Investors took a cautious approach to transit software startup Via’s IPO on Friday, with shares opening below the company’s IPO price before recovering at end the day slightly higher. The company, which initially filed confidentially for IPO in July, priced its IPO at $46 per share, raising $492.9 million. Those …
Read More »Pilot union urges FAA to reject Rainmaker’s drone cloud-seeding plan
Rainmaker Technology’s bid to deploy cloud-seeding flares on small drones is being met by resistance from the airline pilots union, which has urged the Federal Aviation Administration to consider denying the startup’s request unless it meets stricter safety guidelines. The Federal Aviation Administration’s decision will signal how the regulator views …
Read More »Why the Oracle-OpenAI deal caught Wall Street by surprise
This week, OpenAI and Oracle shocked the markets with a surprise $300 billion, five-year agreement, part of a surge of new business that sent the cloud provider’s stock skyrocketing. But maybe the markets shouldn’t have been taken by surprise. The deal is a reminder that, despite Oracle’s legacy status, the …
Read More »Google is a ‘bad actor’ says People CEO, accusing the company of stealing content
The CEO of the largest digital and print publisher in the U.S. has accused Google of being a bad actor for crawling its websites to support the search giant’s AI products. Neil Vogel, CEO of People, Inc. (formerly Dotdash Meredith), a publisher that operates over 40 brands, including People, Food …
Read More »All of the iPhone 17 models compared
Apple on Tuesday announced its iPhone 17 lineup, which consists of the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. All four of the devices will be available to preorder on Friday and will be available on September 19. iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air …
Read More »Micro1, a competitor to Scale AI, raises funds at $500M valuation
Micro1, a three-year-old startup that helps AI companies find and manage human contractors for data labeling and training, has raised a $35 million Series A funding round that values the company at $500 million. The round was led by O1 Advisors, a venture capital firm co-founded by Dick Costolo and …
Read More »New FAA program will let eVTOL startups test some operations before full certification
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced a new pilot program that will let electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) startups test some operations before they receive full regulatory certification. It’s a potentially big change for these companies, as they’ve spent the last few years performing limited test flights of …
Read More »Mastodon rolls out quote posts with protections to prevent ‘dunking’
Mastodon, an open source, decentralized alternative to X, is rolling out a somewhat controversial feature by adding quote posts, which will launch next week. The feature, which allows a user to quote someone else’s post and re-share it with their own response or commentary, has contributed to a culture of …
Read More »How to prepare now for your later-stage raise, live at Disrupt 2025
TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 hits Moscone West in San Francisco on October 27–29, and if you’re aiming for big funding goals, then leaning in on this session on October 29 at the Builders Stage is essential. Three powerhouse voices in venture and AI-driven innovation will share what it really takes to …
Read More »Last day to amplify your brand: Host your Side Event at Disrupt 2025
The countdown is on: The application to host a Side Event at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 closes tonight at 11:59 p.m. PT. If you’ve been considering a way to amplify your brand during the week’s tech epicenter, now is the time to lock it in. Your Side Event could be the …
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