Reading view

There are new articles available, click to refresh the page.

The author of SB 1047 introduces a new AI bill in California

The author of California’s SB 1047, the nation’s most controversial AI safety bill of 2024, is back with a new AI bill that could shake up Silicon Valley. California state Senator Scott Wiener introduced a new bill on Friday that would protect employees at leading AI labs, allowing them to speak out if they think […]

© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Google Play update makes it easier to find Android apps with widgets

Google announced Monday a series of changes to its widgets system on Android that will make it easier for app developers to reach their users. Widgets, which offer at-a-glance views of an app’s most important information — like the day’s weather or upcoming meetings on your calendar — are a key aspect of Android home […]

© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Ramp has more than doubled its annualized revenue to $700 million

Fintech startup Ramp has crossed $700 million in annualized revenue as of January of this year, according to a source familiar with the company’s internal operations. The company had crossed $100 million in annualized revenue before its third birthday in March 2022, passed $300 million by August 2023, and now effectively more than doubled that […]

© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

TechCrunch Sessions: AI speaker applications close March 7

On June 5, TechCrunch Sessions: AI will kick off — and you can be part of the industry-changing conversations that will be taking place. We have an open invitation for members of the AI community to lead breakout sessions and discussions with over 1,200 startup founders, VC leaders, and AI aficionados attending our newest event, which […]

© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Google releases SpeciesNet, an AI model designed to identify wildlife

Google has open sourced an AI model, SpeciesNet, designed to identify animal species by analyzing photos from camera traps. Researchers around the world use camera traps — digital cameras connected to infrared sensors — to study wildlife populations. But while these traps can provide valuable insights, they generate massive volumes of data that take days […]

© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

TSMC pledges to spend $100B on US chip facilities

Chipmaker TSMC said that it aims to invest “at least” $100 billion in chip manufacturing plants in the U.S. over the next four years as part of an effort to expand the company’s network of semiconductor factories. President Donald Trump announced the news during a press conference Monday. TSMC’s cash infusion will fund the construction […]

© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Podcasting platform Podcastle launches a text-to-speech model with more than 450 AI voices

Podcast recording and editing platform Podcastle is now joining other companies in the AI-powered, text-to-speech race by releasing its own AI model called Asyncflow v1.0. An API for developers will also be available, allowing them to directly integrate the text-to-speech model in their apps. Thanks to the new model, the company is able to offer […]

© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian joins Frank McCourt’s TikTok bid

Reddit co-founder and investor Alexis Ohanian has joined billionaire Frank McCourt’s bid to acquire TikTok as a strategic adviser specializing in social media, Reuters reports. “He has that broad portfolio of experience … of where social media was and, I think, a keen understanding of where it’s evolving,” McCourt told Reuters. “Where he can help […]

© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

No part of Amazon is ‘unaffected’ by AI, says its head of AGI

“There’s scarcely a part of the company that is unaffected by AI,” said Vishal Sharma, Amazon’s VP of Artificial General Intelligence, on Monday at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. He dismissed the idea that open-source models might reduce compute needs and deflected when asked whether European companies would change their generative AI strategies in light of […]

© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Fintech startup Ramp nearly doubles valuation to $13B in secondary share sale

Expense management startup Ramp has nearly doubled its valuation to $13 billion after a $150 million secondary share sale, the company announced Monday morning. New and existing backers including VC Stripes, GIC, Avenir Growth, Thrive Capital, Khosla Ventures, General Catalyst, Lux Capital, 137 Ventures and Definition Capital bought the secondaries from employees and early investors. […]

© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Anthropic raises $3.5B to fuel its AI ambitions

AI startup Anthropic on Monday announced it raised $3.5 billion at a $61.5 billion post-money valuation, led by Lightspeed Venture Partners. The Series E, which also had participation from Bessemer Venture Partners, Cisco Investments, D1 Capital Partners, Fidelity Management & Research Company, General Catalyst, Jane Street, Menlo Ventures, and Salesforce Ventures, brings the company’s total […]

© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

UK probes how TikTok, Reddit, and Imgur protect child privacy

The U.K.’s privacy watchdog has launched investigations into three social media companies over how they go about protecting the privacy of children on their respective platforms. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) announced today that it’s looking into how TikTok uses personal information of 13- to 17-year-olds to recommend videos, “in light of growing concerns” around […]

© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Chinese buyers are getting Nvidia Blackwell chips despite US export controls

Upholding export controls on semiconductor chips made in the U.S. may be harder than Washington, D.C. thinks. Chinese buyers are getting their hands on computing systems with Nvidia’s Blackwell chips through third-party traders located in other regions, The Wall Street Journal reported. Buyers in Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam are buying these resources for their own […]

© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Conan O’Brien comments on AI during his opening monologue at the Oscars

When hosting the 2025 Oscars last night, comedian and late-night TV host Conan O’Brien addressed the use of AI in his opening monologue, reflecting the growing conversation about the technology’s influence in Hollywood. “We did not use AI to make this show,” O’Brien said. His remarks were clearly a reference to the use of generative AI […]

© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Deutsche Telekom and Perplexity announce new ‘AI Phone’ priced at under $1K

It was inevitable that this year at MWC in Barcelona, at least one carrier would announce a major effort at building a smartphone with a top AI company. And here it is: Deutsche Telekom (DT), said that it is building an “AI Phone,” a low-cost handset created in close collaboration with Perplexity, along with Picsart […]

© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Stability AI optimized its audio generation model to run on Arm chips

AI startup Stability AI has teamed up with chipmaker Arm to bring Stability’s Stable Audio Open, an AI model that can generate audio including sound effects, to mobile devices running Arm chips. While a number of AI-powered apps can generate audio, like Suno and Udio, most rely on cloud processing, meaning that they can’t be […]

© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

❌