Hacking group says it's extorting Pornhub after stealing users’ viewing data

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

View this email online in your browser  December 16, 2025 TechCrunch Top 3 Hacking group says it's extorting Pornhub after stealing users' viewing data: The Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters hacking collective stole Pornhub premium users' data, including email addresses and viewing history. Read More Databricks raises $4B at $134B valuation as its AI business heats up: The data intelligence company has just raised more than $4 billion in a Series L funding round at a $134 billion valuation — up 34% from the $100 billion valuation that it achieved just three months ago. Read More Everbloom built an AI to turn chicken feathers into cashmere: Everbloom has also developed a chemical process to transform waste fibers and feathers into upcycled materials that resemble everything from polyester to cashmere. Read More Be the first to know when news breaks Subscribe to our News Alerts, and you won't miss a thing. Breaking news, exclusives, and special reports—straight to your inbox. Sign up for News Alerts! A message from Chevron New Energies  Chevron uses AI to bring reliable energy to data centers.  Data centers need power now. That's why we're working to build multi-gigawatt power stations that generate reliable electricity, with fewer delays and no additional strain on the existing grid. Learn More Morning Must-Reads Nvidia bulks up open source offerings with an acquisition and new open AI models: Nvidia acquired SchedMD, the lead developer of Slurm, and launched the Nemotron 3 family of open source AI models. Read More Ford is starting a battery storage business to power data centers and the grid: Ford will invest about $2 billion into the new business over the next two years. Read More Instagram brings Reels to the big screen, starting with Amazon Fire TV: By bringing Reels to TVs, Instagram can better compete with YouTube, which largely dominates the TV space. Read More Adobe Firefly now supports prompt-based video editing, adds more third-party models: Adobe is updating its AI video-generation app, Firefly, with a new video editor that supports precise prompt-based edits, as well as adding new third-party models for image and video generation, including Black Forest Labs' FLUX.2 and Topaz Astra. Read More VCs discuss why most consumer AI startups still lack staying power: The next consumer tech revolution may require an introduction of a new personal device. Read More A message from Persona Bad user onboarding is costing you customers. Clunky verification flows kill conversion rates. Persona creates smooth onboarding that verifies real users in seconds while blocking fraud, so your business can maximize signups without sacrificing security. Our Startup Program offers 12 months free with 500 monthly verifications, helping thousands of startups optimize their onboarding from day one. Learn more 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 Nuclear startup Last Energy raises $100M for its steel-encased micro reactor: Last Energy will use the funds to build its 5 megawatt pilot reactor in Texas, which it hopes to turn on next year. 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 © 2025 TechCrunch Media LLC 501 2nd Street, Suite 650, San Francisco, CA 94107