Hyundai’s electric air taxi startup Supernal has paused work on its aircraft program after a rocky few months that saw staff cuts and the departure of its CEO and CTO, two people familiar with the matter told TechCrunch.
The shakeup comes at a time when Supernal has barely gotten off the ground — literally. The first test flight of its technology demonstrator happened earlier this year. And though Supernal has performed subsequent tests, the company was still working toward its first untethered test flight before the pause. The company had planned to launch a commercial service in 2028.
Supernal announced the departure of CEO Jaiwon Shin late last week. David McBride, the CTO, has also left, according to people familiar, who were granted anonymity to speak about private company matters. The OC Register first reported the pause on Supernal’s flight program and McBride’s departure.
With regards to the commercial service, the startup told TechCrunch that the “newly appointed leadership will assess and determine the optimal timeline moving forward.” The company declined to comment on McBride leaving.
Spun out of the Hyundai Group in 2021, Supernal laid off dozens earlier this summer ahead of the executive shakeup. That followed the startup abruptly winding down its still-new Washington, D.C. headquarters late last year, as TechCrunch previously reported.
David Rottblatt, Supernal’s senior business development director, is overseeing the “business operations of Supernal during this transition as Interim COO.” The larger Hyundai Group “plans to appoint new leadership with deep expertise in business operations to advance Urban Air Mobility (UAM) solutions and guide the organization into its next phase of growth,” according to the press release about Shin’s departure.
That initial test flight had been long-promised by the now-former CEO. At the 2024 Consumer Electronics Show — where the company showed off a larger, non-flying concept vehicle — Shin talked about how Supernal was nearly ready to “push the limits of the technology with the demonstrator.” And in August 2024, McBride told Vertical Mag that the test flight would “validate our ability to build an aircraft” ahead of a planned 2028 commercial launch.
This is the second futuristic startup under the Hyundai umbrella to run into trouble in recent years. In 2024, the Korean conglomerate had to double down on its autonomous vehicle startup Motional after backing partner Aptiv decided to stop funding what had been a joint venture. That led to a major restructuring at Motional late last year that involved layoffs of around 40% of its staff, and the eventual departure of CEO Karl Iagnemma.
Undersea cable cuts in the Red Sea disrupted internet access on Sunday in parts of Asia and the Middle East, experts said, though it was not immediately clear what caused the incident.
There has been concern about the cables being targeted in a Red Sea campaign by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, which the rebels describe as an effort to pressure Israel to end its war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. But the Houthis have denied attacking the lines in the past.
Microsoft announced via a status website that the Mideast “may experience increased latency due to undersea fibre cuts in the Red Sea”. The Redmond, Washington-based firm did not immediately elaborate, though it said that internet traffic not moving through the Middle East “is not impacted”.
NetBlocks, which monitors internet access, said “a series of subsea cable outages in the Red Sea has degraded internet connectivity in multiple countries”, which it said included India and Pakistan. It blamed “failures affecting the SMW4 and IMEWE cable systems near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia”.
The Southeast Asia–Middle East–western Europe 4 cable is run by Tata Communications, part of the Indian conglomerate. The India-Middle East-Western Europe cable is run by another consortium overseen by Alcatel-Lucent. Both firms did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Pakistan Telecommunications, a telecommunication giant in that country, noted that the cuts had taken place in a statement on Saturday.
Saudi Arabia did not immediately acknowledge the disruption and authorities there did not respond to a request for comment.
In the United Arab Emirates, home to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, internet users on the country’s state-owned Du and Etisalat networks complained of slower internet speeds. The government did not immediately acknowledge the disruption.
Subsea cables can be cut by anchors dropped from ships, but can also be targeted in attacks.
The lines being cut come as Yemen’s Houthi rebels remain locked in a series of attacks targeting Israel over its war in the Gaza Strip. Israel has responded with air strikes, including one that killed top leaders within the rebel movement.
In early 2024, Yemen’s internationally recognised government in exile alleged that the Houthis planned to attack undersea cables in the Red Sea. Several were cut, but the Houthis denied being responsible. On Sunday morning, the Houthis’ al-Masirah satellite news channel acknowledged that the cuts had taken place.
From November 2023 to December 2024, the Houthis targeted more than 100 ships with missiles and drones over Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip. In their campaign so far, the Houthis have sunk four vessels and killed at least eight mariners.
The Iranian-backed Houthis stopped their attacks during a brief ceasefire in the war. They later became the target of an intense weeks-long campaign of air strikes ordered by US President Donald Trump before he declared a ceasefire had been reached with the rebels. The Houthis sank two vessels in July, killing at least four on board, with others believed to be held by the rebels.
The Houthis’ new attacks come as a new possible ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza war remains in the balance. Meanwhile, the future of talks between the US and Iran over Tehran’s battered nuclear programme is in question after Israel launched a 12-day war against the Islamic republic in which the Americans bombed three Iranian atomic sites.
