Category: TECH

Intentionally poisoning someone else is never morally right. But if someone in the office keeps swiping your lunch, wouldn’t you resort to petty vengeance?

For artists, protecting work from being used to train AI models without consent is an uphill battle. Opt-out requests and do-not-scrape codes rely on AI companies to engage in good faith, but those motivated by profit over privacy can easily disregard such measures. Sequestering themselves offline isn’t an option for most artists, who rely on social media exposure for commissions and other work opportunities. 

Nightshade, a project from the University of Chicago, gives artists some recourse by “poisoning” image data, rendering it useless or disruptive to AI model training. Ben Zhao, a computer science professor who led the project, compared Nightshade to “putting hot sauce in your lunch so it doesn’t get stolen from the workplace fridge.” 

“We’re showing the fact that generative models in general, no pun intended, are just models. Nightshade itself is not meant as an end-all, extremely powerful weapon to kill these companies,” Zhao said. “Nightshade shows that these models are vulnerable and there are ways to attack. What it means is that there are ways for content owners to provide harder returns than writing Congress or complaining via email or social media.” 

Zhao and his team aren’t trying to take down Big AI — they’re just trying to force tech giants to pay for licensed work, instead of training AI models on scraped images. 

“There is a right way of doing this,” he continued. “The real issue here is about consent, is about compensation. We are just giving content creators a way to push back against unauthorized training.” 

Nightshade targets the associations between text prompts, subtly changing the pixels in images to trick AI models into interpreting a completely different image than what a human viewer would see. Models will incorrectly categorize features of “shaded” images, and if they’re trained on a sufficient amount of “poisoned” data, they’ll start to generate images completely unrelated to the corresponding prompts. It can take fewer than 100 “poisoned” samples to corrupt a Stable Diffusion prompt, the researchers write in a technical paper currently under peer review.

Take, for example, a painting of a cow lounging in a meadow.

“By manipulating and effectively distorting that association, you can make the models think that cows have four round wheels and a bumper and a trunk,” Zhao told TechCrunch. “And when they are prompted to produce a cow, they will produce a large Ford truck instead of a cow.”

The Nightshade team provided other examples, too. An unaltered image of the Mona Lisa and a shaded version are virtually identical to humans, but instead of interpreting the “poisoned” sample as a portrait of a woman, AI will “see” it as a cat wearing a robe. 

Prompting an AI to generate an image of a dog, after the model was trained using shaded images that made it see cats, yields horrifying hybrids that bear no resemblance to either animal. 

The effects bleed through to related concepts, the technical paper noted. Shaded samples that corrupted the prompt “fantasy art” also affected prompts for “dragon” and “Michael Whelan,” who is an illustrator specializing in fantasy and sci-fi cover art. 

Zhao also led the team that created Glaze, a cloaking tool that distorts how AI models “see” and determine artistic style, preventing it from imitating artists’ unique work. Like with Nightshade, a person might view a “glazed” realistic charcoal portrait, but an AI model will see it as an abstract painting — and then generate messy abstract paintings when it’s prompted to generate fine charcoal portraits. 

Speaking to TechCrunch after the tool launched last year, Zhao described Glaze as a technical attack being used as a defense. While Nightshade isn’t an “outright attack,” Zhao told TechCrunch more recently, it’s still taking the offensive against predatory AI companies that disregard opt outs. OpenAI — one of the companies facing a class action lawsuit for allegedly violating copyright law — now allows artists to opt out of being used to train future models. 

“The problem with this [opt-out requests] is that it is the softest, squishiest type of request possible. There’s no enforcement, there’s no holding any company to their word,” Zhao said. “There are plenty of companies who are flying below the radar, that are much smaller than OpenAI, and they have no boundaries. They have absolutely no reason to abide by those opt out lists, and they can still take your content and do whatever they wish.” 

Kelly McKernan, an artist who’s part of the class action lawsuit against Stability AI, Midjourney and DeviantArt, posted an example of their shaded and glazed painting on X. The painting depicts a woman tangled in neon veins, as pixelated lookalikes feed off of her. It represents generative AI “cannibalizing the authentic voice of human creatives,” McKernan wrote.

McKernan began scrolling past images with striking similarities to their own paintings in 2022, as AI image generators launched to the public. When they found that over 50 of their pieces had been scraped and used to train AI models, they lost all interest in creating more art, they told TechCrunch. They even found their signature in AI-generated content. Using Nightshade, they said, is a protective measure until adequate regulation exists. 

“It’s like there’s a bad storm outside, and I still have to go to work, so I’m going to protect myself and use a clear umbrella to see where I’m going,” McKernan said. “It’s not convenient and I’m not going to stop the storm, but it’s going to help me get through to whatever the other side looks like. And it sends a message to these companies that just take and take and take, with no repercussions whatsoever, that we will fight back.” 

Most of the alterations that Nightshade makes should be invisible to the human eye, but the team does note that the “shading” is more visible on images with flat colors and smooth backgrounds. The tool, which is free to download, is also available in a low intensity setting to preserve visual quality. McKernan said that although they could tell that their image was altered after using Glaze and Nightshade, because they’re the artist who painted it, it’s “almost imperceptible.” 

Illustrator Christopher Bretz demonstrated Nightshade’s effect on one of his pieces, posting the results on X. Running an image through Nightshade’s lowest and default setting had little impact on the illustration, but changes were obvious at higher settings.

“I have been experimenting with Nightshade all week, and I plan to run any new work and much of my older online portfolio through it,” Bretz told TechCrunch. “I know a number of digital artists that have refrained from putting new art up for some time and I hope this tool will give them the confidence to start sharing again.”

Ideally, artists should use both Glaze and Nightshade before sharing their work online, the team wrote in a blog post. The team is still testing how Glaze and Nightshade interact on the same image, and plans to release an integrated, single tool that does both. In the meantime, they recommend using Nightshade first, and then Glaze to minimize visible effects. The team urges against posting artwork that has only been shaded, not glazed, as Nightshade doesn’t protect artists from mimicry. 

Signatures and watermarks — even those added to an image’s metadata — are “brittle” and can be removed if the image is altered. The changes that Nightshade makes will remain through cropping, compressing, screenshotting or editing, because they modify the pixels that make up an image. Even a photo of a screen displaying a shaded image will be disruptive to model training, Zhao said. 

As generative models become more sophisticated, artists face mounting pressure to protect their work and fight scraping. Steg.AI and Imatag help creators establish ownership of their images by applying watermarks that are imperceptible to the human eye, though neither promises to protect users from unscrupulous scraping. The “No AI” Watermark Generator, released last year, applies watermarks that label human-made work as AI-generated, in hopes that datasets used to train future models will filter out AI-generated images. There’s also Kudurru, a tool from Spawning.ai, which identifies and tracks scrapers’ IP addresses. Website owners can block the flagged IP addresses, or choose to send a different image back, like a middle finger. 

Nightshade’s critics claim that the program is a “virus,” or complain that using it will “hurt the open source community.” In a screenshot posted on Reddit in the months before Nightshade’s release, a Discord user accused Nightshade of “cyber warfare/terrorism.” Another Reddit user who inadvertently went viral on X questioned Nightshade’s legality, comparing it to “hacking a vulnerable computer system to disrupt its operation.”

