TechCrunch has unveiled the 200 startups selected for its Startup Battlefield competition, with the top 20 competing for a $100,000 prize. A closer look at the 14 fintech, real estate, and proptech contenders reveals an industry utterly obsessed with AI automation. From verifying documents to design
2025 was a year of massive, surprising deals despite global tensions. The US government took a stake in Intel, OpenAI and partners launched a $500B AI project, and Pepsi bought a probiotic soda brand for nearly $2 billion. Here’s what it all means.
NordVPN is pushing its NordWhisper protocol as the next evolution in censorship resistance. It’s moving beyond simple obfuscation to encrypt metadata and mimic web traffic, aiming for a fully TLS-based future.
Most of us use AI for basic tasks, but some people are pushing it into truly creative territory. One expert has built a system of over 200 automation scripts and uses AI-generated music to clarify complicated ideas.
The Trump administration has halted five major offshore wind projects, including Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia project. Dominion has filed a lawsuit, calling the move “arbitrary and capricious.” The administration cited national security but provided no details.
Elon Musk announced on Christmas Eve that he’s changing Tesla’s core mission statement. The shift from “Sustainable Abundance” to “Amazing Abundance” marks a significant rhetorical pivot for the EV company.
The long-rumored AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2, featuring 3D V-Cache on both of its core complexes, has appeared in Geekbench and Passmark results. The leaks confirm the chip’s 16-core design and 192MB of L3 cache, matching specs leaked back in October. Performance looks similar to the existing 9950X3D, but
The PC-exclusive horror game Buckshot Roulette has sold over 8 million copies, outpacing major AA/AAA titles. However, its promised console port has been delayed from late 2025 to 2026 due to technical hurdles.
MIT Technology Review’s top stories of 2025 revealed a deep public interest in the tangible costs of AI and the future of human biology. Readers were gripped by an unprecedented analysis of AI’s energy use per query and a provocative proposal for ethically sourced “bodyoids” for medical research.
Waymo has temporarily halted its robotaxi service in the San Francisco Bay Area ahead of expected storms. This comes just days after a power outage caused its vehicles to stall in traffic, creating gridlock.
