TechCrunch Industry News

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

While AI may be the catalyst behind the recent wave of data company M&A, the market was ripe for consolidation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Google has pledged to use only carbon-free sources of electricity to power its operations, a task made more challenging by its breakneck pace of data center growth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The social platform X will pilot a feature that allows AI chatbots to generate Community Notes. Community Notes is a Twitter-era feature that Elon Musk has expanded under his ownership of the service, now called X Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The financials are impressive and founder CEO Dylan Field already cashed out $20 million worth of shares last year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices