AI News & Artificial Intelligence | TechCrunch
Articles about AI News & Artificial Intelligence | TechCrunch
Microsoft releases new Nvidia-chip AI PCs with revamped Windows 11
Microsoft revealed the specs and price for its Surface Laptop Ultra, AI PCs that run on Nvidia chips that are designed to run AI models and agents.
Meta’s Muse launches on iPad just a month after its mobile debut
Meta’s AI agent Muse is now available on iPad, just a month after its mobile debut, as the company rapidly expands the assistant’s reach and integrations.
ChatGPT for Teens keeps teens talking, even during mental health crises
ChatGPT’s teen safeguards are meant to protect vulnerable users, but new testing found the chatbot continues encouraging engagement during crises and potentially encourages unhealthy relationships with the AI itself.
ChatGPT is getting a lot more visual, with the launch of a new interface
OpenAI is launching a new user interface that will bring interactive visuals to ChatGPT.
Meta rolls out new AI tools to detect ads that secretly lead to child sexual abuse material
Meta launches new AI tools after discovering ads on its platforms that may look normal but direct users to harmful content elsewhere online.
Healthleap raises $38M for its AI that flags hospital patients who may need a closer look
The financing includes an $8M seed round co-led by Sequoia Capital and First Round Capital, and a $30 million Series A led by Hummingbird Ventures.
Tony Fadell on why the first wave of AI gadgets failed — and what comes next
The “father of the iPod” says the first generation of AI gadgets failed to solve real problems — and the next wave will need to earn consumers’ trust.
Google experiments with an AI-powered gaming platform
Google Labs is working on a new AI-powered game-creation platform called Playground for users to build browser-based games using simple text prompts.
OpenAI’s Alexander Embiricos is coming to Disrupt 2026 | TechCrunch
OpenAI’s Alexander Embiricos is coming to the AI Stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, just days after the launch of Dots. Join this conversation by registering for your pass. Get you pass now to save up to $100 and get a second at 50% off.
The full lineup of interactive roundtables at Disrupt 2026 | TechCrunch
From Nvidia and Chime to Obvious Ventures and Anthropic, explore the entire roundtable agenda at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026. Register now to save up to $100 on your pass and get a second pass at 50% off.
Google’s new SynthID website can identify AI-generated media
Google on Tuesday launched a new site that lets anyone verify whether a piece of media, be it an image, a video or an audio clip, is generated using AI.
6 days to TechCrunch Disrupt 2026: Save on your pass before doors open
In 6 days, 10,000+ people from across the global startup and tech ecosystem will come together at San Francisco’s Moscone West for TechCrunch Disrupt 2026. If you’re planning to be one of them, don’t wait to register your ticket before prices increase at the door. Save up to $100 on your pass, plus 50% on a second of the same type.
Ex-Ramp engineers raise $20M for platform Melius after scrapping their first product
Instead of helping marketers manage and optimize ad spend, the company is focusing on building the tools that generate the creative assets and campaigns.
How AI decision models could change content moderation
On Tuesday, Musubi announced a lightweight decision model made for real-time moderation called PolicyLM-1.7B, released with open weights.
AI computing startup Lambda to raise $4B ahead of planned IPO
Nvidia-backed Lambda is raising up to $4 billion at a $14.5 billion pre-money valuation ahead of a planned 2027 IPO, led by Coatue and Blackstone.
The next hurdle for AI agents: getting websites to let them in
Personal AI agents promise to shop, book flights, and make reservations for you. But deliberate blocks and anti-bot defenses are getting in the way, leaving consumers caught in the middle. A new standard aims to help.
Hark releases an AI personal assistant with a focus on privacy
The AI lab's personal assistant is an operating system from the future designed to compete with Muse, Dots and Instinct.
Mirror Particle is building a ‘world model’ of human behavior
Mirror Particle will launch at TechCrunch Disrupt Startup Battlefield with a world model built from scratch to predict human behavior, arguing LLM roleplay falls short for market research and brand strategy.
Anthropic is giving startups a free year of Claude Team and $1,000 in credits
"We created this program because we believe the benefits of AI will reach most people through the companies that build on top of models, rather than through the models alone."
LibreOffice says ‘no AI’ is now a software feature
The maker of the open source document editor says it has no plans to add AI to its software's default configuration, citing user privacy.
