TechCrunch Daily Crunch
1,839 episodes — Page 8 of 37
Elon Musk-led team submits $97.4B bid for OpenAI
Plus - Apple Music adds a better-sounding Spatial Audio version of Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show; TikTok wants Android users to sideload its app Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
HPE begins notifying data breach victims after Russian government hack
Plus - Pinterest lists DEI attacks as possible business risk in latest filing; UK government reportedly demands Apple backdoor to access encrypted cloud data Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Spotify, Warner Music Group sign new deal to help deliver ‘further paid subscription tiers’
Plus - Snapchat+ subscribers can now create custom AI-generated stickers; Tinder revamps ‘Explore’ page to connect people with similar dating intentions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Google launches new AI models and brings ‘thinking’ to Gemini
Plus - Workday cuts nearly 2,000 employees; Snap says TikTok uncertainty benefited its business Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Deepfake videos are getting shockingly good
Researchers from TikTok owner ByteDance have demoed a new AI system, OmniHuman-1, that can generate perhaps the most realistic deepfake videos to date. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
President Trump says new US sovereign wealth fund could purchase TikTok
Plus - The Beatles won a Grammy, thanks to AI; Meta says it may stop development of AI systems it deems too risky Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
AI startup Perplexity sued for alleged trademark infringement
Plus - WhatsApp says it disrupted a hacking campaign targeting journalists with Paragon spyware; Apple Intelligence will support more languages starting in April Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Mark Zuckerberg teases a 2025 return to ‘OG Facebook’
Plus - How DeepSeek changed Silicon Valley’s AI landscape; Amazon hikes prices for its Music Unlimited subscriptions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
A Majority of US teens have lost trust in Big Tech
American teens have lost their faith in Big Tech, according to a new report from Common Sense Media, a nonprofit offering reviews and ratings for media and technology, which more recently includes AI products. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Trump says Microsoft is in talks to acquire TikTok
Plus - Eric Schmidt says DeepSeek marks a ‘turning point’ for the global AI race; Waymo begins testing robotaxis on LA freeways Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Sam Altman’s World now wants to link AI agents to your digital identity
Plus - Flip, the TikTok Shop rival, launches a creator fund that grants up to $100M of equity; Kodiak has made its first driverless truck deliveries to customer Atlas Energy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
OpenAI launches Operator
Plus - Threads rolls out a post scheduler, ‘markup’ feature, and more; X sees a jump in consumer spending on mobile, despite decline in daily active users Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Scale AI is facing a third worker lawsuit in about a month
In 2015, the blogging site Tumblr launched a GIF discovery feature called Tumblr TV as an experimental product. Now, with the U.S. TikTok ban leaving the fate of the short-form video app uncertain, Tumblr has decided it’s finally time to launch Tumblr TV, which has since evolved to support video, to all its users as one of its standard features. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Meta lures TikTok creators with $5K bonuses
Plus - Meta is building Oakley smart glasses for athletes; Spotify’s educational audio courses could be coming to US Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
TikTok competitors claim the top of the App Store
Plus - Meta confirms it will keep fact-checkers outside the U.S. ‘for now’; DeepSeek claims its reasoning model beats OpenAI’s o1 on certain benchmarks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Supreme Court upholds TikTok ban
Plus, OpenAI is trying to extend human life, with help from a longevity startup. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Mark Cuban is ready to fund a TikTok alternative
Plus - Threads might let you add music to your posts in the future; TikTok ban poised to be delayed as Trump explores ways to extend deadline Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Bluesky is getting its own photo-sharing app
Google raises the price of Workspace plans, includes its AI features for free; LinkedIn adds free AI tools for job hunters and recruiters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
TikTok users’ attempted migration to Chinese app RedNote isn’t going too well
Plus, Meta cuts 5% of its workforce. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The Biden administration proposes sweeping new restrictions on exporting AI chips
Plus - eBay acquires Caramel to reduce risk and complexity of online car sales; Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are slamming Meta over its fact-checking policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
TikTok warns of looming shutdown as Supreme Court weighs sell-or-ban law
Plus, Meta eliminates its DEI programs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Comcast and other TV streamers are now chasing YouTube’s ad dollars
Plus - Google folds more AI teams into DeepMind to ‘accelerate the research to developer pipeline’; Google searches for deleting Facebook, Instagram explode after Meta ends fact-checking Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Watch Duty surpasses ChatGPT as top free app on App Store
Watch Duty surpasses ChatGPT as top free app on App Store; Mastodon CEO calls Meta’s moderation changes ‘deeply troubling Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Uber teams up with Nvidia to scale autonomous driving faster
Plus - Telegram reports spike in sharing user data with law enforcement; Feds investigate Tesla’s ‘Actual Smart Summon’ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Google is forming a new team to build AI that can simulate the physical world
Plus - Online spending grew 3% to a record $1.2T over holiday period; Samsung says its home robot will roll out this year Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
xAI’s next-gen AI model didn’t arrive on time
Spotify’s partner program for podcast hosts is now available Telegram rolls out third-party account verification, filters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Nonprofit group joins Elon Musk’s effort to block OpenAI’s for-profit transition
Plus, Apple TV+ is free this weekend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
OpenAI just announces new o3 models
"Plus, Google is expanding Gemini’s in-depth research mode to 40 languages." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Tesla is courting Texas cities to test its promised robotaxi service
Instagram teases AI tools for editing appearances, backgrounds in videos; Google releases its own ‘reasoning’ AI model Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
App downloads decline in 2024
Plus - OpenAI brings ChatGPT to your landline; Instagram Threads adds ‘Use Media’ feature for resharing photos and videos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Threads now has 100M daily active users
Plus - Grubhub to pay $25M for ‘deceptive’ practices against customers, drivers; OpenAI says it has no plans for a Sora API — yet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
YouTube will let creators opt in to third-party AI training
Plus - Meta updates its smart glasses with real-time AI video; Instagram now lets you schedule DMs Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
OpenAI fires back against Musk
"Plus, UnitedHealth’s Optum left an AI chatbot exposed to the internet." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
ChatGPT now understands real-time video
Threads rolls out its own version of Bluesky’s ‘Starter Packs’; DOJ asks court to reject TikTok’s bid to temporarily block sell-or-ban law. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Cruise employees ‘blindsided’ by GM’s plan to end robotaxi program
Apple reportedly developing AI server chip with Broadcom; Snapchat users can now keep messages in a chat for a week Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Instagram rolls out ‘trial reels’
Plus - Yelp adds AI-powered review insights to restaurants; Amazon is officially in the online car sales business Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
OpenAI’s Sora has launched
Plus - X says its new image generator will launch for all users within the week; Bluesky teases paid subscription Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
US appeals court upholds TikTok ban
"Plus, Meta unveils a new, more efficient Llama model." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
OpenAI confirms new $200 monthly subscription
TikTok partners with Nielsen to track cross-media ad campaign performance; Google says its new AI models can identify emotions — and that has experts worried Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Spotify users are disappointed by an underwhelming Wrapped
Plus - Threads users can now follow profiles from other fediverse servers; TikTok adds new ways for creators to raise money for charities Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Walmart completes $2.3B acquisition of Vizio
Walmart completes $2.3B acquisition of Vizio; Amazon announces Nova, a new family of multimodal AI models; AWS’ new service tackles AI hallucinations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Daily Crunch Special: The Spotify Wrapped Copycats
Spotify Wrapped 2024 is almost here, but first let’s explore all the copycats. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Canadian news companies sue OpenAI
Plus, Meta plans to build a $10B subsea cable spanning the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
OpenAI’s Sora video generator appears to have leaked
Plus, the FTC finds that smart device makers failed to make clear how long their products will be supported. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Prosecutors request 5-year jail sentence for Samsung chief Jay Lee
Plus, Tesla appears to be building a teleoperations team for its robotaxi service. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
UK regulators hit Apple and Google, again
Plus, Revolut to launch mortgages, smart ATMs and business credit products Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
DOJ: Google must sell Chrome to end monopoly
Plus - Threads adjusts its algorithm to show you more content from accounts you follow; SpaceX signs second commercial deal for Starship lunar lander Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Threads begins testing custom feeds
Plus - Messenger gets HD video calls and AI backgrounds; Amazon debuts its largest Echo Show yet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Bluesky tops 20M users
Plus - Microsoft will soon let you clone your voice for Teams meetings; Google Lens can now check prices and inventory when shopping in the real world Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Mastodon sees a boost from the ‘X exodus’
Plus - Mistral unveils new AI models and chat features; DoorDash’s app can now import your grocery list for faster shopping Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices