Palmer Luckey’s retro gaming startup ModRetro reportedly seeks funding at $1B valuation
The company launched its first product, a Game Boy-style handheld device called the Chromatic, in 2024.
Tech
Will the Pentagon’s Anthropic controversy scare startups away from defense work?
On the latest episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, we discussed what the controversy means for other startups seeking to work with the federal government.
Apple is going high-end with new ‘Ultra’ products next
Fresh off launching the low-cost MacBook Neo, Apple is reportedly preparing at least three new products that will fit into its highest-end “ultra” lineup. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gruman, the next batch of releases may not bear the “ultra” name, like its Watch, but will all command price premiums over their mainline counterparts. There’s the […]
Owner of ICE detention facility sees big opportunity in AI man camps
AI data center developers are increasingly relying on a style of camp popularized as housing for men working in remote oil fields.
TechCrunch Mobility: Rivian’s R2 gambit
Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility, your hub for all things “future of transportation.”
Listen to this: Mabe Fratti’s experimental cello pop
The opening notes of “Kravitz”, which kicks off Mabe Fratti’s 2024 record Sentir Que No Sabes, are lodged in my brain permanently. It’s not a showy album, by any means. But there’s something about the buzzing of her cello, plucked as you might an upright bass. The way they ring out before coming to an […]
What we’re listening to, watching, and reading right now.
There is so much art out there that it’s absolutely impossible to keep up. Whether it’s a slept-on post-punk album from the ‘80s, a new sci-fi novel, or a cult classic horror movie, we’re always finding new obsessions here at The Verge — and we want to share those obsessions with you. Sometimes that might […]
The best Switch 2 controller just got better (and a little worse)
Crowning the EasySMX S10 the best Switch 2 controller last fall was easy. The $60 wireless gamepad, which is often well below $50, mimics or improves on many of the $90 Switch 2 Pro controller’s best features. The S10 has great-feeling rumble in games, TMR joysticks that will last longer than Nintendo’s, plus amiibo support, […]
The cute and cursed story of Furby
The hottest toy of 1998 was sort of adorable, and sort of annoying. It couldn’t do much – couldn’t do anything, really – but it could look at you, it could say some nonsense phrases, and it seemed uncannily aware of the world around it. That’s all Furby needed to pretty much take over the […]
The uncomfortable truth about hybrid vehicles
This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on the EV struggle, follow Andrew J. Hawkins. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers’ inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here. How it started Apologies to the Toyota Prius, but the first hybrid vehicle […]