Tuesday, November 26, 2024

Welcome to TechCrunch AM! This morning, we're exploring Tesla's somewhat surprising move into teleoperations, Intel's $8 billion win, and Rocket Labs's new launch record. We've also got notes on Inflection AI's new strategy, London's backlash against e-bikes, yet another ransomware attack, and more. Let's go! — Rebecca

TechCrunch Top 3

Image Credits: hapabapa / Getty Images

1. A score for Intel? The feds just awarded nearly $8 billion in CHIPS Act grant money to Intel to manufacture semiconductor chips in the U.S. It's a win, but it's lower than the original figure proposed in March. Read More

2. Surprise, surprise: Inflection AI was one of the hottest AI startups last year, but now, after Microsoft acqui-hired it, the startup is no longer trying to compete in the AI race. Instead, it's focusing on the enterprise, and recently acquired two startups: Jelled.AI, which uses AI to manage employee inboxes, and BoostKPI, which offers AI data analytics tools. Read More

3. I'm a rocket man: Rocket Lab has executed two Electron missions within 24 hours — one in the U.S. and one in New Zealand — setting a new speed record for launch turnaround time. It's a good sign for Rocket Lab as it gears up to launch its Neutron rocket, which could compete with SpaceX, next year. Read More

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Morning must-reads

Image Credits: Getty Images

🚗 Tesla does pivots, too: The EV car maker appears to be building a team dedicated to remote operations for its robotaxis. Elon Musk has implied that Tesla wouldn't need to use teleoperations or rely on human intervention. But since Tesla still hasn't achieved full self-driving yet, maybe it's starting to rethink some things. Read More

🚲 London bikes are falling down: London's transport authority is sick of seeing so many dockless e-bikes crowding up sidewalks and streets, so they're putting restrictions on where those bikes can be parked. I get their point, but I hate to see greener modes of travel get penalized. Read More

🧬 AI in biotech gets a boost: Companies using AI to accelerate R&D in biotech are seeing significant investor interest, and Cradle, a startup using LLMs in biotech, is benefiting — it just raised $73 million. The startup will use the funds to build its labs and team. Read More

🔋 Georgia on my mind: Rivian has secured a conditional $6.6 billion loan from the U.S. Energy Department to help it restart construction of its massive factory in Georgia. The EV maker said it would start operations there in 2028, four years later than originally planned. Read More

🛒 Ransom! At The Grocery Store: Blue Yonder, one of the largest supply chain software providers, has been hit with a ransomware attack that's disrupting operations at a number of U.S. and U.K. retailers. Read More

A Message from SPIN Analytics

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Around the web

📈 How to scale HaaS: Hardware-as-a-Service has been a tough sector to scale due to the high costs of acquiring and maintaining hardware. Crunchbase News has some tips from VCs at BMW i Ventures about how startups can apply SaaS rules to HaaS. Read More

🚗 The Apple car that wasn't: Apple has had a secret autonomous car on the books for years, but hasn't been able to pull the trigger. Xiaomi, Apple's counterpart in China, has beaten the U.S. tech giant to the punch with a smart car that Wired reports is absolutely boss. Read More

🎙️ Skill issue: Drake is suing Universal Music Group and Spotify, accusing the two companies of using bots and other means to artificially inflate the popularity of Kendrick Lamar's diss track "Not Like Us," reports Billboard. Bringing business litigation into rap beefs isn't very hip-hop of Drake, but I'm interested to see what documents are made public in this case. Read More

Before you go

Image Credits: Patrick McDermott / Contributor / Getty Images

🏀 Ballin': Giannis Antetokounmpo, a basketball player for Milwaukee, has started a VC firm called Build Your Legacy Ventures that will invest in sports and entertainment companies. Other athletes that have gone the VC route include Serena Williams, Kevin Durant, and Stephen Curry. Read More