Author: TechBrunch
The vast amount of data that provides an AI-friendly data storage platform is in the market to raise new rounds with a major leap in valuation. Earlier this year, the 9-year-old company was sought a valuation of around $25 billion, according to anyone familiar with the deal. If that were achieved, it would be a massive jump from the $9 billion Series e rating set aside in December 2023. The person said the contract was not finalized and the terms could change, adding that despite impressive growth, the ratings requested were high at the time. Many VCs are interested in…
If you recently upgraded to a new iPhone model, you will notice that Apple Intelligence appears in some of the most commonly used apps, such as messages, emails, and notes. Apple Intelligence (yes, also abbreviated to AI) appeared in Apple's ecosystem in October 2024. Apple will compete with Google, Openai, humanity and others, so stay here to build the best AI tools. What is Apple Intelligence? Image credit: Apple The Marketing Executive at Cupertino has branded Apple Intelligence. The platform is designed to utilize what generate AI already works, such as text and image generation, to improve existing functionality. Like…
Whole Foods told employees that the ongoing suspensions and confusion at leading distributor United Natural Foods (UNFI) “takes several days to resolve.” The Amazon-owned retailer told internal communications staff that TechCrunch saw that UNFI was experiencing a “national technology system outage.” Whole Foods said in communications with staff that cyber attacks will affect UNFI's “ability to select and ship products from warehouses,” which “impact normal delivery schedules and product availability.” Staff to the missive included instructions to limit communication with customers. Communications say that “only approved customer topics” that Whole Foods employees can share with customers is that the grocery…
Some users and designers are called Apple's new user interface, called liquid glass, but it's a little faster. There is reason to think that it could improve, but there are also effective criticisms. While no doubt overhauling the operating system design looks unfinished in many parts, notifications are hard to read, and there is the Control Center overlay monster – the first developer beta ever shipped to Apple, not the final release. By the time Apple launches iOS 26 and other OSes are updated to the public this fall, there is still time for many of the current issues in…
A day after Apple announced an operating system overhaul at WWDC 2025, Google launched its own major software upgrade set for phones. Starting Tuesday, a new release of Android 16 will be rolling out to Google's Pixel smartphone lineup, adding group chat to RCS, AI-driven editing suggestions for Google photos, and support for corporate badges on Google Wallet. This release also focuses on better accessibility support and improved messaging and contact customization. Apart from Android 16, Google has announced an upgrade as part of the regular feature updates for its eligible pixel phone, Pixel Drop. Android 16 improvements Android 16…
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said today that its social networking thread will eventually begin testing a DM (direct message) inbox that is separate from the users' Instagram DM inbox. This means that users don't have to use Instagram or switch apps to chat with anyone on the platform. The company will initially test the feature in a limited number of regions, including Hong Kong, Thailand and Argentina, and plan to deploy it elsewhere soon. The chat feature is currently limited to one-to-one conversations rather than group messaging. This could be seen as a positive development of Meta's latest social networks.…
Enterprise AI Company Glean announced Tuesday that it has raised a $150 million Series F, led by Wellington Management, at a $7.2 billion valuation. This is less than a year since the $260 million Series E was announced in September at a $4.6 billion valuation, twice the rating from a February 2024 salary increase. Since early 2024, Glean has raised $610 million, increasing its valuation from $2.2 billion to $7.2 billion. Glean says it surpassed $100 million in ARR last fiscal year. GLEAN provides a tool for corporate employees to search corporate documents via LLM-powered natural language, leveraging apps such…
This week, StrictlyVC downloads will join Justin Fanelli, editor-in-chief of StrictlyVC's Alex Gove and TechCrunch, Justin Fanelli, Technical Technology Director, Program Executive Office Digital and Enterprise Services, who oversees billions of dollars in IT infrastructure and cybersecurity initiatives. He is also a venture partner at Nextgen Venture Partners and a senior fellow at the AI Open Forum. This episode discusses the Navy Innovation Recruitment Kit designed to fill the “valley of death” between commercial technology and military implementation, start-ups onboarding partnerships with the Defense Innovation Unit, and how the Navy measures success through new outcome-driven metrics that save more than…
At the end of Monday's WWDC 2025 keynote, the company literally sang praise to app developers. Singer-songwriter Allen Stone has humorously transformed customer positive app store reviews into lyrics for a song titled “6 out of 5 stars.” “Sorry, the best app ever,” he cloned. “This is not an app. It's a work of art.” Image credit: Apple (screenshot) But what Apple didn't mention was related to the developer community, or more broadly, why developers should continue to focus their trust on companies fighting for all nickel and dimes while failing otherwise. In recent years, the Cupertino-based tech giant has…
United Natural Foods (UNFI), a leading US grocery distribution company, said Tuesday it is working to restore its capabilities following a cyberattack that continues to disrupt its grocery supply chain. UNFI said it was “deeply managing it through cyber incidents” as part of its third quarter revenue report. The company “helps our customers with the shortest possible solution,” UNFI CEO Sandy Douglas said in a prepared statement. During the company's post-reconstruction conference call, Douglas said UNFI “continues to restore the system back online and restore a wide range of customer service as quickly as possible.” The company, a leading distributor…