Studio Ghibli and other Japanese publishers want OpenAI to stop training their works
A Japanese industry group representing publishers such as Studio Ghibli sent a letter to OpenAI last week, calling on the AI giant to stop training AI models on copyrighted content without permission. Studio Ghibli, the animation studio behind films like Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro, is particularly inspired by OpenAI’s generative AI products. When […]
Altman and Nadella want more power in AI, but it’s unclear how much
How powerful is enough for AI? Nobody knows, not even OpenAI CEO Sam Altman or Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. That leaves software-first companies like OpenAI and Microsoft in a bind. Much of the technology industry has focused on computing as a major barrier to AI adoption. And while tech companies are scrambling to secure power, […]
How L3 Harris Trentent’s former boss stole a cyber exploit and sold it to Russia
Peter Williams, former general manager of Trenchent, a division of defense contractor L3Harris that develops surveillance and hacking tools for Western governments, pleaded guilty last week to stealing and selling some of those tools to Russian brokers. Court documents filed in the case, exclusive reporting by TechCrunch, and interviews with Williams’ former colleagues explain how […]
Justice Department accuses US ransomware negotiators of launching their own ransomware attacks
U.S. prosecutors have charged two rogue employees of a cybersecurity firm that specializes in negotiating ransom payments to hackers on behalf of victims with carrying out ransomware attacks themselves. Last month, the Department of Justice indicted Kevin Tyler Martin, who worked as a ransomware negotiator at Digital Mint, and another unnamed employee on charges of […]
Waymo’s robotaxis expansion accelerates in three new cities
Waymo announced Monday that it will launch robotaxi services in Detroit, Las Vegas and San Diego as the Alphabet-owned company accelerates its expansion plans. The announcement marks Waymo’s recent evolution from a self-driving car technology developer to a commercial company. This follows comments from Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 last week, where […]
Microsoft’s $15.2 billion UAE investment turns Gulf state into a test case for US AI diplomacy
Microsoft announced on Monday at the first annual Abu Dhabi Global AI Summit that it will invest $15.2 billion in the United Arab Emirates over the next four years. This investment includes the first shipment of cutting-edge Nvidia GPUs to the UAE. As part of the deal, the US granted Microsoft a license to export […]
A quick test of AI hardware with Kevin Rose — Would you want to punch someone in the face wearing AI hardware?
Kevin Rose has an intuitive rule for evaluating investments in AI hardware. “If wearing it makes you want to punch someone in the face, you probably shouldn’t invest in it.” It’s a typically candid assessment from the veteran investor, which comes as he watches the current wave of AI hardware startups repeat the mistakes he’s […]
Google bans Gemma from AI Studio after Senator Blackburn accuses model of defamation
Google announced it has removed Gemma from its AI studio after a US senator accused the AI model of fabricating sexual misconduct accusations against her. In a letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Tennessee Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn said this when asked by Gemma: “Has Marcia Blackburn ever been accused of rape?” In contrast, during […]
Sam Altman says “enough is enough” when asked about OpenAI’s revenue
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently said the company’s annual revenue is “well over” $13 billion, but he sounded a bit testy when asked how the company would cover its huge expenses. His comments came during a joint interview between Altman and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on the Bg2 podcast about the partnership between the two […]
Meta has problems with AI products
Amid an unprecedented AI ramp-up, Meta is spending more than most companies. The company is building two large data centers, and reports say it expects to spend as much as $600 billion on U.S. infrastructure over the next three years. Those numbers may not raise eyebrows in Silicon Valley, but Wall Street is starting to […]