TechCrunch Top 3

Synthetic-user startup Simile raises $200M at $2B valuation 5 months after $100M Series A: Add another member to the fast-and-furious AI unicorn club: Simile. Read More

LinkedIn adds a button to report AI-generated 'slop': LinkedIn is introducing new ways to reduce low-quality AI-generated posts, including a “seems like AI slop” reporting option. It's also replacing its own AI writing feature with a proofreading tool. Read More

Spotify launches 'User Notes' to let users add memories to songs: Spotify says the new feature is designed to let users add personal captions to their favorite songs, such as noting why a track was added to a playlist or when they first discovered it Read More

Afternoon Must-Reads

Google says it fixed more Chrome bugs in June than over the past two years, thanks to AI: As experts have warned for the last two years, some companies — like Microsoft and now Google — are finding and patching an exponential number of bugs in their products, thanks to the use of LLMs and AI tools. Read More

FTC sues Hims & Hers for allegedly sharing patients' medical data with advertisers Meta and Snap: The U.S. federal consumer watchdog said Hims & Hers, which prescribes for sexual wellness and mental health conditions, used website trackers to share customers' information with advertisers. Read More

Judge says Trump admin still lacks evidence for Anthropic ‘supply-chain risk’ label: A federal judge said the Trump administration has not presented enough evidence to justify labeling Anthropic a supply-chain risk, casting doubt on the government's ban on its AI technology. Read More

Netflix lands global streaming deal for ‘The Walking Dead’: Netflix just signed a massive new licensing agreement worth $500 million to bring The Walking Dead Universe to international markets. Read More

In the Hugging Face breach, OpenAI's hacker was noisy and fast — but not unstoppable: Cybersecurity experts told TechCrunch that one of the biggest lessons to be taken from the OpenAI hack against Hugging Face has nothing to do with AI, but traditional cybersecurity defense. Read More

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Last but Not Least

Zoox clears final federal hurdle to launch paid robotaxi service: Federal safety regulators have given Zoox a temporary exemption that will allow the Amazon-owned autonomous vehicle technology company to charge customers for rides in its custom-built robotaxi. Read More