Author: GT

It’s been 25 years since China Miéville stepped into the literary spotlight with his novel “Perdido Street Station.” Combining elements of science fiction, fantasy, and horror, the novel introduced readers to the fantastically complex city of New Crobuzon, filled with insect-headed khepri, cactus-shaped cactacae, and terrifying slake moths that feed on their victims’ dreams. It also sparked broader interest in what became known as the “new weird.” After “Perdido”’s success (commemorated this year with a quickly-sold-out collector’s edition from The Folio Society), Miéville continued to meld genres in novels like “The City and the City” and “Embassytown.” But for nearly…

Charlie Javice, the founder of student loan application startup Frank that was purchased by JPMorgan for $175 million, was found guilty on Friday of defrauding the bank by greatly inflating the customer count. After a five-week trial, the jury found Javice guilty, agreeing with prosecutors’ claims that she fabricated the vast majority of Frank’s customer list to deceive JPMorgan into acquiring her startup. When JPMorgan bought Frank in 2021, the bank thought the startup had 4 million customers. The bank found out that the actual customer count was only 300,000 when it later sent test marketing emails to alleged Frank…

The final countdown is here! This is your last weekend to lock in Early Bird pricing for TechCrunch All Stage founder and investor tickets. Save up to $320 before the clock strikes 11:59 p.m. PT on March 31. Founders, charge ahead. Investors, power the mission! On July 15 at SoWa Power Station in Boston, 1,200 founders and VCs will unite at TC All Stage to accelerate their journey from seed to IPO. Secure your spot and savings before prices go up! Lock in your $300+ ticket savings before 11:59 p.m. PT on March 31. Image Credits:TechCrunch Get insights to scale…

Last year, funding into African startups edged past $2 billion, returning to pre-pandemic levels and presenting a mixed bag as expected. Signs suggest 2025 will follow the cautious trends of the past two years. A sharp decline in mega-deals, mirroring global venture capital tightening since the boom of 2020-2021, pushed local and international investors to prioritize sustainable business models and clear paths to profitability. This shift spelled trouble for well-funded startups that fell short of these criteria, leading to high-profile closures, including mobile commerce platform Copia and agri-focused data analytics firm Gro Intelligence. Notably, both startups had raised over $100…

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — U.S. immigration officials are asking the public and federal agencies to comment on a proposal to collect social media handles from people applying for benefits such as green cards or citizenship, to comply with an executive order from President Donald Trump. The March 5 notice raised alarms from immigration and free speech advocates because it appears to expand the government’s reach in social media surveillance to people already vetted and in the U.S. legally, such as asylum seekers, green card and citizenship applicants — and not just those applying to enter the country. That said, social…

Inflation remains a topic on everyone’s mind these days. The tariff announcements by the Trump administration are only fueling concerns about the possibility of rising prices for goods and services across the board in the not-too-distant future. A Motley Fool research report highlights how the core Consumer Price Index (excludes food and energy) was already trending higher, up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis in January. What’s more, shelter inflation increased by 4.4%, faster than any other category. These are uncertain economic times we are living in. So, it’s understandable if you’re worried that inflation will surge again, as it did…

Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, attends the inauguration of a new hub in France dedicated to the artificial intelligence sector, at the Google France headquarters in Paris, France, on Feb. 15, 2024.Gonzalo Fuentes | ReutersAfter Google scrapped its diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, hiring aspirations in February, CEO Sundar Pichai addressed the matter with his employees at a company all-hands meeting. “We believe in building a representative workforce,” Pichai said, according to audio obtained by CNBC. “We’re a global company, we have users around the world, and we think the best way to serve them well is by…

When Intel Capital announced its plans to spin out from semiconductor giant Intel in January, it came as a bit of a shock considering the firm has been operating as Intel’s venture investment arm since 1991. In many ways this decision marks the end of an era for what’s considered by some to be the first corporate venture capital firm of all time. The firm was founded nearly 35 years ago and has backed notable enterprise tech companies including: DocuSign, MongoDB and Hugging Face, among nearly 2,000 others. But for Mark Rostick, vice president and senior managing director at Intel…

CoreWeave began trading on Friday with more of a shrug than a war cry. The company priced at $40 on Thursday, below the $47- $50 price range announced. It also trimmed the number of shares offered. All told, CoreWeave raised $1.5 billion and nabbed a $14 billion market cap on Day 1, instead of a hoped-for $3 billion+ raise and a much higher valuation. Shares also opened at $39 (ouch!), and closed at $40. A lukewarm reception. Still, the company’s IPO lands as the largest AI-related listing to date, and the biggest U.S. tech IPO since the heady days of…

Elon Musk’s AI startup, xAI, has acquired his social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, in an all-stock deal, he announced in a post on X Friday. “xAI has acquired X in an all-stock transaction,” Musk said. “The combination values xAI at $80 billion and X at $33 billion ($45B less $12B debt).” Musk went on to describe the two companies’ futures as “intertwined.” He added, “Today, we officially take the step to combine the data, models, compute, distribution and talent.” The acquisition places X — the highly influential social media platform Musk purchased in 2022 under its former…