Technology

Mark Zuckerberg told employees that AI agents were not progressing as quickly as he had hoped

Mark Zuckerberg told employees that AI agents were not progressing as quickly as he had hoped

đź’Ą Check out this trending post from TechCrunch đź“– đź“‚ **Category**: AI,ai agent,In Brief,Mark Zuckerberg,Meta đź’ˇ **What You’ll Learn**: Replacing people with artificial intelligence does not seem easy, if Meta is an example. In an internal town hall on Thursday, CEO Mark Zuckerberg told employees that the pace of AI agent development had not “accelerated in the way” executives had previously expected, Reuters reported. Earlier this year, Meta laid off about 8,000 employees — roughly 10% of the company's workforce — and reassigned another 7,000 to various AI groups, including one called Agent Transformation, Bloomberg reported. During a meeting this…
Read More
Last chance to apply – Startup Battlefield Australia applications will close on 6 July

Last chance to apply – Startup Battlefield Australia applications will close on 6 July

🔥 Discover this trending post from TechCrunch đź“– đź“‚ **Category**: Startups,Startup Battlefield Australia,TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 âś… **What You’ll Learn**: Every startup has a moment that changes everything. For some, this is the arrival of their first client. For others, it's closing their first funding round. For a select few, it starts with one step. If you're applying for Startup Battlefield Australia, now is the time. Applications close on July 6, and once the deadline passes, so does the opportunity. Who should apply? If you're an early stage startup in Australia or New Zealand, this opportunity has been created just for…
Read More
Private space pilots fly orbital missions for the US Space Force

Private space pilots fly orbital missions for the US Space Force

🚀 Read this must-read post from TechCrunch đź“– đź“‚ **Category**: Space đź’ˇ **What You’ll Learn**: Militaries routinely send satellites to fly by competing vehicles and explore their capabilities, but expanding this type of reconnaissance is increasingly seen by the U.S. military as a challenge best handled by the private sector. That's why two space startups, True Anomaly and Rocket Lab, completed a rendezvous mission for the US Space Force last week that was so complex it was something out of the ordinary. Top Gun. The two competing satellites met in orbit, close enough for one to be able to take…
Read More
Thiel Capital’s Jack Selby owns stakes in hot startups like Etched via Arizona Communications

Thiel Capital’s Jack Selby owns stakes in hot startups like Etched via Arizona Communications

✨ Explore this awesome post from TechCrunch đź“– đź“‚ **Category**: Hardware,Venture,arizona,etched,Thiel Capital,TSMC âś… **What You’ll Learn**: Nvidia competitor Etched announced this week that TSMC manufactured its first chip earlier this year. As the four-year-old, $5 billion startup prepares to ship systems powered by this chip to customers later this summer, scaling up production could be difficult. Like other chip designers, Etched must compete for limited capacity at TSMC's factories in Taiwan. Copper Sky Capital, one of Etched's early investors, hopes the chipmaker will find a solution to its manufacturing limitations by eventually producing chips at TSMC's facility in Arizona. When…
Read More
IQM, Europe’s first public quantum company, acknowledges that the future of the technology is uncertain

IQM, Europe’s first public quantum company, acknowledges that the future of the technology is uncertain

đź’Ą Explore this must-read post from TechCrunch đź“– đź“‚ **Category**: Hardware,Startups,Espoo,finland,IPO,IQM,NASDAQ,quantum computing 📌 **What You’ll Learn**: IQM, an integrated quantum company from Finland, went public on the Nasdaq on Thursday through a SPAC merger valued at about $1.9 billion. But stock prices did not rise. They spent most of the day at below their IPO price — a lukewarm welcome. SPAC mergers are often not very popular with retail investors these days. But this failure was arguably due to IQM's admission in its prospectus that “large-scale commercial traction of quantum computing technology may never happen.” In fairness, this warning applies…
Read More
A warning sign about the true cost of AI, courtesy of Google and Amazon

A warning sign about the true cost of AI, courtesy of Google and Amazon

đź’Ą Check out this insightful post from TechCrunch đź“– đź“‚ **Category**: Climate,Amazon,carbon emissions,Google 📌 **What You’ll Learn**: It's no secret that AI is an energy and water hog like no other digital technology before it. Now we know how costly Big Tech's pursuit of artificial intelligence is to the environment. Both Google and Amazon released their sustainability reports this week, and the numbers aren't pretty. Every company has pledged to zero out its carbon emissions in the coming years, but artificial intelligence is making achieving these goals more difficult. Google's total carbon emissions are up 25% since last year, and…
Read More
Meta quietly launches encrypted gaming app Pocket

Meta quietly launches encrypted gaming app Pocket

🚀 Discover this insightful post from TechCrunch đź“– đź“‚ **Category**: AI,Apps,Gaming,Social,Meta âś… **What You’ll Learn**: Meta is getting into the gaming space by launching a new app called Pocket, which allows people to create small, interactive apps and games using AI prompts. The software, the result of Meta's acquisition of token gaming platform team Gizmo earlier this year, describes itself as a "creative platform for making and sharing gadgets," so-called interactive experiences. It also provides a scrollable feed where you can play with tools made by others. Based on screenshots of the app in Google Play, there are many similarities…
Read More
The US government says it has been hacked – again

The US government says it has been hacked – again

✨ Read this must-read post from TechCrunch đź“– đź“‚ **Category**: Government & Policy,Security,cyberattack,cybersecurity,data breach,Homeland Security,intelligence,Trump Administration,us government âś… **What You’ll Learn**: The Department of Homeland Security is investigating a hack of its platform, which is used by federal, state and local governments and law enforcement to share intelligence, with a top lawmaker warning that the information leak could put national security at risk. The news sites Nextgov, which first reported news of the incident, and Bleeping Computer, reported that Department of Homeland Security officials were investigating a cyberattack on its Homeland Security Information Network, or HSIN, which allows state agencies…
Read More
Popular TV tracking app TV Time will shut down due to the company’s focus on artificial intelligence

Popular TV tracking app TV Time will shut down due to the company’s focus on artificial intelligence

✨ Explore this insightful post from TechCrunch đź“– đź“‚ **Category**: Apps,Media & Entertainment,Social,TC,TV Time,whip media đź’ˇ **What You’ll Learn**: TV Time, a popular app for tracking the shows you watch and participating in community discussions, has been shut down. The company announced via in-app messages that the TV Time app will be discontinued, and will not provide the service after July 15, 2026. The company blamed the cost of running the platform as the reason behind the decision, but a shift to a more AI-focused business appears to be the real reason. “Although we loved supporting TV Time, it was…
Read More
OpenAI has proposed donating 5% of its shares to a US sovereign wealth fund

OpenAI has proposed donating 5% of its shares to a US sovereign wealth fund

đź’Ą Check out this must-read post from TechCrunch đź“– đź“‚ **Category**: AI,Government & Policy,government,OpenAI,sam altman âś… **What You’ll Learn**: Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, has proposed giving a 5% stake in the company to a US sovereign wealth fund, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing two people familiar with the matter. Under the proposal, other AI companies would donate similar stakes, although important questions remain about the details. According to the Financial Times, the donation aims to “secure good relations with the administration and...address negative political reactions.” CNBC reported on similar discussions in June, and were later confirmed by…
Read More