Thursday, November 14, 2024

Welcome to TechCrunch AM! This morning, we have stories on the eerie intersection of U.S. politics and meme culture; fresh funds for AI that can help you code, and Chinese hackers hitting American telecoms. We've also got details of OpenAI's next tool, the rise of quantum computing, Spotify's lean into video, and more. Let's go! — Rebecca

TechCrunch Top 3

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1. The DOGE explainer: TC's Amanda Silberling provides an excellent breakdown of the link between Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy's new advisory body (the Department of Government Efficiency), Dogecoin (a formerly cheerful crypto community that's become Musk's favorite meme coin), and Pepe the Frog (a badly drawn frog that was somehow co-opted into the alt-right's mascot). Read More

2. Automate the automation: Tessl wants to use AI to help devs write and maintain code, and it has raised $125 million at a $500 million+ valuation even before it has a product in the market. Read More

3. The hacking wars continue: The U.S. has confirmed hackers with links to China breached multiple telecommunication services in order to access the wiretap systems that law enforcement uses to surveil Americans. One of the downsides of spying on your own citizens, I guess. Read More

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Morning must-reads

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💃 Dance for the money: Spotify is taking a page out of YouTube's book and offering to pay podcast hosts who make popular videos on its streaming platform. At the same time, the streaming app is offering premium subscribers ad-free videos for uninterrupted streaming. Read More

☎️ Hello, Operator? OpenAI is reportedly closing in on an AI agent software that it plans to launch early next year. Its code name is "Operator" and it will be able to take direct actions on a person's computer. Read More

🗺️ Another startup named Atlas: This one is a freemium browser-based, real-time mapping tool that hopes to compete with legacy companies and become the Figma of geospatial data. Its hopeful selling point? To offer a more flexible, user-friendly, cloud-based collaboration platform. Read More

✈️ TravelAgent.AI: Everybody is hoping AI will bring in more capital, and German travel agency Tourlane is no different. The startup just raised $25 million from heavy hitters like Sequoia in an attempt to scale and integrate generative AI for a more custom user experience. Read More

💰 Meta gets fined again: The EU is fining Meta $840 million for breaching EU antitrust rules. The Commission says Meta's online classified ads service, Facebook Marketplace, creates "unfair trading conditions" for other providers of classifieds online because it's tied to Facebook. Meta is going to appeal the ruling. Read More

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Around the web

🫣 What sorts of federal programs might Elon Musk try to stymie? Anything he doesn't like, argues The Nation. That might include programs that attempt to check corporate power or protect trans youths. Or, my prediction, the EEOC, which has come after Tesla for employee complaints of racism. Read More

🌩️ Schrodinger's startup: Are we finally starting to make progress with quantum computing? Looks like it, based on the amount of funding the sector has gotten this year. Per Crunchbase News, funding for quantum startups has hit $1.5 billion so far this year, making it one of the only industries (other than AI) that is seeing more funding in 2024 than in 2021. Read More

👻 Ghost jobs: As more tech workers seek out new employment after strings of layoffs, many have reported applying and interviewing for jobs that employers actually have no intention of filling. One Baruch PhD student, Hunter Ng, has a cool analysis of this phenomenon. Read More

Before you go

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🦛 Moo Deng videos forever: InVideo is launching a AI-based video generation feature, which users can use to make videos in a variety of styles including live-action, animated, or anime. Prepare for even more AI slop on your socials. Read More