United Airlines accelerates its Starlink rollout, with first commercial flight planned for spring
A few months ago, United Airlines announced its deal with Starlink to offer in-flight internet access for its passengers. At the time, the airline said it would start testing the new service in early 2025 and then offer it on passenger flights later in the year. United has now accelerated this time
What will this year bring in VC? We asked a few investors
A new year brings with it hope for a better tomorrow — kind of, at least. In the world of venture capital, nothing is quite predictable. The number of firms in the U.S. has taken a sharp dip as risk-averse institutional investors splash money on only the biggest names in Silicon Valley, as report
New ship, new year: SpaceX to deploy model Starlink satellites on next Starship launch
SpaceX is significantly upping the ante of its Starship test flight program, with the next rocket launch expected to demonstrate payload deployment for the first time.
The payload in question will be 10 Starlink “simulators” that will be similar in size and weight to the next-gen satellites
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi resigns from self-driving truck startup Aurora’s board
Dara Khosrowshahi is resigning from the board of autonomous vehicle technology company Aurora Innovation, citing a desire to focus on his ongoing responsibilities as CEO of Uber and reduce external board commitments, according to a Friday regulatory filing.
Khosrowshahi's resignation was effec
Inside the wild fall and last-minute revival of Bench, the VC-backed accounting startup that imploded over the holidays
Friday, December 27, was supposed to be the start of a relaxing holiday weekend.
But it was chaos for thousands of small business owners who use Bench, an accounting and tax startup based in Canada that raised $113 million from investors like Bain Capital Ventures and Shopify.
Tha
Scout Motors EVs will have satellite connectivity
Volkswagen offshoot Scout Motors is getting a jump-start on CES 2025 next week, with some good news for people who plan to take the company’s EVs way, way outdoors: The forthcoming Traveler SUV and Terra pickup will have a built-in satellite connection.
Scout Motors isn’t saying where
Generative AI funding reached new heights in 2024
If there was any doubt, the generative AI bubble did not burst in 2024.
Investments in generative AI, which encompasses a range of AI-powered apps, tools, and services to generate text, images, videos, speech, music, and more, reached new heights last year. According to data from financial tracker
Turo CEO: Attackers had clean records, so background checks wouldn’t have stopped them
Two individuals rented cars from Turo, a peer-to-peer car-sharing platform, and used them to perform acts of violence earlier this week.
First, a military veteran driving a Ford F-150 Lightning drove into a crowd of people, killing at least 15. Then, an active-duty Green Beret rented a Tesla Cyber
FTC orders AI accessibility startup accessiBe to pay $1M for misleading advertising
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has fined accessiBe, a startup that claims to make websites more compatible with the screen readers blind people rely on to access the internet, for false advertising and compensating reviewers without disclosing that it sponsored the reviews.
In a proposed order
Bench saved by the bell, and other last-minute deals that closed 2024
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Welcome to 2025! The first half of the week was relatively quiet in terms of startup announcements, but activity is already starting to pi
Hydrogen tax credit rules give startups clarity while boosting nuclear and carbon capture
Hydrogen startups are widely seen as a promising way to eliminate fossil fuels from heavy industry and long-haul transportation. But they have been stuck in limbo for the last couple years, waiting for official guidance from the U.S. Treasury on lucrative tax credits.
The wait ended today, with th
Venture fund founder sues PayPal, alleging racial discrimination
PayPal is being sued by the founder of venture firm Andav Capital, Nisha Desai, who claims she was excluded from the payment giant’s diversity and equity program because she is Asian, according to a suit filed this week.
In 2020, PayPal made a $530 million commitment to support more Black
US sanctions Chinese cyber firm linked to Flax Typhoon hacks
The U.S. government has sanctioned a Beijing-based cybersecurity company over its alleged links to a China government-backed hacking group, tracked as Flax Typhoon.
The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Friday announced the sanctions against the Integrity Technol
Apple TV+ is free to stream this weekend
Apple is allowing anyone to access its Apple TV+ streaming service for free from Friday through Sunday. The company announced the weekend of free streaming earlier this week alongside a short video featuring its most popular TV shows, including “Severance,” “Slow Horses,”