Uber wants to turn millions of drivers into a sensor grid for self-driving companies
Uber has long-term ambitions that go far beyond picking up and dropping off passengers. The company ultimately wants to absorb real-world data for self-driving vehicle (AV) companies by equipping cars with human drivers with sensors to help them and potentially other companies train AI models in physical-world scenarios. Uber Chief Technology Officer Praveen Neppalli Naga […]
Replit’s Amjad Massad talks about the Cursor deal, the battle with Apple, and why he doesn’t want to sell
Amjadmasad has been building Replit for 10 years, but the past 18 months have been something entirely different. The AI coding assistant company generated $2.8 million in revenue for all of 2024 and grew toward what Massad calls an annual operating rate of $1 billion. TechCrunch’s sold-out StrictlyVC event in San Francisco on Thursday night […]
Musely secures $360 million from General Catalyst without giving up equity
Musely, a direct-to-consumer telemedicine platform, has secured more than $360 million in non-dilutive capital from General Catalyst’s Customer Value Fund (CVF). The company specializes in complex treatments for skin, hair and menopause care. Musely co-founder and CEO Jack Jia told TechCrunch that CVF wasn’t looking to raise money when investors approached him last year. That’s […]
Meta acquires robotics startup to strengthen humanoid AI ambitions
Social media giant Meta has announced that it has acquired humanoid robotics startup Assured Robot Intelligence (ARI) for an undisclosed sum. “We have acquired Assured Robot Intelligence, a company at the forefront of robotic intelligence designed to help robots understand, predict, and adapt to human behavior in complex, dynamic environments,” a Meta spokesperson told TechCrunch […]
Google AppSheet phishing campaign hacks 30,000 Facebook accounts
Ravi LakshmananMay 1, 2026Malware/Threat Intelligence A newly discovered Vietnam-related operation was observed using Google AppSheet as a “phishing relay” to distribute phishing emails aimed at compromising Facebook accounts. The operation was codenamed AccountDumpling by Guardio, and the plan was to sell stolen accounts back through illegal storefronts operated by threat actors. In total, it is […]
Department of Defense partners with Nvidia, Microsoft, and AWS to deploy AI on sensitive networks
Following agreements with Google, SpaceX, and OpenAI, the U.S. Department of Defense on Friday announced agreements with Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, and Reflection AI to allow them to deploy their AI technology and models on classified networks for “lawful operational purposes.” “These agreements will accelerate the transformation toward establishing the U.S. military as an […]
Ubuntu services suffer outage after DDoS attack
Hacktivists have claimed responsibility for taking down the public infrastructure of Ubuntu, a popular Linux operating system distribution, and Canonical, the company that develops and maintains its software. The attack began Thursday and affected services that Ubuntu users rely on. “Canonical’s web infrastructure is continually exposed to cross-border attacks, and we are working to address […]
Cybercriminal groups exploit Vishing and SSO in rapid SaaS extortion attacks
Ravi LakshmananMay 1, 2026 Cybersecurity researchers are warning of two cybercrime groups that are carrying out “fast, high-impact attacks” mostly within the confines of SaaS environments, while minimizing the footprint of their activities. The clusters Cordial Spider (also known as BlackFile, CL-CRI-1116, O-UNC-045, and UNC6671) and Snarky Spider (also known as O-UNC-025 and UNC6661) are […]
China-linked hackers target Asian governments, NATO states, journalists, activists
Cybersecurity researchers have revealed details of a new Chinese-linked espionage operation targeting government and defense sectors across South, East and Southeast Asia, as well as European governments in NATO. Trend Micro has determined that this activity is the result of a threat activity cluster tracked under the temporary designation SHADOW-EARTH-053. This hostile group is assessed […]
People are finally using Reddit search.
Over the past few years, Reddit has invested in its search engine and added AI features to help users find what they’re looking for, as the company has been plagued by complaints that its search functionality needs improvement. It looks like the investment is finally paying off. The company has seen a 30% increase in […]