TechCrunch Industry News

Satellites are among our most critical infrastructure, providing everything from GPS to disaster coordination, yet their inherent inaccessibility leaves them vulnerable to relatively simple technical issues or attacks. London-based Lodestar is looking to change that with a “first responder” service in space using advanced robotic sentries. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com...

The startup has developed a way to create copper and aluminum foils that are laced with tiny holes and riddled with undulating peaks and valleys. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek says the streaming service is still in the “early days” of its plans to bring hi-fi support to the platform. During the company’s earnings call on Tuesday, the executive offered details about an upcoming deluxe tier. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There is no fool proof way to prevent a buggy update like CrowdStrike's, but there are best practices that could mitigate the fallout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mesa, Arizona-based Rosotics has kept a low profile. From the startup’s website, one would think they are solely focused on selling large metal 3D printers to aerospace and defense customers.   For the past three years, the company’s been quietly architecting plans that involve launching multiple massive spacecraft, each containing dozens of smaller spacecraft Learn more about your ad choices. Vis...

In spite of maintaining stealth until now, Mytra has already drummed up interest with big names. The startup has a pilot with grocery giant Albertsons, among others. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Identity management is one of the most common fulcrums around which security breaches have pivoted in the last several years, and one of the main reasons it’s the gift that keeps on giving to malicious hackers is that it’s a nightmare for organizations to track. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Founders of Pesa, a remittance fintech, know too well how costly, inaccessible and unreliable remittance services drive people to opt for risky informal channels — like WhatsApp groups — to transfer money.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Waymo would need a ground transportation permit to operate at SFO, which has yet to be approved. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Apple on Thursday announced its upcoming lineup of immersive video content for the Vision Pro. The list includes behind-the-scenes footage of the 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend, an immersive performance by The Weeknd, new series, films, concerts and more. The headset launched in February with more than 150 3D movies and immersive titles Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoic...

The now-scrapped moon mission would have been the U.S. space agency's first resource-mapping mission off planet Earth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ford is still pushing forward on electrification, notably by increasing hybrid options. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Whether it’s an online marketplace, store, or social media platform, virtually every site today uses some kind of recommendation service to personalize its offerings. Shaped, which is announcing an $8 million seed funding round today, wants to make it easier for businesses of all sizes to combine the data they already have with large language models. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcast...

A new app called The Way is aiming to help people explore the deeper side of meditation through a single, structured path guided by an authorized Zen Master. Founded by uncle-and-nephew duo Henry Shukman and Jack Shukman, The Way wants to help people move beyond modern mindfulness practices offered by popular meditation apps like Headspace Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com...

The smart ring has long played second fiddle to the smart watch. While tech giants like Apple and Google duked it out over wrists for years, the ring has been significantly quieter, a space where plucky startups have a chance to make their mark. Things are quickly changing, however. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Russia-based security software maker said its U.S. business is "no longer viable" following a U.S. Commerce Department sales ban. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Google’s parent company Alphabet might be on the verge of making its biggest acquisition ever. The Wall Street Journal reports that Alphabet is in advanced talks to acquire Wiz for around $23 billion. While the deal isn’t finalized, the WSJ says it could come together soon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Whistleblowers have accused OpenAI of placing illegal restrictions on how employees can communicate with government regulators, according to a letter obtained by The Washington Post. Lawyers representing anonymous whistleblowers sent the letter to Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Amazon’s AI-powered shopping assistant, named “Rufus,” is now live for all U.S. customers in the Amazon mobile app, the retailer announced on Friday. The assistant, which lives on the bottom right of the app’s main navigation bar, is designed to offer customers help with finding products, performing product comparisons, and getting recommendations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastch...

Archer Aviation and Southwest Airlines are teaming up to figure out what it will take to build out a network of electric air taxis at California airports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dark patterns refer to a range of design techniques that can subtly encourage users to take some sort of action or put their privacy at risk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As venture capitalists continue to pour money into defense tech startups, they’re turning to a new hiring pool: ex-military officials.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Prompt engineering became a hot job last year in the AI industry, but it seems Anthropic is now developing tools to at least partially automate it. Anthropic released several new features on Tuesday to help developers create more useful applications with the startup’s language model, Claude, according to a company blog post. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fast food chain Whataburger’s app has gone viral in the wake of Hurricane Beryl, which left around 1.8 million utility customers in Houston, Texas without power. Hundreds of thousands of those people may remain without power for days as Houston anticipates a heat wave, with temperatures climbing into the mid-90s. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The essential labor of data work, like moderation and annotation, is systematically hidden from those who benefit from the fruits of that labor. A new project puts the lived experiences data workers around the world in the spotlight, showing firsthand the costs and opportunities of tech work abroad. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices