On Friday morning, Elon Musk declared, “We have improved @Grok significantly. You should notice a difference when you ask Grok questions.”
Category: Tech Crunch
At least 36 new tech unicorns were minted in 2025 so far
With AI igniting an investor frenzy, every month, more startups obtain unicorn status. Using data from Crunchbase and PitchBook, TechCrunch tracked down the VC-backed startups that became unicorns so far this year. While most are AI-related, a surprising number are focused in other industries like satellite space companies like Loft Orbital and blockchain-based trading site...
X blocked Reuters accounts in India
The main Reuters news account, as well as the Reuters World account, have apparently been inaccessible to X users in India since Saturday evening.
Researchers seek to influence peer review with hidden AI prompts
Academics may be leaning on a novel strategy to influence peer review of their research papers — adding hidden prompts designed to coax AI tools to deliver positive feedback.
How Brex is keeping up with AI by embracing the ‘messiness’
Brex quickly realized its normal software procurement process wouldn’t work in the age of AI and found a new way to test and vet tools.
Ask not for whom the Louvre of Bluesky tolls, it tolls for thee
It’s a sad weekend over at Bluesky, where one of the best accounts has disappeared — though we can still hope for its resurrection.
Google faces EU antitrust complaint over AI Overviews
A group known as the Independent Publishers Alliance has filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission over Google’s AI Overviews, according to Reuters. The complaint accuses Google of “misusing web content for Google’s AI Overviews in Google Search, which have caused, and continue to cause, significant harm to publishers, including news publishers in the...
Drive Capital’s second act – how the Columbus venture firm found success after a split
The venture capital world has always had a hot-and-cold relationship with the Midwest. Investors rush in during boom times, then retreat to the coasts when markets turn sour. For Columbus, Ohio-based Drive Capital, this cycle of attention and disinterest played out against the backdrop of its own internal upheaval several years ago — a co-founder...
Ready-made stem cell therapies for pets could be coming
Earlier this week, San Diego startup Gallant announced $18 million in funding to bring the first FDA-approved ready-to-use stem cell therapy to veterinary medicine. If it passes regulatory muster, it could create a whole new way to treat our fur babies. It’s still an experimental field, even though people have been researching stem cells for...
Microsoft is closing its local operations in Pakistan
Microsoft is closing its operations in Pakistan, marking the end of a 25-year presence in the South Asian nation. The Redmond-based company on Friday told TechCrunch that it is changing its operational model in Pakistan and will now serve its customers through resellers and “other closely located Microsoft offices.” “Our customer agreements and service will...