February 17, 2026

The Download: the rise of luxury car theft, and fighting antimicrobial resistance

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. The curious case of the disappearing Lamborghinis Across the world, unsuspecting people are unwittingly becoming caught up in a new and growing type of organized criminal enterprise: vehicle transport fraud and theft. Crooks…

LatAm startups playing ‘on hard mode,’ fintech and AI with VC Mercedes Bent

August 23, 2023
Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello, and welcome back to Equity, the podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. This is our Wednesday show, in which we sit down with a guest, talk about their work and unpack the rest. This week, Mary Ann spoke with Mercedes […]

WhatsApp now lets users create groups without names

August 23, 2023
WhatsApp today introduced a feature that lets users create groups on the instant messaging app without needing to name them — an update over the existing way that requires users to specify group names during creation. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the update on his Facebook page and Meta’s Instagram channel on Wednesday. The feature […]

Learning the lessons from cybersecurity trash fires at TC Disrupt 2023

August 23, 2023
We’ve all seen headlines about major hacks and data breaches of major companies — it can feel like nobody’s safe. Security is a constant learning curve, and what we learn when things go wrong can help defend against similar threats and would-be incidents in the future. That’s why we’re excited to welcome three of the […]

Second-life Jaguar I-Pace batteries to power energy storage systems 

August 23, 2023
JLR has found a use for its second-life Jaguar I-Pace batteries. The automaker, formerly known as Jaguar Land Rover, is working with Wykes Engineering, a manufacturer of renewable energy products, to develop one of the largest energy storage systems in the UK to harness solar and wind power using old I-Pace batteries. JLR’s announcement is […]

Solana Pay integrates plug-in with Shopify for USDC payments

August 23, 2023
Solana Pay, a decentralized payment protocol by Solana Labs, has integrated its plug-in with Shopify, allowing millions businesses on its platform to use it for payments, TechCrunch was told exclusively. Solana Pay launched in February 2022 and is built on top of the layer-1 blockchain Solana. USDC, the second largest stablecoin with a market capitalization […]

Wand.app raises $4.2M to scale its AI-powered creative tool for artists

August 23, 2023
Wand.app, an AI-powered creative tool that gives artists the ability to manually customize and visualize their ideas, has raised $4.2 million in seed funding led by O’Shaughnessy Ventures. Unlike AI-powered creative tools that provide limited control over the content they generate, which can be alienating to artists who have specific visions for what they want […]

India’s Chandrayaan-3 makes successful landing on the moon

August 23, 2023
Chandrayaan-3, the latest iteration of India’s ambitious mission to the moon, has successfully landed on the lunar surface — making history after its predecessor failed in 2019. The landing, which took place at the targeted time of 5:34am PT (6:04pm IST) on Wednesday over a month after the spacecraft’s launch, has made India the fourth […]

The Download: introducing the Ethics issue

August 23, 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. Introducing: the Ethics issue  As technology is embedded deeper and further into our lives, it’s becoming increasingly important for us to properly grapple with ethical concerns. For example, how do we nurture the…