What if your next doctor’s visit could be done while strolling through the mall? Or essentially anywhere besides a traditional doctor’s office? That’s the goal for Forward Health, a company that launched what it calls CarePods, a doctor’s office in a large box, if you will. In today’s top story, Matt takes us inside these self-contained, AI-powered pods to show us all it can do. See for yourself.

Meanwhile, Disney’s Hotstar continues to be massively popular in India. Manish writes that the India–New Zealand cricket match shattered on-demand streaming records. Learn how many tuned in.

And we take a look at a company slicing off a piece of the ChatGPT pie. Dominic-Madori introduces us to Tech Spark AI, a Black-owned alternative to current AI search platforms. Founder Tamar Huggins grabs $1.4 million in pre-seed funding to take an educational approach aimed at Black and brown students in North America. Its first product is the ability to translate classic literature text into modern language. Read more.

More top reads

Your next job awaits: Remote, the HR technology company, connects talent and employers with a new job board. Check it out.

So much Microsoft: Our team covered Microsoft’s Ignite conference, and here were some takeaways: Microsoft now has some new features, including a deepfakes creator, a Copilot for (almost) everything and an AI-powered home decorator. Meanwhile, with not enough GPUs to go around, it seems the software giant may be designing custom AI chips. And Microsoft Teams got a bit of a makeover.

Speaking of Copilot: Bing Chat is now Copilot.

Bank alternative: Tanda is giving the centuries-old way immigrants save and borrow a modern twist by packaging it as a perk that small businesses can offer to employees. This is how it works.

If you feel like someone’s watching you, you’re not wrong: Strava, the exercise tracking app, launches Flyover, an aerial 3D video recap of all your GPS activities. Learn more.

A tough pill to swallow: Digital pharmacy startup Truepill says hackers accessed sensitive data of 2.3 million patients. Here’s what happened.

A different kind of toast: Mindful drinking app Sunnyside lands $11.5 million to launch its AI-powered coach aimed at promoting healthy drinking habits. Read more.

Robot riot: Robots for the home aren’t catching on as fast as Amazon would like, so the delivery giant is repurposing its home robot, Astro, as a security robot for businesses. Domo arigato.

The startup train is arriving at Station F: The startup campus in Paris known as Station F unveiled this year’s top 40 startups.

Now it’s Google’s turn: Google also announced several new features today, including a social one for Google Maps to help you plan outings with your friends. They also announced an AI component for your Google Photos organization and categorization and additional tools to make search results more useful.

A SPAC that may be going splat: Arrival, an electric vehicle startup that went public via a special purpose acquisition company, secures emergency cash so it can sell itself. Get the scoop.

Even more for your Wednesday:

Ads watchdog files FTC complaint against X, formerly Twitter, over unlabeled ads

Meta seeks legislation that would require parents to approve teens’ app downloads

Female Founders Fund looks to raise $75 million for new fund (TC+)

SPAC delays $350M merger with stratospheric balloon startup World View – again

The bull case for software growth in 2024 (TC+)

TechCrunch Early Stage returns to Boston

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On the pods

This week on Equity, TechCrunch’s own Rebecca Bellan is on the podcast to help us better understand Google’s search-related antitrust case that is currently ongoing in the United States and what this could mean for startups. Listen here.

Today on Found, we have something a little different and extra special for you. We’re bringing you two bonus conversations all about sustainability in fashion from TechCrunch Disrupt 2023.

First up you’ll hear our very own Harri Weber sit down with three guests, Jim Ajioka from Colorifix, Beth Esponnette from unspun and Julie Willoughby from Circ. They are all powerhouses in sustainable fashion and they all happened to join Harri on the Sustainability Stage. Check out their full conversation here.

In part two on Found, we have a great conversation between TechCrunch’s Morgan Sung and Jemima Bunbury from BLEND, which is a curated fashion app that is changing the way we shop online. They focus on impulse purchases, how to help customers develop their own style and, of course, how we can make it possible to stay trendy and shop sustainably. Listen here.

• Chief Scientist & Co-Founder - Data Analytics & AI at Susterra (New York, NY, USA)
• Donor Database Administrator at Community Environmental Council (CEC) (Santa Barbara, CA, USA)
• Product Manager, Platform Integrations at Black Kite (Boston, MA, USA)
• Systems Administrator I or II at City of Newport (Newport, OR, USA)
• AI Architect - Computing Services at Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, PA, USA)

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