TechCrunch Industry News

The U.S. is far ahead of Europe in the race for large AI models, at least in funding. But the picture is different for the application layer, global VC firm Accel highlighted in its 2025 Globalscape report. Also, Australia's intelligence chief warned that Chinese hackers are trying to break into its networks, sometimes successfully, to "pre-position" for sabotage ahead of an anticipated invasion of Taiwan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Robyn wants to position it self as an empathetic chatbot and not as a companion or a therapy app. Also, Yann LeCun, a chief AI scientist at Meta, is planning to leave the company to build his own startup, which will focus on continuing his work on world models. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The platform has attracted an eclectic user base. More than half of Fortune 500 companies are using Lovable to "supercharge creativity," according to Osika, who insisted retention remains strong. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Government surveillance vendors want us to believe their spyware products are only used in limited and targeted operations against terrorists and serious criminals. That claim is increasingly difficult to justify, given the broad range of victims — journalists, activists, and now political consultants — that have come forward. AI isn't all or nothing, and even good bets can turn sour if you aren't careful about how you make them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After Tesla shareholders approved a new compensation package that could be worth $1 trillion, CEO Elon Musk appears to be celebrating with a normal weekend on his social media platform X. Also, if you watched all the way to the end of the new Apple TV show “Pluribus,” you may have noticed an unusual disclaimer in the credits: “This show was made by humans.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A recent letter from OpenAI reveals more details about how the company is hoping the federal government can support the company's ambitious plans for data center construction. Also, a rough week for tech stocks might signal a loss of investor confidence in artificial intelligence. And while Apple’s iPhone already supports texting, calling emergency services, and contacting roadside assistance via satellite connectivity, the company may have many more satellite-powered features in the works. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A newly identified Android spyware targeted Galaxy devices for close to a year, including users in the Middle East, researchers exclusively tell TechCrunch. In addition, the congressional research office confirmed a breach, but did not comment on the cause. A security researcher suggested the hack may have originated because CBO failed to patch a firewall for more than a year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The proposal received more than 75% approval. Musk can earn the $1 trillion in shares over the next 10 years if Tesla hits a number of milestones. Plus Musk said he expects Tesla to be able to put all the Cybercabs it builds on the road, and thanked Waymo for 'paving the path.' Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Consumer Product Safety Commission is warning Peloton users to stop using the affected bikes immediately. Also, Snap said today that it has signed a deal with AI-powered search engine Perplexity to power a new chatbot. As part of the deal, Perplexity will pay Snap $400 million in cash and equity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Australia now has so much solar power that the government will require utilities to sell customers free electricity for three hours per day. Apple is turning to Google's technology to help revamp Siri and power a slate of upcoming features for the voice assistant. Blue Origin's first New Glenn launch in January mostly went well, and now the long-delayed second mission is finally ready for takeoff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Researchers at Microsoft have developed a new simulation environment for testing AI agents, revealing surprising weaknesses in the current state-of-the-art. Also, Penn experienced a data breach on Friday as hackers sent messages boasting of the hack to the university community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Information reports that Anthropic expects to generate as much as $70 billion in revenue and $17 billion in cash flow in 2028. The growth projections are fueled by rapid adoption of Anthropic’s business products, a person with knowledge of the company’s financials said. And despite its imprecision, the fourth "Master Plan" is a centerpiece of Tesla's case for giving CEO Elon Musk $1 trillion in company shares. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Meta said that Facebook Dating has 1.77 million daily active users in the US between ages 18-29. Also, core parts of the ClickUp release were possible because of its acquisition of Qatalog. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Despite the emphasis on detachment from ideas, X employees do have significant skin in the game when projects spin out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Meta's AI spending is starting to make Wall Street nervous. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Elon Musk and Sam Altman are still taking swipes at each other on Musk’s social media platform X. Also, a majority of consumers say they’re worried about data centers driving up electricity costs. Is the industry prepared for a possible backlash? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Semiconductor giant Nvidia is looking to invest at least five hundred million dollars and up to one billion dollars in Poolside which builds AI models for software development. That’s according to reporting from Bloomberg, which cited sources. This investment would be part of a two billion dollar funding round Poolside is raising at a twelve billion dollar valuation. Lidar-maker Luminar is warning shareholders that it will run out of cash in early twenty twenty six and has announced a 25 percent cut to its workforce to help staunch the bleeding, its second layoff of the year, according to a Friday regulatory filing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“The dead internet theory is real,” Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian told Digg founder Kevin Rose, referring to the idea that much of the internet isn’t human — it’s mostly bots. The two entrepreneurs have since teamed up to re-envision how to build a social community in this world where, very soon, it will be hard to tell bot from human. Also, Canva is launching new features like Forms, email design, and makes Affinity free for all users. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Design platform Figma said today that it has acquired AI-powered image and video generation company Weavy. The startup will join Figma under a new brand called Figma Weave. Also, Threads continues to ship new features at a rapid pace. Shortly after the launch of communities and disappearing “ghost posts,” the social networking app on Thursday introduced new tools that will give users more control over their conversations on the platform. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With Uplift, every subscription will contribute to neighborhood-level network expansion, while local hosts that are known as "AirNode operators" will earn a portion of network revenue by providing community coverage. Also, while San Francisco's mayor Daniel Lurie is opening his arms to autonomous vehicles, other cities are more resistant. Boston, for instance, has considered a ban on autonomous vehicles in the city. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The U.S. inked Technology Prosperity Deals (TPD) with Japan and South Korea with an eye towards spurring collaboration on AI, semiconductors, quantum computing, biotech, space, 6G and other technologies. Character AI is ending its chatbot experience for kids. After facing lawsuits and public outcry following the suicides of two teenagers, Character.AI says it's making changes to its platform to protect children, changes that could affect the startup’s bottom line. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Netflix viewers will be able to vote while watching live content to directly influence the outcome of what they're watching on their TV or mobile device. Also, OpenAI says its deep learning systems are rapidly advancing, with models increasingly able to solve complex tasks faster. So fast, in fact, that internally, OpenAI is tracking towards achieving an intern-level research assistant by September 2026, and a fully automated “legitimate AI researcher” by 2028, CEO Sam Altman said during a livestream Tuesday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Amazon said on Tuesday that it plans to reduce its corporate workforce by 14,000 jobs as it seeks to reduce bureaucracy, remove layers and invest more in its AI strategy. Plus, OpenAI has completed its recapitalization, splitting the AI lab into a for-profit corporation nested inside a non-profit foundation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Two 401(k) management unicorns, Human Interest and Guideline, are squaring off in federal court with allegations so brazen that they're embarrassing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fitness app Ladder is debuting a new nutrition tracking feature that lets you snap a photo to input macros. Also, according to a new report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple Maps users could start seeing ads in the app as soon as next year. Similar to Google Maps and other mapping apps, Apple’s plan is to allow restaurants and other businesses with brick-and-mortar locations to pay to promote themselves in search results Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

