The Daily Crunch – Spoken Edition

A $400 million chip-backed loan points to the next wave of AI infrastructure deals. Also, BP Ventures is shutting down, ending a nearly 20 year run that was marked by reportedly lackluster returns. And X will use Grok AI to better detect stolen content, redirect payouts to original creators, and crack down on engagement bait. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Owen Flowers and Thalha Jubair, two members of the prolific Scattered Spider hacking group, pleaded guilty and were sentenced to five years and six months in jail for hacking London's metropolitan transit system. Also, you may have heard that OpenAI released its first piece of hardware this week. You may not have heard about the ChatGPT basketball. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

OpenAI's first hardware device is reported to be a screenless, AI-guided smart speaker that can move. Weird enough for you? Also, an old Oscar Meyer factory in Wisconsin will become America's latest fusion power research and development hub. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hugging Face CEO Clem Delangue says enterprises increasingly want open models, due to cost, accessibility, and ownership. Do frontier models still matter if most production AI ends up running on open models? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Apple would not comment on the "security breach," which allegedly allowed a former employee to download sensitive files from Apple's network long after he departed the company for rival OpenAI. Also, Responding to Musk accusing him of being a scammer, Altman said, “homeboy you're the one sellling [sic] public market investors on short-term space datacenters.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In an interesting twist that takes advantage of the company's core product, users can chat with these shows' characters, ask them questions, and even roleplay different storylines. Also, Roost's developer didn't expect his side project to grow to 300,000 users, but people love Roost because it's an alternative to an always-on, fast-paced online culture. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With funding from tennis star and angel investor Venus Williams, the French app WeWard says that it increases walking time by almost 25%. Also, ZML, a hot French AI startup endorsed by Turing Award winner Yann LeCun, has now released ZML/LLMD, software that could make running AI less costly. Plus, Apple has signed a $30 billion+ multiyear deal with Broadcom to design and produce more than 15 billion U.S.-made custom wireless connectivity chips for Apple products. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

An AI agent carried out the technical execution of a real-world ransomware attack for the first known time, but new details show a human still chose the victim, set up the infrastructure, and supplied stolen credentials — meaning it wasn't quite the fully autonomous cybercrime debut that last week's headlines suggested. Also, the U.S. Army has fixed two of its websites that were hacked to display messages calling President Trump a "pedophile" and a "thief." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

These may be the last days of Amazon's Mechanical Turk. Also, the hacking operations disclosed in a Canadian spy agency's annual report underscores some pressing national security threats facing the country and its top allies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bending Spoons remains largely unknown, even as its portfolio of products has served more than a billion people. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Just for kicks, I took a look at Jersey Mike's IPO documents. Surely a sandwich shop would have no need to mention AI. But low-and-behold. And at an internal meeting, the Meta CEO reportedly said that AI development efforts were not moving as quickly as anticipated. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A top Democrat on the Senate's Intelligence Committee warned that the information accessed on a Homeland Security intelligence-sharing network may risk national security. Also, Microsoft follows Amazon, OpenAI and Anthropic with its new AI deployment group. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Realta Fusion showed it could generate electricity from a fusion reaction, no steam turbine required. Vinton Cerf, one of the creators of the protocols underlying the internet, will step down as Google's chief internet evangelist next week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A new report finds "high-intensity AI adopters” saw headcount increase 10.2%. Among those companies, entry-level headcount rose by 12%, countering the rhetoric that AI kills junior jobs. Also, the Trump administration's moves threaten $121 billion in new solar and wind power, two energy sources that are the biggest contributors to new capacity in the U.S. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ford execs said, "mistakenly we thought that by just introducing artificial intelligence ... that would produce a high-quality product.” Also, the all-stock deal values Iridium at $8 billion, and gives Rocket Lab even more firepower to compete against Amazon and SpaceX. Plus, eager to find more public AI-related companies that may do as well as Nvidia, Wall Street investors think they've found a winner with Micron. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AI models have progressed to the point where their capabilities have real political consequences. Dealing with those consequences will require collective action. Also, General Atlantic has tapped tennis legend Novak Djokovic to serve as a global strategic advisor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Un0 is an image-generation system tool that shows for the first time how the company's technology can replicate conventional AI systems. Also, market research company Klue told customers that it believes the hacking group that stole their data is now deleting it. The company, however, warned about a second group of hackers wanting ransom. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Named Jalapeño, the new processor was designed specifically for the unique needs of OpenAI's inference systems. Also, new details have emerged about Valor's latest fund, which last year announced it was raising an unspecified amount of capital. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ribbie lets you follow along live with MLB games with a delightful, arcade-inspired interface. Also, the loop takes agentic AI a step further, by authorizing a swarm of agents to work continuously in the background, endlessly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Reflection AI will pay $150 million a month beginning July 1, 2026 through 2029 for immediate access to Nvidia's latest GB300 AI chips and supporting hardware across SpaceX's Colossus 2 data center near Memphis, Tennessee. Also, Instagram is coming for streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video as it sets its ambitions for living room viewing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

So ... what's your In the Weights score? Check here. Also, many of those videos were reportedly filmed on “near-perfect copies” of the Polymarket website, while featuring trades and winnings that were not real. And Signal's Meredith Whittaker wants you to remember that AI chatbots ‘are not your friends.' These are not conscious beings. These are not sentient interlocutors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Guardrails positions itself as a populist political movement that runs on small donations from people in the trenches of the AI boom. Also, Spotify is launching "Reserved," a new system that will hold two concert tickets for an artist's superfans before they're on sale to the public. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WordPress VIP's latest survey suggests consumers are wary of AI-generated answers even as companies increasingly view AI search as an important referral channel. Also, Anthropic's popularity with business users is growing so well that the latest beef with the government might actually boost it, data from Ramp suggests. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Justice department says the Pentagon needs xAI to keep using its unpermitted gas turbines. Also, Stanford graduates booed and walked on Google's CEO during his commencement speech. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A group made up of dozens of cybersecurity experts urged the White House to remove export control restrictions on Anthropic's models Fable and Mythos, arguing that the order is going to limit the ability of cybersecurity defenders to secure their software and products. Also, Fox says the deal will create the third-largest television company in the United States. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's not clear which states are involved, but they're asking about everything from OpenAI's ad policies to its handling of health data. Also, Meta started dismantling its $2 billion Manus acquisition after Beijing ordered the deal reversed. And, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy may have been the source of security concerns that led Anthropic to cut off worldwide access to two models on Friday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A former xAI engineer is suing the company and SpaceX, alleging he was fired for raising AI safety concerns about Grok days before SpaceX's historic IPO. Also, Alt Carbon said the agreement followed more than a year of scientific review and due diligence, with Microsoft requiring additional verification and data-sharing measures. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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