Category: Media & Entertainment

Kesha may have taken the dollar sign out of her name, but now, the singer is thinking about money again — not for herself, but to fund the seed round of her new startup, Smash. According to Kesha’s Instagram post, Smash will be a “community-based platform to connect and protect music creators,” which aligns with…

Tick tock: Just 3 days left to save up to $900 on your TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 pass

May 23, 2025

Time’s almost up — save big before prices jump in 3 days! You’ve got until May 25 at 11:59 p.m. PT to save up to $900 on individual tickets to TechCrunch Disrupt 2025. Or double your impact — grab one Early Bird pass and get another for your +1 at 90% off. These deals will…

4 days left: Up to $900 off your ticket and 90% off for your +1 at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025

May 22, 2025

Here’s the deal: Only 4 days left to save up to $900 on your TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 ticket — and an additional 90% off for your +1. From October 27–29, San Francisco’s Moscone West transforms into the epicenter of tech innovation as 10,000 tech, startup, and VC leaders gather for the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch…

Spotify says support for external payments on iOS has already boosted subscriptions

May 21, 2025

Spotify says its ability to direct its customers to external payment links in its iOS app has already had a positive impact on sales. In a newly filed amicus brief in support of Epic Games in its ongoing legal battle with Apple over external payments on the App Store, Spotify claims its internal data indicates…

TED’s app launches a short-form video feature ahead of potential TikTok ban

May 21, 2025

With TikTok still facing the possibility of a ban in the U.S., the popularity of short-form video content continues to grow. The latest company to enter this space is TED, the non-profit best known for its TED Talks featuring prominent figures like Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and the late Pope Francis. On Wednesday,…

TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 Early Bird savings end on May 25

May 21, 2025

The early bird sees the future first — and saves the most. The old saying goes, “the early bird gets the worm.” But in tech — and in life — it’s not really about the worm. It’s about spotting what’s next before the crowd rushes in and the price goes up. TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 is…

Google brings a music-generating AI model to its API with Lyria RealTime

May 20, 2025

Google announced at Google I/O 2025 that it is making the AI model that powers its experimental music production app, MusicFX DJ, available via an API. The model, Lyria RealTime, is now in Google’s Gemini API and AI Studio platform. It can mix musical genres, change instruments, and alter the mood of AI-generated music, giving…

Imagen 4 is Google’s newest AI image generator

May 20, 2025

Google is rolling out a new image-generating AI model, Imagen 4, that the company claims delivers higher-quality results than its previous image generator, Imagen 3. Unveiled at Google I/O 2025 on Tuesday, Imagen 4 is capable of rendering “fine details” like fabrics, water droplets, and animal fur, Google says. The model can handle both photorealistic…

Google’s new SynthID Detector can help spot AI slop

May 20, 2025

Google is launching a way to quickly check whether an image, video, audio file, or snippet of text was created using one of its AI tools. SynthID Detector, announced Tuesday at Google I/O 2025, is a verification portal that uses Google’s SynthID watermarking technology to help identify AI-generated content. Users can upload a file, and…

Google AI Ultra: You’ll have to pay $249.99 per month for Google’s best AI

May 20, 2025

AI Ultra, which is U.S.-only for now, joins a growing group of ultra-premium AI subscriptions.

Veo 3 can generate videos — and soundtracks to go along with them

May 20, 2025

Google’s latest video-generating AI model, Veo 3, can create audio to go along with the clips that it generates. On Tuesday during the Google I/O 2025 developer conference, Google unveiled Veo 3, which the company claims can generate sound effects, background noises, and even dialogue to accompany the videos it creates. Veo 3 also improves…

VUZ gets $12M for its immersive video experiences across emerging markets and the U.S.

May 19, 2025

VUZ, a startup known for offering immersive video experiences from red carpets and football stadiums, has raised $12 million as it doubles down on its presence in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as well as accelerates expansion into Africa, Asia, and the United States. The pre-Series C funding round, led by the International…

Microsoft’s Satya Nadella is choosing chatbots over podcasts

May 17, 2025

While Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says he likes podcasts, he might not actually be listening to them anymore. That tidbit comes towards the end of a longer Bloomberg profile of Nadella, with a focus on Microsoft’s AI strategy and its complicated relationship with OpenAI. To illustrate how much he uses the company’s Copilot AI assistant…

AI video startup Moonvalley lands $53M, according to filing

May 16, 2025

Roughly a month after Moonvalley, a Los Angeles-based startup developing AI tools for video creation, said it secured $43 million in new funding, the company has raised more, according to a filing with the SEC. The filing, submitted Thursday, reveals that Moonvalley actually landed (so far) around $53 million total from a group of 14 unnamed…

Spotify responds to creator backlash at public podcast play counts

May 16, 2025

Spotify announced last week that it would roll out public play counts on all podcasts as a way of “helping attract new fans.” But podcasters swiftly responded with criticism of the new feature — mainly, that it would further promote podcasts that already have large audiences while making smaller shows less appealing to new listeners.…

