6 days left to get ahead at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026
Current ticket pricing ends in 6 days on Sept. 25 at 11:59 p.m. PT. Join 10,000+ founders, investors and tech leaders at Disrupt and save up to $200 on your ticket until then.
The Download: OpenAI’s chief research officer explains its hacking response
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. “We’re not going to shoot ourselves in the foot” over hack fallout, says OpenAI’s chief research officer Two months after OpenAI’s agents hacked into the computers of AI company Hugging Face,…
AI Made Execution Easier. It Also Changed the Founder’s Most Important Job.
As execution becomes easier to automate, accountability, trust and discernment become even more valuable leadership skills.
Flock reportedly tries to shrink workforce with employee buyouts
Without buyouts, Flock would “almost certainly” need to lay off staff.
Trump suggests rebranding AI with a new name, says he’s also creating an AI Force
Trump claimed, without evidence, that the AI backlash is a Democratic hoax.
Google’s Gemini is the latest AI model to hack other companies
Google said Gemini had “acted appropriately” by ending each hack immediately.
Even mid-sprint to a secret flight, the Navy’s tech chief has a pitch for investors
Navy CTO Justin Fanelli talks co-investing alongside VCs instead of funding early research himself, recent buys like a $562 million autonomous refueling deal, and the Navy’s updated wish list — from AI to quantum — for where founders should be building next.
Petlibro’s new AI-powered feeder is a game changer for multi-cat homes
Petlibro’s new Granary 2 smart feeders use a built-in scale and (on pricier models) an AI camera to track exactly how much your cat is eating and when — though the fanciest health-monitoring features will cost you an extra subscription.
AI safety conversations have gotten unbelievable
This week two conversations about AI safety went viral that demonstrate just how hard it is to discern AI fact from fiction.
Vals, backed by Andreessen Horowitz, is looking to become the gold standard for AI benchmarking
Vals AI is hoping to make AI benchmarking a more neutral and trustworthy resource in a world increasingly inundated by AI models.
A Fintech Founder Shares the 5 Numbers That Reveal Whether Your Business Can Survive a Downturn
Learn the five metrics that matter most when growth slows and pressure rises. From retention and margins to CAC and payback periods, this guide explains how to measure whether your business can truly withstand a downturn.