TechCrunch Industry News

VC legend Ron Conway quits Salesforce Foundation after Benioff’s National Guard comments Kayak is bringing AI directly to its main platform with a new “AI Mode” that lets travelers research, plan, and book trips through a built-in chatbot. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pinterest is rolling out new controls that let users limit how much AI-generated content appears in their feeds. The company is also making its AI content labels more visible. Ke Yang’s departure marks the latest in a string of exits from Apple’s AI unit, putting the company into jeopardy in the lead up to a much-anticipated Siri revamp scheduled for March. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

F5 Networks, which provides cybersecurity defenses to most of the Fortune 500, said the DOJ allowed it to delay notifying the public on national security grounds. Semiconductor firm Arm is partnering with Meta to enhance the social media company's AI systems amid an unprecedented infrastructure buildout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

OpenAI says it will soon roll back some of ChatGPT's safeguards, and even allow the chatbot to engage in erotica for adult users. Waymo already has ties to the UK, which began after the autonomous vehicle technology company acquired Latent Logic in 2019. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Walmart is partnering with OpenAI to let shoppers buy products directly through ChatGPT. The new integration will allow users to link their Walmart accounts, browse items ,and instantly check out — all within the chatbot. Designed for one-on-one meetings, the tool lets you insert available time slots directly into an email, automatically creating a calendar invite once a recipient selects a time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SpaceX said farewell to its V2 on Monday night as it sent Starship’s current configuration on one last test flight, in a mission that the company says hit all its key goals, moving the program into its next phase. ecurity researchers have discovered that as many as half of all geostationary satellites in Earth’s orbit are carrying unencrypted sensitive consumer, corporate, and military information, making this data wide open to eavesdropping. And Grinder’s majority owners are scrambling to take the LGBTQ plus dating app private after a stock decline triggered a personal financial crisis, according to a report from Semafor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Oura's chief commercial officer doesn't seem particularly worried about capturing every demographic. Instead, she's focused on keeping Oura’s core users happy while organically attracting new segments. And young women are becoming part of that core market. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a landmark bill on Monday that regulates AI companion chatbots, making it the first state in the nation to require AI chatbot operators to implement safety protocols for AI companions The law is designed to protect children and vulnerable users from some of the harms associated with AI companion chatbot use. It holds companies — from the big labs like Meta and OpenAI to more focused companion startups like Character AI and Replika — legally accountable if their chatbots fail to meet the law’s standards. Also, Salesforce announced Monday the latest version of its AI agent platform as the company looks to lure enterprises to its AI software in an increasingly crowded market. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On Friday, the technology giant announced a new feature that will automatically disable browser notifications for the websites you haven’t interacted with recently, disrupting their ability to pop up alerts and updates that you may no longer be interested in. the President declared Friday that he will impose a 100% tariff on all imports from China, while also imposing export controls on “any and all critical software” from the United States. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Political shifts might have set back the energy transition, but large investors are betting that renewables are at the future of energy. In other news, the CMA has designated Google as having "strategic market status" in the search and search advertising markets, which means the company has such "a substantial and entrenched" position that it requires special regulations to ensure fair competition. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices