A central premise of robotaxis is that high usage and lower labor costs will ultimately make it a cheap transportation option. That is still far from true, but now there’s some data that gives us an idea of by how much. Obi, an app that aggregates real-time pricing and pick-up times across multiple ride-hailing services,…
Meta has sued the maker of a popular AI “nudify” app, Crush AI, that reportedly ran thousands of ads across Meta’s platforms. In addition to the lawsuit, Meta says it’s taking new measures to crack down on other apps like Crush AI. In a lawsuit filed in Hong Kong, Meta alleged Joy Timeline HK, the…
On Thursday, Spanish startup Multiverse Computing announced that it raised an enormous Series B round of €189 million (about $215 million) on the strength of a technology it calls “CompactifAI.” CompactifAI is a quantum-computing inspired compression technology that is capable of reducing the size of LLMs by up to 95% without impacting model performance, the…
DNA testing service 23andMe filed for bankruptcy protection in March, sparking concerns about what could happen to the genetic data of the company’s 15 million customers. Pharmaceutical giant Regeneron announced in May that it was buying the genetic testing company for $256 million following a bankruptcy auction. While the company has said it will maintain 23andMe’s…
Khaby Lame, currently the world’s top TikTok creator, was recently detained by U.S. immigration officials in Las Vegas and has since left the country, The New York Times reports. According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Lame, an Italian Senegalese influencer known for his silent, deadpan reactions to viral clips, overstayed the terms of…
TechCrunch is turning 20. I’ve been here half that time. I worked previously at numerous major media properties, including Time Inc, Dow Jones, and Reuters; this has been the best job of my life, which is maybe why the time has gone so fast. There’s nothing like the culture here. Contrarian, smart, hilarious, and hard-working….
Apple will begin using AI technology to power the discovery of apps on the App Store, the company announced at this week’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC 25). In a session focused on updates to App Store Connect, its app distribution platform for developers, the company announced it will introduce App Store Tags — labels that…
Meta is reportedly investing nearly $15 billion in the data-labeling firm Scale AI and taking a 49% stake in the startup, while also bringing on CEO Alexandr Wang to help lead a new “superintelligence” lab within the company. The deal is reminiscent of Meta’s previous large and risky bets, such as its $19 billion acquisition…
Geothermal frontrunner Fervo Energy said Wednesday that it had secured $206 million in financing to continue work on a new power plant in Utah. The startup is developing what promises to be the largest enhanced geothermal power plant in the world. The initial phase of Cape Station is expected to come online next year and…
Los Angeles-based Coco Robotics, a startup building last-mile delivery robots, announced it raised $80 million on Wednesday. The funding round included angel investors Sam Altman and Max Altman, both returning investors, in addition to VC firms like Pelion Venture Partners and Offline Ventures, among others. This brings the company’s total funding to more than $120…
