TechCrunch Mobility: The custom chip driving Waymo’s robotaxi ambitions
Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation.
Why the Most Underrated Marketing Skill Is Knowing When to Stop
Marketing technology removed the natural stopping points, and AI is removing what’s left. The businesses that win will be the ones that know when they’ve said enough.
Flock CEO calls for ‘compromise’ as surveillance company faces growing backlash
Flock Safety faces a growing public outcry over concerns that its surveillance technology could be misused.
Is it legal to train AI models on copyrighted books? It’s complicated
Most published authors have, without their knowledge or consent, contributed to the development of the same AI tools that threaten to undermine their livelihoods. That seems illegal, right?
Two years after launch, Walmart’s Flipkart is closing in on India’s quick-commerce leaders
Flipkart’s quick-commerce venture is delivering 1.1 million to 1.2 million orders a day, nearly triple its November volume.
Harvard’s $699 startup bootcamp offers AI avatars of its instructors
In the HBS Foundry program, AI avatars provide feedback during practice pitches and board meetings.
Will the DOJ’s investigation into a16z spook other VCs?
On the latest episode of Equity, we wonder why the DOJ is investigating startup board seats.
Inherent, founded by DeepMind alumni, says its AI ‘teammate’ just outperformed Anthropic and OpenAI at replicating research
Built by DeepMind alumni, British AI lab Inherent released Faraday, an AI agent whose ability to replicate scientific papers could be a stepping stone for innovation.
OpenAI says California should strengthen its AI safety bill
OpenAI is calling for California to strengthen SB 53, an AI safety bill that the company previously opposed.
Frontier AI labs still won’t say how they’d contain a rogue model
A new study finds leading AI labs have few publicly documented plans for containing rogue models, raising questions about preparedness as AI systems increasingly demonstrate unexpected and potentially dangerous behavior.
US battery startups have found a lifeline in defense
U.S. battery startups pulled in $500 million in grants from the Department of Energy, throwing a lifeline to an industry that was on the ropes after EV incentives were slashed.