• Even Benchmark thinks AI is eroding the venture pact against backing rivals

    October 16, 2026

    For decades, the unwritten rule of venture capital was that a firm doesn’t back two companies that compete head-on. But speaking at TechCrunch Disrupt earlier this week, the partners of Benchmark readily acknowledged that the AI boom is straining that rule. It’s been on the verge of snapping for some time. The towering AI labs OpenAI and Anthropic share dozens of the same investors at this point. Then, at the end of September, Factory, a startup that builds an AI agent to write software, said it was firing board observer and adviser Chris Degnan for “unethical conduct involving Cognition,” its…

  • ChatGPT Can Now Look At Your Chrome Tabs To Do Tasks For You

    October 16, 2026

    OpenAI has updated its ChatGPT extension for Chrome, giving it the power to look at your tabs so it can come up with more personalized and useful answers to your queries. The company used to have a browser of its own, but it retired the product on August 9. It did, however, roll out upgrades to the Chrome extension that made ChatGPT a more viable alternative to Gemini in the browser. With these latest updates, ChatGPT can now do even more tasks inside Chrome.  If you’re in ChatGPT Chat, you can ask the AI assistant to take a look at your…

  • Citroen 2CV revived as budget EV steeped in nostalgia

    October 12, 2026

    The Citroen 2CV concept was clearly developed by fans of the original French runabout. It previews a production model due for release by 2028 with a base price of around €15,000 (A$24,000), which will be built in Europe and meet E-Car regulations. It’ll join the Ami quadricycle, currently priced from €8490 (A$13,600), and the e-C3, priced from €12,990 (A$20,850), at the low end of Citroen’s electric vehicle (EV) lineup in Europe. Instead of a tiny petrol engine, there’s an electric motor and a battery. But unlike past retro revivals like the Mini, Volkswagen Beetle, and Renault Twingo, the 2CV concept…

  • Insight Partners’ Deven Parekh on why the firm is diversifying while everyone else bets the farm on OpenAI and Anthropic

    September 14, 2026

    Deven Parekh has co-run the heavyweight investment firm Insight Partners for 26 years. Unlike many VCs who are loud on X and seem to live on podcasts, Parekh and Insight Partners tend to lay low. In this sit-down with TechCrunch at its StrictlyVC event on Thursday night in New York, Parekh was refreshingly candid about some of the firm’s wins (it has led and co-led numerous rounds in Databricks, for example, and owns stakes in OpenAI and Anthropic); the deals it hasn’t won, including buzzy AI legal-tech company Legora; conflicts of interest in venture investing; and why Insight has stuck…

  • Leapmotor confirms vehicle-to-grid testing in Australia, eyes Amber collaboration

    September 14, 2026

    Leapmotor has confirmed preliminary vehicle-to-grid (V2G) testing has taken place in Australia, as it explores a potential collaboration with energy retailer Amber Electric. The confirmation follows comments from Leapmotor’s global product planning team that Australia had become one of the company’s leading markets for the technology. “Preliminary V2G testing has been undertaken in Australia as part of our ongoing evaluation of the technology and its potential applications,” a Stellantis Australia spokesperson told CarExpert. “We are currently exploring opportunities for broader collaboration and further testing, including with Amber, and look forward to sharing more information in due course.” Looking for your…

  • Which Is Better For Charging Your MacBook?

    September 14, 2026

    MagSafe is safer and simpler, but USB-C has a few advantages of its own. Ivan_Shenets/Shutterstock The latest MacBooks are known for featuring Apple’s clever charging solution: MagSafe. It’s one of those features that’s a make-or-break factor for some people. And it’s no wonder — these chargers attach magnetically and disconnect if the cable is pulled sharply, like when tripping over it. But Apple laptops can also be charged via USB-C, which has become an industry standard. While you can’t use both at the same time, they can both be great charging options depending on what you need at…

  • 2026 GWM Tank 500 prices: Prado, Everest rival finally gets diesel power with new 3.0L

    August 17, 2026

    The GWM Tank 500 is now finally available in Australia with diesel power, and it’s the brand’s new 3.0-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder. It’s priced at $65,990 drive-away in base Lux trim and $71,990 drive-away in flagship Vanta form. GWM Australia is also offering a choice of either a $2000 discount (“cash bonus”) or $2000 fuel card for vehicles purchased before October 30, 2026. For context, the Tank 500 Lux undercuts the most affordable turbo-diesel V6-powered Ford Everest by $1000, while the Vanta is $5000 cheaper than the mid-spec Everest Sport V6. Even the cheapest Toyota Prado is priced at $73,200 before…

  • Some Claude users are mad that Anthropic’s new watermarks will catch them using it at their jobs, classes

    August 13, 2026

    Anthropic recently made the decision to watermark Claude’s outputs — inserting invisible code into the chatbot’s editorial text that marks it as AI-generated. Anthropic rolled out this new policy to satisfy the EU AI Act’s Transparency Code, which now requires tech companies to label content that has been AI-generated or edited in a manner identifiable to computer systems. Yet while European regulators may be happy, some AI users are decidedly not. One need look no further than Reddit to find evidence of brewing discontent, though other posters on the site are not in agreement. One of the more histrionic posts…

  • You Can Now Watch Classic Movies Like The Martian, E.T. And Zodiac On Apple TV

    August 13, 2026

    Apple TV is known for its original series like Ted Lasso, Silo and Severance, but it’s now offering new content it doesn’t often feature: classic films. The streaming service just made around 20 popular movies available for subscribers to stream, including The Martian, E.T., The Proposal, The Sixth Sense, Titanic and Zodiac, 9to5Mac reported.  You can usually only buy or rent these movies from the Apple TV Store, but they’re all now tagged as “Just Added,” so they can be streamed for free with an Apple TV subscription, which costs $12.99 per month or $99 a year.  If you want…

  • Denza Z9 S electric sedan revealed as smaller sibling to Australia-bound Z9 GT

    July 20, 2026

    The exterior of the electric Denza Z9 S sedan has been revealed in China with a similar styling and powertrains to the Z9 GT, which is due in Australian showrooms later this year with ‘flash’ ultra-fast charging. According to Car News China, the Z9 S follows the same design language as the Z9 GT, courtesy of former Audi designer Wolfgang Egger who heads design for Denza and parent company BYD, but wraps it in a smaller body riding the same e3 platform. Denza Australia told CarExpert it considers all models for local showrooms but stopped short of confirming whether the…