Technology

Trump’s Energy Department ditches renewables, encourages consolidation in Cabinet reshuffle

Trump’s Energy Department ditches renewables, encourages consolidation in Cabinet reshuffle

πŸ’₯ Explore this must-read post from TechCrunch πŸ“– πŸ“‚ Category: Climate,Government & Policy,Department of Energy,fusion power,geothermal energy,In Brief,Trump Administration πŸ“Œ Here’s what you’ll learn: The Trump administration this week unveiled a revamped regulatory scheme for the Department of Energy, one that gets rid of several offices focused on renewable energy while raising the bar for integration. The amendment eliminates the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED), the Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains, the Office of State and Community Energy Programs, the Office of Grid Deployment, and the Office of…
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Sierra Brett Taylor reaches $100 million in less than two years

Sierra Brett Taylor reaches $100 million in less than two years

πŸ’₯ Discover this insightful post from TechCrunch πŸ“– πŸ“‚ Category: AI,Enterprise,Startups,Bret Taylor,Customer Service,Sierra Ai πŸ“Œ Main takeaway: Sierra, a 21-month-old San Francisco-based startup that builds AI agents for enterprise customer service, announced Friday that it has reached $100 million in annual revenue run rate (ARR). The company's rapid growth indicates that companies across industries are adopting AI agents. The startup's growth rate has surprised even its veteran co-founders, former Salesforce CEO Brett Taylor and longtime Google alumnus Clay Bavur, who wrote on their blog: "This is much faster than we expected." Sierra's clients include technology companies such as Deliveroo, Discord,…
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X begins rolling out the About This Account feature to users’ profiles

X begins rolling out the About This Account feature to users’ profiles

πŸ”₯ Check out this must-read post from TechCrunch πŸ“– πŸ“‚ Category: Apps,Social,TC,bots,social,social media,Twitter,X βœ… Here’s what you’ll learn: Elon Musk's X's plans for this feature were first announced in October, when X's head of product, Nikita Beer, said the company would experiment with displaying this information on profiles, starting with his own account and those of X's employees. The idea is that by revealing these details, users will be able to make a more informed decision about whether they are interacting with a real account or whether the account is a bot or a bad actor, looking to sow discord…
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The hottest wearables and gadgets you can buy right now

The hottest wearables and gadgets you can buy right now

πŸ’₯ Discover this trending post from TechCrunch πŸ“– πŸ“‚ Category: AI,Gadgets,Hardware,AI wearables,evergreens,wearables βœ… Main takeaway: A new wave of AI-powered gadgets on the market aim to integrate AI into our daily lives like never before. Some wearable AI devices β€” including necklaces, rings, wristbands, as well as mobile devices β€” serve as productivity tools, while others claim to be friendly companions that listen to your daily thoughts. Even OpenAI is working on a built-in AI companion device. Below, we've rounded up some of the most notable devices currently available. bee Image credits:Bees AI Bee is an affordable necklace at $49.99…
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CrowdStrike fires a “suspicious insider” who passed information to hackers

CrowdStrike fires a “suspicious insider” who passed information to hackers

πŸš€ Explore this trending post from TechCrunch πŸ“– πŸ“‚ Category: Security,CrowdStrike,cybersecurity,Salesforce,Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters,Scattered Spider πŸ“Œ Main takeaway: Cybersecurity giant CrowdStrike has confirmed the firing last month of a β€œsuspicious insider” who allegedly provided a notorious hacking group with information about the company. The hacking group known as Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters posted screenshots late Thursday and Friday morning in a public Telegram channel that allegedly showed internal access to CrowdStrike's systems. The screenshots, seen by TechCrunch, show dashboards with links to company resources, including Okta's user dashboard that employees use to access internal applications. Hackers in a Telegram channel claimed to…
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Google says hackers stole data from 200 companies after the Gainsight hack

