TechCrunch
434 stories
Amazon's $97.9bn windfall from Anthropic IPO dwarfs VC gains
While venture firms make billions on Anthropic's public listing, Amazon's convertible notes position it to capture far more value from the AI company it backed early.
Marina Temkin · 2m
General Compute raises $100M Series A amid neocloud turmoil
A startup betting on specialized inference chips raises $100 million as competitors stumble, arguing the neocloud sector's troubles are overstated.
Tim Fernholz · 2m
Opera launches WebAI standard for local browser AI
Opera introduces WebAI, a new web standard that lets users run AI models directly in their browser without sending data to the cloud.
Lucas Ropek · 1m
Palmer Luckey Stays in California Despite Wealth Tax
Billionaire Palmer Luckey vows to fight California's proposed wealth tax, not leave state.
Julie Bort · 1m
Anduril and Qualcomm build US-made laptop
Anduril and Qualcomm announce BlueChip, a hardened laptop designed for government use with 90% US and allied-country components, aiming eventually for 100% domestic manufacturing.
Julie Bort · 2m
People are using AI to make their smart TVs dumb again
Developers are using AI to strip ads, bloatware and tracking from smart TVs, making them simpler and faster.
Sarah Perez · 2m
Amazon funds 12 nuclear reactors at Indiana coal site
Amazon and X-energy announce a 960-megawatt nuclear plant to replace a demolished coal facility, tripling their first commercial deal.
Tim De Chant · 1m
Town hits unicorn status four months after launch
AI assistant startup Town reaches one billion dollar valuation on strength of early revenue, raising one hundred eight million dollars in Series B funding.
Dominic-Madori Davis · 1m
Hackers breach OpenCode, charging users' AI accounts
An attack on the AI coding tool OpenCode exposed API keys and ran up unauthorized charges on users' accounts with Claude, OpenAI and Google services.
Aditya Mehta · 2m
AI benchmarks need fixing before we trust them
Hugging Face's policy chief says model evaluations are too inconsistent and embedded evaluators won't solve the problem without major standardization.
Lucas Ropek · 1m
Microsoft warns enterprises: AI agents are insider threats
Microsoft says frontier AI models cannot be trusted and launches Guardian Agents to monitor the AI systems companies deploy.
Julie Bort · 1m
Physical AI is in its LEGO era, says ex-Nvidia VC
Amulya Vishwanath, founder of Techable Ventures, explains why robotics is still building foundational blocks rather than reaching its ChatGPT moment.
Dominic-Madori Davis · 1m
Google and Amazon challenge Nvidia's AI chip dominance
Google and Amazon release PyTorch versions for their own chips, trying to break Nvidia's grip on AI development.
Julie Bort · 1m
OpenAI buys Orchestra Bio to expand biotech AI
OpenAI acquires AI drug-discovery startup Orchestra Bio and folds its team into Rosalind, its life sciences research model.
Julie Bort · 1m
SpaceX's AI business beats profit expectations
SpaceX's data centers and Grok agents generated $7.5 billion in third-quarter revenue, making AI 52% of company income as it pivots from space.
Tim Fernholz, Kirsten Korosec · 2m
Anthropic's cloud deals turn sour as rivals hoard capacity
AWS, Google and Microsoft now see Claude's maker as competition, not customer, forcing Anthropic to lease its own data centers despite massive spending plans.
Rebecca Bellan · 1m
Ancient PHP flaws found by AI, threatening millions of websites
OpenAI and Wiz discovered critical vulnerabilities in PHP using AI tools. The holes have existed since 2004 and affect roughly 70% of the internet.
Julie Bort · 1m
GM adds AI assistant to OnStar service
General Motors is overhauling its 30-year-old OnStar connected car service with a personal AI assistant, debuting in the 2027 Cadillac Lyriq.
Kirsten Korosec · 2m
Walmart welcomes AI agents while Amazon shuts them out
Walmart launches Agent Gateway to let AI assistants shop on behalf of customers, taking the opposite approach from Amazon and other retailers blocking automated purchases.
Sarah Perez · 1m
GM bets on AI and computing to fight Chinese rivals
General Motors is overhauling its vehicle architecture around a central computing platform, aiming to match Chinese automakers' speed and compete on software rather than traditional engineering.
