TechCrunch Industry News
3,850 episodes — Page 29 of 77
Threads won’t be fun — but it will give brands a home away from Twitter
There are many Twitters now, but we may never have another Twitter again. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
China’s WeRide secures self-driving vehicle license from UAE
The United Arab Emirates has given Chinese autonomous driving company WeRide the first national license for self-driving vehicles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Rivian delivers first electric vans to Amazon in Europe
Amazon has begun rolling out its custom electric delivery vans from Rivian in Europe, the e-commerce giant said Monday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Kentucky is the latest state to mandate Tesla’s charging plug
Kentucky now requires that electric vehicle charging companies include Tesla’s charging plug if they want to secure federal funds from a state program to electrify highways, Reuters reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Fidelity deepens valuation cut for Reddit and Discord
Fidelity has further slashed the estimated worth of its holding in social platform Reddit and chat app Discord as well as SaaS startup Gupshup. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
TikTok parent ByteDance launches music creation and audio editing app in closed beta in the US
TikTok’s parent company ByteDance announced today that it’s launching a new, free-to-use music production app in closed beta in the United States. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Get a clue, says panel about generative AI: it’s being “deployed as surveillance”
At a Bloomberg conference in San Francisco, some of the biggest names in AI turned up. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Halo Car launches remotely piloted rental car deliveries in Las Vegas
Halo Car, a startup that uses remote operators to deliver rental cars to a customer’s door, has launched driverless operations in Las Vegas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Techstars raising $150 million for new accelerator fund
The accelerator is seeking new capital ahead of the end of the deployment period of its third institutionally-backed fund, Techstars Accelerator 2021, late this year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Reddit protest plunges user engagement, site activity and ad portal visits
Reddit community moderators made a bold move earlier this month that caused quite a stir online. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Rocket Lab doubles down on marine booster recovery with next Electron launch
Rocket Lab’s next Electron mission will include another marine recovery attempt of the rocket’s booster, the latest step by the company to advance its reusability program. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
CalypsoAI raises $23M to add guardrails to generative AI models
Companies are increasingly embracing generative AI. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Redpanda nabs $100M Series C as streaming service experiences significant growth
Redpanda helps companies capture data in real time in a modern context, providing a new way to stream data while maintaining backwards compatibility with Kafka, the popular open source streaming project. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Aston Martin taps Lucid to help develop electric vehicles
Lucid Group, the U.S. automaker that produces the luxury all-electric Air sedan, will supply Aston Martin with powertrain components for future electric vehicle models, the companies said Monday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
UTU raises $35M to help travelers get more from tax-free shopping
Utu, a travel tech company that helps flyers get more out of their tax-free shopping, announced today it has raised a $35 million Series B led by SC Ventures. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
SoulCycle to offer trainer-guided virtual work sessions with the FLOWN startup
FLOWN is a startup that took the idea of the sort of ‘virtual co-working’ some of us during the pandemic just have some company during lockdowns, and created a model of guided “deep work” sessions with actual coaches. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apple’s Vision Pro SDK is now available, in-person developer labs launch next month
Time to get a jump on all of that spatial computing. Apple today announced that its visionOS software development kit is now available, allowing 3D parties to begin building content for the Vision Pro. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Twitch will require new labels for streams with sexual themes, gambling and M-rated games
Twitch is rethinking the way it flags mature content, swapping its existing toggle for a more granular set of topic-specific labels. The company announced Tuesday that it would introduce a new set of content labels that require streamers to signal when their channels will contain sexual themes, graphic violence, “drugs, intoxication, or excessive tobacco use. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Roblox invites its community to build mature experiences for 17+ users
Roblox is well aware that its young users are getting older, and the company is making every effort to grow up along with them. The platform, once synonymous with younger kids, announced Tuesday that it would allow creators to build mature content designed for users age 17 and up. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Consumer group calls on EU to urgently investigate ‘the risks of generative AI’
European regulators are at a crossroads over how AI will be regulated — and ultimately used commercially and non-commercially — in the region, and today the EU’s largest consumer group, the BEUC, weighed in with its own position: stop dragging your feet, and “launch urgent investigations into the risks of generative AI” now, it said. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Oracle launches its ‘sovereign cloud’ for EU customers
Oracle is formally launching its “EU Sovereign cloud” for customers in the European Union (EU) today, nearly a year after firs revealing plans for the initiative. So-called “digital sovereignty” has emerged as a critical issue for companies operating across the EU. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Mercedes is adding ChatGPT to its infotainment system, for some reason
Mercedes owners in the U.S. will soon add a new luxury to their already luxurious vehicles: ChatGPT. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Twitter competitor Spill launches in beta on iOS
From a team of ex-Twitter employees, the new social platform Spill launched in an invite-only beta on the App Store. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Feds catch another LockBit hacker, Justice Department announces
The Justice Department has arrested and charged a Russian national for his alleged role in multiple LockBit ransomware attacks against victims in the U.S. and around the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Amazon’s $1.7B iRobot acquisition greenlighted by UK antitrust regulator
The U.K.’s antitrust regulator has given the go-ahead to Amazon’s proposed billion-dollar iRobot acquisition, concluding that the deal “would not lead to competition concerns in the U.K.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
BYD is overtaking Tesla, but its EV dream skips the US for now
A Chinese electric vehicle brand that’s rarely spotted in the U.S. is quickly catching up to Tesla’s dominance of the global EV market. BYD, which started in Shenzhen 28 years ago, delivered 547,917 passenger EVs, including hybrids, a category it’s known for, in the first quarter of 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Ransomware gang lists first victims of MOVEit mass-hacks, including US banks and universities
