Author: TechBrunch

Fizz, the university's social app, is expanding to grocery distribution thanks to a new partnership with GoPuff. The partnership allows students to order anything from late-night snacks to weekly groceries within the Fizz app, about 15 minutes faster, Fizz says. Founded in 2021, Fizz is available on more than 620 campuses across the United States, and has so far been shared with over 27 million posts. Social platforms allow students to connect anonymously with others at the university. Fizz also has a market where users can buy and sell items locally. Fizz co-founder and CEO Teddy Solomon told TechCrunch via…

While Google will not be forced to dissolve its search business, federal judges have tentatively ordered other changes to Tech Giant's business practices, preventing further anti-competitive action. US District Court Judge Amit P. Mehta on Tuesday outlined a remedy that prohibits Google from entering or maintaining exclusive transactions that links the distribution of searches, Chrome, Google Assistant, or Gemini to other apps or revenue arrangements. For example, Google cannot condition a PlayStore license for the distribution of a particular app or tie up revenue share payments to maintain a particular app. Google must share certain search indexes and user interaction…

Like its competitors like Google Lens and Pinterest Lens, Amazon is investing more in AI-powered shopping experiences, a new AI-powered upgrade to Amazon Lens shopping capabilities that allow consumers to discover new products through visual search. The tool will also integrate product insights with Amazon's AI shopping assistant Rufus, the retailer said. Lens Live does not replace Amazon Lens, Amazon's existing visual search tool. This prevents you from taking images, uploading images, scanning barcodes to discover products. Instead, it brings real-time components to Amazon lenses, so you can point your phone at what you're seeing in the real world and…

Web Publishing Platform WordPress introduces an early version of its AI development tools. This is described by CEO Matt Mullenweg as “V0 or something to love, but especially for WordPress only.” A reference to the popular “Vibe Coding” service for building software using V0 and an adorable AI interface. Mullenweg introduced a new WordPress AI tool called Telex, along with other AI experiments, at the WordCamp US 2025 conference in Portland last week. During his keynote speech, Mullenweg briefly demonstrated how the telex that make up a WordPress website can create Gutenberg blocks, or modular bits such as text, images,…

Last year, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) signed a $2 million worth of contract with Israeli spyware manufacturer Paragon. Shortly afterwards, the Biden administration will review the contract, issue a “suspension work order,” determine whether the contract complies with the commercial spyware executive order, and restrict U.S. government agencies from violating human rights and targeting Americans overseas. Almost a year later, ICE lifted the suspension work order when the contract appeared to be exhausted and active, according to public records. “This agreement is for a fully configured, unique solution, including licenses, hardware, warranty, maintenance, training, and more. This change…

Instagram is testing the new picture photography feature for viewing reels, the company confirmed to TechCrunch on Tuesday. This feature allows users to view reels in small floating windows on the screen, while allowing users to view other apps and multitasking. This feature was first discovered by app researcher Radu Oncescu. Users who are part of the test will see a popup notifying them about the new feature and how to turn it on. Picture-in-pictures are great for multitasking, but they could also increase longer video retention, especially in an era of reduced attention. For example, if someone comes across…

The clock is ticking every moment, and TechCrunch's exhibition space is rapidly filling up in 2025. There are only four days left to book a table, so it's time to stop swiveling ideas and claim your spot on the show floor. Only the remaining 10 tables remain, and once they are gone, they are gone. There is no waiting list. There are no last-minute add-ons. The confusion attracts over 10,000 startups and VC leaders. The exhibition floor is where some of the biggest conversations begin. If you have a killer product, bold vision, or early traction and ready to scale,…

Eight US and Indian venture capital and private equity companies, including renowned investors Axel, Bloom Venture, Celesta Capital and Premji Invest, formed a rare coalition to support deep Indian tech startups, pledging over $1 billion to bolster US and India's technical ties over the next decade. The alliance has addressed long-standing fundraising concerns. In April, Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal elicited criticism after denounced domestic startups for focusing on food delivery instead of innovation, contrasting with Chinese companies in a presentation titled “India vs. China: Startup Reality Check.” Several investors and founders argued that India lacks capital for deep tech…

Five years ago, investor Katelin Holloway created what she called “literal moonshot” investments. The founding partner of generalist venture Seven Seven Six admits that she and her team were talking about when Rocket Company Stoke Space promoted the company with reusable launch technology as “no clue.” “We knew well enough that we weren't experts,” she says. Since then, Holloway has also invested in Interlune, a company that plans to harvest Helium-3 from the moon and sell it to the planet for quantum computing and medical imaging applications. Holloway is well aware of the skepticism these bets may attract. At the…

Volunteers are needed and time is inscribed! Over a month before TechCrunch destroys San Francisco in 2025, we are urging students, founders, marketers and event pros to step behind the curtains and urge the TechCrunch event team to separate themselves from one of the biggest and most anticipated startup events to take place on October 27th-29th. The application deadline is September 30th Whether you're building a network, learning what it takes to start a company, or getting front row views from technology leaders like Aaron Levy (Box), Sarah Franklin (Grid), and Elad Gill, volunteers are a fast track ticket to…