TechCrunch Mobility: Robotaxi reality check
Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation.
Startups
I tried Amazon’s Bee wearable and am both intrigued and slightly creeped out
Like other AI wearables, Amazon's Bee offers an odd combination of convenience and privacy anxiety.
The Dreamie alarm clock got me to stop using my phone in bed
What sets Dreamie apart from all of the other fancy alarm clocks is laughably simple: It can play podcasts.
SolarSquare in talks to raise up to $60M as India’s rooftop solar market draws major VC interest
SolarSquare could be valued at up to $500 million in the financing expected to close next month.
These special phone and app features can help protect you from spyware
Apple, Meta, and Google offer special security modes that provide your devices more secure against targeted spyware attacks. Here are how those modes work, what they do, and how to switch them on.
Ferrari is using IBM’s AI to create F1 superfans
IBM and Scuderia Ferrari HP take TechCrunch inside how they are redefining the fan experience.
Nuclear startup Deep Fission says it’s going public, again, and I have questions
Deep Fission is seeking an IPO that could raise $157 million, though investors may have trouble buying the nuclear startup's story.
Elon Musk has given up on solar power (on Earth)
Elon Muks's xAI has gone all in on natural gas, while SpaceX is obsessed with orbital data centers. What happened to the "solar-electric economy" he promised?
Peec, one of Berlin’s rising startups, more than doubled annualized revenue in months to $10M, sources say
Peec, which helps brands track their presence in AI searches, offers proof of a key trend among European startups.
AI is being used to resurrect the voices of dead pilots
People used AI on a spectrogram image of cockpit recordings to reconstruct them, forcing the NTSB to temporarily block access to its docket system.
SpaceX launches Starship V3 for the first time, but loses booster on return
The company had a mostly successful first launch of its upgraded Starship V3, which it needs to power its many ambitious goals in the years to come.
Blue Origin cleared to fly New Glenn mega-rocket after April mishap
Jeff Bezos' rocket company confirmed an engine failure led to the loss of an AST SpaceMobile satellite last month, but offered little detail.
Google goes for the glitter with disco-ball icons: ‘Are y’all sure you still want this?’
You can now disco ball-ify your entire Pixel home screen, says Google.
How VCs and founders use inflated ‘ARR’ to crown AI startups
Some AI startups are stretching traditional revenue metrics when talking about progress publicly. And their investors are fully aware.
Kash Patel’s clothing brand website shut down after reports it was hacked
According to users on X, the website was hijacked by hackers in an attempt to trick visitors into installing malware.
Apple says Epic lawsuit shouldn’t reshape App Store rules for all developers
Apple is asking the Supreme Court to narrow the App Store injunction won by Epic Games and overturn the court’s contempt ruling over external payment fees.
Spotify’s AI bet: more of everything, less of what you want
Spotify has released a bunch of AI-powered tools that nudge users to create more content. It can be a bit much.
You can no longer Google the word ‘disregard’
After Google Search's AI update, the word "disregard" now effectively breaks the search interface.
We tried Google’s AI glasses and they’re almost there
Google demoed prototype Android XR glasses that overlay Gemini-powered translation, navigation, and other information directly into your field of view.
SpaceX files to go public, and the math requires a little faith
The SpaceX S-1 is finally here, and the story it tells goes way further than rockets. The filing runs to 36 pages of risk factors alone, and the numbers inside match the ambition: a $28 trillion total addressable market, a pay package tied to establishing a Mars colony, and a valuation target tha...