Rivian has reworked its loan deal with the Department of Energy and now expects to borrow $4.5 billion to build its new factory in Georgia, down from the original amount of $6.6 billion allocated under the Biden administration. The company also announced Thursday that it will draw on the loan…
Apple was surprised by AI-driven demand for Macs
Apple’s iPhone sales and Services revenue were the stars of the show in the tech giant’s most recent quarter, but the Mac quietly outperformed — helped by growing demand for AI workloads. Wall Street investors had expected to see Mac revenue in the low $8 billion range, but Apple reported…
ChatGPT Images 2.0 is a hit in India, but not a big winner elsewhere, yet
India has emerged as the largest user base for ChatGPT Images 2.0 since its launch last week, OpenAI said on Thursday. However, third-party data reviewed by TechCrunch points to a more measured global response, with limited overall growth alongside sharp spikes in select emerging markets. ChatGPT Images 2.0, OpenAI’s latest…
Y Combinator alum Skio sells for $105M cash, only raised $8M, founder says
Skio, a 2020 Y Combinator alum that was founded by self-described college dropout Kennan Frost, has been acquired by competitor Recharge, the companies announced on Thursday. Both Skio and Recharge make products that handle subscription payments for brands. While the official press release did not disclose the terms of the…
If you own even one movie, check your HDMI cable right now
For all the excitement that swirls around smart TV features, from top audio and video formats to variable refresh rates, you still need compatible components to truly utilize these perks. It’s not enough to simply connect a device to your TV, whether it’s a gaming console, soundbar, or streaming stick.…
As Tim Cook steps down, Apple hit record sales — but a chip shortage looms
Apple reported a record quarter on Thursday. Yet outgoing CEO Tim Cook warned of some gathering storm clouds in the form of memory chip supply issues that could impact business in the near future. “Today Apple is proud to report our best March quarter ever, with revenue of $111.2 billion…
Anthropic potential $900B+ valuation round could happen within two weeks
Anthropic is asking investors to submit allocations for the AI company’s latest fundraise within the next 48 hours, according to sources familiar with the matter. The round, which TechCrunch reported is expected to be roughly $50 billion, is estimated to close within two weeks, the sources said. As we previously…
One of the best spy movies of all time is finally free to stream
There are plenty of iconic franchises in pop culture today. Off the top of my head, there’s Star Wars, Star Trek, Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, The Lord of the Rings, not to mention all the films that make up the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Universe. But hands…
Hackers are actively exploiting a bug in cPanel, used by millions of websites
Security researchers are sounding the alarm on a newly discovered vulnerability in the widely used web server management software cPanel and WebHost Manager (WHM). The bug allows hackers to hijack and take full control of the servers running the affected software, which is thought to be used by tens of…
There’s a good reason why 4K UHD discs are more expensive than standard Blu-ray
When shopping around for optical disc-based movies and TV shows, you may have noticed that, on average, 4K UHD (black box) discs cost considerably more than their standard FHD (blue box) counterparts. Even though both products contain a physically similar disc with the same content written onto it, the former…