New startup from former Sequoia partner uses AI to negotiate calendars on your behalf
Kais Khimji has spent most of his professional career as a venture investor, including six years as a partner at the prominent VC firm Sequoia Capital. But like several other former Sequoia partners, including David Vélez, who founded Brazilian digital bank Nubank, Kimji (pictured left) always wanted to be a startup founder. He announced Thursday […]
Palmer Lackey says the best part about Anduril’s arrival in Long Beach is its fighters.
Defense technology company Anduril on Thursday announced plans to expand its Southern California presence with the opening of a large campus in Long Beach, the coastal town where founder Palmer Lackey grew up. The expanded campus is expected to eventually support approximately 5,500 jobs. Lackey told TechCrunch that these will be new jobs, not transfers […]
Capital One bought Brex at a steep discount from its highest valuation, but early believers are still laughing all the way to the bank
In Silicon Valley, when a unicorn stumbles, there’s a sense of schadenfreude. So when the Journal broke the news Thursday afternoon that Capital One would acquire Brex for $5.15 billion in cash and stock (Capital One issued an official release confirming the details a half-hour later), you could almost hear the collective laughter from Sand […]
Are AI agents ready for the workplace? New benchmarks raise questions.
It’s been nearly two years since Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella predicted that knowledge work (the white-collar jobs held by lawyers, investment bankers, librarians, accountants, IT, etc.) would be replaced by AI. However, despite the great advances made with basic models, changes in knowledge work have been slow to emerge. Models have mastered thorough research and […]
Google DeepMind CEO is ‘surprised’ as OpenAI rushes to advertise on ChatGPT
Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis said he was “surprised” that OpenAI was already moving to introduce advertising within its AI chatbots. In an interview with Axios at Davos, the AI leader answered a question about using advertising to monetize AI services, saying the idea is something Google’s team is considering “very carefully.” Hassabis also said […]
Humans& believes coordination is the next frontier in AI, and we’re building models to prove it
Although AI chatbots are getting better at answering questions, summarizing documents, and solving mathematical equations, they still act like helpful assistants for one user at a time. They aren’t designed to manage the heavy lifting of real collaboration, like coordinating people with competing priorities, tracking decisions over time, and keeping teams aligned over time. Humans&, […]
Tesla begins offering robotaxi rides in Austin without a human safety driver
Tesla is offering passengers robotaxi rides in Austin without a human safety driver in the front seat. CEO Elon Musk posted on his social media platform X on Thursday: “Just started driving a Tesla robotaxi in Austin without safety monitors in the car. Congratulations to the Tesla AI team!” He then called for engineers interested […]
Ireland proposes new law allowing police to use spyware
Ireland is considering new legislation that would give law enforcement more surveillance powers, including allowing the use of spyware. The Irish Government this week announced the introduction of the Communications (Interception and Lawful Access) Bill. The bill would regulate the use of “lawful interception,” an industry term for surveillance technology that includes spyware made by […]
Under Armor says it is ‘aware’ of data breach claims after 72 million customer records were posted online
Under Armor, the clothing and fitness data company, said it is investigating claims of a data breach after cybercriminals posted millions of customer records on a hacker forum. The seller told TechCrunch that the data was obtained in a data breach in November, which the Everest ransomware group claimed responsibility for in a post on […]
Google is reportedly bringing a team behind AI voice startup Hume AI
The top talent behind yet another promising AI startup was swallowed up by the incumbent company. As part of the new licensing deal, Google DeepMind will bring in the CEO and several top engineers from voice AI startup Hume AI, Wired reports. What remains of Hume AI will continue to provide its technology to other […]