It’s not your imagination: AI seed startups are commanding higher valuations

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

View this email online in your browser  April 01, 2026 TechCrunch Top 3 It's not your imagination: AI seed startups are commanding higher valuations: Among the most recent Y Combinator cohort, many startups were commanding $40 million valuations. But with more money comes higher expectations. Read More Anthropic is having a month: A human really borks things at Anthropic for the second time this week. Read More Mercor says it was hit by cyberattack tied to compromise of open-source LiteLLM project: The AI recruiting startup confirmed a security incident after an extortion hacking crew took credit for stealing data from the company's systems. Read More Disrupt 2026: Where deals and ideas ignite Oct 13–15 at San Francisco's Moscone West, 10,000 founders, investors, and operators gather for high-signal insights, curated connections, and real momentum. Sign up! A message from Stripe Complimentary pass to Sessions with code s26techcrunch100 Join Stripe at Sessions 2026—the internet economy conference—happening April 29–30 in San Francisco. Join fellow business leaders, founders, and developers to explore the latest in financial technology, global commerce, and strategies for growth. Register with code s26techcrunch100 for a complimentary pass. Register Now Morning Must-Reads Lucid Motors recalls over 4,000 Gravity SUVs citing improperly welded seat belts: The company struggled with quality issues when Gravity production started last year, and the new recall shows it's not out of the woods yet. Read More Salesforce announces an AI-heavy makeover for Slack, with 30 new features: Slack just got a whole lot more useful. Read More OpenAI, not yet public, raises $3B from retail investors in monster $122B fund raise: OpenAI's latest funding round, led by Amazon, Nvidia, and SoftBank, values the AI lab at $852 billion as it nears an IPO. Read More Nothing's AI devices plan reportedly contains smart glasses and earbuds: The glasses will reportedly feature cameras, microphones and speakers, and will connect to a smartphone and the cloud to process AI queries. Read More Meta was finally held accountable for harming teens. Now what?: Meta faces thousands more court cases while Congress has proposed numerous bills addressing children's online safety, some heavily criticized. Read More A message from Stripe Complimentary pass to Sessions with code s26techcrunch100 Join Stripe at Sessions 2026—the internet economy conference—happening April 29–30 in San Francisco. Join fellow business leaders, founders, and developers to explore the latest in financial technology, global commerce, and strategies for growth. Register with code s26techcrunch100 for a complimentary pass. Register Now Last but Not Least Less than a month: StrictlyVC San Francisco brings leaders from TDK Ventures, Replit, and more together: StrictlyVC San Francisco brings leaders from TDK Ventures, Replit, and more together on April 30. Space is limited. Register here for your pass. 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

Whoop's valuation just tripled to $10 billion

Plus more of TechCrunch's top stories this afternoon

View this email online in your browser  March 31, 2026 TechCrunch Top 3 Whoop's valuation just tripled to $10 billion: The fitness tracking startup just closed a $575 million Series G with Cristiano Ronaldo and LeBron James among its investors. The obvious question looming over a round of this size at this valuation: Is an IPO coming? Read More Social gaming platform Rec Room, once valued at $3.5B, is shutting down: Rec Room, the social platform for user-generated games and virtual experiences, will shutter on June 1. Read More Uber increases stake in WeRide as robotaxi partnership ramps up in Dubai: Uber and WeRide have launched robotaxi operations without a human safety operator in Dubai as part of a broader expansion in the Middle East. Read More Disrupt 2026: Where deals and ideas ignite Oct 13–15 at San Francisco's Moscone West, 10,000 founders, investors, and operators gather for high-signal insights, curated connections, and real momentum. Sign up! A message from Stripe Complimentary pass to Sessions with code s26techcrunch100 Join Stripe at Sessions 2026—the internet economy conference—happening April 29–30 in San Francisco. Join fellow business leaders, founders, and developers to explore the latest in financial technology, global commerce, and strategies for growth. Register with code s26techcrunch100 for a complimentary pass. Register Now Afternoon Must-Reads It's not your imagination: AI seed startups are commanding higher valuations: Among the most recent Y Combinator cohort, many startups were commanding $40 million valuations. But with more money comes higher expectations. Read More North Korean hackers blamed for hijacking popular Axios open source project to spread malware: A hacker inserted malware in Axios, an open source web tool downloaded tens of millions of times weekly, in a widespread hack. Read More Roku launches a standalone app for Howdy, its $2.99 streaming service: With this new app, Roku says subscribers can access Howdy's library of content on the go. Read More Google is now letting users in the US change their Gmail address: Users will be able to change their username only once every 12 months. Plus, they won't be able to delete their new email address for that period of time. Read More Rivian spinoff Also will build autonomous delivery vehicles for DoorDash: DoorDash joins Greenoaks Capital in another $200 million funding round for Also, bringing its total funding to more than $500 million. Read More A message from Stripe Complimentary pass to Sessions with code s26techcrunch100 Join Stripe at Sessions 2026—the internet economy conference—happening April 29–30 in San Francisco. Join fellow business leaders, founders, and developers to explore the latest in financial technology, global commerce, and strategies for growth. Register with code s26techcrunch100 for a complimentary pass. Register Now You missed these chats from Disrupt: Kindred talks home-swapping platform for travelers, Chef Robotics introduces AI into commercial kitchens, and Character.AI addresses chatbot safety with teens. Watch on Cheddar.com Watch on Streaming Last but Not Least FedEx chooses partnerships over proprietary tech for its automation strategy: FedEx recently announced a partnership with Berkshire Gray as the company works with external players to develop its automation tech. 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