April 16, 2026

TechCrunch Top 3

It's not just you — Bluesky is (sorta) down: Bluesky has been experiencing ongoing service disruptions since just before 3 a.m. ET. Read More

Anthropic CPO leaves Figma's board after reports he will offer a competing product: Krieger's departure and any forthcoming design tools will be another data point for investors who fear the SaaSpocalypse — that the largest AI labs will come to dominate software businesses, a thesis that has rocked public markets at times this year. Read More

Everything we like is a psyop: If culture is shaped by TikTok's algorithmic feed, then it's time for us to decide where we draw the line between necessary marketing and inauthentic growth hacking. 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 Eight Sleep

300+ pro athletes sleep on this

From NBA All-Stars to Olympic gold medalists, over 300 professional athletes trust the Pod by Eight Sleep to optimize their recovery. When your livelihood depends on peak performance, you don't gamble on sleep. Neither should you. Use code TECHCRUNCH for up to $350 off.

Shop the Pod

Afternoon Must-Reads

Slash, a Ramp competitor founded by teenagers, raises $100M at $1.4B valuation: Five years later the founders, now 24 years old, say their startup has achieved $300 million in annualized revenue. Read More

This simulation startup wants to be the Cursor for physical AI: Antioch raised an $8.5 million seed round to create simulation tools for a new generation of robot builders. Read More

OpenAI takes aim at Anthropic with beefed-up Codex that gives it more power over your desktop: OpenAI's agentic coding tool has gotten a major makeover, with a variety of new powers and abilities. Read More

Physical Intelligence, a hot robotics startup, says its new robot brain can figure out tasks it was never taught: The new model, called π0.7, represents what the company describes as an early but meaningful step toward the long-sought goal of a general-purpose robot brain. Read More

Two Americans sentenced for helping North Korea steal $5 million in fake IT worker scheme: The U.S. Department of Justice announced that two Americans were sentenced to years in prison for helping the North Korean government place fake IT workers in U.S. companies. Read More

A message from TechCrunch Events

Limited tickets left: StrictlyVC San Francisco

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.

Last but Not Least

Netflix co-founder and chair Reed Hastings to leave board: Hastings helped to transform the video rental industry — first with physical, then digital, delivery. Read More

Check out some of our other newsletters:

StrictlyVC

TechCrunch Events

TechCrunch Mobility

Want to adjust your daily newsletter schedule? You can do it right here

Got a tip?
Get in touch securely.

Want to advertise on TechCrunch?

Has this been forwarded to you? Click here to subscribe to this newsletter.

Unsubscribe

Member Center

501 2nd Street, Suite 650, San Francisco, CA 94107