Welcome to TechCrunch’s Week in Review (WiR), your go-to roundup of the week’s top tech news stories. If you’ve been too busy to keep up with the latest developments, don’t worry – we’ve got you covered.
Last week, despite the disruption caused by the July 4th holiday, there were several significant events. Meta launched Threads, its rival to Twitter, which quickly gained millions of users. Meanwhile, Twitter quietly removed the login requirement for viewing tweets, just days after implementing it. In addition, secretive hardware startup Humane revealed details about its first product, and OpenAI made its GPT-4 generative AI model available to the public.
Read on for more highlights from the week, and if you haven’t already, sign up for our newsletter to get WiR delivered to your inbox every Saturday.
Most read
Threads goes live: Instagram launched Threads, a text-based social networking app that allows users to post short updates. The app gained over 30 million sign-ups within 24 hours, but it is not available in the EU due to data privacy regulations.
Twitter takes the gloves off: Twitter threatened to sue Meta, accusing the company of poaching former Twitter employees to create its Threads platform.
A tough thread to delete: Deleting a Threads account requires deleting the linked Instagram account, which surprised many users.
OpenAI launches GPT-4: OpenAI made its GPT-4 model available through its paid API. GPT-4 can generate text, accept image and text inputs, and performs at a “human level” on professional and academic benchmarks.
Humane unveils the Ai Pin: Humane revealed details about its first product, a wearable gadget with a projected display and AI-powered features.
Pornhub blocks access: Pornhub blocked access to users in Mississippi, Virginia, and Utah due to new age verification laws.
Reddit’s valuation gets cut, again: Fidelity further reduced its estimated valuation of Reddit, now valuing it at $5.5 billion.
Goldman looks to ditch Apple: Goldman Sachs is reportedly seeking to end its high-profile partnership with Apple.
Audio
If you’re looking for a podcast to listen to, we have some great suggestions for you. Check out “Equity” featuring an interview with Mercury’s CEO and co-founder, and “Found” with an interview with the co-founder of Farmers Business Network.
TechCrunch+
TC+ subscribers can access in-depth commentary, analysis, and surveys. If you’re not a subscriber, consider signing up. Here are some highlights from this week:
Europe, the fuzzy tech cloud: Haje explores the differences between the U.S. and European startup environments.
Moving to save cash: Peyton Carr discusses the financial benefits and complexities of relocating for tax reasons.
Being a Black founder in France: Dom sheds light on the challenges faced by Black entrepreneurs in the French startup ecosystem.
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