TechCrunch Industry News

GM halts production of Cruise Origin robotaxi amid suspended operations

08 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Cruise is pausing production of its purpose-built robotaxi, the Origin — the autonomous vehicle company’s latest setback amid suspended operations...

WeWork, once worth $47 billion, files for bankruptcy

07 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Flexible-office-space firm WeWork has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, a stunning change in fortune for the once high-flying startup co-fou...

People are turning to Snap Map for firsthand perspectives from Gaza

07 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The world is watching the humanitarian crisis in Gaza unfold in real time through firsthand accounts documented on, of all places, Snapchat.  Learn ...

Android’s new real-time app scanning aims to fight malicious sideloaded apps

06 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Android’s in-built security engine Google Play Protect has a new feature that conducts a real-time analysis of an Android app’s code and blocks it...

DoorDash adds new safety tools for its delivery people, including ‘driving insights’

06 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

DoorDash is launching three new in-app safety tools for its delivery people, the company announced on Friday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...

X runs ‘timeline takeover’ ad promoting anti-trans film

03 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Thursday on X (Twitter), all users saw the same pinned topic under the “What’s happening?” sidebar. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit pod...

Dashtoon uses AI to turn storytellers into comics artists

03 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Dashtoon wants to make anyone with a story to tell into a comics artist, even if they can’t draw. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastch...

Apple Music shuts down its Siri-only Voice Plan nearly two years later

02 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Apple Music just shut down its cheapest option—the Voice Plan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Politicians commit to collaborate to tackle AI safety, US launches safety institute

02 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

By Ingrid Lunden. The world is locked in a race, and competition, over dominance in AI, but today, a few of them appeared to come together to say that...

YouTube is now cracking down on ad-blockers globally

01 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Written by Ivan Mehta. YouTube is now cracking down on ad-blocker usage globally, by showing warnings about breaking the platform’s terms of service...

Apple brought back the best Mac colorway with the new M3 MacBook Pro

01 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Apple has a new range of updated MacBook Pro notebooks, and while they get a pretty nice internal upgrade courtesy mostly of the new M3 processor line...

Apple’s ‘Scary Fast’ event video was shot on iPhone

31 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In tech, ‘dogfooding’ means using your own stuff in the way you intend for your users to, which is helpful to make sure your stuff lives up to you...

Shein adds struggling UK brand Missguided to its fashion empire

31 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Shein, the fast fashion giant that has thrived on its nimble supply chain in China, is expanding its product range by scooping up competitors. Learn m...

President Biden issues executive order to set standards for AI safety and security

30 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

U.S. President Joe Biden has issued an executive order that seeks to establish “new standards” for AI safety and security. Learn more about your a...

Cruise pauses all driverless robotaxi operations to ‘rebuild public trust’

30 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Cruise said Thursday evening it has paused all driverless operations, a decision that comes just two days after the California DMV suspended Cruise’...

A year after Musk’s takeover, X says an average user spends 32 minutes per day on the platform

27 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

On the eve of the one-year anniversary of Musk taking over Twitter (now X), the company published a retrospective blog post examining how it has fared...

Meta says users and businesses have 600 million chats on its platforms every day

27 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Meta is doubling down on business messages for revenue generation, as Mark Zuckerberg indicated during the company’s earnings call for Q3 2023. Lea...

Will X’s addition of audio and video calling create stickiness in the app?

26 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Elon Musk announced Wednesday that an early version of video and audio calling is now available on X, formerly known as Twitter. Learn more about you...

California agency pulls Cruise’s commercial robotaxi permit following DMV action

26 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The California Public Utilities Commission has suspended Cruise’s authority to carry and charge passengers for its robotaxi service. Learn more abou...

Google is actively looking to insert different types of ads in its generative AI search

25 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Google confirmed on its earnings call that it is working on different ad formats for its generative AI-powered search experience. Learn more about you...

FCC aims to investigate the risk of AI-enhanced robocalls

25 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

As if robocalling wasn’t already enough of a problem, the advent of easily accessible, realistic AI-powered writing and synthetic voice could superc...

Feds expand Tesla investigation to include vehicle range, personal benefits

24 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Tesla has the attention of the U.S. Department of Justice — again. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After $43B valuation, Databricks acquires data replication startup Arcion for $100M

24 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Databricks has remained a hot startup at a time when interest from investors has cooled across the ecosystem. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...

Tinder’s app gets more social by letting friends play matchmaker

23 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Dating app users will often sit with friends as they swipe through their matches in order to gain feedback, or even hand over their phone and let thei...

Google takes aim at Duolingo with new English tutoring tool

23 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Google’s gunning for Duolingo with a new Google Search feature designed to help people practice — and improve — their English skills. Learn mor...

Elon Musk confirms X is soon launching two new premium tiers

20 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Elon Musk today said that X (formerly Twitter) is going to soon launch two new premium tiers, confirming previous reports and code sightings. Learn m...

