May 07, 2026

TechCrunch Top 3

Five architects of the AI economy explain where the wheels are coming off: Earlier this week, five people who touch every layer of the AI supply chain sat down at the Milken Global Conference in Beverly Hills, where they talked with TechCrunch about everything from chip shortages to orbital data centers to the possibility that the whole architecture that undergirds the tech is wrong. Read More

Insurance startup Corgi hits $1.3B valuation 4 months after its Series A: Corgi announced on Wednesday a $160 million Series B, led by TCV, valuing the startup at $1.3 billion. Read More

Is xAI a neocloud now?: xAI's real business may be more about building data centers than training AI models. 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 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.

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Morning Must-Reads

A 20-minute pitch wins Indian startup Pronto backing from Lachy Groom: The investment comes as Pronto scales to 26,000 daily bookings and the market heads toward a potential $18 billion size. Read More

Snap says its $400M deal with Perplexity 'amicably ended': The deal, announced last November, would have seen Perplexity's AI search engine integrated directly into Snapchat. Read More

China's Moonshot AI raises $2B at $20B valuation as demand for open-source AI skyrockets: Moonshot's annualized recurring revenue topped $200 million in April, driven by rapid growth in paid subscriptions and API usage. Read More

Robinhood's venture fund IPO attracted 150,000+ retail investors, CEO says: Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev says more than 150,000 retail investors joined the fintech’s new venture fund, which offers exposure to private tech companies like OpenAI, Stripe, Databricks, and Oura before they go public. Read More

Spotify wants to become the home for AI-generated personal audio: Users will be able to create a podcast from Codex or Claude Code and import it to Spotify Read More

A message from TechCrunch Events

2 days to get a second Disrupt 2026 pass at 50% off

Offer ends tomorrow, May 8, 11:59 p.m. PT, buy one pass and get a second of the same type for 50% off. Bring a partner or colleague with you and get more out of Disrupt together. Tap into 200+ sessions, make high-value connections, and gain insights that can move your startup forward or shape your next big investment. Register before time runs out.

Last but Not Least

Spotify's AI DJ now supports French, German, Italian and Brazilian Portuguese: Spotify's AI DJ feature now supports French, German, Italian, and Brazilian Portuguese. Read More

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