Tuesday, June 17, 2025

Welcome to TechCrunch AM! This morning, we have a slate of major funding news for startups in defense, AV tech, and legal tech. We've also got details of: Adobe's new AI app; Apple latest antitrust woes; Google chipping in to fight scams; the world's biggest sand battery; double dates on Tinder; increasing scrutiny of Palantir's government dealings, and more. Let's get to work!

TechCrunch Top 3

Image Credits: Bryce Durbin / TechCrunch

1. Why just iCloud? A U.S. district court has ruled that Apple must face a class action lawsuit that alleges the company violates antitrust law by forcing users of its devices to back up important files and settings to iCloud only. Apple says it does so for security reasons, but its monopoly in the space may work against it. Read More

2. Faster than a rocket: Young startups are all the rage these days. Mach Industries, which debuted just two years ago, has raised yet again, and this time it's nabbed $100 million at a $470 million valuation. Read More

3. Come hither: Adobe is doing all it can to retain designers and digital editors within its ecosystem. The company just launched a Firefly app for iOS and Android that lets you use its own image- and video-generation models, as well as models from Google, OpenAI, Flux, and more. Read More

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Morning Must-Reads

Image Credits: Crosby

🧑‍⚖️ A new kind of lawyer: Crosby, which just raised $5.8 million from Sequoia and others, is taking a new tack at offering AI services. It's a law firm that has lawyers overseeing its AI to review client contracts within an hour, and it aims to reduce that process to minutes. Read More

💰 Emerging markets, ahoy! Endeavor Catalyst is doubling down on its emerging market smarts. The firm is raising a $300 million fund betting on startups in Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia, TC's Tage-Kene Okafor reports. Read More

🔀 Shaky ground: OpenAI and Microsoft's relationship is reportedly on shaky ground. OpenAI is apparently unhappy with how much control Microsoft has on its IP and computing resources. OpenAI is also reportedly trying to keep Windsurf's IP away from Microsoft. Read More

👹 Putting AI to some good: Google is expanding its efforts to fight scams and fraud in India with AI. The company's new Safety Charter would see it partnering with local academia, governments and enterprises to develop solutions for fraud detection. Read More

🚀 After music, comes warfare: Spotify's CEO Daniel Ek just led a €600 million investment in defense tech startup Helsing. The startup is building its own strike drones, aircraft, and unmanned mini submarines for naval surveillance, and at a $12 billion valuation, is now one of Europe's most valuable companies in the space. Read More

⚡ Sand power: Finland has just turned on the world's largest sand battery — 2,000 metric tons of pulverized rock inside a 49-foot-wide silo. The project promises to slash carbon emissions, and can store up to 1,000 megawatt-hours of heat for weeks. Read More

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Around the Web

🔎 Under the lens: Ten Democrat lawmakers are demanding defense tech company Palantir disclose information about its broadening contracts with the Trump administration, The New York Times reports. The company is reportedly working with the government to consolidate data and build a list of personal information on U.S. citizens. Read More

💸 A big bump: Applied Intuition has raised $600 million from a slate of big-name investors to continue building its autonomous vehicle tech that's used by some of the world's biggest carmakers, Bloomberg reports. The funding takes its valuation to $15 billion from $6 billion last year. Read More

Before You Go

💑 Swipe left together: Ever felt the need for a wingperson on dating apps? Tinder now lets you do that within the app with its new Double Date feature, which allows you to team up with your friends to chat up potential matches together. Read More