US government says security flaw in Chirp Systems' app lets anyone remotely control smart home locks

A vulnerability in a smart access control system used in thousands of U.S. rental homes allows anyone to remotely control any lock in an affected home. But Chirp Systems, the company that makes the system, has ignored requests to fix the flaw. U.S. cybersecurity agency CISA went public with a …...Read More

Substack rival Ghost confirms it will join the fediverse in 2024

Ghost, an open source rival to Substack’s newsletter platform, has confirmed it will this year officially join the fediverse — or the open social network of interconnected servers that includes apps like Mastodon, Pixelfed, PeerTube, Flipboard and, more recently, Instagram Threads, among others. Last week, the company teased its plans …...Read More

Amazon ends California drone deliveries

Amazon confirmed it is ending Prime Air drone delivery operations in Lockeford, California. The Central California town of 3,500 was the company’s second U.S. drone delivery site, after College Station, Texas. Operations were announced in June 2022. The retail giant is not offering details around the setback, only noting, “We’ll …...Read More

Tesla earnings week spotlights price cuts, Elon's 'balls to the wall' autonomy push

As Tesla gears up to report what will likely be unimpressive financial results for the first quarter on Tuesday, the company is making more moves to go “balls to the wall for autonomy,” as CEO Elon Musk put it last week in a post on X. Over the weekend, Tesla …...Read More

'Send now, pay later' startup Pomelo lands $35M Series A from secretive Vy Capital, Founders Fund

Pomelo, a startup that combines international money transfer with credit, has raised $35 million in a Series A round led by Dubai venture firm Vy Capital, TechCrunch has exclusively learned. Additionally, the company is announcing a $75 million expansion of its warehouse facility. Founders Fund and A* Capital also participated …...Read More

Meta opens Quest OS to third-party headset makers, taps Lenovo and Xbox as partners

Meta Horizon OS, the mixed reality operating system that powers Meta Quest headsets can now be used by third-party device makers, the company announced on Monday. The strategic move comes at a time when the VR/AR headset wars between Meta, Apple and Sony continue to heat up. Three major players …...Read More

Rippling’s Parker Conrad on the company's new round, new SF lease, and also, its newest critic

Last week, TechCrunch broke the news that the workforce management software outfit Rippling was on the cusp of closing a new, $200 million round of funding at a hefty $13.4 billion valuation led by Coatue. We also reported that the round featured a separate, $670 million secondary component meant to …...Read More

Watch: Tesla's Cybertruck recall, layoffs set the stage for its Q1 earnings

Tesla is not having a good start to the week. In its defense, it didn’t have a very good end to last week, either. Today the news is that recent price cuts have irked Tesla investors, who sent its shares off around 4% in early trading today. Those losses have …...Read More

General Galactic emerges from stealth to make methane from carbon dioxide

Plenty of products benefit from tight integration, where companies design and sometimes build key components of a product in-house: Apple and its custom microprocessors and Tesla and its Superchargers are two notable examples. It’s not an easy strategy to get right, but General Galactic, a stealthy new startup, hopes the …...Read More

Clarity Pediatrics raises $10M for treating ADHD and other chronic childhood conditions

Raising young kids who have been diagnosed with, or are suspected of having, ADHD can be challenging. Some children with this condition may have difficulties completing school work or grow easily frustrated and throw tantrums. Parents who try to turn to professionals for help are often shocked to learn that …...Read More