The world in a glance.

Why Cohere is merging with Aleph Alpha

Canadian AI startup Cohere is taking over Germany-based Aleph Alpha with support from Lidl’s owner, Schwarz Group. With the blessing of their governments, the companies intend to…

Researchers say we’re talking less than ever

Researchers at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and the University of Arizona say that between 2005 and 2019, the number of words we speak out loud to another human being…

Apple under Ternus: what comes next for the tech giant’s hardware strategy

John Ternus, Apple's incoming CEO, is a hardware guy, signaling Apple may be putting devices back at the center of its strategy.

India’s Snabbit seeks fresh funding at a $400M valuation, sources say

Snabbit has scaled rapidly, crossing one million jobs in March, amid growing investor interest.

Xbox’s weirdest studio is on a roll

For a while there, it seemed like Double Fine might be struggling under the Microsoft corporate umbrella. The game studio led by Tim Schafer is beloved for offbeat titles like…

Sho Miyake answers life’s greatest questions

Acclaimed Japanese director Sho Miyake has arrived in the States. He's brought with him two feature films: Small, Slow But Steady and Two Seasons, Two Strangers, a pair of…

The US gets the worst phones

Apple and Samsung dominate the US phone market, and they've done so for years. Together with Google, they've shaped our sense of what a smartphone is and what it can do, pushing…

Discord Sleuths Gained Unauthorized Access to Anthropic’s Mythos

Plus: Spy firms tap into a global telecom weakness to track targets, 500,000 UK health records go up for sale on Alibaba, Apple patches a revealing notification bug, and more.

The Online Civil War About ‘Michael’ Is a Battle Over Truth

Fans want to reclaim the music and myth of Michael Jackson in the new biopic while critics call for accountability. Who’s right?

Altra Promo Codes: Get 20% Off Plus Free Shipping

Score big savings on Altra Running shoes with up to 50% off sale styles, 20% off select models, 10% off your first order when you sign up, plus free standard delivery on every…

Lachy Groom to back India startup Pronto at a $200M valuation, sources say

This round, should it occur, would double the house-help startup's valuation in a matter of weeks.

Steve Ballmer blasts founder he backed who pleaded guilty to fraud: ‘I was duped and feel silly’

Steve Ballmer wrote a fiery letter in the sentencing of disgraced founder Joseph Sanberg documenting all the harm that's befalling him as an investor.

Cohere acquires, merges with Germany-based startup to create a ‘transatlantic AI powerhouse’

Cohere, the Canada-based AI company that makes AI tools for businesses in regulated industries, announced Friday it would merge with Aleph Alpha, a German company that also builds…

Two college kids raise a $5.1 million pre-seed to build an AI social network in iMessage

Series, a social networking app that's grown popular on college campuses, announced a $5.1 million pre-seed round from some big names in tech.

Microsoft will let you pause Windows Updates indefinitely, 35 days at a time

Windows users will no longer be forced to run automatic updates in the middle of a game or a busy day. Microsoft is rolling out some long-awaited changes to Windows Update to…

X-energy stock pops 27% on first day of trading following upsized IPO

Investors flocked to nuclear power startup X-energy in its first day of public trading on the Nasdaq.

Alex Jones has uncovered another massive conspiracy

Alex Jones may soon lose Infowars, the digital perch that he's used for decades to traffic in conspiracy theories, to The Onion, the satirical newspaper. But not before he's…

ComfyUI hits $500M valuation as creators seek more control over AI-generated media

ComfyUI, whose tools give creators more control over AI image, video, and audio generation, just raised $30 million.

The person who allegedly leaked Paramount’s new Avatar movie has been arrested

Following Paramount Skydance's move to launch an investigation into how its upcoming Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender animated feature leaked onto the internet, a suspect has been…

Why are top university websites serving porn? It comes down to shoddy housekeeping.

Hundreds of subdomains from dozens of universities have been hijacked by scammers.

The RAM shortage could get even worse if Samsung labor protests cut production

The RAM shortage caused by demand from AI datacenters is already driving up prices on phones, PS5s, and Raspberry Pis, but it could be about to get even worse. Samsung is facing…

Report: Samsung execs worried company could lose money on smartphones for the first time

The AI-driven memory shortage is hitting Samsung's bottom line.

Marked-up Mac minis flood eBay amid shortages driven by AI

Apple’s sold-out Mac mini is spawning marked-up eBay listings as demand surges for the compact desktop, now favored for running local AI models and tools.

The Latest Push to Extend Key US Spy Powers Is Still a Mess

A US surveillance program that lets the FBI view Americans’ communications without a warrant is up for renewal. A new bill aims to address mounting lawmaker concerns—with smoke…

Nuclear startup X-energy raises $1B in data center-driven IPO

Amazon-backed X-energy was able to raise around 20% more money in its IPO as demand for nuclear power surges.

