timef 02/20/2026
- Lucid Motors slashes 12% of its workforce as it seeks profitability techcrunch.com2026-02-20 23:51:18
The layoffs affect hundreds of full-time workers in the US, according to an internal memo obtained by TechCrunch.
- AI’s promise to indie filmmakers: faster, cheaper, lonelier techcrunch.com2026-02-20 23:30:00
AI expands access to filmmaking for resource-constrained creators. But as efficiency becomes the industry’s north star, creativity risks being overwhelmed by a deluge of low-effort, AI-generated content.
- Prepare for pitch battle: Startup Battlefield 200 nominations are open techcrunch.com2026-02-20 23:30:00
Nominations for TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 200 are open. Pitch at Disrupt 2026 in October in front of top VCs and the full TechCrunch audience. Nominate your startup or for one that's deserving.
- Peak XV raises $1.3B, doubles down on AI as global VC rivalry in India heats up techcrunch.com2026-02-20 23:10:40
Peak XV says most of its new capital will target India as the firm prioritizes AI, fintech and cross-border bets while navigating recent partner departures.
- TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 Super Early Bird rates end in 1 week techcrunch.com2026-02-20 23:00:00
The lowest ticket rates of the year for TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 ends next Friday, February 27. Save up to $680 on your pass. Register now before prices increase.
- Why investors are going gaga over solid-state transformers techcrunch.com2026-02-20 22:30:00
The technology promises to replace several parts of the grid with one device that’s both controllable and updatable.
- OpenAI says 18 to 24-year-olds account for nearly 50% of ChatGPT usage in India techcrunch.com2026-02-20 21:57:03
The company said on Friday that users between 18 and 24 years of age account for nearly 50% of all messages sent by Indians to ChatGPT, and users under 30 accounted for 80% of usage in the country.
- The OpenAI mafia: 18 startups founded by alumni techcrunch.com2026-02-20 20:45:55
The OpenAI mafia: 15 of the most notable startups founded by alumni
- UAE’s G42 teams up with Cerebras to deploy 8 exaflops of compute in India techcrunch.com2026-02-20 19:58:15
Abu Dhabi-based tech company G42 has partnered with U.S.-based chipmaker Cerebras to deploy eight exaflops of compute through a new system in India
- General Catalyst commits $5B to India over five years techcrunch.com2026-02-20 14:41:44
The pledge marks a sharp jump from General Catalyst's earlier $500 million–$1 billion India earmark.
- Ali Partovi’s Neo looks to upend the accelerator model with low-dilution terms techcrunch.com2026-02-20 14:13:55
Neo's new Residency program invests $750,000 in an uncapped SAFE for startups and provides a $40,000 no-strings-attached grant for college students.
- Google’s new Gemini Pro model has record benchmark scores—again techcrunch.com2026-02-20 08:55:22
Gemini 3.1 Pro promises a Google LLM capable of handling more complex forms of work.
- Nvidia deepens early-stage push into India’s AI startup ecosystem techcrunch.com2026-02-20 08:30:00
Nvidia is working with investors, nonprofits, and venture firms to build earlier ties with India's fast-growing AI founder ecosystem.
- FBI says ATM ‘jackpotting’ attacks are on the rise, and netting hackers millions in stolen cash techcrunch.com2026-02-20 06:31:34
The FBI says hacks that trick ATMs into spitting out cash on demand are rising, with hundreds of attacks in the past year alone netting hackers millions in stolen bills.
- At a critical moment, Snap loses a top Specs exec techcrunch.com2026-02-20 06:30:36
As Snap readies the public release of its long-awaited VR glasses, one of the key executives on the project has left the company.
- Cellebrite cut off Serbia citing abuse of its phone unlocking tools. Why not others? techcrunch.com2026-02-20 06:04:52
Cellebrite, which makes phone unlocking and hacking tools, stopped sales to countries that allegedly abused its tools. But after new allegations in Jordan and Kenya, the company has changed its approach.
- Second and last chance for innovators to win scaling perks: Belden extends nomination window techcrunch.com2026-02-20 05:45:00
Last day to nominate for the 2026 Joseph C. Belden Innovation Award has been extended through February 27. Don't miss your chance to win scaling perks.
- Google says its AI systems helped deter Play Store malware in 2025 techcrunch.com2026-02-20 05:27:39
Google said it prevented 1.75 million bad apps from going live on Google Play during 2025, a figure that's down from previous years.
- An AI data center boom is fueling Redwood’s energy storage business techcrunch.com2026-02-20 05:10:13
Redwood Materials says its new energy storage business is the fastest growing unit within the company.
- Why these startup CEOs don’t think AI will replace human roles techcrunch.com2026-02-20 04:47:22
The CEOs of Read AI and Lucidya told TechCrunch at Web Summit Qatar that they see AI tools replacing tasks, rather than workers.
- YouTube’s latest experiment brings its conversational AI tool to TVs techcrunch.com2026-02-20 04:30:19
YouTube is testing conversational AI on smart TVs, allowing viewers to ask the assistant questions related to the video they're watching on the big screen.
- Toyota hires seven Agility humanoid robots for Canadian factory techcrunch.com2026-02-20 04:29:02
The robots will be unloading totes full of auto parts from an automated warehouse tugger.
- The boys’ club no one was supposed to write about techcrunch.com2026-02-20 03:58:09
Reporter Zoë Bernard spent months talking to 51 people (31 of them gay men) to map out a subculture that's been an open secret in Silicon Valley for years: gay men, at the upper echelons of tech, quietly raising up their own networks the way powerful people have always done.
- SpaceX’s Starbase city is getting its own court techcrunch.com2026-02-20 03:55:06
Elon Musk's company town already has a volunteer fire department, and is forming a Starbase Police Department. Now it wants its own court, too.
- As browser wars heat up, Chrome adds new productivity features techcrunch.com2026-02-20 02:30:51
Split View, PDF annotations and 'Save to Chrome' features come to the Chrome browser.
- Reddit is testing a new AI search feature for shopping techcrunch.com2026-02-20 02:22:51
A small group of users in the U.S. will start to see search results that include interactive product carousels with pricing, images, and direct where-to-buy links.
- All the important news from the ongoing India AI Impact Summit techcrunch.com2026-02-20 02:20:00
India is hosting a four-day AI Summit this week that will be attended by executives from major AI labs and Big Tech, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Nvidia, Microsoft, Google, and Cloudflare, as well as heads of state.
- Meta is shutting down Messenger’s standalone website techcrunch.com2026-02-20 01:01:29
The move comes a few months after Meta shut down Messenger’s stand-alone desktop apps for Windows and Mac.
- New York hits the brakes on robotaxi expansion plan techcrunch.com2026-02-20 00:53:05
The governor of New York pulled a robotaxi expansion proposal that was viewed as a win for Waymo.
- Zuckerberg grilled in court over social media harms on teens techcrunch.com2026-02-20 00:41:59
Meta's CEO was questioned over the addictive nature of its social media apps like Instagram, and other teen harms.
- SoftBank to spend an eye-popping $33B to build huge U.S. gas power plant techcrunch.com2026-02-20 00:27:58
If completed, the project would be among the largest and most expensive natural gas power plants.
