Andreessen Horowitz’s hiring spree continues. On Monday, Erik Torenberg announced that the giant VC firm had acquired his Turpentine podcast, with him joining as a general partner. Torenberg’s podcast focuses mostly on interviewing VCs at a variety of firms about their approach to investing. Recent guests include Accel’s Andrew Braccia, Seven Seven Six’s Alexis Ohanian, […]
Bluesky launches blue check verification
Bluesky announced on Monday that it is rolling out blue check verification, confirming previous rumors that this feature was on its way to the platform. Like Twitter’s original blue check (RIP), Bluesky’s blue check will verify that notable accounts are legitimate, making it easy for users to trust that an account’s posts are real. In […]
Reddit briefly down for users worldwide
Popular social network and forum site Reddit reported significant outages on Monday morning. The connection errors started at around 11:20 a.m. ET, according to the website Downdetector, which collects anecdotal reports from impacted users globally. At its peak, more than 90,000 users logged an outage report with the downtime tracking website. At 11:52 a.m. ET, […]
An AI doctoral candidate in California says they had their student visa revoked
An AI doctoral student in California had their SEVIS record — the digital proof of their valid student visa — terminated, putting their immigration status at risk. Speaking to TechCrunch, the student, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal, said they were notified via their college’s international student center that they’d been identified in a criminal records […]
Put your brand at the center of the AI conversation — host a Side Event during TechCrunch Sessions: AI
This June, the most influential minds in artificial intelligence will converge at TC Sessions: AI — and your brand has a unique opportunity to be part of the action. From June 1–7, TechCrunch is curating a weeklong series of Side Events that orbit the main stage event on June 5 at UC Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall. […]
Final weeks to secure your spot in the AI spotlight at TechCrunch Sessions: AI
The countdown is real! Exhibit tables for TechCrunch Sessions: AI are almost gone, and the May 9 deadline is closing in fast. If you’ve been meaning to showcase your AI innovation, this is your last window to make it happen. No more “maybe next year.” No more waiting for the perfect moment. This is it! […]
Instagram is using AI to find teens lying about their age and restricting their accounts
Meta is using AI technology to search for kids who are lying about their age on Instagram in order to bypass safeguards, the company announced on Monday. When Meta finds an account that it suspects belongs to a teen, the platform will enroll them into a restricted Teen Account, even if the account lists an […]
Tesla reportedly delays launch of new low-cost model by months
Tesla is pushing back the promised launch of a more affordable EV by months, according to a report from Reuters. The new model, which is supposedly a very stripped-down Model Y, was supposed to debut in the first half of this year but now might not come until late 2025 or early 2026, states the […]
Airbnb will now show users the total cost of their stay right away
One of the chief complaints of Airbnb users over the years has been not being able to tell right away how much they would pay for their stay, including charges such as cleaning fees. Airbnb is now fixing that by showing the total cost for a given property, including all charges, automatically. Users across the […]
Palantir exec defends company’s immigration surveillance work
One of the founders of startup accelerator Y Combinator offered unsparing criticism this weekend of the controversial data analytics company Palantir, leading a company executive to offer an extensive defense of Palantir’s work. The back-and-forth came after federal filings showed that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) — tasked with carrying out the Trump administration’s […]