OpenAI and Jony Ive may be struggling to figure out their AI device

OpenAI and Jony Ive reportedly face significant technical challenges as they work to develop a screen-less, AI-powered device.

Waffles eat Bluesky

A waffle-centric controversy underlines ongoing tensions between Bluesky and some of its most vocal users.

Firefly leans into its defense ambitions with $855M SciTec acquisition

Firefly Aerospace has agreed to buy defense analytics firm SciTec for about $855 million in cash and stock as the company tries to push deeper into the national security market.

Heidi Health raises $65M Series B led by Steve Cohen’s Point72 Private Investments

Heidi Health raised a $65 million Series B led by Steven Cohen’s Point72 Private Investments.

Tesla’s insurance arm accused of ‘egregious delays’ and ‘systemic failures’ by CA regulator

California’s Department of Insurance has been warning Tesla to fix its claims process since 2022, but consumer complaints have skyrocketed anyways.

Event startup Partiful wasn’t stripping GPS locations from user-uploaded photos

The event planning startup, which has raised over $27M from a16z and others, fixed the bug after TechCrunch found that Partiful was not removing granular location data from users’ profile photos.

Instacrops will demo its water-saving, crop-boosting AI at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025

Agriculture consumes a vast amount of water, and some countries are under more stress than others. Instacrops pivoted to AI to help farmers cut water use by 30%.

Sam Altman says Sora will add ‘granular,’ opt-in copyright controls

OpenAI may be reversing course on how it approaches copyright and intellectual property in its new video app Sora.

Startups and the U.S. government: It’s getting complicated

Equity co-hosts Anthony Ha, Kirsten Korosec, and Max Zeff explore the how startups are navigating a topsy-turvy relationship with the U.S. government.

Newsom signs bill giving Uber and Lyft drivers in California the right to unionize

Drivers for ride-hailing apps like Uber and Lyft will soon have the right to unionize in California as independent contractors, thanks to a bill signed Friday by Governor Gavin Newsom.