TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 Early Bird Ticket Prices to Increase

TechCrunch is reminding potential attendees that Super Early Bird pricing for its Disrupt 2026 conference, scheduled for October 13-15 in San Francisco, will end on February 27. A series of articles counted down the days remaining to secure the lowest rates of the year.

Pentagon and Anthropic Reportedly in Dispute Over AI Usage

The U.S. Department of Defense is reportedly in a dispute with AI company Anthropic over the military's use of its Claude AI. The Pentagon is urging Anthropic to permit its technology for "all lawful purposes," and has reportedly threatened to designate the company as a "supply chain risk" if it does not comply.

OpenAI Staff Debated Alerting Police About Suspected Canadian Shooter's ChatGPT Use

OpenAI employees reportedly raised alarms about conversations from a user, later identified as Tumbler Ridge mass shooting suspect Jesse Van Rootselaar, who described violent scenarios to ChatGPT. Staff debated contacting Canadian law enforcement before the shooting, which killed nine people, but company leadership ultimately decided against it, deeming the risk not "credible and imminent."

TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 Early Bird Ticket Prices to Increase

TechCrunch is reminding potential attendees that Super Early Bird pricing for its Disrupt 2026 conference, scheduled for October 13-15 in San Francisco, will end on February 27. The promotion offers the lowest ticket rates of the year.

Saudi Arabia's HUMAIN Invests $3 Billion in Elon Musk's xAI

HUMAIN, a company owned by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, has invested $3 billion in Elon Musk's xAI. The deal includes a partnership for a 500MW AI data center in Saudi Arabia, which will be xAI's first outside the U.S.

TechCrunch Podcast Discusses MrBeast and the Shifting Creator Economy

A recent episode of TechCrunch's Equity podcast explored the evolution of the creator economy, using YouTuber MrBeast as an example. The discussion focused on how creators are diversifying their revenue streams beyond ad income by launching product lines and acquiring companies.

Samsung's Upgraded Bixby AI Assistant Expands to TVs and Phones

Samsung is rolling out an upgraded, generative AI-powered version of its Bixby virtual assistant. The feature, named Vision AI Companion, is coming to the company's 2025 TV lineup and has also been released in beta for phones as part of the One UI 8.5 update.

Phil Spencer to Retire From Microsoft; Asha Sharma Named New Microsoft Gaming CEO

Xbox chief Phil Spencer is retiring from Microsoft after nearly 40 years, with Asha Sharma, previously president of CoreAI product, set to replace him as CEO of Microsoft Gaming. Spencer will remain in an advisory capacity during the transition.

Amazon's AI Coding Tools Reportedly Cause AWS Outages

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has reportedly experienced at least two outages caused by its internal AI coding tools, including one named Kiro. While Amazon has attributed the incidents to human error, the events have raised concerns among employees about the reliability of AI for critical tasks.

Google Releases Gemini 3.1 Pro AI Model

Google has launched a preview of its new Gemini 3.1 Pro large language model. The company describes the model as a significant advancement in core reasoning capabilities, designed to handle complex tasks.

YouTube Expands Conversational AI Tool to TVs

YouTube is expanding an experimental feature that brings its conversational AI tool to smart TVs, gaming consoles, and other streaming devices. The feature allows a select group of users to ask questions about the video content they are watching directly on their TV.

Highlights from India's AI Impact Summit

India's four-day AI Impact Summit brought together global tech leaders and heads of state to discuss AI investments and advancements. Key announcements included a $1.1 billion state-backed venture fund for AI, significant funding for Indian startups, and new collaborations aimed at developing AI infrastructure.