Anthropic releases Sonnet 5.5, which it calls a significantly cheaper, faster work partner

Plus more of TechCrunch's top stories this afternoon

View this email online in your browser  September 28, 2026 TechCrunch Top 3 Anthropic releases Sonnet 5.5, which it calls a significantly cheaper, faster work partner: Anthropic has released the newest version of its midrange model, boasting faster response times and less token burn. Read More OpenAI still doesn't seem to have a handle on all of its rogue AI activity: On Friday, OpenAI published a new site devoted to “misalignment reports” and the breadth of the incidents is alarming. Read More Google is killing off Gemini's Gems in favor of 'skills': As all-in-one AI agents like Meta's Muse and Instinct take off, Google is opting to end a feature that built task-specific agents. Read More A message from TechCrunch Events Get your Disrupt pass and get 50% off a second The Disrupt experience is better shared. Get one pass at regular price and a second at 50% off for a co-founder, partner, colleague, or peer. Make more connections, gain fresh insights, and discover the next wave of tech together. This offer ends when Disrupt begins Oct. 13 at 8 a.m. PT. Register now Afternoon Must-Reads AMD will acquire Fei-Fei Li's World Labs for $8.2 billion: The acquisition will see World Labs founder Fei-Fei Li join AMD as executive vice president and chief scientist. Read More Viral AI agent Instinct raises $1B Series C at a $10B valuation: "This funding helps us bring Instinct to more people and continue building the future of personal AI. It’s an exciting, creative time, and we're just getting started," founder Noah Shinn said in a statement. Read More MAVI bets on the AI boom creating demand for a new kind of accountant: Accounting staffing company MAVI emerges from stealth with $4 million in funding. Read More The iPhone Duo may already have its first killer app: a virtual Walkman: The app imitates how Walkmans used to function: You can open up the Duo to pick your music and "insert" your cassette tape, then close the device shut to start listening. Read More SpaceX's Starship rocket reaches orbit for the first time: Reaching orbit is a critical milestone that could let SpaceX start using Starship for regular commercial missions and, importantly, inch closer to its goal of making the mega-rocket fully reusable. Read More A message from TechCrunch Events 5 days left: One last chance to exhibit at Disrupt Final week to put your startup at the heart of the global startup ecosystem. Secure your exhibit table to showcase your breakthrough to 10,000+ founders, investors, and decisionmakers across three days at Disrupt. Generate valuable leads, connect with VCs, and put your startup in front of your next opportunity. Book by Oct. 2 at 11:59 p.m. PT. Book now Last but Not Least Tesla delays Roadster 2 event again due to bad weather: Tesla says the event "can only be held outdoors," as it's expected to show the car flying in some form using SpaceX thrusters. 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

Viral AI agent Instinct raises $1B Series C at a $10B valuation

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

View this email online in your browser  September 28, 2026 TechCrunch Top 3 Viral AI agent Instinct raises $1B Series C at a $10B valuation: Instinct has raised a $1 billion Series C, saying 'we're just getting started.' The company is now valued at $10 billion. Read More SpaceX's Starship rocket reaches orbit for the first time: Though not without some drama along the way. Read More FBI reportedly declares 'cyber security incident' after hackers steal agents' personal data: The bureau has not yet publicly confirmed a breach, but has told its agents that their personal information and Social Security numbers were exposed. Read More A message from Spin Analytics RISKROBOT. The infrastructure behind capital decisions SPIN Analytics is building AI-driven infrastructure for regulatory credit risk modelling. RISKROBOT™ accelerates model development with governed risk intelligence to support better capital allocation. Discover the investment opportunity behind a critical banking capability. Spin Analytics is part of Santander X 100, global community of Santander X. Explore the opportunity Morning Must-Reads Modulate raises $25M for its voice models and analysis suite: Modulate deploys its models to detect deepfake, fraud and scam Read More Insuretech Outmarket raises $34.5M just months after prior round: The startup uses AI to automate tedious paperwork for insurance agencies and brokers. Read More Anthropic's Dario Amodei gets the SNL treatment: "AI is the devil and I its maker." Read More ElevenLabs' new v4 speech model supports more expression control and 90 languages: ElevenLabs v4 can clone voices with a 10 second clip Read More Next five VCs judging Startup Battlefield 200 contenders at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026: Thousands of applications. Multiple rounds of review. Hundreds of hours spent evaluating startups from around the world. Now comes the part everyone has been waiting for. Startup Battlefield 200 is almost here, and with today's announcement, the judging panel is nearly complete. In just a couple of weeks, 200 carefully selected startups will gather at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 to exhibit, meet investors, and compete for one of the most coveted opportunities in the startup world. Only a select group will advance to the live competition, where they'll pitch in front of thousands of founders, investors, media, and customers and face questions from some of the sharpest minds in technology. Today's judges bring decades of experience building companies, backing founders, and spotting transformative ideas before they become obvious. They'll help decide which startups continue their journey toward the Startup Battlefield finals and, ultimately, who has a chance to lift this year's trophy. If you want to see tomorrow's industry leaders before the rest of the world does, there's no better place to be than TechCrunch Disrupt. The only way to be front and center at the Disrupt Stage and witness the ultimate pitch competition of the year is to register for TechCrunch Disrupt. Grab your pass and bring your co-founder, partner, or peer for 50% off. Bringing a community of four or more? Save up to 30% on passes. Meet the next wave of Startup Battlefield judges Get to know all 20 judges revealed so far by visiting the Disrupt agenda. Read More A message from RoMADE Meet the Romanian builders heading to Disrupt 2026 Romania gave the world UiPath and Bitdefender, and its next wave of founders is already shipping. Before Disrupt opens on October 13, get to know the country behind them: a deep engineering bench, a fast-growing startup scene and a habit of building for global markets from day one. RoMADE is bringing 12 Romanian tech companies to San Francisco. Discover Romanian tech Last but Not Least Maritime intelligence startup Quartermaster raises another $140M: The tech enables real-time awareness for what Quartermaster calls the “largest blind spot on Earth.” 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