Technical

A homicide investigation has rocked the final days of Burning Man after a man was found dead “lying in a pool of blood” Saturday night at the Nevada desert festival, according to the Pershing County Sheriff’s Office. According to the New York Times, the grim discovery occurred around 9:14 p.m. just as the festival’s iconic […] from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/Bm2xzFa

The U.K. recently started enforcing new age-check rules, and The Washington Post reports that it’s already having a significant effect on traffic to porn sites. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/KzMBfuD

Veteran indie filmmaker Jim Jarmusch is the latest to criticize Mubi for taking money from Sequoia. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/iMmzCuH

FTC chairman Andrew Ferguson appears to be pursuing conservative complaints over Gmail's spam filters. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/toQvMNT

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/PbQGcav

Nearly 40% of Nvidia’s second quarter revenue came from just two companies, identified in a filing as "Customer A" and "Customer B." from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/dc9Vg5T

The company's lawyers blame the driver (who settled with the victims separately) for the crash, and the plaintiffs' lawyers for "overwhelming" the jury with "irrelevant evidence." from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/iZMt3Ao

A spyware vendor was behind a recent campaign that abused a vulnerability in WhatsApp to deliver an exploit capable of hacking into iPhones and Macs. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/65ZlDg7

Fans accused Will Smith of sharing AI-generated videos from his tour, but the situation is more complicated than it seems. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/3a597ho

Companies canceled $5 billion worth of clean tech manufacturing projects in the U.S. in Q2, mirroring a pullback in the broader manufacturing sector. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/QV0BcXd

In an effort to set a new industry standard, OpenAI and Anthropic opened up their AI models for cross-lab safety testing. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/UNxabe8

Chipolo debuts a lineup of rechargeable trackers to compete with AirTag and others. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/0TRt1PQ

It may seem like a great place to test Tesla's driver assistance tech, but the underground convention center shuttle program will stay human-driven for a while. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/xsjGZwt

Called Bartz v. Anthropic, the case deals with Anthropic's use of books as training material for its large language models. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/rmFG3RT

Intel doesn't need cash. Instead, the struggling semiconductor giant needs to figure out how to drum up interest for its foundry business. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/FgwkpnB

Libby launches "Inspire Me," a genAI feature that helps its users find books to borrow from local libraries. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/3i1CsZK

Meta's new PAC signals an intent to influence statewide elections, including the next governor’s race in 2026. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/yrhxKs6

The startup ecosystem in Central Eurasia is having its moment. What started as 485 applications from across 27 countries including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Georgia, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Pakistan, Qatar, Romania, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, UAE, UK, Ukraine, USA, Uzbekistan, Vietnam has culminated in the largest startup pitch competition […] from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/6JqiRb1

Bounce publicly debuts a tool that will let you move your account between open social networks like Bluesky and Mastodon. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/p5NfRJc

Google will ask all Android developers to verify their identity starting next year. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/Meu2m7H

NotebookLM’s Video Overviews now supports 80 languages, including French and Spanish. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/V9i0YFs

The Indonesian startup, now backed by $16.7M in Series A funding, helps workers find full-time and side gigs while offering financial solutions from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/nElQFgd

This is Netflix's first time winning the domestic box office. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/TwsKWmB

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility, your hub for news, analysis, and scoops around the future of transportation. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/J9CA10Q

Elon Musk’s xAI has made an older version of its AI model Grok — specifically, the model weights used to shape Grok 2.5 —  available on the open source platform Hugging Face. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/ZgyxA4O

The former Adept CEO said he hopes to be "remembered more as "an AI research innovator" than a "a deal structure innovator." from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/btseByz

TikTok isn’t making a comeback in India. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/P7vnUIZ

The tenth Starship flight test will be a referendum on the company's build-fly-fix approach. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/F8Xp5oh

Elon Musk's X is settling a severance lawsuit with former Twitter employees. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/yWqDa1M

As AI chatbots surge in popularity, Mustafa Suleyman argues that it's dangerous to consider how these systems could be conscious. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/NDufUBK

The plush monster toy Labubu has already generated more than $650 million in 2025 for Pop Mart. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/thnwxMK

Google is launching its own set of magnetic accessories for Pixel 10 including chargers and stands. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/iXarZfJ

The integration positions Anthropic to better compete with command-line tools from Google and GitHub, both of which included enterprise integrations on launch. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/MZJxTCl

