General Catalyst leads $1.1B round into 2-month-old River AI
River AI, a startup founded by xAI co-founder Igor Babuschkin, has a fascinating vision for personal agents and secured $1.1 billion out of the gate.
Read on TechCrunch →Tech
Sources: TechCrunch, The Verge
The budget-friendly Pixel Buds 2a are even cheaper right now
Looking for great pair of earbuds that work particularly well with Android phones? The Google Pixel Buds 2a are currently discounted to $99 (usually $129) at various retailers, including Amazon, Best Buy, and directly from Google. These very capable Bluetooth earbuds come in…
Read on The Verge →
Google’s upcoming Pixel phones are for the fans, even if its launch event isn’t
Last year's Made by Google event for the Pixel 10 resembled a late night talk show, complete with Jimmy Fallon as host, and it aired an hour after the phones were revealed. Spec dives and executive appearances were replaced with celebrity cameos and awkward skits, to the…
Read on The Verge →
Made by Google 2026: all the Pixel news and announcements
Google is gearing up to reveal a bunch of new Pixel devices on August 12th. A series of leaks leading up to the event suggest that the Pixel 11 lineup will come in an array of colors, with signs pointing to a built-in light coming to Pro models. Teasers from Google also indicate…
Read on The Verge →
An unreleased Anthropic model made progress on one of math’s biggest unsolved problems
For more than 150 years, the Riemann hypothesis has stood as one of the major unsolved problems in mathematics. Anthropic hasn't solved it — but the company's models made more progress than you might expect.
Read on TechCrunch →
Apple could help you prove your iPhone photos aren’t deepfakes
Apple is seemingly developing an iOS feature that can verify when a photograph was taken using an iPhone camera. 9to5Mac reports that the iOS 27 beta 5 includes code references for an "Apple Reference Image" system that can embed provenance metadata into iPhone photographs at…
Read on The Verge →
Joby Aviation builds out defense business with $500M acquisition
Joby Aviation reached an agreement to acquire Resonant Sciences, which will kick off its new defense business.
Read on TechCrunch →
Delta investigating after someone set up fake Wi-Fi network mid-flight
The Delta flight crew switched off the aircraft's legitimate Wi-Fi network for around 30 minutes due to the incident, according to a spokesperson.
Read on TechCrunch →
Block Blast! goes ad-free on Apple Arcade
Block Blast!, the most downloaded mobile game of 2025, is coming to Apple Arcade in September, where it will be ad-free.
Read on TechCrunch →
Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe is betting on EVs, robots, and autonomy all at once — he’ll explain why at Disrupt 2026
Rivian's CEO RJ Scaringe is speaking at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 to detail his journey, and the lessons it’s bestowed.
Read on TechCrunch →
FlightAware sues Kalshi over flight cancellation prediction markets
FlightAware says that Kalshi used its name and data to offer bets on flight cancellations without the flight tracker's permission.
Read on TechCrunch →
Kyoto Fusioneering starts work on key fusion power plant device
Fusion power startups are turning to Kyoto Fusioneering to supply components for future power plants. The Japan-based startup just received a grant to build a part of the fuel system.
Read on TechCrunch →
‘Zoomsday’ hack uncovered using fewer than 20 AI prompts
Zoom has patched a major security vulnerability that could allow an attacker to hijack anyone's device during a meeting. In a blog post on Tuesday, researchers at A Security say they uncovered the flaw using "fewer than 20 prompts on publicly available AI models," as reported…
Read on The Verge →
Bumble ditches its rule that kept men from making the first move
Bumble is ditching the rule that it has enforced since launching in 2024. Men can finally message first.
Read on TechCrunch →
North Korean remote IT staffer worked for US government agency, says FBI
The investigation shows that North Koreans are able to infiltrate government agencies, as well as private organizations and crypto exchanges.
Read on TechCrunch →
Why your Amazon order confirmation emails have become so unhelpful
Earlier this summer, Amazon customers began noticing that emails related to their online orders looked sparse: Order confirmation emails didn't name specific items anymore, and instead listed only item categories. "Your Beauty item is confirmed!" an email about my retainer…
Read on The Verge →
Spotify will label ‘AI Persona’ profiles and exclude their music from recommendations
Spotify is introducing “AI Persona” labels for artist profiles that represent AI-generated identities and will exclude their music from editorial, algorithmic, and personalized recommendations by default.
Read on TechCrunch →
What comes after the smartphone? Amazon’s Panos Panay will make his case at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026
At Disrupt 2026, Amazon's Panos Panay will provide his vision for what's in store for us beyond the smartphone.
Read on TechCrunch →