Timef 03/18/2025

AI coding assistants are becoming wildly popular, with the vast majority of respondents in GitHub’s latest poll saying that they’ve adopted AI tools in some form. Y Combinator partner Jared Friedman recently claimed that a quarter of YC’s W25 startup batch have 95% of their codebases generated by AI. Sensing an opportunity, VCs are rushing to back startups developing […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Arcade, an AI agent infrastructure startup founded by former Okta exec Alex Salazar and former Redis engineer Sam Partee, has raised $12 million from Laude Ventures. Laude is the new fund launched in 2024 by Perplexity co-founder Andy Konwinski, the UC Berkeley computer scientist who also co-founded Databricks. This isn’t the only check Laude has cut. But it […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

How to protect your mental health when using dating apps; dating fatigue, coping with rejection, drawing boundaries in dating.

Ahead of Amazon's Big Spring Sale, we're looking out for deals on Echos. But there aren't any discounts yet.

In a brief message Tuesday morning on Threads, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the company’s “open” AI model family, Llama, hit 1 billion downloads. That’s up from 650 million downloads as of early December 2024 — a 153% increase over a roughly-three-month period. Llama, which powers Meta’s AI assistant, Meta AI, across the tech giant’s […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Snag security camera deals from brands like Arlo, TP-Link, and more during Amazon's Big Spring Sale.

The Amazon Big Spring Sale has air purifiers on sale for up to 37% off

Spring cleaning deals on robot vacuums are here thanks to Amazon's Big Spring Sale. It starts on March 25, but solid Roborock, Shark, and Eufy deals are already live.

The best laptop deals available Amazon ahead of its Big Spring Sale include record-lows on the new M4 Apple MacBook Airs, the Microsoft Surface Pro 11, and two Asus gaming laptops.

Public Wi-Fi may be risky. Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson helps you learn how to spot unsafe networks and stay secure.

Score early savings on Kindle bundles ahead of Amazon's Big Spring Sale. While Amazon hasn't officially announced the sale dates, we're on the lookout.

LinkedIn launches ‘Zip,’ a brain-teasing puzzle game

This slate gray mouse feels buttery smooth but is outshined by its cheaper non-pro sibling.

It’s time to make your voice heard. After receiving an overwhelming amount of applications for speakers at TechCrunch Sessions: AI, we have chosen six incredible finalists. TC Sessions: AI takes place on June 5 in Zellerbach Hall at UC Berkeley — and you have the power to decide who you want to take the stage […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

The best MacBook deals available on Amazon in the lead-up to its Big Spring Sale include $50 discounts on the new 13- and 15-inch MacBook Airs.

These are the best smart home deals from Amazon's Big Spring Sale including smart locks, thermostats, smart assistants, smart locks, and more.

The best noise-cancelling headphones and earbuds deals at Amazon ahead of the Spring Sale include Bose, AirPods, and more.

Amazon's Big Spring Sale is coming. Shop early deals for the home and score major savings on smart home, vacuums, and more.

The Amazon Big Spring Sale has discounts on outdoor gear from brands like Solo Stove,

"Happy Gilmore 2," starring Adam Sandler and Julie Bowen, hits Netflix July 25. Watch the trailer.

Rather than trying to beat Chinese companies, Coreshell attempting an end run, swapping graphite for its specially coated silicon. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

According to a report, AI startup Anthropic is working on voice capabilities for its AI-powered chatbot, Claude. The company’s chief product officer, Mike Krieger, told the Financial Times that Anthropic plans to launch experiences that allow users to talk to Anthropic’s AI models. “We are doing some work around how Claude for desktop evolves  [… […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Amazon's Big Spring Sale is offering discounts on a variety of different iPad models, from the 10th gen iPad to the iPad Pro.

When Emma Kidwell got tapped to work on a new piece of content for Marvel's Midnight Suns, she went back to her fanfic roots. She won't be the only one following the rules of fan-written stories to develop fresh ideas.

Apple's AirTags have been discounted ahead of Amazon's Big Spring Sale 2025.

Roku is testing a new type of advertisement that shows up before the home screen loads, and users aren't having it.

Amazon's Big Spring Sale 2025 is offering discounts on Apple's AirPods. Shop the best discounts on AirPods Pro 2, AirPods 4, and more.

Now’s your chance to save on headphones, tablets, and home gadgets.

'Xenoblade Chronicles X' is back from Wii U purgatory with an outstanding Switch port that makes it more approachable than ever.

Celine Song ("Past Lives") brings a new love triangle to movie theaters with a tempting romance.

Chat platform WhatsApp said today that it will limit the number of broadcast messages individual users and businesses can send to curb spam on the app. In the coming weeks, the company will start testing limits on individual broadcast messages. Under these limits, WhatsApp will put a monthly limit on the number of broadcasts. While […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

A new iOS social wellness app called Exist wants to help middle-aged consumers connect and build meaningful communities with one another as they navigate their lives and the stresses that come with it. The app describes itself as the edgier cousin of Calm or Headspace, and its main feature is social journaling. The idea behind […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

During a health-focused event in New York on Tuesday, Google announced that it’s developing a collection of “open” AI models for drug discovery called TxGemma. The AI models, which Google said will be released through its Health AI Developer Foundations program later this month, can understand both “regular text” and the structures of different “therapeutic […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Google on Tuesday announced new products and features aimed at healthcare use cases, including improved overviews in Google Search for health queries, medical records APIs, and new health-focused “open” AI models. In Search, Google says it’s using AI and ranking systems to expand “knowledge panel” answers on thousands of health-related topics, and adding support for […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

As of March 18, the Apple AirPods Max (USB-C) are on sale at Best Buy for $479.99. Normally they retail for $549.99.

So-called “vibe coding” with LLM-driven tools like Cursor Composer — a term coined by renowned computer scientist Andrej Karpathy — describes a hands-off approach to writing code using Gen AI models, and it has really taken off recently. According to Y Combinator, one quarter of the startups in its latest batch relies on AI to […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

The acquisition could make the Silicon Valley giant a bigger force in cybersecurity, and arrives months after an earlier round of talks collapsed.

Balmuda’s new MoonKettle splits the crosshairs between traditional style and modern whistles and bells.

Netflix has dropped its trailer for Camilla Läckberg's Swedish crime thriller "The Glass Dome".

Being a staggeringly successful big tech company does have some downsides: Apple has lost an appeal against a special abuse control regime that Germany’s competition watchdog applied to it last year. The iPhone maker can expect to continue to face bespoke competition controls in a major European market, in addition to other similar laws (such […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Womanizer stuffs its famous Pleasure Air technology into a vibrator, delivering a winning combo.

Google is making the biggest acquisition in its history. The company’s parent company Alphabet is acquiring Wiz, the cloud security startup, for $32 billion, our sources say. The deal will still need regulatory and other approvals before closing. From what we can see, Google and Wiz have yet to confirm anything official. Other outlets are […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Nothing ruins a great night of sleep faster than getting too hot. We slept on a myriad of cooling mattresses to find which ones drew the heat away best.

As of March 18, Best Buy is offering a free $50 e-gift card with purchase of a Meta Quest 3 512GB VR headset on their website.

Don’t succumb to the chaos. Fire up Chrome’s bookmarks sidebar and bring some order to the noisy online world.

Answers to each clue for the March 18, 2025 edition of NYT's The Mini crossword puzzle.

This delusional airport trend only appeals to those who have no concept of how time or space work. Here’s how to actually travel like a pro.

As of March 18, Hogwarts Legacy, Diablo IV, and Baldur’s Gate 3 are all at their lowest prices in Steam’s Spring Sale, which ends March 20.

Putting together a March Madness bracket is an inexact science at best, but some people are getting funky with it.

