Author: GT

Meta’s big investment in Scale AI may be giving some of the startup’s customers pause. Reuters reports that Google had planned to pay Scale $200 million this year but is now having conversations with its competitors and planning to cut ties. Microsoft is also reportedly looking to pull back, and OpenAI supposedly made a similar decision months ago, although its CFO said the company will continue working with Scale as one of many vendors. Scale’s customers include self-driving car companies and the U.S. government, but Reuters says its biggest clients are generative AI companies seeking access to workers with specialized…

Meta just made a $14.3 billion bet on data-labeling company Scale AI, but it’s not a traditional takeover: Meta’s taking a 49% stake in the company and adding Scale’s co-founder Alexandr Wang to its team. The move signals Meta’s growing urgency to keep up in the AI race, even if its strategy for competing with heavyweights like OpenAI and Google is still a little confusing. Today, on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, hosts Kirsten Korosec, Max Zeff, and Anthony Ha break down the deal, dig up an interview from Kirsten’s archives featuring Wang’s early predictions for AI, and ask whether Meta’s really…

For a founder, time is the one resource you can’t raise. That’s why TechCrunch All Stage — happening July 15 in Boston’s SoWa Power Station — is designed to make every minute count. Whether you’re at the whiteboard sketching v1 of your product or figuring out how to lead a team of 50, TechCrunch All Stage meets you where you are — and gives you the access, insight, and connections to move forward faster. Plus, you can get a $210 discount on your ticket right now, if you move quickly. The day doesn’t just talk to founders — it’s built…

A dance crew of four-legged robots from Boston Dynamics appeared on “America’s Got Talent” to perform a synchronized routine to Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now.” Their performance was impressive enough to earn four “yes” votes from the judges — but one of the five robots experienced some stage fright, perhaps, and shut down in the middle of the routine. But the show must go on, so nevertheless, the four other robots persisted. “Can I be honest with you?” judge Simon Cowell asked at the conclusion of their performance. “I don’t mean this in a cruel way. It was weirdly better…

Hebron Sher remembers daydreaming in 2019 when Elon Musk promised Tesla’s cars would become robotaxis, capable of going out in the world to make money for owners. Sher was already a user of the car-sharing platform Turo, and the idea of turning a Tesla into an even bigger moneymaker was an attractive proposition. But as years went by, Musk failed to follow through on that promise. So, in 2021, Sher assembled a small team and brought on co-founder Saimah Chaudhry to start his own company. “Hey, we’re just going to do this ourselves,” he thought at the time. What they…

A year ago, Bluesky was opening up to the public and was known as one of the many X competitors that emerged after Elon Musk acquired the network formerly known as Twitter. Today, Bluesky’s social network has grown to over 36.5 million users, while the technology it’s built upon — the AT Protocol (or ATProto for short) — is being used to develop dozens more applications designed to work together as part of an open social web. The developers behind many of these apps attended the first conference dedicated to the AT Protocol, ATmosphere, held in Seattle in late March…

Welcome to Startups Weekly — your weekly recap of everything you can’t miss from the world of startups. Want it in your inbox every Friday? Sign up here. You’d think WWDC would cause a lull in startup news. But not in June, when everyone is eager to announce their latest deals — or even to go public. Most interesting startup stories from the week Image Credits:Nasdaq This week brought us many reminders that no startup journey is linear — but the next billion-dollar idea may only be one click away. Gong chime: Neobank Chime went public this week in one…

Amazon tapped into an emerging trend this week, one that’s seeing big tech firms buy power from existing nuclear power plants. The tech company will power a chunk of its AWS cloud and AI servers using 1.92 gigawatts of electricity from Talen Energy’s Susquehanna nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania. Amazon is the latest hyperscaler to go direct to big nuclear operators, following on the heels of Microsoft and Meta. Amazon’s deal was announced Wednesday, but it’s not entirely new, instead modifying an existing arrangement with Talen. The old version had Amazon building a data center next to the Susquehanna power…

At Apple’s WWDC 2025 event, the company announced its most dramatic software design change in over a decade: Liquid Glass. This visual overhaul gives us a glimpse into what might be coming in Apple’s rumored AR glasses, which will reportedly debut next year. Users are connecting Liquid Glass to potential AR glasses because the new design draws strong inspiration from that of Apple’s Vision Pro VR headset. Liquid Glass is named with the idea that each window on a phone is like a pane of glass, see-through and somewhat reflective. It gives the screen a sleeker look, though in its…

Google Search is experimenting with Audio Overviews for certain Search queries, the company announced on Friday. The feature was first introduced to NotebookLM, Google’s AI-based note-taking and research assistant. The tech giant says Audio Overviews will use its latest Gemini models to give users another way to absorb and understand information. “An audio overview can help you get a lay of the land, offering a convenient, hands-free way to absorb information whether you’re multitasking or simply prefer an audio experience,” Google explained in a blog post. The feature is available starting today in Labs, Google’s experimental program. The company says…