Sidebar thinks the key to career dev is small peer groups

20 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Sidebar, a company developing a group coaching program focused on driving individual career growth, today announced that it raised $13.3 million in a ...

WhatsApp will now let log into two accounts simultaneously

19 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

WhatsApp announced today that it is rolling out the ability for users to use two accounts simultaneously. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit pod...

Foxconn and Nvidia are building ‘AI factories’ to accelerate self-driving cars

19 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Nvidia and Foxconn are working together to build so-called “AI factories,” a new class of data centers that promise to provide supercomputing powe...

X starts experimenting with a $1 per year fee for new users

18 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

X, formerly Twitter, announced today that is starting a new experiment to charge a $1 per year fee for “new unverified” users to interact with pos...

YouTube is launching new playback and creator-focused features

18 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

YouTube is rolling out a new set of features for better mobile-based playback, song search, and creator-friendly tools. Learn more about your ad choic...

WhatsApp is launching passkey support on Android

17 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

WhatsApp is introducing support for passkeys on Android, the Meta-owned messaging service has announced. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podc...

General Catalyst and European early stage fund La Famiglia ‘join forces’ to invest in European startups

17 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In a move that will help cement the incursion of US-based VCs into the European ecosystem, General Catalyst and La Famiglia have announced they are, i...

Leucine makes drug manufacturing compliance less onerous

16 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The compliance process at pharmaceutical manufacturers is a complicated and prone to errors because many still use paper-based systems to record manuf...

Ford increases wages at planned EV battery factories amid UAW strike

16 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Ford and its joint venture partner SK On, will increase wages at two planned EV battery factories in Kentucky and Tennessee in an effort to assuage st...

Microsoft’s $68.7B Activision acquisition clears final hurdle as UK approves restructured deal

13 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Microsoft’s near-two year attempt to buy gaming giant Activision is finally happening, after the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ac...

Twitch adds anti-harassment features to stop banned users from watching streams

13 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Twitch streamers can finally block banned users from watching their streams, thanks to a recent update to the platform’s anti-harassment features. L...

Linda Yaccarino responds to EU: 700 Community Notes, 5K+ images shared on Israel-Hamas war, “thousands” of pieces of content removed

12 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter, came under fire earlier this week in Europe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices....

Recs is a social ‘wallet’ for stashing and sharing your favorite places

12 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The most popular apps suck us into the technological equivalent of couch lock, but it’s easy to imagine how things might have gone differently. Lea...

Klarna launches a suite of new features, including an AI-powered image-search tool

11 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Klarna is introducing a suite of new features, including an AI-powered image-search tool called Shopping lens, the company announced on Wednesday. Le...

Consumer payments startup Braid shuts down, cites struggles with ‘leveraging third-party software’

11 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Braid, a four-year-old startup that aimed to make shared wallets more mainstream among consumers, has shut down. Learn more about your ad choices. Vis...

X’s new control lets only verified accounts reply to a post

10 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

X has introduced a new control that limits replies to only verified accounts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Prosus-backed fast-fashion startup Virgio, valued at $161 million, shuts down

10 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Fast-fashion startup Virgio, founded by former Myntra chief, is shutting down its operations less than a year after raising funds at a valuation of ov...

Waymo-Zeekr robotaxi poised for US testing by end of 2023

09 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Nearly two years after Waymo and Geely struck a deal to develop robotaxis for the U.S. market, we are seeing concrete progress in the collaboration. ...

Netflix’s 6.5M India subscribers dwarfed by Prime Video and Disney, Bernstein says

09 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Netflix has “not succeeded” in scaling up its business in India despite the global streaming giant consistently lowering the subscription costs in...

All eyes on VW after Hyundai, Kia adopt Tesla charging standard

06 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Hyundai and Kia have finally announced their plans to adopt Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) ports for their electric vehicles in the...

Union Square Ventures backs Indian EV infra startup Bolt.Earth in $20M funding

06 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Bolt.Earth, an Indian startup that offers charging infrastructure and software solutions for electric vehicles, has raised $20 million in a funding ro...

X cuts headlines from link previews as Musk wants users posting directly on the platform

05 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

X, formerly Twitter, has started cutting headlines from link cards on the iOS app and on the web. This means you will see just an image with the domai...

In latest Cruise incident, video shows pedestrian struck by human-driven car, then run over by robotaxi

05 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The San Francisco Police Department is investigating an October 2 incident that left a woman stuck underneath a Cruise robotaxi after being hit by a h...

Electric Hydrogen is the green hydrogen industry’s first unicorn

04 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Investors have historically been skeptical of green hydrogen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cloaked manages your logins with proxy emails, phone numbers and a built-in password manager

04 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Boston-based privacy and security startup Cloaked, launched its apps today to let users create unique proxy emails, phone numbers, and passwords for o...

