The hardest problem in physical AI may be the magnet, not the model
Actuators account for 40% to 60% of a humanoid robot’s bill of materials and China refines roughly 90% of the rare earth magnets inside them, which makes the components rather tha…
TU Darmstadt found the people who know AI best fear it most
A representative TU Darmstadt survey of more than 2,000 people in Germany found that about 43% of those with very strong AI knowledge expect AI could soon take over their work, a …
FTC accuses Amazon of running a ‘secret ad surcharge scheme’ in new lawsuit
Amazon is facing a new lawsuit from the FTC and 22 states for allegedly secretly charging businesses more for advertising.
The Pentagon now has its own version of ChatGPT and Grok
Versions of OpenAI's ChatGPT and SpaceXAI's Grok will join Google's Gemini on the Pentagon's central portal for AI tools.
A solar mobile clinic has successfully driven 800km across Kenya
Solar Team Eindhoven drove its solar ambulance Stella Juva more than 800km across Kenya with Amref Health Africa, and found it generated more energy than it used while running an …
Apply now to host a Side Event at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026
Apply before September 4 to be a part of the TechCrunch Disrupt community by hosting your own Side Event.
Windows 11 adds toggles to remove Bing results and Store suggestions from Search
Windows 11 is rolling out toggles that remove Bing web results and Microsoft Store suggestions from Search, in an optional August update that is being released gradually. Microsof…
Instagram puts new limits on undisclosed AI profiles
As frustration over AI influencers has been growing, Instagram is limiting the reach of undisclosed AI profiles.
Apple’s top App Store exec, Phil Schiller, follows wave of exits as CEO Tim Cook steps down
The longtime executive won't be leaving Apple just yet but staff at the company say it's a step closer to Schiller retiring.
Oslo doesn’t need fast chargers everywhere, and it proves it daily
Oslo had 120,469 electric cars at the end of 2025, nearly half its passenger fleet, and about 78% of its 4,519 public charging points are slow AC units placed where people already…
Microsoft tests fix for latest hours-long Outlook outage
Microsoft says it's testing a fix for the widespread Outlook issues that have led to email delays and failures.
Kalshi bans George Santos for life over State of the Union bets
The disciplinary action comes two months after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission settled charges against Santos.
Harvard Law dropout raises $6M for Blue Voice to build a ‘Harvey for police officers’
The seed round for the app that provides real-time legal and policy guidance to officers was led by SignalFire and Las Olas VC.
Hackers claim millions of patient records stolen during data breach at healthcare giant McKesson
The company, which distributes medicines and medical devices to hospitals and healthcare practices across the U.S., said it was hacked and expects intermittent service degradation.
ChatGPT Ads hits $1B annualised as the EU brings it under the Digital Services Act
OpenAI says ChatGPT Ads has reached $1B in annualised revenue run rate in under 200 days and has opened self-service buying across Europe, India, the Middle East and North Africa.…
Apple’s Phil Schiller hands over App Store and Events to Eddy Cue
Phil Schiller has stepped down from running Apple’s App Store and its product events, Bloomberg reported, keeping his Apple Fellow title as responsibility moves to Eddy Cue’s serv…
Ryan Breslow is raising up to $27M in pay-to-play bridge funding to save Bolt
The controversial founder of the checkout startup once valued at $11 billion is putting in $5 million of his own money.
The digital legacy problem: what happens to the people behind the memories?
The Pew Research Center’s 2025 survey found that 84% of U.S. adults use YouTube, 71% use Facebook, and 50% use Instagram, illustrating how deeply everyday expression has moved ont…
Tim Cook’s parting message: Apple is in the hands of a product builder
Tim Cook’s farewell memo to Apple employees offers a glimpse at how he wants John Ternus to be seen: as a product builder with deep experience across the iPhone, Mac, AirPods and …
LG Energy Solution signs a 10-year Arkansas lithium deal starting 2029
LG Energy Solution has signed a binding 10-year take-or-pay agreement for 8,000 tonnes a year of battery-grade lithium carbonate from Smackover Lithium in Arkansas, a joint ventur…
VLC crosses 7 billion downloads
In our world of expensive streaming platforms, the very free and offline VLC media player has crossed 7 billion downloads.
Clipto uses AI to search terabytes of video and is now valued at $250M
The three-year-old startup says it reached $15 million in ARR and profitability before raising its latest $15 million round.
How AI could make it harder for governments to use hacking tools
AI is proving effective at finding and exploiting vulnerabilities. Some say this will make it harder for governments to use hacking tools and spyware and could reignite calls to b…
Nvidia’s $3.5B MediaTek bet reveals its plan for tackling Big Tech’s AI chip buildout
Nvidia invests $3.5 billion into Taiwanese chipmaker MediaTek. The deal shows how Nvidia plans to stay essential to AI infrastructure as Big Tech begins to build its own AI chips.