Welcome to this week’s review of the most significant events in the tech world. We will be discussing the internal turmoil at HP following its $116 million acquisition of Humane, the AI pin manufacturer; Mira Murati’s new AI venture emerging from stealth mode; Duolingo’s unexpected killing of its iconic owl mascot with a Cybertruck; and many other stories. Let’s dive in.

Humane’s AI Pin is Discontinued. The hardware startup has announced that most of its assets have been acquired by HP for $116 million, which is less than half of the $240 million it raised in venture capital funding. As a result, Humane will immediately stop selling its $499 AI Pins, and after February 28, the wearable devices will no longer be connected to Humane’s servers, rendering them unable to make calls, send messages, or provide AI-powered responses. Customers who purchased an AI Pin within the last 90 days are eligible for a refund, but those who bought the device earlier are not.

HP’s Acquisition of Humane. Just hours after the acquisition was announced, several Humane employees received job offers from HP, with significant pay increases of 30% to 70%, as well as HP stock and bonus plans, according to internal documents and sources. However, other Humane employees, particularly those who worked closely on the AI Pin devices, were informed that they would be laid off.

Apple’s iPhone SE Refresh. After a three-year wait, Apple has finally revealed its updated iPhone SE, now called the iPhone 16e. This new model is part of a select group of handsets capable of running Apple Intelligence, thanks to the incorporation of an A18 processor. The iPhone 16e has also replaced the Touch ID home button with Face ID and swapped the Lightning port for USB-C. The iPhone 16e starts at $599 and will begin shipping on February 28.

This is TechCrunch’s weekly review, where we summarize the most important news of the week. If you want to receive this review as a newsletter in your inbox every Saturday, sign up here.

News

RIP, Duo: Duolingo has “killed” its iconic owl mascot with a Cybertruck as part of a marketing campaign to encourage users to complete more lessons. The company has launched a campaign to save Duo, with the slogan “Duo or die.” Read more

OpenAI’s New Approach: OpenAI has decided to “uncensor” ChatGPT, allowing it to provide multiple perspectives on controversial subjects without taking an editorial stance. This change aims to make the AI model more neutral and provide users with a wider range of information. Read more

Uber vs. DoorDash: Uber is suing DoorDash, alleging that its competitor is stifling competition by pressuring restaurant owners into exclusive deals. Uber claims that DoorDash is bullying restaurants into only working with them. Read more

Mira Murati’s New Venture: Former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati has launched a new AI startup called Thinking Machines Lab, which will focus on building collaborative “multimodal” systems. The startup includes OpenAI co-founder John Schulman and former OpenAI chief research officer Barret Zoph. Read more

Grok 3 Unveiled: Elon Musk’s xAI has released its latest flagship AI model, Grok 3, which features new capabilities for the Grok iOS and web apps. Musk claims that the new model is a “maximally truth-seeking AI” that may sometimes challenge what is considered politically correct. Read more

Malware on Steam: Valve has removed a video game from Steam that was found to be spreading malware. Security researchers discovered that the game had been modified to trick gamers into installing an info-stealer called Vidar. Read more

DEI U-Turn: Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan’s charity has announced that it will end internal diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs and stop providing social advocacy funding for racial equity and immigration reforms. This decision comes just weeks after the organization assured staff that it would continue to support DEI efforts. Read more

Amazon Shuts Down App Store: Amazon will discontinue its app store for Android in August, focusing instead on its own devices. The company has informed developers that they will no longer be able to submit new apps to the store. Read more

Mark Zuckerberg’s Reputation: A study by the Pew Research Center has found that Americans’ views of Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg are more negative than positive. Approximately 54% of U.S. adults have an unfavorable view of Musk, while 67% have a negative view of Zuckerberg. Read more

Noise-Canceling Headphones: A new BBC report raises concerns that noise-canceling technology may be rewiring the brains of people who use it, potentially leading to the brain forgetting how to filter out background noise. Read more

Analysis

The DOGE Universe: TechCrunch has compiled an exhaustive list of the individuals who work with or advise Elon Musk and DOGE. The list includes Musk’s inner circle, senior figures, worker bees, and aides, highlighting their connections and how they entered Musk’s orbit. Read more