Tim De Chant, Kirsten Korosec · 3m
Airbnb bans guests from doing chores at checkout
Airbnb prohibits hosts from requiring guests to strip beds, wash dishes, do laundry or remove trash before leaving, drawing complaints from hosts who say basic cleaning is essential.
Lauren Forristal · 1m
Blackstone bets big on AI debt, dismisses crisis fears
The private equity giant is financing the AI buildout through massive loans to data centers, but insists rising debt burdens pose no systemic risk.
Marina Temkin · 2m
Meta creates non-voting stock to fund AI expansion
Meta announced a new class of non-voting shares to raise capital for its artificial intelligence buildout while keeping founder control intact.
Lucas Ropek · 1m
Tesla to sell Cybercabs by year end amid safety probe
Tesla says it will start selling its autonomous Cybercab to customers by the end of the year, even as federal regulators investigate whether the vehicle meets safety standards.
Kirsten Korosec · 2m · 5 views
Recursive launches Flint, AI coding model
Recursive's AI-built Flint coding model runs on laptops and outperforms rivals.
Aditya Mehta · 1m
Meta's Muse hits 10M users with shopping boom
Meta's AI agent Muse has reached over 10 million users, with a quarter of engaged shoppers spending over $200 per purchase, surprising even payment processors.
Sarah Perez · 1m
Tesla starts Optimus production as profit crashes 43%
Tesla has begun manufacturing its Optimus humanoid robot in California while reporting a sharp drop in quarterly earnings driven by heavy spending on AI and robotics.
Kirsten Korosec, Sean O'Kane · 1m
TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026 in Boston
TechCrunch's full-day founder event returns November 4 in Boston with sessions on fundraising, AI, and leadership.
TechCrunch Events · 2m
Year-old AI lab Flapping Airplanes raises $1B at $6B valuation
Flapping Airplanes, founded by a Neuralink alum and Stanford PhDs, raises $1 billion Series A to build AI systems that need far less data to train.
Julie Bort · 1m
Pascal's heat pump uses gas and sponge to beat 170-year-old tech
A startup has found a new way to make refrigerators and heat pumps 20% more efficient using carbon dioxide and a proprietary porous material.
Tim De Chant · 2m
Mach9 raises $34M after pivoting to AI CAD software
The startup ditched robotics to build AI that automates construction design work, landing a Series A from top-tier VCs.
Sean O'Kane · 2m
AI tools create new headaches for managers
Companies deploy AI to boost productivity, but managers struggle to evaluate work, manage tools, and oversee autonomous agents.
Ram Iyer · 2m
Anthropic drafts AI safety bill with kill thresholds
The AI lab proposes legislation that would block model releases if they pose foreseeable risks to 50+ lives or a billion dollars in property damage.
Lucas Ropek · 1m
Foursquare's sale left investors with nothing
Dennis Crowley says equity holders got no returns when Infillion acquired the location platform last month.
Ivan Mehta · 1m
Eka's robot learns to pick things up
A startup founded by MIT and Google DeepMind researchers has built a robot that picks objects with superhuman speed and gentleness, raising one point four five billion dollars at its latest funding round.
Tim Fernholz · 2m
SpaceX alum's startup hits $1B valuation on autonomous flight push
Reliable Robotics raises $115 million to pursue FAA certification for aircraft that can fly themselves, with a ground-based pilot station years away.
Kirsten Korosec · 1m
US bans DeepSeek from federal agencies
The Department of Homeland Security orders all federal civilian agencies to remove Chinese AI startup DeepSeek from their systems over national security concerns.
Kate Park · 1m
Figma's Field: MCP protocol needs work
Figma co-founder Dylan Field says the AI standard has flaws, but the company is expanding support for it anyway with 20 new partners.
Ivan Mehta · 1m
TikTok staff warned of child safety risks executives ignored
Court documents show TikTok employees repeatedly flagged sexual exploitation and age-bypass loopholes, but the company reportedly failed to act.
Aisha Malik · 1m
Rivian CEO: Autonomy will reshape vehicle design
RJ Scaringe says self-driving technology will let Rivian build radically different vehicles beyond its current SUVs and trucks.
