More voting software FUD falls flat after Trump highlights dubious data
Reports that Dominion Software, which provides voting tabulation tools to about half the states in the U.S., “deleted” millions of votes have been soundly rebuffed after outgoing President Trump parroted numbers from a random internet forum. Tweeting Thursday…
Koan raises $1M more as it adds a free tier to its OKR software
This week Koan, a startup that provides objectives-and-key-results (OKR) and status-tracking software, announced that it has raised an additional $1 million, added a free tier to its service, and acquired a design firm that it has worked with. Koan, which rai…
Which Google Pixel Phone (and Gear) Should You Buy?
If you’re going to get an Android phone, these are the best. Here’s a guide to all the models, along with case recommendations and software tips.
The LAPD Just Banned Its Officers From Using Third-Party Facial Recognition Software
The Los Angeles Police Department issued a moratorium on the use of commercial facial recognition software on Tuesday, effectively ending a trial with dystopian software manufacturer Clearview AI that the department had long sought to downplay.Read more…
Zilliz raises $43 million as investors rush to China’s open source software
For years, founders and investors in China had little interest in open source software because it did not seem like the most viable business model. Zilliz‘s latest financing round shows that attitude is changing. The three-year-old Chinese startup, which buil…
Autodesk CEO Andrew Anagnost explains the strategy behind acquiring Spacemaker
Autodesk, the U.S. publicly listed software and services company that targets engineering and design industries, acquired Norway’s Spacemaker this week. The startup has developed AI-supported software for urban development, something Autodesk CEO Andrew Anagn…
The OS Big Sur Launch Might Have Slowed Down Macs Everywhere
The issues affected users that didn’t upgrade their software, and other Apple services, too.
Use This Website to See What Software Runs on M1 Macs
Apple’s pivot away from Intel processors to using its own M1 chip in its Mac PCs and MacBooks means iOS apps can now run directly in macOS. Unfortunately, it also means some desktop apps developed for Intel hardware are now incompatible on the new M1 Macs.Rea…
Microsoft's Making a Secure PC Chip—With Intel and AMD's Help
The Pluton security processor will give the software giant an even more prominent role in locking down Windows hardware.
SAP latest enterprise software giant to offer low code workflow
Low code workflow has become all the rage among enterprise tech giants and SAP joined the group of companies offering simplified workflow creation today when it announced SAP Cloud Platform Workflow Management, but it didn’t stop there. It also announced SAP …
Candu raises $5M to help software companies onboard users intelligently
This morning Candu, a software startup that provides no-code web tools for SaaS apps, announced a $5 million funding round. TechCrunch caught up with founder Jonathan Anderson and lead investor Villi Iltchev, a partner at Two Sigma Ventures, to chat about the…
Lightspeed acquires restaurant software company Upserve for $430M
Lightspeed POS just announced the acquisition of Upserve, expanding Lightspeed’s presence in the restaurant industry. The company already offers cloud-based point-of-sale software for restaurants and other businesses. It went public in Canada last year before…
FireEye acquires Respond Software for $186M, announces $400M investment
The security sector is ever frothy and acquisitive. Just last week Palo Alto Networks grabbed Expanse for $800 million. Today it was FireEye’s turn snagging Respond Software, a company that helps customers investigate and understand security incidents, while …
Medable raises $91 million for its clinical trial management software
The clinical trial management software developer Medable has raised $91 million in a new round of financing as life sciences companies struggle with how to conduct the necessary validation studies of new drugs and devices in a pandemically challenged environm…
LAPD bans the use of Clearview's controversial facial recognition software
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has reportedly banned the use of third-party facial recognition services including the controversial Clearview AI. Buzzfeed News reports that the ban was enacted on November 13th after reporters showed officials eviden…
China’s tech firms rush to deliver solutions for grocery shopping
Nearly all of China’s largest internet firms have established a presence in online grocery. Just this week, news arrived that Alibaba co-led the $196 million C3 funding round of Nice Tuan, the two-year-old grocery group-buying firm’s fourth round year to date…
Dear Sophie: What does Biden’s win mean for tech immigration?
Sophie Alcorn Contributor Share on Twitter Sophie Alcorn is the founder of Alcorn Immigration Law in Silicon Valley and 2019 Global Law Experts Awards’ “Law Firm of the Year in California for Entrepreneur Immigration Services.” She connects people with the bu…
Our editors discuss the M1 Macs with Walt Mossberg
The Vergecast starts the discussion with an interview with legendary tech reviewer Walt Mossberg, who was able to try out the new MacBook Air for himself.
Tony Hsieh, iconic Las Vegas tech entrepreneur, dies aged 46
Tony Hsieh, the former head of Zappos who catapulted the shoe company into the big leagues with a sale to Amazon and then used the proceeds of his success in a huge project kickstarting regeneration of a run-down part of Las Vegas, Nevada, with tech and wider…
Best Black Friday deals on smart home tech
Smart homes are no longer just for the rich or digital experimenters. You can start with a simple smart speaker from Google, Amazon, or Apple, and then add some smart bulbs or a security camera. We’ve listed below all of the best deals we could find on home t…
Two key UK military non-profits join forces to boost veteran training in cyber and tech
Advancements in the tech and the cyber threat landscape are creating vast job opportunities. The global cyber security market is projected to reach £210 billion by 2026. But in the UK, out of 952,000 working aged (16-64) UK military veterans and 15,000 servic…
Surging homegrown talent and VC spark Italy’s tech renaissance
As Italy reinstates many COVID-19 restrictions, the country’s tech ecosystem is watching and waiting to see what the wider effects of the emergency will be. Italy’s ecosystem for tech venture capital and startups has been in development for years and has made…
Remote-controlled delivery carts are now working for the local Los Angeles grocer
Robots are no longer the high-tech tools reserved for university labs, e-commerce giants and buzzy Silicon Valley startups. The local grocer now has access too. Tortoise, the one-year-old Silicon Valley startup known for its remote repositioning electric scoo…
Sight Tech Global is Live! Join top AI technologists and accessibility innovators discuss the future of assistive tech
Today and tomorrow, from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. the first annual, virtual event Sight Tech Global is streaming on TechCrunch. The event looks at how AI-based technologies are rapidly changing the field of accessibility, especially for blind people and those wit…
As Cities Curb Surveillance, Baltimore Police Took to the Air
In a program that overcame three court challenges this year, planes with high-tech cameras circled the city up to 40 hours a week.
7 Simple Tech Tips to Keep Your Family Safe This Holiday
Does your great-aunt Winifred ask for tech support every year? Even if you aren’t traveling this year, send your loved ones this advice to show you care.
Huawei, 5G, and the Man Who Conquered Noise
How an obscure Turkish scientist’s obscure theoretical breakthrough helped the Chinese tech giant gain control of the future. US telecoms never had a chance.
The Last, ‘Ultra-Cold’ Mile for Covid-19 Vaccines
Two vaccines are nearly here—but their unusual storage requirements could deprive the rural areas that need them most. A tech fix might be coming.
France starts collecting tax on tech giants
France is going forward with its plan to tax big tech companies. The government has sent out notices to tech giants, as reported by the Financial Times, Reuters and AFP. There could be retaliation tariffs on French goods in the U.S. For the past couple of yea…
Podcast: Tech tips to make dating, relationships and breakups easier
This week, Cherlynn is joined by senior editor Jessica Conditt and special guest Harris O’Malley aka Dr. NerdLove to talk all about the ways tech affects dating, relationships and breakups. Will Google Photos, Facebook and Instagram ever stop sending us “memo…
Nike brings self-lacing Adapt tech to the Jordan XI
In 2019 Nike fulfilled the promise of Marty McFly’s Mags by introducing the first self-tightening Adapt BB basketball sneakers, and now it’s plugging the tech into one of its most recognizable shoes ever. As part of a 25th anniversary release, the patent leat…
Macron promotes European tech ecosystem in an interview with Zennström
French President Emmanuel Macron sat down with Niklas Zennström for an interview on the European tech ecosystem. Macron listed everything that’s needed to create European tech giants that compete with the biggest American and Chinese tech companies. According…
The 14 Best Tech Gifts for Kids
Your child has spent years watching you tap away on your phone or laptop. Give them a turn on an age-appropriate device of their own.
Study: London and SF have become Impact Tech hubs, with 280% increase in VC in 5 years
New research has found that San Francisco and London have become two of the world’s leading hubs for VC investment into tech solutions which address one or more of the 17 UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), more commonly referred to as ‘Impact Tech’. Te…
Biden Must Repair—and Reinvigorate—Tech Diplomacy
The administration’s nomination of Antony Blinken is a good start. But mending the damage of the past four years will require a complete reorientation.
Google's AI-Powered Poetry Generator Has Some Cryptic Wisdom, Maybe
I know nothing about poetry, but I’m pretty sure Verse by Verse—Google’s new AI-powered poetry generator—is phoning it in.Read more…
When AI Sees a Man, It Thinks 'Official.' A Woman? 'Smile'
A new paper renews concerns about bias in image recognition services offered by Google, Microsoft, and Amazon.
Google used a 64-camera rig to train its portrait lighting AI
Google’s Portrait Light feature can make some of your more mediocre photos look a lot better by giving you a way to change their lighting direction and intensity. The tech giant launched the AI-based lighting feature in September for the Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel…
Djay Pro AI for Mac's latest update takes advantage of Apple's M1 chip
If you’re familiar with Algoriddim’s processor-intensive AI features for its DJ software and the company’s close relationship with Apple, you won’t be surprised to hear there’s already an update to djay Pro AI for Mac. This release leans heavily on Apple’s M1…
NVIDIA found a way to train AI with very little data
NVIDIA has developed a new approach for training generative adversarial networks (GAN) that could one day make them suitable for a greater variety of tasks. Before getting into NVIDIA’s work, it helps to know a bit about how GANs work. Every GAN consists of t…
XPrize's latest challenge wants AI to better predict COVID-19 transmission rates
The COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t only led to the loss of lives, but also to the loss of livelihoods worldwide as businesses close due to necessary lockdowns. It’s had major economic impact across industries, and experts believe the world will continue feeling it …
Google is testing an AI system to help vision-impaired people run races
Google is testing an artificial intelligence system designed to help blind and vision-impaired people to run races by themselves. Project Guideline, which is an early-phase research program, is an attempt to give those people more independence. They wouldn’t …
Sight Tech Global is Live! Join top AI technologists and accessibility innovators discuss the future of assistive tech
Today and tomorrow, from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. the first annual, virtual event Sight Tech Global is streaming on TechCrunch. The event looks at how AI-based technologies are rapidly changing the field of accessibility, especially for blind people and those wit…
Salesforce applies AI to workflow with Einstein Automate
While Salesforce made a big splash yesterday with the announcement that it’s buying Slack for $27.7 billion, it’s not the only thing going on for the CRM giant this week. In fact Dreamforce, the company’s customer extravaganza is also on the docket. While it …
DoorDash, C3.ai skyrocket in public market debuts
Haters gonna hate, IPOs gonna pop. That’s the story today as richly valued DoorDash and C3.ai, two American technology unicorns, saw their values skyrocket after they began trading today. DoorDash shares are up just under 83% to $186.51. The company priced it…
Abacus.AI raises another $22M and launches new AI modules
AI startup RealityEngines.AI changed its name to Abacus.AI in July. At the same time, it announced a $13 million Series A round. Today, only a few months later, it is not changing its name again, but it is announcing a $22 million Series B round, led by Coatu…
The Dark Side of Big Tech’s Funding for AI Research
Timnit Gebru’s exit from Google is a powerful reminder of how thoroughly companies dominate the field, with the biggest computers and the most resources.
Recommended Reading: Using AI to create alarmingly realistic fake people
Designed to deceive: Do these people look real to you?Kashmir Hill and Jeremy White, The New York TimesFake personas on the internet are nothing new, but completely fake people that appear to be alarmingly real in photographs or animations are becoming increa…
Unpacking the C3.ai IPO filing
The last thing I recall thinking about C3.ai (C3) was seeing its billboards outside San Francisco and asking myself what the hell the company actually did and how much it was spending on a huge outdoor advertisements. So much for what I know. The company file…
Playing psychotherapist to a troubled AI in 'Syntherapy'
In the visual novel Syntherapy, everyone has a complex: The president of the university, the Clippy-like OS assistant and especially the depressed AI who you’ve been sent to help. Not to mention the protagonist.Set about 20 years in the future, the game’s nar…