Author: GT

After primarily focusing on private conversations since its founding, Snapchat is embracing public conversations with a new “Topic Chats” feature. The social network says the feature lets users chat about what’s happening in the world and across various communities, from Formula 1 to the reality TV show “Below Deck.” Profiles will remain private to anyone you’re not friends with, helping prevent unwanted friend requests or direct messages, Snapchat says. While a user’s display name will be visible next to their message, others won’t be able to tap through to their profile from a Topic Chat, the company told TechCrunch in…

Larry Summers, president emeritus and professor at Harvard University, at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. Stefan Wermuth | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesFormer Treasury Secretary Larry Summers said Wednesday that he will resign from the board at OpenAI after the release of emails between him and the notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.Summers had announced Monday that he would be stepping back from all public commitments, but it was not immediately clear whether that included his position at the artificial intelligence startup.”I am grateful for the opportunity to have served, excited about the potential of the company, and look forward to following their…

On Tuesday, Google released Gemini 3, its latest and most advanced foundation model, which is now immediately available through the Gemini app and AI search interface. Coming just seven months after the Gemini 2.5 release, the new model is Google’s most capable LLM yet, and an immediate contender for the most capable AI tool on the market. The release also comes less than a week after OpenAI released GPT 5.1, and a mere two months after Anthropic released Sonnet 4.5 — a reminder of the blistering pace of frontier model development. A more research-intensive version of the model, called Gemini…

Focus Friend, the screen time assistant from YouTuber and entrepreneur Hank Green, is Google Play’s app of the year. Launched in August, the productivity tool lets you block yourself from distracting phone apps while encouraging you with the aid of a virtual friend — a little cartoon bean that likes to knit socks and scarves, which can later be exchanged for décor for the little bean’s room. The premise behind the app is that users might be encouraged to manage their screen time better if they know their actions would impact others, even if it’s just a little bean that…

As Nicholas Rudder built his last startup, an educational marketplace called ScholarSite, he kept running into the same problem: tax.   “Marketplaces are liable for tax on their entire GMV (gross merchandise value) not just their take rate, so every new country meant a maze of registrations, filings, deadlines, and risk,” Rudder told TechCrunch. “It became a constant distraction. Instead of building the business, I was spending time deciphering international compliance rules I never wanted to become an expert in.”   As he and co-founder Adrian Sarstedt were looking to shut down ScholarSite (later calling it Sphere), Rudder decided to keep the name but turn the product into something new.  …

These days, it’s not easy to be a limited partner who invests in venture capital firms. The “LPs” who fund VCs are confronting an asset class in flux: Funds have nearly twice the lifespan they used to, emerging managers face life-or-death fundraising challenges, and billions of dollars sit trapped in startups that may never justify their 2021 valuations. Indeed, at a recent StrictlyVC panel in San Francisco, above the din of the boisterous crowd gathered to watch it, five prominent LPs, representing endowments, fund-of-funds, and secondaries firms managing over $100 billion combined, painted a surprising picture of venture capital’s current…

Poe, Quora’s app that brings together different AI models into one platform, is launching group chat functionality. The company announced on Monday that users worldwide will be able to start group chats with up to 200 other people, then collaborate across more than 200 AI models — including text, image, video, and audio generators — within a single conversation. The launch comes just days after OpenAI’s ChatGPT began piloting group chats in markets like Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, and Taiwan. The move could potentially transform the chatbot from a one-on-one AI interaction into a collaborative space where users can…

Toyota said on Tuesday it will invest $912 million in five U.S. factories to expand production of hybrid vehicles to meet increasing demand. The investment in hybrid vehicles — of which Toyota is a market leader — is part of the Japanese automaker’s recent announcement to spend up to $10 billion over the next five years in the United States. It also comes at a time when Toyota, and the rest of the automotive industry, is trying to navigate the effects of tariffs and the end of federal tax credits for EVs. The capital will be spread among five of…

Workers transport soil containing rare earth elements for export at a port in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, China.China Stringer Network | ReutersLike the U.S., Europe is also feeling the pressure to keep China sweet in order to maintain supplies of rare earth elements, which are vital for its strategic industries in the region such as auto production, green energy and defense.Europe is heavily dependent on China for supplies of the world’s 17 rare earth elements and has been looking to calm stormy waters with Beijing over supplies, while looking for alternative sources of critical minerals — including in its own back…

Monarch Tractor has been accused of overpromising on the autonomous capabilities of its tractors, according to a new lawsuit. Burks Tractor, a dealership located in Idaho, has sued Monarch for breach of contract and allegedly violating its warranty because the California-based startup’s tractors were “unable to operate autonomously.” The dealership also says the 10 tractors it purchased “continue to experience significant problems,” and calls them “defective.” Monarch Tractor CEO Praveen Penmetsa and a lawyer for the company did not respond to a request for comment. Monarch has denied the allegations in a court filing. The previously unreported lawsuit, which was…