Nerdio, a platform designed to simplify how companies deploy and manage Microsoft cloud technologies, has raised $500 million in a Series C round of funding. The Chicago-based startup says its valuation has now quadrupled since its Series B round two years ago, and is now firmly in unicorn territory — though the company wouldn’t reveal […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

How to livestream NCAA March Madness games

The 126 MW Omkareshwar Floating Solar Park spans 642 acres, boosting green power. Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson reports on this innovative solution to global energy challenges.

Y Combinator-backed Nigerian food procurement startup Vendease has changed its employee pay structure and is seeking fresh capital, TechCrunch has learned. This is after laying off 44% of its workforce — around 120 employees —last month, marking its second round of job cuts in five months. In the latest development, the startup has now replaced […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Geologists in Yellowstone National Park spotted a new volcanic feature on the active volcano, evidence of the vibrant geologic activity beneath the surface.

Apple's upcoming iPhone 17 will come with a much-needed improvement to the selfie camera.

U.S. President Trump’s wide-ranging tariff hikes are already resulting in growth forecasts being cut amid other uncertainty — actions that will inevitably impact the technology sector, too. Today, however, one food e-commerce startup, GrubMarket, is announcing a new equity round of $50 million on a raised valuation of over $3.5 billion — a signal of […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

You could call Facebook Marketplace a digital thrift shop. But that underplays how unique and bizarre the platform is.

Astronomers used the James Webb Space Telescope to directly capture images of the planets in the star system HR 8799, which will help contextualize our existence in the universe.

Learn German with six online courses for just $24.99 (reg. $120). Master grammar, fluency, and cultural insights — perfect for travel, work, or a fresh start abroad.

Improve your home security with a Ring Battery Doorbell Plus, a feature-packed video doorbell on sale for just $119.99 (reg. $149) while limited supplies last.

'Careless People,' a book by Facebook veteran Sarah Wynn-Williams, is full of stories about Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg.

Enjoy serious data security at an affordable price with a lifetime subscription to the Internxt Cloud Storage 10TB plan for $279.99 with code STORAGE20 through March 30.

The ESSGOO Portable Wireless CarPlay and Android Auto car display upgrades your car's entertainment system for just $64.99 (reg. $89), with free shipping, for a limited time.

President Donald Trump claims that pardons signed by Joe Biden are invalid because they were allegedly signed with an autopen.

African businesses pay up to four times the global average to transport goods. Nairobi-based logistics SaaS provider Leta wants to change that. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Save 20% with an LG promo code and explore today’s latest coupons for appliances and electronics.

Enjoy at least 10% off headphones, speakers, soundbars, and other audio products from Bose.

On March 22-23, build a Mother's Day Flower model at participating stores in the UK and Ireland and take it home with you for free.

Find the best free online courses from Stanford University.

How to unblock porn for free. Unblock XVideos for free from anywhere in the world.

How to unblock porn for free in Florida. Unblock and watch Pornhub for free from anywhere in the world.

Live stream Chicago Cubs vs. Los Angeles Dodgers in the MLB Tokyo Series from anywhere in the U.S.

The best eSIM for Japan in 2025. Stay connected with the best eSIM for the World Expo 2025.

Waymo has been given permission to map roadways at the San Francisco International Airport (SFO) via a temporary permit — the first step in the Alphabet company’s bid to unlock a potentially lucrative use case for its robotaxis. The temporary permit, which was announced Monday evening by San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie, kicked off March […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Hints and answers to today's Hurdle all in one place.

Connections: Sports Edition is a New York Times word game about finding common sports threads between words. How to solve the puzzle.

The NYT Strands hints and answers you need to make the most of your puzzling experience.

Connections is a New York Times word game that's all about finding the "common threads between words." How to solve the puzzle.

Here's the answer for "Wordle" #1368 on March 18, as well as a few hints, tips, and clues to help you solve it yourself.

Google’s parent company Alphabet is again in advanced talks to acquire cloud cybersecurity startup Wiz, a person familiar with the deal told TechCrunch. The two companies were close to securing a deal at a $23 billion valuation last summer, but the transaction failed to materialize.  This time, the price being discussed is higher, the person […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Unlike the previous fundraiser, this event did not appear on President Donald Trump’s official schedule.

