Since its launch last week, OpenAI reported that India has become the largest market for ChatGPT Images 2.0. Nevertheless, external data analyzed by TechCrunch indicates a more measured global reaction, with overall growth being limited, though notable surges are present in specific emerging markets.

ChatGPT Images 2.0, OpenAI’s most recent update in image generation, is built to accommodate more intricate prompts and create detailed visuals, inclusive of precise text across several languages. Initial trends from the company indicate that users — particularly in India, its most significant market — are employing it to generate personal visuals such as avatars, stylized portraits, and images inspired by fantasies.

Data provided by Sensor Tower and Similarweb to TechCrunch suggests that the global response to the rollout has been mixed. According to Sensor Tower, ChatGPT’s app downloads increased by 11% week-over-week after the launch, but gains in overall engagement were subdued, with daily active users and sessions rising by only about 1%. Similarweb’s data also reflects a minimal increase in global web traffic for ChatGPT, rising around 1.6% week-over-week during that same time.

Conversely, Sensor Tower’s data reveals that certain emerging markets — including Pakistan, Vietnam, and Indonesia — experienced more significant spikes in ChatGPT app downloads, with growth up to 79% week-over-week throughout the rollout phase.

In contrast, India continued to be a primary source of activity during the launch. Sensor Tower’s estimates indicate that ChatGPT was downloaded approximately 5 million times in India during its debut week, compared to nearly 2 million in the U.S., although week-over-week growth remained modest. Similarweb’s data also highlights a slight rise in engagement, with daily active users in India increasing around 3.4% week-over-week during the same timeframe.

In India, initial trends suggest ChatGPT Images 2.0 is primarily utilized as a means of self-expression. Instead of just functional outputs, users are crafting studio-quality portraits from everyday images, social media-friendly visuals, and imaginative representations that place them at the forefront, according to OpenAI.

The early data also underscores the varying adoption of AI image tools across different markets. While India’s extensive user base contributes to overall scale, pronounced increases in countries like Pakistan and Indonesia suggest a stronger demand for new users in emerging markets following the launch.

The launch of OpenAI’s Images 2.0 arrives amidst escalating competition in AI image creation. Google’s previous image-centric model, the original Nano Banana, also gained considerable early momentum in India, signaling the nation’s significance as a market for image generation.

With the introduction of ChatGPT Images, OpenAI is advancing further with enhancements such as improved rendering of non-Latin scripts, including Hindi and Bengali, and new “thinking” features that enable it to refine outputs and create multiple variations from a singular prompt.

Beyond stylized portraits and avatars, OpenAI noted that initial users of Images 2.0 in India are exploring a broader array of formats — ranging from fantasy-themed newspaper covers to tarot-styled visuals and fashion moodboards. Users are also utilizing the AI tool to restore older photographs and create cinematic collage portraits, the company indicated, reflecting early trends of more personalized use.

On Thursday, Apple announced a record-breaking quarter. However, outgoing CEO Tim Cook cautioned about potential challenges ahead due to memory chip supply constraints that could affect operations soon.

“Today Apple is delighted to announce our best March quarter to date, achieving revenue of $111.2 billion and double-digit growth across all geographic regions,” Cook stated during Thursday’s earnings call. “The iPhone set a revenue record for the March quarter, driven by remarkable demand for the iPhone 17 series.”

On a less positive note, Cook mentioned that Apple’s spending on memory chips increased in March compared to prior quarters, although the company managed to mitigate costs by selling accrued inventory. Nevertheless, he warned that “significantly higher memory costs” are anticipated in June and beyond, which may “drive an increasing impact” on the business.

Cook was referring to what has been termed “RAMageddon,” a phenomenon where the AI sector is consuming memory chips at such a rapid pace that it is causing shortages. This is raising hardware prices. Given that Apple is primarily a hardware firm, this news is not favorable for its main products.

Notably, the chip shortage has affected the iPhone. Even with the strong sales figures Apple reported on Thursday, it has been previously noted that RAM costs have surged fourfold — influencing phone production expenses and placing John Ternus, Apple’s new CEO, in a challenging position.

One possible outcome could be an increase in iPhone prices. “There’s just a little less flexibility in the supply chain at the moment for acquiring more parts,” Cook conveyed to Reuters on Thursday.

Ternus, who has been Apple’s senior vice president of hardware engineering, participated in Thursday’s earnings call and expressed admiration for Cook. “In my opinion, Tim is one of the greatest business leaders ever. Taking on the role of CEO is a tremendous honor, and it means a lot to me to have Tim’s trust and confidence,” Ternus remarked.

