TechCrunch Industry News

Google’s new Gemini AI model is getting a mixed reception after its big debut yesterday, but users may have less confidence in the company’s tech or integrity after finding out that the most impressive demo of Gemini was pretty much faked. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As European Union lawmakers clock up 20+ hours of negotiating time in a marathon attempt to reach agreement on how to regulate artificial intelligence a preliminary accord on how to handle one sticky element. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After years of promises and limited tests, Meta has started rolling out default end-to-end encryption protection for Messenger. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Microsoft Bing is getting a new “Deep Search” feature powered by OpenAI’s GPT-4. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Elon Musk is moving forward with his plans to turn the company formerly known as Twitter, now called X, into an “everything app” that includes its own payments system. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Meta has silently updated its support pages to indicate that the company won’t let users on Instagram message their Facebook contacts anymore. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cruise keeps getting kicked while it’s down. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TikTok and Ticketmaster are expanding their partnership into 20 new countries after initially launching it in the United States back in August 2022. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Meta is facing a major legal challenge and damages claim in Spain that argues the adtech giant’s years of failing to have a valid legal basis for processing people’s data for ads under European Union data protection rules. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Smartphone sales will mount a comeback starting in 2024, defying growing warnings of a prolonged slump across the mobile sector, according to separate projections by Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley reviewed by TechCrunch. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The former program manager of Blue Origin’s BE-4 rocket engines has filed a lawsuit against the company alleging whistleblower retaliation after he spoke up about safety issues. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The global energy spare parts market is valued at over $90 billion, with the Middle East representing about 35% of this sector. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As Google ramps up its security measures, the company is deleting inactive accounts that haven’t been touched for two years as a way of protecting users from security threats, such as identity theft, unwanted spam and scams. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“When is a bot a person?,” my colleague Kirsten asked after I learned that Polestar’s climate bot is more human than machine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Uber has secured another win over the struggling taxi industry. Soon, riders in London will be able to hail an iconic black cab in the city. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Amazon’s cloud computing subsidiary AWS (Amazon Web Services) has lifted the lid on a new palm-scanning identity service that allows companies to authenticate people when entering physical premises. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Foxconn plans to invest $1.54 billion in India, the latest in its growing expansion plan, following a surge in revenues in the South Asian market. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Paris Hilton’s 11:11 Media is pulling out of its partnership with the X. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

ByteDance’s gaming ambition has been an expensive, short-lived pursuit. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In case you missed it, Sam Altman is back as OpenAI CEO. His reinstatement comes after a whirlwind few days in which we saw unusual corporate governance lead to an attempt to oust Altman, despite support from both Microsoft and the vast majority of OpenAI’s workforce. While the whole process was incredibly messy, the result […] © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Learn m...

There is “reasonable evidence” to conclude that Tesla and its officers, including CEO Elon Musk, knew its vehicles had defective Autopilot systems but still allowed the cars to be driven in areas “not safe for that technology,” a Florida judge found. The ruling last week from Judge Reid Scott, in the Circuit Court for Palm […] © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Learn mo...

One AI startup’s undoing is another’s opportunity. Case in point: today, AI21 Labs, a company developing generative AI products along the lines of OpenAI’s GPT-4 and ChatGPT, closed a $53 million extension to its previously-announced Series C funding round. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It may be difficult for just any company to court OpenAI employees even if compensation packages are eye-poppingly high because of loyalty to Sam Altman.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tinder is revamping its profile pages to make them more informative and create easier starting points for conversations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Capping off a tumultuous weekend at OpenAI that culminated in investors — and a contingent of employees — attempting to convince the company’s board to hire back former Y Combinator president Sam Altman after firing him on Friday, Altman won’t be returning as CEO Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices