timef 09/16/2025

Video creation platform D-ID snaps up Berlin-based video generation startup Simpleshow to expand its digital avatar solution.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has received nine reports from owners who couldn't access their cars, including from parents whose children were stuck inside.

YouTube Music users will soon be able to pre-save songs, see a countdown for album releases, get exclusive merch, and more.

YouTube launches a handful of updates for creators, including lip syncing features for dubbed videos, likeness detection, collabs, an AI chatbot and more.

YouTube is bringing a custom version of Google's text-to-video generative AI model, Veo 3, to Shorts, along with a new remixing tool, an 'Edit with AI' feature, and more.

YouTube announced new features for livestreaming, such as letting creators play mini-games, AI-powered highlights, and more.

YouTube teases new AI-powered tools for turning podcasts into video clips, even if they're audio-only.

YouTube is going to allow creators to swap out brand sponsorships in long-form videos.

Salesforce's Missionforce will help modernize national defense workflows across areas including personnel, logistics and decision making.

The new Calm Sleep app is designed to help people wind down, sleep deeply, and wake up refreshed.

Called the Agent Payments Protocol (AP2), the system is meant to be interoperable between AI platforms, payment systems and vendors.

MicroFactory has more than 100 preorders for its general purpose tabletop robotic factory which it hopes to start shipping in two months.

Y Combinator-alum Rulebase is betting that the next wave of automation in financial services will be the unglamorous tasks.

The entrepreneur has launched Supercal, a free scheduling platform that’s designed to make booking meetings more efficient and simple.

Amazon is hosting its Prime Big Deals Day sales event in October again.

Carl Pei's Nothing is raising $200 million in a Series C round from Tiger Global at a $1.3 billion valuation.

Rodatherm Energy emerged from stealth with $38 million in Series A funding. It plans to build a closed-loop geothermal power plant that uses refrigerants to move heat to the surface.

Investors continue to reward Alphabet's stock after a judge declined to break up Google earlier this month.

Divergent Technologies' new round will help the company expand its manufacturing footprint across the U.S.

The “Robinhood Ventures Fund I” is intended to allow any retail investor to make money on startups, but the details are scant.

We asked YC-focused investors to name the startups from the Summer 2025 batch that generated the most interest.

Kering said the hackers did not steal credit card numbers and that it has contacted the customers whose data is part of the breach, without saying how many were affected. 

Does Silicon Valley still give founders an edge? At TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 (Oct 27–29, SF), Anh-Tho Chuong (Lago), David Hall (Revolution), and Tawni Nazario-Cranz (SignalFire) debate whether location still drives startup success.

Unlike traditional alarm clocks that can be silenced with a simple tap, Awake is intended to actively engage users' brains to ensure they fully wake up.

The launch comes as the company rolled out its fifth-generation Snap Spectacles for developers last year and plans to launch a consumer version sometime in 2026.

Apple's iOS 26 update with Liquid Glass redesign is available to all eligible iPhone users starting today.

Nirav Tolia (Nextdoor), Jane Alexander (CapitalG), and Vanessa Larco (Premise, NEA) join TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 (Oct 27–29, SF) to share strategies for building resilient companies and scaling in the AI era.

OpenAI's AI coding agent, Codex, can now spend anywhere from a few seconds to several hours on a task, thanks to a new, customized version of GPT-5.

China is investigating Nvidia's 2020 acquisition of Mellanox Technologies as trade tensions between the U.S. and China heat up.

The Israeli government ordered the seizure of 187 wallets it said belong to the IRGC, which have over time received $1.5 billion in crypto, according to a blockchain analysis firm.

TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 takes place October 27–29 at Moscone West in San Francisco, and we’re looking for motivated, curious, and energetic volunteers to help make it all happen.

PayPal introduces 1:1 direct payment links that will soon support crypto.

Like OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Bret Taylor thinks we're in an AI bubble — but he doesn't sound too worried about it.