Monday, September 16, 2024

Welcome to TechCrunch PM. Hey, y'all. It's Dom, your guest writer today. Happy Monday (if there were such a thing). We've got much to break down for you today, including court updates from Google and TikTok, as well as some interesting new AI startups to keep an eye on

TechCrunch Top 3

Image Credits: Misha Friedman / Getty Images

💻 IBM launched its Qiskit Functions Catalog, hoping to make programming quantum computers much easier. IBM is also launching a new set of benchmarks for quantum software development kits. Read more

🤖 Today 11x.ai announced its anticipated raise, closing a $24 million Series A led by Benchmark to build AI digital employees. Hasan Sukkar, 11x.ai's founder, spoke with TechCrunch about what the company plans to do next. Read more

🏈 Football player, civil rights activist, and startup founder Colin Kaepernick will be attending Disrupt this year. Passes are still on sale. Trust us, this is not a conversation you want to miss. Read more

Afternoon must-reads

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🥊 Runway, an artistic AI research company focused on video-generating tech, announced an API to allow its AI models to be built into third-party platforms. The company, valued at $1.5 billion, is backed by heavyweights, including Salesforce, Google, and Nvidia. Read more

📷 Speaking of AI news, Typeface, an enterprise generative AI startup, has acquired two new companies: AI photo company Treat and AI content creation and management platform Narrato. The news comes over a year after Typeface raised $165 million at a unicorn valuation. Read more

📶 Tile announced a new lineup of Bluetooth trackers — the first time the company has announced new products since Life360 purchased it back in 2021. The new products come in sleek colors, like aqua, green, and pink, as well as new functionalities. Read more

👀 The U.S. government has handed down fresh sanctions against five people from spyware maker Intellexa. The government alleges that these individuals had a hand in selling its phone spyware to authoritarian governments. Read more

🍋 Lemon8, the social app company owned by TikTok's parent company ByteDance, is surging in popularity. The news comes as TikTok heads to court to argue against the U.S.'s ban against it. Read more

🍎 Apple released iOS 18 today, and we have a rundown on what's new. For example, this update focuses more on personalization, allowing for hidden apps and custom icons. Users will be able to switch in and out of dark mode, and so much more. Read more

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Around the web 👨‍⚖️

Google takes the stand. YouTube's CEO testified in court that Google was just trying to act in consumers' best interests. This is the second week of Google's antitrust trial, in which the U.S. Justice Department alleges the search giant has a monopoly on the ad market. The New York Times has the story. Read more

Succession (real life's version) continues. The Murdoch family heads to court to begin what will inevitably be a showdown between the most senior members of the family. Rupert is trying to change the family trust to give sole power to his eldest son Lachlan, with the other siblings taking him to court to do anything to stop him. The Wall Street Journal, owned by the Murdochs, breaks it down for us. Read more

TikTok is also on trial. The social giant headed to court today in what is bound to be a landmark court case. The company is fighting back against the U.S. and President Joe Biden, who is trying to ban the app unless it divests from its parent company, ByteDance. It's gearing up to be a messy battle, and the Financial Times explains why. Read more