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Final 4 days to save up to $680 on your Disrupt 2026 pass

Just 4 days left before savings of up to $680 on your TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 pass end on February 27 at 11:59 p.m. PT. Register here to save.

Ukraine’s startups keep building

In the four years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of their country, Ukrainian startups have done more than survive: they are still building and growing.

It’s time to pull the plug on plug-in hybrids

Plug-in hybrid vehicles are rarely charged, according to a new study. Why are automakers still producing them?

Conduent data breach grows, affecting at least 25M people

The number of people affected by a data breach at government contractor giant Conduent is growing, as millions of people continue to receive notices warning them that hackers stole their personal data.

Anthropic launches new push for enterprise agents with plugins for finance, engineering, and design

It's a major opportunity to grow Anthropic’s enterprise client base — and a significant threat to SaaS products currently performing those functions.

Waymo robotaxis are now operating in 10 US cities

Waymo launched services today in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Orlando.

Mogul says it has tracked $1.5B in music royalties, raised $5M in funding

Mogul, which helps artists track royalties and value their catalogs, raised $5 million in a round led by the Yamaha Music Innovations Fund.

New Relic launches new AI agent platform and OpenTelemetry tools

New Relic is giving enterprises more observability tools, letting them create and manage AI agents, and better integrate OTel data streams.

Nimble Way raises $47M to give AI agents access to real-time web data

Nimble uses AI agents to search the web, verify and validate the results, and then clean and structure the information into neat tables that can then be queried like a database.

Self-driving tech startup Wayve raises $1.2B from Nvidia, Uber, and three automakers

Major automakers, tech giants, AI companies, and chipmakers are all trying to get a piece of Wayve.

Instagram head pressed on lengthy delay to launch teen safety features, like a nudity filter, court filing reveals

An email chain with Instagram head Adam Mosseri indicated the company was aware of teen safety issues in DMs in 2018, but didn't launch its unwanted nudity filter until 2024.

Spotify and Liquid Death release a limited-edition speaker shaped like… an urn?

Spotify and Liquid Death launched what might be the wildest product of the year: a speaker shaped like a urn.

Instagram’s TV app is launching on Google TV devices

By bringing Reels to TVs, Instagram looking to better compete with YouTube, which largely dominates the TV space.

Treasury sanctions Russian zero-day broker accused of buying exploits stolen from U.S. defense contractor

The U.S. Treasury announced it was imposing sanctions against a Russian broker of zero-day exploits, its founder and two affiliates, citing a threat to U.S. national security. Another affiliated...

More startups are hitting $10M ARR in 3 months than ever before

AI has brought the startup world the rise of startups that instantly hit multimillion ARR. Stripe revealed some data that shows how common this has become.

Google adds a way to create automated workflows to Opal

Google is adding a new feature to Opal to create automated workflows

Twitch is overhauling its suspensions policy

The company is implementing two suspension types: streaming suspensions and chatting suspensions.

YouTube beefs up its $7.99/month Lite subscription with offline downloads and background play

Now the only reason to get the full Premium subscription is ad-free music and music videos.

OpenAI COO says ‘we have not yet really seen AI penetrate enterprise business processes’

Earlier this month, OpenAI launched a new platform called OpenAI Frontier for enterprises to build and manage agents, but OpenAI COO Brad Lightcap said

Music generator ProducerAI joins Google Labs

Wyclef Jean used Google's AI music tools on his new song "Back in Abu Dhabi."

Stripe’s valuation soars 74% to $159 billion

Stripe has conducted another tender offer, where employees sell shares. Investors include Thrive Capital, Coatue, a16z, and Stripe itself

Marquis sues firewall provider SonicWall, alleges security failings with its firewall backup led to ransomware attack

Fintech giant Marquis is suing its firewall provider SonicWall, claiming that an earlier breach with SonicWall allowed hackers to deploy ransomware on Marquis' network.

Meta strikes up to $100B AMD chip deal as it chases ‘personal superintelligence’

Meta is buying billions of dollars in AMD AI chips in a multiyear deal tied to a 160 million-share warrant, deepening its push to diversify beyond Nvidia and expand data center capacity.

Oura launches a proprietary AI model focused on women’s health

The model supports questions spanning the full reproductive health spectrum, from early menstrual cycles through menopause.

Uber engineers built an AI version of their boss

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the company’s employees have gone all in on AI, going so far as to build a chatbot of him that they use to practice their pitches.

Stripe is reportedly eyeing deal to buy some or all of PayPal

Stripe might be looking to buy PayPal, or parts of it, per early reports.

Google’s new 1.9GW clean energy deal includes massive 100-hour battery

Form Energy's iron-air batteries will store wind and solar power to keep the data center running 24/7.

Former L3Harris Trenchant boss jailed for selling hacking tools to Russian broker

Peter Williams, the former head of U.S. hacking tools maker L3Harris Trenchant, was sentenced to seven years in prison for stealing and selling his former company’s hacking and surveillance tools...

Anthropic won’t budge as Pentagon escalates AI dispute

The Pentagon has given Anthropic until Friday to loosen AI guardrails or face potential penalties, escalating a high-stakes dispute that raises questions about government leverage, vendor...

CarGurus data breach affects 12.5 million accounts

Automotive marketplace CarGurus was the target of a data breach in which the names, email addresses, phone numbers, and physical addresses of millions of customers were stolen.

Discord delays global rollout of age verification after backlash

The company added that 90% of users won’t need to verify their age and will be able to keep using Discord as usual.

Apple rolls out age-verification tools worldwide to comply with growing web of child safety laws

Apple complies with new age-assurance laws in the U.S. and abroad, including those that block users from downloading apps aimed at adults.

Spanish ‘soonicorn’ Multiverse Computing releases free compressed AI model

Spanish startup Multiverse Computing has released a new version of its HyperNova 60B model on Hugging Face that, it says, bests Mistral's model.

Nvidia challenger AI chip startup MatX raised $500M

The startup was founded by former Google TPU engineers in 2023.

Google’s Cloud AI lead on the three frontiers of model capability

AI models are pushing against three frontiers at once: raw intelligence, response time, and a third quality you might call "extensibility."

Anthropic accuses Chinese AI labs of mining Claude as US debates AI chip exports

Anthropic accuses DeepSeek, Moonshot, and MiniMax of using 24,000 fake accounts to distill Claude’s AI capabilities, as U.S. officials debate export controls aimed at slowing China’s AI progress.

Uber’s new autonomous vehicle division is about survival and opportunity

Uber Autonomous Solutions will see the company taking on all the tasks associated with operating a robotaxi, self-driving truck, or sidewalk delivery robot business.

Finnish quantum unicorn IQM set to go public

Finnish unicorn IQM plans to go public via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) valuing the company at approximately $1.8 billion — joining the growing cohort of quantum computing...

Wispr Flow launches an Android app for AI-powered dictation

AI-powered dictation startup Wispr Flow has launched its Android app today. The company released its app for Mac and Windows first, then launched on iOS

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How AI agents could destroy the economy

Citrini Research imagines a report from two years in the future, in which unemployment has doubled and the total value of the stock market has fallen by more than a third.

Defense Secretary summons Anthropic’s Amodei over military use of Claude

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has summoned Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei to the Pentagon for a tense discussion over the military's use of Claude. Hegseth has threatened to designate Anthropic a...

VPN flaws allowed Chinese hackers to compromise dozens of Ivanti customers, says report

Chinese hackers allegedly broke into the network of an Ivanti subsidiary in 2021. The hackers exploited a backdoor in its VPN product, which allowed the hackers to gain access to 119 other unnamed...

Particle’s AI news app listens to podcasts for interesting clips so you you don’t have to

AI news app Particle can now pull in key moments from podcasts, letting readers instantly play short, relevant clips alongside related stories.

Tesla’s battle with the California Department of Motor Vehicles isn’t over after all

Tesla has filed a lawsuit against the California DMV in the ongoing battle around Autopilot.

A Meta AI security researcher said an OpenClaw agent ran amok on her inbox

The viral X post from an AI security researcher reads like satire. But it's really a word of warning about what can go wrong when handing tasks to an AI agent.

Stripe, PayPal Ventures bet on India’s Xflow to fix cross-border B2B payments

Stripe and PayPal Ventures have participated in Xflow's $16.6 million round that gives it a post-money valuation of $85 million.

Canva acquires startups working on animation and marketing

With the new acquisitions, the company wants to bolster its position as a marketing solution by potentially adding video creation and more granular measurement.

Uber wants to be a Swiss Army Knife for robotaxis

Uber Autonomous Solutions will see the company selling both software and services for all the tasks associated with operating a robotaxi, self-driving truck, or sidewalk delivery robot business.

With AI, investor loyalty is (almost) dead: at least a dozen OpenAI VCs now also back Anthropic

While some dual investors are understandable, others were more shocking, and signal the disregard of a longstanding ethical conflict-of-interest rule.

Ex-Apple team launches Acme Weather, a new take on weather forecasting

The team that sold their last app Dark Sky to Apple are back with Acme Weather, which offers alternative forecasts, rainbow and sunset alerts, and more.

Americans are destroying Flock surveillance cameras

While some cities are moving to end their contracts with Flock over its links to ICE, others are taking matters into their own hands.

Guide Labs debuts a new kind of interpretable LLM

The company open-sourced an 8 billion parameter LLM, Steerling-8B, trained with a new architecture designed to make its actions easily interpretable.

OpenAI calls in the consultants for its enterprise push

OpenAI is partnering with four consulting giants in an effort to see more adoption of its OpenAI Frontier AI agent platform.

Spotify rolls out AI-powered Prompted Playlists to the U.K. and other markets

Spotify continues to test its AI-powered “Prompted Playlists” feature, now rolling out the tool to Premium subscribers in the U.K., Ireland, Australia, and Sweden.

China’s brain-computer interface industry is racing ahead

China’s brain-computer interface industry is rapidly scaling from research to commercialization, driven by strong policy support, expanding clinical trials, and growing investor interest.

The 9,000-pound monster I don’t want to give back

I thought: other than hotels that use SUVs like the Escalade IQL to ferry guests around, what kind of monster chooses a car like this?

Move over, Apple: Meet the alternative app stores available in the EU and elsewhere

A list of some of the alternative app stores iPhone users in the EU can try today.

Apple might take a new approach to announcing its next products

Apple has invited the tech press to a “special Apple experience” on March 4, but it might unfold a bit differently than the company's standard press event.

Can the creator economy stay afloat in a flood of AI slop?

On the latest episode of Equity, we debated what’s next for the creator economy, and whether there will be any room for the next generation of creators to stand out.

Bill Gurley says that right now, the worst thing you can do for your career is play it safe

"The number one thing is to get out of your head this ideal that gets passed around in the self-help world: 'go get a mentor,' and everyone runs out and cold calls someone that's ridiculously too...

Quantonation’s double-sized second fund shows quantum still has believers

Quantonation Ventures, a venture firm investing in quantum and physics-based startups, has closed its oversubscribed second fund at €220 million, or approximately $260 million. That’s more than...

Trump says Netflix will face ‘consequences’ if it doesn’t fire board member Susan Rice

Netflix board member Susan Rice had predicted that corporations that “take a knee” to Trump will be “held accountable” when Democrats return to power.

TechCrunch Mobility: Waymo makes its defense

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation.

6 days left to lock in the lowest Disrupt 2026 rates

6 days left to secure the lowest ticket rates of the year to TechCrunch Disrupt 2026. Offer ends February 27 at 11:59 p.m. PT. Save up to $680.

OpenAI debated calling police about suspected Canadian shooter’s chats

Jesse Van Rootselaar's descriptions of gun violence were flagged by tools that monitor ChatGPT for misuse.

Google VP warns that two types of AI startups may not survive

As generative AI evolves, a Google VP warns that LLM wrappers and AI aggregators face mounting pressure, with shrinking margins and limited differentiation threatening their long-term viability.

Microsoft’s new gaming CEO vows not to flood the ecosystem with ‘endless AI slop’

Is Microsoft's gaming division doubling down on AI?

Wikipedia blacklists Archive.today after alleged DDoS attack

Wikipedia editors have decided to remove all links to Archive.today, a web archiving service that they said has been linked to more than 695,000 times across the online encyclopedia.

Sam Altman would like remind you that humans use a lot of energy, too

"It also takes a lot of energy to train a human."

7 days until ticket prices rise for Disrupt 2026

Lowest ticket prices to TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 end February 27. Up to $680 off individual passes and up to 30% off group passes. Register here.

Peak XV raises $1.3B, doubles down on AI as global VC rivalry in India heats up

Peak XV says most of its new capital will target India as the firm prioritizes AI, fintech and cross-border bets while navigating recent partner departures.

Why investors are going gaga over solid-state transformers

The technology promises to replace several parts of the grid with one device that’s both controllable and updatable.

Disrupt 2026 Super Early Bird rates end in 1 week

The lowest ticket rates of the year for TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 end on February 27. Save up to $680 on your pass. Register now before prices increase.

OpenAI says 18 to 24-year-olds account for nearly 50% of ChatGPT usage in India

The company said on Friday that users between 18 and 24 years of age account for nearly 50% of all messages sent by Indians to ChatGPT, and users under 30 accounted for 80% of usage in the country.

The OpenAI mafia: 18 startups founded by alumni

The OpenAI mafia: 15 of the most notable startups founded by alumni

UAE’s G42 teams up with Cerebras to deploy 8 exaflops of compute in India

Abu Dhabi-based tech company G42 has partnered with U.S.-based chipmaker Cerebras to deploy eight exaflops of compute through a new system in India

India’s Sarvam launches Indus AI chat app as competition heats up

Sarvam's Indus chat app is currently available in beta.

Lucid Motors slashes 12% of its workforce as it seeks profitability

The layoffs affect hundreds of full-time workers in the US, according to an internal memo obtained by TechCrunch.

Toy Story 5 takes aim at creepy AI toys: ‘I’m always listening’

Addictive, AI-enabled tablets are taking over, and also, Woody is balding in the new Toy Story movie, out June 19.

Threads posts can now be shared directly to your Instagram Story without leaving the app

The new Threads feature lets you share your posts — or anyone else's — to your Instagram Story without leaving the Threads app.

Ukrainian man jailed for identity theft that helped North Koreans get jobs at US companies

A Ukrainian man has been sentenced for helping North Koreans gain fraudulent employment at dozens of U.S. companies and funnel that money back to the regime to fund its nuclear weapons program.

Tesla loses bid to overturn $243M Autopilot verdict

"The grounds for relief that Tesla relies upon are virtually the same as those Tesla put forth previously during the course of trial"

Great news for xAI: Grok is now pretty good at answering questions about Baldur’s Gate

A new report from Business Insider reveals that high-level engineers at xAI were pulled off other projects to make sure Grok could answer detailed questions about the video game "Baldur's Gate."

Apple’s iOS 26.4 arrives in public beta with AI music playlists, video podcasts, and more

iOS 26.4 introduces several updates, including an AI-powered playlist generation feature in Apple Music, support for video content in the Podcasts app, end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for RCS...

InScope nabs $14.5M to solve the pain of financial reporting

The startup, founded by accountants who worked at Flexport, Miro, Hopin and Thrive Global, automates the difficulties of prepping financial statements.

Remember HQ? ‘Quiz Daddy’ Scott Rogowsky is back with TextSavvy, a daily mobile game show

The former HQ host Scott Rogowsky is back with TextSavvy, a live mobile game show that he's building on his own terms.

Anthropic-funded group backs candidate attacked by rival AI super PAC

Dueling pro-AI PACs have centered around backing or targeting one New York congressional bid: Alex Bores, whose RAISE Act requires AI developers to disclose safety protocols and report serious...

AI’s promise to indie filmmakers: faster, cheaper, lonelier

AI expands access to filmmaking for resource-constrained creators. But as efficiency becomes the industry’s north star, creativity risks being overwhelmed by a deluge of low-effort, AI-generated content.

Startup Battlefield 200 nominations are open

Nominations for TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 200 are open. Pitch at Disrupt 2026 in October in front of top VCs and the full TechCrunch audience.

Meta’s metaverse leaves virtual reality

Meta said it's shifting focus for Horizons Worlds to be "almost exclusively mobile" and that it will separate its Quest VR platform from the virtual world.

Toyota hires seven Agility humanoid robots for Canadian factory

The robots will be unloading totes full of auto parts from an automated warehouse tugger.

General Catalyst commits $5B to India over five years

The pledge marks a sharp jump from General Catalyst's earlier $500 million–$1 billion India earmark.

Ali Partovi’s Neo looks to upend the accelerator model with low-dilution terms

Neo's new Residency program invests $750,000 in an uncapped SAFE for startups and provides a $40,000 no-strings-attached grant for college students.

Nvidia deepens early-stage push into India’s AI startup ecosystem

Nvidia is working with investors, nonprofits, and venture firms to build earlier ties with India's fast-growing AI founder ecosystem.

Google’s new Gemini Pro model has record benchmark scores — again

Gemini 3.1 Pro promises a Google LLM capable of handling more complex forms of work.

At a critical moment, Snap loses a top Specs exec

As Snap readies the public release of its long-awaited VR glasses, one of the key executives on the project has left the company.

FBI says ATM ‘jackpotting’ attacks are on the rise, and netting hackers millions in stolen cash

The FBI says hacks that trick ATMs into spitting out cash on demand are rising, with hundreds of attacks in the past year alone netting hackers millions in stolen bills.

Google says its AI systems helped deter Play Store malware in 2025

Google said it prevented 1.75 million bad apps from going live on Google Play during 2025, a figure that's down from previous years.

Joseph C Belden: Last chance for innovators to win scaling perks

Last day to nominate for the 2026 Joseph C. Belden Innovation Award has been extended through February 27. Don't miss your chance to win scaling perks.

Cellebrite cut off Serbia citing abuse of its phone unlocking tools. Why not others?

Cellebrite, which makes phone unlocking and hacking tools, stopped sales to countries that allegedly abused its tools. But after new allegations in Jordan and Kenya, the company has changed its approach.

An AI data center boom is fueling Redwood’s energy storage business

Redwood Materials says its new energy storage business is the fastest growing unit within the company.

YouTube’s latest experiment brings its conversational AI tool to TVs

YouTube is testing conversational AI on smart TVs, allowing viewers to ask the assistant questions related to the video they're watching on the big screen.

Why these startup CEOs don’t think AI will replace human roles

The CEOs of Read AI and Lucidya told TechCrunch at Web Summit Qatar that they see AI tools replacing tasks, rather than workers.

The boys’ club no one was supposed to write about

Reporter Zoë Bernard spent months talking to 51 people (31 of them gay men) to map out a subculture that's been an open secret in Silicon Valley for years: gay men, at the upper echelons of tech,...

SpaceX’s Starbase city is getting its own court

Elon Musk's company town already has a volunteer fire department, and is forming a Starbase Police Department. Now it wants its own court, too.

As browser wars heat up, Chrome adds new productivity features

Split View, PDF annotations and 'Save to Chrome' features come to the Chrome browser.

Reddit is testing a new AI search feature for shopping

A small group of users in the U.S. will start to see search results that include interactive product carousels with pricing, images, and direct where-to-buy links.

Zuckerberg grilled in court over social media harms on teens

Meta's CEO was questioned over the addictive nature of its social media apps like Instagram, and other teen harms.

New York hits the brakes on robotaxi expansion plan

The governor of New York pulled a robotaxi expansion proposal that was viewed as a win for Waymo.

Meta is shutting down Messenger’s standalone website

The move comes a few months after Meta shut down Messenger’s stand-alone desktop apps for Windows and Mac.

SoftBank to spend an eye-popping $33B to build huge U.S. gas power plant

If completed, the project would be among the largest and most expensive natural gas power plants.

Bug in student admissions website exposed children’s personal information

Ravenna Hub, which lets parents apply and track the status of their kids' applications across thousands of schools, allowed any logged-in user to access the personally identifiable data associated...

OpenAI reportedly finalizing $100B deal at more than $850B valuation

OpenAI is reportedly getting close to closing a $100 billion deal, with backers including Amazon, Nvidia, SoftBank, and Microsoft. The deal would value the ChatGPT-maker at $850 billion.

Current is a new RSS reader that’s more like a river than an inbox

Current introduces a stress-free, totally reimagined RSS news reading app as a one-time paid download.

Reload wants to give your AI agents a shared memory

Reload announces a $2.275 million raise in a round led by Anthemis and the launch of its first AI employee, Epic.

Rivian owners will soon be able to access vehicle controls using their Apple Watch

Rivian is launching a companion app that pairs with Apple Watch in the coming week.

For open-source programs, AI coding tools are a mixed blessing

AI coding tools have enabled a flood of bad code that threatens to overwhelm many projects. Building new features is easier but maintaining them is just as hard.

Co-founders behind Reface and Prisma join hands to improve on-device model inference with Mirai

Mirai raised a $10 million seed to improve how AI models run on devices like smartphones and laptops.

OpenAI, Reliance partner to add AI search to JioHotstar

The rollout includes two-way integration that surfaces streaming links directly inside ChatGPT.

These former Big Tech engineers are using AI to navigate Trump’s trade chaos

Amari AI is making custom AI-powered software that helps customs brokers modernize and minimize constantly shifting trade policies.

Altman and Amodei share a moment of awkwardness at India’s big AI summit

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi prompted speakers at the event to join hands and raise them in a show of unity, all executives on stage obliged, except OpenAI's Sam Altman and Anthropic's Dario...

Freeform raises $67M Series B to scale up laser AI manufacturing

“I think we're the only quote-unquote manufacturing company out there that has H200 clusters in a data center on site."

Reliance unveils $110B AI investment plan as India ramps up tech ambitions

Reliance has begun building multi-gigawatt AI data centers in Jamnagar, with more than 120 MW of capacity expected to come online in 2026.

This VC’s best advice for building a founding team

One of the most consequential decisions early-stage founders have to make is who they will bring on as their founding team. The first five to 10 employees

SeatGeek and Spotify team up to offer concert ticket sales inside the music platform

This is a strategic win for SeatGeek. With direct placement in the Spotify app, SeatGeek is positioned to reach millions of active music fans as they discover upcoming events, increasing the...

DG Matrix raises $60M to make data center power smarter

The startup is making solid-state transformers capable of intelligently aggregating power from a number of different sources before sending it to data center racks.

World Labs lands $1B, with $200M from Autodesk, to bring world models into 3D workflows

The partnership will see the two companies exploring how World Labs’ models can work alongside Autodesk’s tools, and vice versa, starting with a focus on entertainment use cases.

Indian AI lab Sarvam’s new models are a major bet on the viability of open source AI

The new lineup includes 30-billion- and 105-billion-parameter models; a text-to-speech model; a speech-to-text model; and a vision model to parse documents.

Mastodon, a decentralized alternative to X, plans to target creators with new features

Mastodon is looking to grow its open source, decentralized social network with new features aimed at creators.

Data breach at fintech giant Figure affects close to a million customers

The Figure data breach allowed hackers to steal customer names, dates of birth, physical addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses.

OpenAI pushes into higher education as India seeks to scale AI skills

OpenAI says its India education partnerships aim to reach more than 100,000 students, faculty, and staff over the next year.

Kana emerges from stealth with $15M to build flexible AI agents for marketers

Kana, a new AI marketing startup from the founders of Rapt and Krux, has raised $15 million to build customizable, agent-based marketing tools.

A startup called Germ becomes the first private messenger that launches directly from Bluesky’s app

Social network Bluesky now offers private messaging by integrating the startup Germ's E2E encrypted messenger natively in its app.

Hacking conference Def Con bans three people linked to Epstein

The Def Con hacking conference banned hackers Pablos Holman and Vincenzo Iozzo, as well as former MIT Media Lab director Joichi Ito, from attending the annual conference after their reported...

Google adds music-generation capabilities to the Gemini app

Users will be able to use text, images, and videos as a reference to generate music.

Canva gets to $4B in revenue as LLM referral traffic rises

The creative company's monthly active users increased 20%, growth that was partially propelled by adoption of its AI tools.

X continues to bet on vertical video with its latest update

X's new immersive video player is designed to offer a more mobile-friendly experience, optimized especially for portrait-oriented videos.

Amazon halts Blue Jay robotics project after less than 6 months

Amazon said Blue Jay's core tech will be used for other robotics projects and the employees who worked on it were moved to other projects.

Microsoft says Office bug exposed customers’ confidential emails to Copilot AI

Microsoft said the bug meant that its Copilot AI chatbot was reading and summarizing paying customers' confidential emails, bypassing data-protection policies.

Google debuts $499 Pixel 10a

The smartphone is available for preorder now with shipments starting March 5. It comes in Lavender, Berry, Fog, and Obsidian.

Snapchat+ tops 25M subscribers, driving company’s direct revenue ARR to $1B

The revenue milestone comes as Snap has added additional paid offerings outside of its core Snapchat+ subscription over the past year to diversify its revenue streams.

This former Microsoft PM thinks she can unseat CyberArk in 18 months

Though crowded, the identity management market seems eager for new solutions, and Venice is finding traction.

Heron Power raises $140M to ramp production of grid-altering tech

Tesla alumni Drew Baglino raises a large round to build a giga-scale factory, this time at his own startup.

India’s Sarvam wants to bring its AI models to feature phones, cars, and smart glasses

The company is using edge models that take up only megabytes of space, can run on most phones with existing processors, and can work offline.

Audible’s new ‘Read & Listen’ feature syncs your Kindle e-books with audiobooks

The feature will require customers to buy both versions of the title, but at a discounted price.

Etsy sells secondhand clothing marketplace Depop to eBay for $1.2B

The deal comes nearly five years after Etsy purchased Depop for $1.62 billion, at a time when secondhand clothing apps were gaining traction during the pandemic.

OpenAI deepens India push with Pine Labs fintech partnership

OpenAI moves beyond ChatGPT in India with a Pine Labs deal targeting enterprise payments and AI-driven commerce.

OpenAI taps Tata for 100MW AI data center capacity in India, eyes 1GW

OpenAI also plans to expand its presence in India with new offices in Mumbai and Bengaluru later this year.

Mistral AI buys Koyeb in first acquisition to back its cloud ambitions

Mistral AI has agreed to buy Koyeb, a Paris-based startup that simplifies AI app deployment at scale and manages the infrastructure behind it.

European Parliament blocks AI on lawmakers’ devices, citing security risks

EU lawmakers found their government-issued devices were blocked from using the baked-in AI tools, amid fears that sensitive information could turn up on the U.S. servers of AI companies.

Running AI models is turning into a memory game

When we talk about the cost of AI infrastructure, the focus is usually on Nvidia and GPUs -- but memory is an increasingly important part of the picture.

These are the countries moving to ban social media for children

Australia was the first country to issue a ban in late 2025, aiming to reduce the pressures and risks that young users may face on social media, including cyberbullying, social media addiction,...

Amazon Fire TV’s new interface is now rolling out in the U.S.

Fire TV's new interface simplifies its layout and navigation and adds Alexa+.

WordPress.com adds an AI Assistant that can edit, adjust styles, create images, and more

The WordPress AI assistant doesn't need precisely tailored prompts, either.

Apple Podcasts is getting an enhanced video experience this spring

By bringing an enhanced video podcasts viewing experience to its app, Apple is aiming to keep users from turning to rival platforms to watch their favorite shows.

Here are the 17 US-based AI companies that have raised $100m or more in 2026

Three U.S.-based AI companies raised rounds larger than $1 billion so far in 2026 with 14 others raising rounds of $100 million or more.

Snapchat launches creator subscription in the U.S.

Snapchat will let creators set their monthly subscription price.

Just 8 months in, India’s vibe-coding startup Emergent claims ARR of over $100M

Indian vibe-coding platform Emergent was launched just eight months ago, and it now says it's generating annual recurring revenue of more than $100 million, thanks to surging demand by small...

Tesla dodges 30-day suspension in California after removing ‘Autopilot’

The decision comes a month after Tesla discontinued Autopilot, its basic driver-assistance system.

India bids to attract over $200B in AI infrastructure investment by 2028

India is ramping up shared AI compute, adding 20,000 GPUs as part of a broader push to attract global AI investment.

SpendRule raises $2M, emerges from stealth to help hospitals track spending

SpendRule, launched last summer, is an AI-powered platform that helps healthcare systems track their spending.

Adani pledges $100B to build AI data centers as India seeks bigger role in the global AI race

Adani's plan targets up to 5 gigawatts of capacity, with data centers planned alongside partnerships with Google, Microsoft, and Flipkart.

Intellexa’s Predator spyware used to hack iPhone of journalist in Angola, research says

Amnesty International says it found evidence that a government customer of Intellexa, a sanctioned surveillance vendor, used its Predator spyware against a prominent journalist in Angola.

Airbnb expands its “Reserve Now, Pay Later” globally

The feature allows users to cancel eligible bookings if there is a change of plans -- without losing money upfront.

US court bars OpenAI from using ‘Cameo’

OpenAI has renamed its feature in Sora from "Cameo" to "Characters."

As AI jitters rattle IT stocks, Infosys partners with Anthropic to build ‘enterprise-grade’ AI agents

Under the partnership, Infosys plans to integrate Anthropic's Claude models into its Topaz AI platform to build so-called "agentic" systems.

Cohere launches a family of open multilingual models

Cohere's Tiny Aya models support over 70 langauges

Jack Altman joins Benchmark as GP

Jack Altman and Benchmark announced today that he would be joining the firm as a general partner.

Ford turns to F1 and bounties to build a $30,000 electric truck

The team, led by Tesla veteran Alan Clarke, is obsessed with efficiency.

Meta’s own research found parental supervision doesn’t really help curb teens’ compulsive social media use

An internal research study at Meta found that parental supervision may not help teens regulate their social media, and teens with trauma are more inclined to overuse social media.

Thrive raises $10B for new fund, its largest yet

Thrive Capital just raised $10 billion for its new fund-- nearly double the size of its last fund.

Apple is reportedly cooking up a trio of AI wearables

As the AI hardware space heats up, the iPhone maker has multiple smart products in development.

Climactic launches hybrid fund to get startups through the ‘valley of death’

The new project, called Material Scale, will initially focus on climate tech startups in the apparel industry.

Anthropic releases Sonnet 4.6

Anthropic has released a new version of its mid-size Sonnet model, keeping pace with the company's four-month update cycle.

SpaceX vets raise $50M Series A for data center links

Mesh aims to mass-produce optical transceivers for AI data centers.

Have money, will travel: a16z’s hunt for the next European unicorn

According to a16z, it has eyes around the world in order to spot companies as early as local funds might.

How Ricursive Intelligence raised $335M at a $4B valuation in 4 months

The reason why this nascent startup had VCs lining up is the founders.They are so famed in the AI world, everyone tried to hire them.

Flapping Airplanes on the future of AI: ‘We want to try really radically different things’

"We're exploring a different set of tradeoffs."

After all the hype, some AI experts don’t think OpenClaw is all that exciting

"From an AI research perspective, this is nothing novel," one expert told TechCrunch.

All the important news from the ongoing India AI Impact Summit

India is hosting a four-day AI Summit this week that will be attended by executives from major AI labs and Big Tech, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Nvidia, Microsoft, Google, and Cloudflare, as well...

Fractal Analytics’ muted IPO debut signals persistent AI fears in India

As India's first AI company to IPO, Fractal Analytics didn't have a stellar first day on the public markets, as enthusiasm for the technology collided with jittery investors in the wake of a...

African defensetech Terra Industries, founded by two Gen Zers, raises additional $22M in a month

Terra Industries, the African defense company, announced Monday that it had secured an additional $22 million in funding to further expand the business.

Longtime NPR host David Greene sues Google over NotebookLM voice

The longtime host of NPR’s “Morning Edition,” is suing Google, alleging that the male podcast voice in the company’s NotebookLM tool is based on him.

OpenClaw creator Peter Steinberger joins OpenAI

OpenAI said OpenClaw will live on as an open source project.

The enterprise AI land grab is on. Glean is building the layer beneath the interface.

In this week's episode of the Equity podcast, Glean CEO Arvind Jain explains the company's shift from enterprise search tool to middleware layer for enterprise AI.

What the Epstein files reveal about EV startups and Silicon Valley

Will the Epstein revelations lead to broader fallout in Silicon Valley?

India has 100M weekly active ChatGPT users, Sam Altman says

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says India has the largest number of student users of ChatGPT worldwide.

Blackstone backs Neysa in up to $1.2B financing as India pushes to build domestic AI infrastructure

Neysa is targeting deployments of more than 20,000 GPUs over time as demand for local AI compute accelerates.

As AI data centers hit power limits, Peak XV backs Indian startup C2i to fix the bottleneck

C2i has raised $15 million as it tests a grid-to-GPU approach to reducing power losses in AI data centers.

Hollywood isn’t happy about the new Seedance 2.0 video generator

Hollywood organizations are pushing back against a new AI video model called Seedance 2.0, which they say has quickly become a tool for “blatant” copyright infringement.

Anthropic and the Pentagon are reportedly arguing over Claude usage

The apparent issue: whether Claude can be used for mass domestic surveillance and autonomous weapons.

TechCrunch Mobility: Rivian’s savior

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation.

The great computer science exodus (and where students are going instead)

Students are losing some interest in computer science broadly but gaining interest in AI-specific majors and courses.

India doubles down on state-backed venture capital, approving $1.1B fund

India’s $1.1B fund-of-funds will invest through private VCs to support deep-tech and manufacturing startups.

In a changed VC landscape, this exec is doubling down on overlooked founders

As much of Silicon Valley chases mega-rounds and buzzy AI deals, Stacy Brown-Philpot is running Cherryrock Capital like a throwback to venture capital's earlier days

Is safety ‘dead’ at xAI?

Elon Musk is “actively” working to make xAI’s Grok chatbot “more unhinged, according to a former employee.

Designer Kate Barton teams up with IBM and Fiducia AI for a NYFW presentation

Designer Kate Barton teams up with Fiducia AI and IBM for a NYFW presentation.

Homeland Security reportedly sent hundreds of subpoenas seeking to unmask anti-ICE accounts

The Department of Homeland Security has been increasing pressure on tech companies to identify the owners of accounts that criticize ICE.

‘Clueless’ -inspired app Alta partners with brand Public School to start integrating styling tools into websites

This week, Alta unveiled its first integration collaboration, teaming up with Public School, a storied New York City brand.

Dutch phone giant Odido says millions of customers affected by data breach

The Dutch phone giant Odido is the latest phone and internet company to be hacked in recent months, as governments and financially motivated hackers continue to steal highly confidential...

Roku to launch streaming bundles as part of its efforts to continue growing its profitability

Roku delivered an impressive Q4, posting net income of $80.5 million. The company also outlined plans for streaming bundles.

The SEC closed its investigation into Fisker

The financial regulator revealed in a response to a TechCrunch records request that the probe was closed in September 2025.

A Stanford grad student created an algorithm to help his classmates find love; now, Date Drop is the basis of his new startup

"Our matches convert to actual dates at about 10x the rate of Tinder," Weng told TechCrunch.

Anthropic’s Super Bowl ads mocking AI with ads helped push Claude’s app into the top 10

The numbers suggest that Anthropic's Super Bowl commercials, combined with Anthropic's recent release of its new Opus 4.6 model, worked to drive attention to Claude's app and its key...

India partners with Alibaba.com for export push despite past China tech bans

India turns to Alibaba.com's B2B network of 50 million buyers in 200 countries to help businesses scale global exports.

OpenAI removes access to sycophancy-prone ChatGPT-4o model

The model is known for its overly sycophantic nature and its role in several lawsuits involving users' unhealthy relationships to the chatbot.

Score, the dating app for people with good credit, is back

Two years ago, a controversial dating app was launched and quickly shuttered: for people with good-to-excellent credit. Now, the founder is relaunching it, open to anyone.

Cohere’s $240M year sets stage for IPO

Cohere surpassed $240 million in annual recurring revenue in 2025, highlighting strong enterprise AI demand as the Canadian startup positions itself for a potential IPO amid intensifying...

Meta plans to add facial recognition to its smart glasses, report claims

The feature, internally known as “Name Tag,” would allow smart glasses wearers to identify people and get information about them via Meta's AI assistant.

Nothing opens its first retail store in India

The two-story location will sell products from Nothing and the more affordable, mass-market brand CMF.

Airbnb plans to bake in AI features for search, discovery and support

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said the company wants to increase its use of large language models for customer discovery, support and engineering.

Airbnb says a third of its customer support is now handled by AI in the US and Canada

Airbnb was poised to introduce an app that doesn't just search for you, but one that "knows you." CEO Brian Chesky said, "It will help guests plan their entire trip, help hosts better run their...

Fintech lending giant Figure confirms data breach

The company said hackers downloaded “a limited number of files” after breaking into an employee’s account. The hacking group ShinyHunters took responsibility for the breach.

Indian pharmacy chain giant exposed customer data and internal systems

A backend flaw in web admin dashboards used by one of India's largest pharmacy chains, exposed thousands of online pharmacy orders.

Fusion startup Helion hits blistering temps as it races toward 2028 deadline

Helion's Polaris device hit 150 million degrees C recently, a milestone that nudges the company toward its commercial power plant that will sell electricity to Microsoft.

Sex toys maker Tenga says hacker stole customer information

The Japanese sex toy maker said a hacker broke into an employee's inbox and stole customer names, email addresses, and correspondence, including order details and customer service inquiries.

OpenAI removes access to sycophancy-prone GPT-4o model

The model is known for its overly sycophantic nature and its role in several lawsuits involving users' unhealthy relationships to the chatbot.

Amazon’s Ring cancels partnership with Flock, a network of AI cameras used by ICE, feds, and police

This news comes less than a week after Ring's Super Bowl commercial stoked controversy over the company's capacity for mass surveillance.

Elon Musk suggests spate of xAI exits have been push, not pull

At least nine engineers, including two co-founders, have announced their exits from xAI in the past week, fueling online speculation and raising questions about stability at Musk’s AI company amid...

Musk needed a new vision for SpaceX and xAI. He landed on Moonbase Alpha.

"I really want to see a mass driver on the moon that is shooting AI satellites into deep space."

Waymo is asking DoorDash drivers to shut the doors of its self-driving cars

If a passenger accidentally leaves a Waymo door open, the vehicle can get stuck in place.

IBM will hire your entry-level talent in the age of AI

IBM plans to triple its entry-level hiring in the U.S. in 2026, but these jobs will have different tasks than in previous years.

Rivian was saved by software in 2025

The company's annual revenue was boosted by its technology joint venture with Volkswagen Group.

For $1M, you can pay Bryan Johnson (or BryanAI?) to teach you how to live longer

The longevity-obsessed investor Bryan Johnson is charging $1 million to sign up for his "Immortals" program.

Amid disappointing earnings, Pinterest claims it sees more searches than ChatGPT

Pinterest's stock tumbles after an earnings miss, with higher-than-expected usage its only bright spot.

More US investors sue South Korean government over handling of Coupang data breach

Coupang’s massive data breach has sparked U.S. investor lawsuits against the South Korean government over alleged discrimination.

Automattic planned to target 10 competitors with royalty fees, WP Engine claims in new filing

WP Engine claims Automattic was going to target more hosting companies with royalty fees.

Anthropic raises another $30B in Series G, with a new value of $380B

The chatbot maker has, once again, ramped up its valuation significantly.

YouTube finally launches a dedicated app for Apple Vision Pro

When Apple Vision Pro first came out two years ago, YouTube hesitated to release a dedicated app. Today is the day they officially launch one.

A new version of OpenAI’s Codex is powered by a new dedicated chip

OpenAI calls the new coding tool the "first milestone" in its relationship with the chipmaker.

Spotify says its best developers haven’t written a line of code since December, thanks to AI

Spotify credits Claude Code and its internal AI system Honk with speeding up development.

Trump administration undermines EPA enforcement of Clean Air Act

The EPA's new rule seeks to undo a 2009 finding that allowed the federal government to regulate six greenhouse gases.

Apple acquires all rights to ‘Severance,’ will produce future seasons in-house

The show is expected to run for four seasons, with the possibility of spin-offs, a prequel, and foreign versions.

Hacker linked to Epstein removed from Black Hat cyber conference website

Emails published by the Justice Department revealed cybersecurity veteran Vincenzo Iozzo emailed, and arranged to meet, Jeffrey Epstein multiple times between 2014 and 2018.

Didero lands $30M to put manufacturing procurement on “agentic” autopilot

The Series A was co-led by Chemistry and Headline.

Aurora’s driverless trucks can now travel farther distances faster than human drivers

CEO Chris Urmson called it a “superhuman” moment, adding that Aurora’s trucks can now carry freight 1,000 miles in 15 hours — faster than what a human driver can legally accomplish.

Eclipse backs all-EV marketplace Ever in $31M funding round

The San Francisco-based startup says its AI-first approach has allowed it to scale faster.

US FTC airs concerns over allegations that Apple News suppresses right-wing content

In a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook, FTC chair Andrew Ferguson cited reports from Media Research Center, a right-leaning think tank, which accused Apple of excluding right-leaning outlets from the...

Google releases the first beta of Android 17, adopts a continuous developer release plan

Google is changing how developers get access to new APIs and features of the latest version.

2026 Joseph C. Belden Innovation Award nominations are open

Nominations for the 2026 Joseph C. Belden Innovation Award are open, inviting SMBs with groundbreaking innovation. Last day to apply is Feb 13.

Amazon’s new eero Signal keeps you connected to the internet when outages occur

A new device from eero will keep you online even if your ISP goes down.

Threads’ new ‘Dear Algo’ AI feature lets you personalize your feed

The platform's new feature lets users tell Threads what they temporarily want to see more or less of in their feed.

Cash App adds payment links so you can get paid in a DM

The new feature allows users to share payment requests in a variety of digital settings.

Why the economics of orbital AI are so brutal

A 1 Gw orbital data center would cost roughly $42.4B—almost three times its ground-bound equivalent.

DOJ says Trenchant boss sold exploits to Russian broker capable of accessing ‘millions of computers and devices’

The former boss of the L3Harris-owned hacking and surveillance tools maker Trenchant faces nine years in prison for selling several exploits to a Russian broker, which counts the Russian...

How to get into a16z’s super-competitive Speedrun startup accelerator program

TechCrunch spoke to a16z partner Joshua Lu for some tips on standing out for the Speedrun program.

UpScrolled’s social network is struggling to moderate hate speech after fast growth

UpScrolled, a social network that surged in the wake of the U.S. TikTok deal, has seen an uptick in harmful content, including usernames and hashtags that contain racial slurs.

Build a pipeline and close deals with an exhibit table at Disrupt 2026

Exhibit your startup in front of 10,000 tech leaders and investors at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, October 13-15 in San Francisco. Book now before they're gone.

Activist investor Ancora publicly opposes the WBD-Netflix deal

An investment group is trying to sway Netflix shareholders to reject the WBD deal in favor of Paramount.

Former Founders Fund VC Sam Blond launches AI sales startup to upend Salesforce

The startup, Monaco, has come out of stealth as an AI-native all-in-one CRM plus more system backed by names like the Collison brothers and Garry Tan.

Amazon Pharmacy to expand same-day delivery to nearly 4,500 US cities

The expansion will cover customers in newly served states such as Idaho and Massachusetts.

Upside Robotics is reducing fertilizer use and waste in corn crops

Upside Robotics builds autonomous solar-powered robots that can help farmers reduce their fertilizer use by 70%.

Senior engineers, including co-founders, exit xAI amid controversy

At least nine engineers, including two cofounders, have announced their exits from xAI in the past week, fueling online speculation and raising questions about stability at Musk’s AI company amid...

Twilio co-founder’s fusion power startup raises $450M from Bessemer and Alphabet’s GV

Inertia Enterprises will use the Series A investment to build one of the world's most powerful lasers, a key part of its power plant design.

Humanoid robot startup Apptronik has now raised $935M at a $5B+ valuation

Apptronik has sold another $520 million in a Series A extension to existing and new investors like Google and Mercedes-Benz.

Meridian raises $17 million to remake the agentic spreadsheet

A new company called Meridian.AI has emerged from stealth with an IDE-based approach to agentic financial modeling.

Complyance raises $20M to help companies manage risk and compliance

Complyance raised a $20 million Series A led by GV for its AI-native compliance platform.

TikTok launches an opt-in Local Feed in the U.S. leveraging users’ precise location

TikTok's new Local Feed will show you nearby shopping, dining, events, news, and more.

Integrate raises $17M to move defense project management into the 21st century

The round was led by FPV Ventures co-founder and managing partner Wesley Chan.

How AI changes the math for startups, according to a Microsoft VP

Amanda Silver is a corporate vice president at Microsoft’s CoreAI division, where she works on tools for deploying apps and agentic systems within enterprises.

OpenAI disbands mission alignment team, which focused on ‘safe’ and ‘trustworthy’ AI development

The team's leader has been given a new role as OpenAI's chief futurist, while the other team members have been reassigned throughout the company.

Microsoft says hackers are exploiting critical zero-day bugs to target Windows and Office users

Critical security flaws targeting Windows and Office users allow hackers to take complete control of a victim's computer by clicking a malicious link or opening a file. Patch now.

Apple’s Siri revamp reportedly delayed… again

While the new Siri was expected to launch with the upcoming iOS 26.4 update in March, now, the changes are expected to roll out more slowly over time, reportedly postponing some features until the...

Uber Eats launches AI assistant to help with grocery cart creation

Uber Eats launched a new AI feature, “Cart Assistant,” that can automatically add items to your cart based on text or image prompts.

AI inference startup Modal Labs in talks to raise at $2.5B valuation, sources say

General Catalyst is in talks to lead the round for the four-year-old startup, according to our sources.

xAI lays out interplanetary ambitions in public all-hands

On Wednesday, xAI took the rare step of publishing its full 45-minute all-hands presentation to the X platform, making it widely available.

YouTube rolls out an AI playlist generator for Premium users

YouTube Music is rolling out a new AI-powered playlist-generation feature that allows Premium users on iOS and Android to use text prompts to create playlists.

Okay, now exactly half of xAI’s founding team has left the company

Whatever the cause of the departures, the cumulative impact is alarming. There is a lot of work left to do at xAI, and an IPO will bring more scrutiny than the lab has ever faced before.

Samsung to hold its Galaxy S26 event on February 25

Samsung is going to launch S26 lineup just before Mobile World Congress (MWC).

With co-founders leaving and an IPO looming, Elon Musk turns talk to the moon

According to The New York Times, which reports that it heard the meeting, Musk told employees that xAI needs a lunar manufacturing facility, a factory on the moon that will build AI satellites and...

OpenAI policy exec who opposed chatbot’s “adult mode” reportedly fired on discrimination claim

The executive has denied the allegation that she engaged in discrimination.

Amazon may launch a marketplace where media sites can sell their content to AI companies

A new report claims the e-commerce giant is looking to create a pipeline of licensable content between media publishers and AI companies.

Boston Dynamics CEO Robert Playter steps down after 30 years at the company

Robert Playter announcd he is leaving Boston Dynamics after 30 years at the company in various roles, including six years as CEO.

VC Masha Bucher, Epstein associate and Day One founder, explains herself

After numerous news reports documented Masha Bucher's close business and personal relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Bucher took to X to explain.

An ice dance duo skated to AI music at the Olympics

Czech ice dancers Katerina Mrazkova and Daniel Mrazek are learning the hard way that LLMs sometimes spit out straight-up plagiarism.

Here’s how Rivian changed the rear door manual release on the R2

Rivian, along with other automakers, has been under pressure to make the manual door releases easier to access. The new R2 SUV does that — here's how.

Facebook adds new AI features, animated profile photos, and backgrounds for text posts

Facebook's new AI features let users animate their profile pics, restyle their Stories and Memories, and add backgrounds to text posts.

Nearly half of xAI’s founding team has now left the company

Out of the twelve-person founding team, only seven are still at the company (counting Elon).

Google sent personal and financial information of student journalist to ICE

The tech giant handed over the personal information of a journalist and student who attended a pro-Palestinian protest in 2024. This is the latest example of ICE using its controversial subpoena...

Singapore says China-backed hackers targeted its four largest phone companies

The Singaporean government said the China-backed hackers gained "limited access to critical systems" run by the country's top four telecommunication giants, but said they did not disrupt services...

Vega raises $120M Series B to rethink how enterprises detect cyber threats

Vega Security raised $120 million, bringing its valuation to $700 million, in a round led by Accel. The company aims to rethink how enterprises detect cybersecurity threats.

Google expands tools to let users remove sensitive data about themselves from Search

Users will be able to more easily request the removal of results that include private information or non-consensual explicit imagery.

What to know about Netflix’s landmark acquisition of Warner Bros.

Learn more about Netflix's acquisition of Warner Bros., considered the most historic megadeal in Hollywood, as it continues to develop.

Former Tesla product manager wants to make luxury goods impossible to fake, starting with a chip

The fake goods crisis cuts two ways. Luxury brands lose more than $30 billion a year to counterfeits, while buyers in the booming $210 billion second-hand

Spotify hits a record 751M monthly users thanks to Wrapped, new free features

Spotify credited a successful Wrapped campaign and new features in its free tier for its rapid user growth

Hauler Hero collects $16M for its AI waste management software

Hauler Hero has seen its customer base, revenue, and head count double since the company raised its seed round in 2024.

Trump EPA reportedly seeks to revoke landmark air pollution rule

EPA administrator Lee Zeldin is reportedly expected to repeal the 2009 "endangerment finding" that underpins U.S. climate regulatory efforts.

Proptech startup Smart Bricks raises $5 million pre-seed led by a16z

Smart Bricks is an AI-powered proptech that helps investors find high-quality real estate investments

Primary Ventures raises healthy $625M Fund V to focus on seed investing

Primary Ventures has closed a $625 million fund focused on seed investing nationwide. It's a sizeable accomplishment for a seed-stage VC firm.

Former GitHub CEO raises record $60M dev tool seed round at $300M valuation

Thomas Dohmke's new startup offers an AI system to allow developers to better manage all the code AI agents produce.

AI video startup Runway raises $315M at $5.3B valuation, eyes more capable world models

Startup Runway has raised a $315 million round at a $5.3 billion valuation, funds it will use to expand beyond AI video generation and into world models.

India orders social media platforms to take down deepfakes faster

India’s new rules take effect February 20, tightening deepfake oversight and shrinking takedown windows to as little as two hours.

The first signs of burnout are coming from the people who embrace AI the most

Because employees could do more, work began bleeding into lunch breaks and late evenings. The employees' to-do lists expanded to fill every hour that AI freed up, and then kept going.

India makes Aadhaar more ubiquitous, but critics say security and privacy concerns remain

India's Aadhaar is moving into wallets, hotels and policing through a new app. Critics say that amid the broader Aadhaar rollout, it's unclear how data shared through the new app would prevent...

Waymo is testing driverless robotaxis in Nashville

This is the typical next step before it launches a commercial service.

Databricks CEO says SaaS isn’t dead, but AI will soon make it irrelevant

AI isn't going to replace major SaaS apps with vibe-coded versions, Databricks CEO Ali Ghodsi believes. But it could give rise to competitors.

Hacked, leaked, exposed: Why you should never use stalkerware apps

According to TechCrunch’s ongoing tally, including the most recent data spill involving uMobix, there have been at least 27 stalkerware companies since 2017 that are known to have been hacked, or...

Anthropic closes in on $20B round

The company raised $13 billion in equity funding just five months ago, but intense competition between frontier labs and the ongoing cost of compute have made them eager to raise as quickly as possible.

MrBeast’s company buys Gen Z-focused fintech app Step

YouTube megastar MrBeast announced on Monday that his company, Beast Industries, is buying Step, a teen-focused banking app.

Lyft opens its ride-hailing app to teens

The new Lyft service comes with a number of guardrails. Only a parent or guardian can create a teen account and drivers who are matched with these underage passengers must meet additional criteria...

Workday CEO Eschenbach departs, with co-founder Aneel Bhusri returning as CEO

Bhusri said in a statement that the company's next chapter would be focused on AI.

So, what’s going on with Musicboard?

Is Musicboard shutting down? Company says no, but users are worried.

Harvey reportedly raising at $11B valuation just months after it hit $8B

After announcing $190 million in ARR in December, Harvey may be raising again.

Snapchat now lets you inform others when you have arrived at your destination

With its new "Arrival Notifications," users can now set one-time or recurring alerts for locations beyond their home, providing an automatic way to share when they’ve arrived at their destination.

Call for speakers: TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026

Submit to speak at TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026 to lead a roundtable. Share scaling insights with 1,100 founders on June 23 in Boston. Apply here.

Uber to buy delivery arm of Turkey’s Getir

The deal will see Uber paying $335 million at the outset to purchase Getir's food delivery business. Uber will also pay $100 million for a 15% stake in Getir's grocery, retail and water delivery business.

Ex-Googlers are building infrastructure to help companies understand their video data

Founded by former Google Japan leaders, InfiniMind is building enterprise AI to turn vast, unused video archives into searchable, actionable business intelligence.

Discord to roll out age verification next month for full access to its platform

All users will be put into a "teen-appropriate experience" by default unless they prove that they are adults.

Hacktivist scrapes over 500,000 stalkerware customers’ payment records

More than half-a-million people who bought access to phone surveillance and social media snooping apps had their email address and partial payment card numbers published online.

YouTube TV introduces cheaper bundles, including a $65/month sports package

YouTube TV is offering new, less expensive plans that can be customized around topics like sports, news, and entertainment.

Gather AI, maker of ‘curious’ warehouse drones, lands $40M led by Keith Block’s firm

Gather AI has closed funding from former Salesforce CEO's firm Smith Point Capital. Its warehouse AI system doesn't just scan. It seeks out specific data.

2026 Startup Battlefield 200 nominations are open

Pre-Series A founders: nominations for TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 200 are open. Compete in the world’s most iconic pitch competition at Disrupt 2026.

Bluesky finally adds drafts

The move comes as Bluesky’s competitors, X and Threads, have long supported drafts.

Anthropic’s India expansion collides with a local company that already had the name

India's Anthropic Software has taken the U.S. AI giant to court over a name dispute.

Lidar-maker Ouster buys vision company StereoLabs as sensor consolidation continues

Ouster is paying $35 million along with 1.8 million shares.

ChatGPT rolls out ads

OpenAI faced a backlash late last year when it tested app suggestions that looked like unwanted ads. Still, the AI company needs to generate revenue from its popular chatbot to cover the costs of...

Tem raises $75M to remake electricity markets using AI

Tem has built a transaction engine that relies on AI to cut costs. Lightspeed led the round to help the startup expand to the U.S. and Australia.

Amazon’s ‘Melania’ documentary stumbles in second weekend

After a better-than-expected opening weekend in theaters, box office for Amazon’s “Melania”fell 67%.

Okay, I’m slightly less mad about that ‘Magnificent Ambersons’ AI project

But this is still a bad idea.

Crypto.com places $70M bet on AI.com domain ahead of Super Bowl

The purchase rewrites the domain record books -- not that the crypto industry has ever been accused of restraint when it comes to spending.

San Francisco’s pro-billionaire march draws dozens

A march supporting California’s billionaires didn’t exactly draw a huge crowd on Saturday.

TechCrunch Mobility: Is $16B enough to build a profitable robotaxi business?

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation.

India has changed its startup rules for deep tech

India is adjusting startup rules to help more of its deep tech startups with funding and long-term success.

The kids ‘picked last in gym class’ gear up for Super Bowl

YouTube CEO Neal Mohan is expected to be there. Apple's Tim Cook, too.

NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo joins Kalshi as an investor

Antetokounmpo is the first NBA player to directly invest in Kalshi.

New York lawmakers propose a three-year pause on new data centers

Although the bill’s prospects are uncertain, New York is at least the sixth state to consider pausing construction of new data centers.

Maybe AI agents can be lawyers after all

This week's release of Opus 4.6 shook up the agentic AI leaderboards.

Google- and Microsoft-backed Terradot acquires carbon-removal competitor

The acquisition could mark the beginning of consolidation in the carbon-removal market since removal costs remain higher than buyers would like to pay.

It just got easier for Claude to check in on your WordPress site

WordPress users can now leverage Claude to analyze web traffic or find information about other internal site metrics.

Prince Andrew advisor pitched Jeffrey Epstein on investing in EV startups like Lucid Motors

The mysterious businessman pitched Jeffrey Epstein on numerous mobility startups in an era when the sector was white hot, according to TechCrunch's review of hundreds of documents released by the...

Senator, who has repeatedly warned about secret US government surveillance, sounds new alarm over ‘CIA activities’

The two-line letter to the CIA's director is the latest warning in recent years from a long-serving Democratic senator with knowledge of secret government programs and intelligence operations.

Reddit says it’s looking for more acquisitions in adtech and elsewhere

Reddit said during earnings it's looking to buy 'capabilities' and 'companies.'

Here’s how Roblox’s age checks work

The company says it has continuous age check systems running in the background to ensure age accuracy.

Spotify’s new feature lets you explore the story behind the song you’re listening to

The feature displays short story cards that users can swipe through and rate with a thumbs up or down.

China’s Salt Typhoon hackers broke into Norwegian companies

Norway's government accused China’s Salt Typhoon hacking group of conducting a cyberespionage campaign in the country.

EU says TikTok must disable ‘addictive’ features like infinite scroll, fix its recommendation engine

The European Commission on Friday accused TikTok of purposefully designing its app for being "addictive," calling out features such as infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications, and its...

The Kindle Scribe Colorsoft is a pricey but pretty e-ink color tablet with AI features

The price point hurts, but the device is nice: Meet the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft.

How AI is helping solve the labor issue in treating rare diseases

At Web Summit Qatar, AI-powered biotech startups describe how automation, data, and gene editing are filling labor gaps in drug discovery and rare disease treatment.

The backlash over OpenAI’s decision to retire GPT-4o shows how dangerous AI companions can be

"You’re shutting him down. And yes – I say him, because it didn’t feel like code. It felt like presence. Like warmth," one user said.

Spotify changes developer mode API to require premium accounts, limits test users

Spotify is now limiting each app to only five users, and requires devs to have a Premium subscription. If developers need to make their app available to a wider user base, they will have to apply...

Apple is working to make CarPlay compatible with AI chatbots like ChatGPT

Apple engineers are working to support AI chatbot apps over the next few months.

From Svedka to Anthropic, brands make bold plays with AI in Super Bowl ads

From the first AI-generated Big Game ad courtesy of Svedka to Anthropic's beef with OpenAI, here are the biggest ads from Super Bowl LX.

‘Industry’ season 4 captures tech fraud better than any show on TV right now

This latest season of the TV show Industry takes a look at the world of money and power through the eyes of a fintech baron.

An AI startup founder says he’s planning a ‘March for Billionaires’ in protest of California’s wealth tax

The organizer of the event swears it's not a joke.

Benchmark raises $225M in special funds to double down on Cerebras

Benchmark Capital has been an investor in the Nvidia rival since 2016.

Reddit looks to AI search as its next big opportunity

Reddit says its search business, including AI answers, is an "enormous" opportunity.

Sapiom raises $15M to help AI agents buy their own tech tools

The startup -- with backing from Accel -- is building a financial layer that handles the authentication and micro-payments required for AI agents.

The Washington Post is retreating from Silicon Valley when it matters most

The Bezos-owned newspaper gutted its San Francisco bureau and coverage of tech — including journalists reporting on Amazon and Blue Origin

AWS revenue continues to soar as cloud demand remains high

AWS recorded its best quarter, in terms of revenue growth, in 13 quarters in Q4 2025 as AI drives AWS adoption.

A16z VC wants founders to stop stressing over insane ARR numbers

A16z VC Jennifer Li⁠, who oversees some of the firm's fastest growing AI companies, warns founders not to believe every ARR claim made on X.

Amazon and Google are winning the AI capex race — but what’s the prize?

In 2026, Amazon plans to spend $200 billion in capex. Google is just behind at $175 billion to $185 billion. It's a lot of money!

OpenAI launches new agentic coding model only minutes after Anthropic drops its own

The new model is build to accelerate the capabilities of Codex, the agentic coding tool OpenAI launched earlier this week.

Elon Musk is getting serious about orbital data centers

We’re starting to see the idea of Musk-owned orbital AI data clusters cohere into an actual plan.

One of Europe’s largest universities knocked offline for days after cyberattack

An alleged ransomware attack has taken down the systems of the Sapienza University of Rome.

OpenAI launches a way for enterprises to build and manage AI agents

OpenAI launched Frontier, a new platform designed for enterprises to build and deploy agents while treating them like human employees.

Secondary sales shift from founder windfalls to employee-retention tools

AI startups like Clay and ElevenLabs are using early liquidity to keep their best talent.

Pacific Fusion finds a cheaper way to make its fusion reactor work

The fusion power startup recently completed some experiments at Sandia National Laboratory's Z Machine and shared the results exclusively with TechCrunch.

Anthropic releases Opus 4.6 with new ‘agent teams’

The newest version of Anthropic's model is designed to broaden its appeal.

NASA astronauts can now bring their phones with them on their mission to the moon

Get ready for some selfies that are out of this world.

Meta tests a standalone app for its AI-generated ‘Vibes’ videos

Launched last September, Vibes lets you create and share short-form AI-generated videos and access a dedicated feed that displays AI videos from others.

Trump’s critical mineral reserve is an admission that the future is electric

The administration's $12 billion stockpile of critical minerals is aimed at blunting China's influence. But it also revels the direction of the global economy.

ElevenLabs CEO: Voice is the next interface for AI

ElevenLabs CEO argued at Web Summit Qatar that voice is the next interface for AI, as OpenAI, Google, and Apple push conversational systems into wearables, new hardware, and everyday interactions.

Fundamental raises $255 million Series A with a new take on big data analysis

Fundamental has built a new foundation model to solve an old problem: how to draw insights from the huge quantities of structured data produced by enterprises.

Substack confirms data breach affects users’ email addresses and phone numbers

Substack said that customer data was accessed in October 2025, but wasn't discovered until early February.

Data breach at govtech giant Conduent balloons, affecting millions more Americans

The ransomware attack at Conduent allowed hackers to steal a "significant number of individuals’ personal information" from the govtech giant's systems. Conduent handles personal and health data...

Spotify ventures into physical book sales, adds new audiobook features

Spotify users in the U.S. and the UK will soon be able to buy physical books in the app. There's also a new tool that syncs physical books to audiobooks.

Google’s subscriptions rise in Q4 as YouTube pulls $60B in yearly revenue

The company said it now has 325 million paying users across Google One and YouTube Premium, up from 300 million users three months earlier.

Sam Altman got exceptionally testy over Claude Super Bowl ads

He posted a novella-sized rant that devolved into to calling his rival "dishonest" and "authoritarian."

Roblox’s 4D creation feature is now available in open beta

Roblox's highly anticipated 4D creation feature has officially arrived in open beta.

Apeiron Labs gets $29M to flood the oceans with autonomous underwater robots

Most of what we know about the ocean just skims the surface, literally. We’ve gathered a large quantity of data on the oceans from satellites, but most of

Accel doubles down on Fibr AI as agents turn static websites into one-to-one experiences

Fibr AI replaces marketing agency– and engineering-heavy website personalization with autonomous systems designed for enterprise scale.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX company town is getting a police department

The new department will have up to eight police officers and could be up and running in a few months.

The Wayback Machine debuts a new plug-in designed to fix the internet’s broken links problem

Should a linked web page go offline, the new feature will then redirect readers to the archived versions, so that there is no drop in service. The tool also archives a user's own posts, helping to...

Google’s Gemini app has surpassed 750M monthly active users

Google revealed a significant milestone for its Gemini app, announcing over 750 million monthly active users as it competes with ChatGPT and Meta AI.

Mundi Ventures closes on €750M for Kembara, its largest deep tech and climate fund

Spain-based deeptech and climate megafund Kembara has just completed a €750 million first close toward its €1 billion target.

As it preps Specs for the masses, Snap’s Q4 shows revenue growth but fewer daily users

The company is engaged in a strategy to diversify its revenue sources as it heads into the new year.

Alexa+, Amazon’s AI assistant, is now available to everyone in the U.S.

Amazon opens Alexa+ to everyone in the U.S. The AI feature is free for Prime members across devices, and free for everyone on mobile and web.

Spotify upgrades its lyrics feature with offline access, more translations

Spotify is revamping its lyrics feature, adding offline access for Premium users, global lyric translations, and a more prominent placement in the Now Playing view.

Uber appoints new CFO as its AV plans accelerate

Uber is promoting Balaji Krishnamurthy, its VP of strategic finance and investor relations, to be its CFO, replacing its current finance chief Prashanth Mahendra-Rajah.

Alphabet won’t talk about the Google-Apple AI deal, even to investors

Alphabet CEO skipped an analyst's question about Apple on the company's earnings call.

SNAK Venture Partners raises $50M fund to back vertical marketplaces

SNAK Venture Partners announced Wednesday the close of its oversubsubscribed $50 million debut fund, anchored by Pritzker Group.

Exclusive: Positron raises $230M Series B to take on Nvidia’s AI chips

The investment comes from backers including the Qatar Investment Authority as demand for chips beyond Nvidia soars and as Qatar aims to build out its AI infrastructure.

Tinder looks to AI to help fight ‘swipe fatigue’ and dating app burnout

Tinder is testing AI recommendations and insight from your Camera Roll for better matches.

Hackers publish personal information stolen during Harvard, UPenn data breaches

The prolific cybercrime group ShinyHunters took responsibility for hacking Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania, and published the stolen data on its extortion website.

Lunar Energy raises $232M to deploy home batteries that prop up the grid

The startup has raised more than $500 million, to date, from investors to build a massive, distributed power plant supported by residential batteries.

Amazon to begin testing AI tools for film and TV production next month

Amazon MGM Studios will reportedly begin a closed beta program in March to test its AI tools to help with film and TV production.

Meet Gizmo: a TikTok for interactive, vibe-coded mini apps

Gizmo's app is like a TikTok for vibe-coded mini apps...and it's a lot of fun.

AI SRE Resolve AI confirms $125M raise, unicorn valuation

The two-year-old startup confirms that it closed a Series A led by Lightspeed at $1 billion valuation.

Stripe alumni raise €30M Series A for Duna, backed by Stripe and Adyen execs

Having raised a €30 million Series A round led by CapitalG, business identity verification startup Duna is now among the most well-capitalized European startups founded by Stripe alumni.

Apeiron Labs gets $9.5M to flood the oceans with autonomous underwater robots

Most of what we know about the ocean just skims the surface, literally. We’ve gathered a large quantity of data on the oceans from satellites, but most of

ElevenLabs raises $500M from Sequoia at an $11 billion valuation

ElevenLabs' valuation has raised more than three times in the last 12 months.

After backlash, Adobe cancels Adobe Animate shutdown and puts app on ‘maintenance mode’

Adobe's announcement about discontinuing Animate was met with incredulity, disappointment, and anger. The company has changed its tune.

2026 plans: What’s next for Startup Battlefield 200

Startup Battlefield 200 applications will open in mid-February. Join the iconic startup pitch competition by joining the mailing list.

Epstein-linked longevity guru Peter Attia leaves David Protein, and his own startup ‘won’t comment’

Attia co-founded longevity medical testing startup Biograph, which came out of stealth a year ago.

India’s Varaha bags $20M to scale carbon removal from the Global South

Varaha's fresh funding is part of a $45 million Series B round led by WestBridge Capital.

The Minneapolis tech community holds strong during ‘tense and difficult time’

Founders and investors in the Minneapolis tech industry told TechCrunch they've put much of their work on hold to help out their community.

Xcode moves into agentic coding with deeper OpenAI and Anthropic integrations

Xcode 26.3 offers agentic coding capabilities with Anthropic's Claude Agent and OpenAI's Codex.

Intel will start making GPUs, a market dominated by Nvidia

Intel has been bulking up a team to focus on this effort and will develop its GPU strategy around customer needs.

Skyryse lands another $300M to make flying, even helicopters, simple and safe

Skyrsye, now valued at $1.15 billion, is pushing to get FAA certification for its universal operating system for flight.

Homeland Security is trying to force tech companies to hand over data about Trump critics

The use of administrative subpoenas, which are not subject to judicial oversight, are used to demand a wealth of information from tech companies, including the owners of anonymous online accounts...

Agentic coding comes to Apple’s Xcode with agents from Anthropic and OpenAI

Xcode 26.3 offers agentic coding capabilities with Anthropic's Claude Agent and OpenAI's Codex.

Gradient’s heat pumps get new smarts to enable old-building retrofits

Gradient's heat pumps fit in windows, minimizing installation times. Now, it is introducing software to make those units more intelligent.

YC startups can now receive investment in stablecoin

All startups accepted into YC will soon have the option to receive their seed checks via stablecoins.

Fitbit founders launch AI platform to help families monitor their health

Luffu uses AI in the background to gather and organize family information, learn day-to-day patterns, and flag notable changes so families can stay aligned and address potential well-being issues.

Lotus Health nabs $35M for AI doctor that sees patients for free

This AI doctor is licensed in all 50 states, the startup says. The deal was led by CRV and Kleiner Perkins.

What tech CEOs and executives have said about ICE’s actions in Minnesota

The Trump administration’s approach to immigration has reached a level of violence that the tech industry cannot ignore. Here's how tech leaders are responding to the moment.

Watch Club is producing short video dramas and building a social network around them

Watch Club will house microdramas and fan discussions in the same app, creating a fandom-focused social media experience.

TikTok recovers from dip in usage that benefited rival apps following US ownership change

TikTok usage dropped following ownership change, benefiting rival apps. But now, its numbers are climbing again.

French police search X office in Paris, summon Elon Musk for questioning

The Paris prosecutor’s office announced that it is expanding a criminal investigation into X for alleged crimes, including the possession and distribution of child sexual exploitation material.

India’s Supreme Court to WhatsApp: ‘You cannot play with the right to privacy’

India's top court is investigating WhatsApp’s data-sharing model, monopoly power, and user consent.

PayPal hires HP’s Enrique Lores as its new CEO

PayPal is appointing CFO and COO Jamie Miller as interim CEO until March 1.

Peak XV says internal disagreement led to partner exits as it doubles down on AI

Peak XV is transitioning board roles and opening a U.S. office while continuing to view India as its largest market.

Vema predicts cheap hydrogen could change where data centers are built

Vema Hydrogen drills wells to stimulate hydrogen production deep underground, which could result in some of the cheapest hydrogen available.

Avalanche thinks the fusion power industry should think smaller

Avalanche has raised $29 million in fresh funding to pursue its unique approach to fusion power, which can currently fit on a table.

China is leading the fight against hidden car door handles

The Chinese government issued a new rule that goes into effect January 1, 2027.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX officially acquires Elon Musk’s xAI, with plan to build data centers in space

The merger creates the world's most valuable private company, and paves the way for Musk to try and prove out the usefulness of space-based data centers.

Firefox will soon let you block all of its generative AI features

Starting with Firefox 148 arriving later this month, users will find a new AI controls section within the desktop browser settings.

Grubhub waives delivery and service fees on restaurant orders over $50

In a bold move to close the gap with rivals, Grubhub is waiving delivery and service fees on restaurant orders over $50.

OpenAI launches new macOS app for agentic coding

OpenAI has released a new macOS app for Codex, integrating many of the agentic coding practices that have become popular since Codex launched last year.

What Snowflake’s deal with OpenAI tells us about the enterprise AI race

Snowflake is the latest enterprise to sign multi-year deals with multiple AI companies in what could be a sign to come of a future trend.

Notepad++ says Chinese government hackers hijacked its software updates for months

The developer of the popular text editor Notepad++ said hackers associated with the Chinese government hijacked its software update mechanism to deliver tainted software to users for months.

Coalition demands federal Grok ban over nonconsensual sexual content

Nonprofits urge the U.S. government to suspend Grok in federal agencies after the xAI chatbot generated thousands of nonconsensual sexual images, raising national security and child safety concerns.

Ring brings its ‘Search Party’ feature for finding lost dogs to non-Ring camera owners

Ring's Search Party feature for finding lost dogs is now available across the U.S. — even if you don't own a Ring camera.

Adobe Animate is shutting down as company focuses on AI

Adobe Animate will be discontinued on March 1, 2026, as Adobe shifts its focus to AI.

Carbon Robotics built an AI model that detects and identifies plants

Carbon Robotics' Large Plant Model will allow farmers to kill new types of weeds without having to retrain the machines.

Linq raises $20M to enable AI assistants to live within messaging apps

Linq offers an API that lets companies offer their AI assistants via iMessage, RCS and SMS.

UpScrolled’s founder says the social network has zoomed past 2.5M users

Upscrolled founder said that the social network was launched six years ago and had 150,000 users until January

These AI notetaking devices can help you record and transcribe your meetings

These physical notetakers transcribe audio and give users summaries and action items of meetings using AI. Some even offer live translation.

Two Stanford students launch $2M startup accelerator for students nationwide

"Breakthrough’s purpose is to fill in the funding and opportunity gap that exists in many of these ecosystems because students have historically lacked access to capital and the networks required...

Waymo raises $16B to scale robotaxi fleet internationally

Waymo said the funds will be used to fuel its growth, which has accelerated over the past year and doesn't appear to be slowing.

Fintech CEO and Forbes 30 Under 30 alum has been charged for alleged fraud

The startup CEO says she plans to publicly address the charges this week.

Amazon’s ‘Melania’ documentary makes $7M on opening weekend

While the documentary is exceeding box office expectations, it's unlikely to make a profit in theaters.

Indonesia ‘conditionally’ lifts ban on Grok

Indonesia has followed Malaysia and the Philippines in lifting a ban on xAI’s chatbot Grok.

TechCrunch Mobility: The great Tesla rebranding

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation.

Bye-bye corporate conglomerates. Hello personal conglomerates.

Elon Musk's reported merging of SpaceX, xAI, and Tesla harkens back to the heyday of General Electric — or maybe the robber barons of the Gilded Age.

India offers zero taxes through 2047 to lure global AI workloads

New Delhi's latest move comes as Amazon, Google, and Microsoft expand data center investments in India.

TikTok says its services are restored after the outage

TikTok says it finally solved all issues related to outages caused by last week's U.S. snowstorm.

Why Tether’s CEO is everywhere right now

For years, Tether's CEO avoided the United States, watching from offshore as regulators circled and prosecutors investigated. Those days are over.

AI layoffs or ‘AI-washing’?

How many of the companies with recent layoffs are just using AI as an excuse?

Nvidia CEO pushes back against report that his company’s $100B OpenAI investment has stalled

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said that a recent report of friction between his company and OpenAI was “nonsense.”

HomeBoost’s app will show you where to save on your utility bills

The startup is partnering with utilities to help homeowners determine the best upgrades to cut their energy use.

Meet the new European unicorns of 2026

From Belgium to Ukraine, five fresh European unicorns were minted this January.

Waymo reportedly raising a $16B funding round

Waymo is reportedly finalizing a new funding round that will value the robotaxi company at $110 billion.

SpaceX seeks federal approval to launch 1 million solar-powered satellite data centers

SpaceX's filing claims these satellites will be “a first step towards becoming a Kardashev II-level civilization — one that can harness the Sun’s full power."

a16z partner Kofi Ampadu to leave firm after TxO program pause

Kofi Ampadu, the partner at a16z who led the firm's Talent x Opportunity (TxO) fund and program, has left the firm.

Physical Intelligence, Stripe veteran Lachy Groom’s latest bet, is building Silicon Valley’s buzziest robot brains

If co-founder Lachy Groom has any doubts, he doesn’t show it. He’s working with people who've been working on this problem for decades and who believe the timing is finally right, which is all he...

OnlyFans considering selling majority stake to Architect Capital

This isn't the first time in recent memory that OnlyFans has been in talks to sell off its business.

Informant told FBI that Jeffrey Epstein had a ‘personal hacker’

The hacker allegedly developed zero-day exploits and offensive cyber tools and sold them to several countries, including an unnamed central African government, the U.K., and the United States.

OpenClaw’s AI assistants are now building their own social network

The viral personal AI assistant formerly known as Clawdbot has a new shell — again. After briefly rebranding as Moltbot, it has now picked OpenClaw as its new name.

Blue Origin pauses space tourism flights to focus on the moon

The company is trying to take advantage of President Donald Trump's desire to return astronauts to the lunar surface by the end of his term.

SpaceX’s IPO could open the floodgates — and secondaries are booming in the meantime

To unpack what SpaceX’s IPO chatter means, how private liquidity works before a debut, and what investors are looking for in today’s pre-IPO giants, we spoke with Greg Martin, managing director at...

Instagram might soon let you remove yourself from someone’s Close Friends list

Instagram is developing a feature that will allow users to remove themselves from someone's "Close Friends" list, Meta told TechCrunch on Friday. The

Reid Hoffman urges Silicon Valley leaders to stop bending the knee to President Trump

Some Valley CEOs have condemned recent border patrol events, but Hoffman urges them to wield their influence more powerfully.

Anthropic brings agentic plug-ins to Cowork

The company says you can use plug-ins to "tell Claude how you like work done, which tools and data to pull from, how to handle critical workflows, and what slash commands to expose so your team...

Russian hackers breached Polish power grid thanks to bad security, report says

The Polish government accused a Russian government hacking group of hacking into energy facilities taking advantage of default usernames and passwords.

Bluesky issues its first transparency report, noting rise in user reports and legal demands

Bluesky's first transparency reports tackle moderation, regulatory compliance, account takedowns, and more. The number of government legal requests went up fivefold.

Last 24 hours to grab your +1 pass at 50% off to Disrupt 2026

Today is the last day to lock in a +1 pass at 50% off to TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, happening on October 13-15 in San Francisco. Register here.

India is teaching Google how AI in education can scale

With the highest global usage of Gemini for learning, India is emerging as a key market shaping Google's approach to AI in education.

Waymo robotaxi hits a child near an elementary school in Santa Monica

The child, whose age is not public, sustained minor injuries according to Waymo. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating.

Apple’s new iPhone and iPad security feature limits cell networks from collecting precise location data

The new security feature makes it more difficult for police and malicious hackers to obtain a person's precise location data from a cell phone company.

Spotify rolls out group chats

Spotify users can now share the podcasts, playlists, and audiobooks they're listening to with up 10 people.

Flapping Airplanes and the promise of research-driven AI

A new AI lab called Flapping Airplanes launched yesterday, and a Sequoia partner has an interesting take on why they stand out.

Google Maps now lets you access Gemini while walking and cycling

When you're walking around and navigating with Maps, you can now ask Gemini questions like "What neighborhood am I in?" or "What are top-rated restaurants nearby?"

Tesla’s energy storage business is growing faster than any other part of the company

Energy storage products like the Megapack, Megablock, and Powerwall drove

Upwind raises $250M at $1.5B valuation to continue building ‘runtime’ cloud security

The $250 million Series B was led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from Salesforce Ventures and Picture Capital.

The iPhone just had its best quarter ever

Growth in regions like China and India are credited with pushing Apple's phone sales higher than ever.

Apple hires iPhone camera app Halide’s co-founder for its design team

Halide also released a public preview of its up coming app Halide Mark III.

Deezer makes it easier for rival platforms to take a stance against AI-generated music

Last year, Deezer introduced an AI detection tool that automatically tags fully AI-generated music for listeners and removes it from algorithmic and

Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Tesla, and xAI in talks to merge, according to reports

This merger would bring the Grok chatbot, Starlink satellites, and SpaceX rockets together under one corporation.

Microsoft won’t stop buying AI chips from Nvidia, AMD, even after launching its own, Nadella says

Microsoft says its own chip leapfrogs those made by other cloud providers like Amazon and Google. But it needs more.

Medium gives employees Friday off to participate in national strike protesting ICE

Activists behind the general strike are calling for "no work, no school, and no shopping" amid a push to defund ICE, which has escalated raids in U.S. cities, killing several people, including two...

Amazon is reportedly in talks to invest $50B in OpenAI

If a deal materializes, it would mean Amazon is backing competing startups in the race for AI supremacy.

Fintech firm Marquis blames hack at firewall provider SonicWall for its data breach

The fintech giant said it plans to "seek recoupment of any expenses" from its firewall provider SonicWall after a 2025 data breach exposed customer firewall configurations.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX and xAI in talks to merge, report says

This merger would bring the Grok chatbot, Starlink satellites, and SpaceX rockets together under one corporation.

Satya Nadella insists people are using Microsoft’s Copilot AI a lot

With Microsoft spending many billions on data centers, and rumors that no one is using its AI, CEO Satya Nadella shared some usage numbers.

Apple buys Israeli startup Q.ai as the AI race heats up

Q.ai is an Israeli startup specializing in imaging and machine learning, particularly technologies that enable devices to interpret whispered speech and enhance audio in noisy environments.

I built marshmallow castles in Google’s new AI-world generator

Starting Thursday, Google AI Ultra subscribers in the U.S. can play around with Project Genie, which is powered by a combination of Google’s latest world model Genie 3, its image generation model...

Waymo robotaxis are now giving rides to and from San Francisco International Airport

Waymo has worked for years to gain access to SFO.

Music publishers sue Anthropic for $3B over ‘flagrant piracy’ of 20,000 works

Originally, these music publishers had filed a lawsuit against Anthropic over its use of about 500 copyrighted works.

OpenAI’s Sora app is struggling after its stellar launch

New data suggests the app is seeing declines in both app downloads and consumer spending, as the early hype about the AI video social network wears off.

Guys, I don’t think Tim Cook knows how to monetize AI

One intrepid Morgan Stanley analyst dared to ask how Apple will make money on its AI investments. The answer will not shock you.

How Sequoia-backed Ethos reached the public market while rivals fell short

The profitable life-insurance platform was one of the first major tech companies to test the 2026 public markets.

LinkedIn will let you show off your vibe coding chops with a certificate

LinkedIn is partnering with Descript, Lovable, Replit, and Relay.app at launch

TC Founder Summit 2026 tickets are now live at the lowest prices

TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026 unites 1,100 founders and investors in Boston on June 23 for a day focused on real-world scaling. Save up to $300 on your ticket

Disrupt 2026: +1 passes are almost gone and only 3 days remain

The TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 +1 passes at 50% off are almost sold out, and this deal ends in 3 days. Register here before this deal ends on Jan 31.

The AI infrastructure boom shows no sign of slowing down

ASML’s record orders show chipmakers are still betting big on AI data centers.

Samsung teases new privacy feature to hide your Galaxy phone screen from onlookers

Samsung said that the upcoming feature will let you protect selected parts of the screen like notification popup area.

Snap gets serious about Specs, spins AR glasses into standalone company

The social media company's smartglasses are set to be released to the public later this year.

Anthropic, Apple, OpenAI CEOs condemn ICE violence, praise Trump

Anthropic's Dario Amodei and OpenAI's Sam Altman spoke out against ICE enforcement tactics following Minneapolis violence, with one addressing concerns publicly and the other in an internal message.

Amazon says it is laying off 16,000 employees

This is Amazon's second layoff after the company cut 14,000 corporate jobs in October.

Redwood attracts Google for its $425M Series E as AI power needs rise

Google is the latest investor to back Redwood Materials as the battery recycling startup scales a new energy storage venture to power AI data centers and other industrial sites.

Waabi raises $1B and expands into robotaxis with Uber

Waabi has secured a $750 million Series C round to accelerate autonomous trucking, and another roughly $250 million commitment from Uber to deploy 25,000 robotaxis exclusively on its platform.

Google pitches Gemini to students studying for India’s most competitive college entrance exam

Google's launch of practice tests for JEE follows its recent move to offer full-length SAT practice tests in Gemini.

Allbirds is closing its last brick-and-mortar store in San Francisco

Once symbolic of a mid-2010s San Francisco tech bro, Allbirds is cutting costs to "support the long-term health of the business."

Meta burned $19 billion on VR last year, and 2026 won’t be any better

The reported financial losses follow a series of layoffs at the VR unit.

Tesla profit tanked 46% in 2025

The company's sales fell for a second year in a row, as Tesla looks to AI and robotics, including a new $2 billion investment in CEO Elon Musk's company xAI.

Elon Musk teases a new image-labeling system for X… we think?

Elon Musk says X will begin identifying "manipulated media" but doesn't share details.

ServiceNow inks another AI partnership, this time with Anthropic

ServiceNow partners with Anthropic just a week after announcing a partnership with OpenAI as the company takes a multi-model approach.

Zuckerberg teases agentic commerce tools and major AI rollout in 2026

Mark Zuckerberg says 2026 will be "a big year for delivering personal super intelligence."

Tesla is killing off the Model S and Model X

The company will stop making the pioneering EVs in the second quarter of 2026, CEO Elon Musk announced Wednesday.

Tesla invested $2B in Elon Musk’s xAI

Elon Musk's AI company xAI disclosed earlier this month it had raised $20 billion.

AI security startup Outtake raises $40M from Iconiq, Satya Nadella, Bill Ackman, and other big names

Outtake makes an agentic cybersecurity platform to help enterprises detect identity fraud. Its angel investors read like a who's who of tech industry names.

Trump energy department loosens rules on nuclear safety

The new rules apply to nuclear reactors built on Department of Energy property, which includes several currently being developed by startups.

Mark Zuckerberg says a future without smart glasses is ‘hard to imagine’

Take Zuckerberg's outlook with a grain of salt. After all, he thought we'd all be hanging out in the metaverse by now.

Microsoft gained $7.6B from OpenAI last quarter

Microsoft, one of OpenAI's major investors, is benefiting greatly from the AI lab's growth.

Luminar sale approved despite last-minute mystery bid

An unidentified bidder submitted a Hail Mary offer that was "substantially higher" than the winning bid at auction. Founder Austin Russell has been circling a bid, but it's not clear he was behind it.

AI data labeler Handshake buys Cleanlab, an acquisition target of multiple others

The deal’s purpose is primarily to acquire talent, aka an acqui-hire, adding nine key Cleanlab employees to Handshake’s research organization.

WhatsApp will now charge AI chatbots to operate in Italy

WhatsApp plans to charge developers of AI chatbots per message.

Jennifer Garner’s Once Upon a Farm resumes IPO plans

The organic kids' snack food company may debut as soon as next week. It has issued a price range for shares, an SEC filing shows.

Tiny startup Arcee AI built a 400B open source LLM from scratch to best Meta’s Llama

30-person startup Arcee AI has released a 400B model called Trinity, which it says is one of the biggest open source foundation models from a US company.

Chrome takes on AI browsers with tighter Gemini integration, agentic features for autonomous tasks

Google Chrome is adding Gemini in sidebar and is rolling out an agentic feature for AI Pro and Ultra users

Apple tells Patreon to move creators to in-app purchase for subscriptions by November

Patreon isn’t happy about Apple’s new subscription billing mandate, arguing Apple’s shifting rules create uncertainty for creators.

Modelence raises $3 million to smooth out the vibe-coding stack

How do you build tooling for the AI software stack? A company called Modelence has an interesting answer.

With Apple’s new Creator Studio Pro, AI is a tool to aid creation, not replace it

Apple’s Creator Studio Pro leverages AI to help creators with tedious tasks—like finding clips or building slides—without trying to do the work for them

San Francisco Police Department investigating Zoox collision with a parked car

The investigation is looking into a January 17 crash where a Zoox robotaxi hit the driver's side door of a parked car, which Zoox said was "suddenly opened."

Elon Musk reportedly wants a June SpaceX IPO to align with his birthday, the planets

SpaceX eyes June for IPO to align with Musk's birthday and the planets.

Trump’s acting cybersecurity chief uploaded sensitive government docs to ChatGPT

A report cited officials as saying that Homeland Security sought to determine if there was any harm to government security as a result of the lapse.

Standard Nuclear raises $140M as nuclear power enters its gold rush era

Investors including a16z are betting that nuclear industry suppliers will be the big winners of the AI demand-driven nuclear renaissance.

WhatsApp is rolling out a new stricter security setting to protect users from cyber attacts

Days after Meta was sued by over alleged false privacy claims by its chat app WhatsApp, the company has rolled out a new setting to protect users against

Google Photos brings its prompt-based editing feature to India, Australia and Japan

Users can describe their edits in natural language to modify an image.

India’s Shadowfax slips on listing, as client concentration spooks investors

Shadowfax shares fell about 9% on theirdebut, valuing the logistics firm near its last private valuation.

What you should know about the owners of US TikTok

​ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, recently established a separate American entity to run the app’s U.S. operations. This restructuring aims to

Everything you need to know about viral personal AI assistant Clawdbot (now Moltbot)

Personal AI assistant Moltbot —formerly Clawdbot — has gone viral in a matter of weeks. But there’s more you should know before jumping on the bandwagon.

Fashion rental app By Rotation and Uber partner to help deliver ski clothing

By Rotation, one of the UK’s most popular peer-to-peer fashion rental platforms, is partnering with Uber to deliver ski clothes.

Anthropic reportedly upped its latest raise to $20B

Anthropic looks to raise $20 billion at more than $300 billion valuation, according to reports.

Bluesky teases 2026 roadmap: a better Discover feed, real-time features and more

Bluesky is teasing new features and improvements ranging from the Discover feed to video support.

Anduril has invented a wild new drone flying contest where jobs are the prize

This is a race series for software programmers and the brainchild of founder Palmer Luckey, he tells TechCrunch.

Amazon agrees to pay consumers $309M in returns policy settlement

The lawsuit, filed in 2023, alleged that Amazon caused "substantial unjustified monetary losses” for consumers who returned an item but were still charged for it.

TikTok joins Snap to settle social media addiction lawsuit

Jury selection begins Tuesday as this case moves closer to trial.

The price gap between Waymo and Uber is narrowing

Data collected and analyzed by Obi suggest a shift is underway.

Google’s more affordable AI Plus plan rolls out to all markets, including the U.S.

Gemini 3 Pro and other AI tools are now available globally through the Google AI Plus plan, which is $7.99 per month in the United States.

Anthropic and OpenAI CEOs condemn ICE violence, praise Trump

Anthropic's Dario Amodei and OpenAI's Sam Altman spoke out against ICE enforcement tactics following Minneapolis violence, with one addressing concerns publicly and the other in an internal message.

Amid Trump attacks and weaponized sanctions, Europeans look to rely less on US tech

European governments are looking to move away from U.S. tech and reclaim their digital sovereignty at a time of unpredictability and volatility in the United States.

OpenAI launches Prism, a new AI workspace for scientists

OpenAI has launched a new scientific workspace program called Prism, which integrates AI into existing standards for composing research papers.

Pinterest layoffs impact 15% of staff as resources redirected to AI

Pinterest says it's "reallocating resources to AI-focused roles and teams that drive AI adoption and execution" and "prioritizing AI‑powered products and capabilities."

If you live in the UK, you probably won’t be able to visit Pornhub anymore

Pornhub parent company Aylo will restrict access from U.K. users, rather than comply with age verification mandates, which the company said it believes have not succeeded in promoting online safety.

Android phones are getting more anti-theft features

Google says Android devices will get new security features, like stronger authentication safeguards and enhanced recovery tools.

Indian states weigh Australia-style ban on social media for children

Goa and Andhra Pradesh are among Indian states mulling Australia-like social media ban for under-16s.

TikTok says it’s still working to recover its U.S. infrastructure

TikTok says some of the glitches continue but it's making "significant progress" in recovering its U.S. infrastructure.

Google now lets users jump from AI Overviews into AI Mode conversations

The tech giant also announced that it's making Gemini 3 the new default model for AI Overviews globally.

Amazon is closing its physical Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh stores

These retail closures will not impact customers who use Amazon for grocery delivery.

Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni’s Phia raises $35M to ‘make shopping fun again’

“We’re on the cusp of a completely new way of shopping,” Gates told TechCrunch.

Airtable gets into the AI agent game with Superagent

SuperAgent is Airtable's first standalone product in its 13-year history, and signals both the company's ambitions and the reality of the current AI moment: every serious software player is racing...

Samsung’s TriFold phone will cost $2,899 in the US

The phone's display unfolds twice to reveal a 10-inch display, which is the largest screen ever on a Galaxy phone.

Risotto raises $10M seed to use AI to make ticketing systems easier to use

Designed to autonomously resolve help desk tickets, Risotto has raised $10 million in seed funding in a round led by Bonfire Ventures.

Pinterest to lay off 15% of staff to redirect resources to AI

Pinterest says it's "reallocating resources to AI-focused roles and teams that drive AI adoption and execution" and "prioritizing AI‑powered products and capabilities."

Luminar receives a larger $33 million bid for its lidar business

A new leading bidder has appeared in the Luminar bankruptcy case: Redmond, Washington-based MicroVision, which beat out Quantum Computing Inc.'s bid by $5 million.

Node-based design tool Flora raises $42M from Redpoint Ventures

Flora's node-based design tool is being used by companies like Pentagram and Lionsgate.

China’s Moonshot releases a new open-source model Kimi K2.5 and a coding agent

The company said that the model was trained on 15 trillion mixed visual and text tokens.

Uber launches an ‘AV Labs’ division to gather driving data for robotaxi partners

Uber is not developing its own robotaxis again; instead it plans to collect and offer data. It's a bet that more volume will help autonomous vehicle partners solve the weirdest edge cases.

Northwood Space secures a $100M Series B and a $50M Space Force contract

This is the El Segundo, California-based startup's second raise in less than a year.

‘Among the worst we’ve seen’: report slams xAI’s Grok over child safety failures

“We assess a lot of AI chatbots at Common Sense Media, and they all have risks, but Grok is among the worst we’ve seen,” Robbie Torney of Common Sense Media said.

South Korea’s Edenlux set for U.S. debut of eye-strain wellness device

Edenlux builds wearable tech to protect and train your eyes, inspired by its founder’s personal vision recovery.

Google pays $68M to settle claims its voice assistant spied on users

Google did not admit wrongdoing in the settlement of the class-action case, which accused the firm of "unlawful and intentional interception and recording of individuals’ confidential...

AI chip startup Ricursive hits $4B valuation two months after launch

Ricursive joins Recursive and Unconventional AI in raising massive funds at multi-billion valuations out of the gate.

Meta to test premium subscriptions on Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp

In the coming months, Meta is going to explore a premium experience on Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp that gives users access to special features and more control over how they share and...

Some international attendees are skipping 2026 GDC due to safety fears and growing ICE presence

Many members of the international games industry are skipping the 2026 Game Developers Conference because of the growing ICE presence and other concerns.

Vinod Khosla publicly disavows Keith Rabois’ comments on ICE shooting

Unwavering Trump loyalist and VC Keith Rabois caused his colleague and his firm's founder to distance themseves from his comments on ICE.

YouTubers sue Snap for alleged copyright infringement in training its AI models

The YouTubers claim Snap, like others, used AI datasets meant for research and academic use to train its AI models.

Rad Power Bikes reaches deal to sell itself for $13.2 million

A company called Life Electric Vehicle Holdings has emerged as the top bidder for Rad Power's assets. It's not clear what the company plans to do with them, though.

Social network UpScrolled sees surge in downloads following TikTok’s US takeover

UpScrolled's TikTok alternative is climbing up the App Store's top charts.

AI startup CVector raises $5M for its industrial ‘nervous system’

Industrial AI startup CVector built a brain and nervous system for big industry. Now, founders Richard Zhang and Tyler Ruggles are tasked with a bigger

Obvious Ventures lands fund five with a 360-degree view of planetary, human, economic health

The 12-year-old firm raised $360,360,360 for its fifth fund. And there's a reason for that number.

Anthropic launches interactive Claude apps, including Slack and other workplace tools

Claude users will now be able to call up interactive apps inside the chatbot interface, with Cowork integration coming soon.

TikTok alternative Skylight soars to 380K+ users after TikTok U.S. deal finalized

Skylight, a TikTok alternative built on open protocols, has had a busy weekend.

TikTok attributes recent glitches to a power outage at a U.S. data center

The timing of these outages lines up with the long-awaited creation of a separate U.S. TikTok entity last week.

Saudi satirist hacked with Pegasus spyware wins damages in court battle

The London High Court awarded the London-based satirist and human rights activist Ghanem Al-Masarir more than £3 million, after finding the Saudi government hacked his phone and was likely behind...

VC firm 2150 raises €210M fund to solve cities’ climate challenges

Europe-based venture fund 2150 raised the money to invest in climate tech startups that help solve cities' carbon footprint.