Sean O'Kane · 2m
Khosla Ventures doubles down on Even Healthcare to challenge India's hospital economics
Khosla Ventures leads $50m funding for Even Healthcare to reshape India's hospital economics.
Jagmeet Singh · 1m
Wahlberg's affordable gym takes on luxury longevity startups
Mark Wahlberg is opening Municipal, a 32,000-square-foot gym outside Las Vegas offering blood work and diagnostics at $99 per member, undercutting luxury wellness clubs that charge tens of thousands annually.
Connie Loizos · 3m
Ember's Mug 3 keeps tea hot without opening your phone
Ember's third-generation smart mug adds physical controls and practical upgrades to its temperature-keeping design.
Lauren Forristal · 2m
Replit switches to OpenAI, drops Anthropic as default
The AI coding platform replaces Claude with ChatGPT, citing performance and cost, though Anthropic models remain available.
Kirsten Korosec, Lucas Ropek, Rebecca Bellan · 1m
Replit drops Anthropic for OpenAI as default
The AI coding platform switches its primary model partner, citing performance, cost and partnership strength.
Kirsten Korosec, Lucas Ropek, Rebecca Bellan · 2m
Benchmark's five partners on staying small in a frenzied market
At TechCrunch Disrupt, Benchmark's partners explained why they invest just two or three times per year per partner, hold Monday meetings with no agenda, and remain committed to San Francisco.
Connie Loizos · 4m
Rivian's shift from carmaker to tech supplier
RJ Scaringe is building Rivian into a company that licenses software, AI and robotics far beyond its own vehicles.
Kirsten Korosec · 2m
Holmes documentary breaks box office records
You Can See Everything opens to 15 million dollars, the second biggest documentary opening ever, with near-perfect reviews.
Anthony Ha · 1m
Disney hires most of Character.AI after bankruptcy
Disney will employ at least 60 Character.AI workers after the chatbot startup filed for bankruptcy, paying sixty million dollars in annual compensation.
Anthony Ha · 1m
Anthropic commits 5% of shares to public benefit fund
The AI company is setting aside equity to fund projects for societal good, with room to add more as it grows in value.
Anthony Ha · 1m
Anthropic's workforce shifts as AI reshapes work
The AI company reports fewer junior hires, smaller technical teams, and a 20% rise in meeting time as Claude automates tasks and creates new bottlenecks.
Anthony Ha · 1m
Meta quietly removes AI training language from terms
Meta deleted controversial language from its commercial terms that appeared to let it scrape publisher websites for AI training, after legal experts raised concerns.
Anthony Ha · 1m
TikTok bans ads for Musk documentary
TikTok permanently suspended the advertising account for a four-hour Elon Musk documentary, citing political content, joining other platforms in restricting promotion of the film.
Anthony Ha · 1m
Tesla's flying Roadster lands after nine-year wait
Elon Musk unveils the second-generation Roadster with SpaceX thrusters that can fly, spin and land itself, nine years after first promising the car.
Sean O'Kane · 2m
Benchmark admits AI is breaking venture's rival rule
Even the most loyal venture firm says the unwritten pact against backing competitors is cracking under AI's pressure.
Connie Loizos · 1m
Replit CEO: AI agents will reshape work, not replace it
Amjad Masad describes a future where AI handles routine tasks while humans focus on judgment and strategy.
Sarah Perez · 2m
How Cal AI went viral with a paid influencer army
Zach Yadegari, 19, built a calorie-tracking app into a thirty-million-dollar business in two years by paying influencers to post about it.
Lucas Ropek · 1m
Veritas builds chips to verify luxury goods
A startup founded by a former Tesla engineer is embedding tamper-proof chips into jewelry, trophies and fragrance bottles to fight counterfeit luxury goods.
Ivan Mehta · 1m
Disrupt 2026 wraps up final day in San Francisco
TechCrunch's flagship conference ends October 15 with 10,000+ attendees exploring AI, startups and the future of tech.
TechCrunch Events · 2m
Rivian plans to run AI agents from other companies in its cars
Rivian's CEO says the carmaker will let AI assistants from Anthropic, OpenAI and Meta run inside its vehicles, but safety concerns mean they won't control driving functions.
Sean O'Kane · 2m