May 22, 2026

TechCrunch Top 3

Sam Altman makes 'mic drop' offer to every Y Combinator startup: Altman offered to have OpenAI invest in every single startup in this Y Combinator class: tokens for equity. Read More

Marketing operating system Nectar Social raises $30M Series A led by Menlo: AI-powered marketing platform Nectar Social announced Thursday that it raised a $30 million Series A round led by Menlo Ventures and its Anthology Fund, which was created alongside Anthropic. Read More

Beauty booking startup Fresha hits $1B valuation with KKR backing: Beauty and wellness booking marketplace Fresha says it has raised $80 million investment from KKR’s Next Generation Technology Growth fund, KKR's growth equity arm. Read More

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Must-Reads

NanoClaw creator turns down $20M buyout offer, raises $12M seed instead: NanoClaw was created as a secure alternative to OpenClaw to assist the Cohen brothers with their AI marketing firm that used agents to do much of the work. But instead of running directly on a computer, NanoClaw runs sandboxed in a container. Read More

This young startup is taking on a fragrance industry that hasn't changed in almost half a century: Fragrance tech company Patina announced Thursday a $2 million raise from investors, including Betaworks and True Ventures. Read More

OpenAI barrels toward IPO that may happen in September: A day after Elon Musk lost his lawsuit that threatened OpenAI's structure, leadership, and finances, OpenAI is reportedly back to prepping for its IPO. Read More

The haves and have-nots of the AI gold rush: The vibes around the current AI boom aren't great, even in the tech industry. Read More

Maka Kids is redefining kids’ screen time with a streaming app optimized for well-being, not engagement: Maka Kids is building a streaming app for children ages zero to six featuring content designed for healthy development. The startup has now raised $3 million in seed funding to scale its platform. Read More

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Last but Not Least

Forget the feed: Status AI raises $17M to turn social media into interactive entertainment: “Status is built on the premise that the next generation doesn’t want to watch stories,” CEO and co-founder Fai Nur said. “They want to engage with the stories and even live inside them.” Read More

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