May 05, 2026

TechCrunch Top 3

OpenAI releases GPT-5.5 Instant, a new default model for ChatGPT: The company said the model reduces hallucination in sensitive areas such as law, medicine, and finance, while maintaining the low latency of its predecessor. Read More

Pennsylvania sues Character.AI after a chatbot allegedly posed as a doctor: According to Pennsylvania's filing, a Character.AI chatbot presented itself as a licensed psychiatrist during a state investigation, and also fabricated a serial number for its state medical license. Read More

Threads finally brings messaging to the web: By bringing messaging to the web, Threads is aligning its desktop experience more closely with competitors like X and Bluesky. 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.

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Afternoon Must-Reads

Kaspersky suspects Chinese hackers planted a backdoor into Daemon Tools in 'widespread' attack: The cybersecurity company says it's seen thousands of infection attempts, and at least a dozen successful hacks after users installed malicious versions of the popular Windows software. Read More

Volkswagen becomes Rivian’s top shareholder, displacing Amazon: VW Group's stake will continue to grow under the $5.8 billion joint venture with Rivian. Read More

Hackers steal students' data during breach at education tech giant Instructure: The data breach at education tech giant Instructure includes students' private data, according to a sample of the allegedly stolen data seen by TechCrunch. Read More

Apple plans to make iOS 27 a Choose Your Own Adventure of AI models: With Apple's latest operating system updates, users will reportedly have their pick of which third-party AI models they want to use for a host of tasks. Read More

Amazon bets Nobel Prize-based dehumidification can cut its energy use: Amazon will buy a new type of HVAC system for its commercial buildings to slash energy use. Read More

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

From now until 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

ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet on his company's monopoly: no one is coming for us: Christophe Fouquet, who became ASML's CEO in 2024 after more than a decade at the company, sat down with this editor on the rooftop deck of his Beverly Hills hotel Tuesday morning ahead of his appearance at the Milken Institute Global Conference. Dressed in a blue suit and white shirt, he was relaxed — even when the conversation turned to the rivals. Read More

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