From no-code to AI-assisted dev environments, “vibe coding” is changing how early-stage startups build — and who they need to hire. The once-standard idea of landing a “10x engineer” as your first critical hire is getting a serious reality check with Lauri Moore (Bessemer) and David Cramer (Sentry) on the Builder Stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 in October at San Francisco's Moscone West. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/PZpgQwd

The round, which pushes Databricks' valuation to $100B, was co-led by Insight Partners and Thrive. CEO Ali Ghodsi says he's found an enormous untapped AI agent market to spend the funds. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/hROt71H

SoftBank will pay $23 per share for Intel common stock. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/c1sOny0

Data breach notification site Have I Been Pwned notified 1.1 million customers of a July data breach, a number not previously reported. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/p9cD6dM

X is struggling on Android with installs down by 49% year-over-year as of June 2025. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/THOrl3z

Texas attorney general Ken Paxton is investigating Meta and Character.AI over claims they deceptively market chatbots as mental health tools, raising concerns about child safety, data privacy, and targeted advertising. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/fYg0ceh

Grammarly now has a new document-based interface, built on the back of Coda, the productivity startup it acquired last year. The interface also sports an AI assistant, as well as a few AI tools meant for students and professionals, including an AI grader, proofreader and citation finder. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/euUC5jZ

OpenAI announced late Friday that it’s updating its latest model to be “warmer and friendlier.” from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/HAZXBqd

Netflix could soon lose the creative team behind one of its biggest hits, with the Duffer Brothers reportedly signing an exclusive deal with Paramount. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/UGybVlI

While Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn faced backlash after declaring that Duolingo would become an “AI-first company,” he suggested in a new interview the real issue was that he “did not give enough context.” from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/WOUd8hl

Do A.I. chatbots packaged inside cute-looking plushies offer a viable alternative to screen time for kids? Maybe not. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/s4xeJjU

Les Amis is an app designed to make it easy for women to form friendships and attend local events. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/Cx0YemU

TikTok rewrites its Community Guidelines. Here's what changed that creators should know about. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/QfXqEjU

The startup entered into receivership after selling its customer list to Turo. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/NAKSpvt

A new Executive Order takes aim at the bureaucracy that the White House says is holding back American competitiveness in space. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/fajiCkY

Bluesky is updating its rules. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/pJYfbcg

The Russian hackers used their access to the dam's computer systems to open a flood gate that spilled millions of gallons of water. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/gP7H1lB

Cohere's market proposition has always been to offer secure LLMs specifically geared for enterprise use, not for consumers. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/ndEpS9a

Waymo now lets you stream music straight from Spotify, which makes the back seat of a robotaxi feel more like your own private space. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/eVgBQ1o

Now that's some customer service. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/1PUTveg

Rapido's beta food delivery service has popped up in three key localities in Bengaluru before a broader rollout. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/KIQpryu

People select their favorite movies, books, TV shows, games, and music, or their "Picks." Instagram then finds overlaps with friends who chose the same things. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/OkDPmGv

Officials are reportedly blaming a recent breach of the U.S. federal court's filing system on Russia, whose hackers used the access to snoop on midlevel criminal cases in the New York City area and other jurisdictions. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/0DhdSAW

Paytm has received approval from India’s central bank to resume onboarding new online merchants and offer its digital payment services. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/ABKOIVR

Match Group agrees to pay the FTC $14 million after it was sued for deceiving users into buying subscriptions. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/cDUOMfh

The number of AI companion apps has grown more than 60% since 2024. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/AnbEKNw

After nearly 15 years, Manish Chandra will transition to being a member of the board of directors. Namsun Kim, who has served as executive chairman since April, has been appointed as his successor. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/zxu6aW0

Founders today have more capital paths than ever. But how do you navigate them — and know which one actually supports your growth? from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/XgFJ9St

Ocean debuts an email app for Gmail users with triage tools, a task manager and more. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/E52zfpx

Truemeds has taken a different route from other Indian online pharmacies — and it has helped the startup double its revenue. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/Sk4tRTF

Mark Zuckerberg has spent 14 years gobbling up his leafy Palo Alto neighborhood, according to a New York Times report detailing how the Meta CEO has purchased 11 properties for over $110 million to create his own personal fiefdom in Crescent Park. The piecemeal compound features a main residence, guest homes, manicured gardens, and a […] from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/H7jLMVq

Well, the coding-equals-prosperity promise has officially collapsed. Fresh computer science graduates are facing unemployment rates of 6.1% to 7.5% — more than double what biology and art history majors are experiencing, according to a recent Federal Reserve Bank of New York study. A crushing New York Times piece highlights what’s happening on the ground. The […] from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/xEqhWQF

