Author: TechBrunch

Google announced Tuesday that it will be able to access historic street view images on Google Earth. Until now, Google Maps has only been able to access historic street view images. Google says the launch will allow you to explore from more perspectives, whether it's a bird's-eye view or on a street level. Google is introducing an update to celebrate Google Earth's 20th birthday. Last year, there was a trend in social media, so the release will occur. This allowed people to visit Google Maps to effectively visit time travel, finding their loved ones in images, or see how the…

The US government has banned WhatsApp from devices used by U.S. House staff, and the app poses a potential security risk, Reuters reported citing a note sent to house staff. “The Cybersecurity office viewed WhatsApp as a high risk for users due to its way of protecting user data, lack of data encryption at rest, and lack of transparency in how it protects the potential security risks associated with its use,” Reuters reported. Instead, the memo recommends that staff use apps such as Signal, iMessage, FaceTime, and Microsoft Teams. In January, Meta said it detected and confused a hacking campaign…

Andy Konwinski, a computer scientist and co-founder of Databricks and Perplexity, announced Monday that his personal company, Laude, is establishing a new AI lab that supports his $100 million dollar pledge. The Laude Institute appears to be not an AI lab, but a fund that is trying to form an investment just like grants. In addition to Konwinski, the institute's board includes Professor Dave Patterson, Professor UC Berkeley (known for his award-winning series of research), Jeff Dean (known as Google's Chief Scientist), and Joelle Pineau (vice president of AI Research, Meta). Konwinski announces the institute's first “flagship” grant, which costs…

With the Monday release of iOS 26 Beta 2, Apple fixed one of the more obvious issues with Liquid Glass, a divisive new user interface design for iPhones, iPads and other Apple devices. This was announced at WWDC 2025 earlier this month. The updated user interface modernizes the look and feel of the operating system with design systems inspired by the optical quality of the glass, including methods of refraction of light and its semi-transparent nature. However, the early iOS 26 testers quickly pointed out the flaws in the updated appearance of the early developer beta, somewhat unfair. The beta…

The Canadian government and the FBI say they know about malicious activities targeting telecommunications companies across Canada. This attributes to the invasion of the Salt era, a Chinese-backed hacking group. In a joint recommendation late Friday, the federal government said at least one unnamed Canadian carrier was hacked in mid-February this year, and hackers operated three Cisco routers to allow stealth traffic collections from the network. The federal government says separate investigations suggest that salt typhoon targeting is “wideer than the communications sector.” Active since at least late 2024, Salt Timson previously targeted US phone giants and internet providers, and…

Harvey AI, a startup that provides automation for legal work, raised $300 million in Series E funding at a $5 billion valuation, the company told Fortune. The round was co-led by Kleiner Perkins and Coatue, and received participation from existing investors such as convictions, Elad Gil, Openai Startup Fund and Sequoia. The funding comes just four months after Harvey announced that Sequoia led the $300 million Series D round at a $3 billion valuation. While many AI companies aim to keep their staff low, Harvey is rapidly expanding its staff. The startup three years ago already employs 340 people and…

Startups don't build themselves. TechCrunch's builder stage will disrupt 2025, which will take place at Moscone West in San Francisco from October 27-29. Investors, operators and founders will start talking about tactics. This year we will bring some of the keenest minds of the game onto the stage. These include legendary investor Elad Gil, former Twitter CEO Dick Costolo, and Flexport founder Ryan Petersen. If you're looking for real-world insights from people who have actually built and supported the companies that define categories, this is where it happens. If you're struggling with your first term seat, whether you're wondering whether…

Two U.S. Senators have requested that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigate Spotify on allegations that it had combined music streaming and audiobook services into more expensive subscriptions without user consent, while also reducing royalty payments to creators in the process. On Friday, June 20th, U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn and Ben Ray Lejean wrote to the FTC, claiming that Spotify converted their standard premium subscription into a high-cost bundled subscription without notifying consumers. They also highlighted that existing US regulations allow digital music providers to pay for reduced music royalty rates if subscriptions are bundled with other legitimate products. “Spotify's…

AFLAC, one of the largest insurers in the United States, says hackers stole an unknown amount of customer personal information from their network during a cyber attack earlier this month. The insurance giant confirmed that in a legally necessary filing filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday, the company identified hackers in its system on June 12th and contained the case. AFLAC said that supplementary insurance is provided to individuals whose primary providers do not cover costs, and although the number of customers affected by the data breaches remains to be known, personal data includes customer claims…

Early stage founders, listen! Front row seats will be required on the Builder Stage at 1pm on October 27th. This session at TechCrunch brings together Index Ventures partner Nina Achadjian in 2025. Jerry Chen, general partner, Greylock. Viviana Faga, Felicys general partner, will share investment priorities for 2026 in AI, data, cloud, robots and more. This veteran VCS group gives you their views on emerging sectors and innovations that will attract their attention. Next, would you like to know where smart money is heading? attend. It will be held in Western Moscone, San Francisco, October 27th-29th, 2025. Sign up here…