OpenAI appears to have pulled a much-discussed video promoting the friendship between CEO Sam Altman and legendary Apple designer Jony Ive (plus, incidentally, OpenAI’s $6.5 billion deal to acquire Ive and Altman’s device startup io) from its website and YouTube page. Does that suggest something is amiss with the acquisition, or with plans for Ive…
In 2018, when Bitcoin was trading around $4,000 and most Americans, at least, thought cryptocurrency was a fad, Katie Haun found herself on a debate stage in Mexico City opposite Paul Krugman, the Nobel Prize-winning economist who had dismissed digital assets as near worthless. As Krugman focused on Bitcoin’s wild price swings, Haun steered the…
A Republican effort to prevent states from enforcing their own AI regulations cleared a key procedural hurdle on Saturday. The rule, as reportedly rewritten by Senate Commerce Chair Ted Cruz in an attempt to comply with budgetary rules, would withhold federal broadband funding from states if they try to enforce AI regulations in the next…
It’s now or never — this is your final day to lock in savings for TechCrunch All Stage, happening July 15 in Boston. Prices increase tonight, June 22, at 11:59 p.m. PT. If you’ve been thinking about attending, now’s the time to commit. Register here. TC All Stage brings together founders, investors, and operators from…
While LinkedIn users seem to have embraced AI, there’s one area that’s seen less uptake than expected, according to CEO Ryan Roslansky: AI-generated suggestions for polishing your LinkedIn posts. “It’s not as popular as I thought it would be, quite frankly,” Roslansky told Bloomberg. When asked why, he argued that the “barrier is much higher”…
European governments may be reconsidering their use of American technology and services, according to a new report in The New York Times. The flashpoint seems to come after President Donald Trump sanctioned Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court, over the ICC’s decision to issue arrest warrants for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin…
Paul Pope has written and drawn some of the most gorgeous comics of the twenty-first century — from “Batman: Year 100,” in which Batman challenges a dystopian surveillance state, to “Battling Boy,” with its adolescent god proving his mettle by fighting giant monsters. But it’s been more than a decade since Pope’s last major comics…
Welcome back to Week in Review! Lots in store for you today, including Wix’s latest acquisition, Meta’s new smart glasses, a look at the new Digg, and much more. Have a great weekend! Smart specs: Meta and Oakley have teamed up on a new pair of smart glasses that can record 3K video, play music,…
SoftBank is going all in on AI. Just months after announcing its involvement in the $500 billion Stargate AI Infrastructure project, of which SoftBank is rumored to be fronting a cool $19 billion, the Japanese investing conglomerate is reportedly looking to launch its largest AI project yet. The company is looking to team up with…
African B2B e-commerce startup Sabi has laid off around 20% of its workforce (~50 employees) as it pivots from its original retail-focused platform to double down on a growing business in commodity exports. The layoffs, confirmed by the company on Thursday, are part of a broader restructuring aimed at aligning resources with what it describes…
