TechCrunch Top 3

Image Credits: Cruise

1. Heads up! General Motors is going to cease funding Cruise, its robotaxi subsidiary, and will instead absorb it and put the tech and talent towards developing personal autonomous vehicles. Cruise employees told TC they were "blindsided" and found out at the same time the media did. Read More

2. This is why we build safeguards: ElevenLabs is once again embroiled in a controversy. This time, it appears "very likely" that the AI company's tech was used in a Russian-tied campaign that disseminated fake "news" videos designed to undermine Europe's support of Ukraine. Read More

3. Siri gets more useful: Apple has released new AI features with iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2. The features include image playground, Genmoji, writing tool enhancements and, drumroll please, ChatGPT integration for Siri. Read More

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Morning must-reads

Image Credits: Bryce Durbin / TechCrunch

🥊 Alright, break it up: The courts are stepping in to resolve some of the quibbling between Automattic and WP Engine. A judge ruled that Automattic and its CEO Matt Mullenweg have to restore WP Engine's access to WordPress.org to how it was before Mullenweg launched his high-profile war against WP Engine. Read More

🧑‍⚖️ Thank you for your service: Trump has appointed Andrew Ferguson to replace Lina Khan as head of the FTC. Khan led the agency in enforcing antitrust violations against Big Tech, arguing that startups benefit more from eight potential M&A suitors than one or two. Trump says Ferguson will be "the most America First, and pro-innovation FTC Chair in our Country's History." Read More

🚁 EVTOLs are expensive: Joby Aviation has launched a $300 million public offering as it prepares for the commercial launch of its eVTOL in 2025. That's on top of the $222 million Joby raised in October, which suggests this pre-revenue company really needs to up its cash game if it wants to get those electric aircraft into the air pronto. Read More

💳 Love to SMBs: Fintechs are increasingly seeing small and medium businesses as an area ripe for disruption, and the latest example is Swedish startup Mynt, which just closed a $23 million round led by Vor Capital after growing its customer base to 12,000 from just 3,000 a year ago. Read More

📚 HarperCollins CEO Brian Murray spoke about the risks of generative AI and book publishing. Namely, the potential rise of low-quality content flooding the market and competing for consumers' time and attention. Still, it's not all bad: He thinks generative AI could be good for helping turn books into film and streamline marketing and selling. Read More

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Around the web

⌚ Apple Watch is getting more useful: Looks like the Apple Watch Ultra 2 is going to have some crazy new features that could save your life, including satellite connectivity for off-grid text-messaging, and blood pressure functionality, reports Bloomberg. Read More

🧸 A sign of things to come: Embodied, a startup building companion robots for children, is shutting down and will eventually brick its $800 devices after it failed to secure a critical funding round, reports Ars Technica. The devices could be functional for a while yet, but some parents are already posting videos of their kids crying about the impending death of their AI friend. Read More

✊ Truth finds a way: This isn't exactly new, but if you haven't already heard about The Uncensored Library, check it out. It's a huge, immersive map in Minecraft where visitors can read censored journalism from countries without a free press. Read More

Before you go

Image Credits: Vivien Best

🤓 Wanna see my rock collection? Mantel is a social network that allows collectors to share their latest finds, like sports cards, comic books, coins, sneakers, and more. It's been founded by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, "Pawn Stars" producer Brent Montgomery, and former GM of The Athletic, Evan Parker. Read More