Everything you need to know about VPNs

Plus: SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket grounded again

View this email online in your browser By Rebecca Szkutak Monday, September 30, 2024 Welcome to TC PM! I hope you had a lovely weekend. Today we have a handful of stories, including everything you need to know about VPNs (and we even show you how to build one). We also dig into why SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket is grounded, and we found the tech angle to Oasis's upcoming tour. Enjoy! TechCrunch Top 3 Image Credits: Bryce Durbin/TechCrunch 🔐VPN corner: What is a VPN beyond being a way to watch reality TV from other countries? TechCrunch's security team offers "a skeptic's guide to VPNs," diving into what VPNs really are, what people should look out for, and how folks can make a VPN for themselves in as little as 15 minutes. Read more  🛰️Grounded again: SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket is grounded again; the problem that occurred marks the third time in three months that the rocket has experienced an issue. Past groundings haven't been long, but if this one is, it could hold up space missions scheduled for next month. Read more 📲Swipe down for more: Apple's latest software update, iOS 18, brings changes to the Control Center that allow third-party developers to create controls for their own apps. We've got a list of 18 apps taking advantage of the change that are worth checking out. Read more.    A Message from Carta Closing a funding round is cause for celebration. But once the confetti settles, what's next? Join Carta on Wednesday, October 2 at 10 am PT/1 pm ET for a live panel on how to optimize your funding, plan for the future, and fuel growth. Panelists: Jillian Williams (Partner, Cowboy Ventures), Sam Hodges (CEO, Vouch) and Pankaj Patel (CEO, Nile). Register Now   Afternoon must-reads 🎸Don't look back in anger: The band Oasis announced a few months ago that the Gallagher brothers put aside their differences, getting back together, and going on tour. But because this newsletter comes from TechCrunch, you know there's a tech angle: The band is now taking on Ticketmaster and not using its dynamic pricing for its U.S. shows. Read more  🚀Expanding EVTOLs: Beta Technologies today released a vertical take off and landing vehicle (EVTOL) that carries passengers. EVTOLs fascinate me because they seem like moonshot tech that's not actually that far off. Read more  👀Keeping a close eye: Today, Germany's Federal Cartel Office confirmed that Microsoft is now subject to a special abuse control regime in Germany, which means the German government will have more access to the company for at least the next five years. Read more  📖AI reading help: Ello is an AI reading companion that helps kids who are struggling with reading fix mistakes. The company is now rolling out a new feature, "Storytime," which lets kids create their own stories to read out loud. Read more  🛻Cybertruck cruise control: Have you seen a cybertruck in the wild yet? You truly can't miss them. The next time you see one, though, it may be driving itself. Certain users have started getting access to Tesla's supervised self-driving tech. Read more  🤨Reddit rethinks moderator controls: Reddit announced today that community moderators will have to submit a request to change their communities between private and public, and between safe and unsafe for work. Read more    A Message from TechCrunch Attending Disrupt 2024? Don't miss our exclusive hotel deals! Exclusive hotel savings are available only for Disrupt 2024 attendees. Stay at top hotels like Intercontinental and Hyatt Regency San Francisco, enjoying free Wi-Fi and waived facility fees. Plus, book now, pay later! Discounts end this Friday, October 4. Book Now   Money, Money, Money Image Credits: Christina Sinkevich 🌬️Helping HVAC contractors: Airship is building point-of-sale tools for HVAC contractors. The company is emerging from stealth today with $4 million in pre-seed funding with plans to launch to the public later this year. Read more 💵Cash for code: Qodo, formerly known as CodiumAI, just raised a fresh $40 million in funding. The company helps people generate code but differentiates itself by helping those same users test the code, too. Read more 🎮Video game AI: Series, the company behind full-stack AI video game generator Rho Engine, raised a $28 million Series A round. The company is led by Pany Haritatos, who has had multiple successful exits in the video game space already. Read more Around the web 🙏Tech testament: Organized religion is one of the oldest traditions humankind has kept going. Today, technology is changing people's relationships with their religion. The team at Rest of World has a beautiful digital package out today about how, and how quickly, things are changing. Read more 💰Son invests in OpenAI: While the news regarding OpenAI's blockbuster funding round hasn't dropped yet, we keep getting fun nuggets about the deal. The Information reports that SoftBank cut a huge check into this round. We are so back, baby. Read more  Featured jobs from Crunchboard Senior Data Scientist, IEEE (Piscataway, NJ) IT Director, the Quaker School at Horsham (Horsham, PA) General Manager, airSlate (Brookline, MA) Data Manager, Murmuration (Remote) Director of Marketing and Communications, AidKit (Remote) See more jobs on CrunchBoard Post your tech jobs and reach millions of TechCrunch readers for only $349 per month.   Check out some of our other newsletters: Startups Weekly TechCrunch AI TechCrunch Mobility Got a tip? tips@techcrunch.com Want to advertise on TechCrunch? advertise@techcrunch.com Has this been forwarded to you? Click here to subscribe to this newsletter. Update your preferences here at any time Copyright © 2024 TechCrunch, All rights reserved.Yahoo Inc. 110 5th St,San Francisco,CA Privacy Policy

