Platforms to connect apps that wouldn’t normally talk to each other have been around for a minute (see: Zapier). But they have not gotten dramatically simpler to use if you’re nontechnical. Generative AI has lowered the barrier to entry somewhat. However, getting the most out of these platforms — and fixing things when they break […]
TuSimple, once a buzzy startup considered a leader in self-driving trucks, is trying to move its assets to China to fund a new AI-generated animation and video game business. The pivot has not only puzzled and enraged several shareholders, but also threatens to pull the company back into a legal morass mere weeks after reaching
Antonio Moraes, the grandson of a late prominent Brazilian billionaire, was never interested in joining the family-owned conglomerate of construction companies and a bank. Shortly after graduating from college, he founded one of Brazil’s first impact funds, which invested primarily in companies that made healthcare more accessible and affordable. But while attending Stanford University, where
XP Health grabs $32M to bring employees more affordable vision care Read More »
Online sports apparel retailer Fanatics has agreed to settle and drop a lawsuit that it filed against troubled one-click payments provider Bolt in March, according to court documents obtained by TechCrunch. The settlement occurred as Bolt was in the thick of a new gambit to raise a large round of financing, including a “cramdown” threat
Bolt has quietly settled its lawsuit with Fanatics amid ongoing boardroom drama Read More »
Rajeev Behera’s new all-in-one HR startup, dubbed Every, is either brilliant or crazy. Crazy because multi-module HR software that does payroll, onboarding, and spend management for small businesses is already a jam-packed market. Competitors include unicorn startups Gusto, Rippling, and Deel; incumbents that are strong in one area and are expanding into others like Mercury and
Why Y Combinator companies are flocking to banking and HR startup Every Read More »
If you ask ChatGPT to help you make a homemade fertilizer bomb, similar to the one used in the 1995 Oklahoma City terrorist bombing, the chatbot refuses. “I can’t assist with that,” ChatGPT told me during a test on Tuesday. “Providing instructions on how to create dangerous or illegal items, such as a fertilizer bomb,
Hacker tricks ChatGPT into giving out detailed instructions for making homemade bombs Read More »
Small businesses are the unsung heroes of the American economy, employing nearly half of America’s workforce and making up 44% of the country’s GDP. But when it’s time for small business owners to sell their companies, their options are limited. Some go to small business brokers or pass the business on to their children, while
OffDeal wants to help small businesses find big exits with AI agents Read More »
HUSSLUP founder and CEO H Schuster notified users on Wednesday that it would be taking an “indefinite hiatus” starting Friday, according to an email seen by TechCrunch. The job search and networking app for the entertainment industry was launched to the public in January after being in an invite-only beta phase for the past three
Stefanos Loukakos, formerly a director at Meta’s business-focused Messenger division and, briefly, the tech giant’s blockchain org, noticed several years ago that online retailers were struggling to connect with potential shoppers. The problem, in his opinion, was that their marketing campaigns weren’t tailored enough. Merchants were sending generic social media, text, and email blasts that failed to
Connectly, now backed by Alibaba, taps AI to personalize text messages to customers Read More »
It’s not every day that you hear about a large funding round for a French startup in the current funding environment. But Neat, a Paris-based insurtech startup, has managed to raise €50 million (around $55 million at current exchange rates). There is some fine print however. In addition to the traditional equity-for-cash financial transaction, a
French embedded insurance startup Neat secures $55 million Read More »
