Welcome to TechCrunch AM! This morning, we have notes on the departure of the NSA's top exec, OpenAI's plans for its o3 model, and how EV makers are capitalizing on Tesla's woes. We also have TikTok testing ways to help artists, a 9-figure VC fund, Amazon's AI shopping agent, and more. Let's go! — Dom | | | Image Credits: Getty Images | 1. Change ahoy! The Trump administration is making more cuts. This time, the admin has reportedly fired Timothy Haugh, the head of the National Security Agency and Cyber Command. Haugh had held the position for little more than a year. Read More 2. Make hay while protests rage: Tesla's rivals are trying to make the most of the EV maker's troubles. Polestar, Lucid Motors, Ford and Volvo have been offering big discounts on their EV cars and attractive trade-in deals to Tesla owners looking to distance themselves from the brand. Read More 3. Stop-gap measures? OpenAI says it will launch its "reasoning" model, o3, and a next-gen successor model, o4-mini, in a few weeks. The company had previously cancelled the consumer launch of o3 in February, and says this change is related to its upcoming GPT-5 model. Read More | | | Second chances: TC's Julie Bort caught up with Zach Yadegari — the high-schooler who founded two companies, got rejected by 15 top colleges, and is currently the subject of many conversations on X — about his plans for the future. Read More Gotta keep ya scrolling: TikTok is testing a new platform that will give artists tools to promote their work, understand metrics, and engage with fans. The platform is being tested in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Korea and Indonesia. Read More What VC downturn? Ballistic Ventures, co-founded by Ted Schlien (formerly of Kleiner Perkins), is raising $100 million for a new fund, per SEC filings. The news comes just a little over a year after the firm closed its second fund at $360 million. Read More Everyone wants a piece of cybersecurity: OpenAI has made its first cybersecurity investment. Adaptive Security, which simulates AI-generated "hacks" to train employees to spot such threats, has raised $43 million in a Series A co-led by OpenAI's startup fund and a16z. Read More Hopping on the bandwagon: Amazon is the latest tech giant to unveil an AI agent that can shop for you. The company is testing a shopping assistant called "Buy For Me" that can help users find and buy products on third-party sites without leaving the Amazon app. Read More | | | Free for all: The Wall Street Journal reports that mobile advertising company AppLovin is interested in buying TikTok, joining the hordes of businesses vying to buy the popular short-video app. Read More EU fights back: The EU is considering slapping X with a $1 billion fine for breaking disinformation laws, the New York Times reported, citing anonymous sources. The fine will likely be announced in the summer, though EU officials might settle if X agrees to make changes to its product to satisfy regulatory concerns, the report said. Read More | | | AI everywhere: Amazon is adding a new feature to its Kindle e-book readers called Recaps that aims to help users remember plot points and character arcs before they read the next book in a series. These recaps are, of course, AI-generated. Read More | | | Featured jobs from CrunchBoard | | | Has this been forwarded to you? Click here to subscribe to this newsletter. | | | Update your preferences here at any time | | Copyright © 2024 TechCrunch, All rights reserved.Yahoo Inc. 680 Folsom Street,San Francisco,CA | | | | |
