Technology [en]

Senator puts hold on Trump’s nominee for CISA director, citing telco safety  ‘cover up’
US may fine TSMC $1B over chip allegedly utilized  in Huawei AI processor
Tired of doing laundry? These startups want to help.
Samsung’s SmartThings app gets more home automation capabilities
Artisan, the ‘stop hiring humans’ AI agent startup, raises $25M – and is inactive  hiring humans
WordPress.com launches a free AI-powered website builder
SanDisk Extreme PRO Dual Drive Review: A Durable, Dual-Connector Flash Drive
Instagram tests locked reels that can be accessed with secret codes
Nuro’s $106M rise  backs its shift from transportation  robots to licensing autonomy tech
The complete agenda for TechCrunch Sessions: AI unveiled
Tessell snags $60M to drive data management at scale
Solve Intelligence raises fresh $12M to bring AI to IP, patent workflows
Samsung adds Google’s Gemini to its home robot Ballie
Reddit’s conversational AI search tool leverages Google Gemini
Gemini Code Assist, Google’s AI coding assistant, gets ‘agentic’ abilities
Google’s enterprise cloud gets a music-generating AI model
Google Workspace gets automation flows, podcast-style summaries
Google’s newest Gemini AI model focuses on efficiency
Ironwood is Google’s newest AI accelerator chip
Lyst, the fashion marketplace erstwhile  valued at $700M, sells to Japan’s Zozo for $154M
Governments identify dozens of Android apps bundled with spyware
A 25-year-old police drone founder just raised $75M led by Index
Instagram is beefing up its search to compete with TikTok
Deep Cogito emerges from stealth with hybrid AI ‘reasoning’ models
No, Stripe is not becoming a bank
Inside the EV startup secretly backed by Jeff Bezos
IBM z17: A Mainframe Engineered with AI at its Core
IBM Strengthens AI-Driven Business Operations From Hakkoda Acquisition
At last, MrBeast weighs in on the global economical  crisis du jour
Generac Data Center Backup Generators Deliver Up to 3.25MW of Scalable Power
Does Colossal Biosciences’ dire wolf creation justify its $10B+ valuation?
A nonprofit is utilizing AI agents to rise  money for charity
Tapestry’s app can now de-dupe your social feeds
Google fixes 2  Android zero-day bugs actively exploited by hackers
Amazon’s Zoox begins robotaxi investigating  in Los Angeles
Take the phase  at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025: Apply to talk  now
Los Angeles-based Rain raised a $75M Series B in another good sign for fintech
Founders, TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 200 is calling! Apply to enter!
Trump to endorse coal for data center power in the face of grim marketplace  realities
Volunteer your time for a free ticket to TechCrunch Sessions: AI
Waymo may usage  interior camera data to train generative AI models, but riders will be able to opt out
Meet the fresh  Audience Choice winners to lead breakouts at TechCrunch Sessions: AI
Mira Murati’s AI startup gains prominent ex-OpenAI advisors
Dell PowerEdge R770 Review: Modular, Powerful, and AI-Ready
Amazon unveils a fresh  AI voice model, Nova Sonic
Snapchat rolls out Sponsored AI Lenses for brands
Dell Updates Server, Storage, and Data Protection Platforms Addressing Increased AI Adoption
Blackbird gobbles up $50M for its blockchain-based payment-loyalty app for restaurants
Sizl raises $3.5M to grow  its cook-to-order food transportation  service
XL Batteries is utilizing petrochemical infrastructure to store   solar and wind power