Crunch Hype

Using Photoshop and other image manipulation software to tweak faces in photos has become common practice, but it's not always made clear when it's been done. Berkeley and Adobe researchers have made a tool that not only can tell when a face has been Photoshopped, but can suggest how to undo it.

Walmart is taking aim at Instacart, Target’s Shipt and Amazon Prime Now/Whole Foods with a new grocery delivery subscription service called simply, “Delivery Unlimited.” Before, Walmart shoppers could order groceries online and pick them up at their local store for free or they could opt to pay the $9.95 (or sometimes less) per-order delivery fee. […]

Days after Ethiopian ICT officials made public pledges to improve net access, the government began playing on-again, off-again with the internet — shutting it down (almost completely) to coincide with the country’s national exams. Data provided to TechCrunch from Oracle’s Internet Intelligence confirmed intermittent net blackouts from June 11 to 14, with connectivity returning for brief […]

Every story about E3 has opened with a mention of Sony’s absence, and this one’s no different. The lack of one of gaming’s “big three” loomed large over the show, right down to a strange sense of space on the showroom floor. Even Xbox chief Phil Spencer mourned the absence of the company’s biggest competitor, […]

Sad news for anyone who loves geeky goods and top-notch April Fools’ jokes: ThinkGeek.com, the 20-year-old online retailer known for selling more geek-centric gadgets and peripherals than you could fit in a TARDIS, is going away. According to an FAQ sitting at the top of its site, ThinkGeek isn’t “shutting down,” it just won’t continue […]

NASA’s stated goal of sending the first woman ever, and the first man since the Apollo program, to the Moon involves setting up a new space station that will orbit the Moon, which is supposed to begin being built by the end of 2022, per current timelines. Today, the U.S. space agency issued an open […]

NASA's ambitious plan to return to the moon may cost as much as $30 billion over the next five years, the agency's administrator, Jim Bridenstine, indicated in an interview this week. This is only a ballpark figure, but it's the first all-inclusive one we've seen and, despite being a large amount of money, is lower than some might have guessed.

Getting an H-1B skilled-worker visa is like winning the lottery — literally: With the number of new visas issued each year capped at 85,000, most of this year's over 200,000 applicants face disappointment. But if you’re already working in the United States, then you’ve already won the H-1B lottery, and that makes you a hot commodity.

You weren’t going to try to buy a place on TechCrunch for $20. You, dear reader, are smarter than that. But that doesn’t make it any less concerning when a reader emails you in the middle of the night to let you know that someone’s posing as you on Fiverr, name, biography, picture and all. […]

Rep. Will Hurd will no longer give the keynote address at the Black Hat security conference amid questions about his voting record on women’s rights. Hurd, a Texas Republican congressman, was scheduled to headline the conference later this year, but the organizers decided to walk back the decision a day later. “Black Hat has chosen […]

The presidential candidate outlines plans to provide capital to 100,000 new minority-owned businesses.

Freelance marketplace Fiverr has become closely associated with the gig economy, but Micha Kaufman argued that not all gig economy companies are created equal. I spoke to Kaufman yesterday afternoon, after Fiverr debuted on the New York Stock Exchange and spent the day climbing to 90% above the IPO price. As we talked about Fiverr’s […]

Amazon will now allow developers to offer premium content for purchase in Alexa skills aimed at children. The company on Friday introduced new tools for building skills with in-app purchases which requires the Amazon account holder — typically mom or dad — to approve or decline the requested purchase via a text or email. In-skill […]

On the heels of unveiling its pink-wheeled e-bikes for the San Francisco Bay Area, Lyft is doing the same for its electric scooters in Denver, Colo. Lyft says these scooters are designed to be more durable, and feature a more powerful battery and a hand brake. Upon first look, however, these scooters don’t appear particularly […]

Every time I see a “the future of work is remote” article, I think to myself: “How backwards! How retro! How quaint!” That future is now, for many of us. I’ve been a fully remote developer-turned-CTO for a full decade. So I’m always baffled by people still wrestling with whether remote work is viable for […]

The Daily Crunch is TechCrunch’s roundup of our biggest and most important stories. If you’d like to get this delivered to your inbox every day at around 9am Pacific, you can subscribe here. 1. Fiverr shares climb 90% in first day of trading Freelance marketplace Fiverr had a good first day on the New York […]

After only a few years, Microsoft’s free Visual Studio Code has become one of the most popular code editors on the market. One of VS Code’s advantages is its flexibility. This flexibility does come with some complexity when it comes to getting everything set up. Today, the company launched a new project that makes it […]

An internet advertising company specializing in helping law firms sign up potential clients has exposed close to 150,000 records from a database that was left unsecured. The database contained submissions as part of a lead-generation effort by X Social Media, a Florida-based ad firm that largely uses Facebook to advertise various campaigns for its law […]

Rivian, the once secretive company that made its public debut in November with an electric pickup truck and SUV, plans to give its batteries a second life and put them to work in a solar microgrid project in Puerto Rico. The automaker is teaming up with The Honnold Foundation, an organization started by Alex Honnold, […]

Popular short-form video app TikTok has been slowly ramping up its advertising strategy this year as it increases its focus on monetization. However, the company still generates a smaller portion of its revenue from in-app purchases — and that number hit a high of $9 million in May, according to a report from Sensor Tower. […]

Three years ago, I met with a founder who had raised a massive seed round at a valuation that was at least five times the market rate. I asked what firm made the investment...

If AI-powered robots are ever going to help us out around the house, they're going to need a lot of experience navigating human environments. Simulators, virtual worlds that look and behave just like real life are the best place for them to learn, and Facebook has created one of the most advanced such systems yet.

We’re excited to announce a special promotion for Extra Crunch. Starting today, new users signing up for Extra Crunch will get a trial rate of $2 for the first 2 months. After the trial period ends, you’ll be moved over to our monthly plan for $15 per month. This offer ends on June 21, so […]

The TechCrunch Hackathon is shaping up to be a huge battle royale, but we still have room for a few more creative coders, hackers and outright webmonsters to join us at Disrupt San Francisco 2019 on October 2-4 for a chance to win $10,000. It won’t cost you a thing to come and play in […]

This is it. The final call for all the mobility and transportation startuppers who want to save a solid Benjamin on their ticket to the TC Sessions: Mobility 2019 conference in San Jose, Calif. on July 10. The early-bird ticket price disappears tonight, June 14 at 11:59 p.m. (PT). Beat that deadline and buy a […]

The Vera autonomous, electric truck from Volvo’s trucking subsidiary is not what you might expect in a transport truck – it looks like a road-hugging sportscar, something emphasized by its lack of a place for humans to sit. The real reason it looks like this is that it’s totally self-driving, however – and tailor-made for […]

This year’s E3 was a bit of a mixed bag. Sony was completely absent, Microsoft was looking toward the future and Nintendo, as ever, was all about the games. The show came at an odd time in Nintendo’s release cycle. The company recently spilled all the details about soon-to-be-released titles Mario Maker 2 and Pokémon […]

Last fall, Walmart announced a joint venture with Eko to create interactive storytelling — think Netflix’s Black Mirror: Bandersnatch — for both entertainment and retail. Since then, Eko has been working with BuzzFeed on a range of interactive videos, as well as on projects for Walmart’s Vudu and others for its own HelloEko.com video site. […]

If you follow space news at all, you may have heard of ‘Bennu’ – the near-Earth asteroid that has a slim (but higher than most) chance of colliding with our planet sometime nearly 200 years from now. The asteroid is notable for many reasons, including the recent discovery that it’s actually also “active,” which means […]

The Toronto Raptors won the 2019 NBA Championship last night, which is probably not news to you if you’re A) Canadian (like me) or B) a basketball fan. But unless you’ve starting your Friday off shopping for Apple gear on their Canadian website, you might not have noticed this subtle ‘Easter Egg.’ If you go […]

Hello and welcome back to Equity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast, where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. This week was a lot of fun. We had Kate and Alex in the studio with Chris running the show and reminding half the recording team about English words (immersive, as a spoiler). This week had a lot […]

Tech DIY takes a soft touch toward teaching electronics—literally. Now on Kickstarter, the kit uses sewing to teach kids and adult beginners about electronic and electric circuits by sewing dolls, soft figures and bracelets that light up, move and make noises. Tech DIY was created by Ji Sun Lee and Jaymes Dec, the authors of […]

