Tesla takes step toward robotaxi service

Plus: Flashes hits the App Store

View this email online in your browser By Rebecca Szkutak Friday, February 28, 2025 Welcome to TC PM! Today we're looking into Tesla's application for a ride-hail permit in California; the details of a sizable fintech M&A; and the largest cybersecurity breaches so far this year. Have a great weekend! TechCrunch Top 3 Image Credits: SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images 🛞 Tesla time: Tesla applied for the necessary permit required to operate a transportation company in the state of California. This is the first step for the company to eventually operate a robotaxi service in the state. Read more 🚜 Crawling construction: Intel's planned chip fabrication plant in Ohio is delayed again. Now construction is scheduled to begin in 2030 with the plant likely opening in 2031. It was originally supposed to begin operating this year. Read more 🦊 Terms of use tussle: Mozilla updated its terms of service to make them "easy to read and understand — there shouldn't be any surprises in how we operate or how our product works." But users were confused by some of the language around how the browser uses data, and Mozilla had to clarify even further. Read more   A Message from Hiive Hiive 2025 Annual State of the Private Market Report Curious about how the private market fared over the past year, especially in contrast to public indices? Our 2025 Annual Report takes a closer look at that, plus performance by sector—including AI and web3 analyses—and insights around how liquidity can bolster company growth from the inside. Read the report   Afternoon must-reads Image Credits: Flashes 📸 Flashes at last: Bluesky's Instagram alternative Flashes publicly launched its photo-sharing app on the App Store this week, racking up 30,000 downloads within the first 24 hours. I'll be the next download. Read more 🎙️ So much drama: In today's episode of Equity, the hosts talk about the hottest gossip from the startup world this week — the YC startup demo video that sparked strong backlash. They also talk about Alexa's event this week, Lucid's CEO stepping down, and more. Listen here 🤷 Fresh out: After OpenAI released its GPT-4.5 model this week, CEO Sam Altman posted on X that the company was forced to stagger the rollout because it ran out of GPUs. Never fear, though: OpenAI expects to add tens of thousands of GPUs next week. Read more 🏷️ Alkami scoops up Mantl: Digital banking services company Alkami Technology is acquiring digital count origination startup Mantl for $400 million. The deal is expected to close in March, and Mantl will operate as a distinct business unit. Read more 🧑‍💻 Big breaches: Cybersecurity breaches can range in size, scale, and damage. In 2024, more than 1 billion records were stolen in breaches. This year has already seen multiple notable data breaches. We're keeping a list. Read more   A Message from Stripe Get your complimentary pass for Stripe Sessions 2025 Join Stripe at Sessions 2025—the internet economy conference—happening May 6–8 in San Francisco. See the future of global commerce, experience new technology in action, and get to know your peers across industries. Register soon to secure your complimentary pass using code S25Techcrunch. Register Now   Around the web 🤦 Good grief: When news broke last weekend that Pope Francis had been hospitalized in critical condition, the news sent some to St. Peter's Square to pray and others to betting startup Polymarket to place wagers on when he would die. I need the latter of y'all to get a grip and a hobby. Read more 🏒 NHL mentioned: Apple has partnered up with the National Hockey League to bring its referees special Apple Watches that will give the zebras important in-game information like what the time is on the game clock and when a player leaves the sin bin. Read more Featured jobs from CrunchBoard Head of Strategic Finance, GITAI USA (Torrance, CA) Senior Software Engineer, Source (Remote) Engineering & Support Senior Director, AAOS (Rosemont, IL) Research Systems Engineer - Computing Services, Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, PA) Machine Control Technician, Sinacola (Dallas, TX) 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 Daily News 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

Microsoft will pull the plug on Skype in May

Also: US SEC rules that memecoins aren't securities

View this email online in your browser By Dominic-Madori Davis Friday, February 28, 2025 Welcome to TechCrunch AM! This morning, we have notes on Microsoft shutting down Skype, Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia's role at DOGE, and the SEC's new stance on cryptocurrency. We're also looking at Belgium investigating a data breach at its intelligence service, a spyware app ridden with bugs, Snowflake's attempt to foster AI development on its platform, and more. Let's dive in! TechCrunch Top 3 Image Credits:Sheldon Cooper/SOPA Images/LightRocket / Getty Images 1. End of an era: Microsoft is officially shutting down once-beloved video messaging service Skype on May 5 to instead focus on Teams. Skype, which once had 300 million users, only had around 36 million when Microsoft last released numbers in 2023. Read More 2. More techies in the government: Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia says he plans to help out at DOGE by leveraging his background in design to overhaul the government's paper-heavy retirement process. Read More 3. Crypto scams ahoy! The SEC says that meme coins are not securities, and that the people who buy them will not be protected by federal securities law. It also means people who buy them don't need to register them with the Commission. Read More   A Message from TechCrunch Unlock Access to Startups & Investors at TechCrunch All Stage TechCrunch All Stage sponsorships offer unparalleled access to tech's top innovators. Through speaking opportunities, interactive roundtables, and customizable activations, position your brand at the forefront of the industry. Gain valuable leads, media exposure and lasting ROI. Learn More   Morning must-reads Image Credits: Geraint Rowland Photography / Getty Images Belgium suffers a major data breach: Belgium is looking into whether hackers linked to the Chinese government breached the data of its state security service. The investigation was opened in November 2023 after the country first learned of the attack. Read More Yet another example of why spyware is bad: Stalkerware app Spyzie apparently suffers from a bug that has exposed the email information of thousands of people who signed up to use the app. Thousands of Android smartphones and iPhones are affected, but many users have no idea their devices have been hacked. Read More Get them while they're young: Snowflake is setting aside an extra $200 million for its startup accelerator, which invests in early-stage startups building AI on top of Snowflake. Startups in the program also receive technical support and cloud credits for AWS. Read More Change of plans: Twitch plans to open up its monetization tools to most creators, regardless of how many followers they have. Previously only affiliates and partners on Twitch had access to subscriptions or had to meet a certain eligibility criteria. Read More Around the web What work-life balance? Google's co-founder Sergey Brin feels that 60 hours per week is the "sweet spot" for productivity, and in a memo, is urging employees to go back to office, the New York Times reports. The sentiment driving this is obviously the AI arms race, and Brin believes artificial general intelligence is not far off. Read More No talking back: A Tesla employee who publicly criticized Elon Musk for making Nazi jokes has been fired, the New York Times reports. The employee has reportedly been flagging Musk's behavior since 2022, but said Tesla has remained silent. Read More Before you go Image Credits: Stefan Wermuth/Bloomberg / Getty Images If it looks too good to be true, it probably is: A managing partner at Sequoia is warning against following investor hype and putting money into special-purpose vehicles, which let investors sell their startup equity, but the buyers get shares in the vehicle, not the startup. It's a risky proposition, because to see any profit, the startup's valuation would have to skyrocket, and that's never a guarantee. Read More Featured jobs from CrunchBoard BizOps Lead, Elayne (New York, NY) Staff Software Engineer, Murmuration (Remote) Founding Sales Development Representative, Clerkie (Remote) Business Analyst, Air Line Pilots Association (Tysons, VA) CAD Technician, Sinacola (Dallas, TX) 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