Believing that Nightshade is illegal because it is “intentionally disrupting the intended purpose” of a generative AI model, as OP states, is absurd. Zhao asserted that Nightshade is perfectly legal. It’s not “magically hopping into model training pipelines and then killing everyone,” Zhao said — the model trainers are voluntarily scraping images, both shaded and not, and AI companies are profiting off of it. 

The ultimate goal of Glaze and Nightshade is to incur an “incremental price” on each piece of data scraped without permission, until training models on unlicensed data is no longer tenable. Ideally, companies will have to license uncorrupted images to train their models, ensuring that artists give consent and are compensated for their work. 

It’s been done before; Getty Images and Nvidia recently launched a generative AI tool entirely trained using Getty’s extensive library of stock photos. Subscribing customers pay a fee determined by how many photos they want to generate, and photographers whose work was used to train the model receive a portion of the subscription revenue. Payouts are determined by how much of the photographer’s content was contributed to the training set, and the “performance of that content over time,” Wired reported. 

Zhao clarified that he isn’t anti-AI, and pointed out that AI has immensely useful applications that aren’t so ethically fraught. In the world of academia and scientific research, advancements in AI are cause for celebration. While most of the marketing hype and panic around AI really refers to generative AI, traditional AI has been used to develop new medications and combat climate change, he said. 

“None of these things require generative AI. None of these things require pretty pictures, or make up facts, or have a user interface between you and the AI,” Zhao said. “It’s not a core part for most fundamental AI technologies. But it is the case that these things interface so easily with people. Big Tech has really grabbed onto this as an easy way to make profit and engage a much wider portion of the population, as compared to a more scientific AI that actually has fundamental, breakthrough capabilities and amazing applications.”

The major players in tech, whose funding and resources dwarf those of academia, are largely pro-AI. They have no incentive to fund projects that are disruptive and yield no financial gain. Zhao is staunchly opposed to monetizing Glaze and Nightshade, or ever selling the projects’ IP to a startup or corporation. Artists like McKernan are grateful to have a reprieve from subscription fees, which are nearly ubiquitous across software used in creative industries.

“Artists, myself included, are feeling just exploited at every turn,” McKernan said. “So when something is given to us freely as a resource, I know we’re appreciative.’ 

The team behind Nightshade, which consists of Zhao, Ph.D student Shawn Shan, and several grad students, has been funded by the university, traditional foundations and government grants. But to sustain research, Zhao acknowledged that the team will likely have to figure out a “nonprofit structure” and work with arts foundations. He added that the team still has a “few more tricks” up their sleeves. 

“For a long time research was done for the sake of research, expanding human knowledge. But I think something like this, there is an ethical line,” Zhao said. “The research for this matters … those who are most vulnerable to this, they tend to be the most creative, and they tend to have the least support in terms of resources. It’s not a fair fight. That’s why we’re doing what we can to help balance the battlefield.” 

Epic’s standalone survival crafting game saw its first update on Tuesday, smoothing out some of the new game’s rough edges and adding a flurry of quality of life improvements.

We’ve covered Lego Fortnite since it launched last month, when the new title lured in 2.4 million simultaneous players. On the face of it the game is a Lego-fied version of Minecraft, but the game actually blends together a few well-loved gameplay loops that players who loved cozy titles like Animal Crossing, Stardew Valley and Valheim will find themselves right at home with.

A little over a month after its launch, Lego Fortnite’s content was beginning to run dry for players who dove in headlong in December (present company included). Unfortunately, the game’s first big update doesn’t add the massive swath of new content that some players were hoping for, but it does improve things across the board, fixing a lot of little problems and quality of life complaints that the game’s early adopters were running into.

First off, Lego Fortnite is making it easier to get around the map with the addition of launch pads, a predictable item for longtime Fortnite players but a welcome one nonetheless. The launch pads should make giant ugly staircases a relic of the past while alleviating some of the pain of traversing the game’s massive procedurally generated maps without proper vehicles or steering wheels.

Building-oriented players also get some tweaks to make things go more smoothly. Builds will now clear out nearby flora automatically and fit better onto slopes, since totally flat ground is relatively hard to come by. New floor, wall and roof options have also been added, including smaller pieces intended to make building less awkward for anyone getting fancy.

Epic is also adding more Lego styled skins into the game (Ahsoka Tano, Spider-Man, etc) and a a trio of new villagers (Bushranger, Rustler, and Tomatohead). Villagers will also be able to open doors, which is actually a considerable improvement considering how many times they get stuck beyond the castle gates and can’t get back to the oven for their late night gig baking pumpkin pies.

The full list of fixes is pretty long so if you’ve been waiting for it it’s well worth reading through the whole thing. Some big bugs should be squashed now, including the one where players spawned in the world stuck under a building (we never saw this one but the Lego Fortnite Reddit was certainly aware of it).

Beyond the specific bug fixes, improvements to stability, performance and the in-game physics should improve matters for ambitious players who bounced off of the game out of frustration (shoutout to my server-mate building us a monorail!). Hopefully the cumulative effect of these changes results in a smoother experience, because the game did seem to be catching and lagging quite a bit for some players, even on high-end hardware.

There’s a lot in here but the patch does stop short of addressing some core complaints from the game’s enthusiastic early player base. Unfortunately, it looks like servers are still limited to 15 villagers in total — a hard cap that discourages expansion and big multiplayer builds. There are no new biomes yet so wholly fresh content is in short supply, but it makes sense for Epic to nail down the basics before adding in new areas to explore. It’s also not clear from the notes if the fixes will alleviate the “high complexity area” errors a lot of players have seen, sometimes even on modest builds, but we hope so. The game is a blast so far and we’re looking forward to getting back to building that pizza oven and open-air frost biome cafe. It’s also been nice to ignore the siren song of battle royale in favor of Lego Fortnite’s cute gameplay and peaceful pace, which at its best conjures the magic of Animal Crossing New Horizons.

The game’s cozy vibes are actually key to Epic’s actually quite ambitious plans with the title, which joins Fortnite’s traditional battle royale modes along with Rocket Racing and Fortnite Festival as standalone games available in the Fortnite ecosystem. That ecosystem is the name of the game and Epic is working to build out some alternative tentpole experiences to appeal to players who might not be fight-to-the-death types.

These days, installing Fortnite drops players into a virtual storefront stocked with free playable experiences. Some of those experienced are made by Epic itself, like Lego Fortnite, but most are “user-made” with Epic’s beefy game development toolkit. While many games within the game are made by budding amateur game designers, others are branded experiences, like recent survival games from YouTube megastar MrBeast.

To expand Fortnite’s appeal, Epic needs to cast a wide net, bringing in players well beyond those who relish creeping around a cartoon map with a sniper rifle, dressed as Darth Vader. So far, Lego Fortnite is Fortnite’s most compelling alternative offering — and a game that’s likely to build more momentum as the updates keep rolling in.

Welcome, folks, to TechCrunch Week in Review (WiR), a digest of the past few days in tech happenings.

As I write this, snow’s gracing New York City — an increasingly rare treat thanks to our changing climate. And that feels fitting in light of the Apple Vision Pro’s imminent launch. After all, one of the promises of headsets like the Vision Pro is that they transport the wearer away from the stresses of everyday life to more optimistic realities — at least for a spell.

