AI News

techcrunch.com·Sep 11, 2026

OpenAI puts Pro subscriptions on hold due to Astra demand

The company said Pro subscriptions put the most strain on its systems, so it's pausing sign-ups while adding more capacity.

techcrunch.com·Sep 11, 2026

Anthropic details distillation campaigns from Alibaba, Moonshot AI, and DeepSeek

A new report released Thursday by Anthropic alleges persistent distillation attacks by China-based AI companies, which have escalated in recent months as competition in the space has intensified.

techcrunch.com·Sep 11, 2026

Meta’s AI agent Muse is now the No. 2 app in the US

Meta's newest app Muse is off to a slower start than the company's other apps, like Meta AI or Threads.

Anthropic reveals rogue AI agents hate CAPTCHAs, just like you

Come inside the mind of a bot trying to convince the internet it's human.

India’s Pocket FM doubles revenue run rate to $500M as AI powers 93% of audio content

Pocket FM uses AI to produce 99% of its new content, helping make content production about 80 times cheaper.

The Boring Company raises $3B in round led by UAE

The company said it plans to dig more than 150 kilometers of tunnels in the Middle Eastern country.

AI agents are flooding public services with new requests

“The vast majority of cases we find are people who are entitled to claim for something, claiming for that thing,” the researcher told TechCrunch.

Snapchat takes aim at Partiful with new event-planning features

Snapchat says the new features can be used to organize everything from birthday celebrations and sporting events to study sessions and weekend hangouts.

AI research startup Listen Labs scrubbed a $1.5B funding round for Salesforce talks

Listen Labs walked away from a signed Series C term sheet from Menlo Ventures, sources say.

OpenAI adds a prominent AI doomer to its board of directors

Paul Christiano, an influential AI researcher focused on alignment, is joining the OpenAI Foundation as a member of its board.

Apple Watch’s new AI features are normalizing the idea that technology is always listening

Apple says its new watches won’t save raw audio, but features that can transcribe recent speech and summarize ambient conversations raise new questions about consent, privacy, and how people behave wh…

There are new shiny iPhones, so Apple is making you pay more for older models

Apple is raising the price of its existing iPhone models by $100, including iPhone 16, iPhone 17, and iPhone Air.

The hinge for Apple’s new foldable phone was built with AI

Apple says it used AI and 3D printing in the manufacturing process for its long-awaited foldable phone.

Apple unveils Watch Series 12 and Watch Ultra 4 with an AI upgrade that can recap your day

Most notably, Apple is taking aim at the growing wave of AI wearables with new "Audio Intelligence" features that let you rewind moments and remember details from daily conversations.

Apple has a new way prove your iPhone photos aren’t AI slop

Apple introduced Apple Reference Image to help users determine whether photos have been edited, including alterations made by AI.

Apple shows off AirPods 5 with improved active noise cancellation

The AirPods 5 support better noise cancellation, Siri AI, and offer volume controls on the stem.

Apple CEO John Ternus says the best AI device is still the iPhone

The company also argued that its on-device models offer consumers more privacy.

Viral AI assistant Instinct now has its own email address

Instinct’s new email feature lets the AI agent create and manage accounts, contact businesses, handle support requests, and do more on users' behalf.