Musk bashes OpenAI in deposition, saying 'nobody committed suicide because of Grok'

Plus more of TechCrunch's top stories this afternoon

View this email online in your browser  February 27, 2026 TechCrunch Top 3 Musk bashes OpenAI in deposition, saying 'nobody committed suicide because of Grok': In his lawsuit against OpenAI, Musk touted xAI safety compared with ChatGPT. A few months later, xAI's Grok flooded X with nonconsensual nude images. Read More Anthropic vs. the Pentagon: What's actually at stake?: Anthropic and the Pentagon are clashing over AI use in autonomous weapons and surveillance, raising high-stakes questions about national security, corporate control, and who sets the rules for military AI. Read More ChatGPT reaches 900M weekly active users: OpenAI shared the new numbers as part of its announcement that it has raised $110 billion in private funding. 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 Stop Guessing What Fundraising Requires Cap table. Pitch deck. Investor updates. Diligence. The Fundraise-Ready Startup Kit equips you with the core materials founders can use to raise with confidence. Download the Kit  Afternoon Must-Reads Perplexity's new Computer is another bet that users need many AI models: Perplexity Computer, in the company's words, "unifies every current AI capability into a single system."  Read More AI music generator Suno hits 2M paid subscribers and $300M in annual recurring revenue: Suno lets users create music using natural language prompts, making it possible for people with little experience to generate audio with little effort. Read More Pentagon moves to designate Anthropic as a supply-chain risk: "We don't need it, we don't want it, and will not do business with them again," the president wrote in the post. Read More OpenAI raises $110B in one of the largest private funding rounds in history: The new funding consists of a $50 billion investment from Amazon as well as $30 billion each from Nvidia and SoftBank, against a $730 billion valuation. Read More CISA replaces acting director after a bumbling year on the job: The U.S. cybersecurity agency's acting director Madhu Gottumukkala will be replaced, after a year of cuts, layoffs, and staff reassignments, and allegations of security lapses and claims he struggled to lead the agency. 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 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 Employees at Google and OpenAI support Anthropic's Pentagon stand in open letter: While Anthropic has an existing partnership with the Pentagon, the AI company has remained firm that its technology not be used for mass domestic surveillance or fully autonomous weaponry. 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

OpenAI raises $110B in one of the largest private funding rounds in history

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

View this email online in your browser  February 27, 2026 TechCrunch Top 3 OpenAI raises $110B in one of the largest private funding rounds in history: The new funding consists of a $50 billion investment from Amazon as well as $30 billion each from Nvidia and SoftBank, against a $730 billion valuation. Read More Spotify is rolling out Audiobook Charts: Similar to the streaming giant's Music and Podcast Charts, the Audiobook Charts will be updated weekly and highlight the top audiobooks overall and by genre Read More After Zomato, Deepinder Goyal returns with a $54M brain-monitoring bet: Zomato co-founder Deepinder Goyal's new wearable startup Temple has raised $54 million in a friends-and-family round at a post-money valuation of about $190 million. 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 HSBC HSBC CIB Survey Reveals Trade Trends in Tech Sector Tech firms are setting the pace in global trade preparedness, with 91% confident about international growth in the next two years. 79% have made or considered changes to where assembly or processing takes place to mitigate tariffs. Liquidity is a top priority, as 71% have seen an increase in short-term financing to address working capital needs. Download the report Morning Must-Reads Last 24 hours to get TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 tickets at the lowest rates of the year: The lowest rates of the year for TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 end after today. Prices go up at 11:59 p.m. PT. Don't miss connecting with 10,000 founders, investors, and operators, and key takeaways from 250+ industry leaders. Register now to save up to $680, or up to 30% on group passes. Read More Jack Dorsey just halved the size of Block's employee base — and he says your company is next: Jack Dorsey has long been an open admirer of Elon Musk. Now, it seems, he may have been taking notes. Read More Netflix backs out of bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, giving studios, HBO, and CNN to Ellison-owned Paramount: In a one-two punch of centibillion-dollar offers, the bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery is over. David Ellison-owned Paramount will acquire Warner Bros. Discovery. Netflix has lost. Read More Anthropic CEO stands firm as Pentagon deadline looms: Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said Thursday that he "cannot in good conscience accede" to the Pentagon's demands to give the military unrestricted access to its AI systems. Read More Google paid startup Form Energy $1B for its massive 100-hour battery: The deal paves the way for Form Energy to raise a new funding round before potentially going public next year. Read More A message from Fidelity Stop Guessing What Fundraising Requires Cap table. Pitch deck. Investor updates. Diligence. The Fundraise-Ready Startup Kit equips you with the core materials founders can use to raise with confidence. Download the Kit  Last but Not Least South Korea opens the door to let Google Maps operate fully: After years of appeals, Google has finally won approval to export high-precision geographic information out of South Korea and provide proper Google Maps services in the country, including walking and real-time driving directions. 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