The Latest
The TikTok ban clears key hurdle while Perplexity AI continues to shake up search
Well, if you are a big TikTok fan and live in the United States, I have some bad news for you: A bill that would force a sale of TikTok or ban it in the United States passed the Senate. And the Presid
Nvidia acquires AI workload management startup Run:ai
Nvidia is acquiring Run:ai, a Tel Aviv-based company that makes it easier for developers and operations teams to manage and optimize their AI hardware infrastructure, for an undisclosed sum. Ctech rep
Security bugs in a popular phone-tracking app exposed users’ precise locations
The location-sharing app iSharing, which has 35 million users, fixed vulnerabilities that exposed users' personal information and precise location data.
Block lets Square merchants convert a part of their daily sales to bitcoin
Block, the company behind Square, Cash App and other services, announced a new program today allowing merchants using Square’s solutions to convert a percentage of their daily sales to bitcoin.
Diddo’s new funding will bring its shoppable TV API to streaming platforms
Diddo is an API for streaming services and other platforms to integrate shoppable video, enabling consumers to buy their favorite characters’ clothing and accessories directly on their screens.
Spotify submits a new update to Apple with pricing information for EU users
Spotify said today that it has submitted a new version of its app for EU users with pricing information and basic site information. Critically, the version doesn’t contain the link to the websit
Snowflake releases a flagship generative AI model of its own
All-around, highly generalizable generative AI models were the name of the game once, and they arguably still are. But increasingly, as cloud vendors large and small join the generative AI fray, we
Tomorrow, TechCrunch Early Stage 2024 takes over Boston
Tomorrow is the day we’ve all been waiting for! TechCrunch Early Stage 2024 kicks off in Boston, and we can’t wait to see you there! We’re expecting 1,000+ attendees for a full day o
UK probes Amazon and Microsoft over AI partnerships with Mistral, Anthropic, and Inflection
The UK is launching initial enquiries into Amazon and Microsoft over partnerships with AI companies Mistral, Anthropic, and Inflection.
Tines taps $50M to expand its workflow automation beyond security teams
Automation continues to be a major theme in the enterprise — underscored not least by the rise of AI as a tool to help fix some of the more routine, resource-intensive and fragmented aspects of
Hinge adds a way to mute requests containing words you specify
Hinge is adding a “Hidden Words” feature to its app, which will filter out likes with comments containing those phrases or words. It pretty much works like a mute filter on social media ap
Former Magic Leapers launch a platform for AR experiences
When Trace’s future co-founders Greg Tran, Martin Smith and Sean Couture joined Magic Leap in Spring/Summer 2015, it was about as hot as startups come. After years of secrecy, the augmented reality
RBI bars Kotak Bank from digital onboarding of customers, fresh credit cards
India’s central bank on Wednesday ordered Kotak Mahindra Bank to immediately cease onboarding new customers via its online and mobile banking channels, and to stop issuing fresh credit cards, ci
Parloa, a conversational AI platform for customer service, raises $66M
Conversational AI platform Parloa has nabbed $66 million in a Series B round, a year after it raised $21 million from a swathe of European investors to propel its international growth. The German comp
Madica, a program by Flourish Ventures, steps up pre-seed investing in Africa
Madica, an investment program launched by US-based investor Flourish Ventures to back pre-seed startups in Africa, plans to invest in up to 10 ventures by the end of the year, ramping up its funding e
French startup FlexAI exits stealth with $30M to ease access to AI compute
With the current iteration of its product going through its paces with a handful of beta customers, FlexAI will launch its first commercial product later this year.
Google-backed Glance pilots Android lockscreen platform in US
Glance, which operates a popular lockscreen platform targeting Android smartphones, is setting its sights on the U.S. market. The Indian startup recently commenced a pilot program in partnership with
Senate passes a bill that would ban TikTok if ByteDance doesn’t sell it
The bill gives Bytedance nine months to force a sale with a 90-day extension, which is effectively a year to complete the deal.
The all-electric Mercedes G-Class ratchets up the tech and off-road capability
The Mercedes-Benz G-Class — the rugged off-road powerhouse that launched in 1979 and has since become a brutalist status symbol — has gone electric. This is, in many ways, Mercedes’
Tesla’s new growth plan is centered around mysterious cheaper models
Tesla’s been undergoing some major changes, and now we have a sense of why: The company says it is upending its product roadmap because of “pressure” on EV sales. The new and acceler