YouTube targets TV dollars with NFL deal, bingeable ‘shows’ from creators

May 14, 2025

YouTube announced a range of initiatives designed to attract more TV ad dollars to its platform at Brandcast, its annual Upfront event for advertisers. Notably, the Google-owned video service is expanding its relationship with the NFL and plans to exclusively stream the NFL’s first Friday game of the 2025-2026 season. It’s also preparing to pilot…

YouTube introduces an interactive product feed for shoppable TV ads

May 14, 2025

YouTube made its pitch to advertisers on Wednesday, accompanied by a flashy performance from Lady Gaga and special appearances from popular YouTubers like Brittany Broski and MrBeast. During its upfront presentation, YouTube executives introduced new ad formats coming to the platform, including an enhanced shoppable connected TV (CTV) offering that includes a new interactive product…

YouTube viewers will start seeing ads after ‘peak’ moments in videos

May 14, 2025

Imagine you’re watching a highly anticipated video from your favorite YouTube creator—perhaps the moment a famous couple finally gets engaged—when an ad pops up immediately after the clip. This is part of YouTube’s new ad format called “Peak Points.” The company revealed the new ad format during its upfront presentation on Wednesday in New York.…

Netflix adds more live TV to its lineup

May 14, 2025

Netflix is adding more live streaming content, the company announced at its Upfront presentation on Wednesday. The service, which now reaches over 94 million global monthly active users, has been steadily introducing live TV to its audience with sports content from WWE wrestling, comedy, and awards shows, and other special events (some of which definitely…

SoundCloud backtracks on AI-related terms of use updates

May 14, 2025

SoundCloud says it’s revising its terms after widespread backlash over a clause related to AI model training. Earlier this year, SoundCloud quietly updated its usage policies, adding wording that many users interpreted as legal cover to allow the company to train AI on audio uploaded to its platform. SoundCloud was quick to assert that it wasn’t…

Stability AI releases an audio-generating model that can run on smartphones

May 14, 2025

AI startup Stability AI has released Stable Audio Open Small, a “stereo” audio-generating AI model that the company claims is the fastest on the market — and efficient enough to run on smartphones. Stable Audio Open Small is the fruit of a collaboration between Stability AI and Arm, the chipmaker that produces many of the…

Max to be renamed HBO Max. The name change nobody wanted

May 14, 2025

Two years after Warner Bros. Discovery rebranded its streaming service Max, the company is reverting back to its old name. The company announced the good news at its Upfront presentation on Wednesday. This story is developing

Apple Music introduces Sound Therapy, songs for focusing, relaxing and sleep

May 13, 2025

Apple Music is introducing a new “audio wellness” collection of songs called Sound Therapy. Designed in partnership with Universal Music Group (UMG), the feature combines songs that subscribers already know with other sound waves that promote focusing, relaxing, or sleeping. Songs may include auditory beats or colored noise, sound waves where the intensity varies at…

Amazon Prime Video in India to get ads starting in June

May 13, 2025

Amazon will bring ads to movies and shows on Prime Video in India starting June 17, over a year after introducing ads in markets including the U.S., U.K., Germany, and Canada. On Tuesday, Amazon emailed Prime members in India to announce the rollout of “limited advertisements” on content streaming on Prime Video. Amazon originally announced…

Remember Moviefone? Well, it’s back.

May 9, 2025

For millions of movie enthusiasts in the ’90s, Moviefone’s 777-FILM number was the go-to source for obtaining showtimes. Now, under new ownership, Moviefone is trying to make a comeback. On Friday, as part of its 35th anniversary celebration, Moviefone announced the relaunch of its mobile app and a new nationally syndicated broadcast TV series. Set…

SoundCloud changes policies to allow AI training on user content

May 9, 2025

SoundCloud appears to have quietly changed its terms of use to allow the company to train AI on audio that users upload to its platform. As spotted by tech ethicist Ed-Newton Rex, the latest version of SoundCloud’s terms include a provision giving the platform permission to use uploaded content to “inform, train, [or] develop” AI.…

The Papal ‘conclave cam’ is slow TV

May 7, 2025

On YouTube, hundreds of thousands of viewers around the world are staring at an unmoving broadcast of the Sistine Chapel chimney. Occasionally, a seagull will swoop in and perch atop the roof for a few minutes. But for the most part, nothing happens. On Wednesday, the College of Cardinals started the process of picking the…

Particle brings its AI-powered news reader to the web

May 6, 2025

Particle, the startup behind an AI-powered newsreader that aims to help publishers, not just steal their work, is bringing its product to the web. On Tuesday, the company announced the launch of the new Particle.news website that connects news consumers with headlines and AI summaries from a variety of sources, plus the ability to delve…

