Author: TechBrunch

Airbnb has launched a new feature called “Reserve Now, Pay Later.” This allows US users to book their property without paying in advance. This may result in the hassle of canceling your reservation if your plans change. This feature can be applied to properties with “flexible” or “medium” cancellation policies. Flexible policies allow users to cancel their reservations up to 24 hours before check-in, while a medium policy allows free cancellation up to 5 days before check-in. Users must pay in full for their booking before the listing's free cancellation period ends. Airbnb will send users reminders to pay by…

We'll talk about customer service. On Wednesday, Google CEO Sundar Pichai posted to X about a new feature in Google Calendar. This is an addition that was specifically requested by Stripe co-founder John Collison last month via the X-Post. On July 5th, Collison asked whether Google Calendar users could get the CTRL click option that allows them to easily replicate events, similar to the features many native calendar applications already have. Collison tagged Pichai in his post at the time. Users are often tagged with companies and CEOs with online feedback and complaints, but they know that you made it…

Rapido, a popular ride platform in India, has begun quietly testing food delivery services in Bengaluru. The startup a decade ago began testing its food delivery services in three major regions of Bengaluru: Balasandra, Tabalekele, Madiwara (BTM) layout, Hosur Saljapura Road (HSR) layout, Cora Mangala and Rapid co-found, Cora Mangala layout to Rapid Sanka Sanka Confiang Med, and Madiwara (BTM) layout. Rapido has created a wholly owned subsidiary, Ctrlx Technologies, to launch a food delivery service named the owner. The subsidiaries list Sanka and Rapido Vivek Krishna's Vice President of Finance as directors, as per regulatory submissions reviewed by TechCrunch.…

Instagram is working on a feature called “Picks” that aims to help users find common interests. Meta owned social networks have confirmed with TechCrunch that the pick is an internal prototype and has not been externally tested. This feature was first discovered by reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi. AlessandroPaluzzi often finds unreleased features while still in development. According to screenshots shared by Paluzzi, people choose their favorite movies, books, TV shows, games, music, or “Picks.” Instagram finds duplicates with friends who chose the same thing. Although Instagram does not share details about the feature, the company believes it sees it as…

Pocket FM, an Indian-based audio series platform manufacturer, is aiming to become Netflix audio. In other words, the company intends to match the audio series and hundreds of episodes to users' preferences. To do this, you need to release your content quickly. This is what we are now looking at AI. The Lightspeed-Back startup offers writers an AI toolset that can help them to suggest a better ending of an episode or do things that make the story more appealing. The hope is that the tool speeds up the story writing process. Pocket FM is already using AI tools such…

Eight years ago, orthopedic surgeon Dr. William Cup attended a medical conference that changed his professional life. He co-founded a company from a private practice doctor who built a critical care hospital and sold the company. It gave him interest in both sides of healthcare: the medication and business side, he told TechCrunch. There he went to an annual conference hosted by renowned physician scientist Dr. Daniel Craft to learn about new technologies that can improve results while reducing costs. Dr. Peter Diamandis, founder and chairman of the Xprize Foundation, was on the stage that year with Dr. Bob Hariri,…

Amazon is currently inducing shoppers in 1,000 U.S. cities to order perishable groceries through same-day delivery services. This is because the e-commerce giant is trying to compete more directly with Instacart and Walmart+ in the growing quick commerce space. Amazon plans to expand its options to more than 2,300 cities by the end of the year. Users can now order fresh grocery items, including produce, dairy products, meat, seafood, baked goods, and other items that can be used for same-day delivery, including daily household items, electronics and other items. Amazon says its “specialized temperature controlled fulfillment network” ensures shoppers receive…

A new report from the nonprofit found that the proportion of women and nonbinary individuals in the partner roles of all major companies has doubled in the past few years despite market headwinds. Rays CEO Page Hendrix Buckner chatted with TechCrunch's Dominic-Madori Davis about his push for the equity shift this week. “It has two pieces,” she said of her progress for women. She said that much of it has to do with companies that want to be more efficient and is trying to promote the best people within the company internally. The second part is that companies recognize the…

For all apps about spilling beans about people you allegedly dated, it's ironic that Teaonher spilled the personal information of thousands of users on the open web. Teaonher was designed to share photos and information about women that men claim to be dating. However, as Teaonher reported last week, the security in which Teaonher publishes user personal information, including user personal information and other government-issued ID documents, has punched a hole in security, just like the Tea that Tea was trying to replicate. Apps like these gated communities were created superficially to allow users to share information about their relationships…

Apple has rejected Elon Musk's accusation that the App Store is biased against AI apps that compete with Openai. “We showcase thousands of apps via charts, and present recommendations, curated lists of algorithms selected by experts using objective criteria,” the BBC quotes Apple as saying. This response comes after Musk threatens to sue Apple via Xai. iPhoneMaker claims that “it is behaving in a way that makes it impossible for non-Openai AI companies to reach #1 on the App Store.” Last year, Apple and Openai joined a partnership to integrate AI company models and ChatGpt into Apple products such as…