technology
Fintech lending giant Figure confirms data breach
The company said hackers downloaded “a limited number of files” after breaking into an employee’s account. The hacking group ShinyHunters took responsibility for the breach. Source link
Why top talent is walking away from OpenAI and xAI
AI companies have been hemorrhaging talent the past few weeks. Half of xAI’s founding team has left the company — some on their own, others through “restructuring” — while OpenAI is facing its own shakeups, from the disbanding of its mission alignment team to the firing of a policy exec who opposed its “adult mode” feature. Watch as TechCrunch’s Equity podcast hosts Kirsten Korosec, Anthony […]
Sex toys maker Tenga says hacker stole customer information
The Japanese sex toy maker said a hacker broke into an employee’s inbox and stole customer names, email addresses, and correspondence, including order details and customer service inquiries. Source link
OpenAI removes access to sycophancy-prone GPT-4o model
The model is known for its overly sycophantic nature and its role in several lawsuits involving users’ unhealthy relationships to the chatbot. Source link
The SEC closed its investigation into Fisker
The financial regulator revealed in a response to a TechCrunch records request that the probe was closed in September 2025. Source link
India partners with Alibaba.com for export push despite past China tech bans
India turns to Alibaba.com’s B2B network of 50 million buyers in 200 countries to help businesses scale global exports. Source link
Anthropic’s Super Bowl ads mocking AI with ads helped push Claude’s app into the top 10
After Anthropic’s Super Bowl ads, Claude’s app reached the top 10 on the U.S. App Store. Source link
Roku to launch streaming bundles as part of its efforts to continue growing its profitability
Roku delivered an impressive Q4, posting net income of $80.5 million. The company also outlined plans for streaming bundles. Source link
A Stanford grad student created an algorithm to help his classmates find love; now, Date Drop is the basis of his new startup
“Our matches convert to actual dates at about 10x the rate of Tinder,” Weng told TechCrunch. Source link
Elon Musk suggests spate of xAI exits have been push, not pull
At least nine engineers, including two co-founders, have announced their exits from xAI in the past week, fueling online speculation and raising questions about stability at Musk’s AI company amid mounting controversy. Source link