Apple reveals new accessibility features, like custom text-to-speech voices

December 2, 2025

The Download: AI’s impact on the economy, and DeepSeek strikes again

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 State of AI: Welcome to the economic singularity —David Rotman and Richard Waters Any far-reaching new technology is always uneven in its adoption, but few have been more uneven than generative AI.…

May 16, 2023

Apple previewed a suite of new features today to improve cognitive, vision and speech accessibility. These tools are slated to arrive on the iPhone, iPad and Mac later this year. An established leader in mainstream tech accessibility, Apple emphasizes that these tools are built with feedback from disabled communities. Assistive Access, coming soon to iOS […]

Apple reveals new accessibility features, like custom text-to-speech voices by Amanda Silberling originally published on TechCrunch

ANYBotics raises $50 million to help deploy its robot dog

May 16, 2023

ANYbotics this week announced a $50 million Series B. The round, led by Walden Catalyst and NGP Capital, comes as the firm is pushing to deploy its ruggedized four-legged robot, ANYmal X. That follows a $22 million round raised in December 2020. The startup says it’s already clocked $150 million in preorders/reservations from gas/oil and […]

ANYBotics raises $50 million to help deploy its robot dog by Brian Heater originally published on TechCrunch

Spiff begins ‘massive overhaul of core sales commission engine’ following $50M Series C

May 16, 2023

Since its last raise in 2021, the company has gone through an evolution that took it from its origins as a fully custom-coded commission platform to a self-managed platform.

Spiff begins ‘massive overhaul of core sales commission engine’ following $50M Series C by Christine Hall originally published on TechCrunch

Create a Retirement Plan in 15 Minutes (Free Template)

May 16, 2023

According to a 2021 survey conducted by the Federal Reserve, approximately 36% of non-retired adults in the United States felt that their retirement savings were on track, while 45% felt…

Ring’s founder will become Latch’s CEO after selling a stealth startup to the company

May 16, 2023

Jamie Siminoff has been busy. The Ring founder quietly exited the advisor role he took back in March after exiting the brand’s CEO role. He had been at Amazon since its 2018 acquisition of the firm. Turns out he’s sold yet another startup — this time one you’ve never heard of. The clunkily named Honest […]

Ring’s founder will become Latch’s CEO after selling a stealth startup to the company by Brian Heater originally published on TechCrunch

NewLimit, cofounded by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, raises $40M to extend life

May 16, 2023

NewLimit, a 1.5-year-old, San Francisco-based, 17-person company that aims to increase the number of healthy years each person lives by epigenetically reprogramming cells, is today announcing that it has raised $40 million in Series A funding from Dimension, Kleiner Perkins, Founders Fund, and other investors to further its mission to extend humans’ health and lives. […]

NewLimit, cofounded by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, raises $40M to extend life by Connie Loizos originally published on TechCrunch

Spotify expands AI-powered DJ feature to UK and Ireland

May 16, 2023

Spotify is launching its AI feature called “DJ” for premium customers in the U.K. and Ireland. The feature is aimed at music discovery and it plays curated music with AI-powered commentary in English. In many ways, using the AI DJ feels like listening to a radio DJ. The company first launched this feature back in […]

Spotify expands AI-powered DJ feature to UK and Ireland by Ivan Mehta originally published on TechCrunch

a16z-backed Rooms.xyz lets you build interactive, 3D rooms and simple games in your browser

May 16, 2023

A team of ex-Googlers is today launching a new digital creativity platform, Rooms.xyz, into beta testing. The startup, backed by $10 million in seed funding led by a16z, offers a browser-based tool for designing 3D spaces — or “rooms” — using drag-and-drop, editable objects or code, allowing users to express themselves through creative play as […]

a16z-backed Rooms.xyz lets you build interactive, 3D rooms and simple games in your browser by Sarah Perez originally published on TechCrunch

Inside the little-known group setting the corporate climate agenda

May 16, 2023

As thousands of companies trumpet their plans to cut carbon pollution, a small roundtable of sustainability consultants has emerged as the go-to arbiter of corporate climate action. The Science Based Targets initiative, or SBTi, helps businesses develop a timetable for action to shrink their climate footprint through some combination of cutting greenhouse-gas pollution and removing…

How do you solve a problem like out-of-control AI?

May 16, 2023

Last week Google revealed it is going all in on generative AI. At its annual I/O conference, the company announced it plans to embed AI tools into virtually all of its products, from Google Docs to coding and online search. (Read my story here.) Google’s announcement is a huge deal. Billions of people will now…

The Download: AI’s impact on the economy, and DeepSeek strikes again