Ivan Mehta, Author at TechCrunch

Google ships first developer preview of Android 16 to speed up feature rollouts

Ivan Mehta — Tue, 19 Nov 2024 19:00:00 +0000

Google is releasing the first developer preview of Android 16 to speed up feature rollouts in devices. This is a major change in the Android rollout schedule as, over the past few years, Google released its first Android developer beta around Q2, with a stable release coming out post-July. With the new schedule, Android 16’s […]

Codecrafters wants to challenge seasoned developers with hard-to-build projects

Ivan Mehta — Tue, 19 Nov 2024 17:00:00 +0000

There are plenty of online platforms for developers that help you learn new skills or get started with a new language, such as Codecademy, LeetCode, and CodeSignal. Some guide developers step by step through the process while teaching the basics, while others provide detailed video tutorials. Codecrafters is a platform that doesn’t want to show […]

Amazon’s top music plan will now include one audiobook per month

Ivan Mehta — Tue, 19 Nov 2024 14:00:00 +0000

Amazon said on Tuesday that it will let Amazon Music Unlimited subscribers access one audiobook per month from Audible’s catalog for free. This move aims to counter Spotify’s growth in the audiobook space and also nudge some Amazon Music subscribers to purchase Audible books or plans. The company noted that subscribers of the top plan […]

Agentio raises $12M from Benchmark for its YouTube ad marketplace

Ivan Mehta — Tue, 19 Nov 2024 13:00:00 +0000

Creator marketplace startup Agentio, which has built an automated platform for YouTubers to sell their ad slots to brands, has raised $12 million in Series A funding led by Benchmark with participation from returning investors Craft Ventures and AlleyCorp. With the new funding, the startup aims to scale its marketplace for YouTubers and bolster its […]

ElevenLabs now offers ability to build conversational AI agents

Ivan Mehta — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 17:00:00 +0000

ElevenLabs, a startup that provides AI voice cloning and a text-to-speech API, launched the ability to build conversational AI bots on Monday. The company announced that users can now build complete conversational agents on ElevenLabs’ developer platform, with customizable variables such as tone of voice and response length. ElevenLabs has mostly worked on providing different […]

Perplexity introduces a shopping feature for Pro users in the US

Ivan Mehta — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 17:00:00 +0000

AI-powered search engine Perplexity is venturing into e-commerce. On Monday, the company debuted a new shopping feature for its paid customers in the U.S. which offers shopping recommendations within Perplexity’s search results as well as the ability to place an order without going to a retailer’s website. With the move, Perplexity is taking on Google […]

Bluesky says 1 million people signed up for the platform in last 24 hours

Ivan Mehta — Fri, 15 Nov 2024 03:37:27 +0000

Bluesky said Thursday evening that over 1 million people signed up for the platform in the last 24 hours, making it one of the busiest days for the company. This also meant the social network crossed the mark of 16 million users overall. The platform’s announcement comes hours after Instagram head Adam Mosseri said that […]

Mobile browser Arc Search is now generally available on Android

Ivan Mehta — Thu, 14 Nov 2024 15:00:00 +0000

Following an October beta release for Android, mobile browser, Arc Search, hit general availability Thursday. Its developer, The Browser Company, is known for its desktop browser Arc. To reach more users and employ AI-based search, the company launched Arc Search for iOS earlier this year. The new version will possibly open up Arc Search’s reach […]

Google launches Gemini app for iOS worldwide

Ivan Mehta — Thu, 14 Nov 2024 14:37:01 +0000

On Thursday Google launched a dedicated app for its AI-powered assistant, Gemini, on iOS globally. Until now, iOS users either had to use the Google app or mobile web to chat with the AI technology. The new Gemini iOS app supports text-based prompts in 35 languages. Plus, users can have a conversation with Gemini through […]

Influur wants to stand out from other influencer marketplaces by promising timely payout

Ivan Mehta — Thu, 14 Nov 2024 14:00:00 +0000

As the influencer economy grows, startups like Passionfroot, Agentio, and One Impression, along with social platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok are trying to build marketplaces to connect brands with creators. Miami-based startup Influur is banking on two unique aspects of its platform: quick response from creators and financial tools to ensure they are paid […]

Tiger Global-backed InVideo launches GenAI-based video creation

Ivan Mehta — Thu, 14 Nov 2024 13:00:00 +0000

Indian video editing platform InVideo is launching a generative AI-powered video creation feature that lets you use prompts to create video clips.

