Instagram is developing a feature that will allow users to remove themselves from someone’s “Close Friends” list, Meta told TechCrunch on Friday. The company says the feature is still in the early stages and is not being tested publicly yet. The social network’s Close Friends feature lets users share Stories, Reels, and posts with a … Read more
This is it. The clock is running out. With demand surging and early inventory nearly gone, tonight is your last chance to lock in record-low pricing for TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 and secure a +1 pass at 50% off while limited passes remain. If Disrupt has been on your must-attend list, now is the moment to act. Save up to $680 on your pass and … Read more
Apple had a great Q1, though iPhone sales were the real standout. The company reports that its signature device had its best quarter ever, thanks partially to a surge of sales in regions like China and India. “iPhone had its best-ever quarter driven by unprecedented demand, with all-time records across every geographic segment,” said CEO … Read more
Ethos Technologies, a San Francisco-based provider of software for selling life insurance, debuted on the Nasdaq on Thursday. As one of the year’s first major tech IPOs, the insurtech platform is being closely watched as a bellwether for the 2026 listing cycle. The company and its selling shareholders raised approximately $200 million in the offering, … Read more
Microsoft this week deployed its first crop of its homegrown AI chips in one of its data centers, with plans to roll out more in the coming months, it says. The chip, named the Maia 200, is designed to be what Microsoft calls an “AI inference powerhouse” as Microsoft describes, meaning it’s optimized for the … Read more
Tesla’s energy storage business saved a dismal earnings report from turning into a horrible one. Last year, the company’s profit fell 45% compared with 2024, driven in large part by falling sales of its electric vehicles. Investors anticipated the decline in sales, but Tesla still beat Wall Street earnings and revenue estimates thanks to its … Read more
Last year, Deezer introduced an AI detection tool that automatically tags fully AI-generated music for listeners and removes it from algorithmic and editorial recommendations. The company announced on Thursday that it’s now making the tool available to other streaming platforms in an effort to help address the rise of AI and fraudulent streams, as well … Read more
Earlier this month, Meta laid off 10% of the staff for Reality Labs, its virtual reality unit, reportedly cutting as many as 1,000 employees. Now, in a development that seems directly related, the company has revealed that the unit lost many billions of dollars last year. On Wednesday, Meta’s earnings report showed that its embattled … Read more
Tesla’s profit fell 46% in 2025 compared to the prior year, as CEO Elon Musk assumed a role in the Trump administration and federal electric vehicle subsidies were killed off by Congress, causing sales to plummet. The electric vehicle company reported Wednesday that it recorded just $3.8 billion in profit across the year, its lowest … Read more
As the nuclear power gold rush enters into full swing — spurred by AI companies’ desperate need for electricity — the sellers of “picks and shovels” are starting to cash in, too. By the end of 2025, nuclear startups had raised $1.1 billion, all for small modular reactors. The deal flow is now extending to … Read more
