Category: info1
Meta acquires voice startup Play AI
Meta has acquired Play AI, a startup that uses AI to generate human-sounding voices. A Meta spokesperson has confirmed the acquisition, according to Bloomberg, which also reports that an internal memo stated that the “entire PlayAI team” will be joining the company next week. (TechCrunch has also reached out to Meta for confirmation.) Meta’s memo…
Elon Musk’s SpaceX might invest $2 billion in Musk’s xAI
One Elon Musk business might be making a big investment in another. According to a Wall Street Journal report that cites investors close to SpaceX, the company has agreed to invest $2 billion in Musk’s AI startup xAI. The investment would reportedly be part of the $5 billion equity raise (along with another $5 billion…
TC All Stage is tomorrow in Boston and prices go up by then
TechCrunch All Stage 2025 is almost here — In 2 days, the doors swing open at Boston’s SoWa Power Station. If you’re a founder or investor, this is your last shot to lock in the lowest ticket prices before they vanish at the door. This isn’t your average startup conference. TC All Stage is where…
Marc Andreessen reportedly told group chat that universities will ‘pay the price’ for DEI
Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen sharply criticized universities including Stanford and MIT, along with the National Science Foundation, in a group chat with AI scientists and Trump administration officials, according to screenshots viewed by the Washington Post. According to the Post, Andreessen described MIT and Stanford (which I attended two decades ago) as “mainly political lobbying…
A United Nations research institute created an AI refugee avatar
A research institute connected to the United Nations has created two AI-powered avatars designed to teach people about refugee issues. 404 Media wrote about an experiment conducted by a class at the United Nations University Center for Policy Research that resulted in the creation of two AI agents or avatars — Amina, a fictional woman…
3 days left to save before TC All Stage 2025 lights up Boston
In only 3 days, founders, investors, and operators will flood into the SoWa Power Station in Boston for TechCrunch All Stage 2025 — and if you haven’t grabbed your pass yet, this is your final window to lock in the lowest prices available and save up to $475. Whether you’re a first-time founder or a…
Sequoia bets on silence | TechCrunch
There is a time-honored crisis management strategy, wherein one says nothing and waits for the outrage to pass. For Sequoia Capital, the strategy worked pretty well this week. While partner Shaun Maguire initially weathered criticism over an inflammatory social media post, that initial indignation cooled quickly. Now, some seem to think that Maguire’s defiant stance…
OpenAI delays the release of its open model, again
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said Friday the company is delaying the release of its open model, which was already pushed back a month earlier in this summer. OpenAI had planned to release the model next week, however Altman said the company is pushing it back indefinitely for further safety testing. “We need time to run…
Windsurf’s CEO goes to Google; OpenAI’s acquisition falls apart
OpenAI’s deal to acquire the viral AI coding startup Windsurf for $3 billion fell apart on Friday, according to The Verge. In a shocking twist, Google DeepMind is now hiring Windsurf CEO Varun Mohan, co-founder Douglas Chen, and some of the startup’s top researchers. A Google spokesperson confirmed the hiring of Windsurf’s leaders in a…
AI chatbot’s simple ‘123456’ password risked exposing personal data of millions of McDonald’s job applicants
Security researchers found that they could access the personal information of 64 million people who had applied for a job at McDonald’s, in large part by logging into the company’s AI job hiring chatbot with the username and password “123456.” Ian Carroll and Sam Curry wrote in a blog post that “during a cursory security…