He will certainly have significant challenges when he steps into the role on September 1. However, he will still benefit from Cook’s supply chain expertise for some time. Cook will transition to the role of executive chairman.

Skio, a 2020 Y Combinator graduate founded by self-identified college dropout Kennan Frost, has been bought by rival Recharge, as announced by the two companies on Thursday.

Both Skio and Recharge provide solutions for managing subscription payments for brands.

Although the official announcement did not reveal the deal’s specifics, Frost (who had previously exited the company) shared on X, LinkedIn, and Instagram that his startup exited with $105 million in cash after only raising $8 million from investors. This represents a significant return on investment.

His updates regarding the acquisition were shared by Skio investors Y Combinator and Nicolas Wittenborn, the founder of the VC firm Adjacent.

According to a LinkedIn update from Skio’s current CEO, Aidan Thibodeaux, who was the startup’s inaugural COO, Frost had not been leading the company for nearly two years. Upon his takeover, he described a rigorous process that involved no expenditure on marketing, advertisements, or a sales team. Instead, the focus was solely on product development. He mentioned that he and the founding CTO, Andrew Chen, handled every sales call by themselves.

Frost’s journey is even more compelling. In his Instagram update, he explained that he single-handedly founded the startup after experiencing a panic attack that led him to quit his engineering job at Pinterest. Two weeks later, the COVID pandemic brought the world to a halt.

Frost entered YC and mentioned in another post that he “completely failed during the batch,” until he shifted to this subscription model. In three years, he grew the company to $10 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) and claims it became profitable. He credits the development of a “team that came together and transformed this initial traction into a legitimate business.”

His YC mentor, Gustaf Alströmer, verified the sale’s details on X. Alströmer illustrated how the founder faced challenges during his tenure at the accelerator but kept persevering.

Frost stated that at the time of sale, the company achieved $32 million ARR and had processed $4 billion in payments. He is currently focusing on another venture he founded, Icon, which provides a product named AdMaker for creating ads and monitoring ad campaigns.

Frost, Recharge, and Wittenborn could not be contacted immediately for a response.

Sources close to the situation indicate that Anthropic is requesting investors to provide allocations for the AI firm’s most recent fundraising effort within the upcoming 48 hours. This financing round, which TechCrunch has reported to be approximately $50 billion, is anticipated to conclude within a fortnight, the sources noted.

As previously mentioned, Anthropic aims for a valuation around $900 billion. However, with the heightened interest from investors eager to acquire a share in the firm, the ultimate valuation could potentially surpass that amount, our sources disclosed.

Anthropic chose not to provide a statement.

In spite of the significant interest, certain early investors — especially those who contributed in 2024 or earlier — are opting out of this round. These backers prefer to hold off in hopes of cashing in at Anthropic’s expected IPO later this year.

The company is likely conducting its final private funding round prior to going public to support its substantial computing requirements.

This month, Anthropic revealed that its annual revenue run rate has exceeded $30 billion. Nevertheless, as previously pointed out, the current run rate is believed to be closer to $40 billion, according to individuals familiar with the company’s financials.

Anthropic’s last funding round took place in February at a $380 billion valuation. A valuation of $900 billion would not only more than double its worth but would also surpass its main competitor, OpenAI, which recently concluded a landmark $122 billion round at an $852 billion post-money valuation.

Reporting by Jagmeet Singh.

In the latest quarter for the tech giant, Apple’s iPhone sales and Services revenue took center stage, yet the Mac quietly excelled—boosted by the increasing demand for AI tasks.

Wall Street analysts had anticipated Mac revenue to be in the low $8 billion range, but Apple disclosed $8.4 billion for the second quarter ending March 28—a significant triumph for a non-core aspect of the tech titan’s operations. Additionally, prior to the earnings report, investors thought Mac sales would remain relatively unchanged year-over-year. Contrary to this belief, the company reported a 6% increase in Mac sales annually. Total revenue reached $111.2 billion, marking a 17% rise compared to the same timeframe last year.

Apple attributed part of the Mac expansion to recent product launches, such as the well-received MacBook Neo. However, these appealing, vibrant computers were available for purchase for only a few weeks following the start of preorders on March 4. In reality, most units were shipped from mid to late March, with some demand potentially shifting into April due to certain models selling out.

During the Q2 earnings call on Thursday, Apple CEO Tim Cook informed analysts that demand for the Neo was “off the charts” and exceeded Apple’s expectations. He also highlighted that the quarter set a record for new Mac customers, partially attributed to the Neo.

