Technology

Superhuman is joining the cadre of productivity platforms launching notetakers — but rather than building one internally, it is acquiring Y Combinator-backed Fathom. AI-powered productivity platforms aim to automate work. Typically, that automation is triggered when a user types prompts and creates workflows. It would be even better, however, if AI could proactively start work, … Read more

As AI rages on, new startups are creating tools for people to create music using generative AI prompts in the style of any artist they want. A Vinly Bar in Shibuya, a startup that sounds more like an indie band name, is focused on releasing a series of small apps that let you play around … Read more

Microsoft is publishing a 37-page “humanist AI code of conduct” today, amid growing safety concerns over AI model progress. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called for a coordinated slow down of AI development over the weekend, after researchers warned recently that AI model progress could outpace our ability to safely deploy increasingly complex systems and verify … Read more

From Florida to Washington state, local governments across the country are canceling their contracts with Flock, the company behind the controversial AI-enabled license plate readers, in response to public outcry. But ending the contracts doesn’t necessarily mean the cameras will come down immediately — or that the information they’ve gathered will be deleted anytime soon. … Read more

A 40-year-old woman in Jefferson County, Pennsylvania has died of complications from measles, according to the county’s coroner. It marks the third vaccine-preventable, measles-linked death in the US this year. All three have occurred in Pennsylvania, which is experiencing an explosive outbreak that has caused over 670 cases and 124 hospitalizations across 37 counties. Prior … Read more

Yesterday, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei published a lengthy open letter saying it was time to “pace the frontier” and slow down AI development. OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Elon Musk both agreed, publicly voicing their support on X. Even Alphabet’s Demis Hassabis offered tentative support for Amodei’s proposal. Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson, however, … Read more

Another Y Combinator Demo Day took place on Thursday, but this batch looked a little different. While every cohort brings a fresh wave of founders, the startups presenting this week skewed far more toward deep tech than in past years. As we do every quarter, TechCrunch asked early-stage VCs to name the hottest startups in … Read more

Devin Parekh has co-run the heavyweight investment firm Insight Partners for 26 years. Unlike many VCs who are loud on X and seem to live on podcasts, Parekh and Insight Partners tend to lay low. In this sit-down with TechCrunch at its StrictlyVC event on Thursday night in New York, Parekh was refreshingly candid about … Read more

Oracle co-founder and executive chairman Larry Ellison has canceled a planned sale of his Oracle stock, the company announced on Saturday. Oracle had previously disclosed in a regulatory filing that Ellison planned to sell 50 million shares worth around $7.5 billion, according to Reuters. The company did not offer a reason for the change in … Read more

The AI industry seems to be having its loudest debate yet about whether its technology poses an existential threat to humanity. The current discussion began after AI researcher Jacob Coxon said that he’s resigned from Anthropic because he’s worried that the leading AI companies are “gambling with our lives.” Then Anthropic’s alignment leaned chimed in … Read more