Last year, police surveillance startup Flock Safety hired the mayor of a California city with over 200,000 residents to promote its products. But the mayor, Ulises Cabrera of Moreno Valley, now claims Flock wrongfully terminated him, partly because he refused to use his position as mayor to benefit Flock, according to a lawsuit Cabrera filed [β¦]
Β© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
In the U.S., itβs accepted that most startups fail β and when that happens, VCs (generally) accept their losses and move on. But thatβs not the case in China, where VCs are trying to claw back their investments in failed startups by pursuing the personal assets of their founders in court, The Financial Times reports. [β¦]
Β© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
While the Chinese internet giant Tencent is best known for its super app WeChat, itβs also a major investor in U.S. tech companies and startups. Some of its most notable and still active investments include Reddit, Snap, and Fortnite creator Epic Games. Things might get a little awkward, though, because Tencent was designated a βChinese [β¦]
Β© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Friday, December 27, was supposed to be the start of a relaxing holiday weekend. But it was chaos for thousands of small business owners who use Bench, an accounting and tax startup based in Canada that raised $113 million from investors like Bain Capital Ventures and Shopify. That morning, they found themselves unable to log [β¦]
Β© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Tacora Capital has raised its second fund, after Peter Thiel backed its first fund with $250 million.
Β© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Conservative activists claim X is censoring them for being critical of its owner, Elon Musk.
Β© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Bench, the VC-backed accounting startup that left thousands of customers locked out of their accounts after it suddenly shut down last week, will be acquired by Employer.com for an undisclosed price in a last-minute deal, TechCrunch has exclusively learned. The San Francisco-based HR tech company Employer.com focuses on payroll and onboarding, in contrast to Bench, [β¦]
Β© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Bench, a Canada-based accounting startup that offered software-as-a-service for small and medium-sized businesses, has abruptly shut down, according to a notice posted on its website.Β Β βWe regret to inform you that as of December 27, 2024, the Bench platform will no longer be accessible,β the notice reads. βWe know this news is abrupt and may [β¦]
Β© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
ChatGPT's new search feature can be told to generate entirely positive product summaries thanks to hidden code, new research finds.
Β© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Contractors working on Google Gemini are comparing its responses to Claude's, according to internal correspondence seen by TechCrunch.
Β© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Sam Altman dismissed what he called a "conspiracy theory" from a16z co-founder Marc Andreessen.
Β© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Led by Markforged veterans and backed by a16z, Backlip has raised $30M to democratize product design thanks to AI.
Β© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Internal guidelines passed down from Google led to concerns that the AI model could be prone to inaccurate outputs on topics like healthcare.
Β© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
The US government is calling on a Perplexity executive to help make its case that Google is a monopolist.
Β© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
The Canadian AI startup has quietly partnered with Palantir to put Cohere's models in use with unnamed Palantir customers.
Β© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Telegram launched a new page touting its moderation efforts, which have spiked since its founder's arrest.
Β© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Cap table management firm Carta is under fire from some founders who say cancelling their subscriptions is too hard.
Β© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
University endowments could be taxed much higher under Trump. That may harm VCs, an investor warns.
Β© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Generative AI has a plethora of well-documented misuses, and now, it appears to be cropping up in state influence operations.
Β© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
The OpenAI Startup Fund discloses its biggest SPV yet, but is staying quiet on what it's for.
Β© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
