March 18, 2026

TechCrunch Top 3

FBI is buying location data to track US citizens, director confirms: FBI director Kash Patel told lawmakers that the agency is actively purchasing commercially available location data, which can track Americans without needing a warrant. Read More

The Gemini-powered features in Google Workspace that are worth using: From summarizing emails, drafting content, organizing data, and tracking meetings, here are all the best Gemini features in Google Workspace. Read More

Nvidia is quietly building a multibillion-dollar behemoth to rival its chips business: Nvidia's networking business raked in $11 billion last quarter despite getting significantly less fanfare than chips and gaming. Read More

Disrupt 2026: Where deals and ideas ignite

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.

A message from UK Office for Investment

UK Quantum – Enhancing trading data

Quantum computing has the potential to reshape financial services, from risk management to data analysis. HSBC and IBM have demonstrated this through a hybrid-quantum approach to European corporate bond trading. This revealed complex patterns in noisy financial data, and a 34% improvement in predicting winning customer trade inquiries.

Learn More

Afternoon Must-Reads

This startup wants to make enterprise software look more like a prompt: The company has raised $12 million in seed funding to build an AI operating system for enterprise. Read More

Nothing CEO Carl Pei says smartphone apps will disappear as AI agents take their place: Nothing CEO Carl Pei says AI agents will eventually replace apps, shifting smartphones toward systems that understand intent and act on a user's behalf. Read More

DOD says Anthropic’s ‘red lines’ make it an ‘unacceptable risk to national security’: The Defense Department said concerns that Anthropic might "attempt to disable its technology" during "warfighting operations" validate its decision to label the AI firm a supply-chain risk. Read More

Facebook launches a new monetization program to attract popular creators from TikTok, YouTube: Facebook says it paid creators nearly $3 billion through its monetization programs in 2025, a 35% increase from the previous year and its highest annual total to date. Read More

Russians caught stealing personal data from Ukrainians with new advanced iPhone hacking tools: A suspected group of Russian government hackers was caught targeting Ukrainians with new iPhone hacking tools designed for espionage and potentially to steal crypto. Read More

A message from Fidelity

Your Pitch Isn’t the Only Thing Investors Are Evaluating.

Investors don’t just listen to what you say - they look at how your company operates. Is ownership clear? Do your numbers match your story? Can you answer follow-up questions without digging through spreadsheets? The Fundraise-Ready Startup Kit equips founders with the materials investors expect to see, before pressure is on. Because confidence in the room doesn’t come from slides. It comes from preparation.

Download the Kit

You missed these chats from Disrupt:

Kindred talks home-swapping platform for travelers, Chef Robotics introduces AI into commercial kitchens, and Character.AI addresses chatbot safety with teens.

Watch on Cheddar.com

Watch on Streaming

Last but Not Least

Mave Health aims to improve attention and mood with its brain-stimulating headset: Mave Health is listing the headset at $495 for preorders. It aims to ship devices to users in the U.S. and India in April 2026. Read More

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