Author: TechBrunch
Nnamdi Emelifeonwu has always been interested in what work life was like for his colleague Feargus MacDaeid, one of the few registered blind lawyers in the UK. When asked what would make his life easier, the answer was clear: “Please help me navigate the definition of complex contracts without losing context,” Emelifeonwu told TechCrunch. He found that amendments to MacDaeid's request would be useful for all lawyers. So in 2017, Emelifeonwu and MacDaeid were AI Legal Tech startups, working together to ensure that lawyers could review and edit complex contracts more seamlessly. The UK-based company announced a $30 million Series…
Automattic, owner of WordPress.com, has added another communication-focused startup to its lineup after getting Universal messaging apps Beeper and Texts.com. We have added the relationship management app Clay. The financial terms for the transaction were not disclosed, but Clay had previously raised more than $9 million in venture capital from investors such as general catalytic and pioneering ventures. This tool will continue to be supported and will later be integrated with other Automattic products like Beeper. Released in 2021, Clay's software is like a smarter address book or personal CRM, allowing users to draw data from services like LinkedIn, Facebook,…
While Daniel Sachs was working as co-CEO of a former startup, he co-founded AppDirect, billionaire Michael Dell sent a LinkedIn message asking for a meeting. Dell is famous for his favourite founder of startup calm contacts that he finds interesting. “I thought it was a fake,” Sachs told TechCrunch. But he answered anyway. “So I'm getting ready for this phone. I don't think it's Michael Dell. And I'm pretty much laughing about it. It was actually Michael.” That interaction taught him an essential lesson for his current startup, Landbase. When people know who you are, they respond to your cold…
Two European journalists were hacked using government spyware created by Israeli surveillance technology provider Paragon, a new study confirmed. On Thursday, digital rights group The Citizen Lab released a new report detailing the results of a new forensic investigation into Italian journalist Ciro Pellegrino's iPhone and the iPhone of an unknown “prominent” European journalist. Researchers said both journalists were hacked by customers of the same Paragon based on evidence found on the devices of the two journalists. So far, there was no evidence that Pellegrino, who works for the online news website FanPage, was targeted or hacked by Paragon Spyware.…
Meta sued the manufacturer of Crush AI, a popular AI “Nudify” app. In addition to the lawsuit, Meta says it is taking new steps to crack down on other apps like Crash AI. In the lawsuit filed in Hong Kong, Meta suspected Joy's Timeline HK, the entity behind Crash AI, and attempted to circumvent the company's review process to distribute ads for the AI Nudify service. In a blog post, Meta said that the ads were repeatedly removed by the entity to violate the policy, but claims that Joy Timeline HK continued to place additional ads anyway. According to the…
When Apple unveiled Image Playground last year, the company promoted it as a quick and easy way to generate personalized original images with the help of Apple Intelligence. When launched, the app was skeptical and satisfied with its limitations and poor quality results. For example, one Reddit user was surprised when the image playground continued to generate images of the hand with six fingers when he was prompted to create “images near the hand.” In another example, the user was unable to receive images with simple descriptions such as “old man” or “flower.” Some people even questioned what the point…
At WWDC 2025 on Monday, Apple announced a series of new features to be released on IOS 26 this fall. These include important updates such as call screening, more travel-friendly features in wallets, and highly requested group chat features in messages. These updates include Apple Intelligence, such as live translation. Others just make the device a little easier to use, just like Apple brings the tabs back to the Photos app. This post will be updated as new features appear. phone Call screening allows you to determine what your phone is before you pick it up. When calls are received…
The US government website, designed to notify the public about vaccines, is now tainted and is now clearly hosting AI-generated spam. Domains belonging to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) appear to host the same type of content, according to the archive version of the site since at least May 12th. Who is responsible for it, or what is the purpose of this debilitating besides pushing slop spam generated by AI? Websites hosted on the official US government domain have been hijacked in the past to host fraudulent ads and hacking services. On Wednesday, 404 Media reported…
Apple will begin using AI technology to enhance app discovery in the App Store, the company announced this week at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC 25). In a session focused on updating App Store Connect, an app distribution platform for developers, the company announced that it would introduce App Store tags. This is a label that highlights specific features and features in your app. These tags are first generated by Apple's large language model using a variety of sources, including app metadata. They then refer to humans before they are applied to apps in the app store. Apple customers can…
DNA testing service 23ANDME filed for bankruptcy protection in March, raising concerns about what will happen to the genetic data of its 15 million customers. Pharmaceutical Giant Regeneron announced in May that it was purchasing a genetic testing company for $256 million, following its bankruptcy auction. The company said it will maintain 23andMe privacy practices, but it said it will use 23andMe data to help it discover new drugs. When 23AndMe filed for bankruptcy, security experts and lawmakers encouraged customers to take action to protect their data. This week, Joseph Selsavage, interim CEO of 23Andme, told lawmakers that 1.9 million…