Meta releases its first frontier model, Muse Wonder

Plus more of TechCrunch's top stories this afternoon

View this email online in your browser  October 12, 2026 TechCrunch Top 3 Meta releases its first frontier model, Muse Wonder: Where Muse Spark aimed to be a lightweight model that could perform at low latency, the Wonder models are larger and said to be more capable, with higher benchmark scores and better results on complex tasks like coding. Read More WindBorne wins a hefty US Air Force contract for its balloon data: A Silicon Valley startup that uses weather balloons and AI to predict the weather won a U.S. military contract worth almost $50 million. Read More Microsoft president says UK is best placed to drive AI regulation: Microsoft president Brad Smith calls for urgent AI regulation, saying milk and washing machines have more oversight than AI companies. Read More A message from 188 West Saint James Move-in ready condos starting at $375k in downtown San Jose Discover the best of modern living, where Silicon Valley meets downtown San Jose. Enjoy refined amenities such as our business lounge, 75-foot lap pool, and expansive amenity deck, panoramic views, and light-filled residences designed for ease and sophistication, with dining, entertainment, and the energy of San Pedro Square just steps away. Schedule a Tour Our biggest event of the year is coming next week, and now's the time to lock in your ticket to learning how to build successfully in the AI era. You'll get expert insights from leaders from Anthropic, Nvidia, OpenAI, Google Cloud, and hundreds of other sessions across three days.  Save 50% on a second ticket, or if you've been laid off recently, get an Expo+ Pass for just $75. Register Now Afternoon Must-Reads This AI startup says it can generate permit-ready blueprints in minutes: Blueprints AI, a bootstrapped startup based in Santa Monica, developed software that produces code-compliant construction blueprints from a photo, PDF, or sketch. Read More Fitbit Edge is Google’s middle ground between Fitbit Air and Pixel Watch: Google’s newest wearable costs $179.99 and has a sleek feel like the Fitbit Air but with an OLED display. Read More Honeyjar offers AI tools to improve PR and comms at every company: Journalists, entrepreneurs, and even some public relations professionals will tell you that the PR process is broken. But could AI actually make things better? Read More Former Plaud exec raises $26M for AI app that listens to you in the background: One of the core promises of AI is that the more it knows about a person, the better it will be able to assist them with tasks and make appropriate suggestions, which, if you'll believe the tech companies, requires apps and devices to listen, watch, or record users' activity all the time and gather all possible context. Read More Will the HomeView be Apple’s first smart home success?: Over the past couple of years, we’ve seen multiple reports that Apple was working on a new smart home product, but now it seems the product has a name and a launch date. Read More Last but Not Least Aaron Sorkin’s ‘The Social Reckoning’ is off to a weak start: What does this mean for a fall full of movies starring villainous tech CEOs? 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

Former Plaud exec raises $26M for AI app that listens to you in the background

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

View this email online in your browser  October 12, 2026 TechCrunch Top 3 Former Plaud exec raises $26M for AI app that listens to you in the background: Ambi is releasing apps for iPhone, Mac, and Apple Watch that enables ambient capture Read More Smart ring maker Ultrahuman to roll out biological-age model across UAE: Ultrahuman and Abu Dhabi will spend the next two years working on research and clinical validation of the model. Read More Dawn Myers is making it easier to style, detangle, and care for curly hair: Richualist is one of TechCrunch's Battlefield 200 Companies! Read More Our biggest event of the year is coming next week, and now's the time to lock in your ticket to learning how to build successfully in the AI era. You'll get expert insights from leaders from Anthropic, Nvidia, OpenAI, Google Cloud, and hundreds of other sessions across three days.  Save 50% on a second ticket, or if you've been laid off recently, get an Expo+ Pass for just $75. Register Now Morning Must-Reads 48 hours to TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 — hear directly from the people building what’s next: Less than 48 hours, TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 starts in San Francisco’s Moscone West. Save up to $100 on your pass before prices increase at the door, plus get 50% on a second pass. Or score other deals. Read More Aaron Sorkin’s ‘The Social Reckoning’ is off to a weak start: What does this mean for a fall full of movies starring villainous tech CEOs? Read More Will the HomeView be Apple’s first smart home success?: Over the past couple of years, we’ve seen multiple reports that Apple was working on a new smart home product, but now it seems the product has a name and a launch date. Read More TechCrunch Mobility: A roadblock clears for self-driving trucks: Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility, your hub for the future of transportation and now, more than ever, the role AI is playing in it. Read More TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 starts tomorrow: Your final chance to secure up to $100 ticket savings: Tomorrow at 8 a.m. PT, it all begins. 10,000+ founders, investors, and tech operators will gather at San Francisco’s Moscone West for TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 for three days of ideas, connections, and startups shaping what comes next. This is your last 24 hours to secure ticket savings of up to $100, and get 50% off a second. Read More Last but Not Least The founder's guide to TechCrunch Disrupt 2026: Everything you need to know: TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 is built around one question: How do you build an enduring company in the AI era? Our programming and speaker lineup reflect that. 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