Category Technology

Anduril is symbolic of a trend in which defense tech and venture capital dollars are no longer antithetic. Source: techcrunch.com

As tech companies begin to monetize generative AI, the creators on whose work it is trained are asking for their fair share. But so far no one can agree on whether or how much artists should be paid. A recent…

In this edition of Week in Review, we cover Tinder’s pricey new subscription, Amazon’s investment in Anthropic and the features of Apple’s next-gen AirPods. Source: techcrunch.com

Streamers are leaving Kick en masse in protest of the platform’s lack of safety guidelines, after a prominent creator streamed an encounter with a sex worker without informing her that there were other people present. She was briefly prevented from…

Two large equity funds came out of the gate this week. So, what gives? Earlier this year we covered how Liquidity Group, a growth-stage debt financier, raised $40 million and launched a $250 million debt fund for tech companies. Backers…

Erin Harkless Moore talks about Pivotal Ventures’ investment strategy, and its future. Source: techcrunch.com

The company’s toy-focused expansion is its bet that NFTs should have a broader presence, one that’s not limited to the digital world. Source: techcrunch.com

Welcome to Startups Weekly. Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Friday. You know what isn’t a great idea for my energy levels? Enjoying a week of TechCrunch Disrupt and then getting straight on a plane to…

Volkswagen’s $2.1 billion plan to launch a dedicated electric-vehicle factory in Wolfsburg, Germany is kaput.  The automaker instead reportedly plans to modify its existing plants in Zwickau and Wolfsburg to handle production of a new flagship EV — the postponed…

Japanese space company ispace has invested over $40 million in its new U.S. subsidiary to-date, as it looks to take advantage of growing investment from NASA and the Pentagon in technologies for the moon. The level of investment is a…

The EEOC filed suit against Tesla, accusing the automaker of violating federal law by tolerating widespread and ongoing racial harassment of its Black employees. Source: techcrunch.com

In a live chat earlier this month, Elon Musk said X would charge users “a small monthly payment” to use its service — a necessity, he explained, in order to combat the “vast armies of bots” on the platform. But…

In a blow to Uber, DoorDash and Grubhub, a New York judge on Thursday ruled to allow the implementation of the minimum pay rate of $18 per hour for New York City’s food delivery workers. The delivery apps sued the…

In a new report, a social media watchdog group details how steroid content is exploding in some TikTok communities, promoting potentially dangerous and often illegal substances while propagating unattainable body image ideals to boys and young men. Researchers with the…

Back in the scooter craze days of 2019, Bird was valued at a whopping $2.5 billion. Source: techcrunch.com

A U.S. security researcher is warning of a chilling effect after he was detained on arrival at a U.S. airport, his phone was searched, and was ordered to testify to a grand jury, only to have prosecutors reverse course and…

Actors are in the middle of a major, protracted battle with Hollywood over what role AI will be playing in the future of entertainment, and how they’ll be compensated for that when those AIs are basically likenesses of them. Over…

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has closed the investigation into a mishap that occurred last September during a launch of Blue Origin’s New Shepard vehicle, with the regulator saying that Blue must implement 21 corrective actions before it can fly…

OpenAI is in discussions to possibly sell shares in a move that would boost the company’s valuation from $29 billion to somewhere between $80 billion and $90 billion, according to a Wall Street Journal report citing people familiar with the…