How do we explain OpenAI's executive exodus?

Plus more of TechCrunch's top stories this afternoon

View this email online in your browser  August 26, 2026 TechCrunch Top 3 How do we explain OpenAI's executive exodus?: Was Greg Brockman the right executive all along? Read More Medical device maker Boston Scientific says a cyberattack is causing a 'global disruption' to its operations: The company won't say if medical devices are affected or if any customer data was exfiltrated. Read More Google's Gemini has a branding problem, and so does the rest of AI: Consumer AI apps need to stop making users learn their product architecture. Read More Afternoon Must-Reads Apple is holding its iPhone launch event on September 9: The event is expected to be a notable one, as Apple is rumored to unveil its long-awaited foldable iPhone. It'll also be the first Apple event with John Ternus as CEO, who is scheduled to take the reins of the tech giant from Tim Cook on September 1. Read More CISA confirms hackers targeted over 100 US water systems during July: The federal cyber agency's warning comes amid a wave of suspected Iran-backed cyberattacks targeting critical water systems across the United States. Read More Meta settles for $18 billion in lawsuit brought by 29 states over social media harms to children: The lawsuit alleged that Meta knowingly designed platforms like Instagram and Facebook to addict children, despite knowing about the harms the platforms could pose to young users. Read More Hearing tech startup Legato emerges from stealth with $12M and a peek at its AI hearing glasses: The glasses, called Legato Frames, integrate the company’s patented hearing-assistance technology into the arms of eyewear frames. Read More US seizes domains of Chinese botnet used to hack NASA, Justice Department, and the Senate: The Justice Department said that the domain seizures made the botnet and its command and control servers "inoperable," as the domains were hardcoded into the botnet's code and were critical for the botnet's communication and essential operations. Read More A message from ThoughtSpot Why Traditional Analytics Are Failing Modern Teams Your customers want answers inside your product, not another dashboard. Join ThoughtSpot on August 27 to see how top teams build AI-native analytics that tell users what to do next. Register Now Last but Not Least Bill Gates wants to see a robot tax and 'Human Reserved' jobs to mitigate harms from AI: Gates is mostly in the Responsible AI camp, but there are a few ideas in here we hadn't heard before. 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

CISA confirms hackers targeted over 100 US water systems during July

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

View this email online in your browser  August 26, 2026 TechCrunch Top 3 CISA confirms hackers targeted over 100 US water systems during July: The federal cyber agency's warning comes amid a wave of suspected Iran-backed cyberattacks targeting critical water systems across the United States. Read More Meta settles for $18 billion in lawsuit brought by 29 states over social media harms to children: The lawsuit alleged that Meta knowingly designed platforms like Instagram and Facebook to addict children, despite knowing about the harms the platforms could pose to young users. Read More Hearing tech startup Legato emerges from stealth with $12M and a peek at its AI hearing glasses: The glasses, called Legato Frames, integrate the company’s patented hearing-assistance technology into the arms of eyewear frames. Read More The Best Disrupt 2026 Discount Ends Soon AI has made it faster than ever to bring an idea from concept to launch.   But it hasn't made it easier to build something durable.     Disrupt 2026's programming is built around that challenge, delivering practical sessions on what actually holds up and how to build it. Ticket prices increase at midnight PT Friday, so grab yours before then!  Register Now Morning Must-Reads Surprise: Z.ai is the AI lab behind the mysterious Ox Alpha model: Z.ai confirms it is behind Ox Alpha, the mysterious open AI model topping benchmarks and leaderboards, and its weights are set to be released soon. Read More Ring introduces a new encryption standard, makes it the default for cloud features: Ring says users can still opt for end-to-end encryption. Read More Bill Gates wants to see a robot tax and 'Human Reserved' jobs to mitigate harms from AI: Gates is mostly in the Responsible AI camp, but there are a few ideas in here we hadn't heard before. Read More Runable hits $21M to bet AI agents can go from building businesses to growing them: Runable says 60%–70% of its 1 trillion-plus token usage in the last 90 days came from paying customers. Read More Robotics startup Generalist reaches $3B valuation, sources say: The $200 million extension comes just months after the physical AI startup reached a $2 billion valuation. Read More Get Your Startup in Front of the Disrupt Crowds Not everyone needs a keynote slot to make noise at Disrupt 2026. Sometimes the best way to meet investors, customers, and partners is by exhibiting directly in the Expo Hall. And by exhibiting, you get 10 passes to Disrupt to share with your team! Learn More Last but Not Least OpenAI loses a top data center exec as stream of high-profile departures continues: In a statement to TechCrunch about Malone's departure, OpenAI said it had "recently reorganized" its "infrastructure organization to support the scale and pace of our work." 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