Intel spinout Articul8 raises more than half of $70M round at $500M valuation

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

View this email online in your browser  January 07, 2026 TechCrunch Top 3 Intel spinout Articul8 raises more than half of $70M round at $500M valuation: Articul8's valuation for its current funding round marks a roughly fivefold increase since its Series A. Read More McKinsey and General Catalyst execs say the era of 'learn once, work forever' is over: Calacanis, General Catalyst's Taneja, and McKinsey's Sternfels discussed how AI is reshaping technology and the labor force. Read More Spotify now lets you share what you're streaming in real time with friends: You can tap a friend's listening activity to play the track, save it, open the menu, or react with an emoji. 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 Fidelity Don't let a spreadsheet cost you your next round. Managing your equity in a spreadsheet might work, until you're raising your next round, onboarding new hires, or navigating your first SAFE. Fidelity Private Shares' free cap table template can provide you with a clean start. And when you're ready to ditch the manual updates, we'll help you scale with confidence. Download Now Morning Must-Reads The most bizarre tech announced so far at CES 2026: From an AI panda pet to an anime girl hologram for your desk, here are the wildest products at CES 2026. Read More Meta's Manus news is getting different receptions in Washington and Beijing: Chinese officials are reportedly reviewing whether the Meta deal violates technology export controls, potentially giving Beijing leverage it wasn't initially perceived as having. Read More California lawmaker proposes a four-year ban on AI chatbots in kids' toys: "Our children cannot be used as lab rats for Big Tech to experiment on," Senator Steve Padilla said. He just introduced a bill to ban AI chatbots in toys until safety regulations are developed.   Read More Mobileye acquires humanoid robot startup Mentee Robotics for $900M: Mentee Robotics was co-founded by Mobileye president Amnon Shashua. Read More A viral Reddit post alleging fraud from a food delivery app turned out to be AI-generated: When fake content goes viral, the damage has already been done, even if the post is debunked. Read 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 Warner Bros. Discovery rejects Paramount's bid again, calls it a 'leveraged buyout': The studio's board unanimously rejected Paramount Skydance's revised $108.4 billion bid, calling the proposal a "leveraged buyout" that would saddle the company with $87 billion in debt. 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