YC-backed food supply startup Vendease restructures employees’ salaries

March 18, 2025

Y Combinator-backed Nigerian food procurement startup Vendease has changed its employee pay structure and is seeking fresh capital, TechCrunch has learned. This is after laying off 44% of its workforce — around 120 employees —last month, marking its second round of job cuts in five months. In the latest development, the startup has now replaced […]

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When you might start speaking to robots

March 18, 2025
This story originally appeared in The Algorithm, our weekly newsletter on AI. To get stories like this in your inbox first, sign up here. Last Wednesday, Google made a somewhat surprising announcement. It launched a version of its AI model, Gemini, that can do things not just in the digital realm of chatbots and internet search…

GrubMarket raises $50M at a $3.5B+ valuation to build AI for the $1 trillion food distribution industry

March 18, 2025

U.S. President Trump’s wide-ranging tariff hikes are already resulting in growth forecasts being cut amid other uncertainty — actions that will inevitably impact the technology sector, too. Today, however, one food e-commerce startup, GrubMarket, is announcing a new equity round of $50 million on a raised valuation of over $3.5 billion — a signal of […]

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Waymo’s milestone SFO mapping permit comes with strings attached

March 18, 2025

Waymo has been given permission to map roadways at the San Francisco International Airport (SFO) via a temporary permit — the first step in the Alphabet company’s bid to unlock a potentially lucrative use case for its robotaxis. The temporary permit, which was announced Monday evening by San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie, kicked off March […]

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Google revives talks to acquire Wiz at higher valuation

March 17, 2025

Google’s parent company Alphabet is again in advanced talks to acquire cloud cybersecurity startup Wiz, a person familiar with the deal told TechCrunch. The two companies were close to securing a deal at a $23 billion valuation last summer, but the transaction failed to materialize.  This time, the price being discussed is higher, the person […]

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OpenAI exec leaves to found materials science startup

March 17, 2025

Liam Fedus, OpenAI’s VP of research for post-training, is leaving the company to found a materials science AI startup. The Information initially reported Fedus’ plans. In a statement on X, Fedus confirmed the report and added a few additional details. “My undergrad was in physics and I’m keen to apply this technology there,” Fedus said […]

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Intel could be in for significant changes as Lip-Bu Tan takes on CEO role

March 17, 2025

Intel’s new CEO Lip-Bu Tan seems ready to get right to work to turn around the struggling company.  The semiconductor giant’s new executive is considering sweeping changes for the company’s chip manufacturing and AI strategies, according to Reuters, including: cutting middle management staff and revamping the company’s approach to manufacturing chips. Tan reportedly told company […]

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Rippling sues Deel, Deel denies ‘all legal wrongdoing’, and Slack is the main witness

March 17, 2025

It’s gloves off in one of the more tense rivalries in the world of startups. HR company Rippling Monday morning announced a lawsuit against Deel, another big player in the same space. The dramatic 50-page complaint alleges racketeering, misappropriation of trade secrets, tortious interference, unfair competition, and aiding & abetting breach of fiduciary duty. The […]

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