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• Trump pardons Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht 2025-01-22
  President Trump on Tuesday pardoned Ross Ulbricht, the creator of the infamous dark web exchange Silk Road, which was best known as a once-thriving online marketplace for illegal drugs. Trump announced the news in a Truth Social post, saying the pardon was in honor of Ulbricht’s mother and the Libertarian movement. In 2015, a federal […]
  Maxwell Zeff
• MrBeast is reportedly now among those trying to buy TikTok 2025-01-22
  An unlikely group, including Mr Beast and Bench acquirer Employer.com, has submitted a bid to buy TikTok. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
  Charles Rollet
• Former Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg sanctioned by judge for allegedly deleting emails 2025-01-22
  A Delaware judge has sanctioned Sheryl Sandberg, Meta’s former COO and board member, for allegedly deleting emails related to the Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal. The decision arises from a case Meta shareholders brought against Sandberg and another former Meta board member, Jeff Zients, late last year. The plaintiffs alleged that Sandberg and Zients used personal […]
  Kyle Wiggers
• Microsoft is no longer OpenAI’s exclusive cloud provider 2025-01-21
  Microsoft was once the exclusive provider of data center infrastructure for OpenAI to train and run its AI models. No longer. Coinciding with the announcement of Stargate, OpenAI’s massive new AI infrastructure deal with SoftBank, Oracle, and others, Microsoft says it has signed a new agreement with OpenAI that gives it “right of first refusal” […]
  Kyle Wiggers
• OpenAI teams up with SoftBank and Oracle on $500B data center project 2025-01-21
  OpenAI says that it will team up with Japanese conglomerate SoftBank and with Oracle, along with others, to build multiple data centers for AI in the U.S. The joint venture, called The Stargate Project, will begin with a large data center project in Texas and eventually expand to other states. The companies expect to commit $100 […]
  Kyle Wiggers
• Scale AI’s Alexandr Wang has published an open letter lobbying Trump to invest in AI 2025-01-21
  Scale AI's CEO Alexandr Wang has five recommendations for President Trump to keep the US ahead of China on AI. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
  Charles Rollet
• Amperesand targets data centers as the next big customer for its solid-state transformers 2025-01-21
  Amperesand’s technology replaces the iron cores that define old transformers with silicon carbide. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
  Tim De Chant
• Startup founders flooded inauguration parties hopeful for dealmaking 2025-01-21
  All throughout America’s capital, founders enjoyed the fruits of their industry’s political jockeying. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
  Margaux MacColl
• Meta is building Oakley smart glasses for athletes: Report 2025-01-21
  Meta’s Reality Labs is expanding its lineup of AI smart glasses with a new pair of Oakley-branded spectacles targeted at athletes, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. Bloomberg reports the new smart glasses, with which Meta seeks to capitalize on the Ray-Ban Meta’s success, will be based on Oakley’s Sphaera glasses and will shift the camera […]
  Maxwell Zeff
• Perplexity launches Sonar, an API for AI search 2025-01-21
  Perplexity on Tuesday launched an API service called Sonar, allowing enterprises and developers to build the startup’s generative AI search tools into their own applications. “While most generative AI features today have answers informed only by training data, this limits their capabilities,” Perplexity wrote in a blog post. “To optimize for factuality and authority, APIs […]
  Maxwell Zeff
• Trump targets EV charging funding programs Tesla benefits from 2025-01-21
  President Donald Trump is trying to halt the flow of funding for EV charging infrastructure from two programs that have benefited Tesla — the latest example of how Elon Musk’s political interests seem to be at odds with his car company’s goal of advancing sustainable energy. It’s not a given that Trump’s gambit will succeed. […]
  Sean O'Kane
• Govtech giant Conduent won’t rule out cyberattack as outage drags on 2025-01-21
  At least four states reported being affected by the outage, which Conduent says is ongoing. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
  Zack Whittaker
• Spotify’s educational audio courses could be coming to US 2025-01-21
  Spotify is expanding its streaming service to now include educational courses in addition to music, podcasts, and audiobooks. The company on Tuesday referenced one of its newer features called courses, which allow users to learn about topics in areas like business, tech, lifestyle, music, and more. The feature is initially being piloted in the U.K., […]
  Sarah Perez
• Trump moves to sink offshore wind 2025-01-21
  President Trump signed an executive order that halted federal leases for offshore wind development on the outer continental shelf. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
  Tim De Chant
• Meta lures TikTok creators with $5K bonuses, content deals, free verification 2025-01-21
  Meta is luring TikTok creators over to its platforms with the promise of cash bonuses, content deals, and support to grow their communities. The company announced on Tuesday that eligible TikTok creators will be able to earn “up to” $5,000 in bonuses over three months for posting Reels on Facebook and Instagram. These creators will […]
  Aisha Malik
• Funding to fintechs continues to decline, but at a slower pace 2025-01-21
  Welcome to TechCrunch Fintech!  This week, we’re looking at just how much fintech startups raised in 2024, a slew of fundraising deals, Plaid’s reported revenue growth last year, and more! To get a roundup of TechCrunch’s biggest and most important fintech stories delivered to your inbox every Tuesday at 8:00 a.m. PT, subscribe here. The […]
  Mary Ann Azevedo
• Stripe is laying off 300 people, but says it still plans to hire in 2025 2025-01-21
  Fintech giant Stripe is laying off 300 people, according to a leaked memo reported on Tuesday by Business Insider. The affected employees are “largely in product, engineering, and operations roles,” the memo said. Despite the layoffs, Chief People Officer Rob McIntosh said that Stripe intends to still grow its headcount by 17% “to land at […]
  Mary Ann Azevedo
• Forum software NodeBB joins the fediverse 2025-01-21
  Before there was social media, there were internet forums. Millions of forum sites continue to operate, which is why it’s notable that one top forum software provider, NodeBB, is now joining the fediverse, also known as the open social web. The fediverse today includes apps like decentralized X rival Mastodon, Instagram alternative Pixelfed, open YouTube […]
  Sarah Perez
• Samsung Unpacked 2025: Here’s how to watch and what we expect 2025-01-21
  The biggest reveal from CES press conference may well have been another press conference. The hardware giant closed out the main event by teasing the company’s upcoming show. The next Samsung Unpacked event is set for Wednesday at 10 a.m. PT. As with all recent Unpacked events, the big show will be streamed both directly […]
  Brian Heater
• Meta will soon let you link your WhatsApp account with Instagram and Facebook 2025-01-21
  Meta announced on Tuesday that users will soon be able to add their WhatsApp account to their Accounts Center, a hub where users can manage connected experiences across their Facebook, Instagram, and Meta Quest accounts. With this integration, users will be able to cross-post their WhatsApp Status as Stories on Instagram and Facebook, getting rid […]
  Aisha Malik