September 03, 2026

TechCrunch Top 3

Nvidia confirms it will buy Hugging Face for $12.9 billion: Nvidia said Hugging Face hosts over 3 million models and is used by over 18 million developers. Read More

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. Read More

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. Read More

Join OpenAI, Anthropic and More at Disrupt

AI has made it faster than ever to bring an idea from concept to launch.

But it hasn't made it easier to build something durable.

Disrupt 2026's programming is built around that challenge, delivering practical sessions on what actually holds up and how to build it with leaders from OpenAI, Anthropic, Replit, Amazon, and more.

Morning Must-Reads

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. Read More

US government sides with OpenAI on issue of training LLMs on copyrighted material: "The United States has a strong interest in continuing to develop a robust and competitive artificial intelligence industry that sets the standard for the practice and procedure of AI use globally," the brief reads. Read More

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. Read More

TikTok comments are getting more interactive with voice comments, polls, and more: With the additions, the app is borrowing features from messaging apps as it looks to deepen engagement on its platform. Read More

Amazon's Zoox expands its robotaxi service to Las Vegas airport: Zoox is expanding to this critical ride-hailing destination a few weeks after it started charging for robotaxi rides. Read More

Get Your Startup in Front of the Disrupt Crowds

Not everyone needs a keynote slot to make noise at Disrupt 2026. Sometimes the best way to meet investors, customers, and partners is by exhibiting directly in the Expo Hall.

And by exhibiting, you get 10 passes to Disrupt to share with your team!

Learn More

Last but Not Least

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. Read More

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