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There seems to be a new, more impressive AI model every week. Given the rapid pace, how can founders best position themselves to build on top of this technology? At TechCrunch Sessions: AI, on June 5 in Zellerbach Hall at UC Berkeley, we’ll host a panel on “How Founders Can Build on Existing Foundational Models” to answer some existential questions facing AI startups. We’re thrilled to have leaders from Google DeepMind, Cohere, and Twelve Labs — three companies at the forefront of AI model development — to help us answer some of these questions. Attendees can hear straight from the…

LinkedIn posts nobody reads? Fix these 5 mistakes to get noticed getty Average posts just don’t cut it anymore on LinkedIn. In 2011 you could post how you were “delighted to announce” something or how it was “amazing to meet” someone and your contacts would hit “like.” Not in 2025. You have to entertain. You have to educate. You have to share pictures, videos and carousels. If you’re not playing the game, you’re losing. I more than quadrupled my LinkedIn following from 7k to 30k in 2024 by following a clear system. My AI for Coaches newsletter gained 8,000 subscribers…

PayBright, a merchant services provider, has announced a strategic investment in Figure, a point-of-sale (POS) software solutions provider.The deal sees PayBright become Figure’s largest investor and its exclusive payment processing partner going forward.The financial terms of the investment were not disclosed, but PayBright confirmed that the partnership will significantly expand Figure’s reach by tapping into PayBright’s national network of more than 800 merchant services agents, independent sales organisations (ISOs), and brokers. This network is expected to play a pivotal role in driving Figure’s growth and market presence.Figure offers a cloud-based POS platform designed to streamline operations for restaurants and small…

A day after quietly removing Biden-era AI policy commitments from its website, Anthropic submitted recommendations to the White House for a national AI policy that the company says “better prepare[s] America to capture the economic benefits” of AI. The company’s suggestions include preserving the AI Safety Institute established under the Biden administration, directing NIST to develop national security evaluations for powerful AI models, and building a team within the government to analyze potential security vulnerabilities in AI. Anthropic also calls for hardened AI chip export controls, particularly restrictions on the sale of Nvidia H20 chips to China, in the interest…

As AI companies race to improve the accuracy of large language models (LLMs) and apps built on top of them, a startup that has emerged as a key partner in that effort is announcing a significant round of funding. Turing, which works with armies of engineers to contribute code to AI projects — including assisting in the building of LLMs for OpenAI and others, as well as creating generative AI apps for enterprises — has secured a $111 million Series E round, doubling its valuation to $2.2 billion.  Turing currently generates around $300 million in ARR (annualized revenue run rate),…

The House of Representatives has passed a bill aimed at requiring federal contractors to have a vulnerability disclosure policy (VDP). The Federal Contractor Cybersecurity Vulnerability Reduction Act of 2025 instructs the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to consult with CISA, the Office of the National Cyber Director, NIST, and other relevant departments, and require federal contractors to have a VDP that is consistent with NIST guidelines.  The bill also instructs the Defense Department to require defense contractors to adopt similar policies.  The goal is to make it easier for individuals and companies who find vulnerabilities in contractors’ systems to…

Late last March, OpenAI announced a “small-scale preview” of an AI service, Voice Engine, that the company claimed could clone a person’s voice with just 15 seconds of speech. Roughly a year later, the tool remains in preview, and OpenAI has given no indication as to when it might launch — or whether it’ll launch at all. The company’s reluctance to roll out the service widely may point to fears of misuse, but it could also reflect an effort to avoid inviting regulatory scrutiny. OpenAI has historically been accused of prioritizing “shiny products” at the expense of safety, and of…

On February 18, 2022, six days before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, then-United States President Joe Biden said he was “convinced” that Moscow had decided to invade Ukraine. When asked how he knew this, Biden said, “We have a significant intelligence capability.” At the time, Ukraine’s government under President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was unsure about Biden’s prognosis, insisting that a full-scale invasion was unlikely. Biden was right, Ukraine was wrong. Since the war broke out, the US has — in addition to billions of dollars in sophisticated weaponry — shared intelligence with Ukraine using its vast spying capabilities, helping Kyiv both defensively…

AI agents are marching across the world of IT, and on Thursday a startup called Crogl is debuting its contribution to the field: an autonomous assistant that helps cybersecurity researchers analyze daily network alerts to find and fix security incidents. The assistant — described by Crogl’s CEO and co-founder Monzy Merza as an “Iron Man suit” for researchers — has been in deployment already with a number of large enterprises and organizations. Alongside launching the product out of private beta today, the startup also said that it has raised $30 million in funding.  The funding is coming in two tranches:…

Trump administration cuts to teacher training grants are putting a strain on rural school systems, which have relied on the money to help address teacher shortages. In an overhaul at an agency President Donald Trump has described as being infiltrated by “ radicals, zealots and Marxists,” the Education Department last month cut $600 million in grants to the training programs, which it characterized as supporting divisive ideologies. Trump has said he wants to close the department, and new Education Secretary Linda McMahon has laid out how it could be dismantled.Federal money makes up a significant portion of budgets in some…