“Forcing AI on school children: how a monopolist behaves when they think people are powerless,” wrote Kamyl Bazbaz, chief public affairs officer at DuckDuckGo. The company is actively courting schools to switch search providers after Google linked its AI features to the core search functionality for educational institutions.
Starting in January 2028, Waymo will terminate its ride-hailing partnership with Uber in Austin and Atlanta. Co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana confirmed the company will transition to operating exclusively through its proprietary smartphone application, effectively cutting ties months before the original contract was scheduled to expire in May of that year.
A24 has granted NASA’s request to screen the documentary “You Can See Everything” aboard the International Space Station. While audiences in London and Paris wait until late autumn for the film’s theatrical release, the crew currently orbiting Earth will watch the box office hit ahead of most international markets.
After two decades of aggressive global expansion, Sequoia Capital is dismantling its most iconic modern programs to return to a leaner, Bay Area-centric model. The venture firm is shuttering its London office, closing its Arc accelerator, and ending its influential Scouts program to prioritize high-conviction, early-stage focus.
The latest developer betas for iOS 27.3 and watchOS 27.3 introduce Siri Recaps, an AI-powered feature for Apple Watch Series 12 that automatically transcribes and summarizes daily audio. While the tool proves surprisingly effective at capturing fleeting logistical details, it also raises uncomfortable questions about the permanence of everyday conversation.
Google triggered a fierce political backlash on Tuesday after announcing that K-12 schools using its software must opt into AI tools to maintain access to Google Search. The policy forces institutions to choose between adopting generative AI or losing a primary educational tool, prompting accusations of monopolistic coercion.
Barcelona-based Titan OS has secured $46 million in fresh equity and debt funding, signaling an aggressive push to expand its smart TV operating system beyond Europe. Backed by BlackRock and existing investors, the startup aims to capture more market share as hardware manufacturers seek new revenue streams beyond device sales.
A secondary share sale has pushed Revolut’s valuation to $115 billion, a 53% increase from its previous mark. While the transaction brought no fresh capital into the London-based fintech, it underscores investor confidence as the company accelerates its global expansion and prepares for a potential U.S. bank launch in 2027.
The SoWa Power Station in Boston serves as the epicenter for the startup ecosystem today as the TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026 opens its doors at 9 a.m. ET. Investors, founders, and operators are converging for a full day of tactical programming focused on scaling strategies, fundraising, and artificial intelligence.
A decade of relentless expansion has hit a wall for Canva, with the design giant announcing a 22% workforce reduction affecting 1,271 employees. Co-founder Melanie Perkins cited a first-time decline in growth rates, signaling a painful structural pivot as the company struggles to balance ballooning AI costs against fierce market competition.
With 118 million monthly viewers now consuming serialized microdramas, India has emerged as a high-stakes arena for mobile-first entertainment. EloElo, the parent company of Story TV, just secured $80 million in Series C funding from NBCUniversal and Hornbill Capital, pushing its valuation to $500 million as it bets on the future of vertical video.
To combat AI impersonation and hidden model swapping, Anthropic has unveiled FlashProve, an open-source system designed to generate cryptographic signatures for artificial intelligence outputs. The project aims to provide mathematical certainty that a response originated from a specific model rather than a cheaper or unauthorized substitute.
Seven years is the current wait time to secure a 100-megawatt grid connection in Northern Virginia, forcing AI infrastructure developers to seek radical alternatives. To bypass these bottlenecks, tech firms are increasingly deploying retired aircraft engines, rebuilt to burn natural gas, as temporary, high-speed power sources for their massive data centers.
With artificial intelligence accelerating the scale and frequency of cyberattacks, San Francisco-based Ballistic Ventures is looking to raise $490 million across two new funds. Regulatory filings reveal the firm, led by industry veteran Ted Schlein, seeks $360 million for its third flagship vehicle and $130 million for a separate fund.
A half-meter beam, extruded from resin and cured by ultraviolet light, now floats in orbit as a proof of concept for in-space manufacturing. The German startup Orbital Matter achieved this milestone aboard its Replicator-2 satellite, marking a shift toward building massive spacecraft structures directly in the vacuum of space.
