Tech

A couple of months ago, the founders behind YC-backed social app Candle were in “pivot hell,” cycling through more than a dozen ideas after joining Y Combinator’s Fall 2024 batch, while the clock on their seed money ticked down. Alex Ruber, previously an engineer at Apple, and Parth Chopra, formerly an engineer at Asana and Twitter, had built multiple projects …

Instagram has grown to 3 billion monthly active users, according to announcements by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram Head Adam Mosseri. This is a notable milestone for the Meta-owned platform, which hit 1 billion users back in 2018. “If you look at the last few years, almost all of our growth has been driven by DMs, Reels, and recommendations,” …

Oracle is reportedly looking to raise funds just weeks after the company inked a historic AI infrastructure deal with OpenAI.   Cloud infrastructure giant Oracle is looking to raise $15 billion through corporate bond sales, according to reporting from Bloomberg, citing sources. The sale could include up to seven different parts, with the potential for one said part to be an uncommon 40-year bond, Bloomberg reported.   TechCrunch reached out to Oracle for more information.   …

The launch of Apple’s latest operating system, iOS 26, introduced a new design language called Liquid Glass. The interface makeover, one of Apple’s largest since the shift from skeuomorphic to flat design in 2013, adds a translucent, glass-like material to Apple’s software. This is used across iOS elements like buttons, sliders, media controls, switches, notifications, tab bars, app sidebars, and …

Waymo’s ever-expanding robotaxi aspirations have spread to the corporate world. The Alphabet-owned self-driving vehicle unit has launched “Waymo for Business,” a new service designed for companies to set up accounts so their employees can access robotaxis in cities like Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Francisco. Waymo announced Wednesday in a blog post it is inviting organizations to sign up for …

Google is turning its vast public data trove into a goldmine for AI with the debut of the Data Commons Model Context Protocol (MCP) Server — enabling developers, data scientists, and AI agents to access real-world statistics using natural language and better train AI systems. Launched in 2018, Google’s Data Commons organizes public datasets from a range of sources, including …

The AI Stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, happening October 27–29 in San Francisco, is officially locked and loaded, featuring the powerhouses shaping the future of artificial intelligence. Join the leaders from Character.AI, Hugging Face, Mercor, Runway, Wayve, and many more top tech voices, as they tackle everything from generative AI and developer tools to autonomous vehicles, creative machines, and national …

The U.K.’s National Crime Agency (NCA) said on Wednesday that a man was arrested in connection to the ransomware attack that has caused delays and disruptions at several European airports since the weekend.   The hack targeted check-in systems provided by Collins Aerospace on Friday, causing delays at Brussels, Berlin, Dublin, and London’s Heathrow airport, which lasted until yesterday.   …

Google’s new, cheaper AI Plus plan is now available in more than 40 countries, including Angola, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Nepal, Nigeria, Philippines, Senegal, Uganda, Vietnam and Zimbabwe. The company first launched its AI Plus plan in Indonesia earlier this month at Rp 75,000 ($4.50) per month. The plan costs around $5 in most countries, …

Just south of Seoul, in the city of Seongnam, sits what many call the “Silicon Valley of South Korea”: the sprawling tech complex known as Pangyo Techno Valley (PTV), which is just a 15-minute subway ride from Gangnam, better known for its luxury boutiques, K-pop agencies, and neon nightlife in Seoul. Since launching in 2011, the 661,000-square-meter development has evolved …