The Daily Crunch – Spoken Edition

Cybersecurity researchers are complaining that Anthropic's new model Fable has guardrails that are too strict for any cybersecurity work. Also, new research suggests that AI memory systems can degrade model performance and encourage sycophantic tendencies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Apple may begin removing existing apps that it considers stale, low-value, or unable to attract users. Also, Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe has called it "maybe the most important thing we've launched to date." And, with SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI all eyeing massive public debuts, the tech industry may soon have a new class of corporate overlords — and a new acronym to match. Say goodbye to FAANG and hello to MANGOS. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Trump administration released the updated version of the list four months ago and then quickly pulled it without explaining why Also, as AI experimentation grows more expensive, Apple is waiving cloud API costs for developers with fewer than 2 million first-time App Store downloads. And Tools for Humanity, Sam Altman's identify verification company, is reportedly struggling to generate revenue and will downsize its staff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

IBM and two of its subsidiary companies were allegedly breached during the mid-2010s, which a lawsuit filed by a former cybersecurity executive accuses IBM of not disclosing and actively covering up. Also, "Chat is dead" — at least, according to a senior OpenAI employee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The advisory warns that Chinese spies are using public job search platforms to recruit people with access to non-public information. Also, the incident helps shed some new light on how Waymo treats and stores the footage captured by its robotaxis. And, the modified Ioniq 5 will be loaded with sensors to capture data for Uber's new AV Labs division. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fusion startup Xcimer fired up the world's largest privately owned laser. Also, Uber's cutback has occurred after the company had reportedly encouraged staff to use AI as much as possible. And, the world's most famous living directors is using AI solely for storyboarding. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The MacBook Neo shipped 1.1 million units in its first weeks on sale, IDC estimates, as Apple pushes deeper into the mainstream laptop market. Also, Meta told TechCrunch that it's considering ways to monetize the new feature, but didn't share specifics on what that could look like. And X will now let you 'react with video' to posts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The lawsuit partially revolves around a shooting at Florida State University last year, and ChatGPT's alleged role in the incident. everal users on social media reported having their Instagram accounts hacked over the weekend. Meta's own support chatbot was blamed for allowing hackers to hijack accounts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As AI agents move from experiments to production, AWS, Cloudflare, and others are redesigning cloud infrastructure for a future dominated by machine-generated internet traffic instead of human users. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The new Opus model comes with a tool called Dynamic Workflows, for coordinating swarms of subagents. Also, large exchanges are designing derivative products around AI tokens, which are increasingly being considered less a computational output and more a raw material input, like electricity or bandwidth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

"CEOs are uniquely prone to AI psychosis," Box CEO Aaron Levie opines. Maybe that explains the almost religious belief in AI productivity gains. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A shadowy group that stole and dumped the NSA's most powerful hacking tools still has implications for how companies think about digital risk today. Also, an Israeli cybersecurity firm said Iran's government is behind Ababil of Minab, a fake hacktivist persona that has claimed a series of data breaches after the start of the war in Iran. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The nine-year-old startup is replacing hundreds of employees with thousands of AI agents. Also, Pope Leo XIV's first encyclical uses AI as a lens to diagnose older problems: concentrated power, eroding democracy, and a tech elite that shapes the world to its own advantage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

IBM and Scuderia Ferrari HP take TechCrunch inside how they are redefining the fan experience. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SpaceX's IPO filing reveals xAI lost $6.4 billion in 2025 while planning a massive Grok expansion — offering the first public look at Elon Musk's AI financials and more details about his ambitions. Also, the next big thing for Nvidia will be CPUs for AI agents, $200 billion worth, CEO Jensen Huang predicts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“By the end of this week, you and Sam will be the most hated men in America.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Costs for solar panels are expected to drop another 30% in the coming decade, helping the tech cement its lead in energy markets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The vibes around the current AI boom aren't great, even in the tech industry. Also, it's tough to get graduating students excited about a future shaped by artificial intelligence. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The action camera maker, like so many other companies these days, is looking to defense applications as it evaluates a possible sale. Also, more than 50 employees have reportedly left Elon Musk's newly merged SpaceXAI since February, raising questions about burnout, leadership changes, talent poaching, and whether liquidity events weakened retention incentives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

OpenAI is so frustrated with Apple over a ChatGPT integration that failed to deliver the subscribers and prominence it expected that the company is now actively exploring legal action against the iPhone maker. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Brown says, "the conversation is sort of happening in Silicon Valley around one thing, and a totally different conversation is happening among consumers." Also, gas turbines at xAI's Colossus 2 data center have drawn a lawsuit over the company's use of "mobile" gas turbines as power plants. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

OpenAI's CEO recalls a "particularly hair-raising" conversation with the SpaceX founder. Also, Google and SpaceX are in talks to build data centers in orbit, pitching space as the future home for AI compute, even as costs today remain far higher than on the ground. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TikTok is systematically converting its discovery engine into a transaction layer, which both deepens user retention and opens entirely new revenue streams for its new owners. Also, fleet management company Samsara has developed an AI model to detect different kinds of potholes and gauge how fast they're deteriorating. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

CloudFlare announced its first large-scale layoff. CEO Matthew Prince says because of AI efficiency gains, the company doesn't need as many support roles. Also, fictional portrayals of artificial intelligence can have a real effect on AI models, according to Anthropic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The push for new data centers at Microsoft is putting one of the its key clean power goals at risk. Also, Moonshot's annualized recurring revenue topped $200 million in April, driven by rapid growth in paid subscriptions and API usage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Match Group said that it's slowing its hiring plans for the rest of the year because AI tools "cost a lot of money." Also, Apple has agreed to pay $250 million to settle a class-action lawsuit for overpromising the arrival of Siri's AI features. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As workers worry about AI, Nvidia's Jensen Huang says AI is ‘creating an enormous number of jobs' Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A sensor that can simultaneously capture depth and image data has long been a "holy grail," Ouster CEO Angus Pacala told TechCrunch. Also, Virginia and Washington D.C. paused the data collection and sharing, after Bloomberg's investigation found their health insurance marketplaces were sharing users' information with advertisers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The deals come as the DoD has doubled down on diversifying its exposure to AI vendors in the wake of its controversial dispute with Anthropic over usage terms of its AI models. Also, Coatue, one of the biggest names in venture capital, has a new venture that is reportedly buying land near large power sources. And, an ad c from Artisan, the AI startup behind billboards urging businesses to "stop hiring humans" stole art from cartoonist KC Green. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Apple said it will be supply-constrained on Mac Mini, Studio, and Neo in the next quarter, too. Plus, web hosts are scrambling to fix the bug under active attack by hackers. One company said hackers have been abusing the bug for months. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Divine, a Vine reboot backed by Jack Dorsey's nonprofit, revives six-second looping videos. Also, Roku's $2.99 streaming service Howdy has topped 1M subscribers, showing demand for cheaper, low-commitment alternatives to pricier streamers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After Anthropic refused to allow the DoD to use its AI for domestic mass surveillance and autonomous weapons, Google has signed a new contract with the department. Also, the app allows developers to vibe code web apps and websites on the go. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Skye's new AI app attracted investors before it even launched — a sign of interest in a more AI-aware iPhone. Also, natural gas power plant costs have nearly doubled in two years and take 23% longer to build as data center electricity demand skyrockets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Steve Ballmer wrote a fiery letter in the sentencing of disgraced founder Joseph Sanberg documenting all the harm that's befalling him as an investor. Also, the IRS has used Palantir's software since at least 2018, The Intercept reports. Plus, in a letter to the residents of Tumbler Ridge, Canada, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said he is “deeply sorry” that his company failed to alert law enforcement about the suspect in a recent mass shooting. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Citizen Lab found two separate surveillance vendors abusing the backbone of cellular networks to spy on several victims across the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cursor was on track to close a $2 billion funding round this week but chose to halt discussions after SpaceX offered a $10 billion "collaboration fee" and a path to a $60 billion acquisition. Also, Google brings Gemini-powered 'auto browse' capabilities to Chrome for enterprise users, letting workers automate tasks like research, data entry, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

-The New Glenn rocket will have to stay grounded while the company investigates what caused the apparent failure of its upper stage. -Deezer says consumption of AI-generated music on the platform is still very low, between 1-3% of the total streams, and that 85% of these streams are detected as fraudulent and are demonetized. -The NSA is said to be using Anthropic's restricted Mythos AI model. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After 15 years, Tim Cook will hand off his role as Apple CEO to John Ternus, senior vice president of hardware engineering. Also, Amazon has made another circular AI deal: It's investing another $5 billion in Anthropic. Anthropic has agreed to spend $100 billion on AWS in return. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The winning time is a massive improvement over last year's race, when the fastest robot finished in two hours and 40 minutes. Also, fusion startups and investors risk deepening fissures if some key disagreements aren't settled amicably. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why choose fossil fuels or electricity when you can have both? NOC Energy has figured out how to hybridize heavy industry. Also, Runway's CEO says AI could help studios make dozens of films for the cost of one, betting volume will boost hit-making odds. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

LinkedIn says hiring is down 20% since 2022, but blames higher interest rates — not AI — for the slowdown. Also, Allbirds is ditching wool sneakers for AI servers, rebranding as NewBird AI after locking in a $50M convertible financing facility. Plus, Gizmo, an AI-powered learning platform, has attracted more than 13 million users and just secured $22 million in Series A funding. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Anything is planning to launch a desktop companion app to aid mobile app development after its App Store removal. Also, Amazon on Tuesday agreed to buy satellite company Globalstar, known for powering Apple's "Emergency SOS" feature, for $11.57 billion in cash. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices