Pony, investor Toyota partner to ‘mass produce’ robotaxis in China

August 4, 2023
Autonomous-driving company Pony.ai and Toyota say they’re teaming up with the goal of one day cranking out a bunch of “fully driverless robotaxis.” The two companies intend to kick off their partnership sometime this year with around $139 million in capital from GAC Toyota Motor Co. — a joint venture between Toyota China and GAC, […]

SoftBank sues IRL over ‘elaborate scheme’ that swallowed $150M

August 4, 2023
SoftBank once invested in social app IRL at a $1.1 billion valuation. Now, the Japanese investment firm is suing the defunct company for fraud, alleging $150 million in damages. IRL was supposedly poised to become an event organizing alternative for Gen Z, who are using Facebook less and less. Its self-reported numbers were impressive enough […]

Hate your commute? Googlers can sleep on campus at a discount

August 4, 2023
The pandemic disrupted the office in a fundamental way. Remote work turned from a nice perk to a way of life for many. It’s an abrupt change for a tech industry that has a long history of rolling out perks to keep employees in the office for as long as conceivably possible. Google is among […]

Henrik Fisker: No “final conclusion” yet in Foxconn deal

August 4, 2023
Two years ago, EV startup Fisker seemed to have hooked a giant when it announced a deal with Taiwanese iPhone maker Foxconn to build a sub-$30,000 crossover in the United States. It turns out that deal hasn’t been finalized, according to comments Fisker founder and CEO Henrik Fisker made during an interview with TechCrunch. “In […]

SEC ends investigation into Better.com, which is bleeding cash ahead of planned SPAC vote

August 4, 2023
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said it does not intend to recommend an enforcement action against digital mortgage lender Better.com. The pronouncement comes after an investigation on the part of the SEC to determine if violations of federal securities laws had occurred. Last July, the SEC began looking into whether Better.com had violated […]

Berkeley Yeast, S2G dish on the future of beer, meat and more at TC Disrupt 2023

August 4, 2023
In case you missed it, July 2023 was the hottest month ever recorded on Earth. On the bright-ish side, research shows that 69% of Americans want our nation to become carbon neutral by 2050. Achieving that goal will require changing the way we think and act about sustainability. But, when push comes to shoveling food […]