Liam Fedus, OpenAI’s VP of research for post-training, is leaving the company to found a materials science AI startup. The Information initially reported Fedus’ plans. In a statement on X, Fedus confirmed the report and added a few additional details. “My undergrad was in physics and I’m keen to apply this technology there,” Fedus said […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Intel’s new CEO Lip-Bu Tan seems ready to get right to work to turn around the struggling company.  The semiconductor giant’s new executive is considering sweeping changes for the company’s chip manufacturing and AI strategies, according to Reuters, including: cutting middle management staff and revamping the company’s approach to manufacturing chips. Tan reportedly told company […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

It’s gloves off in one of the more tense rivalries in the world of startups. HR company Rippling Monday morning announced a lawsuit against Deel, another big player in the same space. The dramatic 50-page complaint alleges racketeering, misappropriation of trade secrets, tortious interference, unfair competition, and aiding & abetting breach of fiduciary duty. The […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

The world is bad sometimes, but it feels even worse if you can’t stop staring into the all-consuming abyss that is the 6-inch screen of a smartphone, following you through space and time. It taunts you with its compact, light build that’s small enough to slip into your pocket and take anywhere, and its siren […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Ready for more feminist body horror? 'The Ugly Stepsister' trailer has big 'The Substance' vibes.

If you’ve ever spent way too long scrolling through endless feeds about nothing, you may have been advised to touch grass. It’s a tongue-in-cheek suggestion, basically telling you to log off and go outside. But one developer took the concept to the next level. Rhys Kentish launched an iOS app last week called Touch Grass, […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Get AI Magicx for $64.99 with code MAGIC35 (reg. $99.99). A smarter alternative to ChatGPT for writing, design, coding, and more — built for creators.

The constellation will keep a close eye on wildfires, eventually imaging nearly all of the Earth’s surface once every 20 minutes. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

While the rapid pace of funding has slowed, many fintechs are continuing to see growth and expand their teams. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Users on social media have discovered a controversial use case for Google’s new Gemini AI model: removing watermarks from images, including from images published by Getty Images and other well-known stock media outfits. Last week, Google expanded access to its Gemini 2.0 Flash model’s image generation feature, which lets the model natively generate and edit […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Google's new Gemini 2.0 Flash AI model is really good at removing watermarks from images.

I'm a tech expert, and I know how online stalkers operate. Here's what you can do to prevent creeps from seeing personal info that they shouldn't.

Flexport accuses Freightmate of being the product of "theft, not ingenuity" in its lawsuit against the startup. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Here's how to schedule a message on Instagram DMs.

Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, has acquired Hotshot, a startup working on AI-powered video generation tools along the lines of OpenAI’s Sora. Akash Sastry, Hotshot’s CEO and co-founder, announced the news in a post on X on Monday. “Over the past 2 years we’ve built 3 video foundation models as a small team — Hotshot-XL, […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

OpenAI will soon begin testing a way for business customers to connect apps like Slack and Google Drive to ChatGPT. OpenAI plans to start beta testing a new feature called ChatGPT Connectors, according to a document viewed by TechCrunch. ChatGPT Connectors will allow ChatGPT Team subscribers to link workspace Google Drive and Slack accounts to […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Amazon is killing its “Do Not Send Voice Recordings” privacy feature on March 28 as the company aims to bolster Alexa+, its new subscription assistant.

On the heels of its IPO filing, Swedish fintech giant Klarna announced on Monday that it will exclusively provide buy now, pay later loans for Walmart. The partnership with Walmart is one that rival Affirm had previously owned. Klarna will provide the loans to Walmart customers through OnePay, a fintech startup in which it owns […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Instagram is testing AI-generated comments, further automating social media interactions.

Upgrade to Windows 11 Pro for AI tools, a sleek new design, and enhanced security — get a key for two PCs at just A$23 (reg. A$314).

