Google is upgrading Gemini, its AI-powered chatbot, with features aimed at making the experience more ambient and contextually useful.
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VC and podcaster David Sacks has revealed a new AI chat app called Glue that fixes “Slack channel fatigue,” he says.
© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Welcome, folks, to Week in Review (WiR), TechCrunch’s regular newsletter that recaps the week that was in tech. This edition’s a tad bittersweet for me — it’ll be my last (for a while, anyway). Soon, I’ll be shifting my attention to a new AI-focused newsletter, which I’m super thrilled about. Stay tuned!
Now, on with the news: This week Google laid off staff from its Flutter, Dart and Python teams weeks before its annual I/O developer conference. A total of 200 people were let go across Google’s “Core” teams, which included those working on app platforms and other engineering roles.
Elsewhere, Tesla CEO Elon Musk gutted the company’s team responsible for overseeing its Supercharger network in a new round of layoffs — despite recently winning over major automakers like Ford and General Motors. The cuts are so complete that Musk suggested in an email that they’ll force Tesla to slow the Supercharger network’s expansion.
And UnitedHealthcare’s CEO, Andrew Witty, told a House subcommittee that the ransomware gang that hacked U.S. health tech giant Change Healthcare — UnitedHealthcare’s subsidiary — used a set of stolen credentials to access Change Healthcare systems that weren’t protected by multifactor authentication. Last week, UnitedHealthcare said that the hackers stole health data on a “substantial proportion of people in America.”
Lots else happened. We recap it all in this edition of WiR — but first, a reminder to sign up to receive the WiR newsletter in your inbox every Saturday.
Hallucinations, hallucinations: OpenAI is facing another privacy complaint in the EU. This one — filed by privacy rights nonprofit noyb on behalf of an individual complainant — targets the inability of its AI chatbot ChatGPT to correct misinformation it generates about individuals.
Just walk out … of Sam’s Club: Sam’s Club customers who pay either at a register or through the Scan & Go mobile app can now walk out of the store without having their purchases double-checked. The technology, unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, has now been deployed at 20% of Sam’s Club locations.
TikTok circumvents Apple rules: TikTok is presenting some users with a link to a website for purchasing the coins used to tip digital creators on the platform. Typically, these coins must be bought via in-app purchase — which requires a 30% commission paid to Apple — suggesting TikTok might be attempting to skirt Apple’s App Store rules.
NIST’s GenAI platform: The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the U.S. Commerce Department agency that develops and tests tech for the U.S. government, companies and the broader public, has launched NIST GenAI, a new program to assess generative AI technologies, including text- and image-generating AI.
Getir pulls out: Getir, the quick commerce behemoth, has pulled out of the U.S., U.K. and Europe to focus on Turkey, its home country. The company — once valued close to $12 billion — said that the move would impact thousands of gig and full-time workers.
Inside the Techstars “cold war”: Brilliant reporting by Dom peels back the curtains on a year of financial losses and employee cuts at startup accelerator Techstars, whose CEO, Maëlle Gavet, has been a controversial force for change.
AI-powered coding: Yours truly takes a look at Copilot Workspace, somewhat of an evolution of GitHub’s AI-powered coding assistant Copilot into a more general tool — building on recently introduced capabilities like Copilot Chat, which lets developers ask questions about code in natural language.
Validating consumer demand is a crucial step for any startup, and TechCrunch Early Stage is offering a golden opportunity to learn how to do it right. Peter Gladstone, senior adviser for startups at Harvard Innovation Labs, is set to lead an engaging roundtable titled “Validating Consumer Demand: How to Make the Most of Your Expertise.” With decades of experience as an entrepreneur, marketer, and investor, Gladstone brings a wealth of knowledge to the table. Having served as the former head of innovation for Boston Beer Company and Gillette, he’s well-versed in navigating the complexities of bringing products to market.
In this workshop, Gladstone will guide founders on how to leverage their expertise to understand and solve consumer problems effectively. With hands-on advice and practical strategies, attendees can expect to gain insights into testing solutions, refining product development processes, and ultimately validating consumer demand. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to fine-tune your approach, this session promises to offer invaluable guidance for founders at every stage of their entrepreneurial journey.
