The Brutalist Report

TechCrunch

• xAI lays out interplanetary ambitions in public all-hands [9d]
• AI inference startup Modal Labs in talks to raise at $2.5B valuation, sources say [9d]
• OpenAI disbands mission alignment team, which focused on ‘safe’ and ‘trustworthy’ AI development [10d]
• Apple’s Siri revamp reportedly delayed… again [10d]
• Uber Eats launches AI assistant to help with grocery cart creation [10d]
• Who will own your company’s AI layer? Glean’s CEO explains [10d]
• Microsoft says hackers are exploiting critical zero-day bugs to target Windows and Office users [10d]
• How to get into a16z’s super-competitive Speedrun startup accelerator program [10d]
• Cash App adds payment links so you can get paid in a DM [10d]
• Amazon’s new eero Signal keeps you connected to the internet when outages occur [10d]
• The search is on: 2026 Joseph C. Belden Innovation Award nominations are open [10d]
• Activist investor Ancora publicly opposes the WBD-Netflix deal [10d]
• DOJ says Trenchant boss sold exploits to Russian broker capable of accessing ‘millions of computers and devices’ [10d]
• Why the economics of orbital AI are so brutal [10d]
• Google releases the first beta of Android 17, adopts a continuous developer release plan [10d]
• Threads’ new ‘Dear Algo’ AI feature lets you personalize your feed [10d]
• How AI changes the math for startups, according to a Microsoft VP [10d]
• UpScrolled’s social network is struggling to moderate hate speech after fast growth [10d]
• Senior engineers, including co-founders, exit xAI amid controversy [10d]
• Twilio co-founder’s fusion power startup raises $450M from Bessemer and Alphabet’s GV [10d]
• Former Founders Fund VC Sam Blond launches AI sales startup to upend Salesforce [10d]
• Upside Robotics is reducing fertilizer use and waste in corn crops [10d]
• Amazon Pharmacy to expand same-day delivery to nearly 4,500 US cities [10d]
• Build a pipeline and close deals with an exhibit table at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 [10d]
• TikTok launches an opt-in Local Feed in the U.S. leveraging users’ precise location [10d]
• Integrate raises $17M to move defense project management into the 21st century [10d]
• Humanoid robot startup Apptronik has now raised $935M at a $5B+ valuation [10d]
• Complyance raises $20M to help companies manage risk and compliance [10d]
• Meridian raises $17 million to remake the agentic spreadsheet [10d]
• Samsung to hold its Galaxy S26 event on February 25 [10d]
• With co-founders leaving and an IPO looming, Elon Musk turns talk to the moon [10d]
• OpenAI policy exec who opposed chatbot’s “adult mode” reportedly fired on discrimination claim [10d]
• Okay, now exactly half of xAI’s founding team has left the company [10d]