July 8, 2025

Why the US and Europe could lose the race for fusion energy

Fusion energy holds the potential to shift a geopolitical landscape that is currently configured around fossil fuels. Harnessing fusion will deliver the energy resilience, security, and abundance needed for all modern industrial and service sectors. But these benefits will be controlled by the nation that leads in both developing the complex supply chains required and…

Technology

Otonomo, the mobility data business valued at $1.4B in 2021 SPAC IPO, acquired by Urgent.ly as market cap dips to $70M

February 10, 2023

Otonomo, connected automotive company that has seen its stock price plummet since going public in 2021, has announced that it is coming together with Urgent.ly, a roadside assistance tech provider, in a reverse merger. The two are combining in an all-share deal that will see Urgently shareholders take 67% of the company and Otonomo shareholders […]

Otonomo, the mobility data business valued at $1.4B in 2021 SPAC IPO, acquired by Urgent.ly as market cap dips to $70M by Ingrid Lunden originally published on TechCrunch

These prosthetics break the mold with third thumbs, spikes, and superhero skins

February 10, 2023
Many mornings, Dani Clode wakes up, straps a robotic thumb to one of her hands, and gets to work, poring through reams of neuroscience data, sketching ideas for new prosthetic devices, and thinking about ways to augment the human body. Clode works as a specialist at the University of Cambridge’s Plasticity Lab, which studies the…

We don’t need to panic about a bird flu pandemic—yet

February 10, 2023
This article is from The Checkup, MIT Technology Review’s weekly biotech newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Thursday, sign up here. How worried should we be about bird flu? Some have warned that avian flu will be the next deadly pandemic. Others have said the risk is no different from what it was…

Epic Games launches Postparty, an app for sharing Fortnite clips

February 9, 2023

Modern gaming now boasts persistent online worlds and graphics that rival reality, but sharing gameplay videos or even screenshots is still a bear for some reason. Aware of that pain point and ever eager to make its colorful virtual gaming worlds even more compelling, Epic Games just launched a clip-sharing app called Postparty. The app, […]

Epic Games launches Postparty, an app for sharing Fortnite clips by Taylor Hatmaker originally published on TechCrunch

OkCupid is testing match questions generated by ChatGPT

February 9, 2023

Dating app OkCupid is the latest company to get in on the AI and ChatGPT frenzy. The company’s head of global communications Michael Kaye told TechCrunch in an email that OkCupid is testing a new category of match questions generated by the OpenAI chatbot. The news was first reported by Mashable. The app’s match questions […]

OkCupid is testing match questions generated by ChatGPT by Aisha Malik originally published on TechCrunch

Self-driving truck companies face a potential roadblock in California

February 9, 2023

After years of pressure from the autonomous vehicle industry, The California Department of Motor Vehicles is on the verge of allowing companies to test and deploy self-driving trucks on public roads.  Now, a new speed bump has emerged. California Assembly Member Cecilia Aguiar-Curry introduced in late January a bill that would require a trained human safety operator […]

Self-driving truck companies face a potential roadblock in California by Rebecca Bellan originally published on TechCrunch

Hype machines

February 9, 2023

The age-old question in my industry is, “Where are we in a given hype cycle?” For now, crypto news cycle dominance has, thankfully, died now, largely through its own self-destructive tendencies. FTX obviously served as the most prominent recent example of what happens when the tech community believes its own hype. You so badly wish […]

Hype machines by Brian Heater originally published on TechCrunch

Americans are ready to test embryos for future college chances, survey shows

February 9, 2023
Imagine that you were provided no-cost fertility treatment and also offered a free DNA test to gauge which of those little IVF embryos floating in a dish stood the best chance of getting into a top college someday. Would you have the test performed? If you said yes, you’re among about 40% percent of Americans…

Redwood Materials lands $2B conditional loan from DOE

February 9, 2023

Battery materials and recycling startup Redwood Materials has secured a conditional commitment for a $2 billion loan from the Department of Energy as part of the Biden Administration’s bid to build up a supply chain for EVs in the United States. The conditional commitment from DOE’s loan program office, which was announced Thursday, is part […]

Redwood Materials lands $2B conditional loan from DOE by Kirsten Korosec originally published on TechCrunch