Peter Gladstone’s extensive background includes founding successful ventures such as Mass Hole Donuts and BladeLife, as well as serving as a senior adviser for numerous Boston-based startups. At the Harvard Innovation Labs, he leads programming and mentoring for student-led ventures, helping them navigate the challenges of entrepreneurship. With a BA from Brandeis University and an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, Gladstone’s expertise is grounded in both academic rigor and real-world experience.
For founders eager to validate their ideas and drive meaningful consumer engagement, this workshop is a must-attend event at TechCrunch Early Stage. By learning from Peter Gladstone’s insights and experiences, you’ll be equipped with the tools and knowledge needed to make the most of your expertise and build products that resonate with your target audience. Secure your spot today and take the first step toward turning your startup vision into a thriving reality.
It’s time for Google’s annual look up to the cloud, this time with a big dose of AI.
At 9 a.m. PT Tuesday, Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian kicked off the opening keynote for this year’s Google Cloud Next event, and you can watch the archive of their reveals above, or right here.
After this week we’ll know more about Google’s attempts to help the enterprise enter the age of AI. From a deeper dive into Gemini, the company’s AI-powered chatbot, to securing AI products and implementing generative AI into cloud applications, Google will continue to cover a wide range of topics.
We’re also keeping tabs on everything Google’s announcing at Cloud Next 2024, from Google Vids to Gemini Code Assist to Google Workspace updates.
And for those more interested in Google’s details and reveals for developers, their Developer Keynote started off at 11:30am PT Wednesday, and you can catch up on that full stream right here or via the embed below.
Heya, folks, welcome to Week in Review (WiR), TechCrunch’s newsletter recapping the noteworthy happenings in tech over the past several days (and change).
Famed startup accelerator Y Combinator had its Demo Days, and the venture desk took it all in with an appropriately skeptical eye. You can read their day one and day two coverage, along with an AI roundup from yours truly and analysis pieces from the rest of the dogged edit team.
But the world didn’t stop turning for YC. Also this week, Microsoft and Quantinuum, a quantum computing startup, made a scientific breakthrough — or so they claim. The companies say that they were able to run thousands of experiments on a quantum computer without a single error, a feat that’s long eluded the industry.
Elsewhere, Apple could be getting into home robots. Reportedly, the company — fresh off its decision to cancel its long-in-the-works autonomous EV — has put Apple Home and AI execs on some form of robotics project for households, although many of the details have yet to be finalized.
Lots else happened. We recap it all in this edition of WiR — but first, a reminder to sign up to receive the WiR newsletter in your inbox every Saturday.
Canoo paid for its CEO’s jet: Kirsten reports that EV startup Canoo paid the rent for the CEO’s private jet — $1.7 million— in 2023. That’s double the amount of revenue the company generated that year.
AT&T leak: Phone giant AT&T has reset millions of account passcodes after a huge cache of data containing customer records was dumped online earlier this month, Zack reports.
No ChatGPT account required: OpenAI is making its flagship conversational AI, ChatGPT, accessible to everyone — even people who haven’t bothered making an account. But it won’t be quite the same experience. Devin has the story.
Microsoft unbundles: Microsoft has introduced new versions of its Microsoft 365 and Office 365 subscription services that exclude Teams, its business collaboration chat offering, following scrutiny from European Union regulators and complaints from rival Slack.
Ghost ghosts: Ghost Autonomy, a startup working on autonomous driving software for automaker partners, has shut down after raising nearly $220 million.
Alphabet and HubSpot: Reuters reported on Thursday that Google’s parent company, Alphabet, is exploring the possibility of buying Boston-based HubSpot, a CRM and marketing automation company with a market cap of over $33 billion. Ron explains why that’d make for strange bedfellows.
This week on Equity, Alex chatted about BlaBlaCar’s new credit facility (and how it managed to land it), and he discusses how PipeDreams could be onto a clever model of startup construction, GoStudent’s rebound and profitability, Hailo’s chip business and the two new brands that GGV calls home as it divvies up its operations on opposite sides of the Pacific.
And over on Found, Nick Green, the co-founder and CEO of Thrive Market, was the featured guest. Thrive is a membership-based online grocery store that focuses on natural and organic food and household products. Green spoke about how Thrive isn’t just focused on offering healthy options, but also wants to ensure that everyone has access to them — including those with SNAP and EBT benefits.
