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Silkroad Innovation Hub and TechCrunch picked Cerberus, WeGlobal AI, and LOOQ as the top three startups from Central Eurasia's Road to TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 2026 regional final. The trio beat out 22 finalists chosen from a record 726 applications spanning 39 countries, and will now pitch at Startup Battlefield 200 during TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 in San Francisco this October.
Matt Mullenweg says he has resumed his role as Automattic CEO just two days after the company's board placed him on paid leave and named CFO Mark Davies interim chief. Mullenweg claims the board is now 'back in agreement' with him in control, and reports indicate Davies' Slack account was deactivated while other admin accounts were stripped of access.
Actor and entrepreneur Mark Wahlberg will appear at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 in a fireside chat with Bruce K. Lee, founder and CEO of Keebeck Wealth Management. The conversation will focus on Wahlberg's shift from Hollywood fame into building businesses, angel investing, and developing institutional-level investing discipline, particularly in healthcare and wellness startups.
TechCrunch is recruiting volunteers for its rebranded Boston event, TechCrunch Founder Summit (formerly All Stage), taking place November 4th and expecting about 1,100 attendees. Volunteers will assist with tasks like registration, speaker coordination, and event setup in exchange for event access and other perks. Applications close October 19th, with limited spots available.
TechCrunch has announced the Builders Stage will return to Disrupt 2026, held October 13-15 at San Francisco's Moscone Center. The track will feature founders and investors including Gamma CEO Grant Lee, Precedent.vc's Leah Solivan, and Google's Robby Stein discussing fundraising, hiring, go-to-market strategy, and AI as one of six industry-focused stages at the event.
AI security startup HiddenLayer has closed a $100 million Series B led by Delta-v Capital, with Ten Eleven Ventures and others joining. CEO Chris Sestito says annual recurring revenue grew more than 10x in the past year, reaching the tens of millions, driven mostly by new enterprise customers in financial services, big tech, and government agencies including the Department of Defense.
Students, teachers, and the school's principal have filed 30 lawsuits in a California federal court alleging OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman gave 'substantial assistance' to Jesse Van Rootselaar, the suspect in the Tumbler Ridge school shooting. The suits claim OpenAI's safety team flagged the suspect's violent conversations with ChatGPT and recommended alerting Canadian authorities, but executives chose silence to protect the company's reputation and finances, then merely deactivated the account rather than banning the user outright.
TechCrunch is recruiting more than 100 volunteers for Disrupt 2026, its flagship startup conference running October 13-15 at Moscone West in San Francisco. Volunteers must commit at least 12 hours during the event, attend an in-person orientation on October 12, and be at least 18 years old, in exchange for free three-day admission. Applications close September 25.
TechCrunch has narrowed down applicants for its November 4 Founder Summit in Boston to 11 finalists competing for four programming slots. The public can now vote on which sessions get added to the agenda, with submissions closing September 4. Topics include practical guidance for founders, such as building an events strategy without a dedicated team.
TechCrunch has pushed back the cutoff for discounted TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 tickets to 11:59 pm PT on Tuesday, August 25, after attendees asked for more time. After the deadline, prices rise, with savings of up to $300 on individual passes and larger discounts for group registrations disappearing. Disrupt 2026 will run October 13-15 at Moscone West in San Francisco, featuring speakers from OpenAI, Anthropic, Replit, Amazon and Databricks.
TechCrunch is selling Expo Hall exhibit tables for Disrupt 2026, taking place October 13-15 at San Francisco's Moscone West. Tables start at $12,500 and include a 6'x30" setup with furnishings, 10 event passes, lead-generation tools via the event app, press list access, and sponsor branding. The offer closes September 25 or once tables sell out, whichever happens first.
Amjad Masad, CEO and co-founder of Replit, will appear on the Disrupt Stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, held October 13-15 at San Francisco's Moscone West. He'll discuss the future of programming and how AI is letting more people turn ideas into software products.