At a time when startup hustle culture is back, when “locked in” tech founders have even embraced the “996” way of working — 9 am to 9 pm, 6 days a week — there is something dystopian about using an AI app to generate fake vacation photos of yourself. And yet, here we are. Product…
Meta-owned chat app WhatsApp changed its business API policy this week to ban general-purpose chatbots from its platform. The move will likely affect WhatsApp-based assistants of companies like OpenAI, Perplexity, Khosla Ventures-backed Luzia, and General Catalyst-backed Poke. The company has added a new section to address “AI providers” in its business API terms, focusing on…
South Korean telco giant SK Telecom is making big changes at its new AI division, AI CIC, just weeks after it was launched. Staff employed by the unit are being offered a voluntary retirement program as part of a broader effort to bring together the company’s various AI-related divisions, SK Telecom confirmed to TechCrunch. “In…
Austin Russell, the billionaire founder of Luminar, has made a bid to acquire the lidar maker five months after he was replaced as CEO following an ethics inquiry. The takeover effort was disclosed in an SEC filing by Russell early Friday morning. It would involve his new company, Russell AI Labs, purchasing 100% of the…
Apple announced on Friday that it has secured exclusive U.S. broadcasting rights to Formula 1. The new five-year agreement between the tech giant and Formula 1 will make Apple TV the exclusive streaming home for all Formula 1 races starting in the 2026 season, taking over from current broadcaster ESPN. All practice, qualifying, Sprint sessions,…
WhatsApp is attempting to solve its spam problem by curbing how many messages individual users and businesses can send to unknown people without getting a response. While the app started as an easy way to send messages to personal contacts, over time, it has become more complex with groups, communities, and business messaging. With those…
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Automaker Stellantis and Chinese autonomous vehicle company Pony.ai have signed a nonbinding agreement to build robotaxis for deployment in Europe. The collaboration will integrate Pony’s self-driving software into Stellantis’ electric medium-size van platform, which is built with advanced sensors to support autonomous vehicles. The companies plan to first deploy test vehicles based on the…
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Silicon Valley leaders including White House AI & Crypto Czar David Sacks and OpenAI Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kwon caused a stir online this week for their comments about groups promoting AI safety. In separate instances, they alleged that certain advocates of AI safety are not as virtuous as they appear, and are either acting…