-The United States and China are ready to move forward on a TikTok deal, according to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. -A high school student in Baltimore County, Maryland was reportedly handcuffed and searched after an AI security system flagged his bag of chips as a possible firearm. -OpenAI is working on a new tool that would generate music based on text and audio prompts, according to a report in The Information. Such a tool could be used to add music to existing videos, or to add guitar accompaniment to an existing vocal track, sources said. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ford is prioritizing its gas and hybrid F-150 trucks instead. Plus, Trump's $250 million White House ballroom will be funded in part by big tech companies like Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, and Microsoft. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rudy Arora and Sarthak Dhawan, two 20-year-old college dropouts, grew an AI note-taker app to five million users and an eight-figure ARR. Also, The milestone marks a new record for the platform, as YouTube’s annual music industry payout increased by $2 billion since 2022. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

South Korea's 52-hour workweek cap is stricter than the U.S. and Singapore but more flexible than much of Europe. Still deep tech founders and investors worry it's too restrictive. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The founders of machine learning community Kaggle are trying to upend the crowded sales prospecting market with AI. And they're making headway. Also, Starbridge raises $42M Series A led by Craft Ventures to help businesses better monitor public service opportunities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The company is also improving search by suggesting properties that you might have missed due to your filters and has redesigned the Maps view to let you search for points of interest such as nearby landmarks, attractions, and restaurants. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The company says Atlas will first roll out on macOS, with support for Windows, iOS, and Android coming soon. OpenAI says the product will be available to all free users at launch. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The dispute centered on a plot of land along the Rio Grande River in Cameron County, Texas, that Cards Against Humanity purchased in 2017. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