Google is making TV and movies to convince you that tech is not evil

May 5, 2025

Google is reportedly spinning up a film and TV production project called 100 Zeroes. According to a report from Business Insider, this initiative is intended to make young audiences feel more positively about Google’s products, as well as tech at large. Like Apple’s TV shows, where actors will use MacBooks and iPhones with clearly visible…

Peacock trained TikTokers to make content, and now four creators are getting original series

May 1, 2025

Three years ago, a group of TikTokers joined NBCUniversal’s new initiative aimed at transforming social media influencers into the next generation of TV show creators. Now, four of these creators are set to launch their original series on Peacock. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the shows set to premiere are “The Warehouse Phase,” developed by…

MoviePass explores a daily fantasy platform for film buffs

May 1, 2025

MoviePass, the startup that made its mark with its movie theater subscription service, has always been known for shaking things up, and its latest venture is no exception. The company announced on Thursday the beta launch of Mogul, a new daily fantasy entertainment platform designed specifically for the Hollywood industry. To understand what Mogul is,…

Freepik releases an ‘open’ AI image generator trained on licensed data

April 29, 2025

Freepik, the online graphic design platform, unveiled a new “open” AI image model on Tuesday that the company says was trained exclusively on commercially licensed, “safe-for-work” images. The model, called F Lite, contains around 10 billion parameters — parameters being the internal components that make up the model. F Lite was developed in partnership with…

YouTube support affected by European power outages, too

April 28, 2025

YouTube’s support team is experiencing an outage, too. The company says the widespread power outages in Spain and Portugal have knocked some of YouTube’s customer support team offline, including those who offer support in related European languages. The company did not share how many employees are unable to work because of the outages, or how…

Amazon’s big book sale just happens to overlap with Independent Bookstore Day

April 26, 2025

Amazon is raising eyebrows with the timing of its big book sale for 2025, which runs from April 23 to 28 — which means it’s competing directly with Independent Bookstore Day. As writer Maris Kreisman explained in Lit Hub, Independent Bookstore Day is an annual event organized by the American Booksellers Association (ABA), with events,…

Netflix now offers dialogue-only subtitles

April 24, 2025

Netflix just introduced a new way to experience subtitles that eliminates the need to read audio cues like “door slams” or “phone rings.” Announced on Thursday, Netflix’s new dialogue-only subtitles can be enabled by going to “Navigate to Audio” and then “Subtitles.” Users will see an option labeled “English” instead of “English (CC),” indicating that…

Deeper Network Promo Deeper Network Promo

AI, Apps, Biotech & Health, Climate, Crypto, Disrupt 2025, Fintech, Fundraising, Global IT News, Global Security News, Media & Entertainment, Security, Space, Startups, TC, TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, Venture

Speak at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025: Applications now open

April 24, 2025

TechCrunch Disrupt returns October 27–29 to Moscone West in San Francisco — and we’re inviting thought leaders, founders, VCs, and tech experts to apply for a chance to take the stage at one of the most anticipated tech events of the year. Applications are now open to speak at Disrupt 2025, where over 10,000+ tech…

Netflix aims to be a trillion-dollar company, says co-CEO

April 23, 2025

At Semafor’s 2025 Word Economy Summit on Wednesday, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said he believes Netflix’s long-term goal to achieve a $1 trillion market capitalization is possible if the streaming giant continues to perform well. Sarandos said, “In the previous five years, we’ve doubled our revenue, we grew profits 10 times, and we grew our…

DOJ reportedly probes Disney-FuboTV deal over competition concerns

April 23, 2025

The U.S. Department of Justice is probing Disney’s deal to take a controlling stake in FuboTV, Bloomberg reports. Fubo is a live TV streaming service known for its extensive sports coverage. Officials are examining whether the deal would create a concentration of power in the sports streaming market. In January, Disney announced that it was going…

Character.AI unveils AvatarFX, an AI video model to create lifelike chatbots

April 22, 2025

Character.AI, a leading platform for chatting and roleplaying with AI-generated characters, unveiled its forthcoming video generation model, AvatarFX, on Tuesday. Available in closed beta, the model animates the platform’s characters in a variety of styles and voices, from human-like characters to 2D animal cartoons. AvatarFX distinguishes itself from competitors like OpenAI’s Sora because it isn’t…

Two undergrads built an AI speech model to rival NotebookLM

April 22, 2025

A pair of undergrads, neither with extensive AI expertise, say that they’ve created an openly available AI model that can generate podcast-style clips similar to Google’s NotebookLM. The market for synthetic speech tools is vast and growing. ElevenLabs is one of the largest players, but there’s no shortage of challengers (see PlayAI, Sesame, and so…

Kids sure love video game movies

April 20, 2025

“A Minecraft Movie” isn’t just a hit — after three weekends in theaters, the film is estimated to have grossed $344 million domestically and $720 million worldwide. That makes it the biggest movie of an admittedly underwhelming year at the box office (so far), and the second biggest video game movie of all time. Coming…

