Tags: TechCrunch

AI researchers and startups are intensifying efforts to build recursive self‑improving systems, a capability some liken to the next step beyond artificial general intelligence. Richard Socher unveiled Recursive Superintelligence, promising fully automated research cycles. Andrej Karpathy’s Auto‑Research project and Adaption’s AutoScientist tool aim to let agents incrementally upgrade language models. A Kaggle‑winning agent from Disarray’s Doris Xin highlighted the reliability challenge, while Google’s Sundar Pichai admitted the industry is still far from true RSI. Anthropic’s Claude Code now writes most of its own code, underscoring how close the field may be to a self‑sustaining AI loop. Lire la suite

Indian startup Emergent has introduced Wingman, a messaging‑centric autonomous AI agent that operates through WhatsApp, Telegram and iMessage. The new tool lets users assign routine tasks via chat while it runs in the background across email, calendars and workplace apps. Wingman is the latest move for the Bengaluru‑based firm, which previously built a low‑code vibe‑coding platform, and follows a wave of AI agents that aim to automate everyday workflows. The rollout begins with a limited free trial before shifting to a paid model. Lire la suite

AI‑powered design platform Picsart announced a new monetization program that lets any creator earn money by publishing original work made with its tools. There are no invitation lists or follower thresholds; payouts are tied to how audiences engage with the content on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube or X. The initiative, unveiled at a TechCrunch event in San Francisco, aims to shift Picsart from a simple editing app to a revenue‑sharing platform for the broader creator economy. Lire la suite

Anthropic’s push into the Indian market has run into a naming conflict with Anthropic Software, a local firm that has used the name since 2017. The Indian company filed a complaint in a Karnataka commercial court, seeking recognition of its prior use and damages of ₹10 million. The dispute highlights the challenges global AI firms face as they enter fast‑growing markets and underscores the importance of clear branding in India’s burgeoning AI sector. Lire la suite

Calgary‑based Cashee Research uses artificial intelligence to design and execute custom market‑research surveys, delivering fresh human data faster and at lower cost. The startup, founded by Addy Graves and Rose Wong, was selected for TechCrunch’s Startup Battlefield in 2025 and won the Enterprise Stage pitch at TechCrunch Disrupt. By combining AI‑generated survey plans with real‑world respondents, Cashee provides brands—especially small and medium‑size firms—with actionable insights that were previously too expensive or slow to obtain. The company has raised C$1.5 million in pre‑seed funding and is preparing a seed round to expand its U.S. presence and B2B business. Lire la suite

Three years after OpenAI introduced ChatGPT, the model has become a cultural and economic force. It tops app charts, reshapes perceptions of artificial intelligence, and fuels debates about its societal implications. Analysts highlight how the chatbot has boosted major tech stocks, especially Nvidia, while commentators warn of hype and potential bubbles. The discourse spans optimism about AI’s transformative power and caution about its volatility, reflecting both excitement and uncertainty in the tech ecosystem. Lire la suite

Newly obtained documents show that OpenAI paid Microsoft $493.8 million in revenue share for 2024 and $865.8 million for the first three quarters of the following year, reflecting a 20 percent share of OpenAI’s earnings. The data suggests OpenAI’s revenue may have topped $2.5 billion in 2024 and $4.33 billion in the first three quarters of the next year, while its cash‑based inference spend rose to $3.8 billion in 2024 and $8.65 billion in the first nine months of the subsequent period. The disparity between revenue and inference costs raises questions about the startup’s profitability, prompting both firms to decline comment. Lire la suite

In the inaugural episode of TechCrunch’s Build Mode podcast, co‑founder Deon Nicholas of Forethought AI shares how his team achieved early traction by focusing on real customer problems, iterating rapidly, and securing paying logos before hitting the TechCrunch Disrupt stage. Nicholas emphasizes a “7‑Failure Rule,” lean operations, and the importance of proving value over chasing hype, lessons that resonated with investors and led to a successful Series A round. Lire la suite

Hero, a productivity startup founded by former Meta employees, announced an invite‑only autocompletion SDK that fills in AI prompts based on context. The SDK can populate travel details, image‑generation parameters and other fields, reducing back‑and‑forth interactions. Co‑founder Brad Kowalk said the technology finishes tasks "10 times faster" and opens use cases from travel to ads. Hero, which recently secured additional funding, is testing the feature in its own app and exploring partnerships with ad‑tech firm Koah Labs. Lire la suite

Amazon has sent a cease‑and‑desist letter to Perplexity, demanding that its AI‑powered shopping assistant, Comet, be removed from the Amazon marketplace. The e‑commerce giant warned that the bot violates its terms of service by failing to identify itself as an agent. Perplexity responded with a blog post defending its approach, arguing that the bot operates under human direction and therefore should inherit the same permissions as the user. Amazon countered that other third‑party agents openly identify themselves and that Perplexity could simply comply. The dispute revives earlier controversy over Perplexity’s web‑scraping practices and raises broader questions about the future of agentic AI on commercial platforms. Lire la suite

OpenAI revealed its goal to develop an intern‑level AI research assistant by September 2026 and a fully autonomous "legitimate AI researcher" by 2028. The announcement came during a livestream with CEO Sam Altman and chief scientist Jakub Pachocki, who described the upcoming system as capable of handling large research projects independently. In parallel, OpenAI transitioned to a public‑benefit corporation, freeing it from non‑profit constraints and allowing new capital‑raising opportunities. The nonprofit OpenAI Foundation will retain a 26% stake, oversee research direction, and commit $25 billion to disease‑curing initiatives, while the for‑profit arm plans massive infrastructure investment to support the ambitious AI roadmap. Lire la suite

Adobe announced AI‑driven assistants for its Creative Cloud apps Express and Photoshop. Express gains a new mode that lets users generate images and designs via text prompts, while Photoshop’s beta‑stage assistant lives in a sidebar and can understand layers, select objects and create masks. Users can task the assistants with repetitive edits such as background removal or color changes. Adobe also revealed a private‑beta project called “Project Moonlight” that aims to coordinate multiple assistants and link to creators’ social channels, and it is exploring integration with ChatGPT through OpenAI’s API. Additional AI features, including third‑party generative‑fill models and an AI‑powered mask in Premiere Pro, were also announced. Lire la suite

OpenAI announced it has acquired Software Applications, Inc., the developer of Sky—a desktop AI assistant for Mac that can see the screen and act within apps. The purchase brings together OpenAI's large language models with a product designed to work alongside users throughout their day, from writing to coding. Sky’s founders, Ari Weinstein and Conrad Kramer, previously sold Workflow to Apple, where it became Shortcuts, while co‑founder Kim Beverett spent a decade at Apple on Safari and other core services. The deal, led by OpenAI executives Nick Turley and Fidji Simo, adds a new layer to Apple’s emerging AI ecosystem, which includes Apple Intelligence and a partnership that routes Siri queries to ChatGPT. Lire la suite

Wikimedia Deutschland announced the Wikidata Embedding Project, a new database that applies vector‑based semantic search to Wikipedia’s structured data. Developed with Jina.AI and DataStax, the system supports the Model Context Protocol and improves retrieval‑augmented generation for large language models. The publicly available database on Toolforge offers richer, multilingual results and will be highlighted in a developer webinar on October 9th. Lire la suite

Silicon Valley dominated headlines this week with massive AI infrastructure deals. Nvidia announced a potential $100 billion investment in OpenAI, while OpenAI revealed plans to add five new Stargate data centers in partnership with Oracle and SoftBank, promising gigawatts of fresh capacity. Oracle financed the effort by selling $18 billion in bonds. At the same time, OpenAI launched Pulse, a personalized morning briefing feature in ChatGPT that currently runs only for $200‑a‑month Pro users due to server constraints. The flurry of investments and product launches raises questions about the balance between costly data‑center expansion and new AI services. Lire la suite

Neon, a call‑recording app that paid users for access to audio and sold the recordings to AI companies, was taken offline after a security flaw allowed any logged‑in user to view other users' phone numbers, call logs, recordings, and transcripts. The issue was reported by TechCrunch, which said founder Alex Kiam shut down the servers and began notifying users. Neon rose quickly in popularity after its launch last week, but the breach halted the service and raised concerns about data privacy and security safeguards. Lire la suite

TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 is offering up to $668 in ticket savings, but the discount window closes in just a few days. The conference, celebrating 20 years of TechCrunch, will take place in San Francisco from October 27–29 and will feature more than 250 innovators, 200 sessions, and the Startup Battlefield 200 competition. Attendees can expect networking opportunities, exhibitor demos, and talks from notable founders such as Baiju Bhatt of Aetherflux. The limited‑time offer ends on September 26 at 11:59 p.m. PT. Lire la suite

California’s Senate has approved SB 53, an AI safety bill that will be sent to Governor Gavin Newsom for signature. The legislation focuses on AI developers earning more than $500 million annually, requiring them to publish safety reports and report incidents to the state. It also creates a protected channel for employee concerns. Supporters cite the bill as a meaningful check on large AI firms such as OpenAI and Google DeepMind, while noting that smaller startups are largely exempt. The bill has earned backing from AI company Anthropic and reflects a state‑level push amid a federal environment that is less inclined toward regulation. Lire la suite