Wednesday, November 6, 2024

Welcome to TechCrunch AM! This morning, we're looking at more executive departures at Canoo, Lyft foraying into the robotaxi space, and the EU cracking down on major tech firms. We've also got an AI startup making lives easier for medical researchers, Nvidia's soaring valuation, what generative AI means for art, how Trump's imminent win is causing crypto to boom, and more. Let's dive in! — Rebecca

TechCrunch Top 3

Image Credits: Canoo

1. Without a paddle: EV startup Canoo has lost its CFO and head lawyer, the latest in a string of executive departures as the company struggles to stay afloat. The departures come just a few weeks after the company closed its original HQ in Los Angeles to prioritize its operations in Texas and Oklahoma. Read More

2. Robotaxis galore: Lyft is hoping to catch up to Uber's string of autonomous vehicle partnerships. The ride-hail company said it is partnering with May Mobility and Mobileye to start offering AVs on its app in Atlanta starting next May. Read More

3. Can't hide behind glass: The EU has opened an antitrust investigation into U.S. mobile device glass manufacturer, Corning. The Commission alleged that Gorilla Glass maker may have abused its dominant position as a supplier in the global market for protective glass screens. Read More

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Morning must-reads

Image Credits: Apple

🍎 EU takes a bite out of Apple: The iPhone maker is reportedly going to be hit with the EU's first major Digital Markets Act fine, per Bloomberg. We don't yet know how big the fine will be, but it could be up to 10% of Apple's global annual turnover — likely to be tens of billions of dollars. Read More

🩺 Automating the boring stuff: No one likes administrative work, and after working for 14 years as a medical researcher and doing tasks that didn't require any medical expertise, Amber Hill was done with it. She started Research Grid to automate away the administrative drudgery involved in clinical trials, and the startup just raised $6.5 million to make researchers' lives easier. Read More

🚀 Jensen Huang is going to print more leather jackets: Nvidia just surpassed Apple to become the world's most valuable company, riding high on the AI wave. The chipmaker was valued at $3.43 trillion when markets closed on Tuesday. For reference, that's more than the GDP of countries like India, the U.K. and France. Read More

📉 After the peak comes the trough: Meanwhile, Apple has warned its investors that its new and future products may never be as profitable as the iPhone. The company has its fingers in many pies, pursuing AI, mixed-reality headsets and other hardware, but a revolutionary product remains across the horizon. Read More

🔍 Find my everything: Apple could soon let users use a link to share the location of lost or missing items via the Find My app with people who are not in their contacts. I can see this coming in handy for lost luggage that has an Airtag attached. Read More

💰 VC for Iberia: Lisbon-based venture firm Faber is doubling down on the Iberian Peninsula, which is home to Spain and Portugal. The VC has launched its third fund with a first close of about $33.9 million, and aims to raise about $64.2 million in total. Read More

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Around the web

🔮 Crypto's celebrating already: Presidential candidate Donald Trump has signaled that he would step back and let the crypto industry do its thing. So as it increasingly looks like Trump will return to the White House, the price of bitcoin has hit a new high, climbing above $75,000, per the AP. Read More

🎮 Switch away: Nintendo says the Switch's successor is going to be backwards compatible with all the games you could play on the OG Switch, according to Reuters. That's bound to be a good thing for both Nintendo and gamers because there's eight years' worth of games on the market for that console. Read More

🛡️ More consolidation in cybersecurity: CrowdStrike has acquired Israeli cybersecurity startup Adaptive Shield. The companies didn't disclose the terms, but Calcalist is reporting that CrowdStrike will shell out $300 million for the SaaS security startup. Read More

Before you go

Image Credits: Katelyn Tucker/ Slava Blazer Photography

🎨 What is art? As generative AI gets better at producing music, art and literature, what's in store for artists? One TechCrunch Disrupt panel explored the inevitability of generative AI art, how artists can use it as a tool, and the legal problems associated with unlicensed use of copyrighted music and art to train AI models. Read More