AI & Robotics

Instead of signing expensive contracts with companies for their data, AI labs these days are trying a new tack: tapping former senior employees from those companies for their industry knowledge, Mercor CEO Brendan Foody said at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 on Tuesday. Speaking on a panel onstage, Foody cast Mercor’s marketplace as one of the main channels connecting the former employees of…

OpenAI on Tuesday said it had completed its recapitalization, splitting the AI lab into a for-profit corporation nested inside a non-profit foundation. It’s the end result of a complex legal process that had been strenuously resisted by its estranged co-founder, Elon Musk. Under the new structure, the non-profit OpenAI Foundation will have legal control over a public benefit corporation…

Fitbit’s new Gemini-powered health coach, announced back in August, is becoming available as a public preview to Premium subscribers in the U.S. on Android starting tomorrow. It expands to iOS later this year. As the AI race heats up, Google is counting on the Gemini AI assistant to help Fitbit stand out from the crowd. Called “Coach,” this feature is designed to be your…

OpenAI launched an AI-powered web browser called ChatGPT Atlas this week, which makes me wonder: Is it finally time to ditch Safari? That news was on our minds as Max Zeff, Sean O’Kane, and I discussed the browser landscape – including some lesser-known alternatives – on the latest episode of the Equity podcast. But it doesn’t sound like any of us will be making a big…