April 15, 2026

After sale of its shoe business, Allbirds pivots to AI: Allbirds is ditching wool sneakers for AI servers, rebranding as NewBird AI after locking in a $50M convertible financing facility. Read More

HBO Max comes to India via exclusive JioHotstar deal: HBO Max will be available to JioHotstar subscribers as an add-on starting at ₹49 (about $0.50) per month, and would feature content from HBO, Max Originals, Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros. Television, and DC Studios. Read More

Spotify launches the ability to purchase physical books in the US and UK: Spotify users in the US and UK can officially purchase physical books through the Android app. iOS users will get the feature next week. Read More

Oct 13–15 at San Francisco's Moscone West, 10,000 founders, investors, and operators gather for high-signal insights, curated connections, and real momentum.

TechCrunch is heading to SusHi Tech Tokyo 2026 — Asia's largest global innovation conference. 750 startups, 49 city leaders, and top VCs converge at Tokyo Big Sight April 27–29. The SusHi Tech Challenge winner earns automatic entry into the TechCrunch Disrupt Startup Battlefield Top 200.

Snap is cutting 1,000 jobs, 16% of its workforce: The company cites advancements in AI for the cuts. Read More

Anthropic's rise is giving some OpenAI investors second thoughts: One investor who has backed both companies told the FT that justifying OpenAI's recent round required assuming an IPO valuation of $1.2 trillion or more — making Anthropic's current $380 billion valuation look like the relative bargain. Read More

Sweden blames Russian hackers for attempting 'destructive' cyberattack on thermal plant: Sweden's minister for civil defense said Russian hackers are "now attempting destructive cyber attacks against organizations in Europe." Read More

AI data center startup Fluidstack in talks for $1B round at $18B valuation months after hitting $7.5B, says report: Fundraising is reportedly flowing for Fluidstack after it secured a $50 billion deal to build data centers for Anthropic. Read More

This energy startup’s bet on 100-year-old grid tech is paying off: Ayr Energy is using a shortage of power conversion equipment to break open a decades-old market. Read More

Forget jarring alarms. The Pod by Eight Sleep’s alarm technology gradually warms your bed and uses vibrations to bring you out of sleep at the optimal moment in your cycle. Members report feeling more refreshed and alert making mornings actually feel good. Use code TECHCRUNCH for up to $350 off.

This startup is betting tokenmaxxing will create the next compute giant: Parasail raised $32 million in a Series A, signaling a fractured future of models and compute. Read More

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April 14, 2026

Google adds AI Skills to Chrome to help you save favorite workflows: Google is adding “Skills” to Chrome, letting users save and reuse AI prompts across websites. The feature builds on Gemini’s browser integration. Read More

How the rewards app Freecash scammed its way to the top of the app stores: Freecash was removed from Apple's App Store after TechCrunch reached out for comment. Read More

Someone planted backdoors in dozens of WordPress plug-ins used in thousands of websites: Dozens of WordPress plug-ins were allegedly hijacked to push malware after they were sold to a new corporate owner. Read More

Oct 13–15 at San Francisco's Moscone West, 10,000 founders, investors, and operators gather for high-signal insights, curated connections, and real momentum.

The Pod by Eight Sleep’s active cooling drops your bed temperature to as low as 55°F, triggering your body's natural sleep response and helping you get to sleep faster. Just the right temperature at the right time. Use code TECHCRUNCH for up to $350 off the Pod.

Amazon to buy Globalstar for $11.57B in bid to flesh out its satellite biz: Amazon on Tuesday agreed to buy satellite company Globalstar, known for powering Apple's "Emergency SOS" feature, for $11.57 billion in cash. Read More

Financial risk management platform Pillar raises $20M seed in round led by a16z: Pillar hopes to offer sophisticated, institutional-grade tools to small and medium-sized enterprises. "Our goal is to make hedging as accessible and ubiquitous as payments or accounting software," he said. Read More

How vibe-coding app Anything is rebuilding after getting booted from the App Store twice: Anything is planning to launch a desktop companion app to aid mobile app development after its App Store removal. Read More

Lucid Motors names new CEO, lands more money from Uber and Saudis: The search for a new CEO, which lasted over a year following the sudden resignation of Peter Rawlinson, is finally over. Read More

Tesla adds 'streaks,' other stats to track how often drivers use Full Self-Driving software: Tesla has also made it easy to subscribe to the advanced driver assistance system. Read More

StrictlyVC kicks off the series in SF on April 30. Be in the room for unfiltered fireside chats on fundraising and AI accuracy with industry leaders like Forum AI founder Campbell Brown, Replit co-founder Amjad Masad, and more. Make high-value connections that actually move the needle. Tickets are limited.

AI datacenter startup Fluidstack in talks for $1B round at $18B valuation months after hitting $7.5B, says report: Fundraising is reportedly flowing for Fluidstack after it secured a $50 billion deal to build data centers for Anthropic. Read More

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