NSFW on X: The social media company has confirmed that authorized users on the platform can create NSFW communities, ahead of a change that’ll see all NSFW content on X filtered by default.
Tucked into Rubrik’s IPO filing this week — between the parts about employee count and cost statements — was a nugget that reveals how the data management company is thinking about generative AI and the risks that accompany the new tech: Rubrik has quietly set up a governance committee to oversee how artificial intelligence is implemented in its business.
According to the Form S-1, the new AI governance committee includes managers from Rubrik’s engineering, product, legal and information security teams. Together, the teams will evaluate the potential legal, security and business risks of using generative AI tools and ponder “steps that can be taken to mitigate any such risks,” the filing reads.
To be clear, Rubrik is not an AI business at its core — its sole AI product, a chatbot called Ruby that it launched in November 2023, is built on Microsoft and OpenAI APIs. But like many others, Rubrik (and its current and future investors) is considering a future in which AI will play a growing role in its business. Here’s why we should expect more moves like this going forward.
Some companies are adopting AI best practices to take the initiative, but others will be pushed to do so by regulations such as the EU AI Act.
Dubbed “the world’s first comprehensive AI law,” the landmark legislation — expected to become law across the bloc later this year — bans some AI use cases that are deemed to bring “unacceptable risk,” and defines other “high risk” applications. The bill also lays out governance rules aimed at reducing risks that might scale harms like bias and discrimination. This risk-rating approach is likely to be broadly adopted by companies looking for a reasoned way forward for adopting AI.
Privacy and data protection lawyer Eduardo Ustaran, a partner at Hogan Lovells International LLP, expects the EU AI Act and its myriad obligations to amplify the need for AI governance, which will in turn require committees. “Aside from its strategic role to devise and oversee an AI governance program, from an operational perspective, AI governance committees are a key tool in addressing and minimizing risks,” he said. “This is because collectively, a properly established and resourced committee should be able to anticipate all areas of risk and work with the business to deal with them before they materialize. In a sense, an AI governance committee will serve as a basis for all other governance efforts and provide much-needed reassurance to avoid compliance gaps.”
In a recent policy paper on the EU AI Act’s implications for corporate governance, ESG and compliance consultant Katharina Miller concurred, recommending that companies establish AI governance committees as a compliance measure.
Compliance isn’t only meant to please regulators. The EU AI Act has teeth, and “the penalties for non-compliance with the AI Act are significant,” British-American law firm Norton Rose Fulbright noted.
Its scope also goes beyond Europe. “Companies operating outside the EU territory may be subject to the provisions of the AI Act if they carry out AI-related activities involving EU users or data,” the law firm warned. If it is anything like GDPR, the legislation will have an international impact, especially amid increased EU-U.S. cooperation on AI.
AI tools can land a company in trouble beyond AI legislation. Rubrik declined to share comments with TechCrunch, likely because of its IPO quiet period, but the company’s filing mentions that its AI governance committee evaluates a wide range of risks.
The selection criteria and analysis include consideration of how use of generative AI tools could raise issues relating to confidential information, personal data and privacy, customer data and contractual obligations, open source software, copyright and other intellectual property rights, transparency, output accuracy and reliability, and security.
Keep in mind that Rubrik’s desire to cover legal bases could be due to a variety of other reasons. It could, for example, also be there to show it is responsibly anticipating issues, which is critical since Rubrik has previously dealt with not only a data leak and hack, but also intellectual property litigation.
Companies won’t solely look at AI through the lens of risk prevention. There will be opportunities they and their clients don’t want to miss. That’s one reason generative AI tools are being implemented despite having obvious flaws like “hallucinations” (i.e. a tendency to fabricate information).
It will be a fine balance for companies to strike. On one hand, boasting about their use of AI could boost their valuations, no matter how real said use is or what difference it makes to their bottom line. On the other hand, they will have to put minds at rest about potential risks.
“We’re at this key point of AI evolution where the future of AI highly depends on whether the public will trust AI systems and companies that use them,” the privacy counsel of privacy and security software provider OneTrust, Adomas Siudika, wrote in a blog post on the topic.
Establishing AI governance committees likely will be at least one way to try to help on the trust front.
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