Exclusive

With Neverless, former Revolut execs want to make meme coins easy to buy

Cypto /

There’s an ocean of meme coins beyond Dogecoin, and a new startup called Neverless wants to make it easier to get started with trading crypto, with a particular focus on providing access to small-cap tokens. This is an interesting new crypto startup, founded by three former executives at Revolut, the London-based fintech juggernaut. Phuc To […]

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Exclusive: Google’s Gemini is forcing contractors to rate AI responses outside their expertise

AI /

Generative AI may look like magic, but behind the development of these systems are armies of employees at companies like Google, OpenAI, and others, known as “prompt engineers” and analysts, who rate the accuracy of chatbots’ outputs to improve their AI. But a new internal guideline passed down from Google to contractors working on Gemini,

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Tracker firm Hapn spilling names of thousands of GPS tracking customers

Security /

GPS tracking firm Hapn is exposing the names of thousands of its customers due to a website bug, TechCrunch has learned. A security researcher alerted TechCrunch in late November to customer names and affiliations — such as the name of their workplace — spilling from one of Hapn’s servers, which TechCrunch has seen.  Hapn, formerly

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Hauler Hero wants to bring waste management software into the 21st century

Startups /

After nearly four years of working in sales at tradesperson software company ServiceTitan, Mark Hoadley (pictured above) was looking for a change and to potentially start something of his own in a similar industry. Hoadley’s brother-in-law, and now co-founder, Ben Sikma, was working on M&A in the waste management space at the time. Sikma discovered

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The DOJ wants a Perplexity executive to testify in its Google antitrust case

Startups /

A U.S. court ruled in August that Google has a search monopoly, and while Google appeals, the Justice Department is figuring out what kind of potential penalties to impose — like breaking off Chrome.  As part of this process, the DOJ wants to call on a specific witness, according to a recent court filing: Dmitry

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Insight VC describes Databricks’ wild $10B deal and the bad advice the CEO ignored

Venture /

It’s been a wild week for investors clawing their way into Databricks’ record-breaking $10 billion fundraising, one of the VCs leading the deal told TechCrunch. “There were calls that went well late into the night, and that’s okay, that’s how good opportunities emerge,” George Mathew, managing director at Insight Partners, described with a grin. Along with

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Focused Energy buys two of the world’s most powerful lasers for its fusion quest

Climate /

Fusion power startup Focused Energy has signed a deal to buy two of the world’s most powerful lasers, the company exclusively told TechCrunch. The massive lasers will be installed in the startup’s future facility, which it is building in the San Francisco Bay Area over the next two years. “These are some of the highest-average-power

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Jay-Z’s Marcy Venture Partners merges with investment arm of Pendulum Holdings

Venture /

Jay-Z’s venture capital firm, Marcy Venture Partners, has merged with another Black-owned investment firm, Pendulum Holdings’ investment arm Pendulum Opportunities, to form MarcyPen Capital Partners, a MarcyPen spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch. The newly formed MarcyPen Capital Partners has $900 million in assets under management, according to PitchBook.  MarcyPen’s spokesperson declined to comment further on the

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