Friday, April 12, 2024

Welcome to TechCrunch AM! I will be your guest writer for this morning’s edition while Alex takes a much-needed vacation. Today, we have a hot scoop with financials from SpaceX, new drama at OpenAI, and notes on Meta testing its AI chatbot. Let’s dive in! — Dom

TechCrunch Top 3

Image Credits: Michael Gonzalez / Getty Images

1. SpaceX financials show just how much Starlink matters: TechCrunch’s space reporter Aria Alamalhodaei got the scoop on confidential financial documents from SpaceX that give us an interesting glimpse into just how much has hinged on the Starlink business’ success. The details are from 2018 and 2019, but they’re still quite illuminating given how secretive a company SpaceX is… Read More

2. No more hiding that you’re paying for X: People who pay for X’s premium features but still want to be part of the crowd that dumps on the social media company will soon not be able to have their cake and eat it, too. Users on the social media site have been getting notifications that the feature that lets you hide the checkmark on X is going away soon… Read More

3. Meta’s AI chatbot comes to India, Africa: Meta has started testing out its LLM chatbot, Meta AI, via WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram in India and parts of Africa. Meta AI is purportedly an assistant that can answer general queries and generate images, but its rollout has come late compared to other companies in the AI race... Read More

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Morning Must Reads

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Conservative think tank gets hacked: U.S.-based think tank, The Heritage Foundation, has suffered a cyberattack. Zack Whittaker reports that the organization is taking steps to remediate the attack, but it’s not yet known what data was affected… Read More

OpenAI makes ChatGPT less talky: ChatGPT’s been known to blab on and on whenever it’s asked something, and it seems OpenAI has taken notice of everyone who complained about that. The company has rolled out an update that sees ChatGPT adopt more casual language and direct responses, in addition with more up-to-date knowledge on math, coding, and logical reasoning. The goal was to make ChatGPT less verbose, a feature Paul Graham is sure to love… Read More

Don’t trust hands-free driving just yet: New data obtained by the U.S.’ National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) shows that the driver of a Mustang Mach-E who crashed into a stationary car in Texas in February was using Ford’s hands-free driver-assistance system, BlueCruise. The NTSB is also investigating another crash that happened recently in which Blue Cruise may have been active. The findings are causing people to question whether Blue Cruise may have similar problems as Tesla’s Autopilot... Read More

Virtual physical therapist Hinge Health cuts staff: TechCrunch’s Marina Temkin got the scoop on layoffs impacting about 10% of staff at Hinge Health. The company (no relation to the dating app) offers digital care for those dealing with chronic musculoskeletal conditions, and is reportedly looking to reach profitability ahead of an IPO. It was last valued at $6.2 billion in October 2021… Read More

Walmart looks to robot-driven forklifts to improve safety: Walmart has partnered with Fox Robotics to bring in robotic forklifts to its distribution centers as it seeks to reduce the number of accidents caused by forklifts. Automation is the bigger goal here, obviously, but we’re sure this move will serve well to safeguard those who haven’t seen the training video on the dangers of forklifts… Read More

Around the Web

OpenAI fires researchers for leaking information: The Information reports that at least two researchers at OpenAI have been fired for alleged leaking, though it is not clear what information was leaked. One of those let go was Leopld Aschenbrenner, who worked on AI safety at the company and was known as an ally of Ilya Sutskever, OpenAI’s chief scientist who, if you remember, was part of the failed attempt to oust Sam Altman in November… Read More

ByteDance lets non-US employees participate in stock buyback program: The Financial Times reports that ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, is now offering its share buyback program to its workers throughout the globe. It will buy shares for around $171 each. The company only launched its buyback program in the U.S. last month... Read More

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Before You Go

Image Credits: Exponent Energy

Fast-charging for three-wheelers? Omega Seiki Mobility and battery-tech startup Exponent Energy are launching a cool, new three-wheeler in India that purportedly charges to 100% in 15 minutes. If only Teslas could charge that fast… Read More