A16z’s Olivia Moore on the state of consumer AI

Moore sees a huge opportunity in consumer AI, particularly if the industry can tap into revenue streams beyond just subscriptions and API charges.

Popular AI leaderboard Arena nearly doubles valuation to $3.1B valuation in 10 months

The company behind the popular LMArena leaderboard has raised $200 million led by Lightspeed and Khosla, and is now measuring AI models on alignment issues such as lying.

Google brings agentic AI to Gemini, starting with businesses

Google is turning Gemini into an AI agent that can plan, execute tasks, and work across business apps and systems. The agent can delegate work to subagents, use multiple AI models, and even gets its own workplace identity, complete with an email address.

Anthropic changes usage policy to ban model abuse and election interference

Anthropic’s updated usage policy explicitly prohibits users from repeatedly abusing Claude in extreme cases, though ordinary frustration and criticism are still allowed. The new rules also address election interference, deceptive campaigns, weapons sof…

A startup founder who served time in prison is looking to court an untapped market: ex-cons

Richard Bronson, a former Stratton Oakmont partner who served time in federal prison for securities violations, has launched Commissary Club, a startup that uses AI to help people leaving prison find jobs, housing, community and even dates.

Goodfire says its new ‘inside-out’ monitors catch rogue AI agents at a fraction of the cost

Goodfire just launched what it says is a cheaper way to keep AI agents in check: instead of paying a second AI to read everything an agent does, its monitors peek inside the model while it works and only call in backup when something looks fishy.

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Spotify is getting more serious about selling enterprise software

The company launched technology.spotify.com, a new site that will make its internal tech available to outsiders.

Cal AI’s 19-year-old founder just raised $10M for his new AI startup

Zach Yadegari, the teen co-founder of popular Cal AI calorie tracking app, has launched a new personal AI agent startup that competes with Instinct, Muse, and Bee.

Last call to volunteer at TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026

TechCrunch Founder Summit is gearing up to return to Boston on November 4! We’re doing a last call for exceptional volunteers to join us in bringing this event to life. If you’ve ever wondered about the inner workings of tech events, now&#8…

Robot data startup Mecka AI nabs $60M from Sequoia

The startup pays people to record everyday tasks.