Citizen Lab say exiled Uyghur leaders targeted with Windows spyware
The researchers said the attackers behind the campaign had "deep understanding of the target community."
From coding tests to billion-dollar startups, Ali Partovi’s eight-year experiment is paying off
In Silicon Valley, where the same high-wattage names tend to dominate the headlines, Ali Partovi has long wielded outsized influence despite limited name recognition. The Iranian-born Harvard graduate built an impressive resume early on — joining the founding team of LinkExchange (acquired by Microsoft in 1998 for $265 million), co-founding iLike (sold to MySpace for […]
Startups Weekly: Tech IPOs and deals proceed, but price matters
Welcome to Startups Weekly — your weekly recap of everything you can’t miss from the world of startups. Want it in your inbox every Friday? Sign up here. This week confirmed that deals can still happen in a troubled world, but price considerations and adjustments are now part of the picture. Most interesting startup stories […]
https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/25/startups-weekly-tech-ipos-and-deals-proceed-but-price-matters/
Revolut, the $45B neobank, posts $1B profit in 2024
Revolut, the $45 billion neobanking startup founded in the U.K., may have put its IPO plans on ice, but its balance sheet is looking pretty hot. The company reported net profit of $1 billion (£790 million) in 2024, while its customer base grew by 38% to 52.5 million, according to its annual report. Revenues increased […]
https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/24/revolut-the-45b-neobank-posts-1b-profit-in-2024/
This tool estimates how much electricity your chatbot messages consume
Ever wonder how much electricity you’re using when you prompt, or thank, an AI model? Hugging Face engineer Julien Delavande did, so he built a tool to help arrive at the answer. AI models consume energy each time they’re run. They’re run on GPUs and specialized chips that need a lot of power to carry […]
Mystery will may reveal Zappos founder’s final wishes
According to the WSJ, a recently discovered will suggests late Zappos co-founder Tony Hsieh had concrete plans for his fortune despite previous beliefs that he died without leaving instructions for an estate that’s estimated to be worth $1.2 billion. Among other things, the document, signed in 2015 and included in a recent court filing, contains […]
https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/23/mystery-will-may-reveal-zappos-founders-final-wishes/
OpenAI seeks to make its upcoming open AI model best-in-class
Toward the end of March, OpenAI announced its intention to release its first “open” language model since GPT‑2 sometime this year. Now, details about that model are beginning to trickle out from the company’s sessions with the AI developer community. Sources tell TechCrunch that Aidan Clark, OpenAI’s VP of research, is leading development of the open model, […]
https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/23/openai-seeks-to-make-its-upcoming-open-ai-model-best-in-class/
Anti-Musk protests are now an official risk to Tesla’s business
Protests against Elon Musk and Tesla have been spreading around the world thanks to the CEO’s involvement in the Trump administration. Now those protests are listed in an official “risk factor” in paperwork Tesla is required to file with federal regulators. The new language, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday morning, shows […]
https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/23/anti-musk-protests-are-now-an-official-risk-to-teslas-business/
OpenAI makes its upgraded image generator available to developers
OpenAI on Wednesday brought the tech behind its new and improved image generation feature in ChatGPT to its API, allowing developers to integrate it into their apps and services. OpenAI’s new image generator, which launched for most ChatGPT users in late March, went viral for its ability to create realistic Ghibli-style photos and “AI action figures.” […]
https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/23/openai-makes-its-upgraded-image-generator-available-to-developers/
Froda secures $23M Series B for its debt financing platform for SMEs
Swedish Fintech startup Froda has secured a $22.7 million (€20m) Series B round led by Incore Invest, also based in Sweden. The move bucks the trend of a slight slowdown in investments into fintech, plus a further confirmation of the long-term trend towards the ’embedded finance’ model. Largely operating in northern European countries from Finland […]
Xprize Carbon awarded to a dirt simple carbon removal technology
Mati Carbon walked away with the $50 million grand prize for its enhanced rock weathering program that locks carbon in soils for thousands of years.
