Author: TechBrunch

Phone scams are nothing new, but with the advent of AI, it's harder than ever to know if the person you're talking to is who they say they are. But British mobile network O2 has turned the tables and created what it calls an “AI grandma” that keeps tabs on scammers for no good reason. The bot, called Daisy, uses “human-like rambling chat” to keep the scammer talking. Its stated purpose is to waste your time by talking about your family, knitting, and divulging completely fabricated personal information, including your bank account details. Created with the help of YouTuber, software…

Big changes are coming to ABL Space Systems. The seven-year-old startup's leaders made the big announcement on social media last night. The company will no longer focus on the commercial launch market and will instead focus on missile defense. ABL is developing a small launch vehicle called RS1 and a mobile ground system designed to fit inside a shipping container, with the goal of delivering the first truly portable and responsive launch to the market. I was holding it up. To achieve this objective, the startup has invested significant capital in in-house technology development and infrastructure, including new rocket engines.…

Big changes are coming to ABL Space Systems. The seven-year-old startup's leaders made the big announcement on social media last night. The company will no longer focus on the commercial launch market and will instead focus on missile defense. ABL is developing a small launch vehicle called RS1 and a mobile ground system designed to fit inside a shipping container, with the goal of delivering the first truly portable and responsive launch to the market. I was holding it up. To achieve this objective, the startup has invested significant capital in in-house technology development and infrastructure, including new rocket engines.…

Microsoft is in a predicament. The company has pledged to become carbon negative by 2030, but emissions have surged more than 40% since 2020, in part due to the rapid growth of its AI business. Although the company purchased large amounts of renewable electricity, some emissions, such as air travel, were impossible to eliminate. What should Big Tech companies do? One option is direct air capture, a process that removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Microsoft is a major investor in DAC, working on equity research for startups and pre-purchasing carbon credits. However, DAC is still in its infancy, with…

According to Bloomberg, Elon Musk's social media company X has filed a lawsuit seeking to block California law AB 2655, which requires large online platforms to remove and label election-related AI deepfakes. X claims that the law, also known as the “Protecting Democracies from Deepfake Fraud Act of 2024,'' will lead to widespread censorship of political speech. The complaint, filed late Thursday in Sacramento federal court, states that “there is a long history of the First Amendment's strongest protections against speech critical of government officials or candidates for public office, and that includes It also includes tolerance for potentially false…

Andreessen Horowitz co-founder and well-known VC Ben Horowitz has contributed at least $7.6 million in recent years to fund purchases by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, including a new Skydio drone backed by A16Z. Skydio is not the first a16z portfolio company to benefit from these donations. Today on TechCrunch's Equity podcast, hosts Kirsten Korosec, Devin Coldewey, and Margaux MacColl discuss the implications of Horowitz's approach and how others in the venture capital world are praising the controversial move. We dug into the reasons why you should refrain. Listen to the full episode to hear: Stocks will be back…

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Friday that his company's X competitor, Threads, is testing custom feeds for specific topics and profiles to help users find communities and conversations that interest them. announced that it would start. The news follows the rapid growth of social networking startup and X rival Bluesky. Bluesky prioritizes tools that allow users to build their own algorithms and feeds, create lists, set their own moderation rules, and more. After the US presidential election, X gained more right-wing attention, with X's owner Elon Musk heavily campaigning for Trump using the platform formerly known as Twitter. Recruitment is…

If you're an hourly worker, your options for finding a new job are slightly reduced. JobGet, a Boston-based startup that operates an hourly job site with LinkedIn-like social features, is acquiring one of its rivals in the U.S. market, Snagajob. JobGet claims this makes it the largest job platform for hourly and frontline workers in the U.S., covering 100 million people. But to be clear, that's not the company's user base. JobGet doesn't reveal how many active users it has, other than to say it works with tens of thousands of customers and helps secure millions of jobs. Snagajob says…

InStyle reported yesterday that Meghan is investing in Highbrow Hippie, a hair and wellness company founded by colorists Kadi Lee and Micah Harris. The company has announced the launch of new hair care products, and Meghan told the outlet: “I'm proud to invest as a friend and as a female founder.” News about the growth of Meghan's investment portfolio is becoming more and more widespread. In August, she spoke to the New York Times about her investment in basket bag company Cesta Collective, saying she had “five to 10 brands” in her portfolio. Her first investment was in instant vegan…

Early Thursday morning, excited Afrotech attendees walked into the conference room to see something. Hannah Bronfman, a prominent angel investor with over 1 million followers on social media, is in conversation with Morgan DeBaun, founder and CEO of Blavity. Bronfman is a wellness content creator, author, and investor in more than 70 companies, including beauty brands Topicals and Sienna Naturals. She is best known for founding the health, beauty and fitness marketplace HBFIT, which closed last year after eight years in business. She told the Afrotech audience that she has learned a lot during her time as a founder. She…