Techin' Geek

WhatsApp has informed approximately 200 users who were deceived into downloading a rogue version of the chat application that included spyware. 

WhatsApp has accused the Italian spyware company SIO of developing a counterfeit version of its messaging application for iPhones, as per an announcement the company released to TechCrunch.  

“Our security team proactively identified about 200 users mainly in Italy whom we suspect may have installed this malicious unofficial client,” WhatsApp stated in its announcement. “We have logged them out, warned [them] of the privacy and security risks associated with downloading fake unofficial clients, and urged them to uninstall it and acquire the official WhatsApp app.”

WhatsApp representative Margarita Franklin informed TechCrunch that the company currently cannot disclose further details about the users it informed, such as whether they were journalists or civil society members. 

“Our focus has been on safeguarding the users who may have been misled into downloading this counterfeit iOS application,” Franklin stated. 

In its announcement, WhatsApp also mentioned plans to “issue a formal legal demand to cease any such malicious actions against this spyware entity.”

The news was first reported by the Italian newspaper La Repubblica and the news agency ANSA.

Last year, TechCrunch uncovered that SIO was responsible for a range of malicious Android applications containing its spyware, including counterfeit versions of WhatsApp, as well as bogus customer support tools for mobile networks. SIO’s spyware was recognized by the name Spyrtacus, a term found in the spyware’s coding.

Utilizing counterfeit applications against surveillance targets is a well-established strategy employed by authorities in Italy, who frequently receive cooperation from mobile network providers, sending phishing links to their clientele on behalf of law enforcement.

SIO develops government spyware through its subsidiary ASIGINT. 

Apple and SIO did not respond to a request for comments. 

WhatsApp’s recent announcement follows a year after the company warned approximately 90 users that they had been targeted with spyware developed by the U.S.-Israeli surveillance technology firm Paragon Solutions. WhatsApp sent those alerts to journalists and pro-immigration advocates, among others, igniting a significant scandal throughout Italy. 

In response, Paragon severed its connections with Italy’s intelligence agencies, which had been its customers.

The most cutting-edge silicon chips have propelled the evolution of artificial intelligence. Can AI now reciprocate?

Cognichip is creating a deep learning model designed to aid engineers in the creation of new computer chips. The challenge it aims to address is one that the industry has grappled with for decades: Chip design is incredibly intricate, prohibitively costly, and time-consuming. High-end chips require three to five years to transition from idea to mass production; the design stage itself can take up to two years before physical layout commences. Consider that Nvidia’s latest GPU line, Blackwell, comprises 104 billion transistors — that’s a significant number to organize.

According to Cognichip CEO and founder Faraj Aalaei, the market can shift during the time taken to develop a new chip, rendering substantial investments futile. Aalaei aims to introduce the types of AI tools that software engineers have utilized to expedite their tasks into the semiconductor design realm. 

“These systems have reached a level of intelligence where, by merely directing them and specifying the desired outcome, they can generate excellent code,” Aalaei shared with TechCrunch.

He asserts that the company’s technology has the potential to lower chip development costs by over 75% and drastically shorten timelines by more than half. 

The company emerged from stealth mode last year and announced Wednesday that it secured $60 million in new funding led by Seligman Ventures, with significant contributions from Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, who invested through his venture firm Walden Catalyst Ventures and will join Cognichip’s board. Umesh Padval, a managing partner at Seligman, will also become a board member. In total, Cognichip has raised $93 million since its inception in 2024.

However, Cognichip has not yet revealed a new chip that has been designed using its system and did not disclose any customer collaborations it claims to have engaged in since September. 

The company claims its advantage lies in employing its own model trained on chip design data, rather than utilizing a general-purpose LLM. This required the acquisition of domain-specific training data, which is a significant challenge. Distinct from software developers, who openly share large volumes of code, chip designers closely protect their intellectual property, making the type of open-source dataset that usually trains AI coding assistants largely inaccessible.

Cognichip has had to create its own datasets, including synthetic data, and obtain licenses for data from partners. The company has also devised processes that enable chip manufacturers to securely train Cognichip’s models on their proprietary data without revealing it.

In instances where proprietary data is unavailable, Cognichip has relied on open-source alternatives. In one demonstration last year, Cognichip invited electrical engineering students from San Jose State University to experiment with the model during a hackathon. The teams managed to utilize the model to create CPUs based on the RISC-V open-source chip architecture — a design that is freely accessible for anyone to build upon.

Cognichip is up against established competitors like Synopsys and Cadence Design Systems, as well as well-funded newcomers like ChipAgents, which completed a $74 million extended Series A in February, and Ricursive, which secured a $300 million Series A round in January.

