Intelligence Dispatch

Hacker stole £700,000 from UK energy company by redirecting payment

Zephyr Energy, a U.K. energy company, lost £700,000 due to a cyberattack where a hacker redirected a payment to a fraudulent account. The company is working to recover the funds and has implemented additional security measures following the incident.

Amazon CEO takes aim at Nvidia, Intel, Starlink, more in annual shareholder letter

In his annual shareholder letter, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy presents his company's competitive advantages, including its homegrown AI chips (Trainium) and Graviton CPUs, while also hinting at future ventures like robotics. He defends Amazon's significant capital expenditures, particularly in expanding

Final 2 days to save up to $500 on your TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 ticket

TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 ticket discounts, up to $500, expire on April 10th at 11:59 p.m. PT. Prices will increase after the deadline, so register now to save money and gain access to the tech event.

Spotify now lets everyone turn off videos in its app | TechCrunch

Spotify is introducing new controls to disable all videos in their app, allowing users to choose an audio-first experience. This feature, previously limited to managed accounts for users under 13, is now available to all Spotify users. The update, rolling out globally this month, aims to give user

Instagram expands its movie-inspired content restrictions for teens internationally

Instagram is expanding its content restrictions for teen accounts internationally, limiting exposure to content based on movie ratings, such as PG-13. This move follows legal actions against Meta for allegedly harming teens and aims to reduce exposure to potentially harmful content including violenc

Waymo robotaxis are tracking potholes and sharing that data with Waze users

Radify’s sci-fi plasma reactors could break China’s dominance of rare-earth elements

Collide Capital raises $95M fund to back fintech, future-of-work startups

This founder helped build SpaceX’s most powerful rocket engine. Now he’s building a ‘fighter jet for orbit.’

Ex-Tesla engineer’s startup taps Pronto to help automate a copper mine

X is rolling out automatic translation and photo editing powered by Grok

X is rolling out auto-translation powered by Grok to give posts global reach. They are also launching a new AI-powered photo editor with features like a blur tool and the ability to edit images via natural language prompts. This is part of the company's effort to improve the in-app experience.

Hermeus raises $350M to build unmanned hypersonic fighters

Hermeus, a defense startup, has secured $350 million in funding, pushing its valuation to $1 billion. With the funding, Hermeus plans to further develop its unmanned hypersonic aircraft and expand its manufacturing capabilities. The company is also working with RTX subsidiary Pratt & Whitney to modi

Spotify’s prompted playlist feature will now work for podcasts, too

Spotify is expanding its AI-powered "Prompted Playlist" feature to include podcasts, allowing users to create custom playlists with natural language prompts. The feature is now available for premium users in several markets and will suggest podcasts based on user input. Spotify is also working to im

Waymo starts robotaxi services at San Antonio International Airport

Speechify’s Windows app uses local models for transcription and dictation

Speechify has launched a Windows app that uses local models for dictation, reading aloud, and transcription, competing with similar apps. The app utilizes on-device processing on Copilot+ and other Windows 11 PCs and offers features like text-to-speech and real-time voice activity detection. The com

Google is now letting users in the US change their Gmail address

Google is now allowing users in the U.S. to change their Gmail address without losing access to their data, a feature that was previously tested in some Hindi-speaking territories. Users can change their username once every 12 months, and their old email address will remain as an alternate address.

Meta launches new initiative to support entrepreneurship, drive AI adoption

Meta is launching a new initiative, Meta Small Business, focused on supporting entrepreneurship and driving AI adoption. Led by Dina Powell McCormick and Naomi Gleit, the initiative aims to leverage AI to help entrepreneurs build new businesses. Mark Zuckerberg emphasized the importance of ensurin

Arbor Energy just landed a billion-dollar order to bring rocket turbine tech to the power grid

Meta turns to AI to make shopping easier on Instagram and Facebook

Meta is integrating AI into its platforms to enhance the shopping experience by providing product summaries, brand information, and facilitating direct purchases. This will be similar to how Amazon's uses AI to summarize product reviews to better inform shoppers. The new features include an updated

Sony and Honda give up on their joint EV project

Arinna raises $4M seed round to solve the space power problem

Arinna, a startup founded by Stanford PhDs, has raised $4 million to develop ultrathin, durable solar panels using a new material, transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), for spacecraft. This new technology aims to be more efficient and flexible than existing space solar panels. The company plans t

With Sift, two ex-SpaceX engineers are bringing the software that helped launch rockets to the factory floor | TechCrunch

The article discusses the growing trend of automating factories and the shift towards sophisticated software and AI in manufacturing. Sift, a company founded by ex-SpaceX engineers, is adapting its data management tools to meet the demands of AI-driven manufacturing. The company is focuses on organi

Lucid Bots raises $20M to keep up with demand for its window-washing drones

Lucid Bots, a robotics startup, is focused on practical applications and raised $20 million in Series B funding to scale its window-cleaning drone and robot business. The company's Sherpa drones are utilized by cleaning companies, and are designed and manufactured in the USA. Lucid Bots aims to expa

Crunchyroll confirms data breach after hacker claims unauthorized access

Crunchyroll, the anime streaming service, is investigating a data breach after a hacker claimed to have accessed user data and internal systems. The alleged breach involves customer support ticket information, potentially exposing over six million email addresses. Crunchyroll is working with cyberse

Doss raises $55M for AI inventory management that plugs into ERP

Doss, an AI-powered inventory management startup, raised $55 million in Series B funding to integrate with existing ERP systems, including those of AI-native competitors. The company aims to partner with AI ERP companies, such as Rillet and Campfire, that often lack robust inventory management. Doss

Flighty’s new update gives you real-time alerts about airport disturbances

Flighty, a flight-tracking app, released a new "Airport Intelligence" feature providing users with real-time alerts about airport disruptions, drawing on data used by pilots and airlines. This feature includes real-time advisories, alerts about weather conditions, and stats to help travelers unders

Roku’s $3 Howdy subscription service launches on Prime Video

Roku's $3 ad-free streaming service, Howdy, is expanding beyond the Roku ecosystem by launching on Amazon's Prime Video. Howdy offers nearly 10,000 hours of content from partners like Lionsgate and Disney, and aims to provide an accessible ad-free streaming experience via a Prime Video subscription.

Mirage raises $75M to continue building models for its AI video editing app Captions

Mirage, formerly Captions, secured $75 million in funding from General Catalyst's Customer Value Fund. The company, which is now an AI lab, aims to create more video editing models, including one for audio and a marketing suite. The funding will be used to fuel growth and expansion, particularly in

Snapchat’s new ‘AI Clips’ Lens format turns photos into five-second videos

Cauldron Ferm has turned microbes into nonstop assembly lines

Cauldron Ferm, a startup, has developed a "hyper fermentation" technology that transforms microbes into continuous production lines, aiming to make food production more efficient and cost-effective. The company has raised $13.25 million in a Series A2 round to expand its technology, and is currently

Pinterest launches a new feature to promote a Pin

Federal immigration agents filmed making airport arrests as Trump calls in ICE to ease security line delays

Amidst an ongoing government shutdown, the Trump administration has deployed ICE agents to airports to address long security lines, despite reported incidents of abuse. Eyewitnesses have documented arrests at some airports. Critics claim deploying ICE agents will increase tensions with travelers.

Feds intensify investigation into Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) software

Uber taps Rivian to build robotaxis in deal worth up to $1.25B