DeepSeek’s updated R1 reasoning AI model might be getting the bulk of the AI community’s attention this week. But the Chinese AI lab also released a smaller, “distilled” version of its new R1, DeepSeek-R1-0528-Qwen3-8B, that DeepSeek claims beats comparably sized models on certain benchmarks. The smaller updated R1, which was built using the Qwen3-8B model…
YouTube announced on Thursday that it’s bringing Google Lens to YouTube Shorts in the coming weeks. With this integration, viewers will soon be able to use Google Lens to search what they see while watching Shorts. For example, if you’re watching a Short filmed in a location that you’re interested in visiting, you can select…
On Thursday, Anduril and Meta announced news that feels like a fairy tale ending for Anduril co-founder Palmer Luckey. The two companies are working together to build extended reality (XR) devices for the U.S. military, Anduril announced in a blog post. “I am glad to be working with Meta once again,” Luckey is quoted as…
Heron Power, the electrical grid-focused startup founded by former Tesla executive Drew Baglino, announced Thursday it has raised $38 million in a Series A funding round. Heron Power is developing solid-state transformers, which promise to be more compact and responsive than the century-old analog models. Transformers are key parts of the electrical grid, stepping voltage…
Delaware’s attorney general is hiring an investment bank to advise on OpenAI’s for-profit conversion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. The independent evaluation could prolong the transition, or gum up OpenAI’s plans even further. OpenAI’s conversion will help it attract new investment and eventually go public, but first, the startup needs to secure approvals…
Tinder is leaning into dating apps’ reputation for superficiality with the launch of a new feature that lets paid subscribers add their height preferences to their profiles. After a Reddit user posted a photo of the new height setting in the Tinder app, a company spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch that the discovery setting has been…
Black Forest Labs, the AI startup whose models once powered the image generation features of X’s Grok chatbot, on Thursday released a new suite of image-generating models — some of which can both create and edit pics. The most capable of the models in the new family, called Flux.1 Kontext, can be prompted with text…
Grammarly has secured a $1 billion commitment from General Catalyst. The 14-year-old writing assistant startup will use the new funds for its sales and marketing efforts, freeing up existing capital to make strategic acquisitions. Unlike a traditional venture round, General Catalyst will not receive an equity stake in the company in return for the investment….
At TechCrunch Sessions: AI, the spotlight is on the future of artificial intelligence and the startups shaping it. This high-energy event brings together founders, investors, and technologists to explore how AI is transforming industries — from the pitch deck to full-scale deployment. We’re proud to spotlight our partners — not just for their support, but…
The Innovation of the Year Award celebrates the boldest and most visionary startups exhibiting at VivaTech 2025. Open to all exhibiting companies, the award honors those pushing boundaries and redefining industries. Startups were scored on Innovation & Creativity, Market Disruption, and Scalability. From hundreds of applicants, 30 made the short list. The top five will…