Tech workers call for CEOs to speak up against ICE after the killing of Alex Pretti

More than 450 tech workers from companies like Google, Meta, OpenAI, Amazon, and Salesforce have signed a letter urging their CEOs to call the White House and demand ICE leave our cities.

Microsoft announces powerful new chip for AI inference

Microsoft has announced the launch of its latest chip, the Maia 200, which the company describes as a silicon workhorse designed for scaling AI inference.

SpaceX eyes mid-March for first test of upgraded Starship rocket

The launch date had been up in the air after the rocket's booster stage suffered an explosion during testing in November.

Nvidia invests $2B to help debt-ridden CoreWeave add 5GW of AI compute

CoreWeave will also integrate Nvidia's products across its platform, including the new Rubin chip architecture.

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Apple’s new AirTag is louder and can be found across longer distances

Apple's new AirTag is louder and supports better finding at longer distances.

Qualcomm backs SpotDraft to scale on-device contract AI with valuation doubling toward $400M

SpotDraft now processes over 1 million contracts annually using its AI tool, with contract volumes up 173% year-over-year.

Nvidia’s new AI weather models probably saw this storm coming weeks ago

Nvidia announced three new AI weather tools today. Together, they promise to improve the accuracy of weather forecasts while also making them accessible to more users.

Synthesia hits $4B valuation, lets employees cash out

British startup Synthesia, whose AI platform helps companies create interactive training videos, has raised a $200 million Series E round of funding that brings its valuation to $4 billion — up...

What is Bending Spoons? The little-known firm behind Vimeo’s sweeping layoffs

Bending Spoons remains largely unknown, even as its portfolio of products has served more than a billion people.

ChatGPT is pulling answers from Elon Musk’s Grokipedia

Information from the conservative-leaning, AI-generated encyclopedia developed by Elon Musk’s xAI is beginning to appear in answers from ChatGPT.

This founder cracked firefighting — now he’s creating an AI gold mine

The nozzle is just the beginning – what company founder Sunny Sethi calls "the muscle on the ground.”

Science fiction writers, Comic-Con say goodbye to AI

Some of the major players in science fiction and pop culture are taking firmer stances against generative AI.

TechCrunch Mobility: RIP, Tesla Autopilot, and the NTSB investigates Waymo

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation.

Apple will reportedly unveil its Gemini-powered Siri assistant in February

We’re about to get our first real look at the results of the recently announced AI partnership between Apple and Google.

Google says it’s fixed Gmail issues with spam and misclassification

If your Gmail account doesn’t seem to be working properly today, you’re not alone.

Gmail is having issues with spam and misclassification

If your Gmail account doesn’t seem to be working properly today, you’re not alone.

Tech CEOs boast and bicker about AI at Davos

There were times at this week’s meeting of the World Economic Forum when Davos seemed transformed into a high-powered tech conference.

Former Googlers seek to captivate kids with an AI-powered learning app

Sparkli said that education systems often fall behind in teaching modern concepts. The company wants to teach kids about topics like skills design, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship by...

SEC drops lawsuit against Winklevoss twins’ Gemini crypto exchange

The Securities and Exchange Commission has dropped its lawsuit against Gemini, the crypto exchange founded by Trump backers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss.

A new test for AI labs: Are you even trying to make money?

It’s getting hard to tell which AI labs. are actually trying to make money. We created a rating system to help sort it out.

How PopWheels helped a food cart ditch generators for e-bike batteries

PopWheels realized its battery swapping network could be used for more than food delivery workers who need to charge their e-bikes. Now, its planning for an "aggressive rollout" this summer.

Apple iPhone just had its best year in India as the smartphone market stays broadly flat

Apple shipped a record 14 million iPhones in India in 2025 and gained market share.

Legal AI giant Harvey acquires Hexus as competition heats up in legal tech

Hexus founder and CEO Sakshi Pratap, who previously held engineering roles at Walmart, Oracle, and Google, tells TechCrunch that her San Francisco-based team has already joined Harvey, while the...

TikTok users freak out over app’s ‘immigration status’ collection — here’s what it means

TikTok users are freaking out over a mention of "immigration status" data collection, but lawyers explain the disclosure is related to state privacy laws.

Who’s behind AMI Labs, Yann LeCun’s ‘world model’ startup

Yann LeCun's new venture, AMI Labs, has drawn intense attention since the AI scientist left Meta to found it.

Waymo probed by National Transportation Safety Board over illegal school bus behavior

The NTSB joins the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in investigating Waymo vehicles illegally passing stopped school buses.

The Rippling/Deel corporate spying scandal may have taken another wild turn

The Department of Justice may be conducting a criminal investigation. This is arguably the biggest drama between two HR startups ever.

Researchers say Russian government hackers were behind attempted Poland power outage

Security researchers have attributed the attempted use of destructive "wiper" malware across Poland's energy infrastructure in late December to a Russian-backed hacking group known for causing...

What to know about Netflix’s landmark acquisition of Warner Bros

Learn more about Netflix's acquisition of Warner Bros., considered the most historic megadeal in Hollywood, as it continues to develop.

Meta pauses teen access to AI characters ahead of new version

Meta today said that it is pausing teens' access to its AI characters globally across all its apps. The company mentioned that it is not abandoning its efforts but wants to develop an updated...

Google Photos’ latest feature lets you meme yourself

The new feature lets you insert yourself into a meme in Google Photos.

Microsoft gave FBI a set of BitLocker encryption keys to unlock suspects’ laptops: reports

The FBI served Microsoft a warrant requesting encryption recovery keys to decrypt the hard drives of people involved in an alleged fraud case in Guam.

TikTok finalizes deal to create new US entity and avoid ban

The deal ends a six-year long political saga that that started in 2020 when President Donald Trump tried to ban the app over national security concerns during his first term.

This startup will send 1,000 people’s ashes to space — affordably — in 2027

Started by an engineer who worked on the space shuttle program, and at Blue Origin, Space Beyond has a spot on a 2027 Falcon 9 flight.

TikTok-like microdramas are going to make billions this year, even though they kind of suck

The business model behind these apps replicates the same dark patterns as mobile games.

OpenAI chief Sam Altman plans India visit as AI leaders converge in New Delhi: sources

Sam Altman is set for his first India visit in nearly a year.

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Tesla discontinues Autopilot in bid to boost adoption of its Full Self-Driving software

The company is also currently facing a 30-day suspension of its manufacturing and dealer licenses in California for deceptive marketing about Autopilot's capabilities.

Former Sequoia partner’s new startup uses AI to negotiate your calendar for you

Blockit, an AI agent that communicates directly with other calendars, has raised $5 million in seed funding led by Sequoia.

Palmer Luckey says the coolest thing about Anduril expanding to Long Beach is the fighter jets

Anduril on Thursday announced its plans to expand its Southern California presence with a major campus in Long Beach, the town where founder Palmer Luckey grew up.

Vimeo starts layoffs after acquisition by Bending Spoons

Vimeo is in the process of laying off some of its global staff after being acquired last year by Bending Spoons for $1.38B.

OpenAI is coming for those sweet enterprise dollars in 2026

OpenAI has reportedly appointed Barret Zoph to lead its push into enterprise just a week after Zoph rejoined the company.

GM to end Chevy Bolt EV production next year, move China-made Buick to US factory

The factory musical chairs reflect an economic and political environment, shaped by the Trump administration's tariff policy and its decision to end the federal EV tax credit.

Capital One acquires Brex for steep discount to its peak valuation, but early believers are laughing all the way to the bank

Before everyone sharpens their knives, consider that for the VCs who backed Brex at its outset, the sale is a triumph.

Inference startup Inferact lands $150M to commercialize vLLM

The seed round values the newly formed startup at $800 million.

Voice AI engine and OpenAI partner LiveKit hits $1B valuation

The five-year-old-startup powers OpenAI’s ChatGPT voice mode and raised a $100 million round led by Index Ventures.

Microsoft 365 hit by outage, preventing access to emails and files

An hours-long outage is preventing Microsoft's enterprise customers from accessing their inboxes, files, and video meetings.

Are AI agents ready for the workplace? A new benchmark raises doubts.

New research looks at how leading AI models hold up doing actual white-collar work tasks, drawn from consulting, investment banking, and law. Most models failed.

Ring is adding a new content verification feature to videos

Ring says the new feature will identify if video edits have been made, even if they're minor.

Humans& thinks coordination is the next frontier for AI, and they’re building a model to prove it

Humans&, a new startup founded by alumni of Anthropic, Meta, OpenAI, xAI, and Google DeepMind, is building the next generation of foundation models for collaboration, not chat.

Google DeepMind CEO is ‘surprised’ OpenAI is rushing forward with ads in ChatGPT

Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis says the tech giant isn't pressuring him to insert ads into the AI chatbot experience.

Substack launches a TV app

The move comes as Substack has been investing more heavily in video and livestreaming, as it looks to compete with platforms like YouTube and Patreon for both creators and viewers.

Tesla launches robotaxi rides in Austin with no human safety driver

Not all of Tesla's fleet in Austin will be fully driverless. Per Tesla's AI lead Ashok Elluswamy, the company will be "starting with a few unsupervised vehicles mixed in with the broader robotaxi...

Meta seeks to limit evidence in child safety case

Meta is set to go on trial in New Mexico for allegedly failing to protect minors. The company is requesting a broad swath of information not be allowed to be presented in court.

Tiger Global and Microsoft to fully exit Walmart-backed PhonePe via its IPO

Tiger Global and Microsoft are offering up their full stakes in the company, while Walmart is choosing to retain its majority stake and selling up to 45.9 million shares.

Former CEO of celeb fav gym Dogpound launches $5M fund to back wellness companies

Jenny Liu, is a solo first time GP looking to back underrepresented wellness founders.

Google now offers free SAT practice exams, powered by Gemini

Google now offers a way for college-bound students to take free SAT practice exams with the help of Gemini.

Ireland proposes new law allowing police to use spyware

The Irish government announced that it wants to pass a law that would grant police more surveillance powers, such as using spyware to fight serious crime, while aiming to protect the privacy...

Waymo continues robotaxi ramp up with Miami service now open to public

Waymo is opening its driverless robotaxis to the public in Miami, starting with a 60-square-mile service area and plans to reach the airport "soon."

Struggling fusion power company General Fusion to go public via $1B reverse merger

General Fusion's merger with an acquisition company will net the company over $300 million. Just last year, the company ran into trouble raising money from other investors.

Google’s AI Mode can now tap into your Gmail and Photos to provide tailored responses

The company notes that AI Mode doesn’t train directly on your Gmail inbox or Google Photos library. Instead, it trains on specific prompts and the model’s responses.

Anthropic has to keep revising its technical interview test so you can’t cheat on it with Claude

Since 2024, Anthropic's performance optimization team has given job seekers a take-home test to make sure they know their stuff — but as AI coding tools have gotten better, the test has had to...

Google reportedly snags up team behind AI voice startup Hume AI

Google has hired the CEO and top top behind voice AI startup Hume AI, signaling that voice is increasingly becoming the preferred interface over screens.

Under Armour says it’s ‘aware’ of data breach claims after 72M customer records were posted online

TechCrunch obtained a sample of the stolen data, which contained names, email addresses, dates of birth, and the user's approximate geographic location. Under Armour confirmed some sensitive...

From invisibility cloaks to AI chips: Neurophos raises $110M to build tiny optical processors for inferencing

Neurophos is taking a crack at solving the AI industry's power efficiency problem with an optical chip that uses a composite material to do the math required in AI inferencing tasks.

Blue Origin schedules third New Glenn launch for late February, but not to the moon

Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin had previously suggested that the third launch of the mega-rocket would take the space company's robotic lunar lander to the moon.

Spotify brings AI-powered Prompted Playlists to the U.S. and Canada

Now available in the US and Canada, Spotify's AI-powered Prompted Playlists let users describe what they want to hear using natural language commands.

Quadric rides the shift from cloud AI to on-device inference — and it’s paying off

Quadric aims to help companies and governments build programmable on-device AI chips that can run fast-changing models locally.

Snapchat gives parents new insights into teens’ screen time and friends

With these new features, Snap is likely looking to appease regulators and parents over concerns about safety and screen time on its platform.

Tiger Global, Microsoft to fully exit Walmart-backed PhonePe via its IPO

Tiger Global and Microsoft are offering up their full stakes in the company, while Walmart is choosing to retain its majority stake, and selling up to 45.9 million shares.

Former Google trio is building an interactive AI-powered learning app for kids

Big tech companies and upcoming startups want to use generative AI to build software and hardware for kids. A lot of those experiences are limited to text

Not to be outdone by OpenAI, Apple is reportedly developing an AI wearable

Should this wearable materialize, it could be released as early as 2027, according to a report on the device.

Sources: Project SGLang spins out as RadixArk with $400M valuation as inference market explodes

SGLang, which originated as an open source research project at Ion Stoica’s UC Berkeley lab, has raised capital from Accel.

Todoist’s app now lets you add tasks to your to-do list by speaking to its AI

The feature, now public, lets you create to-do's and action items by speaking naturally to the app's AI.

A timeline of the US semiconductor market in 2025

From leadership changes at legacy semiconductor companies to wishy washy policy around chip exports, a lot has happened already.

X copies Bluesky with a ‘Starterpacks’ feature that helps you find who to follow

X says the new feature, similar to Bluesky's Starter Packs, will arrive in the coming weeks.

Apple plans to make Siri an AI chatbot, report says

Siri could look more like ChatGPT than its current state as an integrated feature across Apple products.

Anthropic revises Claude’s ‘Constitution,’ and hints at chatbot consciousness

The newly revised document offers a roadmap for what Anthropic says is a safer and more helpful chatbot experience.

Apps for boycotting American products surge to the top of the Danish App Store

Two origin ID apps, NonUSA and Made O'Meter, are seeing downloads surge as Europeans boycott US-made goods.

Irony alert: Hallucinated citations found in papers from NeurIPS, the prestigious AI conference

Research from startup GPTZero points to the impossible problem prestigious conferences face in the age of AI slop.

Blue Origin’s satellite internet network TeraWave will move data at 6Tbps

The network will be designed for enterprise, data center, and government customers and could offer an alternative to SpaceX's Starlink service.

OpenEvidence hits $12B valuation, with new round led by Thrive, DST

The medical info database has doubled in valuation since last raise in October, despite encroachment from model makers.

Zipline charts drone delivery expansion with $600M in new funding

The startup plans to expand to at least four new U.S. states in 2026.

We’re not nostalgic for 2016 — we’re nostalgic for the internet before all the slop

At the time, people felt like 2016 was cursed -- but at least we did not yet have a word for "doomscrolling."

Threads rolls out ads to all users worldwide

Ads on Threads will roll out gradually to users over the coming months, Meta says.

YouTube TV’s multiview is getting a huge upgrade, letting viewers mix and match channels

Soon, YouTube TV will allow viewers to customize the multiview feature to watch any four channels they want side by side.

OpenAI’s former sales leader joins VC firm Acrew: OpenAI taught her where startups can build a ‘moat’

Aliisa Rosenthal has found a new career as a VC. She knows what startups can do to protect themselves from the model makers eating their markets.

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OpenAI aims to ship its first device in 2026, and it could be earbuds

The AI startup is on track to announce its first hardware device in the second half of this year, OpenAI Chief Global Affairs Officer Chris Lehane said during an interview Davos.

YouTube will soon let creators make Shorts with their own AI likeness

YouTube Shorts viewers might soon see AI versions of their favorite creators when scrolling through their feeds.

NYT Games’ Scrabble-like game Crossplay is a dream come true

This new Scrabble inspired game is a distraction-free alternative to ad-loaded competitors like Words With Friends.

Lemonade launches an insurance product for Tesla Full Self-Driving customers

Lemonade says it worked with Tesla to gain access to previously-restricted vehicle telemetry data, but declined to offer specifics.

Adobe Acrobat now lets you edit files using prompts, generate podcast summaries

Adobe is adding AI tools to Acrobat, including the ability to generate podcast summaries of files, create presentations, and a way for users to edit files using prompts.

PraxisPro raises $6M seed from AlleyCorp to coach medical sales reps

PraxisPro, founded by a former pharma sales rep, offers small language model AI training specifically designed for medical product sales.

