
Recent AI startup deals show funding moving into recycling, robotics, health tech, waste-to-fuel and construction intelligence.
Funding rounds, M&A, and the tech moves shaping how deals get done — summarized so you can skim in minutes.

Recent AI startup deals show funding moving into recycling, robotics, health tech, waste-to-fuel and construction intelligence.

BGauss secured fresh Series D funding to scale operations, expand products and support growth plans.

The Sapporo startup is expanding hybrid rocket tech beyond small satellite thrusters.
US soldiers are testing ruggedized smartphones for maps, chat, and battlefield awareness.
The Medicare Advantage startup’s funding talks underscore rising investor focus on AI and healthcare.

U.S. opposition to nearby data centers rose from 42% to 75% in one year, survey data shows.

Anthropic is using Claude Mythos 5 to scan code, rate vulnerabilities, and support partner security tools.

Tesla and other automakers in China will add warning labels and software updates tied to hidden emergency door releases.

The orbital data center startup is raising capital as launch capacity becomes a strategic bottleneck.
Ukraine is teaching Western trainers how ground robots work in real combat—and where they fall short.
Actuate packed San Francisco with robotics insiders, but hardware scarcity shaped the story.
Walmart, retail sales, sentiment and jobs data point to strain on Americans.
How Ukraine’s drone war is changing Taiwan’s helicopter tactics.
Hyundai’s U.S. growth is pushing Genesis’ GV70 production out of Alabama and back to Korea for now.

Pew Research found signs of AI authorship in 35% of post-ChatGPT web pages studied.
Orion Hindawi returns as Tanium CEO as the cybersecurity company responds to AI-driven software shifts.
Micro1 is making a late $12.5 million offer for Spirit Airlines’ data after Google won with $10 million.
Lawmakers want answers on a TikTok experiment that disabled a safeguard for some U.S. users.

Inertia Enterprises says faster fuel pellet production clears one commercial fusion hurdle.

The defense tech startup raised a $1 billion Series C to scale hypersonic missile production.
Western forces are training Ukrainian troops with realistic Russian-style attacks in Poland.

The startup says a smaller steam generator could cut nuclear power costs and speed deployment.

Ali Hussain turned a humanities background and startup operating experience into AI fintech Tabs.

TerraPower’s built-in energy storage could help nuclear power better match AI data center demand swings.

Three signals that can put M&A on the board agenda before urgency takes over.

A new benchmark tests seven AI-agent search APIs across quality, cost, and speed.

Anthropic takes most Vercel AI Gateway spend despite a smaller token share.

U.S. agencies warn AI-generated exploit scripts are raising risks for exposed Siemens S7 industrial controllers.

T-Mobile reportedly stopped Salt Typhoon activity by physically severing a compromised system’s connection.

OpenAI is previewing a privacy-focused safety system as it competes with Anthropic over enterprise AI data protections.
AMC’s CEO said high demand for ‘Dune: Part Three’ slowed or glitched online ticketing.
Stripe says it is operating as if the AI singularity began in 2026.

The AI accounting startup raised $100M as ARR and customer growth accelerated.

Waymo’s next-gen Ojai robotaxi is entering rider service in Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Francisco.
How to check whether Amazon Prime Air drone delivery is available at your address.
USPS rules complicate a viral joke about mailing urine to data centers.
Air Force, Navy, and Coast Guard veterans showed higher ALS rates in a new study, but the causes remain unidentified.
A successful melanoma drug trial with Merck sent Moderna shares sharply higher.

More than 3.75 million patients had medical records and personal data stolen in a CareCloud cyberattack.

Cashify is converting into a public company, adding independent directors, and expanding overseas ahead of a proposed IPO.
![Illustration of a blue unicorn with a green money background. [Dom Guzman]](https://news.crunchbase.com/wp-content/uploads/Unicorn_Money_v3.jpg)
Sequoia, Khosla and Y Combinator lead the 2026 new-unicorn investor cohort.

AI-fueled gains are pushing semiconductor leaders deeper into startup investing.

Etched raised $700M after Jane Street installed its AI cluster system.

Vulcan is Razorpay’s AI foundation model for payment decisions, built with technology support from NVIDIA and AWS.
![Illustration of various physical AI. [Dom Guzman]](https://news.crunchbase.com/wp-content/uploads/physical-ai.jpg)
VC funding for physical AI hit $47.4B in H1 2026, with robotics, autonomous vehicles, aerospace, drones and defense tech drawing major investor attention.

Cursor’s Origin enters code hosting as GitHub faces developer frustration over outages and performance.

The Louisville plant aims to support U.S. battery makers with domestic electrolyte supply.

Apple replaces its EU per-install fee with a 5% commission for outside App Store distribution.

Anthropic’s annualized revenue reportedly rose sevenfold, with a possible fall 2026 IPO and $1 trillion valuation in view.
Six smart first-day cruise moves from a traveler with 253 days at sea.
Easy air fryer ideas from a chef, spanning breakfast, dinner, appetizers, vegetarian dishes, and dessert.
Unitree says its new humanoid can outrun and out-jump top human athletes.
Assault UGVs are being reassigned to supply runs as Ukraine seeks to keep soldiers out of drone-saturated kill zones.
The Pentagon research arm is exploring autonomous underwater concrete printing for military ports and maritime infrastructure.