Well, this is embarrassing: The Lunar Gateway's primary modules are corroded

"Preliminary findings indicate that the issue likely results from a combination of factors."

Tim Cook is stepping down. What happens to Apple now?

Tim Cook plans to step down from his CEO role in September, handing the reins to hardware chief John Ternus. Ternus may be inheriting one of the most durable businesses in tech,…

Uber CTO Praveen Neppalli Naga joins stacked StrictlyVC SF lineup for April 30 event

Surprise! StrictlyVC San Francisco, which will kick off this year’s events lineup for TechCrunch on April 30 at the Sentro Filipino Cultural Center, is getting a new addition to…

In another wild turn for AI chips, Meta signs deal for millions of Amazon AI CPUs

Meta has commandeered a big chunk of Amazon's homegrown CPUs (not GPUs) for AI agentic workloads, signaling that a new kind of chip race has begun.

Instagram has launched another Snapchat clone

Instagram is testing a new dedicated app that's focused around Snapchat-like photo sharing features. The app, called "Instants," was launched in Italy and Spain yesterday,…

The Best Cordless Vacuums for Your Whole House (2026)

Clean your house without the constraint of a power cord with these cordless stick vacuums.

Rocket Report: Artemis III rocket getting ready; SpaceX is now an AI company

"If it doesn’t rely on a solid, there’s no reason why we can’t launch."

Prestigious photo contest answers ‘what is a photo?’

We love to muse over how "real" photography is defined here at The Verge now that generative AI is so prolific, and the World Press Photo competition might have the answer. The…

These AI Thirst Trap Creators Say They’re Misunderstood

A viral red carpet moment shone light on a group of hunky Instagram influencers—and the followers who are too horny to care that they’re not real.

Design Within Reach Promo Codes: 30% Off | April 2026

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US arrests soldier who allegedly made $400k on Maduro Polymarket bets

We knew someone made over $400,000 on suspicious Polymarket bets around the US operation to capture Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, but now we have a name: Gannon Ken Van…

Redwood Materials loses COO amid layoffs, restructuring

Former Tesla executive Chris Lister is retiring, and at least three other VPs have left Redwood around the recent restructuring, TechCrunch has learned.

US accuses China of “industrial-scale” AI theft. China says it’s “slander.”

Trump-Xi summit may be rocked by US mulling huge sanctions.

Brendan Carr’s war on wokeness targets inclusive children’s television

Under the guidance of consummate bully / chairman Brendan Carr, the FCC is taking steps towards cracking down on children's entertainment that in any way explores the complexities…

Bret Taylor’s Sierra buys YC-backed AI startup Fragment

Sierra, the AI customer service agent startup founded by technologist Bret Taylor, announced today that it has acquired the YC-backed French startup Fragment.

Don’t stop hiring humans — stop hiring the wrong humans, Artisan’s founder says

Artisan may be known for their bold “Stop Hiring Humans” campaign but the reality is every founder needs to assemble the right team if they want to scale.

Democrats want to ban ICE from turning warehouses into detention centers

A bill introduced by Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) would prohibit the Department of Homeland Security from converting warehouses and similar buildings into immigrant detention…

Anthropic’s Mythos breach was humiliating

Anthropic's tightly controlled rollout of Claude Mythos has taken an awkward turn. After spending weeks insisting the AI model is so capable at cybersecurity that it is too…

RFK Jr.’s rejection of germ theory debunked in Senate hearing

Kennedy falsely argues that vaccines did little to lower childhood deaths.

OpenAI says its new GPT-5.5 model is more efficient and better at coding

OpenAI just announced its new GPT-5.5 model, which the company calls its "smartest and most intuitive to use model yet, and the next step toward a new way of getting work done on…

Great news, the Moto G Stylus is no longer teeming with bloatware

The 2026 edition of Motorola's stylus phone is plenty appealing. My review unit is a charming lilac color, has a pleasantly textured back panel, and includes a MicroSD slot and…

Eight months early and under budget, the Roman Telescope is ready to launch

Spy satellite hardware has been repurposed to scan the Universe in the infrared.

Surveillance vendors caught abusing access to telcos to track people’s phone locations, researchers say

The Citizen Lab found two separate surveillance vendors abusing the backbone of cellular networks to spy on several victims across the world.

Beehiiv rolls out new creator tools, including webinars and customizable paywalls

Beehiiv is clearly done being just a newsletter platform based on today's launch of a new webinar feature, customizable paywalls, and more.

The Adidas Hyperboost Edge Is Your New Super Trainer

How do shoe companies translate superfast racing shoe tech into your daily trainers? We break it down with some of the best new running shoes on the market.