Technology

OpenAI and Google Brain researchers have launched a $300 million venture capital frenzy to start up their spin labs

OpenAI and Google Brain researchers have launched a $300 million venture capital frenzy to start up their spin labs

✨ Discover this must-read post from TechCrunch 📖 📂 Category: AI,TC,Venture,AI science,felicis,Periodic Labs ✅ Key idea: League Labs, a new startup founded by one of OpenAI's most respected researchers, Liam Fedus, and his former Google Brain colleague, Ekin Dogus Cubuk, came out of stealth last month with a massive $300 million seed round. It was led by Felicis and included a group of angels and other top venture capitalists. The startup began when Fidus had a conversation with Coppock (whom his friends call “Dougie”) about seven months ago. Cubuk was one of the leading machine learning and materials science researchers…
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The US Department of Energy confirms it has canceled more than $700 million in manufacturing grants

The US Department of Energy confirms it has canceled more than $700 million in manufacturing grants

💥 Explore this awesome post from TechCrunch 📖 📂 Category: Climate,Government & Policy,Ascend Elements,battery materials,battery recycling,manufacturing,Trump Administration 💡 Main takeaway: Over the past few weeks, the Department of Energy has been looking at canceling billions of dollars worth of contracts. Now, the federal agency has confirmed that it has canceled $720 million in manufacturing awards. The cuts affect companies that make battery materials, recycle lithium-ion batteries, and make super-insulated windows. Energy Secretary Chris Wright combed through contracts concluded during the Biden administration. The Energy Department claimed the projects "missed the mark" and "did not adequately meet the nation's energy needs,"…
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The United States and Australia sign an important minerals deal worth $3 billion

The United States and Australia sign an important minerals deal worth $3 billion

🔥 Discover this trending post from TechCrunch 📖 📂 Category: Government & Policy,anduril,Australia,critical minerals,Trump Administration 💡 Main takeaway: President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese signed an agreement Monday to pump billions of dollars into critical minerals projects. Together, the United States and Australia will contribute $3 billion to the projects over the next six months. The governments said the total expected value of the project is $8.5 billion. As part of the deal, the US Department of Defense will also invest in a gallium refinery in Western Australia capable of producing 100 tons per year. The United…
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Meta AI app downloads and number of daily users soared after the launch of the “Vibes” AI video feed

Meta AI app downloads and number of daily users soared after the launch of the “Vibes” AI video feed

🚀 Discover this awesome post from TechCrunch 📖 📂 Category: AI,Apps,Social,Meta,meta ai,sora,vibes 💡 Here’s what you’ll learn: New data indicates that usage of the Meta AI mobile app for iOS and Android has seen a significant increase. According to a new analysis from market intelligence provider Sameweb, the number of daily active users of the app across both platforms jumped to 2.7 million as of October 17, up from about 775,000 just four weeks ago. In addition, Meta AI app installs have also spiked, reaching 300,000 new downloads per day, compared to less than 200,000 daily downloads a few weeks…
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FTC Removes Lena Khan-Era Posts About Risks of AI and Open Source

FTC Removes Lena Khan-Era Posts About Risks of AI and Open Source

🚀 Read this awesome post from TechCrunch 📖 📂 Category: AI,Government & Policy,censorship,FTC,Lina Khan,open source 📌 Main takeaway: The Federal Trade Commission has removed three Lena Khan-era blog posts that addressed open source AI and the risks of AI to consumers, Wired reports. One post, “On Open Weights Foundation Models,” was published on July 10, 2024. Another, “Consumers Express Concerns About AI,” was published in October 2023. A third article, authored by Khan’s team, was published on January 3, 2025, titled “AI and the Risk of Consumer Harm.” That post noted that the FTC was “considering AI’s potential for real-world…
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Regulators are investigating Waymo after it drove its robotaxi around a parked school bus

Regulators are investigating Waymo after it drove its robotaxi around a parked school bus

🚀 Discover this must-read post from TechCrunch 📖 📂 Category: Transportation,autonomous vehicles,robotaxis,self-driving cars,Waymo 💡 Here’s what you’ll learn: A Waymo robo-taxi was recently spotted driving around a school bus with its red lights flashing, and federal safety regulators have opened an investigation as a result. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced Monday morning that its Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has opened an investigation after seeing footage from early October of a Waymo self-driving car maneuvering around a parked school bus that was unloading children in Atlanta, Georgia. ODI says in a document that it will investigate the…
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Disrupt 2025 Last Minute Pass Deal: Save 60% on +1

Disrupt 2025 Last Minute Pass Deal: Save 60% on +1

💥 Check out this must-read post from TechCrunch 📖 📂 Category: TC,Startups,Transportation,Space,Crypto,Climate,Fintech,Biotech & Health,Venture,Media & Entertainment,AI,Apps,Robotics,Fundraising,TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 💡 Key idea: The day begins 7 day countdown to TechCrunch disabled 2025the leading technology conference that brings together 10,000+ Leaders, venture capitalists, operators, and innovators, which will be held at Moscone West in San Francisco. October 27-29. To celebrate the countdown, we're offering a special 60% off +1. Buy your card and save up to $444, In addition to getting a 60% discount on the second ticket For your co-founder, partner, friend or team member. Get two discounted tickets here. Disable…
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Spotify now lets you follow venues to get details about upcoming concerts

Spotify now lets you follow venues to get details about upcoming concerts

🚀 Read this insightful post from TechCrunch 📖 📂 Category: Media & Entertainment,Apps,Spotify,Concert Discovery,ticket sales 📌 Key idea: Spotify is introducing a new feature that allows users to follow venues to get updates and details about concerts scheduled to take place there. Venues you follow are saved in your library, and you can browse them to see event calendars, information about scheduled concerts, and announcements. Users can also filter upcoming shows at venues by genre. The company is also updating the live events feed daily instead of weekly to provide the latest event updates. Image credits: Spotify As before, users…
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Apple pioneer Bill Atkinson was a secret evangelist for the ‘God molecule’

Apple pioneer Bill Atkinson was a secret evangelist for the ‘God molecule’

✨ Check out this insightful post from WIRED 📖 📂 Category: Culture,Culture / Culture News,Good Trip ✅ Key idea: It was Bill Atkinson A computing pioneer who in the 1980s made Apple computers usable for ordinary people by turning code into windows, menus, and graphics.But few people know that later in life he was a secret advocate for what is widely considered the world's most powerful psychedelic: 5-MeO-DMT.The hallucinogen, also called the "god molecule," is a compound found in the toxic secretions of a Sonoran Desert frog called Encilius Alpharius (It is usually called Bufo Alpharius) It is known to…
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An Amazon DNS outage takes much of the Internet out

An Amazon DNS outage takes much of the Internet out

💥 Explore this trending post from TechCrunch 📖 📂 Category: Security,Amazon Web Services,cybersecurity,dns,Outage 📌 Main takeaway: The outage affecting web hosting giant Amazon Web Services (AWS) took out vast swaths of the web, including websites, banks and some government services. Amazon said Monday morning that the outage had been "fully mitigated" and that most services were returning to normal after a long period of being unable to load much of the internet. The internet giant blamed the outage, which began around 3 a.m. on the US East Coast, on DNS, a system that converts web addresses into IP addresses so…
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