What the Epstein Files Reveal About EV Startups and Silicon Valley
After the Justice Department released a trove of new documents related to notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, journalists scrutinizing them discovered extensive ties to Silicon Valley. TechCrunch’s Sean O’Kane examined how a mysterious businessman named David Stern developed a relationship with Epstein to pitch him investments in several electric vehicle startups, including Faraday Future, Lucid […]
How to join a16z’s highly competitive Speedrun startup accelerator program
Without a doubt, one of the hottest new startup accelerators in the tech industry right now is Andreessen Horowitz’s Speedrun program. The accelerator, scheduled to launch in 2023, has an acceptance rate of less than 1%. The program said in a blog post in January that more than 19,000 startups had participated, but less than […]
Hollywood isn’t happy with new Seedance 2.0 video generator
Hollywood groups are objecting to a new AI video model called SeaDance 2.0, claiming it has quickly become a tool for “blatant” copyright infringement. ByteDance, the Chinese company that recently closed a deal to sell TikTok’s U.S. operations (it retains a stake in the new joint venture), launched Seedance 2.0 earlier this week. According to […]
The computer science exodus (and where are the students going?)
This fall, something strange happened on the campus of the University of California. For the first time since the dot-com crash, enrollment in computer science has declined. The San Francisco Chronicle reported last week that the system as a whole is down 6% this year after falling 3% in 2024. Even though overall college enrollment […]
As the venture capital landscape changes, this executive focuses on overlooked founders
Many people in Silicon Valley have spent years chasing mega-rounds and hot AI deals. Stacey Brown Philpott, meanwhile, runs CherryRock Capital like she was back in the early days of venture capital, writing small Series A and B checks to founders routinely overlooked by larger companies. The former TaskRabbit CEO and 10-year Google veteran launched […]
Hollywood isn’t happy with new Seedance 2.0 video generator
Hollywood groups are objecting to a new AI video model called SeaDance 2.0, claiming it has quickly become a tool for “blatant” copyright infringement. ByteDance, the Chinese company that recently closed a deal to sell TikTok’s U.S. operations (it retains a stake in the new joint venture), launched Seedance 2.0 earlier this week. According to […]
Designer Kate Burton collaborates with IBM and Fiducia AI for NYFW presentation
On Saturday, designer Kate Burton will present her latest collection at New York Fashion Week – with a twist, of course. Barton worked with Fiducia AI to create a multilingual AI agent (built with IBM Watsonx on IBM Cloud) that allows guests to identify and virtually try on pieces of the collection. TechCrunch spoke to […]
India doubles state-backed venture capital, approves $1.1 billion fund
India will authorize a $1.1 billion state-backed venture capital program that will channel government funds to startups through private investors, redoubling efforts to fund high-risk areas such as artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing and other sectors commonly referred to in the industry as deep tech. The Rs 1,000 billion fund, first outlined in India’s finance minister’s […]
Major Indian pharmacy chain exposes customer data and internal systems
A security lapse by one of India’s largest pharmacy chains allowed an outsider to gain complete administrative control of its platform, exposing customer order data and sensitive medication management functions, TechCrunch has learned exclusively. The issue affected DavaIndia Pharmacy, the pharmacy arm of Zota Healthcare, which operates a large network of retail stores across India. […]
Airbnb announces one-third of customer support is now handled by AI in the US and Canada
Airbnb says its custom-built AI agents currently handle about one-third of customer support issues in North America, and the company is preparing to roll out the feature globally. If successful, the company believes that in a year’s time more than 30% of all customer support tickets will be handled by AI voice and chat in […]