July 15, 2026

TechCrunch Top 3

Thinking Machines amps up its bet against one-size-fits-all AI with its first open model, Inkling: It's the company's first public proof point after a year and a half spent building AI infrastructure largely out of public view. Read More

Microsoft patches bug in video game Age of Empires II: The vulnerability in the decades-old game could have allowed hackers to take over victims’ computers with a malicious game invite. Read More

Amid hardware legal battle, OpenAI releases a $230 keyboard for Codex: OpenAI, which is in the middle of a legal battle with Apple over hardware trade theft allegations, just released a light-up keyboard designed to be paired with its agentic coding app. Read More

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Afternoon Must-Reads

Anthropic, Blackstone bet the next trillion-dollar AI business is implementation, not just models: Anthropic-backed Ode launches as AI labs bet that embedding forward-deployed engineers inside enterprises is the key to accelerating enterprise AI adoption. Read More

Tesla driver in fatal Texas crash pressed accelerator 100%, NTSB confirms: The safety board confirmed Tesla's account of the crash, which the company shared days after it happened last month. Read More

A SpaceX vet raised $65M to pull wire harnesses out of the Cold War era: Someone has to bundle all the wires that go into rockets, missiles, and satellites. Read More

Stripe and Advent reportedly offered to buy PayPal for around $53.4B: If completed, the acquisition would unite two of the biggest names in digital payments. Read More

India bets billions on breaking China's grip on smartphone manufacturing: New Delhi announced a $6.5 billion smartphone manufacturing program and a $13.3 billion semiconductor push to deepen India's electronics supply chain. Read More

Last but Not Least

Apple bans home services from its upcoming Maps ads: Apple has published the policies governing its upcoming Maps advertising business, revealing a strategy that differs from Google’s. The new rules prohibit home services businesses like plumbers, electricians, locksmiths, and roofers from advertising on Apple Maps, along with several other sensitive categories, suggesting Apple is taking a more curated approach to these ads. Read More

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