TechCrunch Industry News

Latest Episodes:

What is Bluesky when it’s not the underdog? Nov 19, 2024

Show notes

Bluesky is having a moment — a moment that’s already stretched on for nearly three months. Over the summer, the social media app saw a wave of new signups in Brazil after X (formerly Twitter) was temporarily banned there.

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

JobGet, a ‘LinkedIn’ for hourly workers, acquires rival Snagajob Nov 18, 2024

Show notes

If you’re an hourly worker, the number of go-to options you have for finding new jobs is shrinking a little. JobGet — a Boston startup that operates an hourly job-hunting site with social features built in, a la LinkedIn — is acquiring Snagajob, one of its rivals in the U.S. market.

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

How social app Spill plans to capitalize on the exodus from X Nov 18, 2024

Show notes

Social networking rivals continue to benefit from the user exodus from X. Spill, the social app founded by two former Twitter employees, released a statement claiming it has also seen a jump in users after the U.S. Presidential election, following similar news by Bluesky, which gained more than 2 million users during that time.

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

Spotify will start paying video podcast hosts based on how well their videos perform Nov 15, 2024

Show notes

Spotify announced on Wednesday that it will start paying podcast hosts who make popular videos on its streaming platform, as the company looks to take on YouTube’s dominance in the video podcast space.

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

PayPal will once again let you pool money from family and friends to pay for things together Nov 15, 2024

Show notes

PayPal is launching a few features that let users in groups pool money with friends or family, to collectively pay for trips, travels, gifts, and anything else. The company is launching this feature in the U.S., Germany, the U.K., Italy, and Spain

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

Generative disinfo is real — you’re just not the target, warns deepfake tracking nonprofit Nov 14, 2024

Show notes

Many feared that the 2024 election would be affected, and perhaps decided, by AI-generated disinformation. While there was some to be found, it was far less than anticipated. But don’t let that fool you: the disinfo threat is real — you’re just not the target.

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

NASA awards ‘sustainable’ aircraft concepts $11.5M Nov 14, 2024

Show notes

The future of aircraft may look very similar to today’s superficially — but under the hood (or sitting next to the tailfins) they will likely be quite different. That’s the future NASA is hoping to nurture with five research awards worth $11.5 million.

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

Red Hat acquires AI optimization startup Neural Magic Nov 13, 2024

Show notes

Red Hat, the IBM-owned open source software firm, is acquiring Neural Magic, a startup that optimizes AI algorithms to run on commodity processors. The transaction is subject to applicable regulatory reviews and other customary closing conditions.

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

Amazon attempts to lure AI researchers with $110M in grants and credits Nov 13, 2024

Show notes

There’s an AI chip battle brewing among the major cloud vendors. Google’s Trillium, a custom chip for training and running AI models, recently entered preview, and Microsoft’s Maia is expected to follow in short order. Not to be outdone, Amazon Web Services has AI chips, too: Trainium, Inferentia, and Graviton.

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

Standing desks don’t do squat, X testing a free version of Grok, TSMC halted advanced chip shipments, and Encore is an AI-powered search engine for your thrifting needs Nov 12, 2024

Show notes

Over the years, numerous startups have gained traction by designing, making and selling standing desks as part of a workspace innovation trend to promote better health, and a lot of executives swear by them, including Apple CEO Tim Cook, who once called sitting “the new cancer.”; Social network X has so far limited its AI chatbot Grok (built by Elon Musk’s other company xAI) to its premium, paying users. However, the platform is seemingly preparing to open up the chatbot to free users; After a chip manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company was found inside a Huawei processor, the US Department of Commerce has ordered the company to halt shipments of advanced chips to Chinese customers, according to a report in Reuters; Former Apple engineer Alex Ruber and former Twitter and Asana engineer Parth Chopra first met on Y Combinator’s founder match platform, then met in person at a thrift store for shopping. They later went on a thrift store shopping trip where they talked about solving problems with finding the right product in the online space.

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