TechCrunch Startup and Technology News
- GM to end Chevy Bolt EV production next year, move China-made Buick to U.S. factoryby Kirsten Korosec on January 22, 2026 at 11:55 pm
The factory musical chairs reflect an economic and political environment, shaped by the Trump administration’s tariff policy and its decision to end the federal EV tax credit.
- Capital One acquires Brex for steep discount to its peak valuation, but early believers are laughing all the way to the bankby Connie Loizos on January 22, 2026 at 11:46 pm
Before everyone sharpens their knives, consider that for the VCs who backed Brex at its outset, the sale is a triumph.
- Voice AI engine and OpenAI partner LiveKit hits $1B valuationby Marina Temkin on January 22, 2026 at 10:44 pm
The five-year-old-startup powers OpenAI’s ChatGPT voice mode and raised a $100 million round led by Index Ventures.
- Inference startup Inferact lands $150M to commercialize vLLMby Marina Temkin on January 22, 2026 at 10:42 pm
The seed round values the newly formed startup at $800 million.
- Are AI agents ready for the workplace? A new benchmark raises doubtsby Russell Brandom on January 22, 2026 at 9:42 pm
New research looks at how leading AI models hold up doing actual white-collar work tasks, drawn from consulting, investment banking, and law. Most models failed.
- Microsoft 365 hit by outage, preventing access to emails and filesby Zack Whittaker on January 22, 2026 at 9:31 pm
An hours-long outage is preventing Microsoft’s enterprise customers from accessing their inboxes, files, and video meetings.
- Ring is adding a new content verification feature to videosby Sarah Perez on January 22, 2026 at 7:50 pm
Ring says the new feature will identify if video edits have been made, even if they’re minor.
- Google DeepMind CEO is ‘surprised’ OpenAI is rushing forward with ads in ChatGPTby Sarah Perez on January 22, 2026 at 7:41 pm
Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis says the tech giant isn’t pressuring him to insert ads into the AI chatbot experience.
- Humans& thinks coordination is the next frontier for AI, and they’re building a model to prove itby Rebecca Bellan on January 22, 2026 at 7:24 pm
Humans&, a new startup founded by alumni of Anthropic, Meta, OpenAI, xAI, and Google DeepMind, is building the next generation of foundation models for collaboration, not chat.
- Substack launches a TV appby Aisha Malik on January 22, 2026 at 6:58 pm
The move comes as Substack has been investing more heavily in video and livestreaming, as it looks to compete with platforms like YouTube and Patreon for both creators and viewers.
Ars Technica Serving the Technologist since 1998. News, reviews, and analysis.
- US officially out of WHO, leaving hundreds of millions of dollars unpaidby Beth Mole on January 22, 2026 at 11:07 pm
US did not pay $278 million in 2024–2025 dues and millions more in promised funds.
- Overrun with AI slop, cURL scraps bug bounties to ensure “intact mental health”by Dan Goodin on January 22, 2026 at 10:46 pm
The onslaught includes LLMs finding bogus vulnerabilities and code that won’t compile.
- Hacker who stole 120,000 bitcoins wants a second chance—and a security jobby Cyrus Farivar on January 22, 2026 at 10:23 pm
Crypto theft was “the worst thing I had ever done.”
- Report: Apple plans to launch AI-powered wearable pin device as soon as 2027by Samuel Axon on January 22, 2026 at 9:32 pm
Apple, OpenAI, Meta, and more are all racing toward AI hardware products.
- Asking Grok to delete fake nudes may force victims to sue in Musk’s chosen courtby Ashley Belanger on January 22, 2026 at 9:16 pm
Millions likely harmed by Grok-edited sex images as X advertisers shrugged.
- Google begins offering free SAT practice tests powered by Geminiby Ryan Whitwam on January 22, 2026 at 8:46 pm
Google says more kinds of standardized tests will be added in the future.
- Check out the first trailer for Masters of the Universeby Jennifer Ouellette on January 22, 2026 at 7:18 pm
“Talking tigers, spaceships, and magic swords that can make a man as mighty as a god.”
- Blue Origin makes impressive strides with reuse—next launch will refly boosterby Eric Berger on January 22, 2026 at 5:49 pm
With this quick turnaround, Blue Origin takes a step toward a faster cadence.
- Google adds your Gmail and Photos to AI Mode to enable “Personal Intelligence”by Ryan Whitwam on January 22, 2026 at 4:35 pm
Personal Intelligence is optional and rolling out first to AI Pro and AI Ultra subscribers.
- Finally, a new controller that solves the Switch 2’s “flat Joy-Con” problemby Kyle Orland on January 22, 2026 at 4:15 pm
But Nyxi’s Hyperion 3 upgrade comes with a pretty high asking price.









