Ex-Goldman, Meta founders raise $3M for voice AI in overlooked markets
AethexAI, a voice AI startup focused on underserved markets in Africa and the Middle East, has closed a $3 million pre-seed round led by 4DX Ventures, with Enza Capital, Dorm Room Fund, Mojo Ventures,
TechCrunch · Jun 3, 2026
Microsoft Unveils Scout, an OpenClaw-Inspired AI Assistant for Microsoft 365
Microsoft has unveiled Scout, a new AI personal assistant built on the OpenClaw framework, designed to bring autonomous agent capabilities to the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. Announced on June 2, 2026, th
TechCrunch · Jun 2, 2026
Scorsese, at 82, becomes the most unlikely Hollywood voice for AI
Legendary director Martin Scorsese has joined forces with Black Forest Labs, the German AI image-generation startup, as both a partner and adviser. The 82-year-old filmmaker confirmed to The New York
TechCrunch · Jun 2, 2026
Gemini Spark delivers on Google's demo, but costs and privacy questions linger
Google's new AI agent, Gemini Spark, is making waves as a tool that can autonomously handle multi-step tasks in the background, but early hands-on testing by The Verge's Jay Peters suggests the experi
The Verge · Jun 1, 2026
Cognition’s Scott Wu says AI coding agents shouldn’t replace humans
Cognition has secured $1 billion in funding at a $26 billion valuation, making the two-year-old startup one of the most valuable AI companies in the industry. The company created Devin, one of the fir
TechCrunch · May 29, 2026
The internet is being rebuilt for machines
Amazon Web Services has launched a new version of OpenSearch Serverless, a fully managed search and vector database specifically designed for AI agents rather than human users. Traditional cloud infra
TechCrunch · May 28, 2026
Anthropic Drops Opus 4.8 with New Dynamic Workflow Tool After Record 41-Day Cycle
Anthropic has launched Opus 4.8, the latest iteration of its flagship AI model, marking the fastest upgrade cycle in the company's recent history. The new model arrived just 41 days after Opus 4.7 hit
TechCrunch · May 28, 2026
TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 Early Bird ticket rates end May 29
The countdown is on for startup founders and tech professionals looking to attend TechCrunch Disrupt 2026. Early Bird ticket pricing, which offers savings of up to $410, expires on May 29, 2026 at 11:
TechCrunch · May 26, 2026
Universal Music Group and TikTok renew agreement to combat unauthorized AI music
Universal Music Group (UMG) and TikTok have renewed their licensing agreement with a focus on removing unauthorized AI-generated music from the platform and improving artist attribution systems. The d
TechCrunch · May 26, 2026
Last Chance: Startup Battlefield 200 Applications Close May 27 – $100K in Equity-Free Funding Available
The application window for TechCrunch's Startup Battlefield 200 closes Friday, May 27, giving early-stage founders one final opportunity to gain access to venture capital, international media exposure
TechCrunch · May 25, 2026
Google Cloud COO: AI Security Must Be Foundational, Not Optional
Francis de Souza, COO of Google Cloud, recently shared his perspective on the evolving AI security landscape during an interview at a Los Angeles event. Speaking with measured composure, de Souza emph
TechCrunch · May 24, 2026
I tried Amazon’s Bee wearable and am both intrigued and slightly creeped out
Amazon's Bee wearable, the AI wrist gadget the tech giant acquired in 2025, has received a significant feature update, and TechCrunch contributor Lucas Ropek recently got hands-on time with the device
TechCrunch · May 24, 2026
Elon Musk has given up on solar power (on Earth)
SpaceX's recent IPO filing reveals a significant shift in Elon Musk's energy strategy. While Musk built Tesla on the promise of electrifying the economy and moving away from fossil fuels, his AI ventu
TechCrunch · May 23, 2026
How VCs and founders use inflated ‘ARR’ to crown AI startups
Scott Stevenson, co-founder and CEO of legal AI startup Spellbook, sparked a heated debate in the tech community last month by publicly calling out what he described as a "huge scam" among AI startups
TechCrunch · May 22, 2026
Google's AI Glasses With Displays Almost Ready for Fall Launch
Google gave attendees at this week's I/O developer conference a chance to test its upcoming AI-powered glasses with visual displays, offering a glimpse beyond the audio-only version scheduled to launc
TechCrunch · May 22, 2026
Six search engines worth trying now that Google isn’t really Google anymore
Google unveiled sweeping changes to its Search platform at the I/O 2026 keynote this week, fundamentally shifting toward a conversational, AI-first experience. Elizabeth Reid, who leads Google's Searc
TechCrunch · May 21, 2026
Spotify and Universal Music strike deal allowing fan-made AI covers and remixes
Spotify announced a partnership with Universal Music Group (UMG) on Thursday that will let fans create AI-generated covers and remixes of songs through a new paid feature. The tool will be exclusive t
TechCrunch · May 21, 2026
Nvidia posts another record quarter, reveals $43B of holdings in startups
Nvidia reported another quarter of record-breaking financial results, with $81.6 billion in revenue for the period ending April 26, representing a 20% increase from the previous quarter. The company's
TechCrunch · May 20, 2026
Clouted wants to take the guesswork out of making short videos go viral
Clouted, a startup that participated in a16z's Speedrun accelerator program in 2024, has secured $7 million in seed funding to solve a major pain point in social media marketing. The round was led by
TechCrunch · May 20, 2026
Elon Musk said Sam Altman ‘stole’ a non-profit — but the trial showed he had similar aims
A jury rejected Elon Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI's founders and Microsoft, delivering a swift verdict that legal observers saw as validation of what unfolded in court. Musk's case was considered wea
TechCrunch · May 19, 2026
With Gemini 3.5 Flash, Google bets its next AI wave on agents, not chatbots
Google unveiled Gemini 3.5 Flash at its annual I/O developer conference, positioning the new AI model as a significant leap in autonomous agent capabilities rather than just conversational AI. The com
TechCrunch · May 19, 2026
Gemini is in danger of going full Copilot
Google's AI assistant Gemini is becoming increasingly difficult to avoid, and according to The Verge's Allison Johnson, writing on May 19, 2026, it's starting to grate on users the same way Microsoft
The Verge · May 19, 2026
Why trust is a big question at the Elon Musk-OpenAI trial
Lawyers for Elon Musk and OpenAI delivered their closing arguments this week, leaving it to jurors to determine whether OpenAI acted improperly during its controversial transformation into a more prof
TechCrunch · May 17, 2026
OpenAI launches ChatGPT for personal finance, will let you connect bank accounts
OpenAI has introduced personal finance capabilities to ChatGPT, with the new tools now available in preview for Pro subscribers in the United States as of Friday. The feature allows users to link thei
TechCrunch · May 15, 2026
The OpenAI trial wraps up, and the Musk founder machine keeps spinning
The high-profile trial between Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman concluded this week, with closing arguments repeatedly centering on one critical question: whether the public can place trust in thos
TechCrunch · May 15, 2026
Runway Aims to Dethrone Google with AI Video Revolution
Runway, an AI video-generation startup based in New York, is positioning itself as a challenger to tech giants like Google and OpenAI by betting that the future of artificial intelligence lies in vide
TechCrunch · May 15, 2026
AI Startup Recursive Superintelligence Emerges from Stealth
Richard Socher, a prominent figure in artificial intelligence best known for founding the early chatbot startup You.com and his earlier work on ImageNet, has launched a new venture called Recursive Su
TechCrunch · May 14, 2026
Codex Coding Assistant Now on Mobile, Revolutionizing On-the-Go Development
OpenAI has brought its Codex coding assistant directly into the ChatGPT mobile app, letting developers keep tabs on their coding projects from anywhere. The feature, rolled out Thursday in preview mod
TechCrunch · May 14, 2026
Jury Deliberates Fate of OpenAI in High-Stakes Musk v Altman Trial
Nine California jurors began deliberations in a high-stakes case that could reshape the future of OpenAI, the world's leading artificial intelligence laboratory. The trial centers on Elon Musk's alleg
TechCrunch · May 14, 2026
Musk Considered Handing OpenAI to His Children
Sam Altman took the stand today in defense against a lawsuit filed by his former co-founder Elon Musk, who is challenging OpenAI's corporate structure. When asked about Musk's claim that OpenAI's othe
TechCrunch · May 12, 2026
Amazon Ring Chooses Vapi Over 40 Rivals, Valuation Soars to $500M
Amazon Ring selected AI voice startup Vapi over more than 40 competitors to handle its customer support calls during last year's holiday season. The deployment, which now covers 100% of Ring's inbound
TechCrunch · May 12, 2026
AI Startup Unveils 'Listening' AI That Interrupts and Responds in Real Time
Thinking Machines Lab, the AI startup launched last year by former OpenAI chief technology officer Mira Murati, has unveiled what it's calling "interaction models" — essentially, AI systems designed t
TechCrunch · May 12, 2026
Cowboy Space Secures $275M to Build Space Data Centers
Baiju Bhatt, the co-founder of Robinhood, has secured $275 million in Series B funding for Cowboy Space Corporation, pushing the company's valuation to $2 billion. The round was led by Index Ventures,
TechCrunch · May 11, 2026
xAI's Deal with Anthropic Sparks Industry Skepticism
xAI, Elon Musk's artificial intelligence venture, has reportedly struck some kind of deal with Anthropic, the AI company behind the Claude chatbot. The partnership has raised eyebrows across the tech
TechCrunch · May 10, 2026