Author: GT

Elon Musk’s interview with CBS Sunday Morning seemed to get off to an awkward start, as reporter David Pogue asked the SpaceX CEO about his thoughts on his ally Donald Trump’s policies, including growing restrictions on international students. “I think we want to stick to the subject of the day, which is, like, spaceships, as opposed to, you know, presidential policy,” Musk said. Pogue looked surprised, replying, “Oh, okay, I was told, ‘Anything’s good.’” “No,” Musk said, while looking into the distance. “Well … no.” He did, however, comment on the controversy around his Department of Government Efficiency, which has…

Netflix released a flurry of announcements and trailers around high-profile projects including “Squid Game,” “Wednesday,” and “Stranger Things 5” last night at its annual Tudum marketing event. While this year’s Tudum (made for the sound that plays when you open the app) was livestreamed for the first time on Netflix itself (as opposed to YouTube), The Los Angeles Times reports that 9,500 fans gathered in-person at the Kia Forum in Southern California, hoping to see their favorite stars — including Lady Gaga, who performed at the event and will be guest-starring on “Wednesday.” Chief Marketing Officer Marian Lee boasted that…

Britain’s BP appears to be attracting a number of possible buyers for its Castrol lubricants business as the struggling oil giant seeks to fend off a prospective takeover . Energy companies including India’s Reliance Industries and Saudi Arabia’s oil behemoth Aramco , as well as private equity firms Apollo Global Management and Lone Star Funds, have all been touted as suitors for BP’s Castrol unit, according to Bloomberg , citing people familiar with the matter. It’s thought the sale of Castrol could fetch between $8 billion to $10 billion. BP, which launched a strategic review of its Castrol unit in…

Elad Gil started betting on AI before most of the world took notice. By the time investors began grasping the implications of ChatGPT, Gil had already written seed checks to startups like Perplexity, Character.AI, and Harvey. Now, as the early winners of the AI wave become clearer, the renowned “solo” VC is increasingly focused on a fresh opportunity: using AI to reinvent traditional businesses and scale them through roll-ups. The idea is to identify opportunities to buy mature, people-intensive businesses like law firms and other professional services firms, help them scale through AI, then use the improved margins to acquire…

In “The Optimist: Sam Altman, OpenAI, and the Race to Invent the Future,” Wall Street Journal reporter Keach Hagey examines our AI-obsessed moment through one of its key figures — Sam Altman, co-founder and CEO of OpenAI. Hagey begins with Altman’s Midwest upbringing, then takes readers through his career at startup Loopt, accelerator Y Combinator, and now at OpenAI. She also sheds new light on the dramatic few days when Altman was fired, then quickly reinstated, as OpenAI’s CEO. Looking back at what OpenAI employees now call “the Blip,” Hagey said the failed attempt to oust Altman revealed that OpenAI’s…

Artificial intelligence has no shortage of visionaries—but the ones who matter are executing. In 4 days, TechCrunch Sessions: AI brings those builders, researchers, funders, and enthusiasts under one roof at UC Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall. This isn’t a parade of AI hype or a string of over-edited keynotes. It’s a single day designed for clarity, candor, and real connection. It’s also your last chance to save. Ticket prices rise soon — but right now, you can save over $300 on your pass and get 50% off a second, so your partner, co-founder, or friend can dive in with you. Your next…

Unionized quality assurance testers at video game holding company ZeniMax announced Friday that they have reached a tentative contract agreement with Microsoft, which acquired ZeniMax in 2021. This represents Microsoft’s first union contract in the United States. It’s been a little over two years since approximately 300 QA testers announced that they were unionizing through the Communications Workers of America, and they said they’ve been negotiating with Microsoft ever since. Bloomberg reports that the contract terms include an across-the-board, 13.5% pay raise on July 1. The contract also incorporates an already-announced agreement around the use of AI. Union members are…

It’s no surprise that many big, left-leaning social media accounts have recently joined Bluesky — but a new analysis from the Pew Research Center attempts to quantify that shift. This comes as an update to Pew’s news influencer report released in November 2024, which did not include Bluesky in its numbers. The report focused on a relatively small group of 500 influencers, all of whom have more than 100,000 followers on at least one major platform and post regularly about current events. For this Bluesky-centric update, Pew looked at those same influencers (as opposed to accounts that may have found…

In just 5 days, the sharpest minds in artificial intelligence will gather at UC Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall for TechCrunch Sessions: AI—a one-day summit built for real insight, not recycled soundbites. Whether you’re training your first model or managing a multi-billion-dollar portfolio, this is where the future of AI feels tangible. Let’s be honest: AI has officially entered cocktail-party territory. Everyone’s talking, but not everyone knows what they’re talking about. On June 5, TC Sessions: AI cuts through the noise. You’ll hear directly from the people building foundational models, shaping safety protocols, and deciding what gets funded next. Register now to…

Meta recently released a new video editing app for creators called Edits. The new app is designed to rival ByteDance’s CapCut, a popular short-form video-editing app used by many creators.  Meta first shared that it was working on Edits back in January after ByteDance-owned CapCut was removed from U.S. app stores when the TikTok ban momentarily went into effect. Although the app has since come back online and is available to download, TikTok’s future in the U.S. remains uncertain, so Meta is ready to capitalize on CapCut’s possible absence in the future with its new Edits app. We’ve created this…