Author: TechBrunch

After the second quarter's revenue beat, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky shared his thoughts on the company's AI strategy, warning investors that AI Chatbots still can't be considered a “new Google.” This means that while AI chatbots can lead new leads into the travel and services business, they are not entirely replacing the referrals that dominant search engines bring. At least not at this time. “I think we still feel the space,” the executive told investors during a second-quarter revenue call. “My warning is that I don't think AI agents should think of chatbots like Google. I don't think they should…

Duolingo announced Wednesday that it had beaten quarterly revenue estimates despite the company's faced widespread rebound over its choice to accept generate AI over human workers. Duolingo shares rose almost 30% on the news. In April, CEO Luis von Ahn shared that Duolingo would become an “AI-First” company, abolishing the use of contract workers. He also discouraged the team from hiring more employees unless they can automate more work. With the use of generator AI, Duolingo has introduced 148 new language courses. This has more than doubled the previous product. “Without AI, it would take decades to expand content to…

X owner Elon Musk told advertisers in a live discussion Wednesday that the platform plans to introduce ads to Grok's responses, as reported by the Financial Times. The move will help PowerX's struggling advertising business after former CEO Linda Jaccarino retires. “So far, our focus has been on making Grok the smartest and most accurate AI in the world, and I think we've made a large part of it all out,” Musk said during the broadcast. “So we'll focus on how we pay for those expensive GPUs.” Musk told advertisers that X will allow marketers to pay to appear in…

Elad Gil is not ahead of the curve. He actually lives there. Before most of the world asked ChatGpt to their first question, Gil wrote early checks for companies like Perplexity, Charition.ai, Harvey and more. And that's just a part of the story. His achievements include seed or Series A investment in over 30 unicorns, including some of Tech's most iconic names (stripe, Airbnb, Coinbase, Instacart, Concepts, Figma, Flexport, Gitlab, etc.). This October, Gill will take a destructive stage for a chat with a fireplace that will disrupt 2025 at TechCrunch in San Francisco, promising to cover many ground. From…

Bouygues Telecom, France's third largest mobile phone, has identified cyberattacks and data breaches affecting millions of customers. In a statement posted to its website, the telecom giant said the hack has allowed intruders to access personal information from 6.4 million customer accounts. Bouygues said it detected a cyberattack on August 4, but did not give a time frame when the violation was improved. On another page dedicated to CyberAttack victims, Bouygues said the stolen data includes customer contact information and contract data, citizen status (or company data if the subscriber is an expert), Ibans, or international bank account numbers. Bouygues…

Browser Company has launched a Pro subscription plan for DIA, a new web browser that integrates AI capabilities significantly. The plan is $20 a month and offers unlimited access to DIA's AI-powered chat and skill features. The introduction of a paid tier means that free users will face restrictions on using AI features. The browser company has not specified exact restrictions, but CEO Josh Miller told the New York Times in July that the browser will remain free for those who use “several times a week.” Image credit: Screenshots by TechCrunch Miller also indicated that the startup will offer multiple…

Teaonher is an app designed to share photos and information about women who dated for men, and TechCrunch can confirm that it publishes user personal information, including government IDs and selfies. Launched on the Apple App Store earlier this week, the app is a response to another viral app that women can post about men they date. Tea is advertised as a safety app for women with over 6 million users, similar to “Do we date the same guy?” Facebook Network. However, the app is controversial as many of the claims that women post are not validated. The backlash surrounding…

TechCrunch returned to Moscone West in San Francisco on October 27-29, 2025, and has brought together over 10,000 startups and VC leaders to see where innovation is improving. Among the must-see sessions is a candid panel of Builders Stage, one of the most high-stakes moments of the founder's journey. Raise the first round. Sign up now to save up to $675 on your ticket, join this conversation and have over 200 sessions across five industry stages, roundtables and breakouts. It will rise tonight at 11:59pm. From pitch to partnerships: a real roadmap to fundraising This dynamic panel brings together three…

As the new grade approaches, Google announced on Wednesday it will launch a new tool called Guided Learning within Gemini. Tools are functions like AI tutors. This is because it is designed to help users build deeper understandings rather than getting answers. The release continues over a week after Openai unveiled ChatGPT learning mode. This is designed to help users actually develop critical thinking skills and not simply get answers to questions. The launches of both companies arise amid concerns that AI chatbots will sacrifice the learning process as they vent direct responses. New tools from Google and Openai may…

Figma managed something unusual in today's market. It survived the failed Adobe acquisition, remained independent and published on its own terms. However, post-IPO performances have a more complicated story about the 2025 startup exit. “This is a bit of a stock of memes,” said Jay Dass, president and partner of Sapphire Ventures, in an episode of this week's episode. Das joined Rebecca Veran to analyse that Figma's IPO is really signaling the current climate of the startup exit. With over 12 IPOs under his belt, including Mulesoft, Square and Box, Das knows what a powerful debut looks like. Figma's IPO…