TechCrunch

Google Vids now lets you star in your own AI videos

Google is adding personalized AI avatars to Vids that let users create videos starring a digital version of themselves, alongside Gemini Omni-powered tools for generating and editing videos from prompts and reference images.

technology  Jul 16, 2026

TechCrunch

Roblox launches an AI-powered game creation feature in its mobile app

Roblox's new "Build" feature lets users generate basic games using a single text prompt.

technology  Jul 16, 2026

Ars Technica

We've seen helium baked off a rocky exoplanet's atmosphere

If the large, rocky planet is losing helium, then we can infer what is left behind.

technology  Jul 16, 2026

TechCrunch

Oil giant BP shutters its corporate venture arm after 20 years

BP Ventures is shutting down, ending a nearly 20 year run that was marked by reportedly lackluster returns.

technology  Jul 16, 2026

TechCrunch

Uber’s $14.8B Delivery Hero deal would nearly double its global footprint

Uber has agreed to acquire Delivery Hero in a $14.8 billion all-stock deal that would nearly double the company’s global footprint and create one of the world’s largest food delivery platforms outside China.

technology  Jul 16, 2026

TechCrunch

Newsletter platform Beehiiv’s now lets subscribers chat with each other, adds AI

Beehiiv is launching an AI Copilot to help publishers with user growth and analytics

technology  Jul 16, 2026

TechCrunch

Newsletter platform Beehiiv now lets subscribers chat with each other, adds AI

Beehiiv is launching an AI Copilot to help publishers with user growth and analytics

technology  Jul 16, 2026

TechCrunch

X cracks down on creators who steal content

X will use Grok AI to better detect stolen content, redirect payouts to original creators, and crack down on engagement bait.

technology  Jul 16, 2026

Ars Technica

OnePlus ends phone releases in US and Europe, further reducing smartphone choice

OnePlus promises to continue supporting the phones it's already released.

technology  Jul 16, 2026

Ars Technica

Could China and Russia really destroy Starlink? Only with a boomerang.

"We will likely have similar concerns and discussions when China fields its Starlink-like constellation."

technology  Jul 16, 2026

TechCrunch

AI-powered travel agency Fora hits unicorn status, raises $60M

Travel agency Fora announced a $60 million Series D round led by Forerunner and Tactile Ventures, valuing the company at $1 billion. 

technology  Jul 16, 2026

TechCrunch

Google’s AI Mode now lets you link and interact with select apps

With this new update, Google is expanding AI Mode beyond answering questions and into completing tasks across the apps they use regularly.

technology  Jul 16, 2026

TechCrunch

Google continues its renaming streak by turning NotebookLM to Gemini Notebook

Google said users can soon access their notebooks through AI Mode in Search.

technology  Jul 16, 2026

Ars Technica

Energy IPOs surge as investors hunt for ways to play AI boom

Companies coming to market are raising money at fastest pace this century.

technology  Jul 16, 2026

TechCrunch

Yes, you can now order DoorDash from the command line

DoorDash is opening a limited beta of dd-cli, a command-line tool that lets developers and AI agents search stores, build carts, and place orders from the terminal, marking another step toward software designed for AI agents instead of just humans.

technology  Jul 16, 2026

TechCrunch

UK cops say arrest of two young hackers disrupted the operations of an infamous hacking group

Owen Flowers and Thalha Jubair, two members of the prolific Scattered Spider hacking group, pleaded guilty and were sentenced to five years and six months in jail for hacking London’s metropolitan transit system.

technology  Jul 16, 2026

Wired

Swatch’s New Gold MoonSwatch Solves the Problem of the Nightmare Royal Pop Launch

Swatch's latest MoonSwatch is the Mission to the Moon 1969, a limited-edition model with components crafted from Omega’s 18K Moonshine Gold. To get one, you'll have to join a lottery.

technology  Jul 16, 2026

TechCrunch

Period tracker Stardust shares users’ health data with analytics firm, says Mozilla research

One period tracker app tested by Mozilla was 'squeaky clean,' while another app was seen sharing users' health data with an analytics company, underscoring vast differences in user privacy among these apps.

technology  Jul 16, 2026

TechCrunch

Why is OpenAI selling a ChatGPT basketball?

You may have heard that OpenAI released its first piece of hardware this week. You may not have heard about the ChatGPT basketball.

technology  Jul 16, 2026

NY Times Tech

Someone Used A.I. to Write an Unauthorized Biography of Me. I Don’t Recommend Reading It.

Someone used A.I. to write my biography. Thousands more of those books are polluting Amazon. Who is behind all this drivel?

technology  Jul 16, 2026