Thursday, September 12, 2024

Welcome to TechCrunch AM! This morning, we have a former SoftBank president and CFO on the Equity podcast, notes on Ireland's latest probe into tech platforms, and how a hacker tricked ChatGPT into supplying instructions for making a bomb at home. We've also got a consumer group going after in-game purchases, an app that lets you cut lines, and layoffs at Microsoft. Let's dive in! — Rebecca

TechCrunch Top 3

Image Credits: Jose A. Bernat Bacete / Getty Images

1. ChatGPT remains easy to trick: A hacker has found a way to get ChatGPT to provide instructions on how to make a homemade bomb, and an explosives expert who viewed the output said the instructions were too sensitive to be released. Big yikes. Read More

2. How to run a $32B acquisition: Yesterday on the Equity podcast, I sat down with Alok Sama, the former president and CFO of SoftBank Group International who helped steer the conglomerate's $32 billion acquisition of Arm. We talked about Apple Intelligence, the AI hype cycle, changes to the tech landscape, and his upcoming memoir. Listen Now

3. Ireland cracks down on Big Tech: Ireland's media regulator is taking a closer look at how big tech platforms let users report illegal content after getting complaints from users saying it's difficult to do. The review is looking at Dropbox, Etsy, LinkedIn, Meta, YouTube, X and Hostelworld. Read More

Morning Must-Reads

Image Credits: Novatus

🧗 No risk no reward: All the data banks collect makes it hard for them to put it together and safeguard it for regulatory compliance, and Novatus thinks it can help. The startup offers a platform to help financial companies manage their data for risk and compliance, and it just raised $40 million Series A at a $150 million valuation. Read More

🔮 Swing and a miss: "WeWork CEO Adam Neumann's climate/crypto/carbon-credit startup Flowcarbon appears to be in the process of curling up to die," writes TC's Devin Coldewey. The company is reportedly refunding investors. Read More

🎮 Loot boxes are no fun: A European consumer advocacy group says video game companies have been using unfair practices to encourage people, especially kids, to buy in-game goodies. It has filed a complaint to ban purchases inside games like Minecraft and Fortnight. Read More

🍾 Fast entry, rich people only: LineLeap is a new app that lets you skip the line at bars and events for a price. It's an interesting way to bring fresh revenue to businesses, and unsurprisingly, Y Combinator led a $10 million funding round for the startup last month. Read More

🔃 OpenAI wants more: OpenAI is reportedly in talks to raise $6.5 billion at a $150 billion pre-money valuation in a round led by Thrive Capital. But to keep the money circling amid the AI mafia, Microsoft, Apple and Nvidia will also likely invest. Read More

💰 Mini M&A: OffDeal wants to use AI to help big investment banks find small businesses they'd like to acquire. Its AI agent can discover potential businesses for sale, match them with institutional buyers and can even create pitch decks for the companies being sold. Read More

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Around the Web

😢 More layoffs at Microsoft: The company has cut around 650 employees in its gaming division mere months after slashing 1,900 Activision Blizzard and Xbox employees, reports The Verge. Read More

💥 The AI boom continues: VCs have invested $64.1 billion into AI startups so far this year, which is a solid third of the total VC dollars invested, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis. But whether those investments will pay off is still anyone's guess. Read More

🚘 Freeing cars from Big Oil: A Uruguayan company, Organización Autolibre, is teaching people across 14 countries how to retrofit fossil fuel vehicles into EVs, reports Rest of World. Retrofitting is a growing practice in Latin America, but some critics are calling for safety regulations. Read More

Before You Go

Image Credits: Brian Heater / TechCrunch

🤖 Robots are getting cooler: TC's Brian Heater headed over to Figure's Silicon Valley office to check out the startup's latest humanoid robot, Figure 02. The company's bots will be returning to BMW's South Carolina plant in January to help out on the factory floor. Read More