Author: GT

Think you know which AI beat a human champion in the game of Go? Or which company developed the Transformer architecture that powers many modern language models? This is your moment to shine — and score two tickets for the price of one ($200 value). Put your AI knowledge to the test for a chance to attend TechCrunch Sessions: AI Answer a few brain-busting questions on artificial intelligence, and if you ace it, you might just find a special promo code waiting in your inbox for 2-for-1 passes to TechCrunch Sessions: AI — happening this Thursday, June 5, at UC…

Time is running out. Exhibitor tables for TechCrunch All Stage, happening July 15 in Boston, are nearly gone — and the final deadline to secure your spot is this Friday, June 6.  TC All Stage is the go-to summit for founders at all stages. Designed to deliver actionable insights and practical guidance, it also connects them with investors actively seeking their next big bet. Exhibiting here puts your brand at the center of the startup ecosystem. Put your startup in the spotlight  Exhibiting at TC All Stage is more than a table — it’s a direct line to the people…

Startup Battlefield 200 at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 is still accepting applications — but the clock is ticking. In just one week, the chance to compete in the arena for the ultimate global pitch-off will close. More than 10,000 tech and VC leaders will be watching. This is your startup’s shot to be seen, backed, and remembered. This isn’t your typical pitch opportunity. It’s a high-stakes, high-impact battle for exposure, funding, and your next big leap. If your startup has traction, vision, and the guts to compete — you’ve got until June 9 to submit your startup. Apply now to secure…

DeepSeek’s latest AI model, R1 0528, has raised eyebrows for a further regression on free speech and what users can discuss. “A big step backwards for free speech,” is how one prominent AI researcher summed it upAI researcher and popular online commentator ‘xlr8harder’ put the model through its paces, sharing findings that suggests DeepSeek is increasing its content restrictions.“DeepSeek R1 0528 is substantially less permissive on contentious free speech topics than previous DeepSeek releases,” the researcher noted. What remains unclear is whether this represents a deliberate shift in philosophy or simply a different technical approach to AI safety.What’s particularly fascinating…

Packages with the logo of Amazon are transported at a packing station of a redistribution center of Amazon in Horn-Bad Meinberg, western Germany, on Dec. 9, 2024.Ina Fassbender | Afp | Getty ImagesGerman antitrust regulators warned Amazon on Monday that the company’s pricing mechanisms for third-party sellers could run afoul of competition laws.The Federal Cartel Office said in its preliminary assessment that Amazon’s pricing controls limit the visibility of merchants’ products and, “based on non-transparent marketplace rules,” interfere with their freedom to set prices.Amazon uses algorithms and statistical models to calculate certain price caps for products, the Cartel Office said.…

Vcg | Visual China Group | Getty ImagesShares of Applied Digital rose more than 40% after the company said it signed two long-term lease agreements with CoreWeave for artificial intelligence data centers.Nvidia-backed CoreWeave climbed more than 7% following the announcement.Financial terms of the two agreements were not provided, but Applied Digital said it expects $7 billion in total revenue over the approximately 15-year period.”Through these newly signed long-term leases with CoreWeave, we are taking a step forward in our strategic expansion into advanced compute infrastructure,” said Applied Digital CEO Wes Cummins in a release announcing the news.CoreWeave will provide AI…

Samsung is closing in on an investment in AI search startup Perplexity that would also see the Korean tech giant incorporating the AI company’s tech into its devices, Bloomberg reported, citing anonymous sources. As one of the biggest investors in the AI company’s new fundraising round, Samsung is discussing having Perplexity’s app and assistant pre-installed on its phones and integrating its search features within the default browser, the report said. The companies are also discussing having Perplexity’s AI tech power some of Samsung’s own assistant Bixby’s features, Bloomberg reported, adding that the partnership could be unveiled this year. Samsung and…

Data-labeling startup Scale AI has hired the team behind Pesto AI, which helps companies recruit developers remotely, according to a blog post by one of Pesto’s founders. Founded in 2017 by Ayush Jaiswal and Indian food delivery platform Swiggy’s co-founder Rahul Jaimini, Pesto AI is backed by the likes of Product Hunt’s Ryan Hoover and Gumroad’s Sahil Lavingia. According to Crunchbase, it has raised more than $8 million in funding. Pesto will be shutting down its operations. According to its LinkedIn page, Pesto had 71 employees, but it’s not clear how many of those are joining Scale AI. “Earlier this…

Dr. Matthew Willsey working in the operating room.Courtesy of the University of MichiganNeurotech startup Paradromics on Monday announced it has implanted its brain-computer interface in a human for the first time. The procedure took place May 14 at the University of Michigan with a patient who was already undergoing neurosurgery to treat epilepsy. The company’s technology was implanted and removed from the patient’s brain in about 20 minutes during that surgery.Paradromics said the procedure demonstrated that its system can be safely implanted and record neural activity. It’s a major milestone for the nearly 10-year-old startup, as it marks the beginning of…

Generative AI comes in many forms. Increasingly, though, it’s marketed the same way: with human names and personas that make it feel less like code and more like a co-worker. A growing number of startups are anthropomorphizing AI to build trust fast — and soften its threat to human jobs. It’s dehumanizing, and it’s accelerating. I get why this framing took off. In today’s upside-down economy, where every hire feels like a risk, enterprise startups — many emerging from the famed accelerator Y Combinator — are pitching AI not as software but as staff. They’re selling replacements. AI assistants. AI…