Travis Kalanick's robotics company raises $1.7B, led by a16z

Plus more of TechCrunch's top stories this afternoon

View this email online in your browser  July 22, 2026 TechCrunch Top 3 Travis Kalanick's robotics company raises $1.7B, led by a16z: Uber is also investing in Travis Kalanick's company Atoms, which has made gauzy claims about using industrial AI to modernize the world. Read More How OpenAI’s human mistake led to the AI-powered hack on Hugging Face: OpenAI made a mistake setting up what it called a “highly isolated” testing environment and sandbox. According to cybersecurity experts, that human mistake is what made the AI-powered attack on Hugging Face possible. Read More Monday.com lays off hundreds to focus on AI: The company said it is reducing its headcount by 20%, or about 630 staff, to "support a leaner, more focused operating model" as it focuses on its AI Work Platform. Read More A message from CAST New: Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for tech debt AI agents are not only accelerating software delivery, but the creation of architectural technical debt. Learn how leading organizations are tackling it. Download your full complimentary copy.  Download here Afternoon Must-Reads Treasury threatens sanctions after White House claims Moonshot distilled Anthropic's Fable: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned the U.S. government could sanction Chinese AI companies after White House officials accused Moonshot of distilling Anthropic's Fable model to develop Kimi K3. Read More Tesla spending skyrockets as Cybercab, Semi, Megapack production timeline slips: Tesla's 26% boost in revenue wasn't enough to offset rising operating expenses and capital expenditures as it pushes to launch a new generation of products. Read More Substack's new tool tells you who's been writing their newsletters with AI: Substack is giving readers a way to estimate how much of a newsletter was written by AI, signaling a broader shift toward transparency around AI-assisted content. Read More Glow emerges from stealth at $1.2B valuation to challenge endpoint security in the AI era: Glow is targeting a new class of endpoint risks created by the rapid adoption of AI agents and developer tools inside enterprises. Read More WhatsApp adds Apple CarPlay and Android Auto upgrades, iPad sign-ups, and more: WhatsApp on Apple CarPlay and Android Auto will let users hear and reply to messages, make calls, view their call history, and access favorite contacts hands-free and right from their car's screen. Read More A message from ThoughtSpot Who’s leading analytics and BI in 2026? Gartner evaluated every analytics platform so you don't have to. See why ThoughtSpot was named a Leader in the 2026 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Analytics and BI. Read full report Last but Not Least Cascade raises $3.5M to help construction firms find and win projects: a16z Speedrun, Ada Ventures, and Snowball VC have invested in Cascade's $3.5 million seed round. Read More Check out some of our other newsletters: StrictlyVC TechCrunch Events TechCrunch Mobility Want to adjust your daily newsletter schedule? You can do it right here Got a tip? Get in touch securely. Want to advertise on TechCrunch? advertise@techcrunch.com Has this been forwarded to you? Click here to subscribe to this newsletter. Unsubscribe Member Center Privacy Policy Copyright © 2026 TechCrunch Media LLC 501 2nd Street, Suite 650, San Francisco, CA 94107

The Anthropic-Physical Intelligence rumor roiling AI Twitter

Plus more of TechCrunch's top stories to start your morning

View this email online in your browser  July 22, 2026 TechCrunch Top 3 The Anthropic-Physical Intelligence rumor roiling AI Twitter: Anthropic and OpenAI's aggressive 2026 acquisition sprees set the stage for a weekend rumor. Read More WhatsApp adds Apple CarPlay and Android Auto upgrades, iPad sign-ups, and more: WhatsApp on Apple CarPlay and Android Auto will let users hear and reply to messages, make calls, view their call history, and access favorite contacts hands-free and right from their car's screen. Read More Cascade raises $3.5M to help construction firms find and win projects: a16z Speedrun, Ada Ventures, and Snowball VC have invested in Cascade's $3.5 million seed round. Read More A message from Schneider Electric When energy meets intelligence AI is rewriting the rules of energy. As demand outpaces infrastructure, the answer isn’t just more power: it’s smarter systems. Schneider Electric's CEO shares how energy and industrial intelligence unlock efficiency, resilience, and scalable growth. Read insights Morning Must-Reads Glow emerges from stealth at $1.2B valuation to challenge endpoint security in the AI era: Glow is targeting a new class of endpoint risks created by the rapid adoption of AI agents and developer tools inside enterprises. Read More OpenAI says Hugging Face was breached by its pre-release models: OpenAI has come forward to claim responsibility for the Hugging Face breach, saying it was the result of internal testing gone awry. Read More These are the countries moving to ban social media for children: Australia was the first country to issue a ban in late 2025, aiming to reduce the pressures and risks that young users may face on social media, including cyberbullying, social media addiction, and exposure to predators. Read More Synthesia’s AI training platform is moving beyond videos into live coaching: Synthesia launched AI Roleplay Sessions, an interactive enterprise training platform where employees practice workplace conversations with AI avatars that provide feedback, scoring, and analytics to help companies measure training effectiveness. Read More Jack Dorsey is taking on Slack with Buzz, a group chat platform for teams and their AI agents: Buzz is a group chat platform for the workplace that puts humans and their AI agents in the same conversation. Read More A message from Onward FX Pre-matched investor meetings for deep tech founders Onward FX is your warm intro to sector-focused VCs and corporate ventures like Chevron, Exxon, ARPA E, Eclipse, Halliburton, and 20 more. Meetings are pre-matched and vetted against investor mandates. 1 in 4 founders leave with a term sheet. October 27 in Little Rock, Arkansas. Accepting applications now. Apply Now Last but Not Least Passionfroot raises $15M to expand its B2B creator marketplace to the US: Passionfroot, a German startup building a marketplace connecting B2B creators with brands, has raised $15M in a Series A round led by Insight Partners. Read More Check out some of our other newsletters: StrictlyVC TechCrunch Events TechCrunch Mobility Want to adjust your daily newsletter schedule? You can do it right here Got a tip? Get in touch securely. Want to advertise on TechCrunch? advertise@techcrunch.com Has this been forwarded to you? Click here to subscribe to this newsletter. Unsubscribe Member Center Privacy Policy Copyright © 2026 TechCrunch Media LLC 501 2nd Street, Suite 650, San Francisco, CA 94107