Startups

A comprehensive list of 2025 tech layoffs

A comprehensive list of 2025 tech layoffs

The tech layoff wave is still kicking in 2025. Last year saw more than 150,000 job cuts across 549 companies, according to independent layoffs tracker Layoffs.fyi. So far this year, more than 22,000 workers have been the victim of reductions across the tech industry, with a staggering 16,084 cuts taking place in February alone. We’re

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Google vet raises $8M for Continua to bring AI agents to group chats

Google vet raises $8M for Continua to bring AI agents to group chats

In early 2023, David Petrou, a distinguished engineer and founding member of both Google Goggles and Google Glass, made a surprising move. After more than 17 years at the company, he departed to launch his own startup. “I was seeing how fast technology was changing, and I felt there are certain ideas that are best

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Perplexity offers to buy Chrome for billions more than it’s raised

Perplexity offers to buy Chrome for billions more than it’s raised

In a moonshot move, AI search engine Perplexity has offered to buy Chrome from Google for $34.5 billion cash in an unsolicited offer, Reuters reported, and Perplexity has confirmed to TechCrunch. Perplexity tells TC the terms of the offer include a commitment to keep Chrome’s underlying engine, Chromium, open source and continue to invest in

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Uber Freight CEO Lior Ron leaves to join self-driving startup Waabi as COO

Uber Freight CEO Lior Ron leaves to join self-driving startup Waabi as COO

Self-driving truck maker Waabi has hired autonomous vehicle industry veteran and Uber Freight CEO Lior Ron to step in as chief operating officer, as the startup looks to scale its commercial operations ahead of its planned launch of driverless trucks on public highways later this year. Rebecca Tinucci, who previously spent six years building Tesla’s

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Seoul-based Datumo raises $15.5M to take on Scale AI, backed by Salesforce

Seoul-based Datumo raises $15.5M to take on Scale AI, backed by Salesforce

Most organizations say they aren’t fully prepared to use generative AI in a safe and responsible way, according to a recent McKinsey report. One concern is explainability — understanding how and why AI makes certain decisions. While 40% of respondents view it as a significant risk, only 17% are actively addressing it, per the report.

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The computer science dream has become a nightmare

The computer science dream has become a nightmare

In Brief Posted: 11:59 AM PDT · August 10, 2025 Image Credits:izusek / Getty Images The coding-equals-prosperity promise has officially collapsed. Fresh computer science graduates are facing unemployment rates of 6.1% to 7.5% — more than double what biology and art history majors are experiencing, according to a recent Federal Reserve Bank of New York

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Anthropic says some Claude models can now end ‘harmful or abusive’ conversations 

Anthropic says some Claude models can now end ‘harmful or abusive’ conversations 

Anthropic has announced new capabilities that will allow some of its newest, largest models to end conversations in what the company describes as “rare, extreme cases of persistently harmful or abusive user interactions.” Strikingly, Anthropic says it’s doing this not to protect the human user, but rather the AI model itself. To be clear, the

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Cohere hits a $6.8B valuation as investors AMD, Nvidia, and Salesforce double down

Cohere hits a $6.8B valuation as investors AMD, Nvidia, and Salesforce double down

Cohere on Thursday announced that it had raised an oversubscribed $500 million round, bringing its valuation to $6.8 billion. This is up from the $5.5 billion valuation it landed a little over a year ago when it raised its previous round, also $500 million. Toronto-headquartered Cohere was one of the first breakout LLM model makers

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Buzzy AI startup Multiverse creates two of the smallest high-performing models ever

Buzzy AI startup Multiverse creates two of the smallest high-performing models ever

One of Europe’s most prominent AI startups has released two AI models that are so tiny, they have named them after a chicken’s brain and a fly’s brain. Multiverse Computing claims these are the world’s smallest models that are still high-performing and can handle chat, speech, and even reasoning in one case.  These new tiny

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