The world’s largest crypto exchange is going legit. Binance, which processes over $1 billion on a daily basis and for so long has embodied crypto’s wild west culture, announced that it will launch a U.S-based service — but, in the meantime, it is implementing restrictions for U.S. passport holders worldwide and those based in the […]

Cao Xudong turned up on the side of the road in jeans and a black T-shirt printed with the word “Momenta,” the name of his startup. Before founding the company — which last year topped $1 billion in valuation to become China’s first autonomous driving “unicorn” — he’d already led an enviable life, but he […]

Game streaming loomed large as the biggest story of E3. Between Google’s Stadia news late last week, Microsoft’s Game Pass additions, a Ubisoft announcement and even the presence of Netflix, the writing is clearly on the wall. Nintendo, of course, has largely been absent from that conversation. No real surprise, really. The gaming company has […]

Freelance marketplace Fiverr had a good first day on the New York Stock Exchange. The company priced its IPO at $21 per share last night, raising around $111 million. It then started trading this morning at $26, with shares climbing for most of the day and closing at $39.90 — up 90% from the IPO […]

New details keep trickling out about the Honda e, the compact electric vehicle that’s coming to market in spring 2020, from pop-out door handles and internal side view mirrors to the touchscreen display. The latest, revealed Thursday, includes a battery capacity of 35.5 kilowatt-hours. An important nugget that is sure to get some folks excited […]

A decision to confirm Rep. Will Hurd as the keynote speaker at the Black Hat security conference this year has prompted anger and concern by some long-time attendees because of his voting record on women’s rights. Hurd, an outspoken Texas Republican who has drawn fire from his own party for regularly opposing the Trump administration, […]

VMware has been trying to reinvent itself from a company that helps you build and manage virtual machines in your data center to one that helps you manage your virtual machines wherever they live, whether that’s on prem or the public cloud. Today, the company announced it was buying Avi Networks, a six-year-old startup that […]

Tesla has consistently been adding software to its in-car touchscreen infotainment displays — including sometimes things that probably leave a lot of people scratching their heads. During a special Q&A today at annual gaming event E3 in LA, Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed that Tesla’s in-car display will support YouTube someday soon. This isn’t the […]

Lightspeed Venture Partners will invest in more late-stage businesses with the support of three new partners.

The success of open-source methods that focus on decentralization and allows for open collaboration on projects brings to light the potential for its implementation in other areas.

The switch has been flipped on the 24-hour shot clock, which means there’s only one day left to save $100 on your pass to TC Sessions: Mobility 2019 in San Jose, Calif. on July 10. Early-bird savings ends on Friday, June 14 at 11:59 p.m. (PT), so buy your ticket now and save. Join more […]

Nothing says summer in Silicon Valley better than the TechCrunch Summer Party. In its 14th year, we’re celebrating the startup spirit and culture at the Park Chalet, San Francisco’s coastal beer garden, on July 25. Who doesn’t love ocean views? And nothing says relaxed networking in Silicon Valley more than showcasing your early-stage startup at […]

XPRIZE CEO and Prodea founder Anousheh Ansari dreamt of being an astronaut as a child growing up in Iran, but understandably most people around her were skeptical about her ambitions. Yet in 2006, she made that dream come true when she became the first woman to visit the International Space Station as a privately funded […]

As part of the gaming option for Tesla’s cars, Todd Howard, the director of Bethesda Games, said that the company’s “Fallout Shelter” game will be coming to Tesla displays. Elon Musk is a huge fan of the Fallout series, saying in an interview at the E3 gaming conference that he’d explored “every inch” of Fallout […]

The new DEEPFAKES Accountability Act in the House — and yes, that's an acronym — would take steps to criminalize the synthetic media referred to in its name, but its provisions seem too optimistic in the face of the reality of this threat. On the other hand, it also proposes some changes that will help bring the law up to date with the tech.

The Daily Crunch is TechCrunch’s roundup of our biggest and most important stories. If you’d like to get this delivered to your inbox every day at around 9am Pacific, you can subscribe here. 1. Telegram faces DDoS attack in China… again The popular encrypted messaging service Telegram is once again being hit with a distributed […]

Earlier today, Tyson Foods announced the launch of its first foray into the meat replacement market with the unveiling of its Raised and Rooted brand. While the company’s plant-based nuggets present a direct challenge to companies like Beyond Meat, Tyson Foods is playing a different game by introducing consumers to foods that are blended with […]