The World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos felt different this year, and not just because Meta and Salesforce took over storefronts on the main promenade. AI dominated the conversation in a way that overshadowed traditional topics like climate change and global poverty, and the CEOs weren’t holding back. There was public criticism of trade policy, warnings about AI bubbles popping, and a lot of talk about what comes next for the industry.  Watch as TechCrunch’s Equity podcast discusses which conversations took over Davos this week, the latest startup raises that caught our eye, and more. Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow…

A failed December effort to bring down parts of Poland’s energy grid was the work of Russian government hackers known for causing past energy disruptions, according to a security research firm that investigated the incident.  Last week, Polish Energy Minister Milosz Motyka told reporters that the attempted cyberattack on December 29 and 30 saw hackers targeting two heat and power plants, as well as trying to disrupt the communication links between renewable installations, such as wind turbines and power distribution operators. Motyka called the incident the “strongest attack” on Poland’s energy infrastructure in years, with the Polish government blaming Moscow…

Yann LeCun’s new venture, AMI Labs, has drawn intense attention since the AI scientist left Meta to found it. This week, the startup finally confirmed what it’s building — and several key details have been hiding in plain sight. On its newly launched website, the startup disclosed its plans to develop ‘world models’ in order to “build intelligent systems that understand the real world.” The focus on world models was already hinted at by AMI’s name, which stands for Advanced Machine Intelligence, but it has now officially joined the ranks of the hottest AI research startups. Building foundational models that…

The Department of Justice has reportedly opened a criminal investigation into HR and payroll startup Deel over allegations that it hired a corporate spy to leak information on its biggest rival, Rippling, reports The Wall Street Journal. In an emailed statement to TechCrunch, Deel says that it is “not aware of any investigation. We will always cooperate with the relevant authorities and provide any necessary information in response to valid inquiries.” Deel’s statement then makes its own allegations against Rippling. It points to its own lawsuit that alleges its rival has been on a “smear campaign,” claiming it’s beating the…