TechCrunch Industry News

A big corporate AI deal with OpenAI signals a trend of enterprises signing multiple multi-year AI partnerships. The conversation compares similar deals and why companies choose overlapping model providers for different tasks. Also covered is Grubhub's move to waive delivery and service fees on orders over $50 to spur customer growth.

A deep dive into the trend of one person building multiple powerful companies and how that recalls past industrial giants. Comparisons are drawn between modern tech empires and historical conglomerates. The conversation explores interconnections between major tech ventures, the limits of conglomerate strategies, and how wealth, influence, and regulation shape such ambitions.

Apple crushed records with its highest iPhone sales ever, fueled by demand for the iPhone 17 and big gains in China and India. Reported talks show Amazon may be preparing a massive investment in AI, potentially reshaping rivalries as OpenAI seeks huge new funding.

Discussion of Tesla’s rapid growth in energy storage, including Megapack and Powerwall deployments and large deferred revenue projections. Coverage of policy, tariffs, and competitive pressures shaping storage pricing. Report on Apple’s acquisition of Israeli audio AI startup Q.AI to boost on-device audio and whispered-speech capabilities.

A look at a fast-rising AI app that saw installs and spending plunge after a blockbuster launch. Discussion of the app’s AI video prompts, remixing tools, likeness casting and social features. Coverage of competition from other AI platforms and mounting copyright limits. Reporting on major music publishers suing an AI company over alleged mass song copying.

A surprise, substantially higher last-minute bid shook up a bankruptcy sale for an autonomous-sensor company. Legal teams weighed defects in the offer and kept a $33M buyer in place. The founder is suspected of making insider moves while courts approve asset transfers and buyers outline plans to absorb tech and staff. Funding sources and bidder identities remain murky.

A police probe into a Zoox robotaxi collision with a parked car and the DMV’s regulatory follow-up. The timeline and company account of the January crash, including prior safety recalls. Allbirds cutting physical stores as it shrinks from its mid-2010s heyday. A cultural look at the fading tech-era fashion scene.

Discussion of how U.S. sanctions and policy unpredictability are driving European efforts to reduce dependence on American tech. Belgium and the EU push for stronger domestic cybersecurity and replacements for popular U.S. platforms. Coverage of Amazon closing cashier-less Go and Fresh stores and shifting its Just Walkout technology to third parties while expanding Whole Foods.

Uber is launching AV Labs to gather and sell real-world driving sensor data to robotaxi partners. The conversation digs into why massive, diverse driving datasets help solve rare edge-case scenarios. There's also coverage of a new $33 million bid in the Luminar lidar bankruptcy, shifting the auction dynamics.

Writers and creators are pushing back on generative AI, with new rules disqualifying AI-assisted fiction and Comic-Con banning AI-made art. Debate heats up over what counts as AI use in creative tools. Separately, AI models are citing content from Elon Musk’s Grokipedia, raising concerns about source quality and accuracy.