Marco Rubio bans Calibri font at State Department for being too DEI
Calibri Font is the latest public official to be fired by the Trump administration over ties to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. In a move similar to the one reported in the Onion (and sure to become fodder for “Saturday Night Live” and “South Park”), Secretary of State Marco Rubio has banned the font and […]
Reddit is testing verification badges
Reddit is starting a limited test of verified profiles, which put a gray checkmark next to the usernames of famous people and companies. “This feature is designed to help Redditors understand who they’re engaging with in moments when validation matters, whether it’s the experts and celebrities hosting AMAs, the journalists reporting the news, or the […]
Eleven Labs just reached a valuation of $6.6 billion. The company’s CEO says that real money no longer speaks.
Eleven Labs has made a name for itself by building realistic AI voices. What started as two Polish engineers struggling with bad movie dubbing has grown into a highly profitable company with a value of $6.6 billion, doubling from just nine months ago. The company recently announced a $100 million tender offer led by Sequoia […]
ChatGPT is the most downloaded Apple app in the US in 2025
Apple on Wednesday released its annual list of the most downloaded apps and games of the year. In the US market, OpenAI’s ChatGPT topped the ranking of most installed free iPhone apps (excluding games) in 2025. AI apps were followed by Threads, Google, TikTok, WhatsApp, Instagram, YouTube, Google Maps, Gmail, and Google’s Gemini. ChatGPT ranked […]
Google launches managed MCP server that lets you simply connect AI agents to your tools
AI agents are being sold as a solution for planning trips, answering business questions, and solving all kinds of problems, but getting them to interact with tools and data outside of a chat interface has been difficult. Developers have to piece together various connectors to keep them running, which is a brittle approach that is […]
Oboe raises $16M from a16z for AI-powered course generation platform
Oboe, the learning startup from Anchor co-founders and former Spotify executives Nir Zicherman and Michael Mignano, today announced that it has raised $16 million in Series A funding led by a16z, with participation from existing investors Eniac, Haystack, Offline, and Factorial. The round also saw investment from individuals such as Adam DiAngelo, Gary Tan, Lenny […]
Unacademy founder says startup is now worth less than $500 million and admits M&A talks
Unacademy, once one of India’s best-known edtech startups, may now be worth less than $500 million, down 85% from its peak pandemic-era valuation, as the company undergoes a major reset and explores merger and acquisition options. The company’s valuation has plummeted from a peak of $3.5 billion three years ago to less than $500 million […]
AI startup Tavus founder says users talk to company’s AI Santa for “hours” a day
In recent years, new helpers have arrived at the North Pole. It’s AI. Tavus, an AI startup that uses voice and facial cloning technology to create digital replicas, has launched its AI Santa experience for the second year in a row. This allows parents and children to video chat with a virtual version of Jolly […]
Petco shuts down Vetco website after exposing customers’ personal information
Pet wellness company Petco has taken portions of its Vetco Clinics website offline after a security flaw exposed large amounts of customers’ personal information to the open web. After TechCrunch alerted the company that data about Vetco customers and their pets had been compromised, Petco confirmed in a statement that it was investigating the data […]
Google invests in Fervo’s $462 million round to unlock more geothermal energy
Powered geothermal startup Fervo Energy has raised $462 million to complete its first large-scale power plant and begin development of several others as it races to feed power into the power-hungry grid. Sarah Jewett, Fervo’s senior vice president of strategy, told TechCrunch that the new funding will help the company continue work on its 500-megawatt […]