June 20, 2025

The Download: talking dirty with DeepSeek, and the risks and rewards of calorie restriction

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. It’s pretty easy to get DeepSeek to talk dirty AI companions like Replika are designed to engage in intimate exchanges, but people use general-purpose chatbots for sex talk too, despite their stricter content…

Accord, which offers a platform to manage sales processes, secures $10M

January 24, 2023

Accord, a collaboration platform designed to support business-to-business (B2B) sales, today announced that it raised $10 million in Series A funding from Matrix Partners, Nat Friedman and Y Combinator. CEO Ross Rich says that the new funds, which bring Accord’s total raised to $17 million, will be put toward growing the startup’s engineering, sales and […]

Accord, which offers a platform to manage sales processes, secures $10M by Kyle Wiggers originally published on TechCrunch

DevZero speeds up programmer tasks by shifting developer tools to cloud

January 24, 2023

Developers tend to build and test software on their local laptops, but these machines often lack the necessary resources to run a full scale development environment efficiently. Large companies have built custom systems to move development tools and testing to the cloud, but this kind of approach has often been out of reach for smaller […]

DevZero speeds up programmer tasks by shifting developer tools to cloud by Ron Miller originally published on TechCrunch

Sunfish’s technology wants to bring affordability to assisted reproduction

January 24, 2023

Sunfish, a new startup built by a former director at one of the oldest surrogacy and egg donation agencies in the world, has raised $4 million to build financial assistance tooling for hopeful parents. The round, led by Walkabout Ventures with participation from Hannah Grey VC and Fiat Ventures, comes a little over a year […]

Sunfish’s technology wants to bring affordability to assisted reproduction by Natasha Mascarenhas originally published on TechCrunch

Garmin launches a new FDA-cleared ECG app for the Venu 2 Plus

January 24, 2023

Garmin is the latest company to give its users the ability to take an ECG reading from their wrist. The company is launching a new ECG app that allows users to record their heart rhythm and check for signs of atrial fibrillation (AFib), the company announced on Tuesday. The app, which is the company’s first […]

Garmin launches a new FDA-cleared ECG app for the Venu 2 Plus by Aisha Malik originally published on TechCrunch

Watch Rocket Lab launch Electron from U.S. soil for the first time

January 24, 2023

After multiple delays due to inclement weather and high winds, Rocket Lab is poised to launch its first-ever mission from Virginia today, with a two-hour launch window opening at 6PM EST. The mission is called “Virginia is for Launch Lovers,” and the name is appropriate in more ways than one. Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket will […]

Watch Rocket Lab launch Electron from U.S. soil for the first time by Aria Alamalhodaei originally published on TechCrunch

How the recently shuttered third-party apps contributed to Twitter’s development

January 24, 2023

Last week, Twitter updated its developer terms to effectively ban any alternative Twitter client application. The company’s change came after many popular apps — including Twitterrific, Tweetbot, Echofone, and Fenix — were suspended by the company’s developer platform team without any notice or explanation. The social media company hadn’t been transparent about its decisions to […]

How the recently shuttered third-party apps contributed to Twitter’s development by Ivan Mehta originally published on TechCrunch

Mozilla revamps its read-it-later app Pocket with new tabs and curated recommendations

January 24, 2023

Pocket, a popular read-it-later app acquired by Mozilla in 2017, is rolling out two major changes to its mobile reading experience, as it faces new competition from startups like Matter and open-source alternatives like Omnivore. The company today is revamping key features, including its Home tab and its “My List” tab, which is now being […]

Mozilla revamps its read-it-later app Pocket with new tabs and curated recommendations by Sarah Perez originally published on TechCrunch

Roblox taps former Google Play VP for creator role

January 24, 2023

As Roblox bets big on the future of user-generated content, the online game platform ubiquitous in the under-13 age group is staffing up accordingly. The company announced Tuesday that it has hired former Google Play VP Tian Lim to lead the product team for its creator group, the internal division of the company focused on […]

Roblox taps former Google Play VP for creator role by Taylor Hatmaker originally published on TechCrunch

Netflix’s ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ is among the most-nominated Oscar films

January 24, 2023

Netflix received 15 Oscar nominations this year, putting the streaming service ahead of other media companies. Warner Bros. was close behind with 13 nominations, and Disney earned 11. Netflix’s German war movie “All Quiet on the Western Front” was nominated nine times, making it one of the most-nominated Oscar films, behind “Everything Everywhere All at […]

Netflix’s ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ is among the most-nominated Oscar films by Lauren Forristal originally published on TechCrunch