TechCrunch Industry News
Episodes
MIT tool shows climate change could cost Texans a month and a half of outdoor time by 2080
02 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Finally, something that makes climate change relatable. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
TikTok ban could harm Amazon sellers looking for alternatives
02 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In March, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill that could force ByteDance to divest TikTok or face a ban in U.S. app stores....
Apple dismisses Microsoft monopoly comparisons
01 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A week after finding itself at the business end of a landmark lawsuit from the United States Department of Justice, Apple is staunchly denying any par...
X’s Grok chatbot will soon get an upgraded model, Grok-1.5
01 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
X.ai, Elon Musk’s AI startup, has revealed its latest generative AI model, Grok-1.5. Set to power social network X’s Grok chatbot in the not-to-di...
LinkedIn is experimenting with a TikTok-like video feed in its app
29 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
LinkedIn is testing a new TikTok-like short-form video feed, the company confirmed to TechCrunch on Wednesday. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserve...
Oregon signs right to repair into law
29 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Oregon Governor Tina Kotek on Tuesday signed Senate Bill 1596 into law, joining California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts and Minnesota in a growing ...
NASA’s snake robot is designed to search out life in the icy oceans of a Saturn moon
28 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The snake robot form factor has existed for decades. In addition to the diversity it adds to the world of automation, the design has several pragmatic...
Facebook snooped on users’ Snapchat traffic in secret project, documents reveal
28 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In 2016, Facebook launched a secret project designed to intercept and decrypt the network traffic between people using Snapchat’s app and its server...
Profluent, spurred by Salesforce research and backed by Jeff Dean, uses AI to discover medicines
27 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Last year, Salesforce, the company best known for its cloud sales support software (and Slack), spearheaded a project called ProGen to design proteins...
Spotify tests video courses to teach everything from music production to excel
27 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In its ongoing efforts to get its 600 million+ users to spend more time and money on its platform, Spotify is spinning up a new line of content: e-lea...
Telegram’s peer-to-peer SMS login service is a privacy nightmare
26 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Telegram has introduced a controversial new feature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Lordstown Motors’ ousted CEO settles with SEC for misleading investors
26 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Steve Burns, the ousted founder, chairman and CEO of bankrupt EV startup Lordstown Motors, has settled with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commissio...
Boeing CEO to leave company by year-end, after a wave of safety incidents
25 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Boeing’s chief executive Dave Calhoun will leave the plane-maker by the end of 2024, according to the company. Learn more about your ad choices. Vis...
AT&T won’t say how its customers’ data spilled online
25 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Customers say leaked AT&T customer data — names, addresses, phone numbers and Social Security numbers — is accurate. Learn more about your ad cho...
Why is AI so bad at spelling?
22 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
AIs are easily acing the SAT, defeating chess grandmasters and debugging code like it’s nothing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoi...
Pelikan Mobility's software-enabled commercial EV leasing solution; Candela’s electric ferries multiply
22 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Chances are you may have noticed that many commercial vehicles are now electric vehicles; Electric boat maker Candela is approaching cruising speed wi...
White House proposes up to $8.5B to fund Intel’s domestic chip manufacturing
21 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Well before President Joe Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act into law back in August 2022, Intel has been a cornerstone of U.S. efforts to increas...
Nvidia and Qualcomm join Open Source Robotics Alliance to support ROS development
21 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Open Source Robotics Foundation (OSRF) this week announced the launch of the similarly named Open Source Robotics Alliance (OSRA). Learn more abou...
Quilt is building AI assistants for solutions teams
20 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The job of so-called “solutions professionals” — people like sales engineers, solutions architects and consultants — revolves around pitching ...
Meta offers lower cost for EU ad-free subscription under privacy review
20 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Meta has proposed to drop the price of an ad-free subscription in the European Union Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adcho...
Tech giant Fujitsu says it was hacked, warns of data breach
19 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Multinational technology giant Fujitsu confirmed a cyberattack in a statement Friday, and warned that hackers may have stolen personal data and custom...