Brian went hands on with the Vision Pro this week. His impressions? It’s transporting, all right — but very pricey.

There’s a decent chunk of news to recap this week, so let’s get to it. But first, a reminder to sign up here to receive WiR in your inbox every Saturday if you haven’t already done so.

News

“Quiet supersonic” jet: NASA and Lockheed Martin have finally taken the wraps off the X-59, an aircraft that may shape the future of both military and civilian air travel, Devin writes.

Byju’s valuation cut: BlackRock has cut the value of its holding in Byju’s, slashing the implied valuation of the Indian startup to about $1 billion from $22 billion in early 2022.

Notion launches a calendar app: Notion, the incredibly popular note-taking and project management service, has launched a stand-alone calendar service. Frederic has the full story.

Samsung’s Galaxy S24: Samsung held a press conference this week where it announced its latest flagship phones — all powered by AI in some form or another.

Layoffs at Google: After laying off over 1,000 workers across multiple divisions last week and cutting 100 jobs at YouTube, Google CEO Sundar Pichai sent a memo to its staff warning more layoffs are expected this year.

Analysis

CES chases off sex tech: Despite being an industry that caters to a universal human experience, sex tech has always had an uneasy association with CES, Haje writes. And this year, the conference effectively managed to chase the sex tech industry off its show floors — for better or worse.

Podcasts

On Equity, Alex and Mary Ann chewed through funding rounds galore from Pomelo, Tandem and Briq — and also discussed how C-suite executives feel about AI and the enterprise.

Found featured Magic Spoon co-founder and CEO Gabi Lewis. Magic Spoon creates cereal flavors that play on our nostalgia for Froot Loops and Cocoa Puffs with a grown-up high-protein twist. 

And on Chain Reaction, Jacquelyn interviewed Monica Long, the president of Ripple, the blockchain-based digital payment network and protocol.

TechCrunch+

TC+ subscribers get access to in-depth commentary, analysis and surveys — which you know if you’re already a subscriber. If you’re not, consider signing up. Here are a few highlights from this week:

Unicorn club: Cowboy Ventures’ founder Aileen Lee penned a long-awaited follow-up to her original 2013 article in which she coined the term “unicorn.”

Private equity in 2024: Alex and Anna write about how PE firms could be the last resort for startups struggling to exit.

Reddit, IPOing: Reddit could finally go public this year. Alex examines what that could mean for the company — and others attempting IPOs this year.

Bonus round

Cleveland-based electric motorcycle startup Land Moto is looking to diversify by powering up the battery design side of its tech, and has raised $3 million (on top of $7 million raised last summer) to do so in 2024.

Land’s primary product is a striking electric motorbike called the District, which sits somewhat at the intersection of e-bike and motorcycle. Powered by one or two large Land-designed batteries, the District can be limited to Class 2 operation (meaning no permit required) or taken up to above 70 MPH in performance mode.

(In the interest of transparency, I was actually looking into buying one of these things before I decided it was a bit too much bike for me. Having seen on in person at CES, I’m glad I opted for something lighter but was newly tempted.)

But like many electric vehicle manufacturers, Land is finding that there is a lot of potential in having a giant battery present at someone’s home beyond simply transportation. Just as some carmakers have flirted with the idea of having your electric car act as a home battery, why shouldn’t your electric bike do the same, to a lesser extent?

The Core batteries come in a few sizes, up to a nominal 5.5 kWh, which gives the bike 80-100 miles of range. It’s also enough to charge your phone for a couple months or run the coffee maker during a power outage, and they’re hoping to promote this use case with a new accessory called the Power Tap.

Recently put up for pre-order, the device adds a 400W, three-prong outlet and four USB-C plugs to the side of the bike — obviously not for when you’re riding, but for when you’re sitting in the woods or at the cafe you were riding to.

But the new $3 million isn’t just to ship that — the plan is to invest more heavily in the battery manufacturing and design piece in general, making the Core batteries more than just the thing that go in this particular bike.

“Being able to make electric batteries in-house is a pivotal moment for the team. It allows us to ramp up battery manufacturing in 2024 and continue to innovate and improve the intuitive design of the battery,” said Evan Painter, Land’s head of design, in a press release.

I chatted with Painter at CES and he said that the company has observed the electric ecosystem spreading out, not just into more specialized transport (like high-end electric motorcycles), but to micromobility and off-grid purposes.

On display at CES was a newly redesigned battery with the same general shape but built-in next-gen and consumer-grade inputs and outputs. At present that means USB-C, USB-A, an AC outlet, and solar input ports, but that could change as they continue to develop the device. I couldn’t get Painter to elaborate too much more on the possibilities for home use and integration.

As with other electric ecosystems, the new battery is designed to slot into the bike’s slot with minimal modification. And of course it may also power future vehicles of different sizes and types.

The $3 million funding round brings the company’s total to $10 million, and was led by a special purpose venture vehicle called Nunc Coepi Ventures.

CES has long been a launchpad for innovation and cutting-edge technology. However, at this year’s event, there was a conspicuous void: the near-absence of sex tech. Despite being an industry that caters to a universal human experience, sex tech has always had an uneasy association with CES.

This year, its conspicuous absence begs the question: Why are we still so prudishly resistant to integrating technology and intimacy?

In 2019, sex tech had its headline moment at CES when pleasure tech company Lora DiCarlo won an innovation award—only for it to be rescinded, and then reinstated after widespread backlash. (It later went out of business). This controversy highlighted the uneasy relationship between the mainstream tech industry and its more intimate cousin.

Fast forward to 2024, and it seems CES has effectively managed to chase the sex tech industry off its show floors.

I went looking for sex-tech companies to potentially do a roundup, and there were few enough to recognize only one trend: Not in sex tech, but in the absence thereof. One company stood out: Norwegian company Ohdoki, the creators of The Handy and the CES-launched Oh!, were a refreshing presence in the otherwise prudish tech landscape. Their booth was bustling with activity, offering a stark contrast to the largely sex-tech-absent event.

It’s unclear whether it’s CES itself that’s trying to reduce the amount of sexiness on its show floors – the show itself has evolved a lot over the years, and this correspondent thinks it’s a relief to see the so-called ‘booth babes’ being all but absent: A huge change from my first CES back in 2007 or so, where scantily-clad models were everywhere. But while I celebrate the banishment of sexism – objectifying humans at booths has no place in 2024 – sex itself ought to have a place in the vernacular of technology.

It’s puzzling to me why we, as a community, keep erasing sexuality from tech – when it’s such an universal part of the human experience – to such an extent.

CES 2024 is here! The TechCrunch team is in Las Vegas this week to take in all of the action and decipher what it means to you. You already know what we’re expecting, so sit back, relax and stay tuned throughout the week as we bring you the products, announcements and startup news that you need to know.

Kicking off the first day were some bigger announcements from companies, including Nvidia, LG, Sony and Samsung. Those livestreams have ended, but you can watch most of their archives and catch up right here. And with the event still ongoing, and the show floor open, here’s how you can follow along with our team’s coverage.

Or, to dive into each day’s updates directly, you can follow these links:

Thursday, January 11

From voice synthesis to safer phones for kids, here are some actually helpful AI products at CES

After seeing all the examples of artificial intelligence baked into the booths of CES, Devin Coldewey put together a list of gadgets, products and software he thought actually might do some good.

