet/Googles partnerships with Anthropic. The FTCs report sheds light on how partnerships by big tech firms can create lock-in, [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Welcome back to Week in Review. This week, were looking at the impacts of the looming TikTok ban in the U.S., including the TikTok refugees moving to Chinese app RedNote, the surge of English speakers learning Mandarin on Duolingo, and more! Lets get into it. The Supreme Court upheld the law that will effectively ban [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Many proptech startups, born and funded during the low-interest-rate heydays, are in the throes of struggle. With investments into U.S.-based real estate startups falling from $11.1 billion in 2021 to $3.7 billion last year, according to PitchBook data, some are selling themselves off, while others are closing shop. The two most recent examples are the [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

The alleged hacker claimed to have access to huge amounts of call records, including VP Kamala Harris and President Trump. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

It remains unclear whether TikTok will still be available in US app stores Sunday, with the company claiming that President Joe Bidens outgoing administration needs to offer definitive assurances that it wont enforce the ban. On Friday, the Supreme Court upheld a law that would effectively ban TikTok in the United States if the apps [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

School workers say they resorted to crowdsourcing help among each other following PowerSchool's breach, fueled by solidarity and the slow response from PowerSchool. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Seven-year-old electric vehicle startup Canoo has filed for bankruptcy and will cease operations immediately. The company is liquidating its assets in a Chapter 7 proceeding in the Delaware Bankruptcy Court. The company said in a press release published late Friday that it was in discussions with foreign sources of capital that proved unsuccessful, and also [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Amazon has paused testing of its delivery drones following a crash involving two of its models, according to Bloomberg. Its the latest setback for Amazons beleaguered Prime Air program, which aims to deliver around 500 million packages a year to customers by the end of the decade. Bloomberg reports two Amazon drones crashed in rainy [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

The U.S. government has picked Nick Turley, ChatGPT's head of product, to testify in its antitrust case against Google. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Distracted driving is one of the leading causes of car accidents and a major reason why auto insurance premiums are expected to increase in 2025. For commercial fleets, thats a nightmare. But for California-based startup Netradyne, its a tailwind. Netradyne provides fleet owners, including big names like Amazon, with AI-enabled dashcams that collect vehicle data [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Read.cv, a social media platform for professionals that competed with LinkedIn, has been acquired by AI-powered search engine Perplexity. As part of the deal, Read.cv will begin to wind down operations Friday. Users will be able to export their data, including their profiles, posts, and messages, until May 16. Weve long admired Perplexity and believe [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

The Supreme Court has upheld a ban on TikTok. Before the app goes dark on Sunday, youre probably wondering how to back up the dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of videos you may have on the platform. Whether you want to save your favorite videos or videos you posted yourself, heres how to do it.And [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Character AI, a startup that lets users chat with different AI-powered characters, is now testing games on its desktop and mobile web apps to increase engagement on its platform. The games are available to Character AIs paid subscribers and a limited set of users on the free plan. For this initial release, the company developed [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Bluesky on Friday published its moderation report for the past year, noting the sizable growth the social network experienced in 2024 and how that affected its Trust & Safety teams workload. It also noted that the largest number of reports came from users reporting accounts or posts for harassment, trolling, or intolerance an issue [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Update: OpenAI officially announced this feature one week after some users reported the arrival, and then disappearance, of the new options. Its possible they went live prematurely. OpenAI is introducing a new way for users to customize their interactions with ChatGPT, the companys AI-powered chatbot. On Friday, OpenAI announced it is rolling out a new [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew responded to comments made by Donald Trump regarding Fridays Supreme Court ruling to ban the app in the U.S. In a video posted on TikTok, Chew said, On behalf of everyone at TikTok and all our users across the country, I want to thank President Trump for his commitment to [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

The Federal Aviation Administration is requiring Elon Musks SpaceX and Jeff Bezos Blue Origin to investigate what went wrong on their respective mega-rocket test flights this week. The regulator said both companies must perform whats known as a mishap investigation. These probes involve the companies and the FAA working together to understand what went wrong, [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

OpenAI says it trained a new AI model called GPT-4b micro with Retro Biosciences, a longevity science startup trying to extend the human lifespan by 10 years, according to the MIT Technology Review. Retro, which is backed by Sam Altman, has been working with OpenAI for roughly a year on this research, according to the [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Amazon added around 100 new renewable projects last year. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

TikTok has warned of a looming shutdown in just six days, as the Supreme Court is currently weighing the law that would ban the app. So we thought its time to take a look at other platforms that may be able to fill the TikTok-shaped hole in our lives. The law gives TikTok parent company [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

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. This weeks newsletter is about startups, but it is also about Big Tech companies expanding their reach, both through acquisitions and through investments. Most interesting startup stories [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Google says it has begun requiring users to turn on JavaScript, the widely used programming language to make web pages interactive, in order to use Google Search. In an email to TechCrunch, a company spokesperson claimed that the change is intended to better protect Google Search against malicious activity, such as bots and spam, and [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

The US government has also sanctioned the hacker responsible for December's US Treasury hack 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

The theft of a PowerSchool engineer's passwords prior to the breach raises further doubts about the company's security practices. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Bumble announced today that founder Whitney Wolfe Herd is returning as CEO after stepping down from the position in 2023. Wolfe Herd will succeed Lidiane Jones, the companys current CEO who has left for personal reasons, Bumble explained. Jones, the former CEO of Slack, will continue her role at Bumble until the transition takes effect [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Instagram announced a timely update to its video feature Reels this morning, alongside the news that the Supreme Court upheld the law that will ban TikTok in the U.S. on January 19. The update, says Meta, will make it easier for users to discover the content that friends and followers are liking on the platform [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Just ahead of todays Supreme Court ruling which saw the nations highest court uphold the law banning TikTok in the U.S. as of January 19 Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that he had a very good phone call with Chinas President Xi Jinping, which included discussion of TikTok. In addition, the president-elect [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Rivian and the Department of Energy have finalized a $6.6 billion loan announced in November with just a few days left until Donald Trumps inauguration. The company will use the loan to help build out its planned factory in Georgia, east of Atlanta, with construction beginning in 2026. The first R2 SUVs are scheduled to [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Instabase, a company that creates software for extracting processing unstructured data from myriad document types, has raised $100 million in a Series D round of funding. The announcement comes as companies struggle under a deluge of data data that can unlock key business insights. Indeed, most of the data that companies generate is unstructured, [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Surprise! Donald Trumps big, audacious ambition to buy Greenland from Denmark has a tech angle. Ken Howery, named by U.S. President-elect Trumps pick to be the next ambassador to the country (and thus chief broker of any deal), is one more part of the rich seam of tech people running through Trumps upcoming administration. Part [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

The European Commission (EC) says it has requested information from Elon Musks X related to the algorithms that determine the content it recommends to users. The EC wants to determine how those algorithms may or may not be compliant with the Digital Services Act (DSA), which imposes key obligations on online platforms operating across the [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

The order bans the automaker from selling consumers' information to data brokers for five years. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

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). Nexos.ai, as the startup is called, is the handiwork of Tomas Okmanas (pictured above) [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.