Monday, August 26, 2024

Welcome to TechCrunch AM! This morning, we're pondering life's greatest questions; looking at San Francisco's AI dominance; and sending up good vibes to the astronauts stuck in space. We're also looking at private equity's take-private deals; the Port of Seattle's cyberattack; Telegram's founder's arrest; Apple's robotics push; the backstory of Twitter Blue, and more. Let's go! — Rebecca

TechCrunch Top 3

Image Credits: georgeclerk / Getty Images

1. San Francisco's still got it: We ran the data and found that in 2024, San Francisco is still the place to be for AI startups. Yes, we live in a globalized world, but that isn't stopping the tech talent and investor money from concentrating in the Valley. The pull is so strong, it's even attracting foreign companies like Unify and Lago. Read More

2. Starliner will return to Earth empty: The astronauts who've been stuck in outer space will remain so until at least February 2025. NASA has decided to send the problematic Starliner home without them, leaving the two on the ISS to contemplate the universe for the next six months. Read More

3. Putting Descartes before the horse: Mathematician and scientist Stephen Wolfram thinks what AI research is missing is deep philosophical rigor. We need to be asking questions about how computers and people intersect and the implications of this technology on humanity. Going back to the classics could provide some framework. Read More

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Morning must-reads

Image Credits: Getty Images

💰 EU fines Uber: The ride-hailing platform got slapped with a $324 million penalty by the Netherlands' privacy watchdog. Uber was found to be in breach of the EU's GDPR rules because it transferred drivers' personal data out of the EU to the U.S. Read More

🚀 PE phone home: Private equity has been busy scouring the public markets for underperforming companies with strong growth prospects. In 2023, there were 136 take-private deals according to PitchBook data. This year has already seen 46 such deals in tech itself, and we're tracking the biggest ones. Read More

🚢 Seattle infra under cyberattack: The Port of Seattle, which includes Seattle's international airport, was hit over the weekend with a "possible cyberattack" that affected websites and phone systems. As of this morning, the port's website still appears to be down. Read More

🗝️ Telegram founder behind bars: French authorities arrested Pavel Durov, founder and CEO of Telegram over the weekend, alleging the messaging app's lack of content moderation and unwillingness to play nice with law enforcement makes Durov an accomplice to drug trafficking, money laundering and sharing of child porn via the app. Read More

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Around the web

🚗 BMW has overtaken Tesla in EV sales in Europe for the first time, per Electric Cars Report. BMW saw a 35% YoY increase in sales, compared to Tesla's 15% YoY decline. The Tesla Model Y, previously a best-seller, landed in the ninth position in July's overall vehicle ranking. Read More

🤖 Apple's push into robotics: What is a self-driving car if not a giant robot on wheels? Apple's dream of building a smart car failed, but that tech is now being put towards robotics, Bloomberg reports. Read More

🐦 Tangled up in Blue: The New York Times has published an excerpt from the book "Character Limit: How Elon Musk Destroyed Twitter" that explains how revamping the blue verification check mark into a revamped subscription service did not go down very well for the social media platform's new owner, Elon Musk. Read more

Before you go

Image Credits: Peter Linke / Flickr

🏰 Europe's top AI deals: While the U.S. still leads in AI deals, Europe is not too far behind. As of August, Europe has seen over 14 investments cresting $100 million or more. We hear that Mistral AI, which has already garnered more than $1 billion, is raising again. Read More