Author: TechCrunch News

For the next few weeks, TechCrunch’s robotics newsletter Actuator will be running Q&As with some of the top minds in robotics. Subscribe here for future updates. Part 1: CMU’s Matthew Johnson-Roberson Part 2: Toyota Research Institute’s Max Bajracharya and Russ Tedrake Part 3: Meta’s Dhruv Batra Part 4: Boston Dynamics’ Aaron Saunders Ken Goldberg is…

Hey, folks, welcome to Week in Review (WiR), TechCrunch’s regular newsletter covering the major happenings in the tech-o-sphere — or most of them, anyway. As the world’s largest AI conference, NeurIPS, got underway in sunny New Orleans, Google shared more on Gemini, its flagship AI model family — and lots happened elsewhere. In this edition…

W elcome to the TechCrunch Exchange, a weekly startups-and-markets newsletter. It’s inspired by the daily TechCrunch+ column where it gets its name. Want it in your inbox every Saturday? Sign up here. Journalists and readers love scoops. But sometimes it’s important to state the obvious. This week, I’m reminded that democracies are fragile but that…

Robinhood has been around for over a decade, and its foray into crypto isn’t necessarily new; however, the company is still trying to expand its efforts there — even in groups that have typically strayed from the platform. “I think crypto has always been made by very technical people and for technical people,” Johann Kerbrat,…

Welcome to Startups Weekly. Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Friday. You shouldn’t compare apples to oranges, but similarly, comparing iPhones to Androids is a fool’s errand as well. Now that Apple is finally phasing out the Lightning connector after 11 years in favor of the more universal standard USB-C (across…

Grimes is stepping into the toy business with “Grok,” a character that she voiced for Curio’s new line of screen-free AI plushies. The toy is not affiliated with the AI chatbot backed by Grimes’ ex, Elon Musk, which is also named Grok. Musk described xAI’s Grok as having a “rebellious streak” and a willingness to answer…

If you’re looking for a gift for someone but don’t want to break the bank, there are a number of great gadgets you can choose from. This list includes a selection of budget-friendly gift ideas, ranging from Bluetooth trackers and wireless earbuds, to smart home accessories. I personally use most of the items on this…

Credit Karma co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer Nichole Mustard is leaving the company after 16-and-a-half years, TechCrunch has exclusively learned today. A spokesperson of the consumer fintech, now a subsidiary of Intuit, confirmed Mustard’s departure via email, writing only: “I can confirm she decided to leave the company, her contributions have been significant and we…

A growing number of venture firms may be uncorking champagne ahead of the New Year. Today, a handful of investment firms announced new funds: Artis Ventures, BoxGroup, Playground Global and Singular all closed on funds, while Partech said it was launching a €360 million venture fund. Against a backdrop of layoffs and continuing economic uncertainty,…

E-commerce and fintech company Bolt, which was at one time the subject of a federal probe, confirmed it laid off 29% of its staff, according to a company spokesperson. In an emailed statement, the Bolt spokesperson said the one-click checkout company made the cuts to get Bolt to “an operating model optimized for sustainable growth…