Author: TechCrunch News

Meta announced today that users can now use their avatars to answer and make video calls on Instagram and Messenger. The company says the new functionality will allow users to take part in video calls in instances where they’re not camera-ready. The result is an animated video call where you and your friends are looking…

Jeremiah Stone Contributor Every company needs to be thinking about how to make artificial intelligence (AI) a seamless extension of its team. How often has an employee said, “I wish there were more hours in the day to get all my work done,” or “This is too much work for just one person.” AI has…

The U.S. government accused a cybersecurity professional of hacking a cryptocurrency exchange and stealing around $9 million in cryptocurrency, in what looks like a case of an ethical hacker turning rogue, then trying to appear ethical again. In a press release on Tuesday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of New York announced…

Spreadsheets. They’re probably not what you’d call the most exciting piece of software going; it seems like a third of all startup pitches has “spreadsheets” in the “look how ridiculous, this is how how people solve this problem now” part of the narrative. It can’t be denied that they’re the workhorse of the corporate world,…

As the global crypto market capitalization sits around $1.2 trillion, some industry players are looking to build upon enterprise businesses to grow the pool and potentially bring in greater adoption. The key companies, tactics and business models to bring that in is yet to be determined, but that isn’t stopping some web3 startups from diving…

It takes a small army to produce a world-class tech conference, and we’re searching for a battalion of smart, eager volunteers to lend a hand at TechCrunch Disrupt 2023 on September 19–21 in San Francisco. If you’re willing to roll up your sleeves and help us make Disrupt an amazing experience for more than 10,000…

The process of compositing, or placing actors in front of a background that’s not actually there, is as old as filmmaking itself — and it’s always been a pain. Netflix has a new technique that relies on machine learning to do some of the hard work, but it requires lighting actors in a garish magenta.…

Hey, folks, welcome to Week in Review (WiR), TechCrunch’s regular roundup of the week in tech. Been too slammed to follow the news cycle as closely as you’d like? Not to worry. That’s why WiR exists. We’ll get you up to speed in no time. Thanks to the July 4th holiday, the workweek was somewhat…

From more chargers to improved reliability and apps, consider this a bill of rights for EV drivers who need to fast charge People love their electric vehicles. In survey after survey, the vast majority of EV owners say that their next car will also be electric. EVs score top marks nearly across the board except…

It was a short week and that was reflected in the amount of news we covered in fintech land last week. But there was still plenty to talk about, including Clair’s raise, some allegations against Deel and exclusive post-SVB growth numbers shared by banking services startup Mercury. On-demand pay gets a boost Some 82% of…