Microsoft takes on AI rivals with three new foundational models

Plus more of TechCrunch's top stories this afternoon

View this email online in your browser  April 02, 2026 TechCrunch Top 3 Microsoft takes on AI rivals with three new foundational models: MAI released models that can transcribe voice into text as well as generate audio and images after the group's formation six months ago. Read More NASA astronauts prove that sending an email really is rocket science: NASA Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman faced the most earthly possible conflict while in outer space: his Outlook wasn't working. Read More OpenAI acquires TBPN, the buzzy founder-led business talk show: TBPN, Silicon Valley's cult-favorite tech podcast, will operate independently, even as it's overseen by chief political operative Chris Lehane. Read More Disrupt 2026: Where deals and ideas ignite Oct 13–15 at San Francisco's Moscone West, 10,000 founders, investors, and operators gather for high-signal insights, curated connections, and real momentum. Sign up! A message from Stripe Complimentary pass to Sessions with code s26techcrunch100 Join Stripe at Sessions 2026—the internet economy conference—happening April 29–30 in San Francisco. Join fellow business leaders, founders, and developers to explore the latest in financial technology, global commerce, and strategies for growth. Register with code s26techcrunch100 for a complimentary pass. Register Now Afternoon Must-Reads Telehealth giant Hims & Hers says its customer support system was hacked: The U.S. telehealth giant says hackers stole customer support ticket data over the course of several days in February. Read More Beehiiv expands into podcasting, taking aim at Patreon: One way Beehiiv is convincing creators to switch from rivals like Substack and Patreon is by not taking a cut of revenue. Read More Tesla's cheaper vehicles aren't helping its declining sales: The company's deliveries in the first quarter were just 6% higher than last year, and Tesla now faces a third straight year of falling sales. Read More Diverse teams start with diverse VCs: It is the path of least resistance for a growth-stage company to hire from the familiar Silicon Valley pipelines but if a founder wants a diverse team, that value has to be put into practice from the very first hire.  Read More ICE says it bought Paragon's spyware to use in drug trafficking cases: The acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement told lawmakers that the use of Paragon spyware is necessary to counter terrorists' "thriving exploitation of encrypted communications platforms." Read More A message from Stripe Complimentary pass to Sessions with code s26techcrunch100 Join Stripe at Sessions 2026—the internet economy conference—happening April 29–30 in San Francisco. Join fellow business leaders, founders, and developers to explore the latest in financial technology, global commerce, and strategies for growth. Register with code s26techcrunch100 for a complimentary pass. Register Now You missed these chats from Disrupt: Kindred talks home-swapping platform for travelers, Chef Robotics introduces AI into commercial kitchens, and Character.AI addresses chatbot safety with teens. Watch on Cheddar.com Watch on Streaming Last but Not Least Cash App launches 'pay later' feature for P2P transfers: Block says that the new feature has strong built-in protections to keep users from so-called debt spirals. 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

Diverse teams start with diverse VCs

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

View this email online in your browser  April 02, 2026 TechCrunch Top 3 Diverse teams start with diverse VCs: It is the path of least resistance for a growth-stage company to hire from the familiar Silicon Valley pipelines but if a founder wants a diverse team, that value has to be put into practice from the very first hire.  Read More Anthropic took down thousands of GitHub repos trying to yank its leaked source code — a move the company says was an accident: Anthropic executives said it was an accident and retracted the bulk of the takedown notices. Read More Exclusive: Beehiiv expands into podcasting, taking aim at Patreon: One way Beehiiv is convincing creators to switch from rivals like Substack and Patreon is by not taking a cut of revenue. Read More Disrupt 2026: Where deals and ideas ignite Oct 13–15 at San Francisco's Moscone West, 10,000 founders, investors, and operators gather for high-signal insights, curated connections, and real momentum. Sign up! A message from Stripe Complimentary pass to Sessions with code s26techcrunch100 Join Stripe at Sessions 2026—the internet economy conference—happening April 29–30 in San Francisco. Join fellow business leaders, founders, and developers to explore the latest in financial technology, global commerce, and strategies for growth. Register with code s26techcrunch100 for a complimentary pass. Register Now Morning Must-Reads Tesla's cheaper vehicles aren't helping its declining sales: The company's deliveries in the first quarter were just 6% higher than last year, and Tesla now faces a third straight year of falling sales. Read More A new connections app, Sonder, has a deliberately tedious sign-up process (and it's working): Sonder profiles are completely unstructured, encouraging users to build something that looks like a mood board or a digital collage. Think MySpace rather than LinkedIn. Read More Apple releases security fix for older iPhones and iPads to protect against DarkSword attacks: The security update protects a raft of older iPhones and iPads from attacks linked to leaked hacking tools called DarkSword. Read More The reputation of troubled YC startup Delve has gotten even worse: Delve faces new allegations that it violated the open source license of its customer, Sim.ai, by taking the customers's tool and passing it off as its own. Read More De-fi platform Drift suspends deposits and withdrawals after millions in crypto stolen in hack: Blockchain trackers put the cryptocurrency heist in the hundreds of millions of dollars and is already on track to be the largest crypto theft in 2026 so far. Read More A message from Stripe Complimentary pass to Sessions with code s26techcrunch100 Join Stripe at Sessions 2026—the internet economy conference—happening April 29–30 in San Francisco. Join fellow business leaders, founders, and developers to explore the latest in financial technology, global commerce, and strategies for growth. Register with code s26techcrunch100 for a complimentary pass. Register Now Last but Not Least Commonwealth Fusion Systems leans on magnets for near-term revenue: Realta Fusion is buying magnets from Commonwealth Fusion Systems, providing a revenue stop gap. 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