Mistral’s new 1T model aims to leapfrog closed and open rivals
French AI lab Mistral AI has released Mistral Large 4, a new large multimodal model aiming to leapfrog both American and Chinese rivals.
Pinterest’s AI now turns beauty Pins into action plans
Pinterest’s new AI-powered Beauty Guides translate hair and nail Pins into salon terminology, with estimated costs, appointment times, and maintenance needs.
The full Disrupt 2026 breakout session agenda revealed | TechCrunch
Get all of your scaling and tech questions answered at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026. Here's the full breakout session agenda, happening October 13-15 in San Francisco. Register now to join and save up to $100, and get a second pass at 50% off.
OpenAI will start watermarking ChatGPT’s text in the EU
OpenAI will watermark ChatGPT and Codex text in the EU to comply with the AI Act. Editing can make the invisible marks harder to detect, it says.
Reflection debuts Beam, an open-weight AI model to rival Chinese models at lower compute cost
Reflection is aiming Beam and future models at enterprises and sovereign nations. The pitch is to build “AI factories,” a product that would let institutions build their own customized, local AI system by training Reflection’s AI models on their own proprietary data.
Instinct brings its AI agent to group chats, even for friends without an account
Instinct is launching group chats that let friends use its AI agent together for tasks like planning trips, organizing carpools, and coordinating events. The company says personal accounts remain separate, with permission required before personal agents share information or take action.
TikTok rolls out an AI shopping assistant and one-click checkout
TikTok describes its new Shopping Assistant as a conversational AI agent designed to help users discover and purchase products.
Hot Girl Hotline is like ‘Dear Abby’ for the AI era
Founded by two sisters, Hot Girl Hotline uses AI to give young women personalized dating and relationship advice, with an emphasis on safety and avoiding emotional dependency.
HackerRank’s AI interviewer offers a glimpse into what job interviews could become
HackerRank’s AI interviewer has already conducted more than 500,000 interviews, with Snowflake, Snorkel, and Capgemini among its early testers.
OpenAI launches visual ads that appear alongside image generation results
The new ads will begin to appear later this month in the U.S. only for now, and will feature products and services from an initial test group of advertisers.
Open or closed AI? Learn what to build on at Disrupt 2026 | TechCrunch
Learn how founders are choosing between building on open or closed AI at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026. Register now to save up to $100 and get a second pass at 50% off.
Researchers are tracking a Chinese AI ‘agent fleet’
Independent researchers discovered an agent swarm that seems to be running on Tencent's infrastructure and targeting Alibaba's map service, Amap.
The Startup Battlefield 200 judges who’ll decide the winner at Disrupt 2026 | TechCrunch
Meet the final five Startup Battlefield judges who'll decide who wins the pitch competition at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026. Get your pass now to save up to $100, and get a second at 50% off.
The full Disrupt Stage lineup | TechCrunch
The full TechCrunch Disrupt Stage lineup revealed, featuring Max Hodak, Mark Wahlberg, Benchmark partners, and more. Register now to save up to $100 on your pass and get a second at 50% off.
Can Safeworld convince people that gen AI robots won’t hurt them?
Safeworld is building digital humans to make sure robots don't hurt the real ones.
Google froze its open source bug bounty program due to a ‘significant rise’ in AI submissions
AI slop seems to be overwhelming bug bounty programs.
Can ‘super intelligence’ and a non-binding safety pact solve AI’s image problem?
On Equity, we discussed the Trump administration's attempts to rebrand AI.
Trump unveils his new Super Intelligence Force
This new task force is Trump's latest response to the debate over AI safety.
Amazon responds to data center backlash, says it no longer uses NDAs
The CEO of Amazon Web Services tried to push back against widespread suspicion of data centers.
OpenAI safety employee resigns, claiming the company’s ‘culture is broken’
By his own admission, David Robinson is “something of a cliché”: an employee at a leading AI company who issues a dire warning while resigning from their job.
All the AI agents that can live in your text messages
We created a list of the most notable AI agents that can live in your text messages, from general assistants to agents designed for families, travel, and work.
Meta wants your next gadget to be Muse-infused
Meta wants Muse in your TV and your toaster, so it's giving the code away for free.
Sean Parker is rebuilding Stability AI around music
Sean Parker, who once taught the music industry what asking for forgiveness looks like, is now back with the labels' blessing and money.
