OpenAI-backed Thrive Holdings raises $2B to bring AI to the enterprise

Plus more of TechCrunch's top stories this afternoon

View this email online in your browser  August 12, 2026 TechCrunch Top 3 OpenAI-backed Thrive Holdings raises $2B to bring AI to the enterprise: Thrive Holdings has raised $2 billion in new funding at a $12 billion valuation from investors like SoftBank, D1 Capital Partners, and Altimeter Capital.  Read More AI coding startup Cognition reportedly already in talks to raise at $40B valuation: Cognition may be looking to raise another mega round just a few months after raising $1 billion at a $26 billion valuation. Read More As AI safety concerns mount, three pioneers make the case for staying open: At Ai4, three of the world's most respected AI experts — Geoffrey Hinton, Fei-Fei Li, and Andrew Ng — debated regulation, open source access, and how America can compete as China advances in Asia. Read More A message from Alumni Ventures Invest in High-Potential Startups Like These Alumni Ventures is giving readers early access to high-potential startup opportunities across today’s most active sectors, co-invested alongside name-brand VC firms like Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Bessemer, & Y Combinator. You Get: Curated deal flow of high-potential startups, Investing alongside name-brand vc firms, No cost to see deals, No obligation to invest. See Current Deals Afternoon Must-Reads Mesh, Automattic's CRM for everyone, comes to Android: Mesh, an AI-powered contacts app and relationship manager from Automattic, is now an Android app. Read More After Microsoft threatened legal action, a security researcher publishes a new Windows zero-day bug: This is the latest zero-day released by security researcher Nightmare Eclipse, despite Microsoft publicly threatening to take legal action against them. Read More Everything announced at Made by Google '26: Pixel 11, Pixel Watch 5, Pixel Tag, and tons of Gemini features: From the Pixel 11 series and a brand new competitor to Apple’s AirTag, here are all the announcements from the Made by Google 2026 event. Read More Reservoir raises $8M to make water heaters that people — and the grid — will actually want: Reservoir has built an ultra-efficient water heater that can predict hot water demand, store energy, and detect plumbing leaks throughout a home. Read More Google takes on AirTag with the new $29 Pixel Tag: Google’s new Pixel Tag taps into its Find Hub network to help users track lost keys, bags, and other items. Read More Last but Not Least How a $250 million acquisition collapsed into allegations of fraud and forged signatures: Investors are still waiting for their share of the $250 million windfall, and VideoVerse co-founder Vinayak Shrivastav is now at the center of multiple legal cases. 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