Artificial intelligence continues stirring things up in chemistry. To wit: YC-backed Cambridge, U.K.-based ReactWise is using AI to speed up chemical manufacture — a key step in bringing new drugs to market. Once a promising drug has been identified in the lab, pharma firms need to be able to produce much larger amounts of the […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Get 2TB of secure, lifetime cloud storage with FileJump for just A$110 — ideal for storing your favorite photos and everyday organization.

As of March 17, you can get the Amazon Fire 7 Kids tablet for $69.99 at Amazon. That's a 36% discount and a savings of $40.

The constellation will keep a close eye on wildfires, eventually imaging nearly all of the Earth’s surface once every 20 minutes. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

NASA will provide live coverage of astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams' return to Earth after an unexpected nine-month stay in space.

TikTok streamlines its account security options — and user education — with new Security Checkup hub.

Software developer Davis Lu was found guilty of sabotaging the company's systems. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of messaging app Telegram, no longer has to stay in France. A source told AFP that the investigating judge in charge of Durov’s case has accepted a request to modify the conditions of his supervision. “As you may have heard, I’ve returned to Dubai after spending several months in […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Grab the Beats Studio Buds + on sale for $99.95, saving you $70 on their $169.95 list price.

The Philips 3300 fully automatic espresso machine is $599.99 at Amazon, down from the list price of $799.99. That's a 25% discount.

Get the popular Beats Studio Pro headphones for $179.95 for 49% off. That's just $20 short of its lowest price ever.

Get the Apple MacBook Air M2 Chip 8GB RAM 512GB SSD Laptop for $749.00 and save $350 at Best Buy.

TikTok is introducing a new “Security Checkup” tool that allows users to quickly review and update their account’s security settings from a single screen, the company announced on Monday. The feature is similar to Security Checkup tools offered by TikTok rival Instagram and tech giant Google. Users can access the new tool from their profile […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

As of March 17, the Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ is available at Amazon for $164.80, down from $219.99. That's a 25% discount and a $55.19 savings.

Bowen Yang, Lily Gladstone, Kelly Marie Tran, and Han Gi-Chan lead an all-star cast in "The Wedding Banquet." Watch the trailer.

Security researchers say that a threat actor it calls Mora_001 has ‘close ties’ to the Russia-linked hacking group © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Several dummy models of the iPhone 17 appeared online, which seem to confirm the existence of the iPhone 17 Air.

The best Amazon deals on March 17 include the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2, Fire HD 10, Blink Video Doorbell, Garmin Instinct, and Tile Essentials 4-pack.

GTC, Nvidia’s biggest conference of the year, begins Monday and runs till Friday in San Jose, with the biggest announcements probably coming Tuesday. TechCrunch will be on the ground covering the news as it happens — and we’re expecting a healthy dose of announcements. And we’re making it easy for you to follow along. CEO […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

The EarFun Air Pro 4 earbuds are on sale for $64.99 with an on-page coupon, bringing their price down 28%.

Mashable Entertainment Editor Kristy Puchko breaks down the five best things she saw, from Ben Affleck’s unexpected comedy chops in The Accountant 2 to Good Boy, a haunted house horror starring a very good dog.

Get the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 Intel Core Ultra 9 16GB LPDDR5X 1TB SSD NVIDIA RTX 4070 for $1,399.99 and save $600 or 30%.

Netflix has shared a behind-the-scenes video from "Adolescence" explaining how they filmed the ending of episode 2.

Replacing captive elephants, robots are now performing temple rituals in the Indian state of Kerala.

As of March 17, the 2024 iPad Mini is back down to its lowest price of $399. Shop our favorite tablet for reading at Amazon now.

The Shark NeverChange Compact Pro air purifer is just $119.99 at Amazon, down from the usual price of $149.99. That's a 20% discount.

As of March 17, you can get a pair of Beats Studio Buds for just $99.95, down from $149.95, at Amazon. That's a 33% discount and a $50 savings.