Author: GT

As TikTok’s fate in the United States remains uncertain, the tech giant has quietly started testing a new “TikTok for Artists” insights platform that is designed to help artists build their careers, the company confirmed to TechCrunch. The platform will provide artists with tools to promote their songs, understand performance metrics, and engage with fans. The platform is currently being tested in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Korea, and Indonesia. TikTok plans to bring the platform to additional markets in the future alongside a wider rollout. The launch of the platform was first reported by Music Ally. According to the TikTok…

Zach Yadegari, the high school teen co-founder of Cal AI, is being hammered with comments on X after he revealed that out of 18 top colleges he applied to, he was rejected by 15. Yadegari says that he got a 4.0 GPA and nailed a 34 score on his ACT (above 31 is considered a top score). His problem, he’s sure — as are tens of thousands of commenters on X — was his essay.  As TechCrunch reported last month, Yadegari is the co-founder of the viral AI calorie-tracking app Cal AI, which Yadegari says is generating millions in revenue,…

Strategy (Nasdaq: MSTR) founder and chairman Michael Saylor thinks that “made in the USA” Bitcoin is going to be worth $1 million. The Bitcoin advocate was responding to GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen’s comment on X (formerly Twitter) about the potential hike in Apple’s iPhones when he made the remark. Note that the majority of iPhones are manufactured in China — the country President Donald Trump targeted the most as part of the global “reciprocal tariffs” he imposed on Apr. 2 dubbed the Liberation Day. Saylor told Cohen he will love the “made in the USA” Bitcoin worth $1 million. Last…

Ballistic Ventures, the VC firm co-founded by Ted Schlein (known for his years at Kleiner Perkins), is raising $100 million for a new fund, TechCrunch has learned through a regulatory filing. This week, the San Francisco-based VC firm filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to raise the new fund, just over a year after closing its second fund, sized at $360 million. Founded in late 2021, Ballistic targets cybersecurity startups. In an earlier interview, Schlein (pictured above, fourth from left to right) told TechCrunch that the Ballistic crew, with its years of experience, is very hands-on. They take board…

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has no business with certain stablecoins or their issuers, the regulator’s staff declared in the latest statement outlining the corners of the crypto sector for which it doesn’t have a legal interest. Since the agency was taken over by President Donald Trump-appointed leadership and formed a Crypto Task Force to ease pressures on the digital assets space, its staff has issued a series of statements meant to clarify the crypto areas outside its jurisdiction — so far including memecoins and proof-of-work crypto mining. It’s now added certain stablecoins to that list. The SEC’s Division…

Generative AI has vastly expanded the toolkit available to hackers and other bad actors. It’s now possible to do everything from deepfaking a CEO to creating fake receipts. OpenAI, the biggest generative AI startup of them all, knows this better than anyone. And it has just invested in another AI startup that helps companies defend against these kinds of attacks. New York-based Adaptive Security has raised a $43 million Series A co-led by OpenAI’s startup fund and Andreessen Horowitz, it announced Wednesday. This marks OpenAI’s first investment in a cybersecurity startup, OpenAI confirmed to TechCrunch.  Adaptive Security simulates AI-generated “hacks”…

Ripple’s chief legal officer, Stuart Alderoty, who is now the president of the newly formed National Cryptocurrency Association (NCA), has published the largest-ever survey of American crypto holders. NCA is a non-profit funded by Ripple that focuses on crypto education. The numbers are stark: 21% of U.S. adults — approximately 55 million people — currently hold digital assets. According to the latest iteration of the State of the Crypto Holders Report 2025, in partnership with The Harris Poll, cryptocurrencies have become deeply rooted in everyday life in America. Almost 76% of users mentioned that crypto has positively impacted their lives,…

Grace, an insurance company for luxury goods, announced on Wednesday a $6.4 million (€5.9 million) seed round led by FinTech Collective and Speedinvest.  An insurance company for luxury goods, Grace works with luxury brands to protect purchased consumer goods. If an item is stolen or damaged, a consumer can create a claim through the Grace app. For the brand, the Grace app also provides fraud detection, claim processing, and logistic coordination. The company confirmed that it is working with at least one major luxury brand in Europe, though it declined to share the name.  Co-founder and president Lou Dana said…

The modern age is (at least in theory) largely data-driven. Every day, corporations collect billions of data points worldwide from people’s age, sex, race, to their favorite brands, foods, and artists. Crypto, still fairly young, provides even more opportunities for data collection and offers new ways to leverage it.Blockworks founder, Jason Yanowitz sat down with TheStreet Roundtable during Blockworks’ Digital Action Summit (DAS) in New York to discuss how data can be used to help crypto traders and investors. Bloomberg is well known for products like the Bloomberg Terminal, which is used by hundreds of thousands of individuals and businesses…

Amazon is introducing a new “Recaps” feature for Kindle users to help them recall plot points and character arcs before picking up the latest book in a series. While the company’s press release for the new feature doesn’t mention AI, Amazon confirmed to TechCrunch that recaps are AI-generated. “We use technology, including GenAI and Amazon moderators, to create short recaps of books that accurately reflect book content,” Amazon spokesperson Ale Iraheta said in an emailed statement. Users have taken to Reddit to share their concerns about the use of AI for the feature, with some questioning how accurate recaps will…