Bluesky CEO Jay Graber steps down

Plus more of TechCrunch's top stories this afternoon

View this email online in your browser  March 09, 2026 TechCrunch Top 3 Bluesky CEO Jay Graber steps down: Bluesky's board will search for a replacement while Graber becomes chief innovation officer. Read More Anthropic launches code review tool to check flood of AI-generated code: Anthropic launched Code Review in Claude Code, a multi-agent system that automatically analyzes AI-generated code, flags logic errors, and helps enterprise developers manage the growing volume of code produced with AI. Read More It looks like the DOJ isn't going to break up Live Nation and Ticketmaster: The DOJ and Live Nation agreed to a tentative settlement, but dozens of state attorneys general don't want to drop the lawsuit. Read More Disrupt 2026: Where deals and ideas ignite Oct 13–15 at San Francisco's Moscone West, 10,000 founders, investors, and operators gather for high-signal insights, curated connections, and real momentum. Sign up! A message from Orga AI Build multimodal conversational AI with one SDK Integrate real-time voice, vision, and conversational flows using a lightweight developer SDK. Orga AI provides streaming APIs, tool calling, and production-ready endpoints designed for engineers. Explore the documentation and start building in minutes. View docs Afternoon Must-Reads Anthropic sues Defense Department over supply-chain risk designation: Anthropic filed suit against the Department of Defense on Monday after the agency labeled it a supply-chain risk. The complaint calls the DOD's actions "unprecedented and unlawful." Read More OpenAI and Google employees rush to Anthropic's defense in DOD lawsuit: More than 30 OpenAI and Google DeepMind employees signed onto a statement supporting Anthropic's lawsuit against the Defense Department after the agency labeled the AI firm a supply-chain risk, according to court filings. Read More Qualcomm's partnership with Neura Robotics is just the beginning: Neura Robotics is going to build new robots on top of Qualcomm's new IQ10 processors that were released at CES. Read More OpenAI acquires Promptfoo to secure its AI agents: This deal underscores how frontier labs are scrambling to prove their technology can be used safely in critical business operations. Read More Salt Typhoon is hacking the world's phone and internet giants — here's everywhere that's been hit: Salt Typhoon is by far one of the most prolific hacking groups in recent years, breaching some of the top American phone companies. Here are all the countries that have been targeted. Read More A message from Microsoft and NVIDIA Attend Microsoft sessions on AI agents at NVIDIA GTC 2026 Microsoft's session agenda for GTC 2026 is packed with insights for a next-gen approach to AI. Topics include building and powering AI factories, enabling agentic AI at scale, optimizing AI infrastructure and costs, and leveraging AI agents for design automation and production. View the full schedule to plan your time at GTC now. Browse sessions You missed these chats from Disrupt: Kindred talks home-swapping platform for travelers, Chef Robotics introduces AI into commercial kitchens, and Character.AI addresses chatbot safety with teens. Watch on Cheddar.com Watch on Streaming Last but Not Least Slate Auto changes CEO months ahead of affordable EV launch: Former Amazon Marketplace vice president Peter Faricy is the new person in charge of the company. 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

Google just gave Sundar Pichai a $692M pay package

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

View this email online in your browser  March 09, 2026 TechCrunch Top 3 Google just gave Sundar Pichai a $692M pay package: Most of it is tied to performance, including new stock incentives linked to Waymo and Wing, its drone delivery venture. Read More Palmer Luckey's retro gaming startup ModRetro reportedly seeks funding at $1B valuation: The company launched its first product, a Game Boy-style handheld device called the Chromatic, in 2024. Read More A roadmap for AI, if anyone will listen: The Pro-Human Declaration was finalized before last week's Pentagon-Anthropic standoff, but the collision of the two events wasn't lost on anyone involved. Read More Disrupt 2026: Where deals and ideas ignite Oct 13–15 at San Francisco's Moscone West, 10,000 founders, investors, and operators gather for high-signal insights, curated connections, and real momentum. Sign up! A message from UK Office for Investment UK Quantum – Accelerating healthcare prevention The UK's National Health Service is already placing quantum at the centre of its preventative healthcare strategy. By 2030, the UK aspires to use quantum sensing to improve early diagnosis and treatment, from cancer screening to enhanced MRI scanning. Learn More Morning Must-Reads Ring's Jamie Siminoff is still trying to calm privacy fears, but his answers may not help: The facial recognition question is where things get more tangled. Read More The 2027 Chevy Bolt is the McRib of the automotive world: TechCrunch drove the 2027 Chevy Bolt and found that incremental improvements build on a solid basic recipe to deliver an affordable EV. Read More OpenAI hardware exec Caitlin Kalinowski quits in response to Pentagon deal: Hardware executive Caitlin Kalinowski announced today that in response to OpenAI's controversial agreement with the Department of Defense, she's resigned from her role leading the company's robotics team. Read More TechCrunch Mobility: Rivian's R2 gambit: Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility, your hub for all things "future of transportation."  Read More Zoox starts mapping Dallas and Phoenix for its robotaxis: It's a precursor to launching robotaxis in those cities, though the Amazon-owned company is still waiting for federal approval to commercially operate its purpose-built AV. Read More A message from Stripe Complimentary pass to Sessions with code s26techcrunch100 Join Stripe at Sessions 2026—the internet economy conference—happening April 29–30 in San Francisco. Join fellow business leaders, founders, and developers to explore the latest in financial technology, global commerce, and strategies for growth. Register with code s26techcrunch100 for a complimentary pass. Register Now Last but Not Least Owner of ICE detention facility sees big opportunity in AI man camps: AI data center developers are increasingly relying on a style of camp popularized as housing for men working in remote oil fields. 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