Also, Haje Jan Kamps writes about the MMGuardian, a smartphone produced in collaboration with Samsung that’s tapping into the power of AI to make phone use safer for kids and teenagers.

Is hydrogen making a comeback?

Harri Weber and Sean O’Kane discuss the examples of hydrogen-power vehicles (TechCrunch+ gets into that too) on the CES floor and why it’s now a popular alternative energy after previously fizzling out. Or, they write, “is it yet another example of companies making promises at CES that they won’t be able to keep?”

Polestar makes promises

Kirsten Korosec caught up with Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath who discussed the integration of the Google built-in, a branded product that embeds Google apps and services directly into the company’s EVs. Don’t worry, Ingenlath says the EV maker isn’t dropping Android Auto or Apple CarPlay as a result.

Can’t take my eyes off of you in video calls

With cameras in different places, it’s often difficult to maintain eye contact with someone on video calls. There is AI for that, however, one company is taking a different approach. EyeQ is developing a device that attaches to your laptop and, through the use of a mirror, enables you to maintain eye contact with the person you’re speaking to, even while looking at your screen.

From TechCrunch+: Hyundai talks hydrogen, Siri needs to get smarter

As Tim De Chant notes, Hyundai has invested in hydrogen fuel cells for decades, but it has also been one of the more successful legacy automakers at navigating the electric transition. So it’s odd now that a company with so much momentum on its side would throw a hydrogen Hail Mary at CES.

Meanwhile, Haje Jan Kamps had a lot of time to contemplate how Siri works while driving to Las Vegas. He shares some areas where Apple’s voice assistant, Siri, is being left in the dust by its competitors.

Whispp gives a voice to people who can’t speak

Whispp is working to change the game for individuals with speech disorders and voice disabilities, bringing voice boxes into the current millennium with its groundbreaking AI-powered assistive speech and phone-calling app. The company launched its newest phone-calling feature that converts whispered and vocal cord-impaired speech into a user’s natural voice in real time.

Rownd designs a better tabletop CNC lathe

Haje Jan Kamps was keeping tabs on Rownd’s new tabletop CNC lathe and got to see it in action this week. He writes that what sets Rownd Lathe apart is not just its relatively affordable hardware (the machine retails at around $5k) but the accompanying software that democratizes the design process, enabling beginners to easily create or utilize pre-made designs from the open-source Rownd Library. Watch it craft a chess pawn.

Wednesday, January 10

Zoe Care gives another take on fall detection

Devin Coldewey found what Zoe Care was doing in the area of fall detection and elderly autonomy interesting. The company uses existing Wi-Fi signals (and the way our bodies change how Wi-Fi reception works) to detect humans and their activities.

Unlike the Serenity desktop fall detection network we discussed earlier this week, Zoe’s device doubles as a smart plug, and uses a sensor to gather and analyze Wi-Fi signals. If a fall is detected, these signals are translated into alerts on a mobile application. Covering up to 800 sq. ft., just one device can secure multiple rooms or even an entire floor, making it an efficient, cost-effective solution.

WTF is a ‘software-defined vehicle?’

That’s the question Harri Weber set out to answer after hearing the phrase uttered all over the CES floor. In it’s most simplest definition, it’s a vehicle defined by software. However, as Harri spoke with various experts, we learn the term can mean various things. Go inside the journey to find out why this is such a popular automotive buzzword.

The weirdest tech of CES 2024 (so far)

One thing is consistent throughout every CES: weird and unexpected gadgets and gizmos appear from unexpected places. We have a rundown of some of the most noteworthy products and services here, which include expensive binoculars with birdwatching AI, voice-absorbing muzzles, pay-as-you-go bathroom access and a router that tries to fit your aesthetic.

$2,000 earbuds, silent speech and AI-powered wearable jewelry

Beyond the outright strange products and platforms, there are some hidden gems amid the big booths and name brands at CES. Our own Haje Jan Kamps has highlighted several already that stand out from the crowd. He gave Breggz’s $2,000 earbuds a listen and discovered they actually deliver on their price point for audio perfectionists. He took a look at Augmental’s impressive ambitions to create accessible interfaces that can accommodate for voiceless communication. And he explored Nowatch’s purposeful fitness tracker that uses AI to keep you aware of your health goals without overly stressing you out.

Tuesday, January 9

Hyundai shows off its eVTOL, air taxi ambitions

Supernal’s electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft got a showcase from its parent company Hyundai Motor Group on the ground in Las Vegas, as the so-named S-A2 moves closer to its planned 2028 launch for shuttling passengers. Head here for a full rundown on the aircraft, and the challenges in expanding airborne mobility.

This delivery bot handles stairs with ease

Mobinn, a new spinoff from Hyundai, is taking to CES to show off how its new delivery robot can use its flexible wheels to navigate stairs and changes in elevation to drop off deliveries, with tests already being conducted in Korea. Climb aboard the full story here.

Walmart debuts AI-powered tools, features and a drone

Walmart president and CEO Doug McMillon shared some new technologies the retail giant has been working on, including augmented reality (AR), drones, generative artificial intelligence, and other AI tech meant to improve the shopping experience for customers. Within the presentation were some new tools for managing product search and replenishment and a new beta AR social commerce platform called “Shop with Friends.” Get the scoop on all of the new products.

OneCourt lets those who are blind ‘see’ the game

Put this in one in the “thoughtful” category. OneCourt, a startup founded by recent University of Washington graduates, debuted a lap-top miniature field that enables someone who is blind or with low vision feel the position of sports players and the ball in near real time. The OneCourt team takes this information and transmits it to a haptic display with a touchable cover imitating the pitch or field lines. See how it works.

rabbit jumps at the chance to explain how its r1 is different from other virtual assistants

Devin writes that the idea behind the $200 rabbit r1 is simple: “it lets you keep your phone in your pocket when you need to do some simple task like ordering a car to your location, looking up a few places to eat where you’re meeting friends, or finding some lodging options for a weekend on the coast. Instead of pulling out your phone, unlocking it, finding the app, opening it, and working your way through the UI (so laborious!), you pull out the r1 instead and give it a command in natural language.” Now hop over to the story for more.

All electric vehicles, all the time — Honda, VinFast, Google Maps

First, we have your look at Honda’s upcoming 0 series electric vehicles that is a thin and light take on what Harri writes has typically been a thick and heavy EV trend. The automaker teased two concept vehicles, the Saloon and Space-Hub, and said the first commercial model in its 0 series EV lineup will launch in North America in 2026. Get a look at the specs and more.

Next, Vietnamese EV startup VinFast is getting into the electric pickup truck game with the reveal of a new concept called the VF Wild. The truck will have midsize pickup dimensions, and a folding mid-gate to allow the five-foot bed to turn into something functionally closer to an eight-foot bed (when the rear seats are down). Not much else is known at the moment. The company also officially announced plans to start selling its smallest EV, the VF3, outside of Vietnam. Learn more.

Meanwhile, Google has a new feature for EV drivers to track and display real-time battery information in Google Maps. The feature is available in EVs with Android Auto, a secondary interface that runs on the user’s phone and wirelessly communicates and projects features like navigation, media and messaging from their Android-based smartphone to the vehicle display. From here, Android Auto shares real-time battery information with Google Maps. Find what your looking for here.