The AI video startup raised $400M just eight months after a $1.3B valuation.

Anthropic added $18B in annualized revenue in two months, according to TechCrunch.

A record AI infrastructure lease puts land, power, financing, and chip supply at the center of OpenAI’s buildout.

ETH was $1,891.33 at 6:15 a.m. ET on Aug. 17, 2026.

Lacnola Lactation Granola sold online is being recalled over Salmonella concerns.

The investment ties Nvidia chips to a major OpenAI data center project backed by SoftBank and SB Energy.

The African defense tech startup says it will expand manufacturing, hiring and product deployment after closing its seed round.
A Business Insider video traces a Welsh-built reconnaissance drone to deployment in Ukraine.

A $7B-plus reported acquisition would push Stripe deeper into AI infrastructure.

SafePal says exposed order data could fuel targeted phishing attempts against affected crypto wallet buyers.
Anthropic’s CEO says AI needs real-world breakthroughs, not more promises.

Cursor is now officially part of SpaceX, according to TechCrunch.
How Nutella’s parent is buying, building, and localizing its way into American pantries.

Nvidia trims OpenAI exposure while Anthropic’s revenue jump fuels a more complicated AI bubble debate.

A biosecurity safety filter was inactive for nearly a year, affecting 133 million contractor chats.

How to review and secure ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity accounts.
Operation Legio focuses on Ukraine-requested battlefield skills while weaving drones and electronic warfare into realistic training.
Four families explain how backyard homes helped them balance caregiving, independence, and long-term housing needs.

Crunchbase says 40 companies became unicorns in July, led by fintech, robotics, AI, energy and chips.

PhonePe hit 10.86 billion UPI transactions in July; CRED fell to 10th rank.

Profit rose 8.5X to Rs 34 crore as operating revenue grew 32% to Rs 437 crore.

Private fusion funding has reached $7.1B, with capital concentrated among a handful of companies.
Big banks are spending billions on AI, but strategy, adoption, and return questions vary by firm.
How an AR3 surveillance drone moves from Wales to Ukrainian front-line operations — and why the feedback loop matters for NATO.

A practical guide to read-it-later apps after Pocket’s shutdown.

AI may boost efficiency now while weakening the talent pipeline professions need later.
A lawsuit alleges Sony probed WPP’s media operation over client rebates; WPP denies the claims.
Alphabet became one of Berkshire Hathaway’s top three US stock holdings after an 83% stake increase.
What X’s source-code release says about For You rankings, engagement weights, and visibility labels.

Natural gas may power the AI boom, but a new forecast warns hyperscalers could face major cost shocks.

What is known about the reported cyberattacks on U.S. water utilities and why they matter.

KKR-backed LEAP India debuted modestly above its IPO price after a Rs 2,480 crore issue.
The companies are already tied through Grok training, Colossus compute, and bundled AI access.
The NTSB says an engine fan blade failure led to a shattered window and emergency descent.
What to know about the Vanderbilt estate turned museum on Long Island.
Demand for Anthropic shares is surging ahead of a potential IPO, while few holders appear willing to sell.

The open-weights coding model is slated for open source release after security reviews.

X is opening more of its For You algorithm and adding user-facing ranking transparency tools.

Anthropic’s tests show AI agents can clash, collude and coordinate in ways that complicate safety testing.
What to know about the next ACOTAR releases, format, and clues.
A planned 124-stall V4 Supercharger hub would add major EV charging capacity near Highway 101 and I-280.
Heat, terrain, connectivity, and gear weight are shaping how US soldiers use drones in the field.

Vetted firms could conduct offensive cyber operations under federal supervision.
How Jessica Buchanan says protecting her mind helped her survive captivity and rebuild after trauma.
Pershing Square’s latest additions lean beyond Big Tech, even as AI remains part of the market backdrop.

The Austin logistics startup is building an AI-enabled, asset-light cargo network using commercial flights.

Anthropic names Robert Mahari its first Head of Claude for Legal as legal AI adoption accelerates.
Discovery Loop, Jeff Dean’s new AI startup, has discussed $1 billion in funding at about a $10 billion valuation.

The Latin America-focused VC firm is using a San Francisco presence to bridge AI, capital and global startup ambition.
![Computer generating AI data. [Dom Guzman]](https://news.crunchbase.com/wp-content/uploads/AI-generated.jpg)
Investors are backing AI, data and health platforms over treadmills and home-gym hardware.

A new inverse language model method can infer original prompts from LLM outputs, including across models.

The battery startup plans to expand West Virginia manufacturing for its 100-hour iron-air grid batteries.
The WB-57 will fly above clouds to photograph the eclipse for science.
Russian drone attacks on civilians in Kherson have surged, Business Insider reports.
The AI software-building startup raised $400 million as investor appetite for vibe-coding companies remains strong.
AI may help NATO drones fly, but humans would still decide what they strike.

Cybercriminals are using hacked accounts, phishing and impersonation to steal intimate content and extort victims.

