Delphi and LiDAR-maker Innoviz partner on self-driving tech

 Automotive supply giant Delphi, which recently shifted focus to target autonomous and high-tech solutions more specifically, has signed a new partnership with Innoviz, an Israeli tech company building LiDAR tech for autonomous driving. The team-up includes a new minority investment from Delphi in Innoviz, the full financial details of which haven’t been released. The commercial… Read More

Teenage bitcoin millionaire is back with a better Botangle

 Erik Finman gained notoriety and a certain fame as a 14-year-old entrepreneur and bitcoin investor who’d managed to turn a $1,000 investment in the cryptocurrency into more than a million dollars and a chance to never see the inside of a college institution. Now, several years after its sale, Finman is buying back his original startup: Botangle. Read More

Trump approves Obama-era plan for a more independent US Cyber Command

 President Trump has given the go-ahead for a plan dating from the Obama administration to elevate US Cyber Command to the level of Unified Combatant Command, giving it more operational independence from the National Security Agency. The statement also raised the possibility of splitting off CyberCom from the NSA entirely. Read More

Infiniti’s Prototype 9 is a modern electric car with 1940s retro racer roots

 Days of thunder future past? Infiniti’s newest race car prototype is actually inspired by vintage race vehicles of the 1940s, with a torpedo-style sleek cylindrical body and offset wheels at the end of extended axes. The drivetrain of the so-called ‘Prototype 9,’ however, is all 2017: It’s an electric motor, combined with a 30 kWh battery pack. Here’s what I… Read More

Andrew Ng is raising a $150M AI Fund

 We knew that Andrew Ng had more than just a series of deep learning courses up his sleeve when he announced the first phase of his deeplearning.ai last week. It’s clear now that the turn of Ng’s three part act is a $150 million venture capital fund targeting AI investments. Ng, who formerly founded Google’s Brain Team and served as chief scientist at Baidu has long… Read More

Social virtual reality startup AltspaceVR may not be dead after all

 What is dead in VR may never die, perhaps? Social VR startup AltspaceVR may not be shutting down after all. The company, which raised more than $15 million in funding from GV, Comcast Ventures and others, announced last month that it was unexpectedly closing its virtual doors after a funding deal fell through “at the last second.” But oddly, less than a month later, the startup… Read More

Privacy advocates advise Supreme Court to protect phone location data under the 4th Amendment

 Among the Supreme Court’s many upcoming cases is Carpenter v. United States, which will settle the question of whether your location and movements, as determined by the ordinary interactions of your phone with the network, are protected by the Fourth Amendment. Dozens of companies, advocates, experts and interested parties just weighed in ahead of the hearing. Read More

Uber’s head of developer product leaves citing Kalanick’s ouster

 Without the heavyweight backing for the platform from former CEO Travis Kalanick, Uber’s head of developer product Chris Saad is leaving the company. It’s unclear where the platform will rank in Uber’s revised priorities as it tries to right the ship, and so he tells me he is moving on to a company where working with outside developers is a central focus. Saad stressed… Read More

TechCrunch launches ‘Original Content,’ a podcast about streaming TV, movies and more

 Each week, TechCrunch’s Anthony Ha and Darrell Etherington talk about what’s new in original streaming shows, movies, comics and more on ‘Original Content.’ Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime – if it’s new, original, and available to stream on the web or mobile, you’ll hear about it on this podcast first (or at least second). Plus, we’ll talk to the… Read More

Database provider MongoDB has filed confidentially for IPO

 MongoDB has filed confidentially for IPO, sources tell TechCrunch. The company has submitted an S-1 filing in the past few weeks and is aiming to go public before the end of the year.
New York-based MongoDB helps companies including Adobe, eBay and Citigroup manage databases. Some of its offerings include its name-bearing MongoDB open source database and the Atlas database-as-a-service… Read More

FCC’s favors for Sinclair are the natural byproduct of a pro-industry agenda

 Several Representatives are asking for an explanation for why so many of the FCC’s actions seem to benefit Sinclair Broadcast Group, and a New York Times report details a rather cozy relationship between the two. There’s no big conspiracy, though. Sinclair benefits because the FCC is deregulating these industries at their request and on their terms — as Chairman Pai has… Read More

Separating fiction from feasibility in the future of drone delivery

 From donuts to life-saving anti-venom, drone delivery draws attention to what the technology might look like in a few short years. While the full potential of drones extends beyond transport, there’s little doubt that the fledgling technology will turn consumer package delivery upside down. Read More

Calling all teachers, educators and mentors: apply to bring your class to Disrupt SF

 Applications are now open for student groups to attend Disrupt SF at Pier 48 on September 19 or September 20. The program is part of Include, TechCrunch’s diversity program aimed at facilitating opportunities for underrepresented groups in tech to gain better access to the startup scene. Read More