Author: TechBrunch

On Tuesday, OpenAI released a new tool designed to help developers and businesses build AI agents (automated systems) that can use their own AI models and frameworks to accomplish tasks independently. This tool is part of OpenAI's new answers API, allowing you to develop custom AI agents that can perform web searches, scan corporate files, and navigate websites. The answer API effectively replaces Openai's assistant API, which is scheduled to go to sunset in the first half of 2026. The hype around AI agents has grown dramatically in recent years, despite the tech industry having a hard time showing or…

Speaking at the SXSW conference in Austin, high-tech investor and entrepreneur Mark Cuba shared his thoughts on how AI technology can help small businesses outperform the competition. In short, he told the crowd that AI is not the answer in itself. It is intended to serve as an aid that can help entrepreneurs by starting to grow the business and making it easier to answer questions along the way. Cuba suggested that today's entrepreneurs should spend “every moment of learning about AI” on that possibility. “The more rapidly it changes, the more changes there are,” he said, adding that for…

The company, which focuses on helping Fintech, banks and businesses take on small businesses more easily, raised $20 million in the seed funding round, Startup tells TechCrunch exclusively. It's a round seed, especially in these days when capital is difficult to get. However, the founder's history may have something to do with that. Brothers Sal Rehmetullah and Suneera Madhani also founded another fintech company, Stax Payments. They left the startup nearly a decade after being valued “$1.1 billion north.” Madi said after raising $245 million in repeated revenues, over $140 million. (Stax still works, but the pair has not been…

You are not the only one getting a voicemail about your car's extended warranty. According to the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), approximately 2.6 million people filed reports on victims of the 2024 fraud, resulting in a total loss of $12.5 billion. This is a big jump from the $2.5 billion lost in 2023 when the FTC received roughly the same number of reports. The most common way people reported losing money was when they were contacted through social media, but the FTC doesn't break down which platforms are the biggest culprits. As for fraud, the most common way people…

Tiktok announced Tuesday that it is rolling out new features to protect teens with its app. Social networks block parents from using teenage tiktoks at certain times, allowing teenage followers and followers to view the list through the new family pairing feature. Tiktok also encourages younger users to clean their phones and fall asleep at night. The new “timeaway” feature allows parents to block access to Tiktok during teenagers' control periods. For example, you can choose to block access at family time, school, evening, or weekends. Parents can also use this feature to set a recurring schedule when blocking access…

President Donald Trump has appointed Sean Pranky to lead the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), according to a White House email sent to journalists on Tuesday. Plankey has several years of experience working for the US government. In 2013, Plankey provided cybersecurity assistance to US troops deployed in Afghanistan, and later worked for the US Cyber ​​Command, the US Coast Guard and the US Navy. According to Plankey's LinkedIn, he worked as a director of the Trump administration and later at the Energy Department. Plankey did not respond to requests for comments submitted via LinkedIn. CISA was previously led…

A new venture called Leitmotif has been suffering a silent blitz for the past 16 months, focusing on decarbonisation on roughly 20 startups. Its portfolio includes EV companies, space and battery play, and four fusion startups. However, the company only says that the funds come from “European Industrial Interests.” Now, Leitmotif has told TechCrunch where the money came from: the Volkswagen Group. The German automotive giant has committed $300 million to Leitmotif's first fund, and is its only limited partner. Leitmotif has deployed about a third of that so far. At a meeting Tuesday, Volkswagen Group CEO Oliver Bloom said…

It's no secret that AI has eaten up much of its fundraising over the past few years. In 2024 alone, starting from 62% to $110 billion, with startup funding down 12% overall. A startup may think that simply adding “AI” to the company's name could help secure that funding. But with Foundation Models' frenzy focusing on real-world applications, AI agents and long-term profitability, investors are looking for startups that can turn technical ingenuity into sustainable traction. TechCrunch Sessions: AI, held on June 5th at Zellerbach Hall in Berkeley, California, where top VCS Zeya Yang (IVP), Jill Chase (Capitalg) and Kanu…

General Fusion announced on Tuesday that Plasma, the overheated fourth-state material state required for the fusion, was successfully created inside a prototype reactor. The Milestone marks the beginning of a 93-week quest, proving that the costume's steampunk approach to fusion power is a viable candidate. The reactor, called the Lawson Machine 26 (LM26), is the latest iteration of General Fusion in a set of devices that have tested various parts of its unique approach. The company is hoping to collect LM26s in just 16 months and play “Breakeven” in 2026. General Fusion is one of the oldest fusion companies still…

Zolve is a neobank that helps provide financial access to highly skilled, highly spending global citizens moving to the US, raising $251 million in a new (mixed equity and debt) funding round as startups aim to expand their presence and enter new regions. Every year, millions of highly skilled people move to countries like the United States for new opportunities. But one of the big challenges they face is gaining access to financial services, even if they start to earn a good salary. Banks often denies credit cards and loans because their country has a good credit history, but they…