Wednesday, June 5, 2024

Welcome to TechCrunch PM! This afternoon, we bring you Wix's new app generator, a look at Boeing's Starliner lifting off to the ISS, a productivity tool to help you check off that to-do list, Ola layoffs and more self-driving car testing. Let's dig in!

TechCrunch Top 3

Bakery worker holding clipboard checks cell phone

Image Credits: Marc Romanelli / Getty Images

Wix gets into apps: Wix is best known for its web design tools, but now it is leveraging generative AI with a feature for customers to create and edit iOS or Android apps by describing what they want to see in plain English. With this info, Wix's AI generates an app that can be customized from the app editor and then optionally embellished with first- and third-party integrations, widgets and connectors. Read more

We have liftoff: Boeing's Starliner spacecraft is officially on its way to the International Space Station, marking a historic first for the long-delayed astronaut transportation program. The liftoff comes after a string of delays that pushed the mission back by nearly a month, first due to issues with the Atlas rocket and later due to a problem with one of the three ground computers responsible for the launch countdown. Read more

Stability AI releases a sound generator: Stable Audio Open, the generative model, takes a text description (e.g., "Rock beat played in a treated studio, session drumming on an acoustic kit") and outputs a recording up to 47 seconds in length. The model was trained using around 486,000 samples from free music libraries Freesound and the Free Music Archive. Read more

A MESSAGE FROM ALLY FINANCIAL, INC.

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Does your startup have a solution for Responsible AI deployment in the banking sector? Ally is excited to announce the launch of the Ally Innovation Challenge — Responsible AI. Ally is seeking market-ready, U.S.-based startups specializing in AI infrastructure that can assist in building robust, scalable platforms for responsible AI development and deployment. Selected startups will have opportunities for mentoring and potential collaboration with senior experts from the financial services company behind the nation's largest all-digital bank. Learn more about it here and submit your application by June 17! Terms and conditions apply — see website for full details

Afternoon must-reads

Image Credits: Zoox

Help with that to-do list: Hoop, a productivity startup founded by a group of early Trello employees, wants to use AI to help you automatically generate and track your to-do list. Read more

More self-driving car tests: Zoox, Amazon's self-driving unit, is bringing its autonomous vehicles to more cities with tests in Austin and Miami this summer. Read more

Google's new startup program: "Google for Startups AI Academy: American Infrastructure" will offer participants hands-on training from AI experts and other support for companies solving problems in areas like agriculture, energy, education, public safety, healthcare, telecommunications, transportation and urban development. Read more

Cameo requests for Ms. Rachel fall flat: The teacher and YouTuber advertised making 500 videos in exchange for donations that would go to children around the world. Then the Cameo requests came in. At the same time. Cameo is giving out credits to those who didn't get a video in time, which is leading to some angry people. Read more

You'll flip over this new feature: Cartwheel wants to make basic animations as simple as describing them, generating a movement with AI and letting creators focus on more expressive tasks. Read more

Whizz takes a bite out of the Big Apple: New York has cracked down on cheap, uncertified e-bikes that have issues with their batteries catching on fire. Some e-bike providers may see these regulations as being a problem for business. But e-bike subscription startup Whizz sees it as an opportunity. Read more

Oda layoffs: The Norway-based online supermarket delivery startup confirmed layoffs of 150 jobs as it drastically scales back its expansion ambitions to focus on just two markets — its homebase and Sweden. Read more

Competing with Notion: The ClickUp team built a new productivity product from the ground up that starts with a wiki at its core but also integrates with a new AI system that can pull in data from all of these other sources. Read more

Substack adds video to chat: The addition of video to chat provides a new way for newsletter creators to communicate directly with loyal followers as well as share exclusive news or sneak peeks with their community. Read more

eBay's new feature: eBay injected AI into its imaging tool to allow sellers to replace image backgrounds with AI-generated backdrops. It's ready for iOS users, but Android users will have to wait a bit. Read more

TechCrunch Minute

Image Credits: Getty Images / MirageC

How YouTube leaks became so common — and what it means for Google: After years of recurring video game-related leaks from YouTube, around a new Yoshi game in particular, we have some more information on what's been going down. And how it could expand into other corporate data. Hit play, and let's chat!

Around the web

Check your Apple TV: Especially if you want to keep watching Netflix. Engadget reports that Netflix will stop supporting second- or third-generation Apple TV boxes on July 31. Read more

Don't mess with Texas: The Texas Stock Exchange is taking aim at the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, according to The Wall Street Journal. BlackRock and Citadel Securities back the new national securities exchange, helping it to raise about $120 million. Now there are plans to file registration documents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission later this year. Read more