Tech

[ad_1] Threads, Meta’s competitor to X, will now begin targeting a specific type of creator: podcasters. The company said on Tuesday that Threads will focus on bringing more discussions around podcasts to its app and helping creators promote their shows. Initially, Threads will roll out a couple of new features …

[ad_1] Masayoshi Son isn’t known for half measures. The SoftBank founder’s career has been studded with eyebrow-raising bets, each one seemingly more outrageous than the last. His latest move is to cash out his entire $5.8 billion Nvidia stake to go all-in on AI. And while it surprised the business …

[ad_1] Google announced its November software update for Pixel phones, called Pixel Drop — a quarterly feature release that brings new capabilities to existing devices — with features including notification summaries, a power-saving mode for the Maps app, prompt-based edits for Photos, and Gemini Nano-powered photo edits in Messages. Apple …

[ad_1] Israeli AI agent startup Wonderful has raised $100 million in a Series A round led by Index Ventures, with participation from Insight Partners, IVP, Bessemer, and Vine Ventures. The large round, in a market already crowded with AI agent startups, suggests Wonderful has convinced top tier investors it’s not just another GPT wrapper, but a company building the infrastructure …

[ad_1] Kaltura, a New York-headquartered AI video platform company, is acquiring eSelf.ai, an Israel-based startup behind conversational avatars — AI-generated digital humans that can talk with users — for about $27 million. Kaltura announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire eSelf, a platform supporting more than …

[ad_1] Rad Power Bikes has informed its employees that it will shut down in January if it is unable to find new funding or get acquired, according to an internal staff email viewed by TechCrunch. The company’s leadership is “still fighting to find ways to continue,” and “the cessation of …

[ad_1] January Ventures co-founder Jennifer Neundorfer stopped by the Equity podcast during TechCrunch Disrupt to chat about fundraising in this very AI-driven market.   Founders and investors alike are obsessed with AI, and even Neundorfer said her firm is looking at ways to use AI to make their work more efficient, …

[ad_1] SoftBank and OpenAI announced a new 50-50 joint venture this week to sell enterprise AI tools in Japan under the brand “Crystal Intelligence.” On paper, it’s a straightforward international expansion deal. But SoftBank’s role as a major investor in OpenAI is raising questions about whether AI’s biggest deals are creating real economic value …

[ad_1] Lovable, the Stockholm-based AI coding platform, is closing in on 8 million users, CEO Anton Osika told this editor during a sit-down on Monday, a major jump from the 2.3 million active users number the company shared in July. Osika said the company — which was founded almost exactly …

[ad_1] People often think about tech bubbles in apocalyptic terms, but it doesn’t have to be as serious as all that. In economic terms, a bubble is a bet that turned out to be too big, leaving you with more supply than demand.   The upshot: It’s not all or nothing, and even good bets can turn sour if …