Author: TechBrunch

Welcome to Startups Weekly — a weekly roundup of must-sees from the world of startups. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox every Friday. Ticktock, TikTok: It's been a wild week for TikTok. Even as the company begins testing Twitter competitors in certain markets and launches a high-end second-hand store in the UK, it's finding there's plenty of friction in the land of the free and home of the brave. In an episode of “As the TikTok Turns,” the U.S.'s esteemed House of Representatives, in a rare show of bipartisanship, passed a bill giving TikTok's parent company…

AI may be trickling into newsrooms, as Newsweek, Sports Illustrated, Gizmodo, VentureBeat, CNET, and more are experimenting with articles written by AI. But while most respectable journalists would condemn this use case, there are also a number of startups that believe AI can improve the news experience, at least on the consumer side. The latest to join the fray is Rio, an “AI news anchor” designed to give readers access to the stories and topics that interest them most from trusted sources. The new app, created by the same team behind AI-powered audio journalism startup Curio, was first unveiled at…

After a successful launch at CES, Rabbit is letting journalists try out R1. R1 is a small orange gadget with an AI-powered voice interface. This comes just weeks after the launch of the Humane Ai Pin, which is also being touted as a new kind of mobile device centered around AI. I'm still waiting for a detailed review (rather than my first hands-on) of the R1, but there are some pretty clear differences between the two devices. Most notably, the Ai Pin doesn't have a screen, relying instead on an audio interface and a projector, while the R1 has a…

Please act quickly! Applications for the content call close today, April 26th at 11:59pm PT. If you're an experienced startup professional ready to lead a session at TechCrunch Disrupt, October 28-30, now's your chance to apply. Submit your proposal to speak at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 before the deadline. Your topic should empower startup founders, builders, and entrepreneurs to move their businesses forward. Choose the format that best suits your content (or try both!): Breakout Session: A 30-minute presentation followed by 20 minutes of Q&A for up to 100 participants.Roundtable Discussion: Guide a 30-minute interactive conversation with up to 25 participants…

NOQX is a Stockholm-based startup with a mission to help companies improve their goal setting, collaboration mechanisms, and experiences. We just raised a pre-seed round of $200,000 to help achieve that goal and, in turn, help companies with between 50 and 500 employees. The company has been around for not that long. The team behind NOQX founded the company in 2023 after becoming frustrated with the lack of effective goal management tools for businesses. NOQX's motto is “clarity of purpose” and we work on the important functions of any business, and indeed the pitch deck. So I was intrigued by…

The OpenAI Startup Fund is a venture fund related to but technically separate from OpenAI that invests in early-stage, typically AI-related companies in fields such as education, law, and science, with a $15 million tranche. has been secretly closed. Two anonymous investors contributed $15 million in new cash on or about April 19, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The document was filed on April 25th and lists the name of Ian Hathaway, the manager and sole partner of the OpenAI startup fund. The capital was transferred to a legal entity called a special purpose…

Google is testing a new “Practice Speaking” feature in search to help users improve their English speaking skills. The company told TechCrunch that the feature is available to English learners in Argentina, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Mexico, and Venezuela who are participating in Search Labs, a program that allows users to try out the early Google search experience. He said there is. According to the company, the purpose of the experiment is to improve users' English skills by engaging them in AI-powered interactive language learning exercises and helping them use new words in everyday situations. . Speaking practice builds on a…

Apple's App Store isn't always as reliable as the company claims. The latest example comes from RockAuto, an auto parts retailer popular with home mechanics and DIY enthusiasts. The company is angry that a fake app masquerading as an official app has not been removed from the App Store, despite multiple complaints to Apple. Jim Taylor, RockAuto's co-founder and president, first noticed the situation when customers started complaining about “annoying ads” in the company's app. “I was surprised because he doesn't have the app,” he said. Fake RockAuto app on the App Store. Image credit: Apple (screen capture by TechCrunch)…

Apple's App Store isn't always as reliable as the company claims. The latest example comes from RockAuto, an auto parts retailer popular with home mechanics and DIY enthusiasts. The company is angry that a fake app masquerading as an official app has not been removed from the App Store, despite multiple complaints to Apple. Jim Taylor, RockAuto's co-founder and president, first noticed the situation when customers started complaining about “annoying ads” in the company's app. “I was surprised because he doesn't have the app,” he said. “We discovered that someone had placed an app in the Apple App Store using…

You don't need venture backing to succeed Rubrik's strong IPO pricing and warm reception from the public market following its listing further reinforces the view that public markets are not as closed to tech startups as some think. If Rubrik's results aren't enough to break the chaos, there's probably something else going on. But a lot more happened this week. So, as usual, the Equity staff had a mountain of news to tell, with a little bit of our own mixed in as well. Fortunately, it all turned out to be very interesting. So Mary Ann and Alex started at…