Wednesday, April 24, 2024

Good morning, and welcome to TechCrunch AM! Today we bring big news for content creators and users of TikTok, and why Tesla’s fans (and critics) should keep an eye on the company’s next steps. There’s also a plethora of AI news this morning, as well as the latest in the ad industry. Let’s get started! — Alex

TechCrunch Top 3

Image Credits: TechCrunch

1. TikTok sale-or-ban bill passes Senate: The theoretical forced divestment or ban of TikTok from Bytedance is quickly becoming a reality. After the lower chamber of the United States’ legislature in March passed a bill that would give its parent company around 12 months to sell TikTok, the Senate has now passed a bill that would force a ban if Bytedance doesn’t divest TikTok’s U.S. business within a year. Read More

2. Tesla profit falls, but investors cheer plans: Despite its revenue falling 9% year-over-year and its profits off by 55%, shares of Tesla are up more than 12% in pre-market trading today. Why? Its massive investments in AI, discussion of self-driving taxis, and notes on a potential cheaper model delighted its shareholders. Read More

3. FlexAI wants to make AI training easier: With $30 million in seed capital and founders with extensive pedigrees, FlexAI is the latest AI company from France to catch our attention. Its product — on-demand cloud service for AI training — fits into the compute access issue that could become a real sticking point in the race to build bigger, better AI models. Read More

A MESSAGE FROM DELINEA

Beyond Passwords: IT Talks on Authentication's Next Wave

Learn how modern workplaces are adapting to passwordless technologies while addressing security and compliance concerns.

Morning Must Reads

Image Credits: Sean Gallup / Getty Images

What Telsia is cooking up: One thing that I appreciate about Tesla is how risk-friendly it is. While many traditional carmakers are hedging their EV bets by making more hybrid vehicles, Tesla is forging ahead with self-driving taxis and a shot at even cheaper electric vehicles. TechCrunch has good reporting on what we know about the company’s plans so far. Read More

Glance to bring ads to Android lockscreens in the U.S.: You might not have heard of Glance if you don’t live in Southeast Asia. It’s essentially an Android service that works with the lockscreen to show news and media content, and can be used to drive attention to other apps. With hundreds of millions of users in India and other countries, Glance is now coming to the United States. Read More

Madica ramps up investment cadence in Africa: U.S. investor Flourish Ventures’ program to back African startups through its subsidiary, Madica, is picking up pace. Annie Njanja reports that the group is looking to boost its pace to 10 deals per year for a total of 30. Read More

Parloa wants to bring its AI service to the States: Voice-first conversational AI could become a big market, and Parloa wants to own a big piece of it. The German company just raised a bunch of money, and it is targeting the U.S. with an office in New York. Read More

India’s Kotak is in deep water: Kotak Mahindra Bank was told by India’s central bank to immediately cease onboarding new customers via its online and mobile banking channels, and to stop issuing fresh credit cards. That’s a big deal since Kotak is one of the country’s biggest banks, and it’s also a partner to many fintech companies. Read More

Around the Web

AI is helping unravel string theory: I won’t try to explain string theory in two sentences, but Quanta Magazine has a brilliant report on how modern AI tools are helping push physics forward. That is good, because I very much do want to know if deep down I am merely a collection of vibrating strings. That would be humbling. Read More

The FTC bans non-competes: The Federal Trade Commission just voted to ban employee non-competes, the WSJ reports. Some people like the idea behind the move, but worry that the FTC is stepping beyond the bounds of its authority. Obviously, businesses are pissed that they are losing a key way to control the labor market. Read More

Cookies remain undefeated: Google has pushed back the end date for third-party cookies in Chrome yet again, DigiDay reports. This will cause some folks to jump with joy, and others to shake their heads in frustration. What I’ve learned from the cookie-Chrome saga is that it’s very hard to change the foundation of such a large segment of the economy. Read More

A MESSAGE FROM BRAINDATE

Unlocking Success: A Deep Dive Into Top 3 of the Most Successful Events in Braindate History

What does it take to connect thousands of participants at large-scale events on a deep, meaningful level? It starts with Braindate! Check out some of Braindate's most successful implementations at tech events.

Before You Go

Image Credits: Mercedes

Mercedes-Benz G-Class goes electric: Have you ever wanted to buy a boxy SUV that was more a status symbol than an off-roader? Have you ever wanted that, but with batteries that you'll need to charge? Good news: Mercedes will sell you one! Read More