HaloBraid raises $7M from Seven Seven Six to end the six-hour hair salon appointment

HaloBraid aims to help salons speed up braiding with its first device, slated to launch later this year, that acts as a braiding assistant for professional stylists.

4 days left to save up to $190 on TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026

Four days left to save up to $190 on your pass to TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026 — the ultimate founder bootcamp — before Early Bird rates end on June 26 at 11:59 p.m. PT. Register today.

AI chipmaker Groq confirms $650M raise, re-staffs after Nvidia’s $20B not-acqui-hire deal

What does an AI company do after one of those not-acqui-hire deals? Groq raised money, is leaning into its neocloud business, and is hiring new execs.

WhatsApp gets new chief as Meta taps India’s CRED founder Kunal Shah and invests $900M in startup

WhatsApp gets a new boss, as Will Cathcart moves to a new role at Meta, while Shah steps down as CEO of Indian fintech giant CRED to replace Cathcart.

The founder conference built for growth: TechCrunch Founder Summit pass rates increase June 26

Save up to $190 on your pass to TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026 by June 26, 11:59 p.m. PT. Designed for founders first on November 4 in Boston. Register today.

The US banned Anthropic’s Fable 5 release, but the numbers don’t seem to care

Just as last week was ending, the US government forced Anthropic to pull its two newest models, Fable 5 and Mythos 5, citing national security concerns after Amazon researchers allegedly found a way to bypass Fable 5’s guardrails.  Cybersecurity researchers have since signed an open letter calling the move dangerous, and Anthropic itself noted the same jailbreaks exist in other models. So is… Continua a leggere The US banned Anthropic’s Fable 5 release, but the numbers don’t seem to care

The 11 standout startups from YC’s Demo Day, according to VCs

TechCrunch spoke to investors to find the hottest startups in the Spring 2026 YC batch. Some of them commanded valuations of over $175 million, VCs said.

‘Queer Eye’ life coach Karamo Brown launches Kē, a wellness app featuring his AI digital clone

After spending a year and a half focusing on his own journey — from fitness and nutrition to meditation, sobriety, relationships, and personal growth — Brown wants to help others do the same. 

NEA’s Tiffany Luck on AI IPOs, personal agents, and the ROI reckoning

Tokenmaxxing was the hottest trend in Silicon Valley earlier this year, with CEOs encouraging employees to push AI usage as far as it would go. Then the bill came due. Uber reportedly blew through its annual AI budget in a few months, some companies cut Claude licenses for parts of their org, and Meta killed its internal leaderboard.  This tension between… Continua a leggere NEA’s Tiffany Luck on AI IPOs, personal agents, and the ROI reckoning

World model maker Odyssey nabs $1.45B valuation backed by Amazon and other big names

World models are the next big thing in AI beyond LLMs and, with this round, Odyssey has cemented itself as one of the startups to watch.