Google says hackers stole data from 200 companies after the Gainsight hack

πŸš€ Discover this insightful post from TechCrunch πŸ“– πŸ“‚ Category: Security,cyberattack,cybersecurity,data breach,gainsight,hackers,hacking,Salesforce,Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters,Scattered Spider,shinyhunters πŸ“Œ Here’s what you’ll learn: Google has confirmed that hackers have stolen data stored in Salesforce for more than 200 companies in a massive supply chain breach. On Thursday, Salesforce revealed a breach in which β€œSalesforce data for certain customers” β€” without naming the affected companies β€” was stolen via apps published by Gainsight, which provides a customer support platform for other companies. In a statement, Austin Larsen, principal threat analyst at Google Threat Intelligence Group, said the company is "aware of more than 200…
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Impostors are (still) targeting companies with fake awareness, according to TechCrunch

Impostors are (still) targeting companies with fake awareness, according to TechCrunch

✨ Discover this insightful post from TechCrunch πŸ“– πŸ“‚ Category: Media & Entertainment,TC,cybersecurity,TechCrunch πŸ’‘ Key idea: Hey, thanks as always for reading TechCrunch. We want to talk to you quickly about something important. There are a growing number of scammers posing as TechCrunch reporters and event leaders and reaching out to companies, pretending to be our employees when they're not at all. These bad actors use our name and reputation to try to scam unsuspecting businesses. It drives us crazy and infuriates us on your behalf. It ebbs and flows. Judging by the increasing number of emails we receive, we…
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The new Phictly app brings people together through their favorite books and TV shows

The new Phictly app brings people together through their favorite books and TV shows

πŸ’₯ Read this trending post from TechCrunch πŸ“– πŸ“‚ Category: Apps,Social,Startups,book clubs,books,entertainment,social apps,TV Shows βœ… Key idea: In the early days of social media, posting a rant about the latest episode of "Grey's Anatomy" on MySpace seemed like the ultimate Thursday night activity. One of the best discoveries was discovering a Facebook group called β€œTeam Jacob Forever.” Nowadays, finding the perfect niche community may seem impossible, but a new social app called Phictly aims to change that. The app, available on iOS and Android devices, allows users to form clubs centered around their favorite books, TV shows and movies, creating…
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SpaceX’s upgraded Starship vehicle experienced an explosion during testing

SpaceX’s upgraded Starship vehicle experienced an explosion during testing

πŸ”₯ Read this insightful post from TechCrunch πŸ“– πŸ“‚ Category: Space,SpaceX,Starship βœ… Main takeaway: SpaceX rolled out an upgraded version of its Starship rocket booster in South Texas on Thursday to begin testing, and just a few hours later, something exploded inside it. Livestreamers watching SpaceX's Starbase complex watched the explosion closely in the pre-dawn hours Friday, around 4:00 a.m. local time. Other content creators in the area have since taken photos offering a closer look at the damage. Unlike the fireball-like explosions SpaceX has dealt with while developing its rockets in the past, this explosion appears to have blown…
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Despite Chinese hacks, Trump’s FCC voted to rescind cybersecurity rules for phone and internet companies

Despite Chinese hacks, Trump’s FCC voted to rescind cybersecurity rules for phone and internet companies

✨ Read this insightful post from TechCrunch πŸ“– πŸ“‚ Category: Government & Policy,Security,China,cybersecurity,FCC,salt typhoon,telecoms βœ… Here’s what you’ll learn: The Federal Communications Commission voted 2-1 along party lines Thursday to rescind rules requiring U.S. phone and internet giants to meet minimum cybersecurity requirements. Two Trump-appointed FCC commissioners, Chairman Brendan Carr and fellow Republican Olivia Trusty, voted to withdraw rules that require telecommunications companies to β€œsecure their networks from unlawful access or interception of communications.” The Biden administration adopted these rules before leaving office earlier this year. The FCC's only Democratic commissioner, Ana Gomez, has defected. In a statement following the…
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