Hello, friends, arrived at the end of the week. Congratulations! That’s an achievement worth celebrating, I’d say. And what better way to ring in the weekend than by recapping the week in technology? This is Summary of the week (WiR), TechCrunch’s weekly news roundup, where we highlight the biggest, most shocking and most surprising stories of the past few days. We get it, you’re busy. Therefore, a summary that highlights all the key events.
Before moving on to the good, a reminder that on May 17, Tech Crunch live, TC’s series of virtual speakers, will feature Mark Rostick of Intel Capital and Garima Kapoor, the founder of MinIO, a start-up creating an open source yet enterprise-grade object storage solution. On the farthest horizon, there is TC City Spotlight: Atlanta on June 7, which will host a pitch competition, a panel discussion on investing in the Atlanta ecosystem, and more. Last but not least is Interrupt in San Francisco (Sept. 19-21), a conference packed with expert-led sessions and interviews with the movers and shakers of the tech space. Mark the dates!
Now with that out of the way, here are the main headlines.
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Google I/O, summarized: On the main day of Google I/O, the internet search and advertising giant delivered a rapid stream of announcements during its developer conference, including plenty of reveals of recent AI-related stuff it’s been working on. If you didn’t have time to catch a two-hour presentation, the TechCrunch team took care of that, delivering story after story about new products and features, plus quick links to the biggest news in an easy-to-digest and understand format. -browse list.
The purge continues: Twitter is purging inactive accounts on its platform, which may free up a number of long-coveted usernames, according to recent tweets from owner Elon Musk. Although Twitter for years he has promised to get more usernames back into rotation, had not yet made any large-scale effort to do so, despite having an inactive account policy instead suggesting that Twitter users should log in at least every 30 days to prevent accounts from being permanently deleted.
Twitter’s new CEO: In other Twitter news, Elon Musk says he has found a new Twitter CEO. Musk did not initially specify who will take on the role, though The Wall Street Journal is now reporting that NBCUniversal’s head of publicity, Linda Yaccarino, is actively “in talks” for the position. In a tweet, Musk announced that he will transition from his role as CEO of the company to serving as CEO and CTO. The new CEO is expected to start in six weeks, according to Musk.
Leaked Health Records: NextGen Healthcare, a US provider of electronic medical record software, admitted that hackers breached its systems and stole the personal data of more than 1 million patients. in a data breach notification Filing with the Maine Attorney General’s office, NextGen Healthcare confirmed that hackers accessed the personal data of 1.05 million patients, including approximately 4,000 Maine residents.
Rapid lays off workers: Rapid, formerly known as RapidAPI, a startup that created an API marketplace valued at $1 billion last year, it has laid off another 70 employees less than two weeks after lay off 50% of your workforce, TechCrunch has learned. An affected employee who wished to remain anonymous told TC that there are only 42 people left at the company, down from 230 in April, reflecting an 82% drop in headcount.
Meta contractors protest: Content moderators at Sama, Meta’s content review subcontractor in Africa, protested earlier this week at the company’s Kenyan headquarters demanding their April salary. the 184 the moderators have sued Sama for allegedly illegally firing them, after Meta shut down its content review arm in March, and Majorel, the Africa-based social media giant’s new partner, for blacklisting it on Meta’s instructions.
From Pokemon to Peridot: From the creators of Pokémon Go comes another mobile game that brings cute creatures within our reach: Peridot. Like a ’90s Tamagotchi toy, Peridot is a pet simulator, but it takes place entirely within augmented reality. You can feed, play, walk, breed, and socialize with your Peridots, but don’t worry: if you take a break from the game, your creatures won’t poop on the screen or die.
Text messages, but different: “The medium is the message” is the common phrase, but entrepreneurial Alexis Trena he believes that the messages themselves (text messages, to be exact) also deserve attention. Traina is the CEO and co-founder of HelloNOTE, an app that helps people create messages, placed on custom backgrounds of anything from an overturned wine glass to a branded letterhead notebook page. The idea, he said in an interview with TechCrunch, is that he wouldn’t get up every day and dress in green, blue and grey, so why do our text messages stick to those colors?
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Do you need audio equipment for your trip from Monday to Friday or for the shower? TechCrunch has you covered. In Equity, the team dove into a couple of new Mayfield funds, plus how Wellthy is helping caregivers feel less overwhelmed and slowing growth at tech companies. About Found, the team spoke with Juliet’s co-founders, who are reinventing boxed wine. He Chain reaction The team released a bonus episode of a fireside chat with Nadya Tolokonnikova, the creator of the Pussy Riot protest art collective, at NFT NYC in April 2023. The TechCrunch podcast covered Google I/O, including technology, attended talks and demos. To round things out, Tech Crunch live discussed developing anti-aging treatments with James Peyer, co-founder of Cambrian BioPharma, and Maryanna Saenko, co-founder and partner at Future Ventures.
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TC+ subscribers get access to detailed feedback, analysis and surveys, which you know about if you’re already a subscriber. If you’re not here consider signing up. Here are some highlights from this week:
Visions of a colorful future: How far has the psychedelic medicine industry come in the last 12 months? Well, it depends where you look. A recent survey indicates that rather than simply looking for attractive opportunities, investors and founders are increasingly focused on building the foundations of an industry that can harness the power of psychedelics to change lives.
AI is eating search: Google Soaked AI News developer event this week makes it clear that we are on the cusp of a new era of search. Following Microsoft OpenAI technology molding on BingGoogle is experimenting with its own AI technology and opening up new ways to use search. It is clear that we are about to see the first major revisions in the market for finding information on the Internet in a long time.
Salesforce embraces generative AI: Salesforce is investing more and more in generative AI as it becomes clear that the technology has the potential to transform the way we interact with software, allowing us to describe what we want instead of clicking or tapping.
Get your TechCrunch IRL fix. Join us at Disrupt 2023 in San Francisco this September to dive into all things startup. From headline interviews to intimate panel discussions to a packed startup show floor, there’s something for everyone at Disrupt. Save up to $800 when you purchase your pass now through May 15, plus save 15% on top with promo code WIR. Learn more.
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