Firestorm Labs raises $82M to take drone factories into the field

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

View this email online in your browser  April 29, 2026 TechCrunch Top 3 Firestorm Labs raises $82M to take drone factories into the field: A defense startup just raised $82 million to put drone factories inside shipping containers and bring manufacturing to the front lines. Read More Jack Dorsey-backed Vine reboot Divine launches to the public: Divine, a Vine reboot backed by Jack Dorsey’s nonprofit, revives six-second looping videos. Read More Apple loses bid to pause App Store fee changes as case heads to Supreme Court: Apple lost its bid to pause court-ordered App Store payment changes, keeping external purchase links in place as its case with Epic heads toward the Supreme Court. 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. Register Now! Morning Must-Reads Google expands Pentagon's access to its AI after Anthropic's refusal: After Anthropic refused to allow the DoD to use its AI for domestic mass surveillance and autonomous weapons, Google has signed a new contract with the department. Read More At his OpenAI trial, Musk relitigates an old friendship: It's a story Musk has told before -- in interviews and to author Walter Isaacson for his bestselling biography of Musk -- but Tuesday was the first time he said it under oath. Read More Colby Adcock's Scout AI raises $100M to train its models for war. We visited its bootcamp: We visited Scout AI's training ground where it's working on AI agents that can help individual soldiers control fleets of autonomous vehicles. Read More Earth AI is vertically integrating the search for critical minerals: When Earth AI started hitting months-long delays in its search for critical minerals, it decided to take matters into its own hands. Read More How one venture firm is investing in an increasingly fragmented world: Geopolitical turmoil has made venture investing challenging, leading Kompas VC to carve out a niche in startups focused on the physical world. Read More Last but Not Least Sri Lanka discloses another missing payment, days after hackers stole $2.5M from its finance ministry: The government of Sri Lanka has lost more than $3 million in two recent, separate cybersecurity incidents as the country continues to recover from its 2022 debt crisis. 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