Month: October 2026

After Factory’s public spat with Khosla, Menlo proudly invests Days after Vinod Khosla called Factory a struggling also-ran, Menlo has shown up with a check and a glowing blog post. Powered by WPeMatico https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/05/after-factorys-public-spat-with-khosla-menlo-proudly-invests/

Reflection debuts Beam, an open-weight AI model to rival Chinese models at lower compute cost Reflection is aiming Beam and future models at enterprises and sovereign nations. The pitch is to build “AI factories,” a product that would let institutions build their own customized, local AI system by training Reflection’s

Germany funds tens of thousands of interceptor drones as Quantum Systems scales in Ukraine German Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz has announced financing for several tens of thousands of Quantum Systems interceptor drones for Ukraine as part of Germany’s military aid package for the winter of 2026/2027.  Quantum Systems is an

ARX Robotics and Roboneers step up UGV collaboration for Ukraine’s battlefield German defencetech ARX Robotics has agreed to an intensive collaboration with Ukrainian defencetech company Roboneers by establishing a strategic partnership for unmanned land warfare.  Both parties signed a corresponding agreement in Kyiv over the weekend, in the presence of

Google froze its open source bug bounty program due to a ‘significant rise’ in AI submissions AI slop seems to be overwhelming bug bounty programs. Powered by WPeMatico https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/04/google-froze-its-open-source-bug-bounty-program-due-to-a-significant-rise-in-ai-submissions/

Can ‘super intelligence’ and a non-binding safety pact solve AI’s image problem? On Equity, we discussed the Trump administration’s attempts to rebrand AI. Powered by WPeMatico https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/04/can-super-intelligence-and-a-non-binding-safety-pact-solve-ais-image-problem/

TechCrunch Mobility: Reining in robotaxis Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility, your hub for the future of transportation and now, more than ever, the role AI is playing in it. Powered by WPeMatico https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/04/techcrunch-mobility-reining-in-robotaxis/

Trump unveils his new Super Intelligence Force This new task force is Trump’s latest response to the debate over AI safety. Powered by WPeMatico https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/04/trump-unveils-his-new-super-intelligence-force/

Federal judge calls Flock ‘indiscriminate mass surveillance’ A federal judge ruled that a sheriff’s deputy violated a woman’s Fourth Amendment rights when using Flock to search for her license plate without a warrant.  Powered by WPeMatico https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/03/federal-judge-calls-flock-indiscriminate-mass-surveillance/

Amazon responds to data center backlash, says it no longer uses NDAs The CEO of Amazon Web Services tried to push back against widespread suspicion of data centers. Powered by WPeMatico https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/03/amazon-responds-to-data-center-backlash-says-it-no-longer-uses-ndas/