Stitch raises $25M Series A extension led by Ribbit Capital, increasing the round’s total to $46M

03 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Open banking, in which traditional banks release their data via application programming interfaces (APIs) to enable the development of new financial s...

VW bails on its plan for a $2.1B EV plant in Germany

03 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Volkswagen’s $2.1 billion plan to launch a dedicated electric-vehicle factory in Wolfsburg, Germany is kaput.  Learn more about your ad choices. V...

BeReal pushes back at report that it’s losing steam, says it now has 25M daily users

02 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Just under a year ago, the buzzy new social app BeReal looked to be on the rise, with reportedly 20 million users launching the app every day to snap ...

SpaceX’s defense-focused Starshield satellite internet business lands first contract

02 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

SpaceX won its first contract for Starshield, the defense-focused version of its Starlink satellite internet service, from the U.S. Space Force. Learn...

Judge upholds $18 minimum pay for NYC delivery workers

29 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In a blow to Uber, DoorDash and Grubhub, a New York judge on Thursday ruled to allow the implementation of the minimum pay rate of $18 per hour for Ne...

Vivaldi launches an iOS version of its browser

29 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Almost eight years after former Opera CEO Jon von Tetzchner launched a new browser for desktop users, his company named Vivaldi has introduced its iOS...

X will be profitable in 2024, CEO claims in tense interview

28 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

According to X CEO Linda Yaccarino, the company formerly known as Twitter will be profitable by early 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit po...

Google launches earthquake alerts on Android in India

28 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Google has announced the launch of its earthquake alert system for Android devices in India. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.c...

The writers strike is over: here’s how AI negotiations shook out

27 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

After almost five months, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) has reached an agreement with Hollywood studios to end the writers strike. Learn more abo...

Meta says separate account deletion for Threads will roll out by December

27 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

After launching its text-based social network Threads in July, Meta faced criticism as there was no way for users to delete their Threads account with...

Google Podcasts to shut down in 2024 with listeners migrated to YouTube Music

26 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Google announced this morning it will be shutting down its Google Podcasts app later in 2024 as part of its broader transition to move its streaming l...

Snap partners with Microsoft on ads in its ‘My AI’ chatbot feature

26 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Snapchat has a new advertising partner in Microsoft for the ads it’s inserting into its AI product, My AI, an AI chatbot introduced earlier this yea...

X will make audio and video calls a premium subscriber-only feature

25 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Last month X CEO Linda Yaccarino confirmed that video calls would be coming to the app formerly known as Twitter as part of its transition into an “...

Microsoft-Activision: UK looks poised to clear restructured deal

25 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The UK’s competition watchdog has signalled it’s preparing to greenlight a restructured proposal for Microsoft to acquire Activision. Learn more ...

Threads adds easy profile switching to its mobile apps

22 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Meta-owned Twitter rival Threads has finally added a way to switch between multiple accounts without logging out. Learn more about your ad choices. V...

Auctoria uses generative AI to create video game models

22 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Several years ago, Aleksander Caban, the co-founder of Carbon Studio, a Polish VR game developer, observed a major problem in modern game design. Lea...

Waabi and Uber Freight partner to accelerate autonomous trucking

21 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Autonomous trucking startup Waabi is committing billions of miles of driverless capacity to the Uber Freight network as part of a 10-year strategic pa...

Substack redesigns its mobile app to boost discovery and engagement

21 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Substack is overhauling its mobile app with a redesigned Home experience to boost discovery and engagement, the company announced on Wednesday. Learn...

Airbnb is verifying all properties in its top five markets including the U.S.

20 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Airbnb is trying to crack down on fake listings by verifying all listings in its top five markets — US, Canada, Australia, UK, and France. Learn mo...

Outschool launches an AI-powered tool to help teachers write progress reports

20 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Outschool, the online learning platform that offers kid-friendly academic and interest-based classes, announced today the launch of its AI Teaching As...

Darrow gets served $35M for an AI that parses public documents for class action lawsuit potential

19 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The U.S. is famous (or infamous) for its litigiousness. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bird Buddy, the AI-powered bird feeder startup, now lets anyone use its app to birdwatch

19 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Bird Buddy, the startup behind multiple AI-powered smart bird feeders, including the recently announced smart Hummingbird Feeder and Bird Bath, is tod...

Lyft to pay $10M fine to SEC for failure to disclose board member’s role in pre-IPO share sale

18 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Lyft has agreed to pay a $10 million fine over a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charge that the ride-hailing company failed to disclose a boa...

Meta says not planning ads on WhatsApp

18 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Meta on Friday disputed a media report that claimed the social giant was exploring bringing ads on the popular messaging app WhatsApp. Learn more abo...

X launches account verification based on government ID

15 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

X, formerly Twitter, has launched government ID-based account verification for paid users to prevent impersonation and give them benefits such as “p...

