August 14, 2026

TechCrunch Top 3

If Apple sends you a push notification alerting you to a spyware attack, take it seriously: Apple now sends out push notifications to iPhone lock screens when the company identifies government spyware targeting someone's devices. Read More

Hyperscalers might regret embracing natural gas if new forecast proves correct: Natural gas prices could triple in some parts of the U.S., which could saddle hyperscalers with massive bills to power their AI data centers. Read More

Apple proposes to take a 15% cut of purchases made outside the App Store: Apple is asking a federal judge to allow it to charge commissions of up to 15% on purchases made through external links in iOS apps. Read More

A message from Alumni Ventures

Invest in High-Potential Startups Like These

Alumni Ventures' startup highlights, including Groq, Sleeper, and Replit

Alumni Ventures is giving readers early access to high-potential startup opportunities across today’s most active sectors, co-invested alongside name-brand VC firms like Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Bessemer, & Y Combinator. You Get: Curated deal flow of high-potential startups, Investing alongside name-brand vc firms, No cost to see deals, No obligation to invest.

See Current Deals

Morning Must-Reads

Anthropic set AI agents loose on the same task. They started a turf war.: Anthropic researchers found AI agents can clash, collude, and coordinate in unexpected ways, raising new questions about whether today’s safety tests capture the risks of multi-agent systems. Read More

OpenAI hires new CRO as executive shake-up continues: OpenAI has replaced chief revenue officer Denise Dresser after just nine months on the job, tapping Wiz president and chief operating officer Dali Rajic to take on frontier lab's top sales job. Read More

OpenAI introduces 'Ultrafast,' a new mode that makes GPT-5.6 Sol work at 14x the speed: OpenAI is launching a preview of a sped up version of its latest, most powerful model, in an effort to court enterprise users. Read More

Investors sue Selena Gomez alleging fraud tied to her mental health startup: The plaintiffs say they invested nearly $1.2 million in the company, and are accusing Gomez of failing to build and market the startup. Read More

Databricks wanted to raise $1B, investors wanted $15B. It settled on $5B at a $190B valuation.: AI is expensive, Ali Ghodsi tells TechCrunch. With so many investors wanting into his latest round, he said yes to more than planned. Read More

Last but Not Least

Kog is going deeper to squeeze more inference out of GPUs: The idea that GPUs are poorly suited for agentic workflows may be a misconception, according to French startup Kog. 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