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AI software company Builder.ai is entering insolvency proceedings, a company spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch. The Microsoft-backed unicorn, which has raised more than $450 million in funding, rose to prominence for its AI-based platform that aimed to simplify the process of building apps and websites. According to the spokesperson, Builder.ai, also known as Engineer.ai Corporation, is appointing an administrator to “manage the company’s affairs.” “Despite the tireless efforts of our current team and exploring every possible option, the business has been unable to recover from historic challenges and past decisions that placed significant strain on its financial position,” the company said…

Manus, the once-buzzy AI agent platform, on Tuesday launched a plan aimed at small businesses and organizations. The plan, dubbed Manus Team, starts at $39 per seat per month with a five-seat minimum, totaling $195 per month. Each team gets 19,500 credits in a sharable pool, as well as access to certain features in beta, dedicated infrastructure, and priority access during peak hours. Manus Team is live!We’re introducing team pricing for shared credits access to Manus. Your team gets 3,900 credits per seat in a flexible pool with no individual limits, and each member can run up to 2 tasks…

Molecules in blood and urine may reveal how much energy a person consumes from ultraprocessed foods, a key step to understanding the impact of the products that make up nearly 60% of the American diet, a new study finds.It’s the first time that scientists have identified biological markers that can indicate higher or lower intake of the foods, which are linked to a host of health problems, said Erikka Loftfield, a National Cancer Institute researcher who led the study published Tuesday in the journal PLOS Medicine.“It can potentially give us some clues as to what the underlying biology might be…

Google DeepMind is at the forefront of AI innovation, and no one is more poised to speak to this than Senior Product Manager Logan Kilpatrick. We are pleased to announce he will be joining us on the main stage at TechCrunch Sessions: AI, happening June 5 at UC Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall.TC Sessions: AI is almost here — and this is your moment to be part of it. For a limited time, you can pocket savings of up to $600 for a full day of groundbreaking programming, live demos, and high-impact networking with the brightest minds in AI. Better yet, bring…

On the campaign trail last year, Donald Trump promised to end the Russia-Ukraine war. But in the five months since taking office, the United States president has struggled to get the two sides to agree to a ceasefire. On Monday, Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin for two hours – their third officially announced call since January – but failed to secure a truce. Instead, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to “immediate ceasefire” talks. Trump also spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after his “excellent conversation” with Putin. He made another…

Enterprise data intelligence platform Alation acquired Numbers Station to help give its customers access to AI agents that run on top of their structured data. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Numbers Station, which builds AI-native data applications, is a Series A-stage startup that’s raised more than $17 million in venture capital from firms including Norwest Venture Partners, Madrona, and Factory, among others. Alation plans to integrate Numbers Station’s products into its own as soon as the end of this quarter, Alation co-founder and CEO Satyen Sangani told TechCrunch. “One of the things that gave us a lot of…

Last Friday, OpenAI introduced a new coding system called Codex, designed to perform complex programming tasks from natural language commands. Codex moves OpenAI into a new cohort of agentic coding tools that is just beginning to take shape. From GitHub’s early Copilot to contemporary tools like Cursor and Windsurf, most AI coding assistants operate as an exceptionally intelligent form of autocomplete. The tools generally live in an integrated development environment, and users interact directly with the AI-generated code. The prospect of simply assigning a task and returning when it’s finished is largely out of reach.  But these new agentic coding…

New regulation targeting the Buy-Now, Pay-Later (BNPL) sector is set to come into force next year, marking a significant shift in how the fast-growing credit option is governed. The UK government has confirmed that BNPL firms will be required to follow consistent standards, with the goal of offering greater clarity and protection to consumers.The forthcoming rules mean shoppers will be better informed about the products they’re signing up for, including whether they can realistically afford repayments and where to turn when issues arise. For the first time, consumers using BNPL services will have access to the Financial Ombudsman and faster…

Triodos Investment Management, the impact investing arm of Triodos Bank, and STOXX Ltd., a global index provider and part of the ISS STOXX group of companies, have jointly launched the iSTOXX Triodos Developed Markets Impact Index.The new offering is designed as a benchmark for institutional investors focused on aligning portfolios with measurable environmental and social impact goals.The index was developed in response to a growing institutional demand for tools that go beyond exclusionary ESG screens and actively support investment strategies targeting positive impact. Despite growing interest in impact investing, a lack of suitable benchmarks has made it difficult for investors to…

Datamaran has launched Harbor, a new global community platform designed specifically for in-house corporate sustainability professionals.The launch of Harbor comes in response to growing challenges faced by sustainability leaders, including intensifying regulatory pressures, rising stakeholder expectations, and increased scrutiny of ESG practices. Many professionals in this space are expected to spearhead transformative change with limited resources and under mounting scrutiny.Founded in 2014, Datamaran is known for its AI-driven ESG risk management platform, which empowers companies to navigate ESG compliance, strategy, and reporting. The company has established itself as a trusted provider of insights and tools for sustainability professionals.Harbor is positioned as…