Cook linked the growth in Mac sales to its utilization for operating local AI models, such as OpenClaw—something that took Apple somewhat by surprise as Mac mini and Mac Studio devices recently sold out.

“Both of these are incredible platforms for AI and agentic tools, and the customer recognition of that is happening more rapidly than we had forecasted, leading to greater than expected demand,” Cook stated regarding these Mac sales. He also mentioned that the Mac mini became the best-selling desktop in China—a market currently experiencing a frenzy over OpenClaw.

However, Mac revenue remained unchanged on a quarter-over-quarter basis, indicating that this newfound demand is yet to mature. Cook indicated it might take Apple “several months” to achieve a supply-demand equilibrium for the Mac mini and Studio models.

“We’re not at a point where we’re claiming this [constraint] will conclude shortly. This isn’t due to a specific issue, except that we simply underestimated the demand,” Cook clarified.

Enterprise interest in the Mac also played a role. Apple highlighted a few larger firms, including Perplexity, that have adopted Mac as their favored platform for developing enterprise-level AI assistants.

He additionally stated that Apple was “supply constrained on the MacBook Neo,” and that certain school systems, such as Kansas City Public Schools, are replacing Chromebooks with the Neo.

Nvidia has taken another step in its AI venture. NVentures, the corporate VC arm, has invested in Legora, marking what is believed to be its inaugural investment in legal AI.

Utilizing AI to assist lawyers in optimizing their workflows, the legal tech startup from Sweden is in competition with the U.S. entity Harvey.

Alongside Atlassian and other new financial backers, NVentures became a participant in Legora’s capitalization structure as part of a $50 million Series D extension, which follows the startup’s previous $550 million Series D raise by a month. 

During this time, this Y Combinator graduate has surpassed $100 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) — a significant achievement contributing to its updated $5.6 billion post-money valuation. 

This positions Legora’s valuation a bit closer to Harvey’s, which attained $11 billion last month when Sequoia significantly increased its stake. That round also included contributions from Andreessen Horowitz, Coatue, Conviction Partners, Elad Gil, Matt Miller’s Evantic, and Kleiner Perkins.

Legora is supported by prominent venture capitalists, but it places even more importance on the notable clients it has acquired, such as Bird & Bird, Cleary Gottlieb, and Linklaters. The company asserts that the platform it introduced only 18 months ago is now utilized by over 1,000 law firms and in-house legal departments across 50 markets.

Harvey also has a presence in this domain. It claims to serve 100,000 lawyers throughout 1,300 organizations, including major law firms like Hengeler Mueller and Latham & Watkins as well as corporate legal teams at companies like T-Mobile and Bridgewater.

With global dominance as the ultimate objective, the competition between Harvey and Legora is set to unfold in each other’s primary markets. Legora has established several offices worldwide, concentrating on the U.S. for its growth. In contrast, Harvey is expanding into Europe.

With ample capital available on both sides, the contention has shifted to brand visibility. Shortly after Winston Weinberg’s firm Harvey formed a marketing partnership with actor Gabriel Macht, known for his role as a powerful lawyer in the series “Suits,” Legora unveiled an advertising initiative featuring movie star Jude Law with the tagline “Law just got more attractive.”

Both firms may be justified in their heavy investment in marketing. Despite the rivalry, they are built atop substantial language models developed by AI giants that may eventually pose a challenge. Recently, when Anthropic released a legal plugin for Claude, several publicly traded legal software companies experienced a drop in stock prices.

Legora CEO Max Junestrand expresses no worries.

“Foundation models are advancing rapidly, but the true value lies in their application,” he stated in a press release. It also indicates how the startup incites FOMO among prospective users, implying that “the legal teams that effectively integrate AI today will dictate the industry’s evolution.”

NVentures’ investment is also a testament to Legora’s potential protective moat against model creators and its larger competitor.

Nevertheless, Nvidia is also recognized for its cautious approach — having invested in both Anthropic and OpenAI before determining it might have enough exposure.

Rivian has modified its loan agreement with the Department of Energy and now anticipates borrowing $4.5 billion for the construction of its new factory in Georgia, reduced from the initial $6.6 billion set aside during the Biden administration.

On Thursday, the company also revealed that it will access the loan earlier than initially planned, in early 2027, and aims to boost the Georgia plant’s total capacity from 200,000 to 300,000 vehicles in its initial operational phase. This increased capacity—a 50% rise over its original proposals—will assist in decreasing its per unit costs while also allowing room for significant future capacity expansion in subsequent phases, the company stated on Thursday. 

