GoKawiil
Tech News
Notion has opened a new headquarters on Market Street in San Francisco that deliberately avoids typical tech-office styling, favoring mood lighting, classic furniture pieces, and extensive use of wood. The design breaks from the industry norm of futuristic, statement architecture seen at companies like Apple and Amazon.
Despite rapid advances in AI for knowledge work like chatbots, physical AI embodied in humanoid robots remains largely confined to test labs and curated demo videos rather than real-world deployment. Unlike ChatGPT, there is no widely accessible robot product, and demo footage is often edited or cherry-picked, making it hard to gauge true progress. Even public showcases like the World Humanoid Robot Games reveal a mix of impressive feats and notable failures.
An open-source project uses autonomous Claude 5.1 agent swarms to research, model, and validate browser-based 3D reconstructions of real-world locations, starting with San Francisco's Union Square. The system generates buildings, storefronts, traffic, and pedestrians from open data like OpenStreetMap and public imagery, packaged as runnable Three.js applications rather than relying on a game engine or proprietary 3D tiles.
Uber is eliminating more than 3,000 positions worldwide, about 10% of its staff, returning headcount to roughly 2021 levels near 30,000 employees. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the company had grown too many management layers and small teams, slowing decisions, and the cuts will consolidate teams while freeing funds for priority areas like autonomous vehicles and delivery.
Anthropic is replacing the mandatory 30-day data retention policy it imposed on business customers in June, after enterprise users pushed back. In its place, the company is rolling out a free tool called Enterprise Frontier Safeguards that lets businesses manage how their data is stored and reviewed, including automated safety checks that don't require Anthropic staff to see the data.
Startup Newlight tested a retrofit hydrogen-injection system on a 650-foot Lomar Shipping bulk carrier during an 8,500-nautical-mile voyage from Singapore to Ghana. The system, which precisely times hydrogen injections alongside diesel combustion, reduced fuel consumption by 24% and cut carbon dioxide emissions by 28% during the month-long trip. Newlight says the retrofit can be installed in under two weeks without dry-docking a vessel.
Federal investigators say Daejon Labrayae Love, posing as an injured San Francisco 49ers receiver or a wealthy Swiss developer, and 18-year-old accomplice Taylor Jamie Chan, who claimed to be his financial advisor, met victims on dating apps and convinced them to invest in fake opportunities. The FBI alleges the two swindled at least 26 women across four states out of roughly $1.3 million, with some victims taking out loans to fund the fake investments. When suspicious victims searched online, Google's AI Overviews reportedly echoed Love's fabricated social media claims, lending false credibility to his identity.
Star Elevator earned Elevator World's Project of the Year award for modernizing the century-old vertical transportation system at San Francisco's Metropolis Trust Building, a Category 1 Historic Landmark at 625 Market Street. The project involved upgrading rail systems to meet modern seismic codes, replacing pushbutton and signal fixtures, and renovating cab interiors, all while addressing unreliable machinery including a car that had been taken out of service due to safety concerns.
Anthropic instructed employees at its San Francisco offices to work remotely on Monday and Tuesday after its security staffing firm, Allied Universal, warned of a potential strike. The SEIU union representing those security workers told Business Insider it has issued no strike threat or authorization vote, and is still in contract talks with Allied over wages, healthcare and training.
TechCrunch is selling Expo Hall exhibit tables for Disrupt 2026, taking place October 13-15 at San Francisco's Moscone West. Tables start at $12,500 and include a 6'x30" setup with furnishings, 10 event passes, lead-generation tools via the event app, press list access, and sponsor branding. The offer closes September 25 or once tables sell out, whichever happens first.
Amjad Masad, CEO and co-founder of Replit, will appear on the Disrupt Stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, held October 13-15 at San Francisco's Moscone West. He'll discuss the future of programming and how AI is letting more people turn ideas into software products.
TechCrunch is inviting companies, investors and community organizers to apply to host official Side Events around Disrupt 2026, which runs October 13-15 in San Francisco. Approved events can take place anytime from October 10-16 and will be promoted to Disrupt's more than 10,000 attendees through official marketing channels. Applications close September 4.