Tuesday, October 29, 2024

GM says: No steering wheel, no problem

Tuesday, October 29, 2024

Welcome to TC PM! Today we're excited to learn that GM still plans to release an autonomous car without a steering wheel or pedals; we dive into LinkedIn's new AI recruiting tool; and we check out a new venture fund co-founded by Olivia Wilde.

TechCrunch Top 3

Image Credits: TechCrunch

🛞 Runnin' down a dream: GM CEO Mary Barra said that the company "definitely" still plans to release an autonomous car without a steering wheel or pedals at some point, despite recently canceling the Origin earlier this year. Read more

🤖 AI you open to new opportunities? LinkedIn has released Hiring Assistant, a new AI-powered recruiting tool that helps companies with hiring tasks like job descriptions, reaching out to potential candidates, and more. Read more

🤩 Wilde venture capital: Olivia Wilde quietly co-founded a venture fund last year called Proximity Ventures with Neil Sirni, formerly of Roc Nation's Arrive. The fund will make early- and growth-stage investments in both consumer and enterprise. Read more

Afternoon must-reads

Image Credits: Bryce Durbin/TechCrunch

🙅 You can't do that: U.S. prosecutors have charged Russian national Maxim Rudometov over allegedly being involved with the development and distribution of Redline, a password-stealing malware software. Read more

💰 Big budget: The European Union released its budget for investing in deep tech research and backing startups in areas like AI and low-carbon tech. The EU plans to spend €1.4 billion, €200 million more than last year. Read more

🖥️ Mac mini: Apple announced a new Mac mini today, which shrinks a desktop down to about the size of an Apple TV. Brian Heater has the details on the new tech, which starts shipping on November 8. Read more

👀 Two models, twice the fun: GitHub will now allow developers to be multi-model. Developers will be able to switch between different AI models when they use Copilot Chat. GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke says the era of a single model is over. Read more

🛍️ Shopping spree: Amazon is expanding the reach of its AI-enabled shopping assistant, Rufus, to more countries in Europe and the Americas. The tool helps with product search, recommendations, and comparisons. Read more

👟 Sustainable shoes: HILOS uses 3D printing to make sustainable shoes. The company's strategy is meant to help resolve overproduction, because it can just print exactly the inventory it needs when it needs it. Read more

A Message from TechCrunch

Two down, one to go! Don't miss the last day of Disrupt 2024!

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Around the web

🚫 Indonesia says no to Apple: Indonesia bans the sale of Apple's iPhone 16 in the country because the company failed to fulfill the country's requirement for 40% local content in headsets and tablets. Read more

🛒 Amazon overpromised: Amazon launched Amazon Karigar in 2017 as a way to help Indian artisans sell their wares online to reach a larger audience. Artisans are saying that the program did not live up to expectations. Read more