Tech
Airbnb says a third of its customer support is now handled by AI in the US and Canada
Airbnb was poised to introduce an app that doesn’t just search for you, but one that “knows you.” CEO Brian Chesky said, “It will help guests plan their entire trip, help hosts better run their businesses, and help the company operate more efficiently at scale.”
Fintech lending giant Figure confirms data breach
The company said hackers downloaded “a limited number of files” after breaking into an employee’s account. The hacking group ShinyHunters took responsibility for the breach.
4chan’s creator says ‘Epstein had nothing to do’ with creating infamous far-right board /pol/
The close timing of Jeffrey Epstein coming into contact with 4chan founder Chris ‘moot’ Poole and the launch of the “politically incorrect” message board /pol/ that became a breeding ground for QAnon and the white supremacist alt-right movement was coincidental, says Poole. In a statement given to The Verge, Pool writes, “The decision to add … Read more
Why top talent is walking away from OpenAI and xAI
AI companies have been hemorrhaging talent the past few weeks. Half of xAI’s founding team has left the company — some on their own, others through “restructuring” — while OpenAI is facing its own shakeups, from the disbanding of its mission alignment team to the firing of a policy exec who opposed its “adult mode” feature. Watch as TechCrunch’s Equity podcast hosts Kirsten Korosec, Anthony … Read more
Sex toys maker Tenga says hacker stole customer information
The Japanese sex toy maker said a hacker broke into an employee’s inbox and stole customer names, email addresses, and correspondence, including order details and customer service inquiries.
Something Big Is (Not) Happening
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The see-through Beats Studio Buds Plus are more than 40 percent off for Presidents Day
If you like how well AirPods work with iPhones but want something more colorful and flexible, the Beats Studio Buds Plus are a nice middle ground. They’re platform-agnostic and are on sale for $99.95 ($70 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, Target, and Walmart for Presidents Day. The deal includes the eye-catching translucent option and is … Read more
I’m not worried about AI job loss
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Steam beta lets users add their PC specs to reviews
User reviews on Steam may get more informative after a Steam Client Beta update released on Thursday, which adds an option for users to attach their hardware specs to game reviews. Steam users have always been able to share their specs in the text of their reviews, but the option to automatically include that data … Read more
OpenAI removes access to sycophancy-prone GPT-4o model
The model is known for its overly sycophantic nature and its role in several lawsuits involving users’ unhealthy relationships to the chatbot.
Building a TUI is easy now
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The SEC closed its investigation into Fisker
The financial regulator revealed in a response to a TechCrunch records request that the probe was closed in September 2025.
India partners with Alibaba.com for export push despite past China tech bans
India turns to Alibaba.com’s B2B network of 50 million buyers in 200 countries to help businesses scale global exports.
Anthropic’s Super Bowl ads mocking AI with ads helped push Claude’s app into the top 10
The numbers suggest that Anthropic’s Super Bowl commercials, combined with Anthropic’s recent release of its new Opus 4.6 model, worked to drive attention to Claude’s app and its key differentiator from ChatGPT.
What’s behind the mass exodus at xAI?
The past few days have been a wild ride for xAI, which is racking up staff and cofounder departure announcements left and right. On Tuesday and Wednesday, cofounder Yuhuai (Tony) Wu announced his departure and that it was “time for [his] next chapter,” with cofounder Jimmy Ba following with a similar post later that day, … Read more
Good Riddance, 4o
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Can Democrats post their way to midterm victories?
US Vice President Kamala Harris during a Commander in Chief farewell ceremony at Joint Base Myers-Henderson Hall in Arlington, Virginia, US, on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. The Biden administration advanced a plan to limit oil drilling and infrastructure across more of Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve, a bid to lock in land protections and conservation requirements … Read more
Trump Mobile’s origins lie with a Mexican middleweight boxer
Where’s the Trump phone? We’re going to keep talking about it every week. Last week, we spoke to executives from the company for the first time, and this week we’re back with more details on how it began. Trump Mobile may bear the US president’s name, but he didn’t come up with the idea, and … Read more
Roku to launch streaming bundles as part of its efforts to continue growing its profitability
Roku delivered an impressive Q4, posting net income of $80.5 million. The company also outlined plans for streaming bundles.