Wednesday, February 19, 2025

Welcome to TC PM! Today we have all the details on the new iPhone 16e, which starts shipping at the end of the month; we learn that Elon Musk's X is raising more funds; and we parse through Google updates. Kick it!

TechCrunch Top 3

Image Credits: Apple

📳 Ring, ring, hello: Apple has answered my prayers released a new version of its iPhone SE. This next generation, called iPhone 16e, starts shipping at the end of the month and comes with Apple Intelligence and a $599 price tag. Read more

📵 A hack!: Former U.S. Army soldier Cameron John Wagenius plead guilty today to hacking AT&T and Verizon and stealing significant amounts of consumer data. He faces a maximum fine of $250,000 and a potential 10-year prison sentence. Read more

🤑 More money for Musk: Elon Musk's X is reportedly in talks with investors to raise another funding round that values the company at $44 billion — the same price he bought the social media platform for back in 2022. Read more

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Afternoon must-reads

Image Credits: Future Family

💬 Chip communication: Data centers consume a lot of power. The majority of that power is used for chip-to-chip communication. Hyperlume is a startup using microLEDs to make chip communication faster and more efficient. Read more

🐤 Guaranteed baby: Future Family is an insurance startup that essentially offers couples their money back if they don't have a baby after two cycles of IVF, or if they lose a baby within two weeks of being born. Read more

💸 Cash for creators: Today's Equity episode features a conversation with Megan Lightcap, a partner at Slow Ventures. Lightcap discusses how the firm backs creators and how these individuals can become scalable businesses of their own. Listen here

👋 Goodbye, Gemini: Google is pulling its AI assistant Gemini from the Google iOS app. The move is designed to motivate users to download the stand-alone Gemini app. It will be interesting to see how this pans out. Read more

💭 Speaking of Google: Google also launched a new experimental tool Wednesday called Career Dreamer. It uses AI to pull information from a person's educational background, skills, and more to recommend a career that might be a good fit. Read more

Around the web

💻 Silicon Valley secrets: The Verge has a fascinating piece out today that looks into the link between women working on factory lines in the early days of Silicon Valley and children born with intellectual disabilities. Read more

📹 Bringing back the dead: Using AI to re-create the voices of people who have passed away is a controversial new tool in documentary filmmaking. Netflix did this in its recent docuseries on Gabby Petito and is drawing a lot of online criticism, despite getting her family's blessing. Read more