The Builders Stage brings practical strategies for scaling startups to TechCrunch Disrupt 2026
The Builders Stage is returning to TechCrunch Disrupt, bringing together founders, startup operators, and investors for practical conversations on what it takes to build and scale.
Palo Alto Networks paid $500M for Thrive-backed Console, sources say
The acquisition also leaves Sequoia-backed Serval as the de facto startup leader in AI IT service automation, industry watchers believe.
TechCrunch Disrupt 2026’s new Real World AI Stage features Nvidia, robots, and extinct animals
On our new Real World AI stage, we’ll be focusing on the intersection between the digital and physical, and all the ways we’ll continue to see a blending of the two.
Google spared from ad-business breakup, but judge orders changes to how it operates
Google has dodged an effort to break up its ad business, but a judge said Wednesday that the company will need to adjust its business to benefit competitors.
OpenAI’s new reasoning technique alarms AI safety experts
OpenAI’s new Astra model will use “recurrent depth,” a technique that allows the model to operate outside of the sequential thinking that characterizes most reasoning models.
MapQuest is now the No. 1 US app after bucking Trump’s ‘Lake America’ renaming
The once-dominant mapping app has surged to the top of Apple’s U.S. App Store after refusing to adopt Trump’s “Lake America” name, drawing more than half of its 2026 U.S. downloads in just six days.
It sure looks like hackers breached a major ID card verification service
An identity theft search site claimed to have more than 150 million driver’s license photos stolen from an ID verification service. The crime site has now shut down.
Delivery Hero board backs Uber’s $15B takeover bid
If approved, the combined company would become one of the largest food delivery platforms in the world.
Pangram’s Max Spero on why AI detection is harder than ‘Real or Fake’
The internet has a trust problem, and it’s not just because social media feeds are filling up with AI slop. AI-generated text and images are now making their way into job applications, product reviews,&#…
X shifts US creator payouts from Stripe to X Money
X says U.S. creator payouts will now be handled through its X Money payments service, a change that appears to replace the previous Stripe-powered payout system.