Also: Grok keeps talking about 'white genocide' in South Africa
Welcome to TechCrunch AM! This morning, we're looking at a big data breach at Coinbase; Grok's crazy hallucinations; Apple's situation in India; Acorns's latest acquisition; weird AI talking baby podcasts; YouTube vs. Netflix; Waymo's recalls; terrorists on X, and more. Let's dive in! | | | Image Credits: Chesnot / Getty Images | 1. Ouch: Crypto giant Coinbase confirmed its systems were breached and customer data, including government-issued IDs, were stolen. Apparently, the hacker got the info by bribing contractors and employees working in support roles outside the U.S. Read More 2. Oh dear: Elon Musk's AI chatbot Grok has been replying to dozens of posts on X with information about "white genocide" in South Africa, even when users didn't ask about that subject. Couple of reminders: Musk is from South Africa, a country that is still suffering from the aftereffects of decades of apartheid. Read More 3. Apple x India: New Delhi has approved Foxconn to build a new $435 million semiconductor plant with the goal of eventually making chips for Apple as the iPhone maker aims to reduce its reliance on China. However, Trump today said he's asked Apple CEO Tim Cook to stop building in India and start building in the U.S. Read More | | | 🌱 Teach 'em young: Savings and investing startup Acorns has acquired EarlyBird, an investment gifting platform for families. EarlyBird's co-founders will join Acorns to build a smart money app for kids. Read More 👶 This is getting weird: Hedra is one of a handful of startups that are using AI to help podcast hosts *checks notes* morph their faces into baby faces? Off the back of this upsetting viral trend, Hedra has raised $32 million from none other than a16z. Read More 🏈 More eyes, more fun: YouTube is throwing ideas at the wall to attract more TV ad dollars. A notable one is an expansion of its relationship with the NFL. Another is piloting a new way for creators to reach people who watch YouTube on TV via easily organized and bingeable TV shows. Read More 👀 Still watching: Netflix isn't ready to cede any ground to YouTube. The company said it would add more livestream content, like boxing, NFL, and, for the less sportily inclined, the Screen Actors Guild Awards. The company's also pitching more juicy user data to advertisers. Read More 🚕 Total recall: Waymo has issued a software recall on 1,200 robotaxis after some of them got into minor collisions with gates, chains and other objects. Waymo updated its software late last year, and thankfully, no one was hurt. Read More | | | 💣 How things have changed: Elon Musk's X is continuing to accept subscription payments from terrorists for the little blue check marks that once signified a person of note, The New York Times writes, citing a report by the Tech Transparency Project. Read More 🎞️ A good recommendation algorithm doesn't just show you what it thinks you'll like; it helps you challenge yourself with new content. Enter kudos.wiki, a Python script that generates film recommendations based on Wikipedia pages, not boring old Rotten Tomatoes. Read More 🚀 Hypersonic: Venus Aerospace completed a short flight test of its rotating detonation rocket engine in New Mexico, per Ars Technica. This type of engine has been more of an academic concept than a real piece of machinery, but Venus might be bringing the world a step closer to traversing the globe in under two hours. Read More | | | 🛍️ From screen to reality: Roblox isn't deterred by accusations that it tricks kids into spending money on in-game purchases. If anything, it's doubling down. The company's new Commerce APIs let creators sell physical merch directly within their games on the platform. Read More | | | Featured jobs from CrunchBoard | | | Has this been forwarded to you? Click here to subscribe to this newsletter. | | | Update your preferences here at any time | | Copyright © 2025 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. Yahoo Inc.. 680 Folsom Street, San Francisco, CA | | | | |
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