OpenAI buys Sky, an AI interface for Mac
OpenAI announced on Thursday it has acquired Software Applications, Inc., the makers of an AI-powered…
Sakana AI raises $135M Series B at a $2.65B valuation to continue building AI models for Japan
As U.S. giants like Google, OpenAI and Anthropic race to develop the large language models that underpin their AI products, startups such as Sakana AI, Mistral AI, DeepSeek and AI21 Labs are carving out their own niche with specialized models designed for specific regions, industries, or unique features. In pursuit of that goal, Tokyo-based Sakana…
AI Interview Series #2: Explain Some of the Common Model Context Protocol (MCP) Security Vulnerabilities
In this part of the Interview Series, we’ll look at some of the common security vulnerabilities in the Model Context Protocol (MCP) — a framework designed to let LLMs safely interact with external tools and data sources. While MCP brings structure and transparency to how models access context, it also introduces new security risks if…
Google DeepMind Introduces SIMA 2, A Gemini Powered Generalist Agent For Complex 3D Virtual Worlds
Google DeepMind has released SIMA 2 to test how far generalist embodied agents can go inside complex 3D game worlds. SIMA’s (Scalable Instructable Multiworld Agent) new version upgrades the original instruction follower into a Gemini driven system that reasons about goals, explains its plans, and improves from self play in many different environments. From SIMA…
Danish startup FlatPay joins the club of European fintech unicorns to track
Flatpay, which facilitates card payments for SMBs, has joined the ranks of European fintech unicorns — or startups valued at more than $1 billion — a milestone that has driven some of the region’s biggest exits. These include competitors like Adyen, a Dutch payment processing giant that remains far ahead in scale. However, Flatpay’s fresh…
Beloved SF cat’s death fuels Waymo criticism
The death of a neighborhood bodega cat named Kit Kat has shaken San Francisco’s Mission District, according to The New York Times. After Kit Kat was run over by a Waymo robotaxi on the evening of October 27, locals created a shrine to memorialize him. The area has also been decorated with competing signs, some…
Amazon satellite network gets a rebrand — and drops its affordability pitch
Amazon’s budding satellite internet program is no longer called Project Kuiper. It is now known simply as “Leo.” The name change comes as the company appears to be shifting its focus from “unserved or underserved” communities to securing larger commercial contracts. The satellite network has been in the works since 2019 and, as Amazon tells…
BNPL is expanding fast, and that should worry everyone
When Nigel Morris tells you he’s worried about the economy, you listen. As industry observers know, Morris co-founded Capital One and pioneered lending to subprime borrowers, building an empire on understanding exactly how much financial stress the average American can handle. Now, as an early investor in Klarna and other buy-now-pay-later companies like Aplazo in…
Are we nearing the end of Apple’s Tim Cook era?
Apple is getting serious about succession planning, according to a new report in The Financial Times. The company’s board and senior executives are reportedly preparing for the possibility that Tim Cook could step down as CEO as soon as early next year. This would come after Apple’s earnings report in late January, giving the new…
How much of the AI data center boom will be powered by renewable energy?
According to a new report from the International Energy Agency, the world will spend $580 billion on data centers this year — $40 billion more than will be spent finding new oil supplies. Those numbers help to illustrate some big shifts in the global economy, and comparing data centers and oil seems particularly apt given…
TechCrunch Mobility: The robotaxi expansion that really matters
Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. To get this in your inbox, sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility! It seems like a day doesn’t go by without Waymo making some kind of expansion announcement. Detroit, Las Vegas, Nashville, San…