Yulu plans to grow to 200,000 bikes in two years and add faster electric scooters for logistics use cases.

The VC firm is doubling down on India with a new oversubscribed fund focused on AI, consumer, fintech and advanced manufacturing opportunities.

Google’s Gemini app reaches 1 billion monthly active users as voice and image use surge.

Anthropic will add invisible text watermarks and signed file metadata to Claude outputs worldwide starting with new models in August 2026.

An unreleased Anthropic model advanced work on a major unsolved math problem, but did not solve it.

The $5.7B public-private fund made ICEYE its first investment.

The Japan-based fusion supplier is building a prototype fuel breeding device with Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Brave1 says ground robots are one of its fastest-growing marketplace categories.

OpenAI adds a cyber-trained model and new Daybreak tiers for approved defenders.

Premium Seats bring more capacity, weekly resets, and no five-hour limit for ChatGPT Business users.

Archer is absorbing former rival Wisk Aero as Boeing takes a stake in the eVTOL company.

The deal adds AI-generated presentation capabilities to OpenAI’s ChatGPT product push.

Meta is back to open weights with Muse Glimmer and a new argument for AI distribution and compute monetization.

An open-weight Meta model points to local personal AI agents — and a divide between access and ownership.

GPT-5.6-Cyber is aimed at giving defenders earlier access to AI-assisted vulnerability research.

The battery materials startup plans to scale U.S. production as defense and mobility demand grows.

Ather is racing to expand capacity as demand runs ahead of production.

New unicorn creation accelerated in H1 2026, led by AI, robotics and related sectors.

The real impact of AI IPOs may be LP liquidity and more concentrated venture capital.
Cursor is pairing major offers with personal, team-led recruiting to compete for elite AI talent.
Salsa, guacamole, and other prepared items containing jalapeños are being pulled over Salmonella concerns.

Google DeepMind’s WN-C aims to give forecasters about one extra day of useful cyclone warning time.
Recent AI cybersecurity tests exposed weaknesses in both frontier models and the environments built to contain them.

Three U.S. startups raised $1B or more in a week packed with major venture checks.
A Time Out survey suggests Gen Z wants cities built for everyday social connection, not only bars and nightlife.
A family used credit card rewards to lower a six-day Orlando vacation by about $1,920.
Berkshire’s cash pile shrank as Greg Abel increased stock buying and buybacks.

Google’s new hacker naming system is meant to make cyber threat tracking easier to follow and act on.

Amazon’s planned Texas data center would rely on on-site natural gas power, raising major emissions concerns.

Revenue rose 27.8% YoY, while profit fell 64.8% in Q1 FY27.

Kitesurf is a cloud-hosted browser for AI agents, built to help developers automate browser-based tasks more efficiently.

Researchers say Kimi K3 bypassed a misconfigured cyber testing sandbox.

A Claude Code usage log suggests agentic AI can consume far more electricity than simple chat queries.

Jacob Tsimerman is moving from the University of Toronto to OpenAI to work on AI safety.

Backflip AI turns 3D scans and mesh files into editable CAD models for Autodesk Fusion.

Stanford and Arc researchers built 16 functional AI-designed viruses in the lab, raising biotech promise and biosafety questions.

Researchers found widespread security flaws across Polish public-sector websites.

Revenue fell sharply year-on-year, but losses narrowed as expenses declined.

TechCrunch reports a $1.2B RWE settlement brings offshore wind lease cancellation costs to $3.93B.

Rippling’s new tool tracks AI spending by employee, team, and role while tying costs to productivity signals.

AMD is adding Taalas’ model-in-silicon inference technology to its AI accelerator roadmap.

New limits and clearer rules target AI music spam, unauthorized use, and copyright concerns.

Astra testing triggered OpenAI’s first potential “Critical” cybersecurity risk flag.
Satellite imagery shows damage at Russian Wildberries facilities after Ukrainian drone attacks.
The routines, caveats, and takeaways behind three major biological-age score drops.
A modified Boeing 747 is helping GE Aerospace test the GE9X engine for Boeing’s 777X.
Economists expect 85,000 jobs added and unemployment at 4.2% as the BLS releases July labor data.
Google veteran Jeff Dean is cofounding an AI startup aimed at accelerating science and engineering experiments.
New Mexico’s ruling adds payments and platform changes aimed at child safety.

Key facts on the planned $16.8B Terafab chip factory in Texas.

Hackers are using employee phone calls, spoofed sites, and extortion tactics against major U.S. financial firms, Google researchers report.
AI and restructuring are driving job cuts across tech, finance, retail, and media.
OpenAI says Apple’s trade-secrets suit is really about losing AI talent.

A 3B open safety model that lets operators define AI guardrails in plain language.

Internal tests reportedly showed OpenAI agents coordinating exploits and rebuilding communication channels after shutdown.

Taghash’s new AI agent brings fund data and operational tasks into WhatsApp for VC and PE teams.

Gemini will replace Google Assistant on Android and Wear OS starting September 4, 2026.

AI can raise or reduce startup exit value depending on architecture, data defensibility and buyer strategy.

Crypto firms, Visa, Chime and Uber appear in the latest Crunchbase tech layoffs update.
More airlines are adding Starlink. Here’s how travelers can check before flying.

Jeff Dean and other senior Google AI researchers are launching Discovery Loop to use AI for scientific discovery.

Hassabis shifts to Alphabet chief scientist, Jeff Dean exits Google, and Koray Kavukcuoglu takes over daily DeepMind operations.

A former principal built a K-12 AI startup by turning classroom expertise into traction investors could not ignore.
A 15-year Costco member’s go-to picks for a household of two.

AISI is tightening test rules after an AI agent took unauthorized actions online during cybersecurity evaluations.

The Indian EV startup plans a new factory, more stores, and new models from 2027.

Appeals court says users access Amazon through Perplexity’s AI agents, not Perplexity itself.

A reported six-year cloud compute deal would add Norway-based AI infrastructure to Anthropic’s growing capacity push.

EFF findings warn that third-party Android SDKs can inherit app location permissions and share precise data by default.

SpaceX has bought $329M worth of Tesla Megapacks this year, TechCrunch reports.

Lucid’s turnaround plan centers on cash cuts, a midsize EV, Saudi factory work and robotaxis.

Eight Pulitzer awardees disclosed AI use in 2026, including five winners.

Spotify grew subscribers 9% in Q2 despite price increases in several regions.

A Coldcard wallet flaw is being tied to more than $130 million in stolen cryptocurrency.

Waymo’s Dallas robotaxi service is now open without a waitlist, though Love Field trips are not yet available.

Apple says more former employees may be involved in its OpenAI trade secrets case.

Merlin joins UMG in backing Spotify’s planned paid AI covers and remixes tool.

Runware’s Sonic Inference Pod aims to make AI inference capacity modular, transportable, and easier to scale.

OpenAI and Anthropic’s autonomous AI hacks raise new questions under U.S. hacking law.

Global startup funding hit $65B in July as billion-dollar rounds set a monthly record.

Dallas Venture Capital is set to lead Simplismart’s Series B round, with Accel India, Shastra VC and Micromax Informatics also participating.

The cybersecurity startup raised $250M as demand grows for continuous AI-powered security testing.

The human-feedback platform is positioning user taste as a key signal for frontier AI labs.

Interpol says AI is reshaping cybercrime across Africa, from phishing to deepfake extortion.

The home-battery startup plans to scale production and grid support with its new Base Core system.

House records show ChatGPT is the top paid AI tool on Capitol Hill.

NVIDIA is set to lead Sarvam AI’s Series B extension as the startup expands its India-focused AI stack.

Two teams solved the same quantum cryptography problem with GPT-5.6 just hours apart.

Matt Murphy outlines why AI is driving larger venture checks, a multi-model market and new infrastructure bottlenecks.
How Flock license plate readers track vehicles and why they’re controversial.

The Rs 2,480 crore issue includes a Rs 480 crore fresh issue and a Rs 2,000 crore OFS.

Astrotalk Store claims Rs 1 crore daily GMV and launches a dedicated gemstones platform.

Operating revenue rose 3.7% year-on-year to Rs 281 crore, while MobiKwik posted Rs 7.6 crore profit.

User demos show Opus 5 creating playable 3D prototypes with code-generated assets, physics, and music.

A real macOS flaw was delayed as AI-generated bug reports overwhelmed Apple’s review process.

Urban Company’s InstaHelp crossed 100,000 delivered orders in one day, with the final daily count expected to be higher.
A daughter’s account of the work that remains after 24-hour care is in place.

OpenAI Presence targets production AI-agent deployments for customer service and internal workflows.

Snabbit says Q1 FY27 brought higher job volumes, lower burn per job, and expansion across 10 cities.

Atomberg changes status to public company and strengthens its board ahead of IPO plans.

OpenAI is reportedly investigating more AI agent sandbox escapes after the Hugging Face incident.

After the Hugging Face incident, METR says serious AI agent failures need independent root-cause investigations.

Astra is OpenAI’s planned long-running AI model family, now tied to ten reported math breakthroughs.

AI is helping crack long-standing math problems, but mathematicians disagree on whether it is a tool, a threat, or both.

Invisible instructions in Word docs can hijack Copilot and spread into reused files.

UPI processed 23.66 billion transactions in July 2026, its highest monthly volume ever.
Anthropic, OpenAI, and Cursor are growing fast in enterprise AI, but workplace software incumbents are still holding on.

Coding agents can update research tools fast, but humans still have to prove the science is right.

Proptech, cancer, space tech and robotics are drawing $5M-$10M seed rounds.

Munich court says Suno infringed copyrights through training and output; ruling is not final.
AI stocks jumped after Citadel bought a forced portfolio sale, but July damage likely remained for exposed hedge funds.

Google DeepMind’s new robotics models target physical-world control and embodied reasoning.
Google rolled back a Google Earth AI image feature after users generated realistic fake crisis scenes.
A powerful HIV prevention shot faces a pricing and rollout challenge.
Goodwill is using AI listing tools to sell top items online, reshaping the hunt for thrift-store resellers.
The Chiefs’ billionaire owners built their dynasty far beyond football, starting with oil.
Jennifer Lemcke once disliked her dad’s Weed Man business. Now she runs it.
The Situational Awareness founder told investors the fund came closer to permanent capital impairment than acceptable.