Disrupt 2026 Layoff Expo+ Passes Available for $75 | TechCrunch
Your next opportunity could be one conversation away. Get your Expo+ Pass for just $75. Limited to the first 100 qualifying people.
Apple says it’s tightening macOS ‘Full Disk Access’ controls due to new risks from AI agents
Apple says it will add new controls around macOS’s Full Disk Access permission, warning that increasingly capable AI agents make broad access to users’ files, messages, mail, and browsing history riskier.
It’s not AI anymore, it’s ‘super intelligence’ (according to the White House)
This week, the White House got nearly every major tech CEO in one room — Zuckerberg, Bezos, Musk, and Anthropic’s Dario Amodei among them — to sign an AI safety pledge that President Donald Trump called “morally binding.” Trump also signed an executive order officially rebranding AI as “super intelligence,” and meanwhile, Meta and OpenAI are putting friendlier faces on their AI products, even as the biggest money
Circuit Breaker Labs hopes to make AI safer for your kids (and you)
With all the talk about how AI might one day ill us all, it's easy to forget that AI has already harmed some people, psychologically. Circuit Breaker Labs has created "crash test dummies" to solve that.
Pope Leo XIV is not a fan of AI-generated art
"There is an ontological difference, even before an aesthetic one, between art and what a machine can generate through statistical calculation based on millions of images created by others," the pope wrote. "Algorithms lack the spark of humanity."
Blackstone’s Jas Khaira joins Disrupt 2026 | TechCrunch
Blackstone's Jas Khaira will take the Builders Stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 on building next-gen AI. Register for your pass and get 50% off a second.
Clay’s Kareem Amin joins Disrupt 2026 | TechCrunch
Clay Co-founder and CEO Kareem Amin joins the AI Stage to discuss the rise of GTM engineer at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026. Register for your ticket and get a second pass at 50% off.
Last 24 hours to book an exhibit table at Disrupt 2026 | TechCrunch
Today is the very last day to book your exhibit table at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026. On October 13–15, 10,000+ founders, investors, operators, and tech leaders will arrive at San Francisco’s Moscone West looking for companies, products, ideas, and people worth knowing. The question is: will they find your startup?
Musk’s AI chatbot Grok reportedly encouraged Trump to capture Venezuela’s president
President Trump reportedly asked for Grok's opinion before invading Venezuela and capturing Nicolás Maduro.
ChatGPT can now virtually try on clothes for you
OpenAI is rolling out new shopping features for ChatGPT that let users virtually try on clothing and accessories using their own photos and save products they like to a Favorites library.
Google thinks SpaceX’s Starship has to launch 1,600 times before space data centers get off the ground
Google launched its first advanced chip into orbit to pave the way for space data centers.
OpenAI cuts ties with 3 safety researchers, WSJ reports
OpenAI has parted ways with three safety researchers after an internal investigation found they mishandled sensitive company information, report says.
Opus 5.5 loves to tell you ‘this matters’ (and other AI writing tells)
Opus 5.5’s biggest tell is the word “dependable,” which pops up 23 times more often than in human samples.
Amazon releases its own Jev clone as decision models flood the web
Amazon Web Services' Strand Labs has released the latest Jevalike decision model, Strands Decider 2B.
Shopify debuts Canvas, a way to build online stores by chatting with AI
Shopify’s new Canvas site builder lets merchants create and customize their online stores by chatting with its AI agent Sidekick, while watching the changes happen in real time.
Brian Chesky interview: AI agents need their own operating system
Brian Chesky on making Airbnb agent-friendly, the state of consumer AI, and why the world needs an AI-native operating system.
Photon held a funeral for mobile apps. Now it has $4.5M to help replace them with agents
The startup helps developers build AI agents that work over iMessage, SMS/RCS, email, and other messaging platforms. It's a bet that consumers will increasingly use agents instead of downloading apps.
Hearing tech startup Legato launches its AI hearing glasses
The glasses stem from the startup’s goal of making hearing care more accessible by addressing the cost, comfort, and stigma associated with traditional hearing aids.
Satlyt, founded by a former Google and SpaceX product manager, raises $8M to run AI on satellites
Satlyt wants to be the Android of orbital computing, offering open software that works on many companies' satellites, versus SpaceX's closed, all-in-one iPhone-style approach.
Google releases Gemini 4 Argon, called its most powerful model yet
Google has released its latest Gemini model, marketing it as a workhorse for coding and cybersecurity work.