A new kids’ show will come with a crypto wallet when it debuts this fall

April 18, 2025

A new animated kids’ series expected to premiere this year won’t be headed for a TV network. Or a streaming service. Instead, the founders of production studio We Ghosted Media plan to launch on a decentralized web platform that uses blockchain technology. And yes, a crypto wallet will be involved. We Ghosted Media — founded by…

Netflix is revamping search with AI to improve discovery

April 18, 2025

Netflix is building a new search experience aimed at improving the discovery experience, and it’s going to use AI to do it, the company’s CEO Greg Peters said during its first-quarter results conference call. Peters said Netflix is working on “interactive search that’s based on generative technologies” to help people find different titles. Answering an…

As Deezer approaches profitability, it rolls out a custom algorithm and other new features

April 16, 2025

Last month, Deezer reported its first positive cash flow in 2024, marking a significant milestone in its history. As the music streaming platform nears profitability, it’s launching new features to differentiate itself in the highly competitive market. On Wednesday, Deezer announced several features aimed at providing listeners with a more personalized experience. These include a…

Stop doomscrolling and watch the ‘Great Moose Migration’ livestream

April 15, 2025

You could say that TikTok is ruining our attention spans, and yet, viewers around the world are tuning in to watch a monotonous livestream from a Swedish TV station that they’ve probably never heard of. It’s time for the Great Moose Migration. For thousands of years, moose have crossed the Ångerman River each spring, trekking…

Google bets on geothermal to power data centers in Taiwan

April 15, 2025

Swedish company Baseload Capital is developing the project.

Publishing platform Medium says it’s sticking with DEI

April 15, 2025

Publishing platform Medium says it’s still committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), even as many other U.S. tech companies have scaled back their efforts in this space to appease the Trump administration. In a blog post published on Monday, Medium CEO Tony Stubblebine backed the company’s diverse community, saying that businesses shouldn’t have to…

Google’s Veo 2 video generating model comes to Gemini

April 15, 2025

Google is bringing its Veo 2 video-generating AI model to users who pay for Gemini Advanced, the company’s premium AI plan. The expansion comes as Google looks to deliver an answer to OpenAI’s Sora video generation platform, and as competition in the space grows fiercer. Two weeks ago, one of the more formidable synthetic media…

Girls Who Code founder Reshma Saujani spills business tea with Meghan, Duchess of Sussex

April 15, 2025

Reshma Saujani, founder of the non-profit Girls Who Code, got straight to the point. “If I had applied to be the CEO of Girls Who Code, I wouldn’t have gotten the job,” she told Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, on the latest episode of the duchess’ podcast, “Confessions of a Female Founder.” “I didn’t code,” Saujani…

Apple’s ‘Mythic Quest’ is ending with an updated Season 4 finale

April 12, 2025

“Mythic Quest,” the Apple TV+ workplace comedy about the making of a popular online roleplaying game, is ending after four seasons. A new version of the show’s fourth season finale — first aired on March 26, and now the de facto series finale — will premiere on Apple TV+ next week, with a new ending.…

YouTube considers a daily timer for users looking to cut back on Shorts

April 11, 2025

YouTube is looking into potentially offering a feature that would allow users to set a daily timer to limit how long they spend on Shorts. Recent findings from the beta version of the YouTube app, first reported by Android Authority, suggest that the platform is developing a feature to help users stop the endless scrolling…

Less than a month to get your exhibit table for TechCrunch Sessions: AI

April 11, 2025

TechCrunch Sessions: AI is fast approaching. So, what does that mean for you? It means exhibit tables are nearly gone — and now’s your chance to grab one before they’re all sold out. If you’ve got a game-changing product to showcase to the AI world, don’t keep it quiet. Exhibit your brand in front of…

Netflix’s latest season of ‘Black Mirror’ comes with a mobile game

April 10, 2025

Season 7 of “Black Mirror” premiered on Thursday, introducing a new mobile game connected to one of its episodes. The game, titled “Thronglets,” from Netflix’s own Night School Studio, serves as a companion to the episode called “Plaything.” Players interact with virtual yellow pets and strive to keep them alive. If players are successful in…

Netflix’s latest season of ‘Black Mirror’ comes with a mobile game

April 10, 2025

Netflix’s latest season of ‘Black Mirror’ comes with a mobile game

April 10, 2025

YouTube rolls out a free AI music-making tool for creators

April 10, 2025

YouTube is launching a new feature that will allow creators to use AI technology to generate custom instrumental backing music that can be added to their videos. In an update published to its Creator Insider channel this week, the company shared that it’s beginning to roll out an update to its Creator Music marketplace that…

Amazon says its AI video model can now generate minutes-long clips

April 7, 2025

Amazon has upgraded its AI video model, Nova Reel, with the ability to generate videos up to two minutes in length. Nova Reel, announced in December 2024, was Amazon’s first foray into the generative video space. It competes with models from OpenAI, Google, and others in what’s fast becoming a crowded market. The latest Nova…

