VC Neil Mehta, the Greenoaks Capital co-founder tied to a growing number of building purchases across several blocks of San Francisco’s once-glittering Fillmore Street, defended himself on Monday via an op-ed in The San Francisco Standard, saying the moves are solely about revitalizing a “city that has given me more than I could ever give back to it.”
The piece aims to push back at local politicians, including SF Supervisor Aaron Peskin, who recently held a rally on the shop-lined street, telling onlookers and reporters that Mehta’s buying spree will displace longtime small businesses. (Peskin is also running for mayor currently.)
Mehta – who definitely underestimated the blowback from the purchases – further argues that he’s not looking to make a fast buck on the real estate holdings. They’re being purchased via a real estate fund that he backs through a nonprofit to which he (alone) has donated $100 million. As such, writes Mehta, he has “zero financial interest in these properties,” “will receive nothing in return,” and any proceeds will be “reinvested in the community.”
Anduril is expanding even further into the “ultimate high ground.” The company, which is best known for AI-powered defense products that span air, land and sea, is partnering with satellite…
With this merger, Dott and Tier didn’t want to build a conglomerate of micromobility services; the operation was all about scale.
Meta’s AI-powered Ray-Bans have a discreet camera on the front, for taking photos not just when you ask them to, but also when their AI features trigger it with certain…
A Y Combinator startup named PearAI launched with a tweet thread and YouTube video on Saturday and caused an immediate backlash.
11x.ai, a startup that develops AI-powered sales development bots, has secured roughly $50 million in Series B funding, TechCrunch has learned. The new round was led by Andreessen Horowitz, valuing…
Hello and welcome back to TechCrunch Space. Flagging again that the final agenda for the Space Stage at TechCrunch Disrupt is now live. I’ll be pushing this event for the…
VC Neil Mehta, the Greenoaks Capital co-founder tied to a growing number of building purchases across several blocks of San Francisco’s once-glittering Fillmore Street, defended himself on Monday via an…
Snapchat is quietly rolling out a new “Footsteps” feature to all iOS users this week, the company confirmed to TechCrunch on Monday. The new feature, which was previously only available…
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is grounded again after the vehicle’s second stage did not come down in the expected area of the ocean, following an otherwise successful mission that delivered…
We’ve compiled a list of iOS 18 apps that users can try in order to take advantage of the redesigned Control Center.
General Motors’ self-driving subsidiary Cruise must pay a $1.5 million penalty to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, after its initial reports to the safety regulator about last year’s pedestrian…
A Waymo robotaxi got stuck making a U-turn in front of Vice President Kamala Harris’ motorcade Friday evening in San Francisco. ABC 7 reported that a San Francisco police officer…
It’s been quite the year for game industry exec Pany Haritatos. Last month, he quietly closed an oversubscribed $28 million from Netflix, Dell a16z, and others.
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Last year, while opposing Reddit’s API changes, a large number of subreddits turned from public to private or turned NSFW (Not Safe for Work) to impact ads on the platform.…
The consumerization of medtech marches on: Amsterdam-based startup Lapsi Health has just clinched FDA approval for its first clinical support tool, a digital stethoscope. The U.S. medical devices regulator, the…
We break down what virtual private networks, or VPNs, do and don’t do, because using a VPN can be as dangerous as not using one.
When Oasis announced its reunion tour last month, fans of the British rock icons rejoiced — by some miracle, brothers and frontmen Noel and Liam Gallagher managed to resolve their…
Tesla’s end-of-September deadline for bringing Supervised Full Self-Driving (FSD) to Cybertruck owners has arrived. In typical Tesla fashion, the superfans are getting first access. Members of the Cybertruck Owners Club…
Ello, the AI reading companion that aims to support kids struggling to read, launched a new product on Monday that allows kids to participate in the story-creation process. Called “Storytime,”…
We are officially less than a month away from TechCrunch Disrupt 2024, taking place at Moscone West in San Francisco from October 28-30. We’re currently seeking dedicated and highly motivated…
Germany’s Federal Cartel Office (FCO) said the software giant could face restrictions if the competition authority deems an intervention is necessary.
Beta Technologies unveiled Monday the next electric aircraft in its lineup — a passenger-carrying version of its ALIA vertical takeoff and landing and fixed-wing vehicles. Electric vertical takeoff and landing…
Augmented Intelligence claims that its ‘symbolic AI’ techniques can help lead to better chatbot experiences.
The HVAC industry is going through a transformation. The old guard of tradespeople are on the cusp of retiring while private equity firms are consolidating the industry. Airship is building…
At first glance, Qodo, the startup previously known as CodiumAI, may appear to be yet another AI code generation tool. But the team, which is announcing a $40 million Series…
Lex’s users have high standards for the app, since it serves a community that has been historically overlooked and mistreated by mainstream social platforms.
Source: Techcrunch