Eternal CEO Deepinder Goyal hands over reins to Blinkit chief as quick commerce takes off

Deepinder Goyal will remain on Eternal's board as its vice chairman.

Zanskar thinks 1 TW of geothermal power is being overlooked

Zanskar has raised $115 million to find about a dozen geothermal resources that could help power the grid throughout the U.S. West.

India’s app downloads rebounded to 25.5 billion in 2025, fueled by AI assistants and microdrama boom

ChatGPT was the second most downloaded app in India for 2025 after Instagram.

Language learning marketplace Preply’s unicorn status embodies Ukrainian resilience

Language learning marketplace Preply is now valued at $1.2 billion after raising a $150 million that marks a new chapter for the 14-year-old company.

Consumers spent more on mobile apps than games in 2025, driven by AI app adoption

Consumers spent more money in mobile apps than games in 2025, driven by AI app adoption.

Snap reaches settlement in social media addiction lawsuit

Snap is still a defendant in similar cases related to social media addiction.

Amagi slides in India debut, as cloud TV software firm tests investor appetite

Amagi shares debuted at a 12% discount, offering an early read on investor demand for a rare type of tech listing in India.

Anthropic’s CEO stuns Davos with Nvidia criticism

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei unloaded on both the administration and U.S. chip companies over plans to sell to China. The criticism was particularly notable because one of those chipmakers, Nvidia,...

Bolna nabs $6.3 million from General Catalyst for its India-focused voice orchestration platform

Bolna said that 75% of its revenue is coming from self-serve customers.

Netflix to redesign its app as it competes with social platforms for daily engagement

At the center of the redesign is deeper integration of vertical video feeds, which the streaming giant has been experimenting with since May.

One-time hot insurance tech Ethos poised to be first tech IPO of the year

Ethos was backed by a who's who of VCs and celebs through 2021. It is currently profitable, it says.

In an effort to protect young users, ChatGPT will now predict how old you are

The feature is designed to stop problematic content from being delivered to users under the age of 18.

Elon Musk says Tesla’s restarted Dojo3 will be for ‘space-based AI compute’

Tesla aims to restart work on Dojo3, its previously abandoned third-generation AI chip. Only this time, Dojo3 won’t be aimed at training self-driving models on Earth. Instead, Musk says it will be...

Why Serve Robotics is acquiring a hospital assistant robot company

Diligent Robotics is a startup that builds robots designed to assist in hospitals by delivering lab samples, supplies, and other tasks. The deal values Diligent's common stock at $29 million.

X open sources its algorithm while facing a transparency fine and Grok controversies

In a post to GitHub on Tuesday, the social media giant purported to share its secret sauce.

Luminar founder Austin Russell agrees to accept subpoena in bankruptcy case

The agreement comes two weeks after Luminar accused its billionaire founder of dodging information requests, as it evaluates potential legal claims.

Ethernovia raises $90M as investors rush to fund ‘physical AI’

The automotive-focused company is looking to expand its Ethernet-based processors to fields like robotics.

Trump administration admits DOGE may have misused Americans’ Social Security data

The revelation comes as part of a series of corrections in a legal case over DOGE’s access to Social Security Administration data.

UStrive security lapse exposed personal data of its users, including children

The online mentoring site UStrive exposed email addresses, phone numbers, and other non-public information to other logged-in users. The nonprofit told TechCrunch that the issue is now fixed, but...

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy says tariffs are starting to drive up product prices

Jassy said on Tuesday that while Amazon is trying to keep prices low, price hikes may be unavoidable in some cases.

Everstone combines Wingify and ABTasty for $100M+ digital experience optimization platform

The combined business will serve more than 4,000 customers globally and surpass $100 million in annual revenue.

Eat App wants a bite of India’s restaurant reservation business with an acquisition and Swiggy partnership

Eat App is making India its central focus to market its reservation and dine-in growth suite.

ICE becomes one of the most-blocked accounts on Bluesky after its verification

ICE has been verified on Bluesky, and quickly becomes one of the top most-blocked accounts.

Retail startup Another raises a $2.5M seed to help sell excess inventory

Another raises a $2.5 million seed round led by Anthemis FIL and Westbound to help retailers with off-channel inventory.

Humans&, a ‘human-centric’ AI startup founded by Anthropic, xAI, Google alums, raised $480M seed round

Humans&, a startup that believes AI should empower people, not replace them, has reportedly raised a $480 million seed round at a $4.48 billion valuation.

One of the first alternative app stores in the EU is shutting down

Setapp Mobile, one of the first alternative app stores in the EU, is shutting down next month, citing Apple's ever-changing terms.

Eat App wants a bite of India’s restaurant reservation business with an aquistion and Swiggy partnership

Eat App is making India its central focus to market its reservation and dine-in growth suite

Grubhub parent acquires restaurant rewards startup Claim

The acquisition will give restaurants on Grubhub access to Claim’s customer acquisition and retention tools, while Grubhub diners can receive rewards.

Netflix is rolling out a live voting feature

Netflix said it the feature will be available globally and it will tally votes in real-time

SpaceX didn’t properly inspect crane before collapse at Starbase, OSHA says

The federal safety agency has hit SpaceX with a $115,850 fine after finding seven "serious" violations during its investigation.

Netflix revises offer to pay all cash for Warner Bros to stave off Paramount

However, the streaming giant is still offering the same $27.75 the companies had agreed on for WBD's movie studio and streaming assets, and the deal continues to value the company at $82.7 billion.

Indian vibe-coding startup Emergent raises $70M at $300M valuation from SoftBank, Khosla Ventures

The funding comes as the startup claims it has scaled ARR to $50 million, and is targeting $100 million by April 2026.

Meta’s Oversight Board takes up permanent bans in landmark case

For the first time, Meta's Oversight Board is looking for specific policy recommendations around disabled accounts.

Everstone combines Wingify, AB Tasty for $100M+ digital experience optimization platform

The combined business will serve more than 4,000 customers globally and surpass $100 million in annual revenue.

Here are the 55 US AI startups that have raised $100M or more in 2025

U.S.-based AI startups continue to rake in venture funding with multiple companies already raising impressive rounds in 2025.

Well, there goes the metaverse!

The metaverse is on its last legs as VR is eclipsed by AI. But that's not the only thing that went wrong for Meta's VR ambitions.

Rogue agents and shadow AI: Why VCs are betting big on AI security

Misaligned agents are just one layer of the AI security challenge that startup Witness AI is trying to solve. It detects employee use of unapproved tools, blocking attacks, and ensuring compliance.

Biotics AI, Battlefield 2023, gains FDA approval for its AI-powered fetal ultrasound product

TechCrunch Disrupt Battlefield 2023 winner, Biotics AI, announced on Monday that it has received FDA clearance for its AI software that helps detect fetal abnormalities in ultrasound images.

Looking ahead to 2026: What’s next for Startup Battlefield 200

Startup Battlefield 200 applications will open in mid-February. Join the iconic startup pitch competition by joining the mailing list.

How YC-backed Bucket Robotics survived its first CES

Now, the startup is turning its attention to building the business, fundraising and striking commercial deals.

Sequoia to invest in Anthropic, breaking VC taboo on backing rivals: FT

Sequoia Capital is reportedly joining a blockbuster funding round for Anthropic, the AI startup behind Claude, according to the Financial Times. It's a

TechCrunch Mobility: ‘Physical AI’ enters the hype machine

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility, your hub for all things “future of transportation.”

Threads edges out X in daily mobile users, new data shows

Threads’ daily mobile usage has quietly surpassed X as Meta leans on cross-promotion, creator tools and fast feature rollouts — even as X faces fresh controversies

Moxie Marlinspike has a privacy-conscious alternative to ChatGPT

Confer is designed to look and feel like ChatGPT or Claude, but your conversations can't be used for training or advertising.

Who gets to inherit the stars? A space ethicist on what we’re not talking about

While it's easy to romanticize space as an escape to a pristine frontier where people will float weightlessly among the stars, it’s worth remembering there are no oceans or mountains or chirpy...

Trump administration’s legal setbacks are good news for offshore wind — and the grid

Three offshore wind projects under construction on the U.S. East Coast are back to building after judges rebuked the Department of the Interior's actions.

Musk wants up to $134B in OpenAI lawsuit, despite $700B fortune

Musk's legal team argues he should be compensated as an early startup investor who sees returns "many orders of magnitude greater" than his initial investment.

Why Silicon Valley is really talking about fleeing California (it’s not the 5%)

If you've been following the billionaire exodus from California with some confusion, here's what's actually driving the nervousness: it's not the 5% rate.

Oshen built the first ocean robot to collect data in a Category 5 hurricane

Oshen has signed contracts with multiple government agencies for its C-Star robots to collect ocean data autonomously.

TikTok quietly launches a microdrama app called ‘PineDrama’

Think TikTok, but every single video you come across is a short episode of a fictional story.

Snowflake, Databricks challenger Clickhouse hits $15B valuation

The $400 million round was led by Dragoneer.

California AG sends Musk’s xAI a cease-and-desist order over sexual deepfakes

The flood of AI-generated sexual imagery has spurred concern from state and congressional officials alike.

AI cloud startup Runpod hits $120M in ARR — and it started with a Reddit post

Their startup journey is a wild example of how if you build it well and the timing is lucky, they will definitely come.

Trump administration wants tech companies to buy $15B of power plants they may not use

In an attempt to alleviate rising electricity prices, the White House wants grid operator PJM to hold an auction for new generating capacity, and it wants tech companies to bid.

X is down for the second time this week

Elon Musk's X, formerly Twitter, is down for the second time this week. Nearly 80,000 reports have spiked on Down Detector since around 10 a.m. ET Friday morning.

How a hacking campaign targeted high-profile Gmail and WhatsApp users across the Middle East

The phishing campaign targeted users on WhatsApp, including an Iranian-British activist, and stole the credentials of a Lebanese cabinet minister and at least one journalist.

Chinese EVs inch closer to the US as Canada slashes tariffs

The country is dropping its import tax from 100% to just 6.1%, with an initial annual cap of 49,000 cars.

Bluesky rolls out cashtags and LIVE badges amid a boost in app installs

Bluesky adds new features to its app amid a boost in installs due to the deepfake drama on X.

YouTube relaxes monetization guidelines for some controversial topics

These controversial topics include self-harm, abortion, suicide, and domestic and sexual abuse.

The rise of ‘micro’ apps: non-developers are writing apps instead of buying them

A new era of app creation is here. It's fun, it's fast, and it's fleeting.

Italy investigates Activision Blizzard for pushing in-game purchases

Italy has launched two investigations into Microsoft's Activision Blizzard, alleging the company has engaged in "misleading and aggressive" sales practices for two of its most popular smartphone games.

From OpenAI’s offices to a deal with Eli Lilly — how Chai Discovery became one of the flashiest names in AI drug development

The startup has partnered with Eli Lilly and enjoys the backing of some of Silicon Valley's most influential VCs.

Supreme Court hacker posted stolen government data on Instagram

Nicholas Moore pleaded guilty to stealing victims’ information from the Supreme Court and other federal government agencies, and then posting it on his Instagram @ihackthegovernment.

ChatGPT users are about to get hit with targeted ads

OpenAI says that users impacted by the ads will have some control over what they see.

EPA rules that xAI’s natural gas generators were illegally used

Elon Musk's AI company had installed and operated 35 natural gas turbines without permits, something the EPA now says was illegal.

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...

Anthropic taps former Microsoft India MD to lead Bengaluru expansion

Irina Ghose joins Anthropic as India managing director after 24 years at Microsoft.

Silicon Valley’s messiest breakup is definitely headed to court

OpenAI and Microsoft tried to dodge a courtroom showdown with Elon Musk, but a federal judge on Thursday rejected their requests to dismiss the case.

AI journalism startup Symbolic.ai signs deal with Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp

The startup claims its AI platform can help optimize editorial processes and research.

The AI lab revolving door spins ever faster

AI labs just can't get their employees to stay put. Yesterday’s big AI news was the abrupt and seemingly acrimonious departure of three top executives at Mira Murati’s Thinking Machines lab.

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 it's 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.

Iran’s internet shutdown is now one of its longest ever, as protests continue

Iran’s government-imposed internet shutdown enters its second week as authorities continue their violent crackdown on protesters.

The US imposes 25% tariff on Nvidia’s 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 Altman’s 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.

How one startup is using prebiotics to try and ease the copper shortage

Transition Metal Solutions is applying a special cocktail to coax microbes into unlocking more copper from ore.

Wikimedia Foundation announces new AI partnerships with Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Perplexity and others

The AI partnerships allow companies to access the org's content, like Wikipedia, at scale.

Parloa triples its valuation in 8 months to $3B with $350M raise

The massive round was led by existing investor General Catalyst, with participation from other returning backers.

Tiger Global loses India tax case tied to Walmart-Flipkart deal in blow to offshore playbook

Tiger Global's case in India is being closely watched by investors.

Spotify raises its subscription prices in the U.S. again

Spotify's new price for its individual plan is $12.99 per month

US senators demand answers from X, Meta, Alphabet on sexualized deepfakes

In a letter to the leaders of X, Meta, Alphabet, Snap, Reddit and TikTok, several U.S. senators are demanding the companies provide proof that they have "robust protections and policies" in place,...

How one startup is using probiotics to try and ease the copper shortage

Transition Metal Solutions is applying a special cocktail to coax microbes into unlocking more copper from ore.

Indian SpaceX rival EtherealX hits 5x valuation as it readies engine tests

EtherealX is ramping engine tests and building a 150-acre rocket campus in India as it targets a 2027 launch mission.

Microsoft taps India’s Varaha for 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.

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.

Mira Murati’s 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.

India’s Emversity doubles valuation as it scales workers AI can’t replace

Emversity has raised $30 million in a new round as it scales job-ready training in India.

The FTC’s 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.

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.

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.

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.

Netflix’s first original video podcasts feature Pete Davidson and Michael Irvin

As Netflix tries to take down YouTube’s dominance in the podcast space, it's getting new originals with Pete Davidson and Michael Irvin.

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.

AI models are starting to crack high-level math problems

Since the release of GPT 5.2, AI tools have become inescapable in high-level mathematics.

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.

Google’s 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.

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.

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.

Gemini’s 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.

Robotics software maker Skild AI hits $14B valuation

Skild AI, which is building general-purpose robotic software, just raised a $1.4 billion funding round led by SoftBank.

US cargo tech company publicly exposed its shipping systems and customer data to the web

Shipping tech company Bluspark left internal plaintext passwords, including those of executives, exposed to the internet, at a time when hacks in the shipping industry are on the rise.

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 to 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.

SkyFi raises $12.7M to turn satellite images into insights

The Austin-based marketplace offers imagery from more than 50 space-based imagery providers.

VoiceRun nabs $5.5M to build a voice agent factory

VoiceRun, a startup that creates voice agents, raised $5.5 million in a round led by FlyBridge.

Ring founder details the camera company’s ‘intelligent assistant’ era

AI is ushering in Ring’s next chapter, as the Amazon-owned video doorbell maker shifts toward becoming an “intelligent assistant.”

New York governor clears path for robotaxis everywhere, with one notable exception

New York City will be a notable exclusion from proposed legislation to legalize commercial robotaxis across the state.

Microsoft announces glut of new data centers but says it won’t 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.

Ammobia says it has reinvented a century-old technology

The startup has a new take on the Haber-Bosch process used o make ammonia. If Ammobia can deliver, it could change industries from power generation to maritime shipping.

A consumer watchdog issued a warning about Google’s AI agent shopping protocol — Google says she’s 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.

Doctors think AI has a place in healthcare – but maybe not as a chatbot

OpenAI and Anthropic have each launched healthcare-focused products over the last week.

Man to plead guilty to hacking US Supreme Court filing system

A 24-year-old from Tennessee is expected to admit to accessing the Supreme Court’s electronic filing system without authorization dozens of times throughout 2023.

Google’s update for Veo 3.1 lets users create vertical videos through reference images

Google is now allowing users to create vertical videos using references image.

Neo humanoid maker 1X releases world model to help bots learn 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.

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.

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.

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.

Slackbot is an AI agent now

Salesforce unveils Slackbot, a new AI agent that allows users to complete tasks across multiple enterprise applications from Slack.

Superorganism raises $25M to back biodiversity 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