These removals are part of a broader pattern under the Trump administration, which began issuing executive orders to direct federal agencies to remove or modify substantial amounts of government content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The online encyclopedia is not completely immune to broader trends, with human pageviews falling 8% year-over-year, according to Marshall Miller of the Wikimedia Foundation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Silicon Valley leaders including White House AI & Crypto Czar David Sacks and OpenAI Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kwon caused a stir online this week for their comments about groups promoting AI safety. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Austin Russell was replaced in May following an ethics inquiry, but now he wants to use his new AI lab to buy Luminar. Plus, 50 fashion brands are launching their shoppable worlds for VLGE's World Fashion Week, founder Evelyn Mora says. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

VC legend Ron Conway quits Salesforce Foundation after Benioff’s National Guard comments Kayak is bringing AI directly to its main platform with a new “AI Mode” that lets travelers research, plan, and book trips through a built-in chatbot. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pinterest is rolling out new controls that let users limit how much AI-generated content appears in their feeds. The company is also making its AI content labels more visible. Ke Yang’s departure marks the latest in a string of exits from Apple’s AI unit, putting the company into jeopardy in the lead up to a much-anticipated Siri revamp scheduled for March. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

F5 Networks, which provides cybersecurity defenses to most of the Fortune 500, said the DOJ allowed it to delay notifying the public on national security grounds. Semiconductor firm Arm is partnering with Meta to enhance the social media company's AI systems amid an unprecedented infrastructure buildout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

OpenAI says it will soon roll back some of ChatGPT's safeguards, and even allow the chatbot to engage in erotica for adult users. Waymo already has ties to the UK, which began after the autonomous vehicle technology company acquired Latent Logic in 2019. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Walmart is partnering with OpenAI to let shoppers buy products directly through ChatGPT. The new integration will allow users to link their Walmart accounts, browse items ,and instantly check out — all within the chatbot. Designed for one-on-one meetings, the tool lets you insert available time slots directly into an email, automatically creating a calendar invite once a recipient selects a time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SpaceX said farewell to its V2 on Monday night as it sent Starship’s current configuration on one last test flight, in a mission that the company says hit all its key goals, moving the program into its next phase. ecurity researchers have discovered that as many as half of all geostationary satellites in Earth’s orbit are carrying unencrypted sensitive consumer, corporate, and military information, making this data wide open to eavesdropping. And Grinder’s majority owners are scrambling to take the LGBTQ plus dating app private after a stock decline triggered a personal financial crisis, according to a report from Semafor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Oura's chief commercial officer doesn't seem particularly worried about capturing every demographic. Instead, she's focused on keeping Oura’s core users happy while organically attracting new segments. And young women are becoming part of that core market. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a landmark bill on Monday that regulates AI companion chatbots, making it the first state in the nation to require AI chatbot operators to implement safety protocols for AI companions The law is designed to protect children and vulnerable users from some of the harms associated with AI companion chatbot use. It holds companies — from the big labs like Meta and OpenAI to more focused companion startups like Character AI and Replika — legally accountable if their chatbots fail to meet the law’s standards. Also, Salesforce announced Monday the latest version of its AI agent platform as the company looks to lure enterprises to its AI software in an increasingly crowded market. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On Friday, the technology giant announced a new feature that will automatically disable browser notifications for the websites you haven’t interacted with recently, disrupting their ability to pop up alerts and updates that you may no longer be interested in. the President declared Friday that he will impose a 100% tariff on all imports from China, while also imposing export controls on “any and all critical software” from the United States. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Political shifts might have set back the energy transition, but large investors are betting that renewables are at the future of energy. In other news, the CMA has designated Google as having "strategic market status" in the search and search advertising markets, which means the company has such "a substantial and entrenched" position that it requires special regulations to ensure fair competition. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella offered a glimpse of the "first of many" massive Nvidia AI systems it is rolling out, starting now. a16z’s Anish Acharya calls India office reports “entirely fake news!” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

-The U.S.' top auto safety agency said it had identified more than 50 reports of FSD running red lights, crossing yellow lines, or making illegal turns. -Apple speaks out about how the Texas age assurance law was written, saying it affects the privacy of users. -SoundCloud is evolving into a more social platform with new features like playlists based on the likes of friends or favorite artists you follow. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From phone spyware and facial recognition to phone unlocking technology and databases and more, this tech powers Trump's deportation machine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices