TechCrunch Industry News

Latest Episodes:

Venus Williams-backed WeWard can now lock your apps until you hit your steps; plus, Apple to produce Made in America wireless chips with Broadcom Jul 09, 2026

Show notes

With funding from tennis star and angel investor Venus Williams, the French app WeWard says that it increases walking time by almost 25%.

Also, ZML, a hot French AI startup endorsed by Turing Award winner Yann LeCun, has now released ZML/LLMD, software that could make running AI less costly.

Plus, Apple has signed a $30 billion+ multiyear deal with Broadcom to design and produce more than 15 billion U.S.-made custom wireless connectivity chips for Apple products.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The ‘first’ AI-run ransomware attack still needed a human; plus, hacktivists call out Trump by hacking and defacing US Army websites Jul 08, 2026

Show notes

An AI agent carried out the technical execution of a real-world ransomware attack for the first known time, but new details show a human still chose the victim, set up the infrastructure, and supplied stolen credentials — meaning it wasn't quite the fully autonomous cybercrime debut that last week's headlines suggested.

Also, the U.S. Army has fixed two of its websites that were hacked to display messages calling President Trump a "pedophile" and a "thief."

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Amazon will stop accepting new customers for Mechanical Turk; Canadian spy agency says it hacked drug traffickers, extremists and a ransomware gang last year Jul 07, 2026

Show notes

These may be the last days of Amazon’s Mechanical Turk.

Also, the hacking operations disclosed in a Canadian spy agency's annual report underscores some pressing national security threats facing the country and its top allies.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What is Bending Spoons? The little-known AOL and Vimeo owner that’s now public Jul 06, 2026

Show notes

Bending Spoons remains largely unknown, even as its portfolio of products has served more than a billion people.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jersey Mike’s IPO illustrates how bad the AI hype has become; plus, Mark Zuckerberg said AI agents haven’t progressed as quickly as he’d hoped Jul 03, 2026

Show notes

Just for kicks, I took a look at Jersey Mike's IPO documents. Surely a sandwich shop would have no need to mention AI. But low-and-behold.

And at an internal meeting, the Meta CEO reportedly said that AI development efforts were not moving as quickly as anticipated.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

US government says it got hacked — again; Microsoft launches its own AI deployment company Jul 03, 2026

Show notes

A top Democrat on the Senate's Intelligence Committee warned that the information accessed on a Homeland Security intelligence-sharing network may risk national security.

Also, Microsoft follows Amazon, OpenAI and Anthropic with its new AI deployment group.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Realta Fusion generates electricity directly from a fusion reaction; plus, the ‘Father of the Internet’ is finally retiring Jul 02, 2026

Show notes

Realta Fusion showed it could generate electricity from a fusion reaction, no steam turbine required.

Vinton Cerf, one of the creators of the protocols underlying the internet, will step down as Google's chief internet evangelist next week.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The AI jobs debate just got messier; plus, 92 GW of new electricity supply threatened with red tape Jul 01, 2026

Show notes

A new report finds "high-intensity AI adopters” saw headcount increase 10.2%. Among those companies, entry-level headcount rose by 12%, countering the rhetoric that AI kills junior jobs.

Also, the Trump administration's moves threaten $121 billion in new solar and wind power, two energy sources that are the biggest contributors to new capacity in the U.S.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ford rehires ‘gray beard’ engineers after AI falls short; Rocket Lab continues its buying spree; and why Wall Street thinks US memory maker Micron is the next Nvidia Jun 30, 2026

Show notes

Ford execs said, "mistakenly we thought that by just introducing artificial intelligence ... that would produce a high-quality product.”

Also, the all-stock deal values Iridium at $8 billion, and gives Rocket Lab even more firepower to compete against Amazon and SpaceX.

Plus, eager to find more public AI-related companies that may do as well as Nvidia, Wall Street investors think they've found a winner with Micron.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s not about Anthropic vs. OpenAI anymore; plus, Novak Djokovic has a new job Jun 29, 2026

Show notes

AI models have progressed to the point where their capabilities have real political consequences. Dealing with those consequences will require collective action.

Also, General Atlantic has tapped tennis legend Novak Djokovic to serve as a global strategic advisor.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices