TechCrunch Industry News

Diligent Robotics hired Cruise's former chief operating officer and former head of AI and robotics into c-suite positions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Medium CEO Tony Stubblebine announced on Friday that the publishing platform has remained profitable since August of last year, when it first achieved this milestone. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Google has launched a suite of its AI-powered advertising tools in India, which debuted in the U.S. in May, as the repeal of the so-called “Google tax” has made the South Asian market more attractive to global tech firms selling online a Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

LGND has raised $9 million to convert geographic data into vector embeddings to power AI models that understand the Earth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mastodon, the open source, decentralized social network offering an alternative to Elon Musk’s X and Meta’s Threads, is rolling out a number of updates with Tuesday’s release of Mastodon 4.4. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The independent online bookseller Bookshop.org took a swipe at Amazon to celebrate the start of Prime Day, Amazon’s annual sale (which, despite its name, is actually four days this year). Like many other retailers, Bookshop.org holds a sale to coincide with Amazon’s big event — it’s a way to lure away consumers. Also, Activision last week brought offline the Microsoft Store version of "Call of Duty: WWII" as the company was investigating “reports of an issue”; and Waymo has begun offering teen accounts for families in Phoenix as it works to expand more of its user base and entrench young riders in the autonomous life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Grok, the AI chatbot powered by Elon Musk's xAI company, is back with more antisemitic rants. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Moonvalley's Marey AI video generation model is open to the public. The monthly subscription is available for $14.99, $34.99, or $149.99. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Arbor Energy's carbon-removing power plant is inspired by SpaceX's rocket engines. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s a sad weekend over at Bluesky, where one of the best accounts has disappeared — though we can still hope for its resurrection. Also, TikTok is developing a new version of its app for U.S. users ahead of an expected sale of the app to a group of investors, according to a new report from The Information; Academics may be leaning on a novel strategy to influence peer review of their research papers — adding hidden prompts designed to coax AI tools to deliver positive feedback; and the European Union said it will stick to its timeline for rolling out its AI legislation, ignoring calls by tech companies to delay the bloc's AI rules. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices