TechCrunch Mobility: Zoox prepares for launch and Uber’s AV empire

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility, your hub for the future of transportation and now, more than ever, the role AI is playing in it.

Embattled hedge fund Situational Awareness invests $400M in chip startup Source Foundry

The AI-focused hedge fund is still making some big bets.

Anthropic is turning Claude Code’s auto mode on by default

Programming with Claude Code will soon require even less human oversight.

Discovered Materials is playing AI whack-a-mole to hunt cooler chips

Discovered Materials raised $9 million to fund the hunt for more novel materials to build more efficient chips.

Google Play adds Venmo as a payment option

The ability to add Venmo to Google Play comes as people are spending more money on apps and games.

Historian Jill Lepore says Silicon Valley misreads science fiction and undermines democracy

On the latest episode of Equity, we spoke to Jill Lepore about “government by machines” and why Elon Musk is a bad science fiction reader.

The AI safety test is becoming a safety risk

AI agents are escaping cybersecurity testing environments and reaching real-world systems, raising questions about whether safety infrastructure, industry standards and regulation can keep pace with increasingly powerful models.

The AI safety test is becoming a safety risk

AI agents are escaping cybersecurity testing environments and reaching real-world systems, raising questions about whether safety infrastructure, industry standards and regulation can keep pace with increasingly powerful models.

This ‘adversarial’ pattern can prevent surveillance cameras from detecting you

A security researcher has designed an algorithm that can create computer-generated patterns capable of hiding people, faces, and vehicles from detection by surveillance cameras.

The Kindle Scribe Colorsoft is a lot of fun, but it’s not a must-have

While the device is pretty and lightweight, it’s not something the everyday person needs due to its hefty price tag and size.