AI video startup Moonvalley raised a fresh $43M, SEC filing shows

April 7, 2025

Los Angeles-based startup Moonvalley, which is developing AI tools for video creation, has raised a fresh $43 million in venture capital, according to an SEC filing. The filing, which lists 11 unnamed investors, comes roughly a week after Moonvalley launched its first AI video-generating model, Marey. Moonvalley previously raised $70 million in seed funding from backers…

BBC seeks more prominent credit in Apple and Google News

April 6, 2025

The British Broadcasting Corporation has filed a complaint with a UK antitrust regulator complaining that aggregators like Apple News and Google News minimize credit for the stories they feature. Apple Insider reports that the BBC is asking the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority to require Apple and Google to more prominently credit news sources. And…

‘A Minecraft Movie’ is on-track for a $135M opening weekend

April 5, 2025

The big screen adaptation of video game mega-franchise Minecraft brought in $58 million on Friday, putting it on-track for a $135 million opening weekend domestically — or potentially even more. That would give “A Minecraft Movie” the biggest opening of the year, beating out “Captain America: Brave New World” (which earned $88.8 million during its…

Midjourney releases its first new AI image model in nearly a year

April 3, 2025

Midjourney, one of the earliest AI image-generating services on the web, has released its first new AI image model in nearly a year. Dubbed V7, the model, which began rolling out in alpha around midnight Eastern on Friday, comes a week after OpenAI debuted a new image generator in ChatGPT that quickly went viral for…

Amazon Kindle’s new feature uses AI to generate recaps for books in a series

April 3, 2025

Amazon is introducing a new “Recaps” feature for Kindle users to help them recall plot points and character arcs before picking up the latest book in a series. While the company’s press release for the new feature doesn’t mention AI, Amazon confirmed to TechCrunch that recaps are AI-generated. “We use technology, including GenAI and Amazon…

ChatGPT users have generated over 700M images since last week, OpenAI says

April 3, 2025

OpenAI’s new image-generation feature is on track to be one of the company’s most popular product launches ever. According to Brad Lightcap, who oversees day-to-day operations and global deployment at OpenAI, over 130 million users have generated more than 700 million images since the upgraded image generator launched in ChatGPT on May 25. “[W]e appreciate…

Spotify debuts Gen AI ads, programmatic ad buying

April 3, 2025

Spotify announced Gen AI ads, among other changes to its advertising business, at an event in New York City on Thursday. Notably, the company introduced a new programmatic offering, the Spotify Ad Exchange (SAX), which allows advertisers to reach Spotify’s logged-in users via real-time auctions. Expanding on the SAX news, Spotify said it inked new…

Runway, best known for its video-generating AI models, raises $308M

April 3, 2025

Runway, a startup developing a range of generative AI models for media production, including video-generating models, has raised $308 million in a Series D funding round. General Atlantic led the round, which had participation from Fidelity Management & Research Company, Baillie Gifford, Nvidia, SoftBank, and others. The fresh capital will be put toward AI research…

Patreon signs podcast partnerships with Sony and Wondery

April 2, 2025

Patreon, a subscription platform for online creators, is ge has signed podcasting partnerships with Sony Music Entertainment and Amazon’s Wondery, the company announced on Wednesday. Patreon says the partnerships are designed to make the site a home to fan engagement and exclusive perks for shows from major podcast networks, as the company looks to expand…

AI crawlers cause Wikimedia Commons bandwidth demands to surge 50%

April 2, 2025

The Wikimedia Foundation, the umbrella organization of Wikipedia and a dozen or so other crowdsourced knowledge projects, said on Wednesday that bandwidth consumption for multimedia downloads from Wikimedia Commons has surged by 50% since January 2024. The reason, the outfit wrote in a blog post Tuesday, isn’t due to growing demand from knowledge-thirsty humans, but…

OpenAI disables image gen for certain Sora users as capacity challenges continue

March 31, 2025

OpenAI is still struggling to overcome the capacity issues brought on by the viral image generation feature the company launched last week. On Monday, OpenAI disabled image generation for new users of Sora, the company’s suite of generative AI media tools. “We’re currently experiencing heavy traffic and have temporarily disabled Sora video generation for new…

OpenAI disables video gen for certain Sora users as capacity challenges continue

March 31, 2025

OpenAI is still struggling to overcome the capacity issues brought on by the viral image generation feature the company launched last week. On Monday, OpenAI disabled video generation for new users of Sora, the company’s suite of generative AI media tools. “We’re currently experiencing heavy traffic and have temporarily disabled Sora video generation for new…

Deeper Network Promo Deeper Network Promo

AI, gen-4, Global Security News, Media & Entertainment, runway

Runway releases an impressive new video-generating AI model

March 31, 2025

AI startup Runway on Monday released what it claims is one of the highest-fidelity AI-powered video generators yet. Called Gen-4, the model is rolling out to the company’s individual and enterprise customers. Runway claims that it can generate consistent characters, locations, and objects across scenes, maintain “coherent world environments,” and regenerate elements from different perspectives…

Streaming service Plex rolls out a revamped mobile app

March 31, 2025

Media software maker and streaming app Plex on Monday released an updated version of its mobile app. The redesign features a new user experience, reorganized navigation that includes giving its Watchlist a dedicated spot, and other changes that aim to make it easier to access power-user features for Plex customers who use the company’s personal…

China Miéville says we shouldn’t blame science fiction for its bad readers

March 30, 2025

It’s been 25 years since China Miéville stepped into the literary spotlight with his novel “Perdido Street Station.” Combining elements of science fiction, fantasy, and horror, the novel introduced readers to the fantastically complex city of New Crobuzon, filled with insect-headed khepri, cactus-shaped cactacae, and terrifying slake moths that feed on their victims’ dreams. It…

ChatGPT’s image-generation feature gets an upgrade

March 25, 2025

During a livestream on Tuesday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced the first major upgrade to ChatGPT’s image-generation capabilities in over a year. ChatGPT can now leverage the company’s GPT-4o model to natively create and modify images and photos. GPT-4o has long underpinned the AI-powered chatbot platform, but until now, the model has been able to…

Step into the spotlight: Apply to speak at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025

March 24, 2025

Calling all tech innovators, startup fanatics, marketing gurus, and emerging VCs — this is your moment! You’ve waited long enough, and now the time has come to step into the spotlight at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, taking place October 27–29 in San Francisco. Share your expertise with over 10,000 eager attendees and make an impact by…

Jonah Peretti helped shaped digital media — can he do it again?

March 22, 2025

Jonah Peretti’s career to date has been defined by constant reinvention. As the founder and CEO of BuzzFeed, Peretti has been at the forefront of digital media for almost two decades, navigating changes as the once small startup transformed into, at one point, a multimedia powerhouse. But as the company grows older, one question lingers:…

TechCrunch has, yes, personal news!

March 21, 2025

If you haven’t heard the news, TechCrunch has a shiny new home. After years under Yahoo’s ownership — which, in turn, is backed by Apollo Group — the brand is now in fresh hands. Its new parent company: Regent, a dynamic private equity firm with a diverse portfolio spanning media, retail, and manufacturing. Regent was…

Microsoft is exploring a way to credit contributors to AI training data

March 21, 2025

Microsoft is launching a research project to estimate the influence of specific training examples on the text, images, and other types of media that generative AI models create. That’s per a job listing dating back to December that was recently recirculated on LinkedIn. According to the listing, which seeks a research intern, the project will…

Google claims news is worthless to its ad business after test involving 1% of search results in eight EU markets

March 21, 2025

Google has reported the results of an experiment it ran which removed news from search results for 1% of users for 2.5 months in eight* markets in Europe — claiming the results show that news is essentially worthless to Google’s ad business. The search giant conducted the test because European copyright law requires it to…

Apple is reportedly losing $1B per year on its streaming service

March 20, 2025

Apple is losing more than $1 billion per year on its streaming service, Apple TV+, according to a new report from The Information. Apple TV+ is the only service in Apple’s portfolio that isn’t profitable, the report reveals. The company has spent around $5 billion on content each year since the streaming service launched in…

A high schooler built a website that lets you challenge AI models to a Minecraft build-off

March 20, 2025

As conventional AI benchmarking techniques prove inadequate, AI builders are turning to more creative ways to assess the capabilities of generative AI models. For one group of developers, that’s Minecraft, the Microsoft-owned sandbox-building game. The website Minecraft Benchmark (or MC-Bench) was developed collaboratively to pit AI models against each other in head-to-head challenges to respond…

Gwyneth Paltrow says Goop is growing just fine

March 20, 2025

Gwyneth Paltrow gave an update on her company Goop in a cover story for Vanity Fair. Paltrow founded the lifestyle brand Goop in 2008 and it has raised more than $140 million from investors including Greycroft and G9 Ventures, according to Pitchbook. The brand is often regarded as one of the first examples of a…

OpenAI upgrades its transcription and voice-generating AI models

March 20, 2025

OpenAI is bringing new transcription and voice-generating AI models to its API that the company claims improve upon its previous releases. For OpenAI, the models fit into its broader “agentic” vision: building automated systems that can independently accomplish tasks on behalf of users. The definition of “agent” might be in dispute, but OpenAI Head of…