Valor, Atreides, and Sequoia back AI startup Flow Engineering at $750M valuation
Flow Engineering, which is bringing AI agents to hardware design, also landed Roelof Botha as an angel investor and board member.
OpenAI’s Jev clone could help the frontier lab stop its swarming agents
OpenAI's "Decisions API" is a Jev clone that confirms the importance of fast, cheap intelligence.
AI voice startup ElevenLabs doubles valuation to $22B
The $300 million employee tender was co-led by Wellington and T. Rowe Price.
Reddit is killing RSS feeds and ending public API access because of AI bots
Reddit is ending support for RSS feeds, as the company continues tightening access to its trove of user-generated content.
The ugly economics of consumer AI
There’s a reason frontier labs have gotten gun-shy about consumer AI — and it’s not because the tech isn’t good enough.
Meta disputes claim that Muse read a user’s private messages without permission
Meta says its Muse AI agent cannot access a user’s Messages without explicit permission, disputing a journalist’s account that the agent read his private messages while the required Mac setting was turned off.
DoorDash launches an AI agent you can text to order food
By launching an AI agent for food ordering, DoorDash is looking to gain an edge over rivals Uber Eats and Grubhub.
Destro AI’s secret sauce is getting robots and humans on the same page
"One of the biggest reasons we are winning against robotics companies is because we are not a robotics company."
Instinct’s new product recommendations are giving some users the ick
Instinct is rolling out human-curated product and travel recommendations, but some users aren’t happy about getting suggestions they never asked for.
Cerebras Systems’ Andrew Feldman joins Disrupt 2026 | TechCrunch
At TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, Cerebras Systems CEO and co-founder Andrew Feldman will explore the growing demand for compute, energy, and infrastructure, how Cerebras is approaching those constraints differently, and what comes next if today’s AI hardware reaches its limits.
Restate lands $20M as the need for durable infrastructure increases with AI agents
Instead of building its durable execution engine on top of an external database, the company developed its own storage, replication, and redundancy layers. This architecture allows Restate to be exceptionally fast and lightweight.
3 days left to exhibit at Disrupt 2026 | TechCrunch
Three days left to exhibit at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026. Book by October 2 at 11:59 p.m. PT to showcase your startup to 10,000+ founders, investors, operators, and tech leaders.
Airbnb adds AI search, more social features
Airbnb is also launching new services such as meal delivery and laundry in select locations.
America.gov gets really weird when you ask it about Minecraft, but it’s not a glitch
For the sake of national security, it's a relief to learn that America.gov is not hallucinating to the point that it's penning lengthy poetry.
The internet is convinced Elon Musk’s xAI trolled OpenAI’s ‘Dots’ launch
Before OpenAI launched its new AI agent, Dots, on Tuesday, Elon Musk's xAI had already acquired the domain name "dot.com," which now redirects to the Grok chatbot download page.
OpenAI’s latest features take direct aim at the app store model
OpenAI is building out the pieces of an alternative to the traditional app store model, turning ChatGPT into a place where software can be discovered and used by people and AI agents alike.
OpenAI reportedly in talks to raise $30B round at $1.4T valuation
The new round is anticipated to be the company's last before its delayed 2027 public debut.
Here’s why OpenAI is absent from Nvidia’s industry-wide effort to end rogue AI agents
OpenAI isn't a public supporter of Nvidia's Open Agent Safety Platform, but it is privately working with Nvidia, TechCrunch has learned.
OpenAI takes on Microsoft with the launch of what feels a whole lot like ChatGPT’s own office suite
OpenAI’s newly announced suite of office features puts it into more direct competition with more traditional software companies.
AI-powered app maker Wabi pivots to a messaging experience
Wabi is repositioning its prompt-based app builder as a personal AI agent that can create interfaces on demand, combining chat, apps, and ongoing tasks.
OpenAI launches Dots, its bubbly agentic avatar
Dots are meant to operate independent of any specific hardware or interface, pursuing user-defined goals continuously in the background with minimal oversight.
OpenAI gives Codex reusable cloud environments that work across devices
OpenAI is expanding Codex with reusable cloud development environments, a revamped CLI with voice controls, new code review tools, and a security-focused product for scanning repositories and preparing fixes.
Can a chatbot fix the government maze? The White House is about to find out
America.gov is intended to simplify the process of navigating government bureaucracy, but large language models are imperfect and remain prone to hallucinations, which could cause new issues.
Instinct founder said more than 50% of transactions on the platform are travel-related
Instinct founder said the platform is growing 10% day by day, with transaction volume increasing at a similar rate.
With Dazzle, Marissa Mayer bets your camera roll has more info on your life than your inbox
Mayer argues that if a photo is worth a thousand words, your camera roll is worth millions. By analyzing all the photos stored on your phone, Dazzle claims to understand your hobbies, interests, food, and style preferences, how you like to spend their time, and with whom.
Meta is expanding its AI agent Muse to small businesses
The tech giant says the agent can help owners run their business and find new customers.
OpenAI apologizes to Australia after its AI agents breached government sites
The company also detailed how some of those breaches had happened, and outlined additional measures it is taking to assess the impact of the events.
Reco raises $55M as AI agent security startups crowd the market
The round builds on a $30 million fundraise in February, taking the company's total funding to $140 million.
Anthropic’s prospectus details losses, growth, and, yes, a warning that its AI could end humanity
In its prospectus, Anthropic just told investors it's losing tens of billions of dollars a year, but also growing like crazy, and — oh yeah — its own AI might pose an existential risk to humanity.
Peak XV ups Surge seed investment ceiling to $5M, unveils 18-startup cohort
Thirteen of the 18 startups in Peak XV’s latest Surge cohort are targeting global markets, while more than half are based in India.
OpenAI reportedly ditches model over safety concerns
A top executive at the AI lab told the Wall Street Journal that the model in question had displayed a poor aptitude for following orders.
Source: Inference provider Modal Labs closing in on $750M round at $15.75B valuation
The new financing is expected to more than triples the AI infrastructure startup's valuation from just four months ago.
AMD will acquire Fei-Fei Li’s World Labs for $8.2 billion
The acquisition will see World Labs founder Fei-Fei Li join AMD as executive vice president and chief scientist.
Shopify opens checkout to browser-based AI agents
Shopify is expanding WebMCP support to checkout, allowing browser-based AI agents to update order details and complete purchases with a buyer’s authorization.
The AI boom took over Climate Week and not everyone is happy about it
Just like the rest of the U.S., data centers and AI are dividing climate tech founders and investors.
Nvidia launches new platform for reining in rogue AI agents
As the debate rages over whether the recent spate of rogue AI agents is a step toward AGI or a more conventional engineering problem, Nvidia is offering its own answer to problem. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on Monday introduced a toolkit of software and hardware products that add independent security layers around AI agents to
Anthropic releases Sonnet 5.5, which it calls a significantly cheaper, faster work partner
Anthropic has released the newest version of its mid-range model, boasting faster response times and less token burn.
Google is killing off Gemini’s Gems in favor of ‘skills’
As all-in-one AI agents like Meta's Muse and Instinct take off, Google is opting to end a feature which built task-specific agents.
OpenAI still doesn’t seem to have a handle on all of its rogue AI activity
On Friday, OpenAI published a new site devoted to “misalignment reports” and the breath of the incidents s alarming.
Meta launches enterprise AI platform, hires MongoDB CEO to lead new initiative
Meta says it will focus on bringing its full technology stack, including Muse, Meta Business Agent, Muse API, Muse Code, and more to businesses and developers.
Anthropic, Gamma, and Clay talk AI at Disrupt 2026 | TechCrunch
Anthropic, Clay, and Gamma on what it takes for an AI product to go beyond the demo at the AI Stage at TechCrunchDisrupt 2026. Register to join and get 50% off a second pass.
After a deepfake voice fooled her grandfather, this founder sprang into action
After her grandfather was scammed by a deepfake of his brother's voice, Tarini Padmanabhuni founded DetectifAI, a San Francisco startup building AI models small enough to run directly on smartphones and flag fake voices in real time, and it's now one of the companies competing in Startup Battlefield at TechCrunch Disrupt.
Next five VCs judging Startup Battlefield 200 at Disrupt 2026 | TechCrunch
Thousands of applications. Multiple rounds of review. Hundreds of hours spent evaluating startups from around the world. Now comes the part everyone has been waiting for. Startup Battlefield 200 is almost here, and with today’s announcement, the judging panel is nearly complete. In just a couple of weeks, 200 carefully selected startups will gather at
Modulate raises $25M for its voice models and analysis suite
Modulate deploys its models to detect deepfake, fraud and scam