The United States is in “very deep negotiations with Hamas” to bring an end to the current conflict in the Gaza Strip, President Donald Trump announced on Sept. 5.
Hamas, which continues to hold hostages taken from Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, has so far rejected any deals to end the nearly two-year Israeli military campaign across the Gaza Strip, despite widespread death and destruction throughout the territory.
Addressing the ongoing hostage situation and the surrounding conflict, Trump reiterated calls for Hamas to release all of the remaining hostages in a bed to end the carnage.
“We said let them all out right now. Let them all out, and much better things will happen for them. But if you don’t let them all out, it’s going to be a tough situation. It’s going to be nasty. That’s my opinion. Israel’s choice, but that’s my opinion,” the president said during a White House press briefing.
In recent weeks, Israeli forces have been ramping up operations in Gaza City, which is located towards the northern end of the embattled strip of territory. The Israeli military has claimed responsibility for strikes targeting high-rises in the city, and footage has shown strikes toppling at least one tower there.
As many as 20 captives may still be alive, though Trump said “there could be some that have recently died, is what I’m hearing.”
“I hope that’s wrong,” he added.
The bodies of around 30 more captives also remain in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas released a video on Sept. 5 with Israeli hostage Guy Gilboa-Dalal. In the video, apparently dated Aug. 28, Gilboa-Dalal states that he and other hostages are being held in Gaza City and fear they will be killed in the intensifying Israeli operation.
Trump offered few specifics about what Hamas is requesting in negotiations for the release of the remaining hostages.
“They’re asking for some things that are fine,” Trump began, when asked about Hamas’s demands, but said the initial Hamas attack on Israel—in which around 1,200 were killed and thousands more were wounded—must be taken into consideration in the negotiations.
Throughout the conflict, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has articulated a goal to ensure Hamas is defeated and that the Gaza Strip can never become a haven for the group or similar militants opposed to Israel.
In an Aug. 10 speech, Netanyahu said the Gaza City takeover plan is not part of an indefinite Israeli occupation of the strip. At the same time, he indicated the plan is for Israel to have “overriding security responsibilities” for the territory, while allowing a “non-Israeli, peaceful civil administration.”
Netanyahu said Gaza’s post-Hamas civil authority must be one that “doesn’t educate its children for terror, doesn’t pay terrorists, and doesn’t launch terrorist attacks against Israel.” Netanyahu said these terms would disqualify the Palestinian Authority—which has partial governing authority in the West Bank—from stepping in as Gaza’s eventual civil authority.
In a Sept. 6 statement, Hamas representatives said, “The movement affirms its openness to any ideas or proposals that achieve a permanent ceasefire, a comprehensive withdrawal of the occupation forces from the Gaza Strip, unconditional entry of aid, and a real prisoner exchange through serious negotiations via mediators.”
A cyber group known as “Purgatory” is behind a terrifying spree of AI-enhanced swatting calls on college campuses — and experts urge authorities to catch up to “internet speed” to stop it.
Between Aug. 21 and Aug. 25, at least 10 universities across the US were thrown into chaos after fake active shooter calls sent armed federal and local law enforcement agencies to lockdown campuses, launching students into full-blown panic.
Between Aug. 21 and Aug. 25, at least 10 universities across the US were thrown into chaos after fake active shooter calls sent armed federal and local law enforcement agencies to lock down and search campuses.AP
The calls have since been linked to Purgatory, a group of cybercriminals who use AI tools to replicate sounds of screaming and gunfire while on the phone with local authorities, according to recent findings by the Center for Internet Security and Institute for Strategic Dialogue.
Purgatory, which primarily organizes on Telegram and Discord platforms, derives from a larger group known as “The Com,” a loose cybercriminal network that engages in swatting, sextortion and the distribution of child sex abuse material.
“Sometimes [the call’s] are for a fee, other times it’s to bring attention to themselves as a group so that they can get new clients or get others to join this affiliation, and help them do swatting,” John Cohen, the executive director for the Countering Hybrid Threats Program at the Center for Internet Security and a former Department of Homeland Security official, told The Post.
“Sometimes, quite frankly, it’s because they enjoy the thrill of watching.”
Hoaxers can pocket $95 for school swattings — an intentional, staged call to bring law enforcement to a nonexistent crime scene — since the spate of recent media coverage. The threats previously paid as little as $20, WIRED reported last month.
A leader of the group claimed Purgatory has made $100,000 since the shooting spree began, the outlet said.
The fake calls began on Aug 21, with reports of an active shooter at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga and Villanova University, triggering armed law enforcement responses and sending panicked students and parents fleeing during an orientation event, school officials had said.
On Aug 24, swatting calls linked to the group also took place at the University of South Carolina and UNC-Chapel Hill.
Then, a whopping six swatting calls were placed on Aug 25 alone, targeting universities such as Iowa State, Kansas State, the University of Maine and the University of Arkansas.
‘Doesn’t make any sense’
Matt Mills, the assistant police chief at the University of Arkansas Police Department, recalled to The Post how a swatting call about an active shooter at the school’s Mullins Library threw the campus into mayhem that day.
“We had the initial call come in, just before 12:30. The caller stated that he was in our library, which is Mullins Library, and that there was a guy with a gun in the room,” he explained.
“A call went on for a couple of minutes toward the end of the call, our dispatcher could hear gunfire in the background.”
Local, city, state and federal authorities rushed to the scene — as students and staff across campus barricaded themselves in office buildings and classrooms, Mills said.
A swatting call at the University of Arkansas’ Mullins Library threw the campus into mayhem, the school’s Assistant Police Chief Matt Mills told The Post.AP
“Over the next couple of hours, we received over 300 calls on our non-emergency lines and 38 911 calls from varying parties. Those calls ranged anywhere from, they thought they saw the suspect, they thought they heard gunshots,” he said.
After sending officers to clear seven campus buildings, authorities determined the active shooter alert was a swatting call.
“I mean, the first response is thankfully nobody was hurt. And then there’s some frustration with the amount of resources that were deployed from at least 15 different agencies in our area, including federal agencies and state police,” Mills said.
When asked if he could understand why anyone would pay for or call in a swatting call, Mills said he could not “compute” a reason someone would do such a thing.
“It doesn’t make any sense to me why somebody would pay to have this done to a campus, to a hospital, to be anywhere. That just doesn’t compute in my brain,” he said.
How law enforcement can stave off college swatting
Cohen, the cybersecurity expert, said that foreign terrorist organizations, militaries and criminal organizations looking to “sow discord” and undermine US institutions often hire groups like Purgatory to engage in targeted swatting operations.
The calls can sometimes be made from individuals within a group looking to get a rise from the ensuing media coverage — or also solicited by individuals with “malicious intent,” he explained.
“It’s not just some disaffected individual sitting in his basement at home who says, ‘I’m gonna hack this university,’ or ‘I’m going to do a swat and call at this university,’” Cohen said.
“It’s also foreign intelligence services, militaries, criminal organizations, even terrorist groups that are saying part of my objective is to cause a disruption in the US or to sow discord, undermine confidence in government, undermine confidence in institutions.”
While it is not immediately known who exactly placed or paid for the calls at the 10 universities, Cohen said trend analysts have noticed an increasing influence of foreign and organized crime groups in Purgatory’s operations.
The swatting calls are never just “benign” and can be highly dangerous, even injuring officers and other individuals in the target area of the call, experts charge.AP
The group also uses virtual private network’s known as “VPNs,” and Google Voice numbers to fake that calls are coming from the local area.
Swatting calls are never just “benign” and can be highly dangerous — even injuring officers and other individuals in the target area, Cohen charged.
“They’re not just irritating. The intent may be, in some cases, to harass the recipients or cause a disruption — but they can be highly dangerous because there are instances where, when the swatting call comes in, the law enforcement organization is going to respond like it’s an actual emergency,” he said.
“AI is being used to simulate gunfire in the background. The swatter is monitoring the radio traffic of the responding agencies and tweaking their calls accordingly,” he continued.
“I mean, that’s gonna elicit a forceful response by law enforcement because they believe they’re responding to an emergency, a real emergency. So, their objective is to get on scene as quickly as possible, find the shooter in the case of an active shooter, neutralize that shooter.”
To prevent future swatting attacks, law enforcement officials need to evolve to be able to detect possible hoax incidents in real time, Cohen said.
“Criminals and threat actors are evolving their tactics at internet speed. Unfortunately, law enforcement is still operating in dialogue,” he added.
“We have to become much better at understanding how foreign intelligence services, terrorists and criminals are using the power of the internet — and we need to adapt our investigative processes accordingly,” Cohen urged.
Another tactic to deter members of Purgatory would be to “identify, arrest and prosecute” members, though Cohen noted that would take a certain “technical capability.”
Law enforcement officers gather in front of the library on the University of Arkansas campus while responding to reports of a shooting Monday, Aug. 25, 2025, in Fayetteville, Ark.AP
Purgatory members — Evan Strauss, 26, and Owen Jarboe and Brayden Grace, both 18 — were indicted last May over swatting calls targeting residences, a high school, a casino and the Albany International Airport between December 2023 and January 2024, according to a statement from the Department of Justice.
One of the 18-year-olds, who appeared to have taken a leadership role in the group, was briefly listed on the FBI’s Most Wanted List before his arrest. All three subsequently pleaded guilty.
At the University of Arkansas and several other universities targeted by swatters, investigations into the false reports are continuing.
The FBI told The Washington Post that it’s investigating the incidents, and the agency is “seeing an increase in swatting events across the country, and we take potential hoax threats very seriously because it puts innocent people at risk,” in a statement to The New York Times.
When asked if the spree would continue, a leader under the name “Gores” told WIRED, “Yes. 2 months.”
The FBI did not return a request for comment from The Post at the time of publication.
