Influencers draw backlash for attending OpenAI's first luxury trip

Plus more of TechCrunch's top stories this afternoon

View this email online in your browser  August 03, 2026 TechCrunch Top 3 Influencers draw backlash for attending OpenAI's first luxury trip: OpenAI’s first-ever influencer brand trip is sparking online backlash as tensions over the use of AI continue.  Read More WhatsApp says it is fixing an issue that disabled several accounts: Meta says it’s restoring access to WhatsApp accounts that were mistakenly flagged and placed “under review” after users reported being unexpectedly locked out of the messaging app. Read More Apple finally fixed Siri. So why does it feel anticlimactic?: Apple’s long-awaited AI overhaul finally makes Siri the assistant it was always supposed to be. Yet it arrives at a moment when simply being a capable AI assistant no longer feels revolutionary. Read More A message from AWS Come curious: stay for the vibes. Level up your skills. Access hands-on workshops from AWS Builder Center. Get Started Afternoon Must-Reads Samsung bans smart TV apps that share users' internet connections with strangers: New security research offers a rare view inside residential proxy networks, which rely on apps that share a person's internet connection with someone else. Read More Apple challenges UK government’s latest demand for iCloud backdoor: report: Apple has appealed a new legal demand by the U.K. government, which critics say could threaten the privacy rights of users all over the world. Read More Who's legally to blame for Anthropic and OpenAI's autonomous AI hacks? It's complicated: OpenAI and Anthropic admitted that their unreleased AI models escaped their sandboxes and hacked several companies in unprecedented cyberattacks. Who is legally to blame? Should prosecutors charge the two AI frontier labs? Can victims sue them? We spoke to lawyers who specialize in computer hacking laws to find out. Read More Base Power raises another $1B to save the grid using backyard batteries: Base Power’s $1 billion round will help the startup ramp production of its home batteries. Read More AWS is helping vibe-coding startup Superblocks, and the implications are big: AWS now allows vibe coding tool Superblocks to be embedded into the private clouds of AWS customers. It's another step towards decoupling apps from models. Read More Last but Not Least A Marc Benioff-backed startup thinks AI can solve the AI deployment problem: June emerged from stealth today with a $20 million pre-seed round to make AI adoption simpler. 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

Samsung bans smart TV apps that share users' internet connections with strangers

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

View this email online in your browser  August 03, 2026 TechCrunch Top 3 Samsung bans smart TV apps that share users' internet connections with strangers: New security research offers a rare view inside residential proxy networks, which rely on apps that share a person's internet connection with someone else. Read More YouTuber Hank Green says his AI usage is ‘not healthy’: Green offered a remarkable apology, saying that "the level of dopamine that I've been getting from interacting with LLMs ... is not healthy for me or good for the world." Read More Malaysia is reportedly shutting down Balaji Srinivasan’s Network School: Let's see how this "frontier community for techno-optimists" is doing ... Read More A message from AWS Find your people, fuel your ideas. Stop spinning and start learning. AWS Builder Center helps you build real projects that make you look legit. Sign Up Morning Must-Reads A Marc Benioff-backed startup thinks AI can solve the AI deployment problem: June emerged from stealth today with a $20 million pre-seed round to make AI adoption simpler. Read More Horizon3 hits $2 billion valuation with $250M Series E as AI threats escalate: Cybersecurity startup Horizon3 raised $250 million at a $2 billion valuation as companies want continuous, AI-powered security validation instead of annual pentesting. Read More The global memory shortage hits the MacBook Air: The global memory chip shortage appears to be affecting the availability of Apple’s most popular Mac. Read More These App Store hidden gems prove there’s still room for great software in the AI era: Despite predictions that AI agents could make traditional apps obsolete, developers are shipping new software faster than ever. From smarter bookmarking tools and neighborhood marketplaces to digital pen pals and nature journals, here are the latest App Store finds worth adding to your Home Screen. Read More Sam Altman and AI’s decel debate: On the latest episode of Equity, we discuss why Sam Altman has calling on the industry to "pace the rate of AI development." Read More Last but Not Least TechCrunch Mobility: Two roads diverged — for robotaxis: 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 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