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