Scrap coercive ‘privacy fee’, MEPs urge Meta’s Nick Clegg in open letter
19 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Meta is facing a call from lawmakers in the European Union to scrap its controversial “consent or pay” tactic on Facebook and Instagram. Learn mor...
Mercedes begins piloting Apptronik humanoid robots
18 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Pilot season has officially begun for the world of humanoid robotics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apple acquires AI startup specializing in overlooking manufacturing components
18 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Apple has added another AI startup to its acquisition list with Canada-based DarwinAI, which specializes in vision-based tech to observe components du...
A bug in an Irish government website took two years to publicly disclose
15 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Irish government fixed a vulnerability two years ago in its national COVID-19 vaccination portal that exposed the vaccination records of around a ...
Amazon now lets sellers create listings through a URL by using AI
15 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Amazon launched generative AI-powered features last year to help sellers quickly create listings by entering just a few words about the product. Learn...
Furno bets that super-efficient, modular kilns will turn the cement industry upside down
14 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Cement startup promises to slash carbon emissions in the process, helping the company raise a $6.5 million seed round. Learn more about your ad choice...
Orbio Earth finds methane leaks that could cost oil companies $9 billion this year
14 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Investors bet the startup’s algorithms, which feed on satellite data, will fill a significant gap in the methane market. Learn more about your ad ch...
Tierra Biosciences nabs $11 million to create new AI-guided proteins
13 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
By using cell-free technology, Tierra is able to cut down protein manufacturing from months to weeks and enable customers to order proteins online. ...
Google confirms it’s restricting Gemini election queries globally
13 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If you want to ask Google’s AI chatbot a question about an upcoming election, you will have to do it from a country where there are no elections tak...
‘Banking as a Service’ startup Griffin riases $24M and attains full banking licence
12 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Founded by former Silicon Valley engineers, UK-based Griffin Bank bills itself as an API-driven ‘Banking as a Service’ platform. Learn more about...
Elon Musk says xAI will open-source Grok this week
12 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Elon Musk said Monday he will open-source Grok, X’s AI chatbot rivaling ChatGPT, this week, days after suing OpenAI and complaining that the Micros...
Artemis Fund has a fresh $36 million to back diverse founders solving ‘big, hairy problems’
11 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
For Fund II, Artemis intends to continue leading and co-leading investments and will target around 20 new companies. Learn more about your ad choices....
Faraday Future survives long enough to issue its first recall
11 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Troubled EV startup Faraday Future has issued its first recall, covering all 11 vehicles it built last year, as it fights to hold onto its Los Angeles...
Saildrone’s first aluminum Surveyor autonomous vessel splashes down for Navy testing
08 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Ocean intelligence company Saildrone has just put the first of a new generation of Surveyor autonomous vessels in the water: an aluminum version that ...
Telegram now lets users to convert personal accounts to business accounts
08 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Telegram founder Pavel Durov announced Wednesday that users on the chat app with personal accounts can now convert them into business accounts. Learn...
Binance made crypto perfume in a baffling attempt to woo women
07 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What does crypto smell like? Ozone, salt and moss, according to Binance’s new fragrance, “CRYPTO.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podc...
Amazon teams with recycling robot firm to track package waste
07 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Amazon generate a lot of trash. Precisely how much is a matter of some debate. In 2021, the company says it used 214 million or so pounds of single-us...
NSA says it’s tracking Ivanti cyberattacks as hackers hit US defense sector
06 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The U.S. National Security Agency has confirmed that hackers exploiting flaws in Ivanti’s widely used enterprise VPN appliance have targeted organiz...
Fohm rebrands to Saintly, for a heavenly clean bottom
06 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When it comes to doing business — not startups, that other kind of business, that you have a whole separate room for in your house — we need to ta...
Now the EU is asking questions about Meta’s ‘pay or be tracked’ consent model
05 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Meta’s controversial pay or be tracked ‘consent’ choice for users the European Union is facing questions from the European Commission. Learn mor...
Apple reverses decision about blocking web apps on iPhones in the EU
05 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Apple has reversed its decision about blocking web apps, also known as Progressive Web Apps (PWAs), on iPhones in the EU. Learn more about your ad cho...
Karma3 Labs raises $4.5M to improve trust in web3 with ratings and recommendations
04 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
There’s no reputation system in the decentralized world of web3, so it’s hard to figure out which entities and individuals to trust and depend on....
Spotify launches a $9.99/mo standalone audiobooks service for its free users
04 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
After adding 15 hours of free audiobooks listening to its subscription plan late last year, Spotify today is introducing a $9.99 per month option that...
Google brings Stack Overflow’s knowledge base to Gemini for Google Cloud
01 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Developer Q&A site Stack Overflow is launching a new program today that will give AI companies access to its knowledge base through a new API, aptly n...
Vibe helps small companies buy video ads on streaming services
01 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
As streaming apps and services are gradually showing more ads to viewers, adtech startup Vibe plans to help small businesses take advantage of that tr...
Reliance and Disney to merge media assets in India
29 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Reliance, its media asset Viacom18 and Disney are merging their media businesses in India, creating the largest media conglomerate in the South Asian ...
Yolk is a social app where users swap custom live stickers — no text allowed
29 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
With so much fresh competition in social apps right now — plus the usual set of social media platforms and messaging giants sucking up attention —...
SeatGeek’s new tools help fans resell tickets at the best price
28 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Ticketing platform and resale marketplace SeatGeek is introducing three features to simplify the ticket-selling experience for users wanting to resell...
Threads widens the gap with X, with triple the daily downloads on iOS
28 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Although an app’s downloads aren’t an exact proxy for usage, they can hint at where the market is headed. And in the case of the alt-Twitter wars,...
The Supreme Court could decide the fate of content moderation — or it could punt
27 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Supreme Court is considering the fate of two state laws that limit how social media companies can moderate the content on their platforms. Learn m...
Winning wireless with American strengths
27 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Eric Schmidt Contributor Eric Schmidt was the CEO of Google from 2001 to 2011 and executive chairman of Google and its successor company, Alphabet, fr...
Spyware leak offers ‘first-of-its-kind’ look inside Chinese government hacking efforts
26 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Over the weekend, someone posted a cache of files and documents apparently stolen from the Chinese government hacking contractor, I-Soon. Learn more ...
Hackers are exploiting ConnectWise flaws to deploy LockBit ransomware, security experts warn
26 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Security experts are warning that a pair of high-risk flaws in a popular remote access tool are being exploited by hackers to deploy LockBit ransomwar...
Byju’s investors unanimously vote to remove founder
23 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A group of Byju’s investors on Friday voted to remove the edtech group’s founder and chief executive Byju Raveendran. Learn more about your ad cho...
Bioptimus raises $35 million seed round to develop AI foundational model focused on biology
23 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
There’s a new generative AI startup based in Paris. But what makes Bioptimus interesting is that it plans to apply everything we’ve collectively l...
Tinder is expanding ID verification to the US, UK, Brazil and Mexico
22 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Tinder is expanding its identify verification program to users in the U.S., U.K., Brazil and Mexico, the company announced on Tuesday. Learn more abo...
YouTube rolls out new channel pages for creators on its TV app
22 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
YouTube is changing the design for creators’ channels on the big screen, the company announced today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podca...
YouTube dominates TV streaming in U.S., per Nielsen’s latest report
21 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Nielsen today released its January report on viewing usage across linear TV and streaming, which revealed that YouTube is once again the overall top s...
With Twilio under activist pressure, Segment could be put up for sale
21 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
With Twilio under pressure from activist investors, it's looking at whether to sell Segment, the company it bought in 2020 for $3.2 billion. Learn mor...
SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son is reportedly seeking $100B to build a new AI chip venture
20 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
SoftBank Group’s Masayoshi Son has made no secret of his intent to double down on red-hot artificial intelligence industry. Learn more about your a...
Feds open second probe into Fisker’s Ocean SUV after rollaway complaints
19 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened a second investigation into EV startup Fisker’s Ocean SUV, after the agency received f...
European digital rights group say the future of online privacy is on a knife edge
19 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A coalition of more than two dozen digital and democratic rights groups, NGOs and not-for-profits, including noyb and Wikimedia Europe, have written t...
Lucid Motors drops the price of its cheapest EV by more than $8,000
16 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Lucid Motors is lopping thousands of dollars off the price of its most affordable electric sedans as it looks to boost demand after a disappointing ye...
TikTok launches a ‘reimagined’ app for the Apple Vision Pro
16 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
TikTok has launched a native and “reimagined” app on the Apple Vision Pro, the company announced on Thursday. Learn more about your ad choices. V...
General Atlantic leads $50M Series C into Bold to grow digital payments in Colombia
15 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Bold provides low-cost payment terminals, called dataphones, that enable small and medium businesses to accept link payments. Learn more about your a...
US military notifies 20,000 of data breach after cloud email leak
15 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The U.S. Department of Defense is notifying tens of thousands of individuals that their personal information was exposed in an email data spill last y...
Hackers uncover new TheTruthSpy stalkerware victims: Is your Android device compromised?
14 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A consumer-grade spyware operation called TheTruthSpy poses an ongoing security and privacy risk to thousands of people whose Android devices are unkn...
Cruise names first chief safety officer following crash and controversy
13 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Cruise has named its first “chief safety officer” as part of the company’s effort to rehabilitate itself following an incident — and ensuing c...
Bugcrowd snaps up $102M for a ‘bug bounty’ security platform that taps 500K+ hackers
13 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Bugcrowd — the startup that taps into a database of half a million hackers to help organizations like OpenAI and the U.S. government set up and run ...
Apple defends parts pairing as Oregon mulls right-to-repair bill
12 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Oregon may soon become the latest state to pass right-to-repair legislation. Last month, Google lent its support in an open letter, calling Senate Bil...
Pinterest announces a new ad deal with Google as it approaches 500M MAUs
12 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Pinterest announced a new ad deal with Google as the company aims to ramp up its ad revenue. Google is the social platform’s second third-party ad p...
Meta challenges EU’s Digital Services Act supervisory fee as unfair
10 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Meta is challenging a fee levied by the European Union on larger online platforms under its rebooted ecommerce rules. Learn more about your ad choices...
FCC officially declares AI-voiced robocalls illegal
09 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The FCC’s war on robocalls has gained a new weapon in its arsenal with the declaration of AI-generated voices as “artificial” and therefore by d...
Californian regulator looking into Waymo’s collision with a cyclist
09 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
California’s auto regulator, the Department of Motor Vehicles, is investigating an incident that occurred on Tuesday, where a driverless Waymo car ...
Snap is looking to unify user experience across Spotlight and Stories
08 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Snap’s stock plunged 30% on Tuesday after announcing Q4 2023 results that didn’t meet analyst expectations. Learn more about your ad choices. Vis...
WhatsApp is preparing to roll out third-party chat support
08 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
With a month away from the Digital Markets Act (DMA) deadline, WhatsApp is preparing to allow other messaging networks in its app. Learn more about y...
Invite-only dating app Blush launches with $7M in seed funding
07 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Invite-only dating app Blush has raised $7 million in seed funding to scale and expand its exclusive platform. Learn more about your ad choices. Visi...
Yandex to sell its remaining Russian businesses for $5.2B — half its market value
07 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Yandex N.V., the Dutch parent company of the eponymous Russian internet giant, is selling the last of its remaining Russian businesses at a steep disc...
