TechCrunch+ Roundup: How pitch decks fail, inside the AI hype cycle, budgeting for a downturn
It’s clear that AI is driving the latest hype cycle, but how are early-stage investors sorting the wheat from the chaff these days?
Tuning into the future of collaboration
When work went remote, the sound of business changed. What began as a scramble to make home offices functional has evolved into a revolution in how people hear and are heard. From education to enterprises, companies across industries have reimagined what clear, reliable communication can mean in a hybrid world. For major audio and communications…
Technology
Meet Window Snyder, the trailblazer who helped secure the internet and billions of devices
After the band played Miles Davis’ Seven Steps to Heaven, and an effusive introduction from the head of the school, Window Snyder stands in front of a hall filled with around 800 students at her old high school to receive an alumni award. Some of the students have a plastic spoon stuck to their noses, […]
Health data of 1.7 million Oregon residents accessed by MOVEit hackers
Hackers behind the mass-exploitation of a vulnerability in the popular corporate file transfer tool MOVEit Transfer have accessed the protected health information of 1.7 million Oregon citizens. Performance Health Technology (PH Tech), a company that provides data management services to U.S. healthcare insurers, confirmed in a notice this week that it was impacted by the […]
SoftBank launches an OpenAI for Japan: SB Intuitions, building LLMs and generative AI in Japanese
AI may have found a center of gravity in the Bay Area, but we’re seeing a lot of activity elsewhere among those who believe that there is a market opportunity ensuring that the pace of innovation does not only get played out in just one corner of the world. Today, SoftBank put in a bid […]
The Download: China’s digital currency ambitions, and US AI rules
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. What’s next for China’s digital currency? China’s digital yuan was seemingly born out of a desire to centralize a tech giant-dominated payment system. According to its central bank, the digital currency, also known…
Coming soon to TikTok in Europe: A ‘For You’ feed without the TikTok algorithm
Get ready for a version of TikTok you’ve never seen before! Without the hyper-sticky, AI-driven ‘For You’ feed… The video sharing platform has announced that TikTok users in the European Union will “soon” be able to switch off its infamously engaging content-selection algorithm as it prepares to comply with the bloc’s updated digital rulebook. The EU’s […]
Fisker reveals all-electric Alaska pickup, 3 other EV prototypes
Fisker, the automotive startup-turned publicly traded company founded by famed automotive designer Henrik Fisker, revealed Thursday night a dizzying array of EV prototypes from a beefy pickup truck with an expandable bed, and grand tourer sports car with up to 600 miles of range to a souped-up, off-road version of its Ocean SUV and the […]
Rivian elects former Waymo CEO John Krafcik to board
John Krafcik, who led autonomous vehicles company Waymo for five years, has joined Rivian’s board of directors, according to a regulatory filing. EV maker Rivian increased the size of its board and elected Krafcik to serve as a director, the filling said. His term will expire in 2024, when Rivian holds its annual shareholder meeting. […]
EventMobi acquires a16z-backed virtual events platform Run The World
EventMobi, an event management software provider based in Toronto, Canada, today announced that it’s agreed to acquire Run The World, an Andreessen Horowitz (a16z)-backed platform for online events, for an undisclosed amount. Bob Vaez, the founder and CEO of EventMobi, said that the purchase will enable EventMobi to “double down” on delivering diverse event formats, […]
Privacy-focused Brave Search launches its own image and video search
Privacy-focused search engine and browser maker Brave is taking another step away from its reliance on other search providers with today’s news that it has now launched its own image and video search engine. That means users will no longer have to leave Brave when they want either image or video search results, as the […]