Hardware companies have realized that note-taking is one of the easiest AI use cases to build for, and consequently have been busy shoving mics into everything from pendants and rings to credit-card-sized pucks and wristbands. Still, despite the variety of devices, only a few companies have been able to stand out.
One of these companies is Plaud, which has over 2.5 million people using its…
Nvidia closes in on Hugging Face acquisition
August 28, 2026
Nvidia has agreed to buy Hugging Face for $12.9 billion, The Information reported Wednesday night, citing a source familiar with the matter. Business Insider, which first reported over the weekend that Hugging Face was fielding takeover interest, reported Wednesday night…
Hearing tech startup Legato emerges from stealth with $12M and a peek at its AI hearing glasses
August 27, 2026
Hearing loss affects an estimated 50 million adults in the United States, but only around 20% of those with diagnosed hearing loss seek treatment. Legato, a new hearing tech company, aims to close that gap.
The startup is emerging from stealth on Wednesday with $12 million…
As artificial intelligence makes it easier than ever to build websites and apps, Indian startup Runable is betting the next opportunity lies in what comes after: finding customers and helping businesses grow. The startup has raised $21 million to expand in that direction.
The Series A was co-led by Susquehanna Venture Capital and Nexus Venture Partners, with existing investors Together Fund and…
More than 76% of consumers in India prefer talking to businesses over a phone call, according to a recent study from Truecaller. Since voice is still consumers’ preferred way to communicate, that leaves a big opportunity to automate support and outreach calls using…
Gamma acquires Accel-backed design startup Lica
August 26, 2026
Presentation startup Gamma has acquired Accel-backed design startup Lica in a bid to build out its own design research lab, TechCrunch has learned exclusively. Lica’s co-founders will lead the effort.
Lica started off as an app that could turn screenshots and…
Accel-backed Keenable is indexing the web for AI agents
August 26, 2026
Search engines were built and optimized for people, who can’t spare the time or attention required to scan entire web pages. But as people increasingly use AI chatbots to search the web and do tasks, there’s a line of thinking that the internet’s current infrastructure needs to be updated to cater to AI instead, as these bots can read and process much larger portions of…
‘The world seems to be ready’: An interview with OpenAI head of product Thibault Sottiaux
August 26, 2026
Users of OpenAI’s software engineering tool Codex might know Thibault Sottiaux as the guy who resets their token limits whenever the product hits a growth milestone. Now, OpenAI is trying to bring that dopamine hit to the rest of us with ChatGPT Work, a platform for…
Few of the top AI labs have published or demonstrated containment response plans, according to a recent study. A containment plan spells out what happens once an AI is caught trying to subvert human control – what access gets cut, and when the system gets shut down…
Everyone is buzzing about Instinct, an AI personal assistant still in private access, not only for its incredible capabilities, but also for its potential privacy concerns. The agent, a veritable taskmaster, has been praised as feeling “like magic” and being one of the “most exciting launches” since OpenClaw. However, some testers have also raised concerns about the AI…
