TechCrunch Industry News

How much do foundation models matter?  It might seem like a silly question, but it’s come up a lot in conversations with AI startups, which are increasingly comfortable with businesses that used to be dismissed as “GPT wrappers,” or companies that build interfaces on top of existing AI models like ChatGPT. Also, following its long-awaited launch of lossless streaming for paid subscribers, Spotify is upgrading its service for free users, too. On Monday, the company announced that free users globally will now be able to search and play any song they want or play a song shared by a friend or an artist they follow on social media. And AI-powered chatbots are playing a growing role in spiritual life. A New York Times story that examined the popularity of religious chatbots and apps. For the most part, these apps are supposed to point people to religious doctrine and scripture to answer their questions, although at least one website purports to allow users to chat with God. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rainmaker Technology’s bid to deploy cloud-seeding flares on small drones is being met by resistance from the airline pilots union, which has urged the Federal Aviation Administration to consider denying the startup’s request unless it meets stricter safety guidelines. The FAA’s decision will signal how the regulator views weather modification by unmanned aerial systems going forward. Rainmaker’s bet on small drones hangs in the balance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The feature is called Memory Integrity Enforcement (MIE) and is designed to help stop memory corruption bugs, which are some of the most common vulnerabilities exploited by spyware developers and makers of phone forensic devices used by law enforcement.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The U.S. Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against Uber, accusing the ride-hailing company of violating federal law by discriminating against people with physical disabilities. In particular, the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) civil rights division claims that the company and its drivers “routinely refuse to serve individuals with disabilities, including individuals who travel with service animals or who use stowable wheelchairs.” Also, the FTC announced on Thursday that it is launching an inquiry into seven tech companies that make AI chatbot companion products for minors: Alphabet, CharacterAI, Instagram, Meta, OpenAI, Snap, and xAI. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There’s plenty of uncertainty to go around this year, including a global trade war, shifting policy priorities, and an economy that’s starting to stumble. Breakthrough Energy, a climate tech organization founded by Bill Gates, has also been shifting in response. The group always placed long bets, though it appears to be reappraising some of them. Its policy team was scrapped in March, for example, and it didn’t continue funding a publication that covered the climate tech world. In other news, the California State Assembly took a big step toward regulating AI on Wednesday night, passing a bill that regulates AI companion chatbots in order to protect minors and vulnerable users. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Oracle sent its shares soaring after markets closed yesterday after reporting that it signed multiple multi-billion-dollar contracts with several customers. Now, we have an idea of who those customers might be. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Video platform Vimeo announced on Wednesday that it has agreed to be acquired by Bending Spoons, one of Europe’s largest mobile app developers, in an all-cash deal valued at approximately $1.38 billion. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Vimeo will be delisted from exchanges once the deal closes. The announcement comes as Bending Spoons was interested in a potential takeover of Vimeo as far back as March of last year.  he co-founders who sold their last startup Anchor to Spotify are launching their next project: Oboe, an AI-powered educational app that enables anyone to create lightweight, flexible learning courses on nearly any topic they choose, simply by entering a prompt. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Apple unveiled its new line of iPhones on Tuesday, and the iPhone 17 Pro is making a direct appeal to content creators. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After watching Reddit's OpenAI and Anthropic communities, Sam Altman thinks social media cannot be trusted. And bots are to blame. Also, OpenAI executives are discussing a potential relocation out of California as increasing political resistance threatens the company's efforts to convert from nonprofit to for-profit status, according to The WSJ, but the company says it has no plans to leave. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Meta changed its policies around researching sensitive topics — like politics, children, gender, race, and harassment — six weeks after whistleblower Frances Haugen leaked internal documents that showed how Meta’s own research found that Instagram can damage teen girls’ mental health. Also, Salesloft said a breach of its GitHub account in March allowed hackers to steal authentication tokens that were later used in a mass-hack targeting several of its big tech customers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices