March 11, 2025

Exclusive: The sibling founders of Stax Payments are back with a new fintech and a $20M seed raise

Worth, a company focused on helping fintechs, banks, and enterprises underwrite small and medium-sized businesses more easily, has raised $20 million in a seed funding round, the startup tells TechCrunch exclusively. It’s a large seed round, especially these days when capital is harder to come by. But the founders’ history may have something to do with that. Sal Rehmetullah and Suneera Madhani, who are siblings, also founded another fintech company, Stax Payments. They exited that

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Hardware

PlayStation Is Secretly Working On AI-Powered Characters

The game industry continues to integrate artificial intelligence into the game development process. Some of the biggest players, such as EA and Microsoft, have demoed some of the tools being worked on internally that the companies hope to use in the future. Now, it seems another gaming giant, Sony, is also developing a prototype tool for creating AI enahnced characters. An internal video has been leaked showing Sharwin Raghoebardajal, a director of software engineering at

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Hardware

Microsoft Is Killing Windows Remote Desktop But There’s A Replacement

Just last week, Microsoft announced that the Skype app would no longer be available and would be replaced with Microsoft Teams by May. Yesterday, Microsoft made a similar announcement; however, this time, it will be replacing the Windows Remote Desktop app with the Windows App. In a blog post, Hilary Braun, Senior Product Manager at Microsoft, revealed that users of the Remote Desktop app will no longer be able to connect to Windows 365, Azure

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Exclusive: Meet the new VC firm secretly backed by Volkswagen | TechCrunch

A new venture firm called Leitmotif has been on a quiet blitz for the last 16 months, funding around 20 startups broadly focused on decarbonization. Its portfolio includes EV companies, space and battery plays, and four nuclear fusion startups. But the firm has only said its funding is from “European industrial interests.” Now, Leitmotif has told TechCrunch where the money came from: the Volkswagen Group.  The German automotive giant has committed $300 million to Leitmotif’s

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Hardware

Apple Is Planning A ‘Dramatic’ OS Revamp For iPhone, iPad And Mac

Apple has attempted to spur some excitement recently by introducing Apple Intelligence along with a newly, redesigned less expensive iPhone, but it doesn’t seem to have succeeded. It seems as if the next move for the Cupertino giant is a complete makeover of the operating systems that power its lineup, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. This new experience will reportedly be unveiled soon, and introduce big changes to the entirety of the user interface. The company is expected

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Learn what VCs want to see from founders at Sessions: AI | TechCrunch

It’s no secret that AI has eaten the lion’s share of funding over the past couple of years, with investments into the sector surging 62% to $110 billion in 2024 alone, while startup funding overall declined 12%.  Startups may think that just adding “AI” to their company’s name might help them secure that funding. But as the frenzy around foundation models has given way to a focus on real-world applications, AI agents, and long-term profitability,

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Robotics

RISE Robotics sets sights on Guinness World Record for strongest prototype arm – The Robot Report

RISE claims the Beltdraulic SuperJammer electric actuated arm is stronger and more precise than hydraulic robots. Source: RISE Robotics While industrial automation is more established than other types of robots, there are still new capabilities to reach and records to be set. RISE Robotics plans to attempt to set a Guinness World Record for the strongest robotic arm prototype. “We are thrilled to showcase how RISE Robotics is transforming industrial automation,” stated Hiten Sonpal, CEO

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Hardware

TCL’s New QM7K QD-Mini LED 4K TVs Crank The Brightness And Rock Premium B&O Audio

It’s only been a few months since TCL introduced its QM6K series TVs (at the Consumer Electronics Show in January), the first in its extensive lineup to feature the company’s ‘Precise Dimming’ technology, and it’s already old news. The newer kid on the block is the QM7K series, the second in its Precise Dimming lineup with some notable upgrades. As with the QM6K, the new QM7K models are quantum dot mini LED (QD-mini LED) models.

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Can Amazon’s Kuiper Systems Catch Up to SpaceX Starlink in the Battle for the Digital Skies?

6 min read Margo Anderson is senior associate editor and telecommunications editor at IEEE Spectrum. Last month, Ofcom, the United Kingdom’s telecom regulator, granted Amazon’s Kuiper Systems a license to provide low-Earth orbit-based (LEO) broadband Internet in the country. The move places Kuiper systems in a rival position with the industry leader, and SpaceX subsidiary, Starlink Services. And while more specialized LEO broadband Internet interests are also emerging—in the public and private sectors—Ofcom’s decision signifies an

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