Clop, the ransomware gang responsible for exploiting a critical security vulnerability in a popular corporate file transfer tool, has begun listing victims of the mass-hacks, including a number of U.S. banks and universities. The Russia-linked ransomware gang has been exploiting the security flaw in MOVEit Transfer, a tool used by corporations and enterprises to share. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
EV laggard Toyota says its next-gen EVs will have over 600 miles range
Toyota plans to introduce a high-performance lithium-ion battery to its next-generation electric vehicles by 2026, part of the automaker’s new technology roadmap revealed Tuesday. The batteries will deliver quicker charging and around 620 miles (1,000 kilometers) of range, which would put Toyota’s vehicles ahead of the competition. Toyota has historically trailed behind other major automakers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Uber leads $20M round in India’s Everest Fleet for EV expansion
Uber has led a $20 million round into Everest Fleet, a Mumbai-based fleet management company that boasts over 10,000 vehicles running on rideshare platforms Uber and Ola throughout India. The company will use the funds to accelerate its transition to electric vehicles, with a goal of having 10,000 EVs in its fleet by 2026. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Striveworks snaps up first funding of $33M to build tools for machine learning operations
MLOps, or DevOps for those working with machine learning models, has seen a boom of interest in the last year, and that should come as no surprise. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
US intelligence confirms it buys Americans’ personal data
A newly declassified government report confirms for the first time that U.S. intelligence and spy agencies purchase vast amounts of commercially available information on Americans, including data from connected vehicles, web browsing data, and smartphones. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
London lures a16z’s first international office with ‘predictable’ crypto regs
US VC giant Andreessen Horowitz — which has about $35bn in assets under management — is to open its first (yes, the first) international office in London, led by one of the firm’s general partners, Sriram Krishnan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Barracuda urges customers to remove and replace vulnerable hardware exploited by hackers
Barracuda Networks has told customers they must replace vulnerable email gateway appliances following the disclosure of a critical security flaw. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Nasdaq to acquire financial services software company Adenza from Thoma Bravo for $10.5B
Nasdaq today revealed that it’s doling out $10.5 billion to acquire Adenza, a company that develops risk-management and related regulatory software for the financial services market. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Meta to appeal court ruling declaring content moderatos as its employees
Meta is set to appeal Kenya’s court decision declaring it as the primary employer of the moderators that review content on its platforms in sub-Saharan Africa. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Adobe brings Firefly to the enterprise
Adobe today announced that it is bringing its Firefly generative image generator to its enterprise customers and allowing them to customize the model with their own branded assets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Uber is taking its car-sharing service to North America
Uber plans to bring peer-to-peer car sharing to North America, starting with Toronto and Boston, the company said Thursday at its Go-Get product event in London. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Automattic launches an AI writing assistant for WordPress
Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com and the main contributor to the open-source WordPress project, launched an AI assistant for the popular content management system on Tuesday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Blush, the AI lover from the same team as Replika, is more than just a sexbot
The team behind the AI friendship bot Replika is launching another AI companion — one that’s made to flirt. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apple Vision Pro: Here’s everything you need to know
At its annual WWDC 2023 conference, Apple took the wraps off of the Vision Pro, its long-rumored augmented reality (AR) headset. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Byju’s files suit challenging acceleration of $1.2B loan, seeks to disqualify Redwood for ‘predatory’ tactics
Indian edtech giant Byju’s has filed a complaint in the New York Supreme Court to challenge the acceleration of the $1.2 billion term loan B and to disqualify Redwood, who it alleges has conducted a series of predatory tactics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
As Deeptech and AI explodes, European Deeptech VC IQ Capital closes new $200M fund
European Deeptech startups get another shot in the arm this week in the shape of IQ Capital’s new $200m venture fund. The new fund takes its assets under management to more than $1bn. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
YouTube rolls back its rules against election misinformation
YouTube was the slowest major platform to disallow misinformation during the 2020 U.S. election and almost three years later, the company will toss that policy out altogether. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NestAway, once valued at over $225 million, sells for $11 million
PropTech firm Aurum is acquiring NestAway, a once high-flying Indian startup operating in the same space, for up to $10.9 million, in a deal that marks a near complete erosion in value for the startup’s investors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Shopify’s Shop app introduces a new ‘Shop Cash’ rewards program
Shopify’s Shop app is introducing a new rewards program called Shop Cash, the e-commerce platform announced on Friday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Enzo Biochem says ransomware attack exposed clinical test data of 2.5 million patients
Enzo Biochem, a New York-based biotechnology company, has confirmed that a ransomware attack exposed the clinical test information of almost 2.5 million patients. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Legal tech firm Casepoint investigates breach after hackers claim theft of government data
Casepoint says it’s investigating a potential cybersecurity incident after hackers claimed to have compromised the legal technology platform to steal terabytes of sensitive data. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Flighty’s tool will help you connect with fellow WWDC attendees
Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) is now just less than a week away. Many developer communities are already organizing watch parties across the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Volvo’s new small EV tries to optimize space with Scandinavian design
Volvo is continuing to drip-feed more information about its upcoming electric Volvo EX30 small SUV. Last week the automaker promised the new EV would have the smallest carbon footprint of any previously made Volvo vehicle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
OpenAI’s ChatGPT iOS app now available in Canada, India, Brazil and 30 more countries
OpenAI has expanded the availability of its ChatGPT app for iOS users in India and 32 other countries — just a week after its launching it in the U.S. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices