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The polar bear video has millions of views. Set to a haunting piano score that’s become ubiquitous on TikTok, it shows a lone bear swimming between increasingly distant ice floes. The comments section overflows with teenage grief, rage, and helplessness.Beside my laptop screen lies the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report. Same subject, different universe. The measured language of climate science stands in stark contrast to the raw emotions evoked by that TikTok. Both contain some truth, but also fundamentally different frequencies of human understanding.Gen Z, the first generation to spend their earliest years in the smartphone era,…
For the first time, Anthropic has more verified business customers than OpenAI, according to this month’s AI Index from the fintech firm Ramp. The survey, compiled from Ramp’s clients’ expense data, shows 34.4% of participating businesses are paying for Anthropic services, more than any other AI lab, while only 32.3% pay for OpenAI. It is the first time Anthropic has held the top position. “Anthropic has already been in the lead amongst the high adoption groups like finance, tech, professional services,” Ramp economist Ara Kharazian told TechCrunch. “It’s across the other firms where OpenAI still has a lead, but that…
Laden with iconic Royal Oak design cues, most notably the octagonal case, eight-screw bezel, and Petite Tapisserie-patterned dial, the strapless design heavily references 1979’s Royal Oak Pocket Watch reference 5691. Inside is an entirely new hand-wound version of Swatch’s Sistem51 caliber, a movement that is completely machine assembled. Swatch has 15 active patents on this new iteration and has also squeezed in an impressive 90-hour power reserve. There’s even an antimagnetic Nivachron balance spring that was, incidentally, codeveloped with Audemars Piguet.Swatch’s 1986 POP line, whose watch heads could be physically ejected from their frames and clipped elsewhere, has been plundered…
Dating in 2026 is not for the faint-hearted — there’s a lot of disappointment to overcome before you meet the one. Yet people still hold onto a glimmer of hope after every unsuccessful date.Having previously explored how love stories begin, dating app Hinge is building on its “It’s Funny We Met” brand platform with a series that delves into the honest emotions daters experience before finding their soulmate: skepticism, burnout, or the urge to delete the app altogether.“Can’t Believe We Met on Hinge,” created by Birthday and director India Sleem, again features seven real-life Gen Z couples from the U.S.,…
As a globally distributed company, our work typically happens across time zones, async, on video calls, and in pull requests. We love working this way; it means we can build the best teams possible. But it does come at the expense of face-to-face time with other Humans.That’s why our annual company-wide retreat is always such a highlight. Just before the sun sets on this year’s retreat, we’d like to take a minute to celebrate the winners of our inaugural Human Made Awards.We asked everyone at Human Made to nominate the people they felt deserved recognition across eight categories. The response…
The biggest risk for founders and investors right now isn’t moving too slowly. It’s reacting too late to where the market already shifted. The new stages at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 help founders and investors make faster, more informed decisions in today’s highly complex, volatile markets. From October 13–15 at Moscone West in San Francisco, Disrupt brings together 10,000+ founders, investors, and operators for 250+ sessions across six stages focused on the operational pressures reshaping startup innovation, from AI-native competition and infrastructure bottlenecks to changing venture dynamics and enterprise adoption. Explore the six stages planned for 2026 and secure your pass before prices increase. Right now, save up to $410 with Early Bird rates, plus…
InstaFarm’s patented 4-by-4-inch compostable trays come pre-filled with about a half-inch of soil (“sourced from Amish Country in Pennsylvania,” according to InstaFarm) and organic, non-GMO seeds, with the nutritional info for the final-product microgreens listed on top. They come in over a dozen varieties of nine-packs for $23, including individual cultivars, smoothie- and salad-specific blends, and even plain trays for growing your own greens or garden starts. It is worth noting that the trays are easily saturated paperboard designed for one-time use.For comparison, Vego’s hydroponic microgreens planter, which I used last year, is just $60 for two units, while Gardyn’s…
