Chinese EV startup Xpeng says its new G9 SUV is ‘last step’ before autonomous vehicles • TechCrunch

Xpeng launched the G9 Flagship SUV, the fourth production vehicle in its lineup that will set a “new benchmark” for automated driving technology in passenger vehicles, the Chinese electric vehicle startup said Wednesday. The automaker says the G9 will come with an advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) that eventually will cover both city and highway…

TikTok takes aim at political grifting and fundraising in latest policy tweaks • TechCrunch

TikTok has announced an incoming tightening of its policies around political accounts using its video-sharing platform, such as those belonging to political parties, politicians and governments. The changes look intended to limit, er, political grifting (for want of a better term) — with an incoming ban on use of monetization features (like tipping, gifting and…

European neobank Monese nabs $35M from HSBC • TechCrunch

Monese, the London-based fintech that provides digital banking and remittance services to consumers and businesses across Europe, has raised $35 million from global banking giant HSBC. Founded in 2013, Monese is one of several so-called “challenger” banks to emerge from the U.K. capital, serving customers with a range of online-only services including standard cash accounts, savings,…

Meta alumni’s startup TrueFoundry raises $2.3 million to accelerate ML deployments • TechCrunch

A group of former Meta engineers is building a platform to help enterprises deploy machine learning models at the speed of big tech companies. Their startup, TrueFoundry, has raised $2.3 million in a funding round. The San Francisco, California-headquartered startup automates repetitive tasks in the machine learning pipeline to allow data scientists and engineers to…