Padval noted that the current influx of capital into AI infrastructure is the largest he has observed in his 40 years of investing.

“If it’s a super cycle for semiconductors and hardware, it’s a super cycle for companies like [Cognichip],” he stated.

SpaceX, the tech enterprise established by Elon Musk, has reportedly submitted confidential disclosures to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in anticipation of an initial public offering. Bloomberg, citing unnamed sources, suggests that SpaceX may target a valuation of $1.75 trillion.

As outlined by SEC regulations, a private firm is permitted to submit its IPO registration statement confidentially 15 days prior to initiating share marketing to public investors, enabling it to gather feedback from the regulator privately. Furthermore, the company has assembled an unusually large roster of 21 banks to oversee the massive IPO, internally referred to as “Project Apex,” as reported by Reuters on Tuesday.

The firm aims to secure $75 billion, which would establish it as the largest IPO in history, eclipsing the record set by Saudi Aramco’s $29 billion listing in 2019. SpaceX has raised around $10 billion while operating as a private entity.

Established in 2002, SpaceX stands as the premier space company globally, operating a fleet of reusable rockets and spacecraft, alongside managing a 10,000-satellite communications network, Starlink. Musk introduced Silicon Valley’s ethos to the conventional realm of space contracting, transforming the industry and instigating a surge in private technology ventures and space startups.

In February, SpaceX acquired Musk’s xAI for a deal that valued the entity at $1.25 trillion. The conglomerate now encompasses xAI, Musk’s advanced generative AI lab, and X, the social media platform formerly recognized as Twitter.

Musk has stated for years that SpaceX would remain private until its spacecraft reached Mars, but a heightened demand for funding has altered that perspective, even as the company has readjusted its goals to target the moon. Recently, Musk indicated that the firm plans to deploy a network consisting of up to a million data center satellites in space, constructed and launched from Earth’s closest celestial body.

SpaceX requires substantial funds to develop Starship, the fully reusable heavy-lift rocket critical to its future business strategy and NASA’s quest to outpace China to the moon; to acquire spectrum and replenish its Starlink satellites as they age; and to finance the computing necessary for building and running xAI’s deep learning models.

The American toy manufacturing powerhouse Hasbro has acknowledged a cyber incident, stating that it could take “several weeks” to remedy the situation.

The holder of franchises such as Transformers, Peppa Pig, and Dungeons & Dragons revealed in a legally mandated update to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday that it identified a breach on March 28, leading the company to shut down some of its systems.

Hasbro mentioned that it has activated and is continually deploying business continuity strategies to enable it to “process orders, dispatch products, and perform other essential functions while addressing this issue.”

Parts of Hasbro’s website were reportedly inaccessible as of Wednesday, according to TechCrunch’s inspection. An error notice indicated that the site was “currently under maintenance.”

The firm stated it has engaged cybersecurity experts for assistance but emphasized that it is still “implementing strategies to safeguard its business operations,” implying that the intruders might still have access to the company’s systems. 

It remains unclear what exact type of cyberattack, such as ransomware, was identified.

In a conversation with TechCrunch, Hasbro representative Andrea Snyder echoed much of the information from the SEC document and clarified that the company had “taken rapid action to secure our systems and data,” but refrained from addressing inquiries about the specifics of the cyberattack or if there had been contact from the hackers, such as a ransom demand.

Cybercriminals increasingly focus on large corporations to pilfer data and extort financial gains, often disrupting operations which can lead to significant financial repercussions. A cyberattack on Jaguar Land Rover in 2025 halted vehicle production lines for months, resulting in the U.K. government intervening with a $1.5 billion bailout guarantee to avert the company and its supply chain from collapsing.

In its notice to investors, Hasbro cautioned about potential delays, noting the necessity of maintaining these temporary measures for “several weeks until the issue is entirely resolved.”

The company indicated that it was not immediately clear if any data had been compromised, and that its inquiry is ongoing to assess the complete extent of the breach. 

Hasbro is one of the most established toy and entertainment product manufacturers in America, employing over 5,000 individuals. The firm also possesses the intellectual property rights for prominent toy, game, and consumer brands, including Monopoly, My Little Pony, and Magic: The Gathering.

Updated to incorporate comments from Hasbro’s spokesperson.

Are you employed at Hasbro and have insights regarding its data breach? Reach out to this reporter through an encrypted message at zackwhittaker.1337 on Signal.

Patience brings great rewards. The first StrictlyVC of the year is coming to San Francisco in just under a month, on April 30, at the Sentro Filipino Cultural Center. You definitely won’t want to miss another roster of exceptional speakers enhancing the evening’s networking and socializing. AI entrepreneurs and innovators seeking funding will find the event’s discussions especially beneficial.

Who will be on stage

Tickets are available now, but for those unfamiliar with a previous StrictlyVC event who have already clicked that link, let’s explore what makes this particular event so compelling …

TDK Ventures president Nicolas Sauvage will open the evening after you’ve enjoyed your necessary drinks and networking opportunities, as he discusses the role of corporate VCs in a dialogue with TechCrunch editor-in-chief Connie Loizos. Sauvage, who leads TDK Ventures’ $500 million initiative to invest in early-stage companies, will detail how corporate VCs differ in their operations and what entrepreneurs should understand about what attracts his attention in potential investments.

Entrepreneurs unsure about attending should take note: under Sauvage’s guidance, TDK has supported 45 startups and three unicorns — Groq, Ascend Elements, and Silicon Box — since he took the helm. TDK will also host and sponsor this StrictlyVC event, providing attendees with many chances to learn from and potentially meet their team.

Next, we’ll engage in a conversation with Campbell Brown, the former CNN host and head of news at Meta, who has transitioned into the startup world to enhance the credibility of AI platforms as they become increasingly relied upon for advice and information. She is currently the co-founder and CEO of Forum AI, deeply involved in discussions on how to vet, validate, and ensure the reliability of information provided by LLMs.

Participants involved in the AI transformation will be eager to know that Amjad Masad, co-founder and CEO of Replit, will also be on stage to discuss his firsthand experiences leading a transformation in software development. The emergence of vibe coding has altered many workflows, particularly in the Bay Area, drawing in strong competitors like Anthropic and OpenAI. Anyone interested in the future of programming shouldn’t miss Masad’s talk.

As if that isn’t thrilling enough, we still have one last speaker to unveil, which means you’ll gain even more valuable insights and expertise before wrapping up with the extensive networking and relationship-building that truly represents the essence of StrictlyVC. Some of the brightest minds and most well-connected figures in the startup community join us for these events, and you can be part of it by signing up, so secure your ticket today!

Lucid Motors appears to have significantly addressed its early quality issues with the Gravity SUV’s hardware and software, but the company is still facing challenges: It has just announced a recall affecting over 4,000 Gravity SUVs due to a seat belt issue.

The automaker informed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that during unrelated safety evaluations in January, it found that some anchors for the second-row seat belts in the SUV were not correctly welded. This situation heightens the risk that the seat belts might fail to secure passengers in the event of an accident.

Lucid Motors indicated that the issue stemmed from its seat supplier altering its manufacturing approach “without notice to or approval by Lucid.” The supplier has reverted to Lucid Motors’ original design specifications, and only Gravity SUVs manufactured before February 14, 2026 are impacted.

The automaker plans to inspect all Gravity SUVs involved in the recall and either install a bracket or replace the entire seat, based on the quality of the welding.

The London-based tech firm Nothing is poised to unveil a set of smart glasses next year, as reported by Bloomberg, referencing unnamed sources.

These glasses are expected to incorporate cameras, microphones, and speakers, with connectivity to both smartphones and the cloud for AI query processing, the report indicated.

CEO and co-founder Carl Pei was initially skeptical about smart glasses, but has since informed staff that he aims to adopt a multi-device approach, broadening the company’s focus beyond its current smartphone offerings and audio products, Bloomberg stated.

Additionally, the company intends to launch a pair of AI-enabled earbuds this year. Pei mentioned to TechCrunch last year that they planned to unveil their first AI product in 2026, although he did not confirm the type of device.

If accurate, this report indicates that Nothing would be competing with companies like Meta, Even Realities, and Rokid, which also manufacture smart glasses. Meta has already released several versions of its smart glasses, and just this week presented two models that can accommodate prescription lenses. There are rumors of Apple releasing smart glasses next year, and Google is expected to debut its smart glasses with Samsung this year.

Nothing achieved unicorn status last year, raising a $200 million Series C funding round at a valuation of $1.3 billion. The company has gained traction among technology enthusiasts due to its distinctive design, often characterized by transparent and clear components. Nonetheless, it still holds a minor share of the smartphone market, which is largely controlled by established players such as Apple, Samsung, several Chinese firms, and Google.

Pei has repeatedly asserted that for Nothing to differentiate itself in the marketplace, it must innovate in both hardware and software and leverage AI. Last year, the company introduced a tool that allows users to create mini apps using AI prompts.