Musk admits he was wrong about full self-driving

Also: Google quietly releases Gemini 2.0

View this email online in your browser By Rebecca Bellan Friday, January 31, 2025 Welcome to TechCrunch AM! This morning, we've got thoughts on Tesla's long road to full self-driving, Google's newest AI model, and the dangers of not securing customer data. We've also got details of OpenAI's latest fundraising attempt, the potential of gene sequencing, the top CHIPS Act beneficiaries, a fintech by rapper Rakim and DIVINE, and more. Let's dive in! — Rebecca TechCrunch Top 3 Image Credits: Jesse Grant/The Hollywood Reporter / Getty Images 1. My own worst enemy: For almost a decade, Elon Musk has promised that Tesla vehicles have the hardware needed to support full self-driving. This week, he finally admitted that many of the company's cars actually don't have the necessary hardware and will need to be upgraded. Read More 2. A word to startups that track location data: Beef up your security! Researchers found that AngelSense, which offers assistive tech and location monitoring devices for people with disabilities, had left an unsecured database exposed to the internet. The database contained personally identifiable information and precise location data. Read More   3. No fanfare: Google has released Gemini 2.0, its next-gen flagship AI model that promises to help users with complex tasks like solving mathematical problems or developing quantum algorithms with "greater ease and accuracy." Read More   A Message from Masters of Scale Masters of Scale Summit: Where leaders shape the future Masters of Scale Summit, presented in alliance with Capital One Business, returns to SF this Oct 7–9. Summit brings together fast-scaling leaders with speakers like Bret Taylor & Brian Chesky to drive innovation and shape the future of business. Sign up for priority access to unlock curated Summit highlights, and fast-track your application. Sign Up Now   Morning must-reads Image Credits: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images 🤑 More, more, MORE! OpenAI is reportedly in talks to raise $40 billion at a $340 billion valuation. SoftBank is said to be leading the round as the AI company seeks to pour even more money into AI training. Read More 🧬 The ultimate health test: Nucleus Genomics imagines a world where medical treatments are linked to genetics and couples can get their DNA sequenced before having kids together. Sounds like science fiction, but top investors were convinced enough to fund a $14 million Series A. Read More ⛔ Too many pins in this cushion: Fintech startup Cushion, which described itself as the "Plaid for buy now, pay later," has shut down. Its founder and CEO Paul Kesserwani said the company didn't "reach the scale needed to sustain the business" despite bringing multiple new products to market. Read More 💸 The CHIPS Act's second act: Federal funding in the U.S. may be in limbo, but semiconductor giant Intel said it has already received $2.2 billion in federal grants from Biden's Commerce Department through the CHIPS Act. The bill was designed to encourage more semiconductor manufacturing on U.S. soil. Read More   A Message from Dataiku See How Dataiku Drove 80% Time Savings on Manual Processes Customer interviews & financial analysis found that a composite organization experienced benefits of $23.5 million over three years and an ROI of 413% with Dataiku. Plus, 80% time savings on manual processes, reduced costs, and improved decision making on key business activities. We call that a Return on AI! Get the full study & learn more here. Learn More   Around the web 🤓 Bill Gates is on a book tour to promote his upcoming memoir, "Source Code." The New York Times spoke to the billionaire as he tries to square his experiences with the present moment. "I always thought of Silicon Valley as being left of center. The fact that now there is a significant right-of-center group is a surprise to me," Gates said. Read More 🦥 Not as nimble as marketing would have you believe: In a leaked recording of a Meta all-hands meeting, Mark Zuckerberg said his company was slow to respond to the rise of TikTok, because "we didn't think TikTok was social." Zuck was responding to an employee's concern that Meta would be too focused on AI to catch the next major social media trend, per Business Insider. Read More ⛴️ We mustn't pollute the seas: Spanish ferry operator Baleària is launching two 100% electric fast ferries to connect the cities of Tarifa, Spain and Tangier, Morocco, per Engineering and Technology. Two autonomous robotic arms in each port will handle the charging at each port. Read More Before you go ⏺️ By artists, for artists: Former recording artist Victor D. Lombard, AKA DIVINE, is launching a new company with Rakim, the hip-hop legend. The fintech startup, Notes, offers tools tailored to help independent urban musicians and creators manage their careers. Read More Featured jobs from CrunchBoard BizOps Lead, Elayne (New York, NY) Staff Software Engineer, Murmuration (Remote) Founding Sales Development Representative, Clerkie (Remote) Business Analyst, Air Line Pilots Association (Tysons, VA) CAD Technician, Sinacola (Dallas, TX) See more jobs on CrunchBoard Post your tech jobs and reach millions of TechCrunch readers for only $349 per month.   Check out some of our other newsletters: Startups Weekly TechCrunch AI TechCrunch Mobility Got a tip? Get in touch securely. Want to advertise on TechCrunch? advertise@techcrunch.com Has this been forwarded to you? Click here to subscribe to this newsletter. Update your preferences here at any time Copyright © 2024 TechCrunch, All rights reserved.Yahoo Inc. 110 5th St,San Francisco,CA Privacy Policy

