Author: TechBrunch

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…

The collapse and bankruptcy of BaaS fintech company Synapse has revealed just how treacherous things can become in the interdependent fintech industry when one of the key players runs into trouble. Synapse operated a service that allowed other companies, primarily fintechs, to incorporate banking services into their own offerings: For example, a software provider specializing in payroll for companies with many 1099 subscribers used Synapse to offer instant payments capabilities, while other providers used it to offer specialized credit and debit cards. The San Francisco-based startup has raised a total of just over $50 million in venture capital funding, including…

Tens of millions of dollars of client money is still unaccounted for at his previous fintech company, Synapse, but Sankaet Pathak isn't letting that stop him from forging ahead with his robotics start-up. Foundation is a robotics startup with a self-described mission to “create advanced humanoid robots that can operate in complex environments” to address the labor shortage. The company has already raised $11 million in pre-seed funding from Tribe Capital and “other angel investors,” Pathak told TechCrunch on Thursday. Tribe co-founder and managing director Arjun Sethi is also a co-founder of the foundation, Pathak said Thursday. Tribe did not…

Ask any venture capitalist in detail about investing in AI startups and they will tell you that while companies are experimenting with a lot, they are very slow in adding AI solutions to ongoing business processes. But there are some exceptions, one of which seems to be a field called AI Sales Development Representatives (AI SDRs), who use LLMs and voice technology to create personalized outreach emails and make automated calls to prospects. “In some markets, you’re seeing five to 10 companies that are all successful in a very short period of time,” Shardul Shah, partner at Index Ventures, said…

Earlier this year, reports emerged that Alphabet was closing down its agricultural tech robotics spinout, Mineral. The news came amid a cash crunch for Google's parent company. Citing a crowded market and concerns about profits, Mineral shut down operations and pivoted to licensing its technology. This month, Mineral CEO Elliot Grant republished a leaked memo acknowledging that agriculture giant John Deere had acquired one of the startup's technology suites to enhance its See & Spray crop-application solution. “The challenge of solving sustainable agriculture remains before us,” Grant wrote in the post, “but it is a relay race, not a sprint.”…

Paying homage to the Myspace era, Instagram has launched a new feature that lets you add music to your profile, a collaboration with singer Sabrina Carpenter, who released a teaser for her new song “Taste” on her Instagram profile ahead of her album release on Friday. To add a song to your profile, go to “Edit Profile” and search for a song in Instagram's music library. Just like when you choose a song for your Instagram Reels or Stories, you can slide left and right to choose up to 30 seconds of a song. However, unlike Myspace, the song won't…

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.…