Technology

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. […]

Bugs in transportation app Moovit gave hackers free rides

August 13, 2023
Hackers could have hijacked the user accounts of a popular transportation app and used them to get free rides and access people’s personal information, according to a security researcher. Omer Attias, a security researcher at SafeBreach, said he found three vulnerabilities in the Moovit app, which allowed him to collect new Moovit user’s registration information […]

Cruise and Waymo score a win and a surprising deal between electric aircraft rivals

August 13, 2023
Welcome back to The Station, your central hub for all past, present and future means of moving people and packages from Point A to Point B. All eyes were on San Francisco this week as critics and supporters of deploying self-driving cars on public roads awaited a vote from the California Public Utilities Commission. Tl;dr: […]