Stanford University has confirmed its admissions policies for fall 2026 will continue considering legacy status, a decision that could influence access to one of Silicon Valley’s most important talent pipelines. Stanford is also ending its test-optional policy, requiring SAT or ACT scores for the first time since 2021. According to the Stanford Daily, the university […] from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/Xu9WFf5

Security researchers are now sounding the alarm on a new SMS text message fraud operation, which is surging in popularity — and its ability to steal people's credit cards — since the demise of its predecessor. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/RgCNHym

The Reddit AMA got spicy as users peppered OpenAI with the questions, and some asked the company to bring back its previous model. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/VTr3fKO

Microsoft is killing Lens, a handy mobile scanning app with over 90 million downloads. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/yorCkKM

OpenArt launched a new feature to help creators make AI-generated brain rot videos. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/pBAPvTG

For 20 years, startups have come to TechCrunch Disrupt to meet their first investors, land their biggest partnerships, and spark the idea that takes them to the next level. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/MbaOwyV

Rocket Lab is taking the concept of an 'end-to-end' space company to new heights with a forthcoming acquisition. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/XCP83cR

Coding assistant startups are highly unprofitable, says a source familiar with Windsurf financials. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/25nQzJ0

Following concerns about safety, Instagram head Adam Mosseri reassured users that the feature is opt-in, and noted that some people are “confused” about how the feature works.  from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/Sgpb7dL

The EU has authorized Brex to sell its spend management products directly in all 30 countries, "no workarounds required," CEO Pedro Franceschi said. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/jKAwC9f

This isn’t your typical venture panel. Expect sharp insights on how to cut through the noise, structure your raise, and build relationships that last beyond a term sheet. Whether you're gearing up for your first round or advising a founder who is, this is the TC Disrupt session you don’t want to miss. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/aE4L6s2

Google is also offering students in the U.S., Japan, Indonesia, Korea, and Brazil a free one-year subscription to its AI Pro plan. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/m4PsbdF

European search engines Qwant and Ecosia said on Wednesday that they have both started serving search queries through an index they developed together, Staan, that aims to be a cheaper, more privacy-focused alternative to Google and Bing. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/WlwiQhp

The AI sales automation startup raised fresh funds, led by CapitalG, just months after its last round. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/4APWQnE

This is a juicy competitive move for both companies after AWS faced an onslaught of criticism over its progress with AI. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/FD6Y49w

Former X CEO Linda Yaccarino lands at health tech startup eMed. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/pqBonGM

Indian startup Jeh Aerospace has secured $11 million in a new funding round to help ease global supply chain bottlenecks. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/LcRXlu2

Dribbble is enforcing its terms of service that lets it take a cut of designers' work, and kicking out those who don't comply. One top designer has had enough, and is building his own startup instead. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/fHuQEvY

The company has spent more than three years claiming the factory would become an "important" EV hub. But it has barely produced anything there. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/P4gz3rD

The plan would be voided if the Delaware Supreme Court overturns the decision to spike Musk's $56B comp plan from 2018. A judge ruled in 2024 that plan was unfairly negotiated. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/YEqOHgo

Apple is reportedly working to create a lightweight competitor to ChatGPT. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/jsMaZoV

Mastercard seemingly denied playing a role in a recent marketplace crackdown on games with adult content, while Valve says the pressure was indirect. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/NrwZySj

OpenAI developed the first AI reasoning model less than a year ago, but the technology has shifted Silicon Valley's focus to agents. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/G5j8cz6

“Modeling as a profession is already challenging enough without having to compete with now new digital standards of perfection that can be achieved with AI,” Sarah Murray told TechCrunch. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/acxJDjl

A surprising figure is celebrating Figma’s successful IPO: Lina Khan, former chair of the Federal Trade Commission, who said the offering demonstrates the value of "letting startups grow into independently successful businesses." from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/jyzWIQV

The 55-year-old VC firm announced its twentieth fund. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/G7D2b9W

With two IPOs this week alone, Kleiner Perkins partner Mamoon Hamid has reason to celebrate. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/QZeB4KE

News of a backlog at the U.S. federal department comes less than a week after national security experts urged the Trump administration to reverse its decision that allows Nvidia to export H20 chips to China. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/sxJwaku

It's one of the first major legal decisions about driver assistance technology that has gone against Tesla. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/veJfC07