Tech
Why VivaTech 2026 is the place to see Europe’s AI strategy take shape
TechCrunch is partnering with VivaTech 2026 to spotlight some of the most important conversations shaping the future of artificial intelligence. As part of the collaboration, TechCrunch and VivaTech will also showcase emerging founders through the VivaTech Innovation of the Year competition. The winner will earn a chance to pitch live in Paris and secure a place in Startup Battlefield 200 ahead of TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, taking place in San Francisco from October 13-15.
If you want to understand how Europe is approaching the AI race — and how that strategy differs from Silicon Valley’s — VivaTech 2026 will be one of the most important places to be. Register now to join the conversations shaping the next phase of AI innovation, which will be taking place throughout the event June 17-20 in Paris.
And for those unable to join, we’re still accepting applications to Startup Battlefield from anywhere in the world right here, ahead of the June 8 deadline.
How Europe’s AI strategy diverges from Silicon Valley’s
The global AI race is often framed as a battle between the United States and China. But at VivaTech, Europe is expected to make the case for an entirely different model.
In recent years, Silicon Valley has pushed aggressively toward scale, speed, and market dominance. Europe, on the other hand, is providing a counterbalance: a vision for artificial intelligence centered on industrial competitiveness and technological sovereignty.
That divergence has become more visible over the past year. While U.S. AI companies continue racing to release increasingly powerful models, European policymakers have focused heavily on regulation, transparency, privacy, and infrastructure independence. Critics might claim this approach restrains innovation. Supporters argue Europe is attempting to lead with governance.
Those debates will loom large at VivaTech 2026, which has become a showcase for Europe’s broader AI ambitions.
Where Europe thinks it can win
Europe’s AI ambitions are also being shaped by the industries it has historically dominated. While Silicon Valley’s AI boom has largely revolved around consumer platforms and foundation models, many European companies are focused on applying AI to complex, heavily regulated systems already embedded into everyday life: Manufacturing. Logistics. Healthcare. Cybersecurity. Energy infrastructure.
These industries are all becoming major AI battlegrounds and require more than powerful models — they demand operational expertise, compliance frameworks, enterprise coordination, and long-term institutional trust.
That dynamic could play to Europe’s strengths.
Rather than competing directly with Silicon Valley on consumer scale, Europe is increasingly positioning itself around industrial AI — the systems that quietly power supply chains, transportation networks, healthcare operations, and critical infrastructure.
In many ways, that shift mirrors the broader evolution of AI, as the industry moves beyond experimentation and toward deployment inside large organizations.
Push the conversation forward at VivaTech 2026
At VivaTech 2026, those conversations are expected to take center stage. Join founders, investors, enterprise leaders, and policymakers in Paris to explore how Europe is shaping its vision for the future of AI.
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Tech
Facebook launches a dedicated Marketplace app for sellers, adds a free verification system
Facebook is rolling out updates today in a bid to increase engagement and make the platform more organized for its users. In the offing are new apps for sellers on Marketplace; a verification system to prove you are human on services like Dating, Marketplace, and Groups; and a new immersive design for video.
Facebook Marketplace sees more than 430 million monthly listings, and with more than 1.1 billion active users, it is a big reason younger folks still use the platform.
To keep this momentum going, Facebook is launching a separate app for people who list and sell items on the platform frequently. Dubbed “Seller,” the app lets sellers manage their listings, message buyers, and track the performance of items.
Facebook is also rolling out a free verification system called Facebook Verified — not to be confused with Meta Verified, which lets you subscribe for a verification mark and other features.
The new system lets people take a selfie to verify their authenticity as a real user, and then the verification mark will show up on their profile across Facebook Dating, Marketplace, and Groups. The verified mark looks like a check mark within a white circle, unlike the blue badge you can get by paying for Meta Verified.
The company said it is also testing an optional, immersive, full-screen video view for the Facebook app that pops up as soon as you open it. This update will initially be rolled out to “video-heavy” international markets, and make its way to the U.S. next year.
Facebook said users can turn off this UI to go back to the feed-based interface. The company has tested a similar update with Instagram in several markets.
New app releases are turning into a routine course of action for Meta, which has ramped up its app development to engage different sets of users. In May, it debuted a Reddit-like app for Facebook Groups called Forum, and this month it released a vibe-coding app called Pocket.
The company said it plans to add AI to the app to help users automate tasks such as writing descriptions of items they want to put up for sale, or search through groups to answer questions.
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Tech
OpenAI’s new voice mode makes it to the ChatGPT desktop app
OpenAI on Thursday said it has updated its ChatGPT desktop app to add support for ChatGPT Voice, allowing users to talk to the app to control AI agents and perform tasks on their computer.
The new feature taps OpenAI’s new family of voice models called ChatGPT-Live, which it launched earlier this month.
OpenAI said ChatGPT Voice works with both ChatGPT Work and Codex, and can also tap computer use skills to look up websites and apps. Plus, on macOS, with Appshots, users can let the app access what’s on their screen, including alt-text.
At launch, ChatGPT Voice’s smartphone version featured smoother conversations, with better interruption handling, but it was not built to take action on smartphones.
Thursday’s desktop update is more capable, allowing users to dictate complex commands involving many steps, and respond when ChatGPT needs their input.
In a demo video, OpenAI showed a developer asking ChatGPT to create a new thread, make a pull request, and find the root cause for a bug, with one command.
The company said that users can utilize ChatGPT Voice in Codex from the iOS app through remote access.
Anthropic has also updated its voice mode for Claude, which can tap the company’s Opus, Sonnet, and Haiku models to complete tasks in apps like Gmail, Calendar, Slack, Notion, and Canva.
Tech
Midjourney acquired the astrology app Co-Star
Midjourney, an AI lab best known for its LLM-powered image and video generators, has acquired the social astrology app Co-Star, according to Bloomberg. The deal terms were not disclosed.
Co-Star, which reportedly has about 4.3 million monthly active users, is mostly used to help people determine their astrological birth charts, which they can then share with other friends on the app. Co-Star uses both AI and humans to write horoscopes, compatibility assessments, and other advice based on a user’s astrological information.
Midjourney seems to be casting a wide net when it comes its product lineup. The company seems almost synonymous with the Discord server where users can generate text and images — there is no stand-alone Midjourney app — yet the AI lab is also trying to build a medical arm and spa. Why not throw an astrology app in the mix?
Co-Star’s team of two dozen employees has joined Midjourney as part of the acquisition. Given the team’s experience in building consumer apps, Midjourney could perhaps finally get its own stand-alone app.
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