OpenAI opens romantic and sexual chats for adults

Silicon Valley’s rule? It’s not cool to be cautious. As OpenAI removes guardrails and VCs criticize companies like Anthropic for supporting AI safety regulations, it’s becoming clearer who the industry thinks should shape AI development. 

On this episode of Equity, Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, and Max Zeff discuss how the line between innovation and responsibility is getting blurrier, plus what happens when pranks go from digital to physical. 

Listen to the full episode to hear about: 

• The real-world DDoS attack that blocked Waymo service for a day near a dead-end San Francisco street 

• Goldman Sachs acquiring Industry Ventures for up to $965 million, signaling Wall Street's growing interest in the secondary venture market 

• FleetWorks' $17 million Series A to modernize trucking with AI 

• Why advocating for AI safety has become "uncool" in Silicon Valley from Anthropic facing backlash to California's SB 243 regulation of AI companion chatbots and the success of companies like Character.AI 

• Which startups are using an SEC workaround to file for IPOs during the shutdown 

Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday.  

Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices