Welcome back to Week in Review! I’m Karyne Levy, TechCrunch’s deputy managing editor, and I’ll be writing this newsletter from here on out. Thrilled to be here!
This week we’re checking out everything at SXSW; Waymo’s expansion into Silicon Valley; Intel’s new CEO; TikTok’s new suitor; and why DeepSeek isn’t taking VC money. Let’s get to it!
Environmental impact: The FBI, the EPA, the EPA inspector general, and the Treasury Department requested that Citibank freeze accounts of several nonprofits and state government agencies. The accounts were frozen in February, but the new documents make public details that had previously been unknown until they were revealed in court filings this week.
SXSW comes to an end: TechCrunch was all over SXSW in Austin this week, riding in Waymo taxis, learning Mark Cuban’s thoughts on AI (it’s a tool, not a panacea), and deciphering the T-shirt that Bluesky’s CEO wore (turns out she was taking a swipe at Mark Zuckerberg).
Intel’s new chief: Intel appointed Lip-Bu Tan as its next CEO. Tan, a Malaysia-born, longtime tech investor, formerly served as CEO of Cadence Design Systems and said that Intel will be an “engineering-focused company” under his leadership. And he’ll have his work cut out for him.
This is TechCrunch’s Week in Review, where we recap the week’s biggest news. Want this delivered as a newsletter to your inbox every Saturday? Sign up here.
News
A new era: Rad Power Bikes has a new CEO just a few days after its previous CEO stepped down. Kathi Lentzsch, who has spent years helping turn around underperforming companies in both the consumer and B2B spaces, will take over the e-bike company as it continues to shift away from direct-to-consumer in favor of a retail-based approach.
Backdoor policies: Last month it was revealed that the U.K. government secretly ordered Apple to create a “backdoor,” allowing authorities to access the cloud-stored data of all Apple customers. U.S. lawmakers are asking the head of the U.K.’s surveillance court to hold an open hearing for Apple’s possible challenge to the alleged secret U.K. government legal demand.
Food for thought: Bryan Johnson — the investor and founder behind the Don’t Die movement — wants to start “foodome” sequencing. His goal is to test as much food as possible, creating a public database where people can donate money to have certain foods and brands tested for toxins.
No parking: Waymo’s 300 driverless vehicles in San Francisco are racking up parking tickets. The cars’ 589 parking violations totaled $65,065 in fines last year.
