Author: GT

Robomart, a startup that builds self-driving delivery robots, is unveiling its latest robot with an ambitious goal of using it to make on-demand delivery profitable. The Los Angeles-based company announced its patented Robomart RM5 on Monday. The level-four autonomous vehicle can carry up to 500 pounds and is made up of 10 individual lockers that hold customer orders. This structure is designed to allow for batch ordering so a robot can work on multiple deliveries at the same time. Robomart plans to use these new robots to operate an on-demand delivery business model similar to those of established food delivery…

Volunteering at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 isn’t just about scoring free admission (though that’s a pretty sweet perk). It’s your chance to get a behind-the-scenes look at how one of the world’s biggest startup conferences gets built — and to meet the people shaping the future of tech while you’re at it. Whether you want to launch your own startup, build your event chops, or get inspired by real traction stories, volunteering at Disrupt 2025 is your backstage pass to see how a world-class tech conference comes to life. Disrupt 2025 hits Moscone West in San Francisco this October 27–29, and…

Andreessen Horowitz and OpenAI President Greg Brockman are among the Silicon Valley veterans putting more than $100 million into a network of political action committees (PACs) that will advocate against strict AI regulations in next year’s midterm elections, reports The Wall Street Journal.  The new pro-AI super-PAC network dubbed “Leading the Future” aims to use campaign donations and digital ads to advocate for favorable AI regulation and oppose candidates that the group thinks will stifle the industry. Both Andreessen Horowitz and OpenAI were part of a push earlier this year to implement a 10-year moratorium on states’ rights to create…

Elon Musk on Monday targeted Apple and OpenAI in an antitrust lawsuit alleging that the iPhone maker and the ChatGPT maker are teaming up to thwart competition in artificial intelligence.The 61-page complaint filed in Texas federal court follows through on a threat that Musk made two weeks ago when he accused Apple of unfairly favoring OpenAI and ChatGPT in the iPhone’s app store rankings for top AI apps.Musk’s post insinuated that Apple had rigged the system against ChatGPT competitors such as the Grok chatbot made by his own xAI. Now, he is detailing a litany of grievances in the lawsuit…

Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, attends the Viva Technology conference at the Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris on June 16, 2023.Gonzalo Fuentes | ReutersElon Musk’s xAI sued Apple and OpenAI on Monday, accusing the pair of an “anticompetitive scheme” to thwart artificial intelligence rivals.The lawsuit, filed by Musk’s AI startup xAI and its social network business X, alleges Apple and OpenAI have “colluded” to maintain monopolies in the smartphone and generative AI markets.Musk’s xAI acquired X in March in an all-stock transaction.It accuses Apple of deprioritizing so-called “super apps” and generative AI chatbot competitors, such as…

The Startup Battlefield 2025 judging panel is getting even stronger. Our first wave of VCs brought serious firepower, and now we’re adding more top investors who will grill founders, unpack the big questions, and help crown this year’s $100,000 champion at TechCrunch Disrupt, taking place October 27–29 at San Francisco’s Moscone West. Like the legendary investors who’ve judged in years past, this next group brings the insight, experience, and instincts that can change a founder’s trajectory in just one Q&A. Here’s the next set of investors ready to bring their sharpest questions to the Disrupt Stage. Secure your ticket now…

From AI to EVs, the world’s demand for power is soaring, and the electrical grid is feeling the squeeze.  Enter Yottar, a startup that maps electrical grid capacity to help companies figure out where they can plug in new data centers, EV charging stations, and other power-hungry equipment. “The electrification super cycle is colliding with the AI data center boom. That’s making the grid operators really struggle to deal with the backlog,” Peter Clutton-Brock, Yottar’s co-founder and CEO, told TechCrunch.  “Just as an example, around London, pretty much all of the capacity for things like large-scale data centers has been…

Google Gemini will soon power federal operations across the United States government following a sweeping new agreement between the General Services Administration (GSA) and Google that delivers comprehensive AI capabilities at unprecedented pricing.The “Gemini for Government” offering, announced by GSA, represents one of the most significant government AI procurement deals to date. Under the OneGov agreement extending through 2026, federal agencies will gain access to Google’s full artificial intelligence stack for just US$0.47 per agency—a pricing structure that industry observers note is remarkably aggressive for enterprise-level AI services.Comprehensive AI Suite for government operationsThe partnership builds upon Google’s existing federal presence, where the…

Cybersecurity is in the midst of a fresh arms race, and the powerful weapon of choice in this new era is AI.AI offers a classic double-edged sword: a powerful shield for defenders and a potent new tool for those with malicious intent. Navigating this complex battleground requires a steady hand and a deep understanding of both the technology and the people who would abuse it.To get a view from the front lines, AI News caught up with Rachel James, Principal AI ML Threat Intelligence Engineer at global biopharmaceutical company AbbVie.“In addition to the built in AI augmentation that has been…

View of an offshore wind energy park during a press moment of Orsted, on Tuesday 06 August 2024, on the transportation of goods with Heavy Lift Cargo Drones to the offshore wind turbines in the Borssele 1 and 2 wind farm in Zeeland, Netherlands.Nicolas Maeterlinck | Afp | Getty ImagesShares in wind farm developer Orsted tumbled soon as trading kicked off on Monday after the U.S. government ordered the company to halt construction of a nearly completed project.Around half an hour after markets opened, the company’s shares were around 17% lower.Late on Friday the U.S.’ Bureau of Ocean Energy Management…