Waymo has played coy for years about exactly how many Jaguar I-Pace EVs are in its autonomous fleet — a figure that covers vehicles used in testing and commercial robotaxi operations. On Monday, the Alphabet company finally provided a peek at the commercial side of the fleet. Waymo said Monday, as part of a larger […]
Uber and WeRide set their robotaxi sights on 15 more cities
Uber and Chinese autonomous vehicle technology company WeRide plan to expand a commercial robotaxi partnership and bring the service to another 15 cities over the next five years. The expansion comes five months after the two companies launched a commercial robotaxi service in Abu Dhabi. The companies said the expansion will include cities in Europe. Under […]
FTC bans hidden fees for live events and short-term rentals, effective May 12
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Monday released new documentation detailing its new “Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees.” The rule, set to take effect on May 12, prohibits hidden fees for live events, hotels, and short-term rentals. It also bans practices such as “bait-and-switch pricing” and any actions that conceal or misrepresent total prices […]
People struggle to get useful health advice from chatbots, study finds
With long waiting lists and rising costs in overburdened healthcare systems, many people are turning to AI-powered chatbots like ChatGPT for medical self-diagnosis. About 1 in 6 American adults already use chatbots for health advice at least monthly, according to one recent survey. But placing too much trust in chatbots’ outputs can be risky, in […]
A stealth AI model beat DALL-E and Midjourney on a popular benchmark. Its creator just landed $30M.
Recraft, the startup behind a mysterious image model that beat OpenAI’s DALL-E and Midjourney on a respected industry benchmark last year, has raised a $30 million Series B round led by Accel, it exclusively told TechCrunch. Other investors in the round include Khosla Ventures and Madrona. Based in San Francisco, Recraft previously raised a $12 […]
Google accidentally reveals details about its new Android design language, Material 3 Expressive
Google will unveil a new version of its Android design language at its upcoming Google I/O developer conference, according to an event schedule posted to its website as well as an accidentally published Google blog post. The I/O session title hints at significant changes in store for Android’s design system, which will evolve from “Material […]
Anduril is working on the difficult AI-related task of real-time edge computing
Anduril announced its ninth acquisition on Monday with the purchase of Dublin’s Klas, makers of ruggedized edge computing equipment for the military and first-responders. Anduril wouldn’t reveal financial details of the deal, and the purchase is subject to regulatory approval, but the company did say that Klas employs 150 people. Relatedly, on Monday, Anduril also […]
Layoffs hit General Fusion as the fusion power startup runs short on cash
CEO Greg Twiney posted an open letter on the company’s website today pleading for money.
YouTube is testing a discounted two-person Premium subscription tier
YouTube is testing a new two-person Premium subscription plan in select countries, the company confirmed to TechCrunch on Monday. The tier is being piloted in India, France, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. The news was first reported by Money Control. “We’re experimenting with new ways to provide greater flexibility and value to our YouTube Premium subscribers, […]
GlobalX, airline used for Trump deportations, gets hacked: report
Hackers claiming to be part of the hacktivist group Anonymous claimed the data breach.