For Google and Samsung, sharing is caring

Google and Samsung announced they are combining their sharing solutions into a singular cross-Android solution under the Quick Share name. The new offering grows the network of devices that users can share content with across the Android ecosystem, including Chromebooks. By integrating Google’s Nearby Share and Samsung’s Quick Share, the two experiences create “the best default, built-in-option for peer-to-peer content sharing” across all types of devices in the Android and Chromebook ecosystems, according to the companies. Google also announced that it is working with PC manufacturers like LG to expand Quick Share to Windows PCs as a pre-installed app. Quick Share will start rolling out to current Nearby Share–enabled devices next month.

These gadgets help with health monitoring from home — Serenity, Vivoo, Tack One

First, Serenity is showing off its fall-detection system for the first time at CES. It’s easy to use — just plug it in, no app or configurations required. It utilizes advanced radar technology and AI to track up to two individuals within a 40-foot range, even through walls, and offers detailed information about someone’s activities. See how Serenity’s technology sets it apart.

Next, Vivoo, a company offering a broad range of at-home tests, launched a new test that can detect urinary tract infections (UTIs). Vivoo’s At-Home UTI Test streamlines the diagnostic process for UTIs and utilizes your phone’s camera to record and analyze the color readout of the test strips. It then gives advice and context for the readings in its free app.

Meanwhile, Tack One, a Singapore-based startup, unveiled the new generation of its Tack GPS Plus, an AI-powered location technology device to help make sure your kids, elderly parents and pets are safe. Here’s what’s new: longer battery life and subscription fees starting from $2.95 monthly for a two-year subscription plan.

The startup launched its GPS tracker in 2021 to address the pain point of the short battery life on the market and lower the tracking service cost, making location tracking extremely affordable. Tack One’s battery lasts 30 days on a single charge and a patent-pending indoor elevation finder feature. Find out more on the specs and pricing.

Get a look at Skyted’s voice-capturing mask

You read about Skyted’s voice-capturing mask last week, now see what it looks like in real life.

“We launched a mobile application that will give you information about how big your ‘sound bubble’ is. If, for example, you’re sitting in an airplane, you don’t want the person next to you to hear what you’re saying,” says Gauthier Daridon, connectivity engineer at Skyted, in an interview with TechCrunch at CES in Las Vegas. “So our application will explain that you are ‘perceptible’ and ‘intelligible’ at certain distances.” Get more of the scoop on how it works.

Amazon’s AI-related enhancements

Amazon says it will be the first company to support Matter Casting, the video- and audio-beaming feature of the Matter smart home standard, on its smart displays and smart TVs. When it comes to Amazon’s Prime Video app for Android and iOS, users will be able to cast content to supported Amazon devices — starting with the Echo Show 15 — by tapping the new dedicated Matter Casting button. Beyond that, Amazon says that Matter Casting support will arrive on Fire TVs including smart TVs from Panasonic with Fire TV built in, and — on the app side — Plex, Pluto TV, Sling TV, Starz and ZDF later this year.  Read more.

And, Amazon announced back in September that it would be coming out with some new tools to build large language model-powered experiences. Today, we got to see them in action, including new generative AI-powered Alexa experiences, including AI chatbot platform Character.AI, AI music company Splash and Voice AI game developer Volley. All three experiences are available in the Amazon Alexa Skill Store. Learn more about Alexa’s experiences.

ElliQ’s eldercare robot gets a reboot

Intuition Robotics’ ElliQ, which went on the market last March, and found some success through partnerships with assistive care facilities. After some fresh funding, the company unveils ElliQ 3, featuring some design tweaks like a more powerful hardware, increased memory, updated core processor, a lighter apparatus and – of course – generative AI integration. Read more.

Kodiak Robotics’ take on autonomous trucking

Autonomous trucking startup Kodiak Robotics revealed a semi-truck that founder Don Burnette says “is the linchpin in its plans to launch commercial driverless operations this year.” The company specifically set out to include redundancy in its safety features so that there is a backup in case anything were to fail while on the highway with a driver behind the wheel. Get a breakdown of the mechanical components and safety systems.

Fox, Polygon Labs collaborate to defeat deepfakes

Fox has partnered with Polygon Labs, a developer of scaling networks for Ethereum, to release an open source protocol — called Verify — for media companies to register their articles, photographs and more. Fox and Polygon are pitching the protocol as a means for outlets to protect their IP while letting consumers verify the authenticity of content. Learn more about the protocol.

Ultrahuman unveils ‘home health’ tracker

Indian wearable startup Ultrahuman is getting into the smart home game with the upcoming launch of connected hardware that’s designed to monitor the “health” of your home, as its marketing puts it. The device, which it’s calling the Ultrahuman Home, has a price of $349 and a shipping date slated to start in July. Check out the specs.

Monday, January 8

Pivotal begins personal aircraft sales

Pivotal, which is backed by Larry Page, has begun U.S. sales of its lightweight electric Helix aircraft, which notably does not require a pilot’s license to be able to fly. That doesn’t mean those paying at least the $190,000 base price will go without mandatory training; a number of rules and regulations still apply. You can get the full breakdown of their launch pricing and specs right here.

Will.i.am’s new startup mixes music as you drive

If you thought that sounded a little ridiculous, contributor Tim Stevens did too — at least until taking part in the startup Sound Drive’s demo at CES that left him feeling surprisingly impressed with the underlying tech. Read his full impressions of what it’s like to experience music “conducted by the road.”

Sony highlights mobility partnerships, creators and content authenticity

Sony took the final major press conference slot on Monday, with an expected focus around creators; the success of its IP across its gaming, film and streaming studios; and a focus on its partnership with Honda to imagine the mobility space as a “creativity space.” The latter was demonstrated in part by teasing Fortnite in its Afeela car and driving it onstage with a PlayStation 5 controller. Its “digital birth certificate” also reminded us of the brighter side of NFTs, which Haje explains in detail here.

Kia’s new modular EV van lineup

Kia’s new EV vans come with a modular twist. In addition to using a modular powertrain, the vehicles will also have modular tops that allow for many different cabin options. But they remained vague on pricing, specs and expected launch dates for this new fleet of commercial EVs. Read more.

Samsung brings back Ballie; renews green initiative

Meet the new and improved Ballie, Samsung Electronic’s home robot, which it previewed today. It’s around the size of a bowling ball with a battery designed to last two to three hours. Ballie sports a spatial lidar sensor to help it navigate rooms and obstacles, as well as a 1080p projector with two lenses that allows the robot to project movies and video calls and even act as a second PC monitor. Learn more.

Expanding beyond cute, rolling robots, Samsung showcased its wider initiatives for connected homes. Aside from expected UI and feature updates for its existing SmartThings home automation platform, Samsung showed off a “map view” for users that creates an interactive home map that even includes animated avatars of residents and pets. Learn more.

Also, Samsung devoted some of its keynote speech to its commitment of sustainability. “We start by incorporating recycled materials into some of our most loved products, such as recycled fishing nets in our Galaxy,” said Inhee Chung, VP of corporate sustainability at Samsung. “Smartphones, recycled plastic in our TVs, and recycled aluminum in our bespoke refrigerators. Recycled plastic accounted for 14% of the total plastic used in our products in 2022. And we’re working towards increasing this amount.” Read more.

X1 Interpreter Hub: A new real-time translator

Timekettle announced the X1 Interpreter Hub, a more robust solution, designed for meetings. Timekettle calls it “the world’s first multi-language simultaneous interpretation system.” The system works out of the box, without having to download a separate app. For in-person meetings, two devices are touched together to initiate conversation translation. The handheld devices house earbuds, similar to past Timekettle products. All told, the X1 is capable of supporting up to 20 people at once in five different languages. Read more.

LG’s transparent television

Televisions aren’t naturally pretty or used as a design feature, but LG Electronics is out to change that perception. Today, consumer technology giant unveiled what it touts is “the world’s first” wireless transparent OLED TV. The LG Signature OLED T combines a transparent 4K OLED screen with LG’s wireless video and audio transmission technology.

Breathe easy with bio-engineered houseplants

French startup Neoplants is showing off its progress with its houseplants that work as air purifiers designed for the home. The bio-engineered plants can, according to the company, replace 20 “regular” houseplants, as measured by how many pollutants the plants can remove from the air.

More from Samsung: bigger, foldier, more rollable displays

Ahead of Samsung Electronics’ press conference later today, we look at some of its product plans that include a “new generation of products that can be folded inward and outward,” along with “monitor-sized” folding and sliding OLEDs. Samsung also unveiled a “Transparent MICRO LED” display for the first time.

Nvidia gets its game on

Today, Nvidia gets into artificial intelligence in a big way with the unveiling of its GeForce RTX, including the GeForce RTX 40 Super series of desktop graphics cards. Much of these are meant for gaming, and Nvidia said 14 titles will get the RTX upgrade treatment, including Horizon Forbidden West, Pax Dei, and Diablo IV. The RTX 4080 Super starts at $999.

Nvidia also announced that its partnership with Getty Images will include a new service for iStock customers, which can create licensable images trained on the existing iStock photo library.

Nvidia also showed off ACE, which uses AI to create unique reactions from in-game NPCs, which gives an uncanny valley sheen on top of prompt response dialog.

More chip updates from AMD

Speaking of chips, AMD debuted its new Ryzen 8000G processors for the desktop, with a big focus on their AI capabilities.

Bosch’s in-car eye-tracking

Bosch is showing off two technologies this week in eye-tracking while driving: One will see that you have tired eyes and ask if you need an espresso when you arrive home. If yes, its connect technology will tell your fancy machine to have one ready. The other is a bit more complicated in that it’s developed to track what you’re looking at as you drive.

Smart cooking

We have a collection of small home appliances for the kitchen, from grills to smart microwaves and everything in between, that is sure to get you cooking this year, if you aren’t already.

ChatGPT in Volkswagen

The German automaker plans to add an AI-powered chatbot into all Volkswagen models equipped with its IDA voice assistant. For now, it’s not available in the U.S.

Apple Vision Pro to go on sale February 2

And Apple, in a surprise announcement preempting CES, stole some of the show’s thunder by announcing the Vision Pro will be available in the U.S. The consumer electronics giant confirmed that the Vision Pro will be available in the U.S. starting February 2. Pre-orders for the $3,500 spatial computing device open Friday, January 19.

Some companies made announcements ahead of the big event. Check out what’s already made headlines:

Withings’ new multiscope device checks vitals for telehealth visits

Invoxia has a new smart collar suitable for both cats and dogs

This app lets restaurants and coffee shops charge to use the bathroom

Aurora and Continental pass first major hurdle in commercial self-driving trucks deal

This startup is bringing a ‘voice frequency absorber’ to CES 2024

For just $139, this startup turns your iPhone into a BlackBerry-era relic

Qualcomm next-gen XR chip promises up to 4.3K resolution per eye

Urbanista integrates Powerfoyle tech with solar-powered headphones

Moonwalker robotic shoes get lighter and smarter

Here, a fractional short-term vacation rental marketplace, has shut down after just over two years of operation.

The Miami-based startup, which had raised a known $5 million in funding, posted on its website on January 3 that it was ceasing operations “due to the current interest rate environment and economic conditions.” Fiat Ventures led its $3.5 million seed round in July of 2022, according to Crunchbase

In a statement on its website, the company said its goal was to sell all of the properties that it holds within the next six months. A filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission reveals the company had reported a net loss of $56,374 from its properties for the six months ended June 30, 2023. Notably, it generated $276,233 in revenue during the same period. But Here also reported paying $166,305 in interest during the same timeframe, and $58,920 in “other expenses.”

The company was founded in July of 2021 but didn’t launch operations until 2022. According to the publication ShortTermRentalz, the marketplace gave investors a way to acquire partial ownership of vacation rentals. Here handled the property management process, pledging that “members could earn monthly income on their investment proposition and potential property appreciation.”

Interest rates have surged over the past two years, contributing to a flurry of proptech startups to close up shop. Just last week, TechCrunch broke the news that Frontdesk, a short-term rental provider, had laid off its entire staff and was on the verge of shutting down. Last November, we reported on Zeus Living reportedly shutting down after raising $150 million in debt and equity.

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In a dramatic turn of events late Friday, ex-Y Combinator president Sam Altman was fired as CEO of AI startup OpenAI, the company behind viral AI hits like ChatGPT, GPT-4 and DALL-E 3, by OpenAI’s board of directors. Then, the company’s longtime president and co-founder, Greg Brockman, resigned — as did three senior OpenAI researchers. And the fallout continues.

It’s a fast-moving situation that we’re still trying to get to the bottom of. No doubt more will become clear as time goes on. To make it easier to follow all that’s happened in the meantime, though, we’ve put together a timeline; we’ll do our best to keep it current.

Timeline of Sam Altman’s firing from OpenAI

January 5

The identity of OpenAI’s board observer has been revealed. According to Bloomberg, Microsoft has chosen Dee Templeton, VP for tech and research partnerships and operations and an advisor to Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott, as its non-voting board observer. Bloomberg says that Templeton has already begun attending board meetings; The Information previously reported that Templeton was being considered for the role.

November 29

Microsoft gains a board observer

Microsoft will gain representation on the new initial board of directors in the form of a non-voting observer, OpenAI announced. It wasn’t immediately clear who this observer might be — only that they won’t have an official vote in board business.

November 21

Sam Altman, OpenAI reach agreement on return as CEO and ‘initial’ new board

In a sudden late announcement, OpenAI revealed that it and Altman “have reached an agreement in principle” for him to return as the company’s CEO. In addition to Altman’s return, its new “initial” board will include former Salesforce chief executive Bret Taylor, former US Secretary of the Treasury Larry Summers and Quora founder Adam D’Angelo.

Altman also posted about the new deal, giving some insight into the roller coaster that we’ve all been riding since his firing was revealed Friday. In his words, his decision to join Microsoft on Sunday “was the best path for me and the team.” Since then, the new board’s composition and Microsoft’s support appear to have been enough to bring him back to the AI company he co-founded.

Altman and board in talks

OpenAI’s board of directors is reportedly in talks with Sam Altman, ex-Y Combinator president and an OpenAI co-founder, to return to OpenAI as CEO as soon as this week. That’s according to Bloomberg, which in a brief — citing sources close to the matter — said that discussions are happening between Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo, one current member of the OpenAI board, and Altman — and possibly other board members as well.

Board tensions boil over

The New York Times reports that, before his ousting, Sam Altman made a move to push out board member Helen Toner because he thought a paper she had co-written was overly critical of OpenAI. That, among other issues, led to OpenAI’s current predicament. Speaking of, The Times indicates that negotiations to hire Altman back continue — but that one major sticking point remaining is “guardrails” meant to improve Altman’s communication with the board.

—

November 20

Altman joins Microsoft

Sam Altman, Greg Brockman and colleagues announce that they’ll join Microsoft to lead a new AI research team. Nadella leaves the door open to other OpenAI staffers, saying that they’ll be given the resources they need should they choose to join.

Sutskever’s mea culpa

Sutskever publishes a post on X suggesting that he regrets his decision to remove Altman and that he’ll do everything in his power to reinstate Altman as CEO.

Employees threaten to resign

Nearly 500 of OpenAI’s roughly 770 employees — including, remarkably, Sutskever — publish a letter saying that they might quit unless the startup’s board resigns and reappoints the ousted Altman. Later Monday, that number climbed to over 650.

Altman and Brockman considering return

As reported by The Verge, Altman’s move to Microsoft isn’t a done deal — and both Altman and Brockman are still open to returning to OpenAI. That is, if the remaining board members who initially fired him step aside.

OpenAI board considers merger

OpenAI’s board of directors approached Dario Amodei, the co-founder and CEO of rival large-language model developer Anthropic, about a potential merger of the two companies, The Information reports. The approach was part of an effort by OpenAI to persuade Amodei to replace Altman as CEO — but Amodei quickly turned down the CEO offer.

—

November 19

Altman to meet at OpenAI HQ

According to The Information, Altman is expected to meet at OpenAI’s San Francisco headquarters as executives at OpenAI push to have him reinstated as CEO. Brockman was invited to join — but it’s unclear whether he’ll take execs up on that invitation.

Board negotiations hit a snag

Bloomberg reports that Lightcap and Murati, among others, are pushing the board to reinstate Altman. But unsurprisingly, the directors are resisting. As of midday Sunday, the board hadn’t resigned out of concern over who could replace them, and were vetting candidates. One possible new addition could be Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor.

Altman out, Shear in

Altman won’t be returning as CEO, according to a report in The Information citing an internal memo sent by Sutskever. As the search for a new permanent CEO continues, OpenAI has appointed Emmett Shear, the co-founder of video streaming site Twitch, as interim CEO — replacing Murati.

—

November 18

“Not … in response to malfeasance”

In an internal memo obtained by Axios sent Saturday morning, OpenAI COO Brad Lightcap said yesterday’s announcement “took [the management team] by surprise” and that management had had “multiple conversations with the board to try to better understand the reasons and process behind their decision.” Discussions were ongoing as of Saturday morning, per the memo.

“We can say definitively that the board’s decision was not made in response to malfeasance or anything related to our financial, business, safety, or security/privacy practices,” Lightcap added. “This was a breakdown in communication between Sam and the board … We still share your concerns about how the process has been handled, are working to resolve the situation, and will provide updates as we’re able.”

OpenAI’s funding in jeopardy

The planned sale of OpenAI employee shares that would value the startup at about $86 billion could be in jeopardy. The Information, speaking to three sources formerly with the company, reports that they no longer expect the sale — led by Thrive Capital — to happen, or, if it does, to come with a lesser valuation because of the recent turn of events.

Altman planning new venture

Altman has been telling investors that he’s planning to launch a new venture, according to The Information. Brockman is expected to join the effort — whatever form it takes. (Possibly an AI chip startup.)

Investors pushing for Altman’s return

Investors — furious at the turn of events — are reportedly exerting pressure on OpenAI’s board to reinstate Altman, going so far as to recruit Microsoft. Nadella is said to be sympathetic.

Board agrees to reverse course — in principle

The Verge reports that the board agreed in principle to resign and to allow Altman and Brockman to return. It waffled, however, missing a deadline yesterday by which many OpenAI staffers were set to leave the company. Altman is said to be ambivalent about coming back and asking for “significant” governance changes.

—

November 17

Brockman demoted

Brockman says he got a text from Sutskever shortly after noon on Friday asking for a quick call. After sending a Google Meet link, Brockman was told that he was being removed from the board as chairman “but was vital to the company and would retain his role” as president, and that Altman had been fired.

Altman’s firing publicly announced

OpenAI published a post on its blog announcing the executive shake-up. The company’s management team was aware shortly after.

All-hands meeting

OpenAI held an all-hands meeting Friday afternoon during which Sutskever defended Altman’s ouster. He dismissed suggestions that pushing Altman out amounted to a “hostile takeover,” and claimed that it was necessary to protect OpenAI’s mission of “making AI beneficial to humanity.”

Microsoft releases a statement

Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft, a major investor in — and partner with — OpenAI, published a statement about Altman’s firing:

Brockman quits

Brockman announced his resignation from OpenAI, citing “today’s news.” After sending a memo internally, he published the text on X.

Senior OpenAI researchers resign

Three senior OpenAI researchers resign after Brockman, including the director of research Jakub Pachocki and head of preparedness Aleksander Madry.

—

November 16

Ilya Sutskever schedules call with Altman

According to a post on X (formerly Twitter) from Brockman, Ilya Sutskever, the chief scientist at OpenAI and a co-founder, texted Altman on Thursday evening about scheduling a Friday noon call.

Murati told of Altman’s firing

Brockman alleges that Mira Murati, OpenAI’s CTO and now interim CEO, was informed on Thursday night that Altman would be fired.

More than 40 founders, investors, engineers, and others in the tech industry are today announcing a coalition called Tech for Palestine to build open-source projects, tools, and data to help others in the industry advocate for the Palestinian people.

The launch of the group comes during a tense time in the region. Hamas’s October 7th attack on Israel led to the deaths of more than 1,100 individuals. The war in the Gaza Strip that followed has seen the displacement of millions of Palestinians and tens of thousands of deaths.

The Israel-Hamas war has proved divisive to the tech industry. Israel, home to a well-known technology and startup market, has seen strong support from tech individuals and institutions. In contrast, calls for ceasefires and speaking in support of Palestine have caused some to lose their jobs.

Paul Biggar, the founder of Tech for Palestine, hopes to raise more awareness of the war in Gaza, fight for a permanent ceasefire, and provide ways for those who are afraid to speak publicly in support of Palestine to still offer support. It is one of the first tech initiatives to take a public stance supporting Palestine and could represent a turning point in the venture industry’s posture regarding the Israel-Hamas conflict as more people seek to speak out in favor of a ceasefire.

Biggar, the founder of the company CircleCI – last valued at $1.7 billion – formed the coalition after writing a viral blog post that criticized the lack of support the tech industry has shown Palestinians, even as the death toll from the Israel-Hamas war continues to rise. He said that after he wrote his blog post, thousands of people reached out to him with words of support, many of them afraid to speak up themselves for fear of potential career impacts.