UK DeepTech gets another boost with new $100M SCVC fund out of Bristol

15 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Europe has far too few VCs created by former founders, or “Operators” as the industry often likes to call them. Learn more about your ad choices. ...

San Francisco requests redo on Cruise, Waymo robotaxi expansion hearing

14 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

San Francisco has formally requested state regulators redo an August hearing that expanded robotaxi permits for Cruise and Waymo, giving both companie...

Telegram adds a self-custodial crypto wallet worldwide, excluding the US

14 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Telegram, the popular chat app with 800 million monthly active users, is rolling out a self-custodial crypto wallet. Learn more about your ad choices....

French watchdog temporarily halts iPhone 12 sales over radiation levels

13 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Just a few hours after Apple unveiled the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro, France’s radiation watchdog (ANFR) released a public statement announcing tha...

English learning platform ELSA lands $22.5M Series C

13 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

ELSA, the English language learning platform, announced today it has raised $22.5 million in Series C funding. Learn more about your ad choices. Visi...

TikTok Shop officially launches in the U.S.

12 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

After months of testing, TikTok has finally launched its e-commerce product, TikTok Shop, in the U.S — where it has more than 150 million users. Lea...

Google.org to invest $20M into AI-focused grants for think tanks and academic institutions

12 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Ahead of Wednesday’s AI-focused private Congressional meeting with tech giants, Google this morning announced a new initiative aimed at supporting r...

WhatsApp has reluctantly started work on cross-platform messaging due to EU regulation

11 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Last week, the European Union named the six big tech companies that should be considered as gatekeepers in one way or another under the Digital Market...

Google flips the switch on interest-based ads with ‘Privacy Sandbox’ rollout

11 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Google is now rolling out Privacy Sandbox — its tech to replace third-party cookies — to all Chrome users. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...

BMW feels the heat, stops charging for warming cheeks

08 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When BMW started charging an $18 per month subscription for heated seats in 2022, the backlash was swift and brutal. Learn more about your ad choices...

Instagram is testing a feature to let you share feed posts just with ‘Close Friends’

08 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Instagram users have been complaining for a while about the impersonal nature of the social network largely due to its algorithmic feed. Learn more a...

Gaming browser Opera GX integrates ChatGPT-powered AI feature

07 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Powered by OpenAI’s ChatGPT, the AI browser Aria launched on Opera in May to give users an easier way to search on the web, ask questions and write ...

Arduino nabs $22 million in fresh funding to support expansion into enterprise

07 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Odds are if you know the name Arduino, it’s through its connection to the DIY community. Much like Raspberry Pi, the company built its reputation cr...

MetaMask now allows crypto cash-out to PayPal and banks, but fees could be high

06 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

MetaMask, the world’s biggest self-custodial hot (internet-connected) wallet with over 22 million users, has added the option for users to convert c...

Envisics closes $100M to advance AR heads-up display tech in cars

06 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Envisics, a UK-based holographics company building in-car technology that projects navigation, safety alerts and other data onto the inside of a winds...

ThetaRay nabs $57M for AI tools to ID and fight money laundering

05 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Money laundering — the process of transferring assets around in order to disguise the illicit origin of the money behind them — has been a huge an...

Lawsuit alleges no due diligence in Amazon’s Project Kuiper launch contracts to Blue Origin, ULA

04 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

An institutional investor is suing Amazon and its board, including founder and executive chairman Jeff Bezos, over hefty launch contracts they awarded...

How the FBI took down the notorious Qakbot botnet

04 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A global law enforcement operation this week took down and dismantled the notorious Qakbot botnet, touted as the largest U.S.-led financial and techni...

Google pulls popular but controversial live video chat app Chamet from the Play Store

01 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Google has removed a popular but controversial live video chat app Chamet from the Play Store. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices...

OpenAI-backed language learning app Speak raises $16M to expand to the U.S.

01 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Speak, an English language learning platform backed by OpenAI’s startup investment fund, the OpenAI Startup Fund, today announced that it raised $16...

X is now letting paid users hide their likes

31 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Elon Musk-owned X, formerly Twitter, is now rolling out a feature for paid users to let them hide their likes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visi...

Google discontinues its Pixel Pass subscription, which combined phones and services

30 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Google is discontinuing its Pixel Pass subscription service, which allowed people to get a Pixel phone combined with premium services including YouTub...

Apollo.io, a full-stack sales tech platform, bags $100M at a $1.6B valuation

30 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

While working at his first startup, BrainGenie, a math and science skills practice website, Tim Zheng experienced firsthand the challenge of maintaini...

Eldercare robot ElliQ nabs another $25 million in funding

29 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Intuition Robotics isn’t hurting for funding these days. The Israeli firm announced a $36 million Series B in the early days of the pandemic, and no...