Rivian has indicated previously that the Georgia facility would have a total capacity of 400,000 vehicles. While the capacity for the initial phase linked to the DOE loan has been raised, Rivian did not disclose its intentions for the second phase. The original plan included two phases, each with a capacity of 200,000 vehicles at the Georgia location. The company’s facility in Normal, Illinois has a capacity for 215,000 vehicles.

During the earnings call, CFO Claire McDonough did not disclose the capacity for the second phase, only noting that it was earmarked for future growth.

“The strategic choice we made was to elevate the initial production capacity to 300,000 units,” she mentioned during the call. “At our Georgia site, the full initial capacity will be allocated to the upper pad of the site. The lower pad will remain an untouched green field for future expansion.”

She emphasized that this $4.5 billion financing is crucial for Rivian to scale its operations up to an overall capacity of 515,000 units. This number is 100,000 units less than Rivian’s previously projected combined capacity at both factories.

A portion of the factory’s capacity will be utilized to manufacture R2 robotaxis for Uber. Under an agreement made earlier this year, Uber plans to make an initial $300 million investment in Rivian and is slated to acquire 10,000 fully autonomous R2 robotaxis ahead of a planned launch in San Francisco and Miami by 2028. The initial $300 million payment is anticipated to finalize in the second quarter, with an additional $250 million investment expected later this year, as per Rivian.

The ride-hailing service has the option to purchase up to 40,000 more autonomous R2 SUVs from Rivian starting in 2030. Uber has indicated it will invest up to $1.25 billion in Rivian through 2031, contingent upon the automaker achieving a series of milestones.

Rivian initiated construction on the Georgia factory late last year and is currently in the early phases of vertical construction at the site, located near Atlanta. The company anticipates starting vehicle production by the end of 2028. In the interim, Rivian will produce R2 SUVs at its existing factory in Normal, Illinois.

The company recently commenced production of the R2 despite sustaining damage to the plant from a tornado. Rivian mentioned on Thursday that initial deliveries have been made to employees, with customer deliveries expected to commence “in the coming weeks,” according to Rivian.

Adjustments to the DOE loan coincide with Rivian’s disclosure of its financial results for the first quarter of 2026 on Thursday. The company reported $1.38 billion in revenue, of which $908 million was generated from vehicle sales and $473 million from software and services. Rivian’s automotive revenue saw a decline of about 2% compared to the same period last year, partly due to a decrease in regulatory credits.

The company recorded a loss of $416 million for the quarter, down from a $541 million loss in the same timeframe last year. This reduction in net loss was aided by a $506 million gain in other income related to the Series A capital raise and the subsequent deconsolidation of CEO RJ Scaringe’s new startup Mind Robotics, as reported by the company.

Rivian experienced a year-over-year rise in operating expenses and research and development costs. Rivian’s R&D budget saw a 20% increase to $458 million as it raised spending on R2 pre-production expenses and software and cloud services necessary for the development of autonomous vehicle technology.

The combination of these escalating costs and a minor increase in capital investment negatively impacted Rivian’s free cash flow, which is currently in the red. The company reported a negative free cash flow of $1 billion, nearly twice the amount from a year prior.

This article has been revised with remarks from Rivian’s CFO and previously referenced capacity figures.

Cybersecurity experts are raising concerns about a newly identified vulnerability in the widely utilized web server management software cPanel and WebHost Manager (WHM). 

This flaw enables cybercriminals to seize control and gain complete dominion over the servers that operate the impacted software, which is believed to be employed by millions of website operators globally.

Numerous commercial web hosting providers have already updated their customers’ systems. However, the creator of cPanel has encouraged users to verify that their systems are updated, as the vulnerability is present in all supported software versions.

cPanel and WHM are two applications designed for overseeing web servers that host websites, manage emails, and take care of essential configurations and databases necessary for sustaining an online domain. These suites have extensive access to the servers they control, potentially allowing a malicious actor unrestricted entry to data managed via the affected software.

The vulnerability, officially noted as CVE-2026-41940, permits malicious individuals to remotely bypass its login interface to attain full entry to the software’s admin panel. 

Considering the widespread application of cPanel and WHM across the web hosting sector, hackers could endanger potentially vast quantities of websites still unaddressed regarding this vulnerability.

Canada’s national cybersecurity agency advised that the vulnerability could be exploited to compromise websites on shared hosting platforms, such as major web hosting service providers.

The agency indicated that “exploitation is highly probable” and that prompt measures from cPanel users, or their web hosting services, are essential to avert unauthorized access.