We're in an AI model race

Plus: Facebook goes old school

View this email online in your browser By Rebecca Szkutak Thursday, January 30, 2025 Welcome to TC PM! Today we learn of a new U.S. AI model that is allegedly better than DeepSeek's R1; we look at some international teamwork to bring down a cybercriminal forum; and we get the details on multiple tech companies looking to trim headcount.  TechCrunch Top 3 Image Credits: Yuichiro Chino / Getty Images 🤖 More models: Ai2, a nonprofit AI research institute based in Seattle, released an open source AI model, succinctly called Tülu 3 405B, that the org claims is better than DeepSeek V3. Can this tit-for-tat model release structure last forever? Read more 🔧 Fixed up: Security researchers at Wiz found that one of DeepSeek's back-end databases was fully exposed, allowing anyone to access sensitive information like user chat logs. The researchers alerted DeepSeek, which says it has fixed the issue. Read more 👋 How do you do, fellow kids? Mark Zuckerberg wants to make Facebook cool again. The Meta CEO announced on the company's earnings call that he wants to return to "OG Facebook" but didn't provide details on what that was. He did say this decision could compromise business results in the near term. Read more   A Message from Dataiku AI Regulatory Readiness Kit: Save Costs and Ensure Compliance Organizations are prioritizing regulatory readiness for upcoming AI regulations. This involves enhancing understanding and establishing strong foundations to facilitate compliance. This flipbook highlights 5 key pillars that data and IT leaders should keep in mind when handling all things regulation. Learn More   Afternoon must-reads Image Credits: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg / Getty Images 🎁 Going deep on DeepSeek: Chinese AI startup DeepSeek's release of its R1 model last week sent the AI industry into chaos. Maxwell Zeff spoke with AI experts about what this means for the industry going forward. Read more 🤝 International teamwork: A coalition of law enforcement agencies from the U.S., Australia, and multiple countries in Europe took down and seized two prominent hacking forums where cybercriminals traded stolen information and tools. Read more 🚢 Gulf of drama: Mexico's president, Claudia Sheinbaum, is questioning Google's decision to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America on Google Maps products in the U.S. Sheinbaum plans to send the tech giant a letter questioning the decision. Read more 🏢 Dollars for building design: Motif, a design platform for architects, has raised $46 million in fresh funds. The startup is founded by two men who used to work at Autodesk, the legacy architecture software industry leader. Read more ☹️ Amazon's RTO struggle: Amazon has made a small number of layoffs in its sustainability and communication departments. These cuts are tied to the company's return-to-office policy that was announced in September and has not been well received. Read more 📂 In other labor news: Google is offering voluntary buyouts to the team that builds Pixel, Android, and Chrome. This comes just a year after Google merged these areas into one team. The company told TechCrunch that it wants everyone on this team to be committed to its mission. Read more Around the web 💔 VCs come together: Los Angeles-based venture capital firms have banded together to raise a fund, which currently sits a little over half a million, to help those affected by the recent wildfires in their home city. Read more 🛩️ Musk's meddling: As the aviation industry deals with the aftermath of last night's deadly collision between a commercial jet and a military helicopter, they will be doing so with a Federal Aviation Administration leader who was appointed after the incident. Elon Musk had called on the last FAA leader to resign and he did, on January 20. Read more Featured jobs from CrunchBoard BizOps Lead, Elayne (New York, NY) Staff Software Engineer, Murmuration (Remote) Founding Sales Development Representative, Clerkie (Remote) Business Analyst, Air Line Pilots Association (Tysons, VA) CAD Technician, Sinacola (Dallas, TX) See more jobs on CrunchBoard Post your tech jobs and reach millions of TechCrunch readers for only $349 per month.   Check out some of our other newsletters: Startups Weekly TechCrunch AI TechCrunch Mobility Got a tip? Get in touch securely. Want to advertise on TechCrunch? advertise@techcrunch.com Has this been forwarded to you? Click here to subscribe to this newsletter. Update your preferences here at any time Copyright © 2024 TechCrunch, All rights reserved.Yahoo Inc. 110 5th St,San Francisco,CA Privacy Policy