Week in Review
News
- Humane’s AI Pin is Dead: The hardware startup announced that most of its assets have been acquired by HP for $116 million, less than half of the $240 million it raised in VC funding. The startup will immediately discontinue sales of its $499 AI Pins, and after February 28, the wearable will no longer connect to Humane’s servers. Customers who bought an AI Pin in the last 90 days are eligible for a refund, but anyone who bought a device before then is not.
- Apple’s iPhone 16e Revealed: The 16e is part of an exclusive group of handsets capable of running Apple Intelligence due to the addition of an A18 processor. The iPhone 16e also ditched the Touch ID home button in favor of Face ID and swapped out the Lightning port in favor of USB-C. The iPhone 6e starts at $599 and will begin shipping February 28.
RIP, Duo: Duolingo "killed" its iconic owl mascot with a Cybertruck, and the marketing stunt is going surprisingly well. The company launched a campaign to save Duo — and encourage users to do more lessons — as the company says it’s "Duo or die." Read more.
OpenAI "Uncensors" ChatGPT: OpenAI no longer wants ChatGPT to take an editorial stance, even if some users find it "morally wrong or offensive." That means ChatGPT will now offer multiple perspectives on controversial subjects in an effort to be neutral. Read more.
Uber vs. DoorDash: Uber is suing DoorDash, accusing its delivery rival of stifling competition by intimidating restaurant owners into exclusive deals. Uber alleges that DoorDash bullied restaurants into only working with them. Read more.
Mira Murati’s Next Move: Former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati’s new AI startup, Thinking Machines Lab, has come out of stealth. The startup, which includes OpenAI co-founder John Schulman and former OpenAI chief research officer Barret Zoph, will focus on building collaborative "multimodal" systems. Read more.
Introducing Grok 3: Elon Musk’s xAI released its latest flagship AI model, Grok 3, and unveiled new capabilities for the Grok iOS and web apps. Musk claims that the new family of models is a "maximally truth-seeking AI" that is sometimes "at odds with what is politically correct." Read more.
Hackers on Steam: Valve removed a video game from Steam that was essentially designed to spread malware. Security researchers found that whoever planted it modified an existing video game in an attempt to trick gamers into installing an info-stealer called Vidar. Read more.
Another DEI U-turn: Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan’s charity will end internal DEI programs and stop providing "social advocacy funding" for racial equity and immigration reforms. The switch comes just weeks after the organization assured staff it would continue to support DEI efforts. Read more.
Amazon Shuts Down Its Android App Store: Amazon will discontinue its app store for Android in August in an effort to put more focus on the company’s own devices. The company told developers that they will no longer be able to submit new apps to the store. Read more.
Mark Zuckerberg’s Rebrand Didn’t Pay Off: A study by the Pew Research Center found that Americans’ views of Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg are more negative than positive. About 54% of U.S. adults say they have an unfavorable view of Musk, while a whopping 67% feel negatively toward Zuckerberg. Read more.
Noise-Canceling Headphones Could Hurt Your Brain: A new BBC report considers whether noise-canceling tech might be rewiring the brains of people who use it to tune out pesky background noise — and could lead to the brain forgetting how to filter sounds itself. Read more.
Analysis
- An Exhaustive Look at the DOGE Universe: The dozens of individuals who work under, or advise, Elon Musk and DOGE are a real-life illustration of Musk’s weblike reach in the tech industry. TechCrunch has unveiled the major players in the DOGE universe, from Musk’s inner circle to senior figures, worker bees, and aides — some of whom are advising and recruiting for DOGE. We highlight both the connections between them and how they entered Musk’s orbit. Read more.
Conclusion
This week, we’ve seen a mix of tech updates, company changes, and controversies. From HP’s acquisition of Humane’s AI Pin to Duolingo’s farewell to its iconic owl mascot, there’s been no shortage of interesting news. We’ll continue to bring you the latest updates and analysis in the tech world.
FAQs
Q: What happened to Humane’s AI Pin?
A: The startup announced that most of its assets have been acquired by HP for $116 million, and will immediately discontinue sales of its $499 AI Pins.
Q: What’s happening to Duolingo’s owl mascot?
A: Duolingo "killed" its iconic owl mascot with a Cybertruck, and is launching a campaign to save Duo and encourage users to do more lessons.
Q: Why is OpenAI changing its approach to ChatGPT?
A: OpenAI no longer wants ChatGPT to take an editorial stance, and will now offer multiple perspectives on controversial subjects in an effort to be neutral.
