Science & Technology

Spy games in HR tech: Inside Rippling’s wild lawsuit against Deel

Rippling’s latest lawsuit () reads less like a legal filing and more like the plot of a corporate espionage thriller, complete with secret crypto payments, an alleged mole, and a fake Slack channel trap. This week, the HR tech startup publicly named the employee at the center of its case () against its rival Deel,…

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2 years ago

April 4, 2025

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This week, the HR tech startup publicly named the employee at the center of its case () against its rival Deel, claiming the company paid him thousands to spy from the inside. Deel, however, is not staying quiet. The company is denying the claims, calling it a dramatic distraction from Rippling’s own legal troubles.

Today, on TechCrunch’s Equity () podcast, hosts Max Zeff and Anthony Ha are catching us up on the week’s headlines, including a breakdown of how this saga between two HR tech giants escalated from business rivalry to accusations of racketeering, and why, according to Max, smashing the phone you use for corporate espionage with an ax at your mother-in-law’s house is “the oldest trick in the book.”

Listen to the full episode to hear about:

• The startup that’s gamifying the tax filing process () , and the copyright questions that continue to rise

•
Circle’s IPO () and what the move could signal for others in the crypto space.

• The latest in the AI race — from OpenAI’s record-breaking raise () and GPU meltdowns () to Anthropic’s AI chatbot plan for colleges () and Google’s Gemini leadership shakeup () .

Equity will be back next week, so stay tuned!

Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday.

Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts () , Overcast () , Spotify () and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X () and Threads () , at @EquityPod. For the full episode transcript, for those who prefer reading over listening, check out our full archive of episodes here () .

Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. We’d also like to thank TechCrunch’s audience development team. Thank you so much for listening, and we’ll talk to you next time.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices ()

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How to Download and Use Google Gemini for MacOS

Google’s Gemini multimodal AI is available for MacOS and Windows. CNET’s Stephen Beacham demonstrates how to download and install it on a Mac, and walks you through every button and feature in the app. Read more about the Gemini App for MacOS on CNET.com MacOS Now Has a Native Gemini AI App Gemini for MacOS…

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Read more about the Gemini App for MacOS on CNET.com
MacOS Now Has a Native Gemini AI App

Gemini for MacOS Gets New Voice and ‘Screen Awareness’ Features

Timecode Chapters:
0:00 Introduction to Google’s Gemini App for macOS
0:23 How to Download and Install Gemini for Mac
1:03 Testing the “Speak to Window” and FN Key Dictation Features
2:08 Testing Gemini’s Reasoning Feature to Summarize Highlighted Text
2:41 Overview of the Gemini App Interface for macOS
3:07 Choosing Flash Models and Managing Chat Preferences
4:22 Using the Camera, Attachments, and Exploring Multimodal AI
5:13 Sharing App Windows with Gemini for Real-Time Assistance
6:05 Using the Lasso Tool for Screen Analysis
6:33 Exploring Deep Research, Image/Video Generation, and Personal Intelligence
7:33 Gemini App walkthrough outro

Video Credits:
Producer Editor: Stephen Beacham
Thumbnail Designer: Zain bin Awais

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#google #googlegemini #gemini #geminiapp #mac #macos #ai #artificialintelligence

CNET

Unboxing Apple’s $149 HomePod Mini 2 in Green

Apple’s new HomePod Mini 2 is equipped with a full-range driver and dual passive radiators, made for 360-degree sound. It measures about 4 inches across, and will come equipped with the S10 chip, which Apple says analyzes music in real time to optimize it. Unbox it with us in their new green color. #unboxing #onemorething…

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🎥: Bridget Carey

CNET

iPhone Duo Livestream: How Many Folds Can Apple’s Phone Take? Day 5

Apple’s iPhone Duo is out and we want to see how durable it is. So we built a robot to fold it 20,000+ times a day to test its limits. How long do you think it will last? 100,000 folds? 200,000 folds? 500,000 folds? Tune in and watch the testing live. We’ll have CNET’s editors…

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Join us weekdays from 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM PT / 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM ET.

Read more about the iPhone Duo Folding Test on CNET.com
The iPhone Duo Is Now in Our Custom-Made Foldable Phone Test Machine. Will It Beat the Galaxy Fold 8?

iPhone Duo Review: Late to the Foldable Party, but It Steals the Show

Check out the 3D Printer Matthew Murray used to print the sled that iPhone Duo is sitting on:
Looking for the Most Accurate 3D Printer? Our Exclusive Testing Reveals One Clear Winner

Video Credits:
Host: Matthew Murray
Producer: Stephen Beacham
Thumbnail Designer: Zooey Liao

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