https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/23/xprize-carbon-awarded-to-a-dirt-simple-carbon-removal-technology/
StrictlyVC heads to Athens for in-depth conversations on European innovation and investment
StrictlyVC is turning up the heat in 2025 — and we’re going international! First stop: Athens, May 8. Get ready for sharp, unfiltered conversations onstage — and your chance to jump into the dialogue. This isn’t just an event; it’s a forum where every attendee has a voice with some of Europe’s most influential tech […]
xAI’s Grok chatbot can now ‘see’ the world around it
xAI’s Grok chatbot can now answer questions about what’s in view of your smartphone’s camera, similar to real-time vision features available for Google’s Gemini and ChatGPT. On Tuesday, xAI announced the launch of Grok Vision, which lets users point their phone at objects like products, signs, and documents and ask questions about them. Grok Vision […]
https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/22/xais-grok-chatbot-can-now-see-the-world-around-it/
Why OpenAI wanted to buy Cursor but opted for the fast-growing Windsurf
Anysphere, maker of AI coding assistant Cursor, is growing so quickly, it’s not in the market to be sold, even to OpenAI, a source close to the company tells TechCrunch. It’s been a hot target. Cursor is one of the most popular AI-powered coding tools and its revenue has been growing astronomically – doubling on […]
Tesla earnings Q1 2025: What we’re watching for
This might be the most hyped Tesla earnings in recent memory. And not for all the right reasons. Tesla has taken many hits this year as its CEO Elon Musk leans further into right-wing politics and oversees DOGE, the advisory body that President Trump has bestowed the power to slash federal spending. For Tesla, that […]
https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/22/tesla-earnings-q1-2025-what-were-watching-for/
A16z acqui-hires VC tech podcaster Erik Torenberg, who joins as new partner
Andreessen Horowitz’s hiring spree continues. On Monday, Erik Torenberg announced that the giant VC firm had acquired his Turpentine podcast, with him joining as a general partner. Torenberg’s podcast focuses mostly on interviewing VCs at a variety of firms about their approach to investing. Recent guests include Accel’s Andrew Braccia, Seven Seven Six’s Alexis Ohanian, […]
Week in Review: Google loses a major antitrust case
Welcome back to Week in Review! We’ve got tons of stuff for you this week: antitrust lawsuits against Google and Meta; Grok can now remember; Bolt CEO Ryan Breslow wants to make his mark; and much, much more. Have a great weekend! It’s over: Google violated antitrust laws in the ad tech market, a judge […]
https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/19/week-in-review-google-loses-a-major-antitrust-case/
Startups Weekly: Mixed messages from venture capital
Welcome to Startups Weekly — your weekly recap of everything you can’t miss from the world of startups. Want it in your inbox every Friday? Sign up here. This week brought us mixed messages. A fresh IPO filing, but a bleak outlook for exits overall. New funding rounds, but founders frustrated over lack of capital. […]
https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/18/startups-weekly-mixed-messages-from-venture-capital/
OpenAI pursued Cursor maker before entering into talks to buy Windsurf for $3B
When news broke that OpenAI was in talks to acquire AI coding company Windsurf for $3 billion, one of the first questions on the mind of anyone following the space was likely: “Why not buy Cursor creator Anysphere instead?” After all, OpenAI Startup Fund has been an investor in Anysphere, the maker of Cursor, since the […]
Florida draft law mandating encryption backdoors for social media accounts billed ‘dangerous and dumb’
A digital rights group blasted the Florida bill, but lawmakers voted to advanced the draft law.
xAI adds a ‘memory’ feature to Grok
Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, is slowly bringing its Grok chatbot to parity with top rivals like ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini. Wednesday night, xAI announced a “memory” feature for Grok that enables the bot to remember details from past conversations. Now, if you ask Grok for recommendations, it’ll give more personalized responses — assuming you’ve […]
https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/16/xai-adds-a-memory-feature-to-grok/
Zoom restores service after an hours-long outage
Zoom says its platform is back online after suffering an outage for much of Wednesday afternoon. “Service has now been restored after the earlier outage, and we sincerely appreciate your patience and understanding,” Zoom said in a post on X at around 2 p.m. Pacific. The trouble began around 11:40 a.m., according to The Verge, […]
https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/16/zoom-restores-service-after-an-hours-long-outage/
Cross-posting social app Openvibe now supports Threads, too
The decline of X (formerly Twitter) under Elon Musk, has boosted engagement with alternative social networks like Bluesky, Threads, and Mastodon, but it has also challenged early adopters who now have too many places to post. Naturally, some entrepreneurs are working to solve this problem with apps that let you cross-post to multiple platforms at […]
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https://techcrunch.com/2024/11/01/cross-posting-social-app-openvibe-now-supports-threads-too/