• Vimeo lays off most of its staff just months after being bought by private equity firm

    January 24, 2026

    Vimeo just got hit by a brutal round of layoffs, according to a . Staffers are on that the layoffs have impacted , including the entire video team. Vimeo is a video-hosting platform, so that sounds bad. “Yesterday, following Vimeo’s recent acquisition by a private equity firm, I learned that I, along with a large portion of the company, was impacted by layoffs,” wrote the company’s former vice president of Global Brand & Creative, Dave Brown. He is referring to a firm called Bending Spoons that bought Vimeo for $1.38 billion . We don’t know why parent company Bending Spoons…

  • Who’s behind AMI Labs, Yann LeCun’s ‘world model’ startup

    January 24, 2026

    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…

  • Battle of the ute twins: Will the LDV Terron 9 or MG U9 be victorious?

    January 23, 2026

    We’re a long way from the days of the Button plan and rampant model rebadging, but there are still some vehicles in Australia that appear to differ only in the logo on their grilles. Sure, the recently launched LDV Terron 9 and the even more recently launched MG U9look almost identical inside and out, but this isn’t just a redux of the old Ford Falcon and Nissan Ute twins as there are some key differences between these two Chinese-made dual-cab 4×4 utes beyond their badges. Launched last year, they’ve entered a hotly competitive segment that contains three of the top…

  • A rival smart glasses company is suing Meta over its Ray-Ban products

    January 23, 2026

    Meta is being sued by Solos, a rival smart glasses maker, for infringing on its patents, Bloomberg reports. Solos is seeking “multiple billions of dollars” in damages and an injunction that could prevent Meta from selling its Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses as part of the lawsuit. Solos claims that Meta’s Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarer Gen 1 smart glasses violate multiple patents covering “core technologies in the field of smart eyewear.” While less well known than Meta and its partner EssilorLuxottica, Solos sells multiple pairs of glasses with similar features to what Meta offers. For example, the company’s AirGo A5 glasses lets…

  • The Rippling/Deel corporate spying scandal may have taken another wild turn

    January 23, 2026

    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…

  • Bugatti FKP Hommage: One-off melds Chiron W16 with Veyron’s design

    January 23, 2026

    The Bugatti Veyron FKP Hommage is the second car from the company’s Solitare bespoke commission division, and is named after Ferdinand Karl Piëch, the former CEO of the Volkswagen Group, and the driving force behind the original Veyron project. While the Veyron FKP Hommage looks as though it uses the same body as the hypercar produced between 2005 and 2015, the FKP actually uses “the highest evolution” of the W16 platform, which means it is actually a Chiron that’s been extensively restyled to resemble the Veyron. According to Bugatti, the FKP’s exterior is a “subtle yet significant evolution” of the…

  • Google Photos can now turn you into a meme

    January 23, 2026

    In Big Tech’s never-ending quest to increase AI adoption, Google has unveiled a meme generator. The new Google Photos feature, Me Meme, lets you create personalized memes starring a synthetic version of you. Google describes Me Meme as “a simple way to explore with your photos and create content that’s ready to share with friends and family.” You can choose from a variety of templates or “upload your own funny picture” to use in their place. The feature isn’t live for everyone yet, so you may not yet have access to it. (A Google representative told TechCrunch that the feature…

  • Waymo probed by National Transportation Safety Board over illegal school bus behavior

    January 23, 2026

    The National Transportation Safety Board has opened an investigation into Waymo after its robotaxis have been spotted illegally passing stopped school buses numerous times in at least two states. The NTSB is specifically focusing on the more-than-20 incidences that have occurred in Austin, Texas, it said in a post on X on Friday. “Investigators will travel to Austin to gather information on a series of incidents in which the automated vehicles failed to stop for loading or unloading students,” the NTSB said in a statement to TechCrunch. A preliminary report is expected within 30 days, and the safety board will…

  • Increasing EV competition not a concern for “unique” Polestar brand

    January 23, 2026

    The theme of the past 12 months has been the never-ending onslaught of new electric vehicles (EVs) in Australia, but Polestar is confident it can cement a place in the local market despite its niche status. Polestar – owned by China’s Geely and therefore a sister brand to Volvo, Zeekr, and Lotus – has struggled to penetrate global markets since its 2017 launch. It’s by no means the only brand to have adopted an EV-only strategy globally, but it’s consistently and comprehensively outpaced by brands like Tesla, while also grappling with the rapid growth of China’s EV industry as a…

  • Retro handheld maker Anbernic has a new gamepad with a screen and heart rate sensor

    January 23, 2026

    File this one under “Things that make you go, ‘Hmmm…'” Retro handheld maker Anbernic is launching a new controller with a screen. But unlike Nintendo’s Wii U controller, there’s no second-screen gaming capability here. Instead, the display is designed to “make customization intuitive and effortless.” Oh, and the controller also has a heart rate sensor. Because, hey, if you’re going weird, I say fully commit! The Anbernic RG G01 has a 2.5-inch HD display that the company describes as an “HD smart screen.” The idea is to remap buttons, program macros and change other settings without requiring software on a…