October 20, 2026

TechCrunch Top 3

Eka is worth $1.45B thanks to a physical AI model that has experts raving: Eka Robotics may be the first robotic arm that is actually good at picking a wide range of objects up, and it is so smooth and human-like, it is wowing the industry. Read More

Figma co-founder Dylan Field thinks MCP is not a perfect protocol: Figma said it plans to support as many standards as possible without exposing all of its data Read More

SpaceX alum's aviation startup, Reliable Robotics, lands $115M, topping $1B valuation: Reliable Robotics extended its Series D round with $115 million in equity and $25 million in debt. Read More

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Morning Must-Reads

Inspired Capital closes $450M fourth fund as New York pushes back on Silicon Valley’s gravitational pull: The raise comes as venture dollars pile up on the West Coast. Read More

Walmart's Flipkart is quietly building a food delivery challenger in India: Flipkart has expanded access to its food-delivery service to thousands of employees ahead of its public launch. Read More

Blackwall quadruples valuation to $2.2B as websites wrangle an increasingly crowded internet: Blackwall has raised $100M at a $2.2B valuation to continue building security and filtering tools that help websites grapple with growing bot and AI traffic. Read More

US orders federal agencies to remove China’s DeepSeek AI from their systems: The US has ordered federal civilian agencies to remove DeepSeek products and third-party services built using its technology, citing national security concerns. Read More

Spotify launches paid podcast memberships with perks beyond bonus content: Spotify's new paid memberships let podcasters offer fans exclusive perks, including ad-free listening, early access, and bonus content, while keeping 90% of the revenue. Read More

Last but Not Least

Nscale and Anthropic are reportedly in talks for yet another $45B compute deal: If the deal goes through, it would be the latest in a long string of giant compute deals Anthropic has struck over the past year. Read More

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