Category: Apps

Uber and Lyft need to do more to support disabled passengers, especially those who are blind or visually impaired, according to protesters who gathered outside the companies’ headquarters on October 15. Wired spoke to protesters who shared stories about drivers passing them by or refusing to let them bring their guide dogs on a ride.…

This is part of TechCrunch’s ongoing Women in AI series, which seeks to give AI-focused women academics and others their well-deserved time in the spotlight. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. ​ As a part of TechCrunch’s ongoing Women in AI series, which seeks to give AI-focused women academics and others…

AI search engine Perplexity is in fundraising talks and hopes to raise around $500 million at an $8 billion valuation, according to the Wall Street Journal. If a deal happens with those terms, it would more than double Perplexity’s valuation from its $3 billion valuation when it raised from SoftBank over the summer. The WSJ…

Throne is an Austin-based health startup. It sells a camera. That clips onto the side of a toilet bowl. It takes pictures of your poop. Currently in beta, the system utilizes artificial intelligence to examine your dookie as a way of determining things like gut health and hydration. Turns out we have a surprising amount…

Financial and security chaos at the once-pioneering genetic testing firm has intensified concerns about user data. Here’s how to take action. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. ​ DNA and genetic testing firm 23andMe is in turmoil following a data breach last year and its ongoing financial decline. The once-pioneering giant…

This is part of TechCrunch’s ongoing Women in AI series, which seeks to give AI-focused women academics and others their time in the spotlight. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. ​ As a part of TechCrunch’s ongoing Women in AI series, which seeks to give AI-focused women academics and others their…

Midjourney is planning to release an upgraded web tool that’ll let users edit any uploaded images from the web using Midjourney’s generative AI. The upgraded tool, which Midjourney CEO David Holtz said will be released “early next week,” will also allow users to retexture objects in images to “repaint” their colors and details according to…

This story has been updated throughout with more details as the story has developed. We will continue to do so as the case and dispute are ongoing. The world of WordPress, one of the most popular technologies for creating and hosting websites, is going through a very heated controversy. The core issue is the fight…

Penguin Random House, the trade publisher, is adding language to the copyright pages of its books to prohibit the use of those books to train AI. The Bookseller reports that new books and reprints of older titles from the publisher will now include the statement, “No part of this book may be used or reproduced…

Toyota-backed autonomous vehicle company Pony AI has joined the list of Chinese firms going public on the U.S. stock market after a multi-year ban from Beijing on offshore capital raising.  Zeekr, a luxury Chinese electric vehicle startup, debuted on the New York Stock Exchange in May, and WeRide, another AV startup, also hopes to file…