Author: GT

Creative suite company Canva launched its own design model on Thursday that understands design layers and formats to power its features. The company also introduced new products and features, updates to its AI assistant, and the ability to use its spreadsheet tool alongside its app-building feature to create data visualization widgets. Canva said that it is launching its own foundational model, trained on its design elements, that generates designs with editable layers and objects rather than flat images. The model works across different formats, including social media posts, presentations, whiteboards, and websites. “We started by creating flat images with diffusion…

Signage outside the Chevron Corp. headquarters in Houston, Texas, US, on Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025. Mark Felix | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesChevron on Friday reported third-quarter financial results that beat Wall Street estimates, as the company achieved record production due in part to its acquisition of Hess Corporation.The oil major’s net income declined 21% to $3.54 billion, or $1.82 per share, compared with $4.49 billion, or $2.48 per share, in the same period last year. Its earnings decreased year over year due to falling oil prices and a $235 million loss on transaction costs associated with the Hess acquisition.Excluding costs…

Navan, the corporate travel and expense platform, finished its first day of trading on the Nasdaq on Thursday down 20% from its $25 IPO price, resulting in a valuation of approximately $4.7 billion for the 10-year-old company. The company was the first to use a new SEC rule that allows public listings during a government shutdown. Unlike the traditional IPO path, which requires SEC regulators to review and grant final approval, companies using the shutdown workaround can get automatic approval for their IPO documents 20 days after submitting their price range, effectively bypassing the need for manual SEC approval. But…

An Exxon Mobil gas station in Lorton, Virginia, US, on Monday, Oct. 27, 2025. Luke Johnson | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesExxon Mobil on Friday reported third quarter earnings that fell year over year, as oil prices tumbled due in large part to OPEC+ increasing production.Exxon’s net income fell 12% to $7.55 billion, or $1.76 per share, compared to $8.6 billion, or $1.92 per share, in the year ago period. Excluding one-time items, the oil major posted earnings per share of $1.88.U.S. crude oil prices have fallen about 16% this year as OPEC+ is increasing production and President Donald Trump’s tariffs…

Thanks to everyone who made this year’s San Francisco event what it was — and to the 10,000 of you who filled the halls, made the connections, and left with more than you came with. Couldn’t make it? The images below offer a glimpse into what you missed. Until next year. Vinod Khosla, telling attendees he doesn’t buy the argument that powering AI will doom climate efforts. Geothermal energy is nearly here, he said, while fusion remains further out. He also touched on his alignment with President Donald Trump (deregulation) and his disagreement (immigration): “The only thing I will say…

Google announced this week it is working with NextEra Energy to revive a nuclear power plant in Iowa that had closed in 2020. NextEra has been looking for a partner to reopen the reactor for the past year, and it found one in Google, which has been steadily adding zero-carbon energy sources to power its growing data center fleet. Neither company disclosed financial terms of the deal. The Duane Arnold Energy Center was shuttered after a summer derecho (major rain storm) damaged a part of the secondary containment system that would prevent the release of radioactive gases. The power plant…

Peter Williams, the former general manager at defense contractor L3Harris, has pleaded guilty to selling surveillance technology to a Russian broker that buys “cyber tools,” the U.S. Department of Justice confirmed Wednesday.  “The material, stolen over a three-year period from the U.S. defense contractor where he worked, was comprised of national-security focused software that included at least eight sensitive and protected cyber-exploit components,” read the DOJ’s press release on Wednesday. “Those components were meant to be sold exclusively to the U.S. government and select allies.” TechCrunch previously exclusively reported, citing four former Trenchant employees, that the company was investigating a…

GYEONGJU, South Korea (AP) — Silicon Valley chipmaker Nvidia plans to supply hundreds of thousands of its graphics processing units for projects with South Korean businesses and the government to advance the country’s artificial intelligence infrastructure and technologies. The government, Nvidia and leading South Korean chip maker Samsung Electronics announced the plan after South Korean President Lee Jae Myung met Friday with Nvidia’s chief executive Jensen Huang.Huang has gotten rockstar treatment reminiscent of Apple’s Steve Jobs since arriving in South Korea on Thursday to attend meetings of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Gyeongju. As APEC host, South Korea is…

After a small startup exit and being turned down by every VC firm he applied to, Tim Chen began angel investing and eventually stumbled into raising his own fund.   Now, as the solo investor behind Essence VC, he just closed his fourth fund at $41 million “without even trying.” Chen’s secret weapon? Being technical enough to debate PhD founders on implementation details while understanding the market dynamics that turn scrappy startups into category leaders.  Today on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Julie Bort sat down with Tim Chen to explore the rise of solo VCs and who’s rewriting the traditional venture playbook. …

Waymo and Zoox robotaxis are a regular sight on San Francisco streets, and soon Uber, through a partnership with Lucid and Nuro, will descend on the city as well. It is exactly how San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie likes it. “I think we should be the testbed for emerging technology and AI and healthcare tech — and all of it,” Lurie said Wednesday on the main stage of TechCrunch Disrupt. “We always have been, and under my leadership, we will continue to lead and lean in.” Lurie added that he is proud of the success that Waymo, the Alphabet-owned autonomous…