PayPal once again lets you pool money from others to pay for things together

Ivan Mehta — Thu, 14 Nov 2024 10:00:00 +0000

PayPal is launching a few features that let users in groups pool money with friends or family, to collectively pay for trips, travels, gifts, and anything else. The company is launching this feature in the U.S., Germany, the U.K., Italy, and Spain ahead of the holiday season. “Re-launching” might be the more appropriate verb here: […]

Leland lands $12 million to grow its coaching platform

Ivan Mehta — Wed, 13 Nov 2024 15:00:00 +0000

Coaching platform Leland has raised $12 million in Series A funding led by Forerunner Ventures with participation from GSV ventures to grow its platform geared toward matching coaches and aspirants to fulfill goals ranging from getting into a university to passing an entrance exam and excelling at product management. The company aims to build better […]

Just Eat Takeaway finally offloads Grubhub, sells to Wonder for $650M

Ivan Mehta — Wed, 13 Nov 2024 06:11:52 +0000

Netherlands-based food delivery company Just Eat Takeaway.com said on Wednesday that it is selling its U.S. business Grubhub to New York-based Wonder Group in a deal valued at $650 million — a stark 91% less than the $7.3 billion Just Eat Takeaway paid for the company just four years ago. The deal is expected to close in […]

YouTube is testing a feature that lets select creators remix songs using AI

Ivan Mehta — Wed, 13 Nov 2024 05:17:36 +0000

YouTube last year started letting select creators in the U.S. create AI-generated songs with prompts using the vocals of artists like Charlie Puth, Charli XCX, Demi Lovato, John Legend, Sia, T-Pain, and Troye Sivan. Now, the company is adding a feature to its Dream Track toolset that lets creators remix tracks by describing how they […]

Signal gets new video call features, making it a viable alternative to Zoom, Meet, and Teams

Ivan Mehta — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 09:20:16 +0000

Privacy-focused messaging app Signal is adding new features for video calls, including links, reactions, and a calls tab, in a bid to pose as an alternative to Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams. The highlight of the update is a new “Calls” tab, which lets you make new calls, manage call links, and check your […]

Ecosia and Qwant, two European search engines, join forces on an index to shrink reliance on Big Tech

Natasha Lomas, Ivan Mehta — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 05:00:00 +0000

Qwant, France’s privacy-focused search engine, and Ecosia, a Berlin-based not-for-profit search engine that uses ad revenue to fund tree planting and other climate-focused initiatives, are joining forces on a joint venture to develop their own European search index. The pair hopes this move will help drive innovation in their respective search engines — including and […]

Apple updates Find My to let you share locations of lost items

Ivan Mehta — Mon, 11 Nov 2024 19:30:00 +0000

Apple could soon let users share the location of lost items via the Find My app with people who are not in their contacts using a link.

X is testing a free version of AI chatbot Grok

Ivan Mehta — Mon, 11 Nov 2024 07:45:31 +0000

Social network X has so far limited its AI chatbot Grok (built by Elon Musk’s other company xAI) to its premium, paying users. However, the platform is seemingly preparing to open up the chatbot to free users. Over the weekend, several app researchers and users posted about a free version of Grok being made available […]

Encore is an AI-powered search engine for your thrifting needs

Ivan Mehta — Sun, 10 Nov 2024 16:00:00 +0000

Former Apple engineer Alex Ruber and former Twitter and Asana engineer Parth Chopra first met on Y Combinator’s founder match platform, then met in person at a thrift store for shopping. They later went on a thrift store shopping trip where they talked about solving problems with finding the right product in the online space. […]