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Sales knowledge automation platform 1up gets a third of its customer leads from memes

Enterprise /

When George Avetisov was the founder and CEO of cybersecurity startup HYPR, he spent a lot of time in the trenches with the company’s sales team. He quickly realized that regardless of how good his sales team was, they were consistently pulling in other departments to answer customer questions or fill out technical questionnaires. “They […]

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Amperesand targets data centers as the next big customer for its solid-state transformers

Climate /

With data centers expected to consume as much as 12% of electricity in the U.S. by 2028, it’s no surprise that tech companies are looking for power no matter the source, whether it be nuclear, renewables, or something else entirely. But solar produces a very different type of electric current from a nuclear plant, and

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Startup founders flooded inauguration parties hopeful for dealmaking

Startups /

On Monday, while tech billionaires like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg sat on stage for President Donald Trump’s inauguration, dozens of founders were at parties all across DC, trying to get an audience with the new president’s inner circle.  To hear them tell it, it wasn’t all that hard. Valar Atomics founder Isaiah Taylor spent

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From recruiting for Palantir to landing a plane on Highway 85: meet defense tech’s wildest power broker

Venture /

In 2023, defense tech recruiter Peterson Conway VIII pulled up to the offices of nuclear fusion startup Fuse in a black Suburban, donning his signature cowboy hat. He picked up a recent Fuse hire and proceeded to regale her with stories of his old recruiting days. One story involved prostitutes attending a recruiting event (“not

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ChatGPT’s head of product will testify in the US government’s case against Google

Government & Policy /

The U.S. government wants to prove that Google’s competitors face overwhelming barriers to entry as part of its antitrust case against the tech giant. So it’s turning to ChaptGPT’s head of product, Nick Turley, to testify as a witness in hopes he will help fortify its case. In a landmark ruling last August, a court

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Malware stole internal PowerSchool passwords from engineer’s hacked computer

Security /

A cyberattack and data breach at U.S. edtech giant PowerSchool that was discovered December 28 threatens to expose the private data of tens of millions of school children and teachers.  PowerSchool told customers the breach was linked to the compromise of a subcontractor’s account. TechCrunch learned this week of a separate security incident, involving a

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Failed fintech startup Bench racked up over $65 million in debt, documents reveal

Startups /

Bench, the accounting startup that imploded over the holidays, filed for bankruptcy in Canada on January 7 revealing massive debts, documents seen by TechCrunch show.  The filings — one for Bench and another for 10Sheet, Bench’s original name — show that Bench had $2.8 million in cash on hand by the end of its life

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Google strikes world’s largest biochar carbon removal deal with Indian startup Varaha

Climate /

Google has agreed to purchase 100,000 tons of carbon dioxide removal credits from Indian startup Varaha, its first such deal with a carbon project in India and the largest involving biomass-produced biochar (also called horticultural charcoal or “black gold” for soils). The offtake agreement credits will be delivered to Google by 2030 from Varaha’s industrial

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TikTok owner ByteDance powered an e-reader’s unhinged AI assistant

AI /

An uproar with a popular Kindle competitor e-reader has showcased how the use of Chinese AI models in US products could unwittingly spread Chinese propaganda. An LLM made by TikTok’s parent company ByteDance was used by an e-reader called Boox, according to screenshots about the AI shared on Reddit. When asked questions about China and

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