Tag Archives: TechCrunch

PHNX Materials found a way to decarbonize concrete using dirty coal waste

PHNX Materials has devised a way to strip fly ash of sulfur and aluminum, impurities that concrete companies would rather avoid.

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a16z acqui-hires VC tech podcaster Erik Torenberg, who joins as new partner

Andreessen Horowitz’s hiring spree continues. On Monday, Erik Torenberg announced that the giant VC firm had acquired his Turpentine podcast, with him joining as a general partner. Torenberg’s podcast focuses mostly on interviewing VCs at a variety of firms about … Continue reading

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Bluesky launches blue check verification

Bluesky announced on Monday that it is rolling out blue check verification, confirming previous rumors that this feature was on its way to the platform. Like Twitter’s original blue check (RIP), Bluesky’s blue check will verify that notable accounts are … Continue reading

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Reddit briefly down for users worldwide

Popular social network and forum site Reddit reported significant outages on Monday morning.  The connection errors started at around 11:20 a.m. ET, according to the website Downdetector, which collects anecdotal reports from impacted users globally. At its peak, more than … Continue reading

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An AI doctoral candidate in California says they had their student visa revoked

An AI doctoral student in California had their SEVIS record — the digital proof of their valid student visa — terminated, putting their immigration status at risk. Speaking to TechCrunch, the student, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal, said they were … Continue reading

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20 new tech unicorns were minted in 2025 so far

Despite a still tight venture capital market, new unicorns are still being created every month. Using data from Crunchbase and PitchBook, TechCrunch tracked down the newly VC-backed startup minted unicorns so far this year (as of the end of March). … Continue reading

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Final weeks to secure your spot in the AI spotlight at TechCrunch Sessions: AI

The countdown is real! Exhibit tables for TechCrunch Sessions: AI are almost gone, and the May 9 deadline is closing in fast. If you’ve been meaning to showcase your AI innovation, this is your last window to make it happen. … Continue reading

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Instagram is using AI to find teens lying about their age and restricting their accounts

Meta is using AI technology to search for kids who are lying about their age on Instagram in order to bypass safeguards, the company announced on Monday. When Meta finds an account that it suspects belongs to a teen, the … Continue reading

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OpenAI’s o3 AI model scores lower on a benchmark than the company initially implied

A discrepancy between first- and third-party benchmark results for OpenAI’s o3 AI model is raising questions about the company’s transparency and model testing practices. When OpenAI unveiled o3 in December, the company claimed the model could answer just over a … Continue reading

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Palantir exec defends company’s immigration surveillance work

One of the founders of startup accelerator Y Combinator offered unsparing criticism this weekend of the controversial data analytics company Palantir, leading a company executive to offer an extensive defense of Palantir’s work. The back-and-forth came after federal filings showed … Continue reading

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