Make waves in 2025: Exhibit at TechCrunch events

March 20, 2025

If you’re reading this, you already know: It’s time to amplify your brand. Get in front of thousands of TechCrunch event attendees, readers, and decision-makers who can take your business further this year by exhibiting at a TechCrunch event. The perks of exhibiting: What’s in it for you Exhibiting doesn’t just elevate your brand —…

xAI launches an API for generating images

March 19, 2025

Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, has added image generation capabilities to its API. Only one model is available in the API at the moment, “grok-2-image-1212.” Given a caption, the model can generate up to 10 images per request (limited to 5 requests per second) in JPG format, priced at $0.07 per image. For comparison, AI…

Streamer Plex raises subscription price for the first time in a decade

March 19, 2025

Streaming service and software maker Plex is raising its prices. The company announced on Wednesday its first price increase in a decade for its premium subscription service Plex Pass, which offers power users a variety of additional features, like offline access, themes, hardware transcoding, and other advanced settings. The service will now cost $6.99 per…

‘The Last of Us’ to stream in American Sign Language on Max

March 19, 2025

Max announced on Wednesday that the HBO series “The Last of Us” will be available to stream in American Sign Language (ASL). Season 2 premieres on April 13. Notably, this is the first time HBO’s original content will be accessible for streaming in ASL on the service, representing a step towards inclusivity for deaf and…

Agentic AI startup AMT aims to be ‘Google Adwords for influencers,’ raises seed round

March 19, 2025

Booking an ad campaign with social media influencers is currently not exactly easy. For starters, influencers’ approaches to marketing can be unconventional, and there’s no standard way to engage with them. On the other side, marketing agencies that employ hosts of people to book and track brand campaigns are limited by how many influencers they…

US paid music subscribers cross 100 million mark for the first time

March 19, 2025

The U.S. crossed the 100 million paid subscriber mark for music streaming services for the first time ever last year, as per a new report by the Record Industry Association of America (RIAA). The subscriber number was up from 96.8 million in 2023, with year-on-year growth of roughly 3%. RIAA’s report said that these numbers…

Stability AI’s new AI model turns photos into 3D scenes

March 18, 2025

Stability AI has released a new AI model, Stable Virtual Camera, that the company says can transform 2D images into “immersive” videos with realistic depth and perspective. Virtual cameras are tools often used in digital filmmaking and 3D animation to capture and navigate scenes in real-time. With Stable Virtual Camera, Stability sought to add generative…

People are using Google’s new AI model to remove watermarks from images

March 17, 2025

Users on social media have discovered a controversial use case for Google’s new Gemini AI model: removing watermarks from images, including from images published by Getty Images and other well-known stock media outfits. Last week, Google expanded access to its Gemini 2.0 Flash model’s image generation feature, which lets the model natively generate and edit…

Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, acquires a generative AI video startup

March 17, 2025

Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, has acquired Hotshot, a startup working on AI-powered video generation tools along the lines of OpenAI’s Sora. Aakash Sastry, Hotshot’s CEO and co-founder, announced the news in a post on X on Monday. “Over the past 2 years we’ve built 3 video foundation models as a small team — Hotshot-XL,…

Vote for the session you want to see at TechCrunch Sessions: AI

March 17, 2025

We’ve been blown away by the overwhelming response to speak at TechCrunch Sessions: AI on June 5 in Zellerbach Hall at UC Berkeley. After thorough consideration, we’ve selected six standout finalists. The power to choose who will take the stage and share their AI expertise with 1,200 AI leaders and enthusiasts is now in your…

Google adds its HD voice model Chirp 3 to its Vertex AI platform

March 17, 2025

A lot of the focus in generative AI up to now has been on text-based interfaces used to generate text, images and more. The next wave appears to be voice, and it’s rolling in fast. In the latest development, Google today announced that it would be adding Chirp 3 — its HD voice interface —…

People are using Google’s new AI model to remove watermarks from images

March 16, 2025

How ‘The Electric State’ team created a world of unlikely robots

March 14, 2025

The new Netflix movie “The Electric State” depicts a world full of robots — but not robots as we know them. Directed by brothers Anthony and Joe Russo (who previously helmed two Avengers blockbusters, “Infinity War” and “Endgame”) for a reported budget of $320 million, “The Electric State” takes place in an alternate version of…

OpenAI’s ‘creative writing’ AI evokes that annoying kid from high school fiction club

March 13, 2025

When I was 16, I attended a writing workshop with a group of precocious young poets, where we all tried very hard to prove who among us was the most tortured upper-middle-class teenager. One boy refused to tell anyone where he was from, declaring, “I’m from everywhere and nowhere.” Two weeks later, he admitted he…

Bria lands new funding for AI models trained on licensed data

March 13, 2025

AI-powered image generators, which are at the center of a number of copyright lawsuits against AI companies, are frequently trained on massive amounts of data from public websites. Most of these companies argue that fair use doctrine shields their data scraping and training practices. But many copyright holders disagree. That’s why some startups and firms developing image…

Food delivery startup Wonder acquires media company Tastemade for $90M

March 12, 2025

Food delivery startup Wonder is acquiring media company Tastemade for around $90 million, according to The Wall Street Journal. Founded in 2021, Tastemade produces food, travel, and home videos and operates several free, ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channels. The acquisition gives Wonder access to a content studio, production company, and advertising business. Wonder will leverage…

