New York City puts brakes on robotaxi expansion plans
Waymo’s big chance to bring robotaxis to New York state has been blocked for now. New York Governor Kathy Hochul has withdrawn a proposal to amend vehicle and traffic laws that would have effectively legalized robotaxis in states other than New York City. Hochul spokesperson Sean Butler confirmed to TechCrunch that the proposal has been […]
Zuckerberg accused in court of harming teens on social media
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified in court Wednesday in a landmark trial aimed at determining whether the company’s social media applications are addictive and harmful to teens. The case, held in Los Angeles Superior Court, already found that Mehta’s own research shows that parental supervision does not prevent compulsive social media use among teens, and […]
A bug in the student admissions website leaks children’s personal information
A student admissions website that families use to enroll their children in schools has fixed a security flaw that exposed personal information. Ravenna Hub, a website where parents can apply and track the status of their children’s applications at thousands of schools, allowed logged-in users to access personally identifiable data associated with other users, including […]
Reload wants to provide shared memory to AI agents
Newton Asare realized that AI agents are no longer just tools. “They were acting like teammates,” he told TechCrunch. This realization crystallized when Serial founders Asare and Kiran Das realized they were using AI agents to perform tasks they would normally do themselves. Asare said he has come to believe that the future lies in […]
AI coding tools have many benefits for open source programs
In a world run by increasingly powerful AI coding tools, creating software will become cheaper, leaving little room for traditional software companies. One analyst report states, “Vibe coding allows startups to replicate the functionality of complex SaaS platforms.” Clues include wringing your hands and declaring that software companies are doomed. Open source software projects that […]
OpenAI strengthens its push into India with Pine Labs fintech partnership
As India emerges as a global hub for applied artificial intelligence, OpenAI has partnered with Pine Labs to integrate AI-driven inference into fintech companies’ payment stacks and automate payment and invoice workflows, which the companies claim could help accelerate AI-driven commerce in India. The partnership will see Pine Labs embed OpenAI’s application programming interface, a […]
Etsy sells used clothing marketplace Depop to eBay for $1.2 billion
Etsy announced Wednesday that it will sell Depop, the used clothing app popular with Gen Z and Millennials, to eBay for $1.2 billion in cash. Etsy says the partnership will allow it to focus on its marketplace. The deal comes nearly five years after Etsy acquired Depop for $1.62 billion, at a time when used […]
Hacking conference “Defcon” expels three suspects, including Epstein
Def Con, one of the world’s largest and longest-running hacking conferences, announced Wednesday that three people associated with Jeffrey Epstein are no longer allowed to attend. The conference justified adding Pavlos Holman, Vincenzo Iozzo, and Joichi Ito to the public list of banned persons, citing their appearance in the Justice Department’s recently released files related […]
A startup called Germ becomes the first private messenger launched directly from the Bluesky app.
This is something we have never seen on Big Tech social platforms. Decentralized open social network Bluesky has integrated a new technology from a startup called Germ Network to bring end-to-end encrypted (E2E) messaging to the Bluesky app. This move makes Germ DM the first private messenger that can be launched natively within the Bluesky […]
SeatGeek and Spotify team up to offer concert ticket sales within their music platform
SeatGeek announced a new integration with Spotify on Wednesday, bringing a seamless ticket purchasing experience to Spotify users. When Spotify users view an artist’s page or upcoming tour dates, they will now see ticket links provided by SeatGeek for concerts at these participating venues, streamlining the purchasing process. This integration is currently available for select […]