Meta has acquired AI voice startup WaveForms for an undisclosed sum, The Information reports. It’s the company’s latest buy to strengthen its new AI unit, Superintelligence Labs, and Meta’s second major AI audio acquisition in the last month after it bought PlayAI. WaveForms, founded just eight months ago, raised $40 million from Andreessen Horowitz in…
Startups face more exit options — and more uncertainty — than ever before. That’s why we’re bringing this essential conversation to the Going Public Stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, happening October 27–29 in San Francisco’s Moscone West. Whether you’re already eyeing a liquidity event or just starting to scale, this is your chance to hear…
Openvibe, an app that allows you to follow open social networks like Bluesky, Mastodon, Threads, and Nostr in one place, is now expanding its functionality so you can follow your favorite news sites and blogs, too. To do so, the startup is adding support for RSS (aka Really Simple Syndication or news feeds), an open…
Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images ZDNET’s key takeaways Microsoft is rolling out GPT-5 to all its AI offerings, Thursday. The Copilot chatbot will provide GPT-5, even to free users. GPT-5 will also be available to coding and enterprise tools. OpenAI released its much-anticipated upgrade to the engine that powers ChatGPT and many other AI implementations,…
Hisense may have started as a budget TV brand, but it has become one of the most trusted options. If you don’t want to spring for a premium brand like Samsung or Sony, the company’s televisions offer a great balance between features and price. Hisense offers screens as small as 32 inches, which are perfect…
Prakhar Khanna/ZDNET ZDNET’s key takeaways Oppo Find X8 Ultra performs better than its Samsung rival in almost every scenario. The Galaxy S25 Ultra comes close in ultrawide camera comparison. Oppo’s flagship has unique features like XPAN mode, Hasselblad color science, and Master mode. The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra houses one of the most versatile camera…
The Library of Congress has given a fuller explanation as to why large sections of the U.S. Constitution suddenly vanished from its official website. As TechCrunch previously reported, parts of Section 8, as well as the entirety of Section 9 and Section 10, were deleted from Article 1 of the Constitution on the U.S. government’s…
Bouygues Telecom, the third-largest phone carrier in France, has confirmed a cyberattack and data breach affecting millions of its customers. In a statement posted to its website, the telecommunications giant said the hack allowed the intruders to access the personal information on 6.4 million customer accounts. Bouygues said it detected the cyberattack on August 4,…
Elad Gil isn’t just ahead of the curve — he practically lives there. Before most of the world had even asked ChatGPT its first question, Gil was writing early checks into companies like Perplexity, Character.AI, and Harvey. And that’s just a slice of the story. His track record includes seed or Series A investments in…
Robert Keele said this week that he has stepped down as xAI’s head of legal after just over a year, saying he wants to spend more time with his children. In his announcement, Keele also acknowledged “daylight between our worldviews” with boss Elon Musk, who hasn’t commented on Keele’s exit. “I love my two toddlers…