Web hosting leader Namecheap, which utilizes cPanel for facilitating its customers’ server management, stated that they restricted access to customers’ cPanel interfaces upon discovering the vulnerability to prevent exploitation, while allowing time to patch their clients’ systems. 

HostGator also announced it has addressed its systems and regards the flaw as a “critical authentication-bypass exploit.”

One web hosting provider reported uncovering evidence that hackers have been exploiting the vulnerability for several months prior to its detection.

KnownHost CEO Daniel Pearson shared in a Reddit post that his company recorded attempts to leverage the flaw dating back to February 23. The company briefly began restricting access to customer systems before implementing patches.

Pearson noted that around 30 servers at KnownHost indicated signs of unauthorized access attempts out of the thousands of machines on its network. He compared the efforts to probing attempts, and has not observed indications of active compromise. cPanel also mentioned deploying a security patch for WP Squared, a similar tool for managing WordPress websites.

In 2025, Faraday Future disbursed approximately $7.5 million to a firm overseen by its founder, Jia Yueting, as per a recent regulatory submission.

The electric vehicle startup, which has faced ongoing challenges, executed these payments during a year where it only managed to deliver four vehicles and incurred losses nearing $400 million. The company has shifted focus towards marketing affordable vans and robots sourced from China.

These transactions occurred while Faraday Future was still facing scrutiny from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which was investigating what are referred to as “related party transactions” involving the firm and parties associated with or managed by Jia, as indicated by its own disclosures. The SEC was also examining whether Faraday Future accurately depicted the extent of control that Jia exercised over the company at the time it went public in 2021, and whether it misrepresented initial sales figures of its EVs in 2023.

As TechCrunch initially reported, the SEC concluded its four-year investigation in March, even after having issued notices to Faraday Future, Jia, and several other executives the previous year, indicating that they were proposing an enforcement action. The investigation’s closure occurred during a historical decline in white-collar crime enforcement in the duration of the second Trump administration.

Details of the new transactions were disclosed in Faraday Future’s annual proxy report published on Thursday. It reveals that the company allotted a combination of monthly “consulting” fees of $100,000, a “bonus payment” of $2 million, and $1.7 million to settle loans from the organization known as FF Global Partners LLC. The company did not clarify the remaining $2.6 million in the document.

Faraday Future did not answer a comment request.

In its proxy filing, Faraday Future refers to FF Global as an “affiliate” of Jia and has indicated in earlier filings that he maintains “significant influence” over the LLC. FF Global includes five “voting managers,” one being Jia, while the others consist of business associates and a relative — his nephew, Jerry Wang.

Wang, who serves as president at Faraday Future, receives a six-figure salary from FF Global, as stated in the filing. His wife, who leads FF Global’s legal team, also earns a similar salary. Additionally, FF Global has a parallel “consulting agreement” with a cryptocurrency holding company managed by Wang (and advised by Jia), named AIXC. (Wang’s wife’s law office also provides consulting services for AIXC.)

FF Global is a significant stakeholder in Faraday Future and — together with Jia — oversees nearly all operations of the EV firm, which has led Faraday to classify this as a risk factor in its latest annual report.

“Jia and FF Global, over which Mr. Jia holds substantial influence, govern our management, business, and operations, and may exert this control in ways that do not align with our business or financial aims or strategies, or that may otherwise contradict our interests,” the company stated earlier this year.

FF Global was instrumental in restoring Jia to power following the company’s public listing in 2021. Shortly after Faraday Future merged with a special purpose acquisition company, the newly formed public company board initiated an inquiry into Jia’s financial activities in relation to the company and the disclosures provided during the merger process.

In early 2022, the board moved to sideline Jia, who has been blacklisted by China due to financial misconduct, after uncovering that Faraday Future had misrepresented the level of control he held over the company. They subsequently reported their findings to the SEC, which launched its inquiry soon after.

Throughout 2022, FF Global advocated for the replacement of certain board members with those sympathetic to Jia. The campaign escalated to the point where several board members received threats to their lives. Ultimately, these board members resigned partly out of fear for their safety. Jia was reinstated as co-CEO last year, becoming the sole CEO of Faraday Future.

FF Global is not the only entity connected to Jia that Faraday Future has compensated or intends to compensate. The proxy filing indicates that the company paid $700,000 to a lending firm linked to him in the previous year. It also owes $8.5 million to Leshi Information Technology Co. Ltd., one of the firms connected to his failed Chinese tech conglomerate LeEco, for “advertising services.”