TechCrunch Top 3

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1. That's pretty fast! Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says his company's AI chips are advancing faster than historical rates set by Moore's Law, which predicts that the number of transistors on chips would roughly double every year. That's going to be big, if true, but it may also just be marketing speak, as many are questioning whether AI progress has stalled. Read More

2. Buttoned-up citizen journalism: X has hired John Stoll, a former editor at The Wall Street Journal, to lead its news group and partnership team. Cool. Hopefully Stoll can teach Elon Musk about the fairness doctrine and how to fact-check before publishing. Read More

3. The Silicon Valley Funding Monster: The data is in, and Silicon Valley is still the place for startups to raise funding. In fact, Bay Area startups accounted for over half of all global VC funding in 2024, and that's largely due to – you guessed it – AI. Read More

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Morning must-reads

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✈️ Fly me to the moon: Are you both a Delta Skymiles member and an Uber customer? Well, you're in luck. Starting this spring, you'll be able to earn miles with Uber rides and deliveries. The exclusive deal means the end of a similar partnership between Delta and Lyft. Read More

🛍️ More dopamine! Whatnot is a platform where you can sell items like trading cards or sneakers through live videos and auctions — like if eBay and Twitch had a baby. And apparently, people love the rush. The company secured a whopping $265 million in a Series E round at a nearly $5 billion valuation. Read More

🎮 Move over Windows, Valve's SteamOS is increasingly being made available to gaming devices made by third-party manufacturers. Case in point: Lenovo's new Legion Go S, will be available with SteamOS or Windows 11 pre-installed. Read More

🧦 Smart socks: Startup Siren has locked in $9.5 million to keep developing its socks that have sensors to detect diabetic foot ulcers. The company claims it can reduce the risk of these ulcers by up to 68% and amputations by 83% through continuous monitoring for potential foot injuries. Read More

🚗 Almost driverless: Vay is a Berlin-based startup whose remote operators pilot empty vehicles to customers, and then let the customers take over. It's been operating a limited service in Las Vegas for a year, and now it's expanding its fleet to 100 vehicles in the city. Read More

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Around the web

😡 'A precursor to genocide': Platformer spoke to 10 current and former Meta employees who are horrified by what they say is the company's surrender to the political right on speech issues. Read More

🔮 Crypto heats up: Movement Labs, a San Francisco-based startup developing a layer-2 blockchain on Ethereum, is close to wrapping its Series B at around $100 million, Fortune reported. The deal would value Movement at around $3 billion. Read More

🧪 Anything to sell chips: AMD is investing $20 million in Absci, an AI drug-discovery company, reports The Wall Street Journal. The Journal says the move is aimed at helping AMD sell its AI chips in the healthcare sector, a space where it doesn't currently have a foothold. Read More

Before you go

Image Credits: Brian Heater

🐢 If you can be cute, why not? Beatbot, maker of robotic pool cleaners, caught our eye at CES with RoboTurtle, its concept for a pool cleaner that tracks water quality and looks absolutely adorable. Read More