DesignArena creators raise $7.9 million to bring taste to AI models

DesignArena is used by 5.3 million people around the world, providing critical human evaluations to frontier labs.

Influencers draw backlash for attending OpenAI’s first luxury trip

OpenAI’s first-ever influencer brand trip is sparking online backlash as tensions over the use of AI continue.

Apple challenges UK government’s latest demand for iCloud backdoor: report

Apple has appealed a new legal demand by the U.K. government, which critics say could threaten the privacy rights of users all over the world.

Apple finally fixed Siri. So why does it feel anticlimactic?

Apple’s long-awaited AI overhaul finally makes Siri the assistant it was always supposed to be. But after years of delays, the launch lands in an AI landscape w...

Outernet turns your saved posts into real-world adventures

Founded by the creators of viral offline events like San Francisco’s citywide scavenger hunt Pursuit, Outernet's app helps users save places and events they dis...

WhatsApp says it is is fixing an issue that disabled several accounts

Meta says it’s restoring access to WhatsApp accounts that were mistakenly flagged and placed “under review” after users reported being unexpectedly locked out o...

Sequoia’s Shaun Maguire leads $1B round for nuclear startup Valar Atomics

Valar Atomics raised $1 billion at a $6 billion valuation after signing a development deal with Nvidia in June.

Base Power raises another $1B to save the grid using backyard batteries

Base Power’s $1 billion round will help the startup ramp production of its home batteries.

Congress’s favorite AI tool? ChatGPT

House spending records show OpenAI's ChatGPT dominates paid AI use on Capitol Hill, with congressional offices relying on the chatbot to draft memos, summarize ...

Wispr Flow is preparing to launch a meeting notetaker, updated terms suggest

Wispr Flow's new terms of service indicate it will introduce a notetaker that generates meeting summaries and action items.

Horizon3 hits $2 billion valuation with $250M Series E as AI threats escalate

Cybersecurity startup Horizon3 raised $250 million at a $2 billion valuation as companies want continuous, AI-powered security validation instead of annual pent...

Samsung bans smart TV apps that share users’ internet connections with strangers

New security research offers a rare view inside residential proxy networks, which rely on apps that share a person's internet connection with someone else.

A Marc Benioff-backed startup thinks AI can solve the AI deployment problem

June emerged from stealth today with a $20 million pre-seed round to make AI adoption simpler.

The global memory shortage hits the MacBook Air

The global memory chip shortage appears to be affecting the availability of Apple’s most popular Mac.

Sam Altman and AI’s decel debate

On the latest episode of Equity, we discuss why Sam Altman has calling on the industry to "pace the rate of AI development."

Malaysia is reportedly shutting down Balaji Srinivasan’s Network School

Let's see how this "frontier community for techno-optimists" is doing ...

TechCrunch Mobility: Two roads diverged — for robotaxis

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility, your hub for the future of transportation and now, more than ever, the role AI is playing in it.

Judge denies xAI’s request to block Minnesota ban on ‘nudify’ apps

Despite a lawsuit from xAI, a Minnesota ban on apps that allow users to “nudify” images can move forward.

YouTuber Hank Green says his AI usage is ‘not healthy’

Green offered a remarkable apology, saying that "the level of dopamine that I've been getting from interacting with LLMs ... is not healthy for me or good for t...

Should you still buy your next smartphone — or subscribe to it instead?

Apple's new Upgrade program is the latest sign that smartphone ownership is changing.

Sam Altman is still making the case for parenting via ChatGPT

OpenAI's CEO seemed excited to share a "cool use case" for parents.

Uber is building an autonomous vehicle empire, and here’s every company it’s using to do it

Uber has partnered with — and in some cases made direct investments in — about 30 autonomous vehicle companies over the past two years. Here's the list and the ...

Apps that help you break free from doomscrolling and get active

If you’re looking to cut back on screen time and get a little more active, here’s a roundup of the apps that might help.

What’s the best handheld mini fan?

From premium Shark and Dyson offerings to random Amazon devices, these mini fans will make your sweaty summer a little more managable.

OpenAI reportedly finds evidence that more of its agents ran amok

OpenAI has reportedly found evidence of additional agent misbehavior as it looks into the incident that occurred with Hugging Face.

Rivian spinoff Also to start delivering e-bikes after months of delays

Also has big plans beyond the TM-B. The startup mostly refers to itself as a "vehicle" company, and has plans to make four-wheel pedal-assist cargo vehicles for...

India is starting to pay for apps, not just download them

India's app market generated a record $345 million in Q2.

Google nixes its Earth AI feature one day after launch, amid criticism it would spread misinformation

A tool that allowed anyone to generate fake AI-generated imagery and superimpose it over real Google Earth maps quickly spurred backlash.

Fresh off its Wiz payout, Index Ventures raises $2B across three funds

The new funding brings Index's total available investing capital to $3.5 billion.

VC-backed startups commit more fraud, and researchers think they know why

New research from the U.K.’s Imperial College and France’s Emlyon Business School mapped out how Silicon Valley founders commit fraud — and the role investors p...