Elorian, the Palo Alto AI startup that raised a $55 million seed round at a $300 million valuation before it launched a product, released its first model on Friday, TechCrunch has exclusively learned.
The model, Glimpse, is launching as a research preview with API access and a chat interface. The thesis? Today’s AI models, for all their skill with language and code, still can’t really…
Replit makes OpenAI its default over Anthropic, CEO says
October 18, 2026
Replit, the AI coding platform that has become a favorite of startup founders and developers, is no longer working with Anthropic, the company’s CEO and co-founder Amjad Masad said Thursday while onstage at TechCrunch Disrupt.
Masad said the decision was made for a…
These 19th-century selfies might just be the most important photographs you’ve never heard of
October 18, 2026
It’s natural to assume the selfie is a modern invention, a spontaneous development brought about by the inventions of the smartphone and social media. But it’s actually been around since the beginnings of photography itself. And here’s an example that more…
Marbling is the ancient practice of dropping colored inks onto thickened water and creating swirling, creative patterns with pins, combs and anything else you want to stir it with. The process has traditionally been used for decorating paper edges and covers in bookbinding.
The Japanese had their version with Suminagashi, meaning ink floating, while the Turkish called it Ebru, or cloud art. You…
Peering through the heart of a dying star, photographer Kfir Simon found a host of distant galaxies hiding in plain sight
October 18, 2026
At first glance, it looks like something out of a sci-fi blockbuster: a swirling tunnel of teal and coral-red gas, opening onto a deep, star-speckled void. The image by Israeli astrophotographer Kfir Simon was named runner-up in the Stars and Nebulae category of ZWO…
There are plenty of e-bike conversion kits designed to turn your existing bicycle electric, but most involve at least a bit of wrenching. Spiny 2 takes a different approach, using a removable friction-drive system that can apparently snap onto your bike in just three…
Waymo is bringing its robotaxis to Canada, and Toronto is first. Its cars will start driving the city’s streets in the coming days, and the company wants its first public riders on board in 2028.
That makes Toronto Waymo’s fourth announced market outside the US, after London, Tokyo, and Singapore. But there’s a catch: Ontario doesn’t have rules for a commercial driverless service…
Are Tesla's claims for its new 'flying' Roadster real, or is it just full of cold gas?
October 18, 2026
Tesla has finally re-unveiled its next-generation Roadster, originally unveiled in quite different form back in 2017. So since I did a technical breakdown of how it would work last time, I thought I’d give a quick update with what we know about the new version.
(Update…
An Xbox controller may be a key part of an unlikely answer to the U.S. military’s struggle with counter-drone defense. As cheap drones proliferate, shooting them down can mean firing multimillion-dollar missiles to destroy aircraft worth just a fraction of that price.
The…
Nearly 250 years after 30-year-old Tadeusz Kościuszko established himself as one of the Continental Army’s most brilliant — and much-needed — combat engineers, West Point and three members of Poland’s Foundation for the Virtualization of National Cultural Heritage teamed up to ensure Kościuszko’s legacy endures.
The three-man team traveled from Kościuszko’s native Poland to use 3D…
