Tech Crunch

• Amazon’s new AI agent will shop third-party sites for you

  Amazon is starting to test a new AI shopping agent, a feature it calls “Buy for Me,” with a subset users, the company announced in a blog post Thursday. If Amazon doesn’t sell something that users are searching for, the Buy for Me feature will display products to users that other websites are selling. Then, […]

• Federal judge allows the EFF’s lawsuit against DOGE and Elon Musk to proceed

  A federal judge ruled on Thursday that a lawsuit attempting to stop the Department of Government Efficiency from obtaining records on millions of Americans may proceed. In conjunction with privacy watchdog the Electronic Frontier Foundation and two labor unions, more than 100 current and former federal employees sued DOGE, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management […]

• Amazon Kindle’s new feature uses AI to generate recaps for books in a series

  Amazon is introducing a new “Recaps” feature for Kindle users to help them recall plot points and character arcs before picking up the latest book in a series. While the company’s press release for the new feature doesn’t mention AI, Amazon confirmed to TechCrunch that recaps are AI-generated. “We use technology, including GenAI and Amazon […]

• Grace raises €5.9M seed to offer insurance to luxury goods

  Grace, an insurance company for luxury goods, announced on Wednesday a $6.4 million (€5.9 million) seed round led by FinTech Collective and Speedinvest.  An insurance company for luxury goods, Grace works with luxury brands to protect purchased consumer goods. If an item is stolen or damaged, a consumer can create a claim through the Grace […]

• OpenAI just made its first cybersecurity investment 

  OpenAI just co-led a $43 million Series A into deepfake defense startup Adaptive Security.

• Intel and TSMC are reportedly launching a joint chipmaking venture

  Semiconductor giants Intel and TSMC are reportedly teaming up. The two firms are said to have reached a tentative agreement to create a joint venture that will operate Intel’s chipmaking facilities, according to The Information. TSMC will have a 20% stake in the new venture. Instead of funding its stake with capital, TSMC will share […]

• Ted Schlein’s Ballistic Ventures is raising $100M for a new fund

  Ted Schlein's cybersecurity-focused Ballistic Ventures is raising $100 million for a new fund, TechCrunch has exclusively learned.

• Teen with 4.0 GPA who built the viral Cal AI app was rejected by 15 top universities

  Zach Yadegari, the high school teen co-founder of Cal AI, is being hammered with comments on X after he revealed that out of 18 top colleges he applied to, he was rejected by 15. Yadegari says that he got a 4.0 GPA and nailed a 34 score on his ACT (above 31 is considered a […]

• TikTok quietly launches a new ‘TikTok for Artists’ platform

  As TikTok’s fate in the United States remains uncertain, the tech giant has quietly started testing a new “TikTok for Artists” insights platform that is designed to help artists build their careers, the company confirmed to TechCrunch. The platform will provide artists with tools to promote their songs, understand performance metrics, and engage with fans. […]

• Devin, the viral coding AI agent, gets a new pay-as-you-go plan

  Cognition, the startup behind the viral AI programming tool Devin, has introduced a new low-cost plan to incentivize signups. When Cognition released Devin last year, the tool quickly blew up on social media for its ability to perform certain software development tasks autonomously. But it soon became apparent that Devin struggled with more complex coding […]