timef 01/17/2026
- Musk wants up to $134B in OpenAI lawsuit, despite $700B fortune techcrunch.com2026-01-17 16:26:08
Musk's legal team argues he should be compensated as an early startup investor who sees returns "many orders of magnitude greater" than his initial investment.
- AI cloud startup Runpod hits $120M in ARR — and it started with a Reddit post techcrunch.com2026-01-17 07:46:33
Their startup journey is a wild example of how if you build it well and the timing is lucky, they will definitely come.
- California AG sends Musk’s xAI a cease-and-desist order over sexual deepfakes techcrunch.com2026-01-17 07:21:24
The flood of AI-generated sexual imagery has spurred concern from state and Congressional officials alike.
- Snowflake, Databricks challenger Clickhouse hits $15B valuation techcrunch.com2026-01-17 06:05:08
The $400 million round was led by Dragoneer.
- TikTok quietly launches a micro drama app called ‘PineDrama’ techcrunch.com2026-01-17 05:11:11
Think TikTok, but every single video you come across is a short episode of a fictional story.
- EPA rules that xAI’s natural gas generators were illegally used techcrunch.com2026-01-17 04:49:18
Elon Musk's AI company had installed and operated 35 natural gas turbines without permits, something the EPA now says was illegal.
- From OpenAI’s offices to a deal with Eli Lilly — how Chai Discovery became one of the flashiest names in AI drug development techcrunch.com2026-01-17 04:14:00
The startup has partnered with Eli Lilly and enjoys the backing of some of Silicon Valley's most influential VCs.
- Supreme Court hacker posted stolen government data on Instagram techcrunch.com2026-01-17 04:01:12
Nicholas Moore pleaded guilty to stealing victims’ information from the Supreme Court and other federal government agencies, and then posting it on his Instagram @ihackthegovernment.
- ChatGPT users are about to get hit with targeted ads techcrunch.com2026-01-17 03:54:19
OpenAI says that users impacted by the ads will have some control over what they see.
- Trump administration wants tech companies to buy $15B of power plants they may not use techcrunch.com2026-01-17 03:38:27
In an attempt to alleviate rising electricity prices, the White House wants grid operator PJM to hold an auction for new generating capacity, and it wants tech companies to bid.
- How a hacking campaign targeted high-profile Gmail and WhatsApp users across the Middle East techcrunch.com2026-01-17 01:15:00
The phishing campaign targeted users on WhatsApp, including an Iranian-British activist, and stole the credentials of a Lebanese cabinet minister and at least one journalist.
- X is down for the second time this week techcrunch.com2026-01-17 00:29:38
Elon Musk's X, formerly Twitter, is down for the second time this week. Nearly 80,000 reports have spiked on Down Detector since around 10am ET Friday morning.
- Chinese EVs inch closer to the US as Canada slashes tariffs techcrunch.com2026-01-17 00:04:02
The country is dropping its import tax from 100% to just 6.1%, with an initial annual cap of 49,000 cars.
- The AI healthcare gold rush is here techcrunch.com2026-01-16 22:00:00
AI companies are clustering around healthcare and fast. In just the past week, OpenAI bought health startup Torch, Anthropic launched Claude for healthcare, and Sam Altman-backed MergeLabs closed a $250 million seed round at an $850 million valuation. The money and products are pouring into health and voice AI, but so are concerns about hallucination risks, inaccurate medical information, and […]
