OpenAI launches search product

Plus: Ford presses pause

View this email online in your browser By Rebecca Szkutak Thursday, October 31, 2024 Welcome to TC PM! Today we look at OpenAI's new search product that will help it compete with Google; we learn about a betting startup that's getting a lot of attention; and we get an update on the demand for Ford's F-150 Lightning trucks. Let's go! TechCrunch Top 3 Image Credits: CFOTO/Future Publishing / Getty Images 👀 OpenAI goes for Google: Today OpenAI launched its ChatGPT Search product, which is built into the existing ChatGPT platform and pulls answers from a range of online sources. Do you think the news made Google nervous? I honestly can't decide, but Google announced today that developers using Google's Gemini API and its Google AI Studio to build AI-based services will be able to ground their prompts' results with data from Google Search. Coincidence? Read more 🎰 Big bet: Kalshi, an exchange startup that allows people to bet on things ranging from election results to whether Nintendo will release a new console this year, is seeing strong demand thanks to the election. Investors are all over it. Read more ⏸️ Press pause: Ford plans to pause production on its electric F-150 Lightning truck due to lower demand amid increased competition. Apparently the Venn diagram of who would buy an F-150 Lightning and who would buy a Cybertruck is more of a circle than I thought. Read more Afternoon must-reads Image Credits: Fizz 🫧 Shake-up at Fizz: Fizz, the startup running a college social network app, is going through a leadership change. CEO Rakesh Mathur is stepping down and handing the title back to the company's founder, Teddy Solomon. Read more 💼 Is Gen Z different? Gen Z is the latest generation to join the workforce, and companies are trying to figure out how to hire and retain them. Three folks from the startup and VC worlds sat down at TechCrunch Disrupt to share their thoughts. Read more 🗓️ Let's get organized: WhatsApp announced today that it is launching the ability for users to set up filters that will automatically sort their incoming messages into customized categories. The "Custom Lists" feature is an update to what WhatsApp released in April. Read more 🗣️ A language learning buddy: Buddy.AI created an AI character that helps children learn and practice English as a second language. The company just raised an $11 million seed round and is seeing strong traction with consumers and schools. Read more 🗺️ Map time: Google Maps is getting additional features thanks to Google's Gemini AI. The new features include telling a driver which lane they need to be in and the ability to use AI to answer questions about the places they are going. Read more  Around the web 🩳 Staying Shorts: The YouTube Shorts name will remain. Alphabet won a London lawsuit against the company that alleged the product's name was a trademark infringement. Not having to do a global rebrand is definitely a win. Read more 🚙 No dealership, no problem: Despite not having a Tesla dealership in Uruguay, the company's cars are a very popular import. The country is set up for strong EV adoption with its robust charging network and EV tax credits. Read more  Featured jobs from Crunchboard Senior Data Warehouse SQL Developer, Washington Dept. of Natural Resources (Olympia, WA) Pharmacy Epic Application Analyst, OFFSITE (Toppenish, WA) Chief Technology Officer, Mary McDowell Friends School (Brooklyn, NY) Senior Software Engineer, Dyna Robotics (San Francisco, CA) IT Technology Analyst, Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (Middletown, PA) 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? Get in touch securely. 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

Perplexity’s CEO doesn’t want to define plagiarism

Also: Colin Kaepernick's advice on how to disrupt industry

View this email online in your browser By Rebecca Bellan Thursday, October 31, 2024 Welcome to TechCrunch AM! This morning, we're looking at the EU stepping in the way of yet another acquisition, an open letter from Amazon employees who want to work remotely, Bezos' growing interests in Washington, layoffs at crypto exchange Kraken, and more.  We've also got tons of excellent coverage from the final day of TechCrunch Disrupt, including notes on the winner of Startup Battlefield, what Perplexity's CEO had to say about plagiarism, and what Zoox's co-founder thinks about Tesla's robotaxis. Let's go! — Rebecca TechCrunch Top 3 Image Credits: Romain Dillet / TechCrunch 1. And the winner of Startup Battlefield is… Salva Health! This is a company I was rooting for after hearing their pitch to sell portable devices that detect breast cancer early. Congrats to Salva, which is walking away with $100,000! Read More 2. The EU is reviewing Nvidia's proposed acquisition of Tel Aviv-based startup Run:ai. The deal has a price tag of around $700 million, but the bloc says the transaction doesn't meet its notification thresholds. Read More 3. Perplexity won't define plagiarism: TC's Devin Coldelwey put Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas on the spot on stage at Disrupt when he asked him how the AI company defines "plagiarism," something Perplexity has been accused of. Srinivas wouldn't say. Read More   A Message from Golub Capital How software companies can preserve valuation in a "down round" environment Golub Growth provides an array of flexible debt and equity solutions to fuel software companies' growth and M&A plans - without impairing their current valuation. Explore our growth capital solutions for SaaS companies. Learn More   Morning must-reads Image Credits: Barak Shrama/ Slava Blazer Photography 🚘 Rivian doesn't like buttons in cars: The EV maker's chief software officer Wassym Bensaid said using buttons in cars is a "bug," not a feature. "Ideally, you want to interact with your car through voice," he said, but most voice assistants are not there yet. Read More 🧨 How to disrupt: Colin Kaepernick – former NFL quarterback, civil rights activist, and founder of Lumi – closed out TechCrunch Disrupt with advice for founders who are trying to change an industry: Have people you can lean on when you're facing resistance. Read More  🚗 Not full self-driving: Zoox co-founder and CTO Jesse Levinson doesn't think Tesla is primed to actually launch a robotaxi ride-hailing service in California next year, despite Elon Musk's claims. He says the "fundamental issue is they don't have technology that works." Read More 🏠 WFH 4ever: More than 500 Amazon employees reportedly sent a letter to AWS CEO Matt Garman, urging him to reverse the company's full return-to-office policy. I'm not sure how that'll go since my guess is Amazon is using this as a way to make employees quit and avoid needed layoffs. Read More 🚚 The best laid plans… Aurora Innovation had planned to launch its self-driving trucks by the end of this year, but has now shelved that plan until April 2025 to validate its technology. Read More Around the web 🕶️ Meta gets a reality check: Meta's Reality Labs logged an operating loss of $4.4 billion in the third quarter, per CNBC. Revenue rose 29% to $270 million, but still came in below analysts' expectations of $310.4 million. To put it into context, the unit has recorded operating losses of over $58 billion since 2020. Read More 🐙 Trouble at Kraken: Crypto exchange Kraken has laid off 15% of workers, and is shaking up its corporate structure, including appointing a new co-chief executive, reports The New York Times. Long-time Silicon Valley exec Arjun Sethi will take up the co-CEO mantle. Read More 🤑 Big business: As Amazon's various businesses increasingly face stiff competition from Big Tech, Jeff Bezos' interests in Washington have expanded, especially as the federal government contracts billions to AWS and Blue Origin, reports The Washington Post. Read More Before you go Image Credits: JuSun / Getty Images ⛔ No puedo: Don't try to ask your AI models questions about the upcoming U.S. election in Spanish. Apparently they're struggling with that. Read More Featured jobs from Crunchboard Senior Data Warehouse SQL Developer, Washington Dept. of Natural Resources (Olympia, WA) Pharmacy Epic Application Analyst, OFFSITE (Toppenish, WA) Chief Technology Officer, Mary McDowell Friends School (Brooklyn, NY) Senior Software Engineer, Dyna Robotics (San Francisco, CA) IT Technology Analyst, Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (Middletown, PA) 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? Get in touch securely. 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