TechCrunch Startup and Technology News
- Google says hackers are calling financial firm employees to hack and extort victimsby Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai on August 6, 2026
Groups of hackers are breaking into large U.S. financial firms to steal sensitive data and extort victims, Google’s security researchers report.
- China-linked LightSpy spyware caught targeting victims in 13 countries, including the USby Zack Whittaker on August 6, 2026
Researchers linked the latest malicious activity to a Chinese company, after one of the spyware's operators placed an order with KFC using their real name and office address.
- Defense tech Hadrian raises $1.37B at $8B valuationby Julie Bort on August 6, 2026
Hadrian is building automated factories to mass-produce parts for defense vehicles like submarines. It's backed by a long list of well-known investors.
- Ford needs another Taurus, and the $30K Fathom EV pickup isn’t itby Tim De Chant on August 6, 2026
Ford's CEO has described the new Ford Fathom as a "Model T moment" for the company. But the EV pickup is unlikely to live up to lofty expectations, and maybe it doesn't have to.
- Bumble teases a swipe-free future as it doubles down on IRL meetupsby Sarah Perez on August 6, 2026
Bumble says it’s moving beyond swiping and deeper into real-world social experiences as it courts Gen Z users.
- ChatGPT brings unlimited text chats to free usersby Ivan Mehta on August 6, 2026
OpenAI said that ChatGPT free and Go users are also getting a new think button for complex queries.
- Naïve raises $28.5M to automate the grunt work of setting up and running a companyby Ram Iyer on August 6, 2026
Taking vibe-coding a step further, Naïve claims its infra can automate most of the work in setting up and running a business.
- Hacker pleads guilty to stealing data from more than 165 Snowflake customersby Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai on August 6, 2026
Connor Moucka pled guilty to hacking and stealing data from more than 165 Snowflake customers, which net him and his accomplices more than $2.5 million in ransom payments.
- TikTok lays off 250 employees, shutters its Nashville officeby Aisha Malik on August 6, 2026
The social media giant is shuttering an office that housed some members of TikTok’s content-moderation team.
- Google Wallet now lets parents set up secure balances for their kidsby Aisha Malik on August 6, 2026
The tech giant says the new feature will allow parents to teach their kids healthy financial habits while maintaining oversight over their child's spending with built-in safeguards.
- Gen Z dating apps like Ditto ditch swiping in favor of AI matchmakingby Amanda Silberling on August 6, 2026
This generation of twentysomethings is so disillusioned with swipe-based dating apps that they'll try literally anything else — even an AI matchmaker.
- Tesla and SpaceX will invest $16.8B to start building ‘Terafab’ chip factory in Texasby Sean O'Kane on August 6, 2026
After months of speculation, the companies formally announced the massive project will happen just north of Houston.
- OpenAI says Apple’s own security practices undermine its trade secrets caseby Sarah Perez on August 6, 2026
Newly filed court exhibits show OpenAI’s legal strategy in Apple’s trade secrets lawsuit: argue that Apple’s own security and offboarding practices — including allowing an Apple manager to access a former engineer’s iCloud account after he left the company —undermine its claims that the allegedly stolen information was properly protected.
- eBay continues to bet on live shopping after record quarterby Lauren Forristal on August 6, 2026
eBay touted an increase in eBay Live's gross merchandise volume as it plans to expand it to more international markets in the coming weeks and months.
- Amid legal battles, Suno says it will start watermarking songsby Ivan Mehta on August 6, 2026
Suno's watermarking feature comes as the company is fighting legal battles on several fronts.
- Ford’s new electric truck, ‘Fathom,’ starts at $28,350by Sean O'Kane on August 6, 2026
Due in "fall 2027," Ford said Thursday that it won't reveal what Fathom looks like until early next year.
- Exclusive: Mirendil inks $100M+ Google Cloud deal to scale self-improving AIby Rebecca Bellan on August 6, 2026
Mirendil has signed a $100 million-plus Google Cloud partnership to expand its compute infrastructure, powering research into self-improving AI systems designed to accelerate scientific discovery and AI development.
- Ex-Spotify employees raise $10M to bring the AI behind its recommendations to e-commerceby Lauren Forristal on August 6, 2026
The startup's platform predicts which product a shopper wants next, learns their general taste, and fine-tunes continuously based on what they do in real time.
- Google Maps adds agentic features, including food ordering and hotel bookingsby Aisha Malik on August 6, 2026
The launch of these new features reflects Google’s ambitions to transform Google Maps from a navigation tool into an assistant that's capable of helping users complete real-world tasks.
- Omilia raises $67M to scale its customer support platformby Ivan Mehta on August 6, 2026
The Series B is the company's second fundraise since it last raised capital in 2020. In that time, it has increased its ARR by 10x to $60 million.