Bluesky is now open for anyone to join
06 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
After almost a year as an invite-only app, Bluesky is now open to the public. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Meta cuts off third-party access to Facebook Groups, leaving developers and customers in disarray
06 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The recent surprise announcement that Meta will soon be shutting down a Facebook Groups API is throwing some businesses and social media marketers int...
Stalkerware apps PhoneSpector and Highster appear to shut down
05 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The makers of two phone surveillance services appear to have shuttered after the owner agreed to settle state accusations of illegally promoting spywa...
As Podcastle raises $13.5M, its founder credits AI-driven growth in Armenia’s ‘Mini-Silicon Valley’
05 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Podcastle, a podcasting platform that has boosted its product with various generative AI-driven features, has raised $13.5 million in a Series Learn ...
FTC orders Blackbaud to overhaul ‘reckless’ security practices in wake of 2020 breach
03 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Education tech company Blackbaud agreed to settle with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission over the company’s security practices that resulted in a 20...
MessageBird rebrands as Bird, and slashes prices by 90% on SMS to take on Twilio
02 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
No, don’t think Bird Scooters. Think Bird, formerly MessageBird. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Three San Francisco supervisors receive threats following YC President Garry Tan’s tweet
02 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Aaron Peskin says Garry Tan’s now deleted X post did “harm to democratic discourse." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/ad...
Sundar Pichai says Google One cloud storage service has nearly 100M subscribers
01 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Google CEO Sudar Pichai said that the company’s Google One cloud storage service is ” just about to cross” 100 million subscribers. Learn more ...
Universal Music Group plans to pull song catalog from TikTok
01 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Universal Music Group (UMG), the label representing artists including Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, and Ariana Grande, says that it’ll pull its music...
Yelp launches revamped feed with AI-powered business summaries
31 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Yelp is releasing new features as part of its winter release, which includes a more visual feed, AI-powered summaries of businesses, and number maskin...
Streaming media company Plex raises new funds as it nears profitability
31 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Media streamer Plex has raised new capital. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal leaves board
30 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal has resigned from the e-commerce group’s board, the two said Saturday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit pod...
Spotify calls Apple’s DMA compliance plan ‘extortion’ and a ‘complete and total farce’
30 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Count Spotify among those not thrilled with how Apple has chosen to comply with the EU’s Digital Markets Act, which sets the stage for sideloading a...
General purpose humanoid robots? Bill Gates is a believer
29 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The robotics industry loves a good, healthy debate. Of late, one of the most intense ones centers around humanoid robots. Learn more about your ad cho...
OpenAI responds to Congressional Black Caucus about lack of diversity on its board
29 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
OpenAI has been criticized for the lack of diversity on its board. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Pokemon Company says it intends to investigate Palworld
26 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Pokemon Company said Thursday it has not granted any permission to “another company,” referring to Palworld-developer Pocketpair, to use Pokem...
Meta is rolling out tighter teen messaging limitations and parental controls
26 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Meta announced today that it is rolling out new DM restrictions on both Facebook and Instagram for teens that prevent anyone from messaging teens. Unt...
BeReal, which now has 23M DAUs, is onboarding brands and celebs
25 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
BeReal, a rising social media app that emphasizes authenticity, is making its first outreach to brands and celebrities. Learn more about your ad choi...
Etsy launches ‘Gift Mode,’ a new AI-powered feature that generates 200+ gift guides
25 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
E-commerce site Etsy today launched “Gift Mode,” a new AI-powered feature to match you with tailored gift ideas based on specific preferences. Le...
Apple will pay artists more to have a spatial audio version on Apple Music
24 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Apple will pay additional royalties starting this month to artists if they have a spatial audio version on Apple Music, according to multiple reports....
Telegram is rolling out ‘view-once’ voice and video messages
24 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Telegram is rolling out a bunch of upgrades as part of its January feature drop including “view-once” video and audio messages, the ability to pau...