Latest from TechCrunch
TechCrunch
21 minutes ago
- Entertainment
- TechCrunch
xAI is hiring an engineer to make anime girls
In Brief Elon Musk's xAI just released its AI companions, which include the goth waifu Ani and the homicidal red panda Bad Rudy. If you want to get in on that, you're in luck: The company is hiring for the role of 'Fullstack Engineer – Waifus,' or, creating AI-powered anime girls for people to fall in love with. This job is, to quote the listing, part of xAI's mission to 'create AI systems that can accurately understand the universe and aid humanity in the pursuit of knowledge.' Right now, that accurate understanding of the universe includes understanding how to create a submissive, pocket-size girlfriend that will capture users' hearts and wallets. xAI has dozens of roles open at the moment, so we can't say that the company is putting all of its eggs in the waifu basket. But we can probably expect Ani to get some friends in the future.
TechCrunch
21 minutes ago
- Business
- TechCrunch
Google rolls out AI-powered business calling feature, brings Gemini 2.5 Pro to AI Mode
Google is rolling out an agentic AI-powered business calling feature to all users in the United States, the company announced on Wednesday. The tech giant is also enhancing Google Search's AI Mode by bringing its Gemini 2.5 Pro model to the search experience and introducing deep research capabilities. The new business calling feature uses AI to call local businesses on your behalf to collect information about availability and pricing. The idea behind the feature is to help you access information without having to actually pick up the phone and talk to someone. Google first began testing the feature back in January with users who opted into the company's Search Labs experiments. Image Credits:Google To get started, you need to search for something like 'pet groomers near me,' and you'll see a new option in the results to 'Have AI check pricing.' From there, you answer a couple of questions to receive information about appointments and services from different local businesses. For example, you will be asked what type of pet you have, what services you need, and when you need the service. A Google spokesperson told TechCrunch in an email that every call to a business begins by announcing that it's an automated system calling from Google on behalf of a user. It's worth noting that Google faced backlash a few years ago for a similar business-calling feature that simulated human speech, as some users were concerned that the company was misleading people into thinking they were speaking with another human. Following the backlash, Google said its AI would identify itself as a robot when placing these calls. The new business calling feature is starting to roll out to all Search users in the United States, with higher limits for Google AI Pro and AI Ultra subscribers. Techcrunch event Tech and VC heavyweights join the Disrupt 2025 agenda Netflix, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Sequoia Capital — just a few of the heavy hitters joining the Disrupt 2025 agenda. They're here to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don't miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch Disrupt, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech — grab your ticket now and save up to $675 before prices rise. Tech and VC heavyweights join the Disrupt 2025 agenda Netflix, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Sequoia Capital — just a few of the heavy hitters joining the Disrupt 2025 agenda. They're here to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don't miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch Disrupt, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech — grab your ticket now and save up to $675 before prices rise. San Francisco | REGISTER NOW Google is also supercharging AI Mode, the Google Search feature that lets you ask complex and multi-part questions via an AI interface, with Gemini 2.5 Pro for Google AI Pro and AI Ultra subscribers. The tech giant says the model excels at advanced reasoning, math, and coding questions. Subscribers will be able to select the 2.5 Pro model from a drop-down menu in AI Mode. Image Credits:Google As for the new 'Deep Search' feature in AI Mode, Google says it will save subscribers hours by conducting hundreds of searches and issuing reasoning across differing pieces of information to create a comprehensive and fully-cited report in minutes. Google notes that Deep Search is useful for in-depth research related to jobs, hobbies, or studies. The company says it's also useful in instances where you're making big life decisions, like buying a new house or seeking assistance with a financial analysis. Since its launch earlier this year, Google has been building out AI Mode with additional capabilities as it continues to take on popular services like Perplexity AI and OpenAI's ChatGPT Search. For example, Google last month rolled out the ability to have a back-and-forth voice conversation with AI Mode. In May, Google introduced a shopping experience in AI Mode to allow you to view product visuals and other AI-powered guidance that leverages product data.
TechCrunch
an hour ago
- Automotive
- TechCrunch
Ex-Waymo engineers launch Bedrock Robotics with $80M to automate construction
Bedrock Robotics, an autonomous vehicle technology startup founded by veterans of Waymo and Segment, has been operating quietly for more than a year. Now, it's breaking cover with an $80 million funding round from investors Eclipse and 8VC. Bedrock Robotics is focused on developing a self-driving kit that can be retrofitted to construction and other worksite vehicles, according to the company. The announcement confirms some of TechCrunch's reporting in May. Bedrock is 'upgrading existing fleets with sensors, compute, and intelligence that understands project goals, adapts to changing conditions, and executes work around the clock,' according to a blog post written by co-founder and CEO Boris Sofman. Sofman previously led Waymo's now shuttered self-driving trucks program. But he's perhaps best known for his role as co-founder and CEO of Anki Robotics, which made the popular Cozmo consumer robot, and shut down in 2019. Other co-founders include Waymo veterans Kevin Petersen, who is now CTO, Ajay Gummalla, who is a VP of engineering, and Tom Eliaz, who previously worked at Segment and Twilio, is also a VP of engineering. The company could not be reached for comment. TechCrunch will update this article with new details once Bedrock responds. Bedrock is the latest company to steer engineers who are adept at robotics, autonomy, and AI toward the off-road environment. Several autonomous vehicle startups have popped up in recent years with an aim to apply their self-driving systems to off-road environments like construction, mining, industrial sites, and even defense. Earlier this week, Pronto, a San Francisco-based startup that has developed a self-driving system designed for haulage trucks and other off-road vehicles used at construction and mining sites, acquired competitor SafeAI. Other startups that play in the fragmented and broad sector of off-road autonomy include Kodiak Robotics, Polymath Robotics, Seattle-based Overland AI, New Brunswick, Canada-based Potential, and more established companies like Forterra. Bedrock said it's focused on construction sites and is testing in Arkansas, Arizona, Texas, and California with five corporations: Sundt Construction, Zachry Construction Corporation, Champion Site Prep Inc., and Capitol Aggregates Inc.
TechCrunch
an hour ago
- Business
- TechCrunch
Transit software startup Via confidentially files for an IPO
Via, the transit software startup that garnered attention for its consumer facing on-demand shuttle service, said it has filed confidentially for an initial public offering. Via has been batting around plans for an IPO for years. The company filed confidentially for an IPO in 2021, but never took the next official and regulatory steps to enter the public markets. Now, the company says it's ready. Its status as a confidential filing, however, leaves lots of missing details, including the number of shares to be offered and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined. When Via launched in 2012, there was little interest from cities in the software platform, co-founder and CEO Daniel Ramot told TechCrunch in an interview several years ago. The company initially used consumer-facing Via branded shuttles that users could hail. Over time, and using the massive amounts of data it collected through these services, Via improved its dynamic, on-demand routing algorithm, which uses real-time data to route shuttles to where they're needed most. Today, Via provides the on-demand transit software for more than 650 cities in 30 countries, including San Francisco, Seattle, New York, Miami, and London. It also serves numerous small and medium-sized cities like Arlington, Texas and Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Via last raised funds from private markets in 2023 with a $110 million funding round that pushed its valuation up to $3.5 billion. Via has raised a total of $1 billion to date from a long list of investors that includes BlackRock, Exor, Janus Henderson, Macquarie Capital, Mori Building, Shell, and 83North.
TechCrunch
an hour ago
- Business
- TechCrunch
Faraday Future faces potential SEC enforcement action after three-year probe
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has sent letters to Faraday Future founder Jia Yueting and president Jerry Wang, alerting them that they may soon face enforcement actions from the agency as the result of a three-year-long fraud investigation. The letters, known as 'Wells Notices,' state that the commission's staff has made an internal determination to recommend an enforcement action against the electric vehicle company, the two executives, and two former employees who weren't named, according to a regulatory filing published Wednesday. Faraday Future wrote in the filing that the SEC is focused on 'purported false and misleading statements' related to the company's 2021 merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). The SEC may seek 'an injunction or cease-and-desist order against future violations of provisions of the federal securities laws, the imposition of civil monetary penalties, disgorgement or other equitable relief within the Commission's authority, or any combination of the foregoing,' according to the filing. The company also said in the filing that it — along with Jia and Wang — 'plan to engage with the Commission staff about why an enforcement action is not warranted.' A spokesperson for Faraday Future did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Jia and Wang did not immediately respond to requests for comment either. TechCrunch has learned that the SEC has conducted multiple depositions in recent weeks with former employees of Faraday Future, according to two people with knowledge of the interviews, who were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about them. But this potential legal trouble started brewing for Faraday Future almost immediately after the company went public in July 2021. As part of the SPAC merger process, the company brought on a handful of new board members who were not previously related to the company. Those board members became concerned that Faraday Future had not only made misleading statements to the investing public but also that it was concealing the amount of control that Jia wielded over the company. What's more, the members were concerned about the way money was flowing between the company and entities connected to Jia. Techcrunch event Tech and VC heavyweights join the Disrupt 2025 agenda Netflix, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Sequoia Capital — just a few of the heavy hitters joining the Disrupt 2025 agenda. They're here to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don't miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch Disrupt, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech — grab your ticket now and save up to $675 before prices rise. Tech and VC heavyweights join the Disrupt 2025 agenda Netflix, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Sequoia Capital — just a few of the heavy hitters joining the Disrupt 2025 agenda. They're here to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don't miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch Disrupt, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech — grab your ticket now and save up to $675 before prices rise. San Francisco | REGISTER NOW The board launched an internal probe, hired a high-powered law firm and forensic accounting firm, and ultimately determined that all of those things were true. They sidelined Jia as a result, and Wang (who is Jia's nephew) resigned after refusing to cooperate with the probe, according to SEC filings. The directors who ran the internal probe handed over a lot of that information to the SEC, which sent subpoenas to Faraday Future in March 2022. Around that same time, the Department of Justice also started probing the company. (The current status of the DOJ inquiry is unknown.) That SEC investigation, which TechCrunch has learned has been led by the commission's Los Angeles enforcement office, has been chugging along for the past three years. Faraday Future has occasionally disclosed receiving successive subpoenas, but it was unclear until Wednesday morning's filing whether the commission would pursue an enforcement action. While the investigation was ongoing, Jia re-established himself as the leader of Faraday Future. In 2022, the directors were subjected to immense pressure as an outside entity and major shareholder group called FF Global — which had connections to Jia — attempted to gain more power over the board. FF Global took particular aim at one board member, Brian Krolicki. Matthias Aydt, who is currently Faraday Future's co-CEO along with Jia, even offered to pay Krolicki up to $700,000 if he would step down. By late 2022, some of those board members started receiving death threats. All of them ultimately stepped down as FF Global agreed to line up much-needed financing to keep the company alive. In 2023, Faraday Future finally put its long-promised electric SUV into the hands of its first customers, although multiple whistleblowers have claimed those sales are fake and misleading. Nonetheless, Jia was named co-CEO in April of this year.
