February 7, 2025

These documents are influencing the DOGE-sphere’s agenda

Reports from the US Government Accountability Office on improper federal payments in recent years are circulating on X and elsewhere online, and they seem to be a big influence on Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency and its supporters as the group pursues cost-cutting measures across the federal government.  The payment reports have been…

Technology

Amazon taps generative AI to enhance product reviews

August 14, 2023
Amazon announced this morning it will begin to leverage generative AI to help customers better understand what customers are saying about a product, without necessarily having to read through dozens of individual reviews. The retailer says it will use the new technology to provide a short paragraph of text right on the product detail page […]

Altos challenges lidar’s dominance in autonomous driving with 4D image radar

August 14, 2023
As lidar technology becomes the industry standard in powering autonomous vehicles, a young startup called Altos Radar is stepping up to challenge the light-based remote sensing technology with 4D millimeter wave radar. Based in California and founded in January, Altos Radar recently raised its first round of funding of $3.5 million from ZhenFund, Monad Ventures, […]

PayPal announces senior Intuit exec Alex Chriss as new CEO

August 14, 2023
PayPal is gaining a new CEO, the payments giant announced this morning. Effective September 27, 2023, senior Intuit executive Alex Chriss will become PayPal’s President and CEO, replacing current CEO Dan Schulman, members of PayPal’s board shared this morning in a press release. The appointment was made after a months-long CEO search process focused on […]

Browse the breakout sessions at TechCrunch Disrupt 2023

August 14, 2023
It’s no secret that TechCrunch events feature the leading experts across the startup ecosystem, and TechCrunch Disrupt 2023, which runs September 19–21 in San Francisco, is no exception to that rule. We’re showcasing some of the interactive breakout sessions — expert-led presentations followed by a Q&A — you won’t want to miss. You can read […]

The Download: corporate presentations, and carbon removal funding

August 14, 2023
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. Next slide, please: A brief history of the corporate presentation PowerPoint is everywhere. It’s used in religious sermons; by schoolchildren preparing book reports; at funerals and weddings. In 2010, Microsoft announced that PowerPoint…

Iraq lifts ban on Telegram after messaging app complies with authorities

August 14, 2023
Iraq’s telecom ministry lifted the ban on Telegram over the weekend, days after the agency blocked the chat app over security concerns. The ministry said it lifted the ban because of the “response of the company that owns the application to the requirements of the security authorities,” which required Telegram to reveal sources leaking data […]

What happened to the microfinance company Kiva?

August 14, 2023
One morning in August 2021, as she had nearly every morning for about a decade, Janice Smith opened her computer and went to Kiva.org, the website of the San Francisco–based nonprofit that helps everyday people make microloans to borrowers around the world. Smith, who lives in Elk River, Minnesota, scrolled through profiles of bakers in…

India’s local manufacturing initiative spurs 2 billion mobile unit shipments

August 14, 2023
India’s ambitious push for self-sufficiency in mobile phone assembling is yielding results. India shipped 2 billion domestically assembled smartphones and feature phones between 2014 to 2022 as part of its Make in India initiative, according to a new research, as the world’s second largest handset market pushes to become self-reliant with its growing manufacturing infrastructure. […]