Moonvalley releases a video generator it claims was trained on licensed content

March 12, 2025

Los Angeles-based startup Moonvalley has launched an AI video-generating model it claims is one of the few trained on openly licensed — not copyrighted — data. Named “Marey” after cinema trailblazer Étienne-Jules Marey, the model was built in collaboration with Asteria, a newer AI animation studio. Marey was trained on “owned or fully licensed” source…

Apps, Global Security News, kesha, Media & Entertainment, music, Startups

AI, Apps, Biotech & Health, Crypto, Disrupt 2025, Fintech, Fundraising, Global IT News, Global Security News, Media & Entertainment, robotics, Space, Startups, TC, TechCrunch Disrupt, TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, Venture

AI, Apps, Biotech & Health, Climate, Crypto, Disrupt 2025, Enterprise, Fintech, Fundraising, Global IT News, Global Security News, Government & Policy, Media & Entertainment, Real estate, robotics, Space, Startups, TC, TechCrunch Disrupt, TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, Venture

Apps, Commerce, epic, Epic Games, Global Security News, lawsuit, Media & Entertainment, Mobile, Spotify

Apps, Global Security News, Media & Entertainment, short form video

AI, Apps, Biotech & Health, Climate, Crypto, Disrupt 2025, Fintech, Fundraising, Global IT News, Global Security News, Media & Entertainment, privacy, robotics, Space, Startups, TC, TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, Transportation, Venture

AI, Global Security News, Google, Google I/O, Lyria, Media & Entertainment

AI, Global Security News, Google, Google I/O, Imagen, Media & Entertainment

AI, Global Security News, Google, Google I/O, Media & Entertainment, synthid

AI, Apps, Global Security News, Google, Google I/O, Media & Entertainment

AI, Global Security News, Google, Google I/O, Media & Entertainment

Global Security News, immersive content, Media & Entertainment, North America, riyadh, VUZ

AI, Global Security News, Media & Entertainment, Microsoft, Satya Nadella

AI, Fundraising, generative ai, Global Security News, Media & Entertainment, moonvalley, Startups

Global Security News, Media & Entertainment, Podcast, Spotify

Creators, Global Security News, Media & Entertainment, nfl, streaming, YouTube

E-Commerce, Global Security News, Media & Entertainment, Shopping, YouTube

Global Security News, Media & Entertainment, YouTube

Global Security News, Media & Entertainment, Netflix, streaming

AI, Global Security News, Media & Entertainment, soundcloud

AI, Global Security News, Media & Entertainment, Stability AI

Global Security News, HBO Max, max, Media & Entertainment

Apple, Global Security News, Media & Entertainment, music, streaming

Amazon, Global Security News, Media & Entertainment, prime video

Apps, Global Security News, Media & Entertainment, moviefone

AI, Global Security News, Media & Entertainment, soundcloud

Global Security News, Media & Entertainment, Pope, streaming, TC, tv, YouTube

AI, Global Security News, Media & Entertainment, News, particle, Publishing, Startups

Global Security News, Media & Entertainment

Global Security News, Media & Entertainment, peacock, streaming service, tiktoker

Apps, Crypto, Global Security News, Media & Entertainment

AI, Freepik, generative ai, Global Security News, Media & Entertainment

Europe, Global Security News, Google, Media & Entertainment, YouTube

Amazon, Commerce, Global Security News, Independent Bookstore Day, Media & Entertainment

Global Security News, Media & Entertainment, Netflix, streaming service

AI, Apps, Biotech & Health, Climate, Crypto, Disrupt 2025, Fintech, Fundraising, Global IT News, Global Security News, Media & Entertainment, Security, Space, Startups, TC, TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, Venture

Global Security News, Media & Entertainment, Netflix, streaming service

FuboTV, Global Security News, Government & Policy, Media & Entertainment

AI, Apps, Global Security News, Media & Entertainment

AI, Global Security News, Media & Entertainment, nari labs

Gaming, Global Security News, Media & Entertainment, Minecraft, Warner Bros

blockchain, Crypto, Global Security News, lamina1, Media & Entertainment, we ghosted media, web3

Global Security News, home screen, Media & Entertainment, Netflix

Apps, Global Security News, Media & Entertainment, music streaming service

Apps, Global Security News, Media & Entertainment, Patreon, Social

Global Security News, internet culture, Media & Entertainment, nature, streaming

Climate, geothermal, geothermal energy, Global Security News, Google, green data centers, Media & Entertainment, taiwan

DEI, Global Security News, Media & Entertainment, Medium, Publishing

AI, gemini, Global Security News, Google, Media & Entertainment, veo 2, video generation

girls who code, Global Security News, media, Media & Entertainment, Meghan Markle, reshma saujani, Startups