5 startups that caught VCs’ attention at the latest PearX demo day

TechCrunch attended Pear’s latest demo day and discovered which startups generated the most buzz, from spatial models to chips for local AI.
Pentagon stops using Anthropic AI tools months after blacklisting company, BBC told

It labelled the company a “supply chain risk” earlier this year, but multiple sources said Anthropic’s Claude model was recently widely used.
US Solar Panel Makers Try to Catch China With a Big Leap in Technology

Manufacturers say they are close to perfecting a new, more efficient solar panel that could help the United States reclaim ground it lost.
OpenAI launches visual ads that appear alongside image generation results

OpenAI said the new visual ads will show up after your image generation results appear in the U.S. only for now.
Are Babies Conscious?

By pinpointing when it begins in young humans, scientists hope to better understand what consciousness is, and how it arises, in all of us.
Open or closed AI? How founders are choosing what to build on at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026

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.
Lola Vision Systems is trying to make it easier to run AI models on chips

Lola Vision Systems is one of TechCrunch’s Battlefield 200 Companies
Hackers steal 8 million citizens’ records from Danish government database

The Danish government said the breach of names, addresses, and state-issued ID numbers affects 8 million people, including people living abroad and the deceased.
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.
Meet the Startup Battlefield 200 judges who’ll decide the winner at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026

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.