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The Trump administration has begun taking direct equity stakes in American companies, not as temporary crisis measures, as in 2008, but as permanent fixtures of industrial policy. The moves raise interesting questions, including what happens when the White House appears on your cap table. At TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco last week, Sequoia Capital’s global steward Roelof Botha fielded exactly that query, and his response drew knowing laughter from the packed house: “One of the most dangerous words in the world are: ‘I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.’” Botha, who describes himself as “sort of libertarian, free…
Alphabet’s X moonshot factory is shifting how it brings ambitious technology projects to market, increasingly spinning them out as independent companies rather than keeping them within the Alphabet corporate structure, X’s head honcho, Astro Teller, revealed at TechCrunch Disrupt this past week. The strategy hinges on a dedicated venture fund that exists solely to invest in X spinouts, and in which Alphabet is only a minority investor. “If Alphabet was the sole LP, the fund would be inside of Alphabet, and then when they invested in something from X, it would still be inside Alphabet,” Teller explained onstage. “So Alphabet…
Google says it has removed Gemma from its AI Studio after a U.S. senator accused the AI model of fabricating accusations of sexual misconduct against her. In a letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Senator Marsha Blackburn — a Republican from Tennessee — said that when Gemma was asked, “Has Marsha Blackburn been accused of rape?” it responded by falsely claiming that during a 1987 state senate campaign, a state trooper alleged that Blackburn “pressured him to obtain prescription drugs for her and that the relationship involved non-consensual acts.” “None of this is true, not even the campaign year which…
One of the monkeys that escaped last week after a truck overturned on a Mississippi roadway was shot and killed early Sunday by a woman who says she feared for the safety of her children.Jessica Bond Ferguson said she was alerted early Sunday by her 16-year-old son who said he thought he had seen a monkey running in the yard outside their home near Heidelberg, Mississippi. She got out bed, grabbed her firearm and her cellphone and stepped outside where she saw the monkey about 60 feet (18 meters) away.Bond said she and other residents had been warned about diseases…
by Donald Wood Last updated: 8:00 AM ET, Sat November 1, 2025 Sports fans around the world have their favorite teams, but traveling around the United States to witness sports history in person is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.In November, several marquee events should have sports fans hitting the road, including the Formula 1 race in Las Vegas, the Philadelphia Marathon, the NWSL Championship, and two major wrestling shows from WWE and AEW. Here are the biggest sports travel events of November.Formula 1 Heineken Las Vegas Grand Prix 2025The Formula 1 Heineken Las Vegas Grand Prix 2025 is scheduled to take place…
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently said that the company is doing “well more” than $13 billion in annual revenue — and he sounded a little testy when pressed on how it will pay for its massive spending commitments. His comments came up during a joint interview on the Bg2 podcast between Altman and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella about the partnership between their two companies. Host Brad Gerstner (who’s also founder and CEO of Altimeter Capital) brought up reports that the company is currently bringing in around $13 billion in revenue — a sizable amount, but one that’s dwarfed by more…
Last updated: 9:00 PM ET, Fri October 31, 2025 WHY IT RATES: Oceanwide Expeditions has launched its 2025-2026 Antarctic cruise season, featuring new and returning itineraries, with voyages on m/v Hondius, m/v Ortelius, and m/v Plancius exploring the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, Antarctica, and the Weddell Sea. —Janeen Christoff, TravelPulse Managing EditorOceanwide Expeditions 2025-2026 Antarctic expedition cruise season began today with the company’s first voyage of the season departing Puerto Madryn, Argentina, on a Falkland Islands, South Georgia, Antarctica Photographic Special itinerary. All three of Oceanwide Expeditions’ motor expedition vessels, m/v Hondius, m/v Ortelius, and m/v Plancius, will take guests from the…
In the midst of an unprecedented AI buildout, Meta is spending more than most. The company is building two massive data centers, and reporting indicates there will be as much as $600 billion in spending on U.S. infrastructure over the next three years. Those figures might not raise eyebrows in Silicon Valley, but they’re starting to make Wall Street nervous. The issue came to a head this week as Meta reported quarterly earnings, which showed the company’s operating expenses jumping $7 billion year-over-year and nearly $20 billion in capital expense. It was the result of intense spending on AI…
The White House released more details Saturday about a trade deal reached between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in a meeting earlier this week. Among other things, the White House said China will suspend the restrictions on exporting rare earth minerals that it announced in October, and it will resume issuing “general licenses valid for exports of rare earths, gallium, germanium, antimony, and graphite for the benefit of U.S. end users and their suppliers around the world.” The Trump administration says that this will effectively reverse restrictions on rare earth minerals that China had imposed in…
Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. To get this in your inbox, sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility! We’re mixing things up a bit this week to focus on what was said on, and off, the stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025. In short, it was a banger with a number of high-profile execs and founders working on the future of transportation. Here are a few: Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana, Slate CEO Chris Barman, Nuro co-CEO and founder Dave Ferguson, Uber CPO Sachin Kansal, Wayve…