At TechCrunch Disrupt, Ricursive Intelligence founders Anna Goldie and Azalia Mirhoseini described their startup's approach to using AI systems that design computer chips, learn from each design iteration, and improve future designs. The pair, who previously built Google's AlphaChip system that produced unconventional layouts like a 'donut-shaped' circuit arrangement, said their goal is to automate and speed up chip design to make chips more efficient.
techcrunch.com
· 2026-10-15
Flock founder and CEO Garrett Langley publicly defended his company's license-plate camera and surveillance systems at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, arguing that halting the technology's expansion would hinder crime accountability. He addressed criticism that has led some cities to cancel contracts and the company to lay off staff, but largely responded with anecdotes from police chiefs rather than direct solutions to privacy concerns.
techcrunch.com
· 2026-10-15
TechCrunch has selected five startups to compete in the Startup Battlefield finals at Disrupt 2026, chosen from 20 companies that pitched across four categories: space and physical AI, energy and manufacturing, health tech and life sciences, and enterprise and security. The finalists include Apate.ai, which uses AI agents to bait scammers; Flox Intelligence, which builds a sensor-based wildlife deterrent system; and Intero Biosystems, which grows lab organoids that mimic human intestines for drug testing. The finals take place the following day, with a judging panel awarding the winner a $100,000 equity-free prize and the Startup Battlefield Cup.
techcrunch.com
· 2026-10-15
Gudea, founded in 2023 by Keith Presley, Jonathan Sperber, and James Thomin, presented its platform at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026's Startup Battlefield. The company uses AI to analyze behavior and information flow across more than 500 websites and platforms, including X, Reddit, and TikTok, to help organizations detect potentially damaging narratives before they escalate.
techcrunch.com
· 2026-10-15
Flock CEO Garrett Langley told TechCrunch Disrupt that the company's Gunshot Detection microphones pick up 'just gunshots,' but Flock's website describes the system as also detecting street takeovers, severe crashes, fireworks and sideshows. The product previously drew criticism for listening for 'screaming,' which Flock relabeled as 'sounds of human distress' before later removing that distress-detection capability for customers who tested it.
techcrunch.com
· 2026-10-14
At TechCrunch's Disrupt 2026 conference, Flock CEO Garrett Langley said the company has never ended a contract with a police department over misuse of its license plate reader systems, despite numerous reports of officers abusing database access to stalk people. Langley said Flock would cut off a customer that knowingly broke the law, but has so far judged individual officer misconduct cases as not warranting termination of the underlying agency's access.
techcrunch.com
· 2026-10-14
Apate.ai, an Australian startup spun out of Macquarie University research, deploys AI agents that pose as potential scam victims across calls, texts, emails and social media. The agents try to keep fraudsters talking long enough to extract details like bank accounts, crypto wallets, phone numbers and phishing sites. Apate says its agents have logged 2.5 million conversations and wasted an estimated 17 years of scammers' time, with the gathered intelligence sold to banks, telecoms, utilities and government agencies.
techcrunch.com
· 2026-10-14
Prismm, a startup founded in 2020 by sisters Martha Underwood and Shella Sylla, builds beneficiary and estate-planning features directly into bank accounts so assets can pass to heirs more smoothly after an account holder dies. The company let account holders designate family members who can access accounts, aiming to replace manual, paperwork-heavy processes banks currently use. Prismm is presenting its product today on the Startup Battlefield stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026.
techcrunch.com
· 2026-10-14
TechCrunch is offering half-price tickets for the remaining two days of its Disrupt 2026 conference at San Francisco's Moscone West, running October 14-15. Discounted passes range from $175 for Expo+ to $600 for Investor access, covering speakers like Mark Wahlberg, Replit CEO Amjad Masad, and Amazon's Panos Panay, plus AI-focused programming from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Hugging Face.
techcrunch.com
· 2026-10-14
B2B sales startup Floqer plans to open-source the technology behind its autonomous customer knowledge database, pending security reviews, with release targeted for early 2027. The company, pitching at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, says it has surpassed $1.2 million in annual recurring revenue after roughly tenfold revenue growth over the past year. Founded by Shivam Mahajan and Zaaheda Islam, Floqer began as a Chrome extension called 'Super Chat' before pivoting to automate CRM data cleanup for enterprise clients.
techcrunch.com
· 2026-10-14
TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 continued its second day at San Francisco's Moscone West, featuring an Expo Hall with over 300 startups, live pitch sessions, and AI-based matchmaking for an audience exceeding 10,000 founders, investors and tech leaders. Speakers on day two included representatives from Nvidia, Waabi, Flock Safety, Ricursive Intelligence and Benchmark, covering topics such as robotics, AI hardware, public safety and venture funding.
techcrunch.com
· 2026-10-14
At TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, Cerebras Systems CEO Andrew Feldman said personal AI assistants that operate in the home are close to becoming reality, citing consumer AI agents like Meta's Muse and the $10 billion startup Instinct as evidence of growing adoption. He described a future where these assistants run partly on-device and partly in the cloud, learn user habits, and even handle purchases via linked credit cards within a defined security boundary. Feldman also said he personally uses several AI agents to manage his calendar and prepare for calls.
techcrunch.com
· 2026-10-13
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