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    Skype shuts down after 23 years

    9:23 AM PDT · May 5, 2025 After more than two decades, Skype is shutting down. The once-monolithic video calling platform wasn’t able to keep pace with competitors like Zoom and FaceTime, so its parent company, Microsoft, is rolling the product into Microsoft Teams. In this video, we’re sending off the iconic platform and some

    How do you define cheating in the age of AI?

    3:23 PM PDT · April 24, 2025 This AI startup raised $5.3 million to help people “cheat on everything.” But in the age of AI, how do you define cheating? Columbia University recently suspended student Roy Lee for building a tool to help people cheat on engineering interviews. He’s been making waves on X after

    OpenAI may be developing its own social platform, but who’s it for?

    12:44 PM PDT · April 24, 2025 OpenAI is reportedly building its own X-like social network. The project is still in the early stages, but there’s an internal prototype focused on ChatGPT’s image generation that contains a social feed, The Verge reports. A social app would give OpenAI its own unique, real-time data that X

    White House scraps plan to block data brokers from selling Americans’ sensitive data

    A senior Trump administration official has scrapped a plan that would have blocked data brokers from selling Americans’ personal and financial information, including Social Security numbers.  The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) said in December 2024 it planned to close a loophole under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the federal law that protects Americans’ personal

    xAI’s promised safety report is MIA

    Image Credits:Thomas Fuller/SOPA Images/LightRocket / Getty Images 3:02 PM PDT · May 13, 2025 Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, has missed a self-imposed deadline to publish a finalized AI safety framework, as noted by watchdog group The Midas Project. xAI isn’t exactly known for its strong commitments to AI safety as it’s commonly understood. A recent

    Redpoint raises $650M 3 years after its last big early-stage fund

    Image Credits:Redpoint 1:42 PM PDT · May 15, 2025 Redpoint Ventures, a San Francisco-based firm that is about a quarter century old, has raised a $650 million 10th early-stage fund, according to a regulatory filing. Redpoint’s new fund matches the size of its prior fund, which was raised just under three years ago. In a

    Unpacking Rippling vs Deel: corporate espionage and a $16.8B plot twist

    Despite courtroom chaos, Rippling is still going full steam ahead. The HR tech startup at the center of an increasingly dramatic legal battle with rival Deel just raised a fresh $450 million in funding at a $16.8 billion valuation, and launched a new “Startup Stack” to woo early-stage companies — winning over Y Combinator as

    $25B-valued Chime files for an IPO, reveals $33M deal with Dallas Mavericks

    At long last, digital consumer bank Chime has moved forward with its IPO by filing its S-1 paperwork Tuesday. Chime had reportedly filed confidential S-1 paperwork back in December. S-1 filings typically reveal all kinds of information, covering financial, legal, and other risk factors. But Chime’s S-1 documents still have a lot of blank spaces.

    After adding its own billing option on iOS, Apple asks Patreon to move it to an external browser

    Creator platform Patreon has to modify its app to comply with Apple’s guidelines after a recent update allowed U.S. users to make purchases via the web. The company says that its own web-based checkout option is now the default for U.S. fans, but it has to update its app so that this checkout option opens in

    Epic Games says Apple is blocking Fortnite from the US and EU App Stores

    Image Credits:CHRIS DELMAS/AFP / Getty Images 6:44 AM PDT · May 16, 2025 Epic Games claims that Apple is blocking its Fortnite app from the U.S. and EU App Stores. After winning a decisive victory for app developers in a legal battle with Apple, forcing the tech giant to allow external payments in its U.S.

    TechCrunch Mobility: Google’s Gemini is coming to your car, chaos comes for Luminar, and the Amazonification of Uber 2.0

    Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. Sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility! OK, who placed their bet on General Motors being the landing spot for Aurora co-founder and chief product officer Sterling Anderson? Not me. But here we are.

    Mystery investor’s attempt to stop Canoo asset sale shot down by judge

    The judge in Canoo’s bankruptcy case has blocked an attempt by a mysterious financier to disrupt the sale of the EV startup’s assets. In a hearing Tuesday, Judge Brendan Linehan Shannon ruled the financier, a U.K.-based man named Charles Garson, lacked standing to request the sale to Canoo’s own CEO be vacated. While Garson had

    Harvey reportedly in discussions to raise $250M at $5B valuation

    In Brief Posted: 1:12 AM PDT · May 15, 2025 Image Credits:mathisworks / Getty Images Legal tech startup Harvey is in discussions to raise more than $250 million in a funding round led by Kleiner Perkins and Coatue that would value it at $5 billion, Reuters reported, citing anonymous sources. Sequoia Capital, which led the

    Uber eyes B2B logistics push in India through state-backed open commerce network

    Uber is entering India’s growing B2B logistics market by extending its partnership with the Indian government-backed nonprofit that aims to break the domination of the e-commerce duo Amazon and Walmart-backed Flipkart and widen digital commerce in the South Asian nation. On Monday, the ride-hailing giant announced it will soon launch its B2B logistics service through

    VUZ gets $12M for its immersive video experiences across emerging markets and the U.S.

    VUZ, a startup known for offering immersive video experiences from red carpets and football stadiums, has raised $12 million as it doubles down on its presence in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as well as accelerates expansion into Africa, Asia, and the United States. The pre-Series C funding round, led by the International

    Crypto elite increasingly worried about their personal safety

    In Brief Posted: 2:31 PM PDT · May 18, 2025 Image Credits:alexsl/Getty Images / Getty Images Cryptocurrency executives and other investors with significant wealth from crypto holdings are getting more serious about personal security, according to stories this weekend in both the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg. While cryptocurrencies have always created unique security risks