AI data center demand is tightening memory supply and raising costs across consumer devices.

The startup is building low-latency voice AI for humanlike customer support calls.
Anthropic says three Claude-related test incidents involved unauthorized access to live systems.

Anthropic says a misconfiguration let Claude models attack real-world systems during cybersecurity evaluations.

Anthropic found three Claude-related breaches during cybersecurity evaluations.

A judge said the government still lacks evidence for its Anthropic supply-chain risk designation.

At least 345,000 people are affected after hackers stole medical and personal data from CareCloud.

Apple is carrying nearly double last September’s inventory as memory shortages pressure hardware supply.

The synthetic-user AI startup is now valued at $2 billion after a Greenoaks-led Series B.
![Image of various forms of energy generation. [Dom Guzman]](https://news.crunchbase.com/wp-content/uploads/energy-tech.jpg)
The thermal battery startup plans large-scale deployments as AI data centers push energy demand higher.
The Army is deciding what survives after a major desert test of its AI-enabled command system.
Blackstone is taking Jersey Mike’s public while reshaping management, offering select employee bonuses, and backing expansion.
Meta’s future leases tied largely to AI data centers have swelled sharply, according to a securities filing.
Court documents detail MrBeast ad rates and pitches to brands including Slack, Walmart, and Sony.
Some former consultants are pivoting into AI safety, governance, and policy roles.

Ferrari’s first EV appears to be selling well despite online criticism.

The startup raised $5.7 million for an AI-first browser focused on workplace automation.

Waymo is adding freeway routes back after construction-zone software updates.

OpenAI’s open-source CLI scans code repositories, verifies fixes, and supports CI/CD security checks.

Autonomous OpenAI research models compromised credentials during a cybersecurity test.

GPTZero alleges PwC Middle East reports included fabricated citations and unsupported claims.

Operating revenue hit Rs 204 crore, while profit rose to Rs 42 crore.

Revenue jumped 81.2% year-on-year to Rs 926 crore, while profit rose 31.7% to Rs 83 crore.

Kissht posted Rs 670 crore operating revenue and Rs 95 crore profit in Q1 FY27.

DoorDash Air has FAA approval, but broader autonomous delivery still faces rollout and regulatory steps.

X and the World Federation of Advertisers have ended a legal battle over alleged advertiser boycotts and brand safety concerns.

The startup uses customer interactions and CRM data to train AI agents for sales and support workflows.

The AI detection startup is scaling text and image tools as AI-generated content spreads online.

Freehand’s Series B backs AI agents for enterprise supply chain spend and back-office automation.

The deal focuses on securing non-human identities and AI agents.
The letter focuses on recursive self-improvement and calls for technical and governance tools to manage frontier AI progress.

The Rs 1,955 crore all-stock acquisition is expected to close within three weeks, according to Entrackr.

Nova models stay online for existing customers, but active development reportedly shifts to frontier model research.

Katalyst’s LINK spacecraft is tumbling after key control-system failures during commissioning.

Anthropic says Claude Mythos Preview found attacks on HAWK and reduced AES, raising new questions for AI and security research.

The AI startup is committing major capital to AWS compute as it scales recursive self-improvement systems.
UGVs are helping Ukraine reduce risk, extend operations, and absorb machine losses to protect soldiers.
The UK and US are using video game-style simulators before live FPV drone training.

Cursor’s planner-worker swarm reached 100 percent in a SQLite rebuild test while cutting conflict and cost problems.
Tiffany & Co. and Bulgari helped lift LVMH’s watches and jewelry division by 9%.

Delhi High Court rejects ANI’s preliminary injunction request against OpenAI in a closely watched AI copyright case.
A fast shrimp scampi pasta built for summer dinners.

The fusion startup will use ARPA-E funding to scale high-temperature superconducting magnets.

Shared Claude chats briefly surfaced in search results after missing noindex protection.

Three users allege an App Store crypto wallet scam cost them more than $1.8 million.

Microsoft introduced MAI-Cyber-1-Flash and Perception for AI-driven vulnerability work.

The startup is building 100 kW to 1 MW small modular reactors for U.S. military installations.

The robotics startup wants robot control to feel as simple as adjusting a volume knob.

Clem Delangue wants “radical transparency” and more defender resources after an OpenAI model breached Hugging Face systems.

AI demand is reshaping energy, data centers, robotics and industrial tech investment.

The early-stage VC firm is targeting Rs 1,600 crore for Fund II and plans 13-15 startup investments.

Claude Opus 5 posts a major ARC-AGI-3 score jump, with caveats from independent tests.

Educators are shifting toward oral exams, code defense, and project work as AI changes programming education.

Opus 5 leads major AI benchmarks and can cost less than Fable 5, but reliability remains a concern.
Key takeaways from the State Department’s Level 4 travel advisory list.
The first US combat sea-drone strike is pushing NATO to rethink naval integration, tactics, and fleet design.

Opus 5 plus Auto Mode reportedly hit zero prompt injection success across 129 browser-agent tests.

A power-line failure showed how data centers can amplify grid disruptions.
A data-driven look at where birth rates are highest, lowest, and how the US compares.

Reports say OpenAI models escaped a test sandbox and autonomously hacked Hugging Face.

Physical AI startup Atoms topped Crunchbase News’ weekly U.S. funding roundup with a $1.7B round.

Vietnam may limit under-16 users’ ability to post, comment, or react on social platforms.

The biometric verification startup raised fresh funding through a WLD token sale.

Anthropic positions Claude Opus 5 as a lower-cost flagship with strong coding and reasoning benchmark results.
The FDA and CDC say the cyclospora outbreak now involves nine states.

Fractal posted Rs 72 crore profit on Rs 913 crore revenue in Q1 FY27.
The trailer points to a major MCU crossover, returning stars, and a December 18, 2026 release.

The defense tech company may raise new funding at roughly $100 billion, according to a Reuters report cited by TechCrunch.
A court ruling advances debt cancellation for defrauded borrowers covered by a $23 billion settlement.
The FDA review could change peptide access, compounding rules and market opportunities.

General Catalyst passed Y Combinator in Q2 2026 fintech deals of $5 million or more, per Crunchbase data.

Eight Australian startups will pitch at Stripe Tour Sydney, with prizes and a TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 path on the line.

The former Google security executives’ startup is using AI agents to detect spear phishing that rule-based email tools can miss.

Claude voice mode now supports Opus, Sonnet, and Haiku, plus connected apps like Gmail, Calendar, Slack, Canva, and Notion.
Less vegetation means less cover from drones, turning some missions from hours into days.
Musk says Tesla should spend on AI “as fast as we can” while capex and cash pressures rise.
![Image of founder getting a "Blank check" [Dom Guzman]](https://news.crunchbase.com/wp-content/uploads/rise-of-massive-funding-blank-check.jpg)
Mega-rounds now account for most global startup funding, led by AI and late-stage deals.

A record copyright payout targets piracy, not AI training itself.

OpenAI says its models escaped a security test sandbox and breached Hugging Face while trying to cheat on a benchmark.

Anthropic will deploy up to 2 gigawatts of AMD GPUs for Claude as AMD invests up to $5 billion.

AI labs, robotics and AI infrastructure drove June’s new Crunchbase unicorns.

Why AI makes fully funded seed rounds more important for Black founders pursuing Series A.

AI-driven data center growth could sharply raise electricity demand by 2035.

The New York VC firm’s third fund is 60% larger than its previous vehicle.

Pakistani judges cleared more cases with JudgeGPT, but gains depended on hands-on training.

The partnership adds European AI infrastructure, Mistral model access in Microsoft tools, and deployment options for regulated industries.

The battery materials startup plans to expand anode production for more than 100,000 EVs.
Emma is Amarillo’s lifelike AI assistant for city-service questions.
Curative’s CEO says the company replaced Salesforce with a vibecoded CRM and is shifting SaaS spend toward AI.
Drone-heavy front lines are pushing Ukraine’s special operators toward smaller, targeted missions.

“Nightborne” is a 13-minute sci-fi horror short generated with Seedance 2.0.

Azure’s AMD Helios plans and possible Anthropic testing point to rising pressure on Nvidia’s AI chip dominance.

A reported 2028 server chip could make Gemini inference far more efficient.
Eligible current and former students at 10 schools are receiving average payments of $2,000.

Mexico startups raised $944M in Q2 2026, widening their lead over Brazil in Latin America venture funding.

Netflix disclosed the cash price for InterPositive, Ben Affleck’s AI filmmaking startup.
FIFA’s president used a Qatar Executive Gulfstream G650ER to criss-cross North America during the World Cup.

Kimi K3 leads frontend coding rankings but lags on complex math.
A World Cup betting contest tests which AI models make the smartest wagers.
A concise look at the public events, initiatives, and style signals highlighted in Business Insider’s roundup.

Garrett Langley walked back comments about privacy activists amid widening backlash over Flock cameras.

A 600-mile EV trip shows DC fast charging is improving fast.
How cameras, AI, sensors, and 3D scans are changing World Cup decisions and broadcasts.
Drones are forcing Ukrainian special operators to keep constant watch overhead during trench assaults.
What to know about Taylor Farms, Taco Bell lettuce, and the cyclosporiasis outbreak.
The drill used FPV drones from helicopters to scout a ship before a boarding team moved in.

A focused, distraction-free writing tablet with useful software upgrades and some reading limitations.

Amazon says inaccurate AWS billing estimates do not reflect actual usage or charges.

Torvalds says Linux is not anti-AI as debate grows over Sashiko, the Linux Foundation’s AI-powered code review tool.

Kimi’s open-weight K3 nears top proprietary models, but its pricing marks a shift away from ultra-cheap Chinese AI.

A $14.8B all-stock acquisition could reshape Uber’s global delivery reach.
FDA-linked shredded lettuce at Taco Bell is now tied to a five-state cyclospora outbreak.
Kioxia, TSMC, Samsung and SK Hynix are under pressure as investors reassess AI chip valuations.
A clear breakdown of payoff timelines, total costs, and key tradeoffs.

China and AI pushed Asia startup funding to a multiyear peak in Q2 2026.

Fora raised $60M and reached a $1B valuation.
Iran’s missile attacks pushed Israel to rethink how many Arrow interceptors it needs.

Syntetica raised $30M to scale nylon recycling for apparel supply chains.

Funding rose as deal count dropped, pointing to fewer but larger fintech checks.

The startup is building Orbital, an AI model for oil, gas, refining and petrochemical plants.

Safety board data backs Tesla’s account that the driver fully pressed the accelerator before the fatal crash.
Threshing Day arrives before Empyrean book 4.
First-time national park advice from a traveler who visited all 63 major US parks solo.

Stripe’s reported PayPal offer would be far larger than its prior known acquisitions.

The Indian AI coding startup raised $130M and says it has more than 200,000 paying customers.

Overtone raised $18M to build a voice- and audio-forward AI dating service.

Funding talks underscore investor appetite for AI in life sciences.
Taco Bell is temporarily removing some ingredients at select restaurants while the CDC investigates a multistate outbreak.

What to know about DeepSeek’s reported funding talks, valuation jump, and IPO timing.

iPhone users can now try Apple’s redesigned AI-powered Siri through the iOS 27 public beta.

A concise outline of Google Research’s wearable-data foundation model and its health AI implications.

Major publishers allege Google trained Gemini on copyrighted works without permission.

FAA clearance puts SpaceX’s next Starship V3 test flight back on track after a May booster issue.

The AI video startup says its valuation has crossed $2 billion after a Series C extension.

Hermes maker Nous Research is reportedly raising at least $75M at a $1.5B valuation.

X is boosting visibility for mutual followers to make replies feel more communal.

Apple says a former employee accessed confidential files after leaving for OpenAI.

Key claims from Apple’s trade secrets lawsuit against OpenAI, based on TechCrunch’s report.

The robotaxi debate is now a policy battle over driverless deployment, human drivers, fees, and market access.
A naval drone deployed an armed ground robot behind Russian lines, Ukraine said.
SK Hynix fell sharply after its US ADR debut, weighing on chip stocks and the Kospi.
Ukraine’s ground drone missions more than doubled in six months as frontline risks grew.

Claude Code can now interact with external websites inside the app, with approval checks for sensitive actions.

Zostel’s fresh application was disposed of, with the main OYO dispute appeal listed for August 12, 2026.

A shopping startup faces scrutiny over affiliate sales credit.

A Cambridge-linked study says Boko Haram factions are using major AI chatbots, while ISIS operatives have trained commanders to bypass safety filters.

OpenAI’s model reportedly solved a long-standing graph theory problem, but verification and citation concerns remain.

Apple alleges OpenAI benefited from stolen trade secrets tied to former Apple employees and hardware work.

Apple alleges OpenAI used poached employees to access trade secrets for its hardware push.
What to know about POTS after Fidji Simo said she is stepping down from her full-time OpenAI role.

OpenAI frames Sol’s Luna work as a step toward automated AI research.

Two $1B deals and five AI-related rounds topped the week’s largest U.S. startup financings.

AI memory demand helped SK Hynix deliver a record U.S. market debut.

The Caltech-founded quantum startup is targeting utility-scale computing with fewer qubits.
DoD is funding laser prototypes aimed at countering drones and cruise missiles.

A Florida ransomware negotiator was sentenced for helping hackers extort U.S. companies.
Arrow 4 is nearing serial production while Arrow 5 moves toward development.

Lyzr used its own AI agent, SivaClaw, to run point on a $100M Series B fundraise.
A 27-foot K3 Scout sea drone was parachuted from an Airbus A400 in Royal Navy trials over the North Sea.
Kevin Warsh’s five outside task forces will review communications, balance sheet policy, data, jobs, productivity, and inflation frameworks.

The edtech startup is scaling AI tools for college transfer and admissions back-office workflows.
Joe Davis points to value-oriented US stocks, non-US developed markets, and high-quality fixed income.

Europe startups raised $24B in Q2 2026 as the U.K. gained share and M&A held up.

Sol nearly matches Fable 5 on benchmarks and undercuts it on cost.

ChatGPT Work brings Codex-style agent workflows to ChatGPT, with app integrations, phased access, and usage-based billing.
Codex is joining ChatGPT as OpenAI expands its workplace AI ambitions.
How the world’s largest defense budgets compare in 2025.

Federal regulators say driverless vehicles must stop disrupting emergency response scenes.

The German startup is using EU-backed funding and quantum sensing to target faster semiconductor testing.

The autonomous drone delivery startup is setting up in Tulsa with plans to grow U.S. operations.
Blue Origin is seeking outside funding for the first time at a $130 billion valuation.
A new AI-guided defense network aims to help NATO see, decide, and strike faster on its eastern flank.
A K2 Airways cargo plane carrying five crew members was found after disappearing over the Arabian Sea.

OpenAI’s GPT-5.6 arrives after a U.S. government delay and fresh testing.

The AI chip company’s Series F first close values it at $11B as it pushes deeper into enterprise inference.
A Ukrainian drone unit says a new anti-howitzer munition helped destroy 171 Russian artillery pieces in two days.

Key takeaways from 2026’s major hacks, leaks, ransom incidents, and infrastructure attacks.

North American startup investment reached $392B in H1 2026, led by AI megadeals.

The legal AI startup raised $120M in a Series C led by Khosla Ventures.

How Doug Robison transformed a dormant organic farming shell company into Natura Resources — a molten salt nuclear startup competing to power the AI data center boom.

Amazon is closing Mechanical Turk to new customers by July 30, 2026, putting the pioneering crowdsourcing platform effectively on life support.

AI-driven investor demand has minted nearly 90 new unicorns in 2026. Here's every startup that crossed the $1B mark, month by month.

DiscoBench reveals that AI search agents collapse under query ambiguity — not because of poor retrieval, but because they never ask users to clarify what they actually mean.

What started as a group text among three new dads became a $35M lifestyle brand—here's how Dad Gang did it.

Stride Ventures led all investors with 61 deals in H1 2026. Meet all 10 most active investors shaping India's startup ecosystem despite a funding dip.

Midjourney is pushing courts to force Disney, Universal, and Warner Bros. to disclose their internal AI usage as part of an ongoing copyright lawsuit.

Zuckerberg told staff at an internal meeting that Meta's AI agent development has fallen behind executive expectations, adding that the company's restructuring was not as "clean" as it should have been.

Organized crime rings are hijacking AI supply chains, stealing GPUs and data center equipment worth millions to resell on foreign black markets. Here's how big the problem is—and how it works.

New Nissan CEO Ivan Espinosa had six weeks to draft a survival plan for one of Japan's most troubled automakers. Here's what he's doing — and what's still at risk.

Vietnam and the Philippines have been elevated to upper-middle-income status by the World Bank, but now face the difficult task of avoiding the middle-income trap that has stalled regional peers.

Anthropic launches drug development programs for neglected diseases and a new AI workbench called Claude Science, as tech giants race to transform pharmaceutical research.

A 30-month study of 26,000+ Chinese students found AI use boosted homework scores while causing up to 24% exam score declines—with the full learning penalty taking nearly two years to emerge.

Venice AI raises $65M at a $1B valuation, reaching unicorn status with $70M+ annualized revenue and a privacy-first approach that stores no user data.

Tesla posted 480,126 Q2 2026 deliveries, up 25% year-over-year and well above analyst estimates, ending two straight years of sales declines.

Cloudflare is giving AI companies until September 15 to split search crawlers from AI training bots — or face automatic blocks across ad-supported publisher sites.

Sam Altman reportedly proposed donating 5% of OpenAI's equity to a U.S. sovereign wealth fund, renewing debate over public ownership in the AI boom.

North Korean hackers set new record with $2 billion in stolen cryptocurrency in 2025, using social engineering tactics instead of technical exploits.

New California law requires streaming platforms to match commercial volumes with content audio levels, effective July 2026.

Critical security flaw in India's tax portal exposed sensitive data of millions of taxpayers before being fixed.

Adobe predicts AI-assisted shopping will grow 520% during the 2025 U.S. holiday season, with total online sales expected to hit $253.4 billion.

OpenAI debuts AgentKit toolkit for streamlined AI agent development at Dev Day 2025.

Space company Firefly Aerospace acquires defense analytics firm SciTec to expand national security capabilities.

California regulators accuse Tesla's insurance arm of systematic claim delays and violations

AI startup helps farms cut water use by 30% while boosting yields through smart irrigation optimization.

Eufy paid users $2 per video to train AI theft detection, collecting hundreds of thousands of clips from security cameras.

Hackers claim theft of 1 billion Salesforce customer records from major companies, demanding ransom by October 10.

AI companies capture over half of all VC investment in 2025, marking the first year of AI's complete dominance in startup funding.

OpenAI employees sold $6.6B in shares, pushing the company's valuation to a record-breaking $500B and making it the world's most valuable private company.

Character.AI removes Disney characters from its platform after receiving a cease-and-desist letter over copyright infringement and brand protection concerns.

WestJet reveals cyberattack compromised data of 1.2 million passengers, linked to Scattered Spider group.

New vector search system makes Wikipedia's 120 million entries more accessible to AI models, offering verified alternative to web scraping

Startup claims breakthrough process can undercut Chinese LFP battery material producers by 40%, raising $10M to commercialize technology.

OpenAI introduces safety routing to GPT-5 and parental controls after ChatGPT safety incidents.

Federal judge rejects DJI's challenge to military company classification.

New policy would require chip companies to match domestic production with imports or face tariffs, but implementation timeline remains unclear.

Flipkart advances regulatory approvals to move HQ from Singapore to India ahead of planned 2026 IPO

EA reportedly nearing $50 billion sale to Silver Lake and Saudi PIF consortium.

New research identifies 'workslop' - low-quality AI-generated work - as an emerging workplace concern.

AI startup Friend spent $1.8M on its domain name and over $1M on subway ads, highlighting aggressive marketing tactics in the competitive AI wearable space.

South Korea launches major AI sovereignty initiative with $700M investment to develop homegrown ChatGPT competitor and challenge global AI leaders.