Atlassian follows Block’s footsteps and cuts staff in the name of AI

Plus more of TechCrunch's top stories this afternoon

View this email online in your browser  March 12, 2026 TechCrunch Top 3 Atlassian follows Block's footsteps and cuts staff in the name of AI: Atlassian laid off 10% of its workforce, around 1,600 people, as the company looks to funnel more funds to AI. Read More Lucid Motors shows off robotaxi concept called 'Lunar': The concept was a highlight of Lucid's investor day, in which the company detailed its ambitions to push deeper into autonomy while pumping out new, affordable EVs. Read More Tinder tries to lure people back to online dating with IRL events, virtual speed dating: Tinder just got a major revamp as it attempts to reengage its user base and attract younger daters. This includes in-person events, AI enhancements, and even virtual speed dating. 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 Orga AI Give your assistant multimodal vision Build assistants that understand images and text within the same conversational flow. Orga AI enables multimodal inputs, tool calls, and real-time interactions through clean, developer-focused APIs. Get API key Afternoon Must-Reads Law enforcement shuts down botnet made of tens of thousands of hacked routers: An international law enforcement operation shut down a service called SocksEscort, which allegedly helped cybercriminals all over the world launch ransomware and DDoS attacks, as well as distribute child sexual abuse material. Read More Webflow buys AI content-generation platform Vidoso to bolster its marketing suite: Founded in 2024, Vidoso uses large language models to help organizations generate marketing collateral like images, presentations, video clips, blog posts, and social media content. Read More Disney+ is rolling out its TikTok-like 'Verts' short-form video feed: Following the success of TikTok and Instagram Reels, Verts is designed to boost daily engagement and reach mobile-first viewers, all while increasing discovery across Disney+'s catalog. Read More Rivian R2 launch: Here's what $57,990 gets you: Two years after revealing what its affordable next-generation EV would look like, Rivian has shared all of the pricing, colors, and performance specs for its upcoming R2 SUV. And like so many new car releases, it's complicated. Read More Gumloop lands $50M from Benchmark to turn every employee into an AI agent builder: As companies race to adopt AI, Benchmark general partner Everett Randle believes the key to success lies in empowering every worker with AI superpowers, and Gumloop's intuitive agent builder is an example of the kind of tool that will unlock that potential. Read More A message from Microsoft and NVIDIA Attend Microsoft sessions on AI agents at NVIDIA GTC 2026 Microsoft's session agenda for GTC 2026 is packed with insights for a next-gen approach to AI. Topics include building and powering AI factories, enabling agentic AI at scale, optimizing AI infrastructure and costs, and leveraging AI agents for design automation and production. View the full schedule to plan your time at GTC now. Browse sessions 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 Alexa+ gets a new 'adults only' personality option that curses but won't get into NSFW content: The new Sassy style can curse and roast you, but the fun ends there. 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

Google is using old news reports and AI to predict flash floods

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

View this email online in your browser  March 12, 2026 TechCrunch Top 3 Google is using old news reports and AI to predict flash floods: A new way to solve data scarcity: Turning qualitative reports into quantitative data with an LLM. Read More When startups become a family business: This season on Build Mode, we're diving into what it takes to build a world-class founding team. This week we're exploring different kinds of co-founder dynamics and what it takes to build a startup with your family. Read More Chinese brain interface startup Gestala raises $21M just two months after launch: This is the largest early-stage funding in China's brain computer interface industry. 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 UK Office for Investment UK Quantum – Accelerating healthcare prevention The UK's National Health Service is already placing quantum at the centre of its preventative healthcare strategy. By 2030, the UK aspires to use quantum sensing to improve early diagnosis and treatment, from cancer screening to enhanced MRI scanning. Learn More Morning Must-Reads Disney+ is rolling out its TikTok-like 'Verts' short-form video feed: Following the success of TikTok and Instagram Reels, Verts is designed to boost daily engagement and reach mobile-first viewers, all while increasing discovery across Disney+'s catalog. Read More India neobank Fi winds down banking services on its platform: Fi, founded by former Google Pay executives, is discontinuing banking services over four years after launch. Read More Netflix may have paid $600 million for Ben Affleck's AI startup: This deal could rank as among the streaming giant's largest acquisitions ever. Read More Honda scraps 3 EVs planned for the US, blaming tariffs and Chinese competition: The Japanese automaker said the change of plans will cost it up to $15.7 billion. Read More AI 'actor' Tilly Norwood put out the worst song I've ever heard: This song is an AI actor's rallying cry to other AI actors, urging them to keep going despite the naysayers who doubt their humanity. Literally no one can relate to this. 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 Google Maps is getting an AI 'Ask Maps' feature and upgraded 'immersive' navigation: The tech giant says the "Immersive Navigation" launch is the biggest update to Maps in over a decade. 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