California governor vetoes controversial AI bill SB 1047

Also: Fidelity cuts value of its stake in X again

View this email online in your browser By Rebecca Bellan Monday, September 30, 2024 Welcome to TechCrunch AM! We've got tons of insights from founders and investors today about everything from why to go open-source and when to sell your company, to how to set up your podcast studio. We've also got notes on the fate of California's contentious AI bill, X's drastic valuation drop, a new AI camera, more funding for food delivery, Epic's latest lawsuit, and why being a for-profit company won't be so easy for OpenAI. Let's dive in! — Rebecca TechCrunch Top 3 Image Credits: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images 1. Gavin Newsom pulls a Gandalf: Over the weekend, the California governor vetoed AI bill SB 1047, which would have regulated the development of AI, saying it focused too narrowly on large AI systems that could "give the public a false sense of security." It's a win for opponents of the bill like OpenAI and Meta's chief AI scientist, Yann LeCun. Read More  2. Bouncing back to your roots: Elastic threw a curveball last month when it said it would go from proprietary licensing back to open source. "And to be honest, it's for a very selfish reason — I love open source," Shay Banon, co-founder and CTO, told TechCrunch. Read More 3. M&A or IPO? How do you know when it's time to take an acquisition offer or hold on and try to go public? Kevin Ryan, a tech investor and entrepreneur who helped build DoubleClick, the adtech platform that Google bought, lays down some key insights. Read More   Sponsored by Bank of America What's next for tech companies Read the latest insights on how tech companies can manage the challenge of raising capital and what they can do to keep growing. Read Now   Morning Must-Reads Image Credits: Bryce Durbin / TechCrunch 🎙️ How Hyperfixed's Alex Goldman podcasts: Everybody seems to be starting a podcast these days. Goldman, who co-founded the Reply All podcast, walked us through his 8'x8' "torture closet" in the basement of his apartment. Read More 📉 X's value down 79% since Musk's $44B purchase: Fidelity is now valuing its stake in X at about $4.19 million, down from its initial investment of about $19.66 million. The mark-down implies Fidelity values the social media company at about $9.4 billion overall. Read More 📷 CameraPi: Raspberry Pi, the maker of tiny, cheap, single-board computers, is releasing an AI camera add-on for $70 that comes with on-board AI processing. In other words, the startup just opened itself up to a world of new AI clients. Read More 🐼 Hungry for cash: HungryPanda, the food-delivery app that serves the Asian diaspora, has snagged $55 million to double down on its core product and expand into groceries. Read More 👯 Acquiring a safe space: Lex, the social and dating app for LGBTQ+ people, has been acquired by app conglomerate 9count. The conglomerate is led by Alex Hoffman, former CEO of Musical.ly (TikTok before ByteDance bought it), who wants to create "vertical social networks that empower communities." Read More   Sponsored by Radar The #1 Geolocation Platform | Geofencing & Maps Geofencing, maps, and geolocation compliance, all in a modern, cost-effective platform. Thousands of companies trust Radar's APIs and SDKs to power location-based experiences across hundreds of millions of devices globally. Learn why Radar is the preferred location solution for forward-thinking product, digital and engineering teams.  Learn More   Around the Web 🎮 Epic is not done filing lawsuits: This time, the video game publisher is accusing Google and Samsung of conspiring to protect Google's Play Store from competition, reports Reuters. This comes after an earlier face-off with Google and Apple over their 30% app store commission charges. Read More 🔮 Out of the clink and ready for action: Crypto billionaire and Binance founder Changpeng Chao has been released from U.S. custody, and he says he will continue investing in the blockchain sector, as well as AI and biotech, according to Bloomberg. Read More 💰 Changing sides isn't always easy: OpenAI wants to turn into a for-profit company, but how that sausage gets made will be enormously complex, according to a Wall Street Journal report. OpenAI only has two years to do it. Read More Before You Go Image Credits: Brian Heater 📱 Going back to the Fold: Foldable smartphones are making a comeback, if TC's Brian Heater is to be believed. Google's new Pixel 9 Pro Fold is bigger and better than ever if you find yourself in need of more screen real estate frequently: "When unfolded, this thing is ultimately a tablet." Read More Featured jobs from Crunchboard Senior Data Scientist, IEEE (Piscataway, NJ) IT Director, the Quaker School at Horsham (Horsham, PA) General Manager, airSlate (Brookline, MA) Data Manager, Murmuration (Remote) Director of Marketing and Communications, AidKit (Remote) See more jobs on CrunchBoard Post your tech jobs and reach millions of TechCrunch readers for only $349 per month.   Check out some of our other newsletters: Startups Weekly TechCrunch AI TechCrunch Mobility Got a tip? tips@techcrunch.com Want to advertise on TechCrunch? advertise@techcrunch.com Has this been forwarded to you? Click here to subscribe to this newsletter. Update your preferences here at any time Copyright © 2024 TechCrunch, All rights reserved.Yahoo Inc. 110 5th St,San Francisco,CA Privacy Policy