Author: IQ TIMES MEDIA
You might think the big story out of Match Group’s first-quarter earnings is Tinder’s turnaround. The dating app’s revenue is slightly up again after quarter-after-quarter of declines. But we’d like to point to a comment the chief financial officer made about how the company is slowing its hiring right now because it needs more money to pay for AI tools for its employees. Ah, yes, the good ol’ “let’s blame AI” strategy! While speaking to analysts on the first-quarter earnings call, Match Group CFO Steven Bailey talked about how the dating app giant was investing in AI technology for internal…
The Justice Department found Wednesday that the medical school at the University of California, Los Angeles, illegally considered race in admissions, as the Trump administration ramps up scrutiny of colleges’ processes for selecting students. The finding escalates the Trump administration’s ongoing standoff with UCLA, which has focused mostly on the main campus’s response to allegations of antisemitic harassment. UCLA’s medical school didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment. Affirmative action in college admissions has been illegal since a 2023 Supreme Court ruling forbade it. Trump is accusing colleges of using applicants’ personal statements and other proxies to consider race…
Apple has agreed to pay $250 million to settle a class action lawsuit over how it marketed its AI features ahead of the launch of the iPhone 16. The Financial Times was the first to report the news. The lawsuit alleged that Apple exaggerated the breadth of features Apple Intelligence would bring, which included a significantly upgraded version of its assistant, Siri. The complaint alleges that the company created the impression that advanced AI capabilities would be available to users sooner than they actually were. In particular, the plaintiffs allege that Apple overstated both the readiness and functionality of these…
When companies are looking for opinions or advice on a project, they tend to go to LinkedIn or use expert networks such as GLG, Third Bridge, or AlphaSights. But they often don’t find quality inputs, despite their searches. Today, these sites ask experts to fill in a form based on their job title, which is then used to match them with companies in need of their help. London-based Ethos thinks that AI can improve both sides of this experience. For experts, it offers voice-powered onboarding to ask a broader set of questions and get more data about their knowledge in…
The year keeps moving swiftly, and so is all of our planning for TechCrunch Disrupt 2026! We have an exciting new panel in store for founders in need of merger and acquisition advice … but first, we have a limited-time ticket offer to share. Disrupt will once again be held in San Francisco’s Moscone West from October 13–15, and for a limited time, attendees can also bring a colleague, co-founder, investor, or teammate for less! You can buy one Disrupt 2026 pass here, and get 50% off a second pass of the same ticket type with a limited-time offer that ends…
Three days. That’s all that’s left to decide, not just whether you’ll be at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, but also who you’ll show up with from October 13 to 15 at San Francisco’s Moscone West — and how much credibility you gain from the opportunity. Right now, you can buy one pass and get 50% off a second of the same ticket type. That offer ends May 8 at 11:59 p.m. PT. After that, prices go up — and so does the cost of showing up without the coverage, visibility, and presence that actually make the experience count. Because at a certain point, what determines how quickly a company moves is whether it is seen, understood, and taken seriously by the people…
Samsung reached a $1 trillion valuation on Wednesday as shares of the South Korean tech giant surged more than 10%, driven by the ongoing artificial intelligence frenzy fueling demand for chips. The milestone makes Samsung only the second Asian company to cross the trillion-dollar threshold, after TSMC. The news comes on the heels of a blockbuster earnings report last week, in which Samsung posted profits eight times higher than the same period a year ago. Every company building AI right now needs chips, and Samsung makes the memory chips that power those AI systems. Demand is surging while supply struggles…
Manipulation is considered one of the hardest problems in robotics. The ability to grab, move, take apart or put together an object with precision is what would make humanoid robots truly useful in the real world. Loading audio narration… A startup backed by VC firm Eclipse and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt said it took a big leap to solve it.Genesis AI, a French startup with an R&D center in Silicon Valley, said on Wednesday that it’s getting closer to achieving “human-level capability” in manipulation, showing a robot playing the piano, cracking an egg, and harnessing wires in recorded demonstrations.One…
SpaceX just shared the estimated construction cost of Elon Musk’s ambitious chip factory in Texas — and it’s higher than analysts’ predictions. Loading audio narration… The Terafab project could initially cost $55 billion and rise to $119 billion if additional phases are constructed, according to a public notice posted on the Grimes County website.Musk announced the joint project between his companies, SpaceX, xAI, and Tesla, in March. His goal is for the Terafab to produce critical AI chips for Tesla’s robotaxis and Optimus robot.”SpaceX proposes construction of a multi-phase, next-generation, vertically integrated semiconductor manufacturing and advanced computing fabrication facility, which…
The most at-risk job these days is the one that’s just managing other people. Loading audio narration… Managers got a stark reminder of how close they are to the endangered species list on Tuesday. Coinbase announced it’s cutting 14% of its staff, roughly 700 employees, and singled out managers.CEO Brian Armstrong’s letter to staff had lots of the tell-tale signs of a 2026 layoff announcement: AI, tiny teams, and adapting to a volatile market. (Next time, just use my Mad Libs for AI-driven layoffs.)Particularly noticeable in Armstrong’s vision for Coinbase was the lack of managers. The concept of a “pure…