Author: TechBrunch

TechCrunch has learned that the family of Marc Andreessen, a leading venture capitalist and one of the investors in California Forever, a utopian city expected to be built in Solano County, California, is planning a large-scale community development in the area. Andreessen is married to Laura Arrillaga Andreessen, whose father, a Silicon Valley real estate mogul, bought land in Solano County decades before his death in 2022, according to county records obtained by TechCrunch. A limited liability company run by Arrillaga Andreessen's brother, A&P Children Investments, has begun the planning process for a mixed-use development that would include more than…

Oil drilling and fracking giant Halliburton said it had shut down some of its internal systems following a cyberattack earlier this week. Halliburton said in a brief statement filed with government regulators on Thursday that it became aware of the unauthorized access to its systems on Wednesday and responded by “proactively taking some systems offline.” The company said it was “working to determine the impact of the incident.” Halliburton is one of the world's largest energy companies, with nearly 48,000 employees in dozens of countries, according to company reports. The U.S. energy giant has been widely linked to the massive…

Two former OpenAI researchers who resigned this year over safety concerns say they are disappointed but not surprised by the company's decision to oppose California's AI disaster prevention bill, SB 1047. Daniel Kokotajiro and William Sanders previously warned that OpenAI was engaged in a “reckless” fight for dominance. “Our former boss, Sam Altman, has repeatedly called for AI regulation,” they wrote in a letter shared with Politico, urging California Governor Gavin Newsom to sign the bill. “Currently, when actual regulation comes up on the table, he opposes it.” The duo added, “We are hopeful that with appropriate regulation, OpenAI will…

Time's running out! Only a few tickets left to purchase for TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 with up to $600 off. Offer ends tonight at 11:59PM PST. Join 10,000+ startup and VC leaders at Moscone West in San Francisco from October 28-30 for one of the most anticipated tech events of the year. Book your last minute tickets here. Why attend Disrupt 2024? Gain valuable insights from industry giants Our agenda features some of the biggest names in the world of technology, startups and venture capital who are eager to share their knowledge. These industry giants will take to the stage to…

Meta and Spotify have teamed up again, this time on the issue of open source (or more precisely, open-source) AI being hindered by regulation, which both companies say is the problem. In a joint statement posted on the companies' respective websites on Friday, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Spotify CEO Daniel Ek complained that EU privacy regulations around AI are stifling innovation. Meta, for example, points out that it hasn't been able to train its AI models on publicly available data from Facebook or Instagram because regulators have yet to enact legislation dictating how this should be handled. “In the…

This week in Equity, we look at some unusual trades for a number of reasons: some are good, some are… well, you'll see why soon. First up, Story just raised an $80 million investment round. The company is trying to bring some old Web3 magic to AI and human resources management. One investor said, “What Bitcoin did for money and finance, Story is doing for content and IP.” That may be true, but it may not be what he means. Next, Mary Ann tries to untangle Bolt's complicated and bizarre term sheet: $450 million. But is this real money or…

Do you have a favorite jacket with a ripped sleeve or dirty sneakers gathering dust at the back of your closet? Tingit, a new Lithuanian startup, wants to help people restore their old clothes to their former glory with its repair marketplace. The platform allows you to take photos of your damaged items with your phone, upload a quick video, and get a quote for repair or restoration. Once you're happy with the quote, you pay through the Tingit app and mail the item to the repair shop of your choice. Then you just wait a few days or weeks.…

360One Asset, an investor in India's National Stock Exchange (NSE), raised its valuation of the company on the exchange to $29.9 billion, significantly higher than the $18 billion to $19 billion it was valued at in a private deal last year. The asset manager, which has invested in the NSE through its SOF8 fund, disclosed the valuation of NSE shares in an investor update in June, seen by TechCrunch. The rising valuation reflects growing confidence in India's economic outlook and a surge in listings in the country. NSE, which is backed by CPPIB, Kris Capital, Temasek, Fairfax and Tiger Global,…

At least 200 employees at DeepMind, Google's AI research and development division, were unhappy with the reports about Google's defense contracts, and circulated a letter to that effect within the company in May, according to Time. The letter, dated May 16, cited an article about the tech giant's contract to provide AI and cloud computing services to the Israeli military, saying the signatories were concerned about “Google's contracts with military organizations.” “Any involvement in the military or weapons manufacturing would impact our position as a leader in ethical and responsible AI and is contrary to our mission statement and stated…

Soon, parents within range of a Waymo robotaxi may not have to worry about picking up their kids from after-school activities — ever, in fact. According to the San Francisco Standard, Alphabet Inc.'s Waymo is considering a subscription program that would allow teenagers to independently hail Waymo vehicles and send pick-up and drop-off notifications to their parents. In an investigation, Waymo called the program “Waymo Teen” and offered a price of $150 to $250 per month for up to 16 rides. “We have been exploring the possibility of allowing approved teens access. [Waymo] “They have been tested under parental supervision…