Palantir’s third-quarter earnings report shattered expectations with revenue hitting $2.31 billion, yet the company’s stock stumbled on Tuesday. While the firm celebrated its first-ever quarter where commercial contracts outpaced government deals, investors honed in on a cooling trend in total contract value that signals potential friction ahead.
A single fake job interview served as the gateway for North Korean hackers to infiltrate Binance, resulting in the largest cryptocurrency theft in history. By posing as recruiters, the attackers bypassed security protocols to compromise internal systems, ultimately draining $6.3 billion from the world’s largest crypto exchange.
San Francisco-based Fal has secured $1.3 billion in a new funding round led by Bessemer Venture Partners, catapulting the startup to a $16 billion valuation. This surge reflects an aggressive expansion in the market for AI inference, as the company doubles its worth in just seven months.
Ten years after Hillary Clinton urged voters to engage with the viral mobile game, the phrase remains a permanent fixture of American election culture. It persists not as a political strategy, but as a shared artifact of millennial cringe, marking a turning point where digital memes and national politics collided.
Facing a cooling outlook on search traffic and stagnant user numbers, Reddit is launching an experimental ad program within its search results. The platform aims to capitalize on high-intent queries, such as product research, to bolster revenue streams as AI-powered search engines increasingly retain users on their own pages.
A starting price of $615,000 and a polarizing design from former Apple chief Jony Ive have not deterred buyers from Ferrari’s first electric vehicle. CEO Benedetto Vigna confirmed Tuesday that the entire 2027 production run for the Luce is fully allocated, with new customers facing at least a one-year wait.
Struggling to navigate an expanding library, Netflix is introducing an AI Discover tab designed to replace endless scrolling with mood-based curation. The experimental feature, currently rolling out to English-language users in the U.S., utilizes a new intelligence layer that adapts to viewer preferences in real-time.
CrowdStrike is spending nearly half a billion dollars to acquire Fiddler AI and Dreadnode, two startups focused on securing enterprise AI agents. As companies scramble to deploy automated models, the cybersecurity giant is moving to consolidate control over the testing and monitoring of these powerful, often unpredictable digital tools.
Anthropic’s path to an IPO faces a complex financial hurdle as compute expenses consume an increasing share of its revenue. Despite reporting $17 billion in quarterly earnings, the company’s reliance on expensive, short-term infrastructure deals has caused profit margins to compress, highlighting the volatile economics of scaling AI.
A quiet exit from an East African electric two-wheeler project marks a strategic pivot for Also, the micromobility startup spun out of Rivian in 2025. Facing supply chain bottlenecks and shifting internal priorities, the company has abandoned its Kenyan pilot to concentrate resources on autonomous delivery vehicles and consumer e-bikes.
Starting next year, Google will disable its suite of AI tools for K-12 students by default, requiring administrators to manually opt-in. However, the company has confirmed that schools choosing to restrict these artificial intelligence features will lose access to Google Search entirely, as the two technologies are now inseparable.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is pushing to curb the surveillance practices of Madison Square Garden owner James Dolan, labeling the company's heavy reliance on facial recognition as a symptom of broader national dysfunction. The move aligns with new legislative efforts to ban biometric data collection in public spaces.
Apple is tightening App Store requirements, forcing developers to label dating services and AI companion apps with an 18+ age rating. The policy, effective November 16, aims to curb access to romantic or sexualized content for minors, reflecting a broader strategy to shield younger users from digital risks.
The TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026 descends upon Boston’s SoWa Power Station on November 4, offering a day designed to move beyond passive observation. By blending tactical workshops, live pitch critiques, and structured networking, the event prioritizes the practical exchanges that occur long after the microphones are turned off.
The SoWa Power Station transforms into a hub for startup scaling tomorrow as the TechCrunch Founder Summit, presented by Fidelity Private Shares, convenes founders and investors. Attendees have until 9 a.m. ET to secure discounted passes before standard pricing takes effect at the door.