The Securities and Exchange Commission officially proposed last week to weaken the quarterly reporting standards for publicly traded companies. So far, public comments submitted to the financial regulator about the idea are overwhelmingly negative. But the best objection was filed yesterday by the popular subreddit, WallStreetBets. The community of “approximately 18 million retail investors on Reddit” argued in the unsigned letter that quarterly financial filings — known as 10-Q filings — are “the single most important leveling mechanism between retail and institutional investors in U.S. equity markets.” “Institutional investors have expert networks, channel checks, alternative data, satellite imagery of retailer…
But, the Fives aren’t perfect: Compared to other high-end speakers I’ve tried in the last year—some of which made me fear my Sheetrock would splinter—the Fives don’t generate as powerful a sound. The high notes at the end of the song “Mio Cristo Piange Diamanti” by Rosalía sounded a bit thin as well; when I played the same song on the Focal Mu-so Hekla speaker, the sound seemed to split air molecules.I wasn’t disappointed with the sound quality for music, but the comparisons were helpful nonetheless. For the price and size, I still loved The Fives II for music.It Won’t…
Following a festival marred by scandals involving AI-manipulated case studies, unverifiable claims, and revoked trophies, Cannes Lions entrants face a higher bar heading into its 2026 event this June.In July 2025, right after last year’s festival ended, Cannes Lions announced new “Global Integrity Standards” to bring more accountability to advertising’s most prestigious awards. The tightened rules added human and AI fact-checking, stricter client sign-off, and bans of up to 3 years for agencies that submit fake work. To support entrants through the new process, Cannes Lions published a comprehensive Integrity Handbook last November. It also hosted webinars and introduced a dedicated…
Another year, another massive influx of capital for Anduril: The funding round that was rumored to be in process in March has officially closed. Anduril has raised a $5 billion Series H round at a $61 billion valuation, led by returning investors Thrive Capital and Andreessen Horowitz, the company announced Wednesday. This is more than double the valuation it landed just under a year ago, when it raised $2.5 billion at a $30.5 billion valuation led by Founders Fund. (Founder’s Fund invested a $1 billion check, the largest check it has ever written, it told TechCrunch at the time.) This…
Big money and powerful interests have entirely rebranded drugs like cannabis, mushrooms, and ketamine in the 21st century.Today, millions of Americans can buy their pot legally in places that resemble Apple Stores or take powerful psychoactive substances in plush therapeutic settings. Cocaine, however, has yet to see the kind of tech-fueled makeover that changed the public perception of those drugs—but these luxury products in my Instagram feed may just give it a glow-up.Though you might not instantly see them as drug paraphernalia, on closer inspection, many of these products are offering to serve a need that no real person has…
Whether you like it or not, Amazon continues to put AI at the center of the shopping journey. The company announced Wednesday “Alexa for Shopping,” its new personalized AI shopping assistant, powered by Alexa+. Notably, the experience will replace Rufus, its generative AI shopping assistant that launched in 2024. According to the company, Alexa for Shopping is designed to offer a voice- and touch-enabled shopping experience across mobile, desktop, and Echo Show smart displays. While Rufus focused on helping customers discover and compare products, Alexa for Shopping is meant to provide more personalized recommendations and automate the shopping experience across…
While AI is now being applied to everything from healthcare to customer support, no single use case has yet been nearly as popular or lucrative as code writing. Jack Newton, co-founder and CEO of Clio, a Canadian law firm management software company, is convinced that legal tech is poised to be the next big winner of the LLMs era. That’s a self-interested claim — 18-year-old Clio is a legal tech company — but the numbers are hard to dismiss. Clio saw its revenue growth accelerate sharply after integrating AI into its offering in 2023. The company surpassed $200 million in annual…
Campbell Brown has spent her career chasing accurate information, first as a renowned TV journalist, then as Facebook’s first, and only, dedicated news chief. Now, watching AI reshape how people consume information, she sees history threatening to repeat itself. This time, she’s not waiting for someone else to fix it. Her company, Forum AI — which she discussed recently with TechCrunch’s Tim Fernholz at a StrictlyVC evening in San Francisco — evaluates how foundation models perform on what she calls “high-stakes topics” — geopolitics, mental health, finance, hiring — subjects where “there are no clear yes-or-no answers, where it’s murky…
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