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20 Stories IndexedTechCrunch Mobility: How do we know when an AV is safe enough?
This transportation newsletter explores the increasing integration of artificial intelligence within the mobility sector and examines the core question of how autonomous vehicle safety is evaluated and validated. It highlights ongoing industry discussions regarding the standards required before self-driving cars can be considered adequately safe for public deployment.
Establishing objective safety metrics for autonomous vehicles is critical for regulatory approval, public trust, and the commercial viability of self-driving technology.
A small but growing number of founders are betting on bringing people together offline
Brynn Putnam and Tristan Walker have already done something that most founders only dream about: created companies so compelling that bigger outfits bought them. Putnam, a trained ballerina with a small chain of boutique studios, built the connected-fitness company Mirror and sold it to Lululemon for $500 million in cash less than three years later. […]
6 days left to get ahead at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026
Ticket prices for the upcoming TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 conference are set to increase in six days. Organizers anticipate attendance from over 10,000 founders, investors, and technology professionals.
Even mid-sprint to a secret flight, the Navy’s tech chief has a pitch for investors
Navy CTO Justin Fanelli talks co-investing alongside VCs instead of funding early research himself, recent buys like a $562 million autonomous refueling deal, and the Navy's updated wish list — from AI to quantum — for where founders should be building next.
AI safety conversations have gotten unbelievable
This week two conversations about AI safety went viral that demonstrate just how hard it is to discern AI fact from fiction.
Petlibro’s new AI-powered feeder is a game changer for multi-cat homes
Petlibro's new Granary 2 smart feeders use a built-in scale and (on pricier models) an AI camera to track exactly how much your cat is eating and when — though the fanciest health-monitoring features will cost you an extra subscription.
Prices go up in 7 days. Get your Disrupt ticket now.
Current ticket pricing ends Sept. 25 at 11:59 p.m. PT. Join 10,000+ founders, investors and tech leaders at Disrupt and save up to $200 on your ticket until then..
Vals, backed by Andreessen Horowitz, is looking to become the gold standard for AI benchmarking
Vals AI is hoping to make AI benchmarking a more neutral and trustworthy resource in a world increasingly inundated by AI models.
Tilly Norwood’s press tour is going about as well as you’d expect for an AI
Tilly Norwood, an AI, is on a press tour. During an interview, the AI malfunctioned and began speaking Chinese. The incident highlights potential issues with AI behavior.
A startup that builds other startups raised $100M, and is all-in on physical AI
UP.Labs, now doing business under the name Vantora, is building startups for industrial corporations.
Anthropic is operating a lab that conducts biology experiments
AI leaders have been promising that AI is the key to curing human disease. Anthropic researchers have also been warning that AI might kill us all.
AI Hallucination Nearly Triggers US Military Operation
“It’s important for service members to understand the uncertainty inherent to LLMs," a GovAI research scholar warns.
Anthropic’s first embedded evaluator is … Accenture?
Accenture is about to take on its most high-risk consulting engagement ever.
Automattic names interim CFO after exec departures
Jeremy Klaperman, the CFO of the company's WordPress VIP Enterprise business unit, will act as CFO for the time being.
Y Combinator insurance tech alum Angle Health hits $2.7B valuation
Angle Health has grown to 5,000 customers and become profitable, by helping small businesses get "level-funded" health insurance.
World model companies are keeping a lot of secrets
Everyone in the world-models space is sitting on a pile of cash and a ton of buzz, but good luck getting anyone — from the founders to their own data suppliers — to tell you what they're actually building.
A new kind of AI model from a ChatGPT inventor is thrilling developers
Jev, a new kind of AI model, is showing developers a cheaper and faster path to software intelligence.
Disney’s first CTO led an AI startup it once accused of copying its characters
The former CEO of Character.AI, which Disney previously sent a cease-and-desist letter to, will serve as the company's first-ever chief technology officer.
In India, the new iPhone can arrive faster than a pizza
Availability of Apple's iPhone 18 Pro series turned patchy within hours of its debut on India's quick-commerce apps.
Google’s new ‘CC’ is an AI agent that helps families run their households
Google is refocusing its CC AI agent on household coordination, letting families share emails, schedules, and tasks so the AI can manage calendars, fill out forms, make shopping lists, plan meals, and more.