Author: TechBrunch

Earlier this month, security researchers warned that Ecovacs vacuum cleaners and lawnmower robots had multiple security flaws that could allow hackers to spy on their owners through the devices' microphones and cameras. At the time, Ecovax told TechCrunch that the researchers concluded the flaws they found were “highly rare in typical user environments and would require specialized hacking tools and physical access to the device.” “Users can therefore rest assured that there is no need to be overly concerned about this,” the emailed statement said, declining to commit to fixing the vulnerabilities. Two weeks later, Ecovacs changed its mind, telling…

Since Alphabet X's founding, the self-described “moonshot factory” has been noted for the diversity of its technological solutions and the problems it seeks to solve. The combined research facility and accelerator has produced balloons for rural internet and kites for energy production. Tidal, which quietly spun out of the division in mid-July, has lofty ambitions: to “sustainably feed humanity.” A goal as grand and abstract as that is, the newly formed company is focused on one specific element: salmon farming. According to the World Wildlife Fund, “salmon farming is the world's fastest growing food production system, accounting for 70% of…

Apple continues to fine-tune its efforts to comply with the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA). On Thursday, the iPhone maker announced a further set of changes, showing off a redesigned browser selection screen that will be coming to iOS and iPadOS “later this year” in version 18 of its mobile software platform. The tweaked browser selection screen now displays a toolbar to the left of the list, allowing users to select a browser directly from the selection screen, and then when they scroll through the full options list, that browser will be pinned to the top of the list.…

F1 teams are turning to a startup called BeyondMath to help take car manufacturing to the next level. BeyondMath works in the field of computational fluid dynamics, which digitally models how objects move through water and air. But this is easier said than done: even with massive computing power, digitally representing complex physical phenomena isn't completely accurate. What sets BeyondMath apart is that it uses machine learning, as well as supercomputers, to simulate windy conditions to improve the accuracy of its models. BeyondMath co-founder Darren Garvey told TechCrunch: “Imagine you have six months to design an airplane part. Simulations take…

Instagram said it hasn't tested ads on Threads and has no plans to monetize it anytime soon after several developers and reverse engineers found references to advertising products in the app's code, including the word “ad” itself, as well as sponsored items and ad settings. A JSON file that appears to have been used by the developers for testing purposes was also discovered in the public Threads mobile app. One of the developers who made these discoveries, Alessandro Paluzzi, forced a post to show as a sponsored post and shared it on X. The post shows how the “Sponsored” label…

Wind and solar power has become so cheap to install, and sometimes so abundant, that utilities don't know what to do with it. Sometimes they pay other power plant owners not to produce electricity. In response, scientists and engineers are racing to find ways to cheaply store that electricity for later use, ultimately aiming to store renewable energy and make it available 24/7 at a price that would put coal and natural gas out of business. Cache Energy is the latest startup to attempt this feat, and it's taking a slightly different approach than the others. Rather than using sand…

When an ad agency creates ads for a client, they don’t just create one ad, they might create hundreds of iterations for numerous platforms, which can be quite a manual effort. Creatopy, which uses AI to automate ad creation, has raised $10 million in Series A funding co-led by European venture capital firms 3VC (based in Austria) and Point Nine (based in Germany). The startup was developed in Romania, but has a US presence with TopCo, which currently serves over 5,000 brands and agencies who use it to create, customize and automate advertising and visual content production. Amid a proliferation…

There are 2 days left to purchase tickets to TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 with up to $600 off, with prices increasing after 11:59pm PST on August 23. Don't miss your chance to get big discounts at one of the most epic tech events of the year, taking place October 28-30 at Moscone West in San Francisco. Why attend Disrupt 2024? Engage with 10,000+ attendees, founders, and investors in 300+ roundtable and breakout sessions, participate in one-on-one and small group braindates, and extend your network at company-hosted receptions and post-Disrupt side events. Watch as top VCs evaluate startups and reveal what it…

Small businesses and startups often don't have a dedicated travel desk, forcing owners and founders to rely on human assistants or cumbersome, time-consuming travel apps. Michael Gurman, a former senior vice president of consumer products at Expedia, is betting on AI to fill that gap. His company, Otto, came out of stealth on Thursday and plans to release an alpha version of its platform to select participants in the U.S. in September. The service is designed to speed up flight and hotel bookings through natural-language queries. Otto raised $6 million in a seed round led by Madrona Ventures with participation…

Last month, a faulty CrowdStrike update took down airports, 911 call centers, and hospitals, highlighting how a faulty update can affect critical infrastructure. If the update was for something like a self-driving car or warehouse robot, the impact of a faulty update could be even more severe. Early-stage startup Trace Machina is trying to avoid such scenarios with advanced simulation software that lets developers test updates in a more realistic simulated environment. The company emerged from stealth on Thursday to announce a $4.7 million seed round investment and an open-source tool called NativeLink. CEO and co-founder Marcus Egan says the…