Author: GT

One year ago, Stellantis announced plans to add an electrified 4xe plug-in hybrid Jeep Gladiator to North America by the end of 2025. The electrified Jeep Gladiator never made it into production. The automaker will no longer include an electrified Gladiator in its Jeep lineup as it reassesses its product strategy, the company told TechCrunch in an emailed statement. The company cited changing customer preferences as a primary driver of its decision. “The Jeep Gladiator carries its rugged styling and authentic design into 2026 while adding incredible new content straight from the factory,” the statement reads. “It will continue to…

Meta announced on Monday that it’s bringing an AI assistant to Facebook Dating. This chatbot is intended to help users find matches who are more closely tailored to what they are looking for. For example, Meta might suggest users ask it to find “a Brooklyn girl in tech” or a user could ask the AI to help refine their profile. Meta also says that it’s “helping people avoid swipe fatigue” with a new feature called Meet Cute, which gives users a weekly “surprise match” chosen based on its algorithm. The company says Facebook Dating matches among adults ages 18 to…

Seven years after unveiling Mirror at TechCrunch Disrupt 2018, Brynn Putnam is returning to the stage where it all began. The serial entrepreneur who turned a fitness concept into a $500 million acquisition by Lululemon will debut her latest venture at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 at San Francisco’s Moscone West in October. Putnam’s path from that breakthrough Disrupt moment to today is a story of very smart timing. Mirror, the connected fitness device that brought boutique workout classes into homes, launched just as the pandemic created unprecedented demand for home fitness solutions. The timing proved so prescient that Lululemon acquired the…

On Friday, Blue Origin won a major NASA contract to deliver a lunar rover to the moon, a strong vote of confidence in both the Blue Moon lander and the future of human exploration. The contract also means that the VIPER rover will finally see the lunar surface after NASA shelved the entire program last year due to delays and cost overruns. Under the deal, Blue Origin will carry VIPER — short for “Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover” — on its uncrewed Blue Moon MK1 lander. Separately, NASA has awarded the company a human-rated lander contract under Artemis, but that…

Few things generate as much data as simply observing Earth from above. But Ryan Abernathey and Joe Hamman very quickly realized that all that data still wasn’t enough for their startup to thrive. Their data-centric, climate tech startup, Earthmover, would need to pivot. The pivot isn’t entirely away from climate tech, though. Instead, the company is shrinking the time scale, focusing on how climate affects daily life — in other words, the weather. “What makes a compelling use case for our platform? Data that change frequently,” Abernathey, Earthmover’s co-founder and CEO, told TechCrunch. “That’s where there’s a lot more urgency…

It sounds like Bluesky is getting serious about giving some users the boot, with the company saying it will be doing more to “enforce our moderation policies to better cultivate a space for healthy conversations.” This is part of a broader update to the social media company’s community guidelines, after Bluesky asked users in August to provide feedback on an earlier draft of these changes. In a new blog post, the company said it received comments from more than 14,000 community members and that it “especially heard from community members who shared concerns about how the guidelines could impact creative…

The Trump administration’s abrupt decision to slap a $100,000 fee on H-1B visas has stunned and confused employers, students and workers from the United States to India and beyond.Since announcing the decision Friday, the White House has tried to reassure jittery companies that the fee does not apply to existing visa holders and that their H-1B employees traveling abroad will not be stranded, unable to re-enter the United States without coming up with $100,000. The new policy took effect at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Sunday.Despite the effort at reassurance, “there’s still some folks out there recommending to their H-1B employees that…

Crypto neo-bank Shield announced on Monday that it has raised a $5 million seed round led by Giant Ventures.  The company launched in 2022 and pivoted to payments in 2024. It allows exporters and importers to conduct cross-border transactions in U.S. cryptocurrencies, while also providing compliance screenings, such as addressing sanctions and money-laundering threats.  Emmanuel Udotong, co-founder and CEO, said he and his team started Shield because they were “disappointed by the lack of competing mainstream use cases for crypto.” Meanwhile, “bad actors” kept filling the space — and the headlines.  “We wanted to help bring blockchain technology into the…

For years, some of the most dangerous hacking threats have come from adversarial nation-state hackers conducting espionage, Russian ransomware gangs targeting critical infrastructure, and governments targeting journalists with spyware that can punch through the security of almost any phone.   But a new phenomenon of mostly English-speaking young adults and teenage hackers has risen to become a top pressing global threat of today, spanning cybercrime, child abuse, and extremism. By tearing through some of the biggest companies, tech giants, and governments, these young and financially motivated hackers have destroyed networks and extorted hundreds of millions of dollars from wealthy corporate…

There’s still time — but just barely. Register for TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 by September 26 and save up to $668 before prices rise. Disrupt 2025 gives you an exclusive look at tomorrow’s tech. Founders can connect with the right investors and partners to scale their startups. Investors can discover their next portfolio company. Tech innovators and visionaries can glimpse the future of technology while building the connections that help them grow. With 10,000 tech and VC leaders in one place, you’re bound to find the insights and relationships you need. Join us for the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch — Disrupt…