Among them, he said, were “dozens of people not only speaking up but who had started projects to change the industry to ensure that people speaking up for Palestine could be heard. Dozens of others were volunteering to help,” Biggar added. “I started connecting these folks together, and the [Tech for Palestine] community came together very quickly.”

The platform, still in its early days, will feature projects run by small groups and serve as a place to share resources and advice, something many pro-Palestinian tech workers are already doing privately. It has already secured names like Idris Mokhtarzada, founder of the unicorn Truebill, to help build out the platform. So far, it has created a badge for engineers to use on GitHub that calls for a ceasefire and created HTML snippets for people to use on their websites to put up a support ceasefire banner.

Biggar said there are plans to eventually work more with Palestinian organizations and help Palestinian startups with mentorship and cloud credits. TechCrunch previously reported that the war has destroyed much of Palestine’s burgeoning tech industry.

Arfah Farooq, founder of Muslamic Makers, said the last three months have changed everyone in many ways. At the same time, there has been a togetherness and activism that she has never seen before. “I’ve seen firsthand people come together to work for Palestine with nothing but their laptops from across the globe,” she said.

She decided to work with Tech for Palestine after reading Biggar’s viral blog post and has already started to share resources on how to support Palestine. “Due to the siege, we can’t go to Gaza and help on the ground, but we help regardless of where we are in the world,” Farooq said.

One engineer, who asked to remain anonymous, decided to join the coalition because this person felt suffocated at work. This person has agreed to work as an engineer and product manager to help build resources for Tech for Palestine, saying, “I hope this initiative will spark a significant shift and give people their voices back.”

A former tech brand marketer, who is also scared to speak out publicly for fear it will impact a new job search, also told TechCrunch about feeling happy to have a way to get involved with the cause.

“This period has been incredibly isolating to Arabs, Muslims, and other people of color in VC and tech,” she said. “Tech for Palestine is a necessary initiative. When we are seeing mobilization around the world and the US in the numbers of hundreds of thousands calling for peace and [the] humanization of the Palestinians, the tech community can no longer be silent.”

The Tech for Palestine initiative comes as the death toll among Palestinians continues to rise. In recent weeks, U.S. officials have reportedly prodded Israel to do more to protect civilians in Gaza even as they have called U.S. support for Israeli security unshakable.

Biggar hopes, at the very least, that this new coalition will augur a larger shift in people speaking up.

“The narrative has only just turned,” he said. “We are working to enable many more who feel silenced to speak out, we are only getting started.”

Hey, folks, and welcome to Week in Review (WiR), TechCrunch’s regular newsletter recapping the week that was in tech. Typically, the stretch between Christmas and New Year’s tends to be on the sleepier side — but that wasn’t the case in 2023. Fortunately, the TC crew was around to document all that happened.

This edition of WiR spotlights Brian’s review of the new Amazon Echo Frames, MrBeast’s bizarre TV-like game show, the Apple Watch U.S. ban and the expected release date of the Apple Vision Pro. We also cover Hyperloop One reportedly shutting down, Xiaomi’s first EV, The New York Times suing OpenAI and CBS’s and Paramount’s parent company getting hacked.

It’s a lot to get through, so we’ll hop to it. But first, a reminder to sign up here to receive WiR in your inbox every Saturday if you haven’t already done so.

Most read

New Echo Frames: Brian test drove Amazon’s new and improved Echo Frames, which feature upgraded sound and a 14-hour battery. He found the AR shades to be lacking compared to the Ray-Ban Metas, particularly factoring in the $270 price tag (they’re currently discounted to $200).

MrBeast jumps the shark: Amanda writes about MrBeast’s bizarre new reality show, which had two contestants agree to cohabitate in a bright, asylum-like room for 100 days in exchange for $185,000 each in prize money. What’s intriguing about the experience, she says, is that it’s emblematic of the trade-off that’s become normal on social media: If you endure suffering for content, you might just be able to pay off your debt.

Apple Watch banned — then not: A recent U.S. ban on Apple Watch imports — centering on a pair of pulse oximetry sensor trademarks held by health tech company Masimo — nearly remained in place after the Biden administration declined to veto an earlier ruling by the International Trade Commission. But then, an appeals court instituted a pause, allowing Apple to resume sales of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 — at least temporarily.

Vision Pro, coming soon: In more Apple news, noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has narrowed down what he believes will be a late January or early February release date for the Vision Pro, Apple’s hotly anticipated AR heads-up display. Kuo says that the first wave of Vision Pros are being shipped to Apple in about a month, with total shipments numbering around 500,000 for the full year.

Hyperloop One crashes and burns: One of the longest-running hyperloop startups is reportedly shutting its doors. Hyperloop One, once backed by Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, will cease operations on December 31, Sean writes. It’s the latest stumble in the tech industry’s attempt to bring life to an idea Elon Musk first put forth in a white paper in 2013, and it comes after Hyperloop One raised — and spent — hundreds of millions of dollars since its founding in 2014.

Xiaomi releases a car: Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi has revealed its first electric car: a sharp-looking sedan called the SU7. Slated to roll out in China next year, it’s another entry into an increasingly crowded market for EVs — and an attempt in this software-obsessed world to match the tech people find in their phones up to what goes on inside their car.

NY Times sues OpenAI: The New York Times is suing OpenAI and its close collaborator (and investor), Microsoft, for allegedly violating copyright law by training generative AI models on Times’ content. It’s an open question whether the suit will be successful, but it highlights the growing conflict between content creators and the vendors using their work to train — and commercialize — generative AI technologies.

National Amusements hacked: National Amusements, the cinema chain and corporate parent of media giants Paramount and CBS, confirmed it experienced a data breach last December in which hackers stole the personal information of tens of thousands of people. Details of the breach only came to light a year after the fact; the company began notifying those affected just earlier this month.

Audio

In need of listening material as you prep for a killer New Year’s? TC has you covered, as always.

The Equity crew said goodbye to 2023 with its annual predictions episode. As they attempt to do every year, the hosts brought in a number of voices to speak on startup trends, media, proptech, AI and transport — and went back and vetted their predictions from last year. 

On Found, Dom and Becca broke down 2023 in startups by looking back on some of their favorite conversations — and looking forward to predict some startup trends in 2024. They talked about innovative climate tech companies, AI ethics and fundraising, building good founder relationships and what next year could look like for startups.

And on Chain Reaction, Jacquelyn remixed an episode from earlier in the year — one featuring an interview with Deana Burke and Natasha Hoskins, the co-founders of Boys Club. Boys Club is a social decentralized autonomous organization for the “crypto curious,” originally designed to get women and non-binary people into the web3 world but that now aims to be an open space for anyone looking to get into the industry.

TechCrunch+

TC+ subscribers get access to in-depth commentary, analysis and surveys — which you know if you’re already a subscriber. If you’re not, consider signing up. Here are a few highlights from this week:

Investors share their predictions: Rebecca asked over 40 VCs when they expect the next venture bubble to pop next year, which startups they think will IPO first, if they expect to see more startups shutting down in 2024 than in the past few years — and more.

Diversity commitments: Dom checked up on the VCs that made commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion following the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020. So who kept their word? Read on to find out.

Investor survey roundup: Karan put together a curated list of timely TC investor surveys from the year. They touch on topics including alternative protein, the robotics revolution, the Silicon Valley Bank collapse and the future of power.