TechCrunch Top 3

Lucid Motors denies report it's considering bankruptcy: The company said the "rumors are completely false" after its stock sank more than 50% on a report that it was weighing the option. Read More

DeepMind CEO calls for an independent standards body to regulate frontier AI: DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis is proposing an AI "standards body" modeled after FINRA, to test frontier models and develop best practices for their release. Read More

Anthropic's newest ad is creeping people out: Anthropic has consistently attempted to depict itself as the ethical foil to other AI companies. This latest marketing stunt — which leans into criticism of AI as a way to make Anthropic seem aware of the responsibility it carries — would appear to be more of the same. Read More

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Afternoon Must-Reads

Iran abused mobile networks' vulnerabilities to locate US military in the Middle East, report says: The Iranian government exploited well-known flaws in cellphone networks to locate and then strike U.S. military personnel in the build-up and beginning of the war. Read More

Apple opens its new Siri AI to everyone with the iOS 27 public beta: If you’ve been waiting to try Apple’s revamped Siri without installing a developer beta, you now can. The company on Tuesday released the iOS 27 public beta, giving iPhone owners early access to its AI-powered assistant and other new features before the software’s official launch this fall. Read More

OpenAI's new flagship model deletes files on its own, people keep warning: A number of social media posts claim that GPT-5.6 Sol deleted files and data without warning. OpenAI had basically disclosed the problem in June. Read More

Meta’s Adam Mosseri says AI token budgets could soon be capped per engineer: Instagram head Adam Mosseri believes companies will eventually need to manage AI token spending the same way they manage payroll or other operating expenses, predicting that engineers could soon face limits on how much they spend using AI tools. Read More

The real AI race may no longer be at the frontier: Hugging Face CEO Clem Delangue says enterprises increasingly want open models, due to cost, accessibility, and ownership. Do frontier models still matter if most production AI ends up running on open models? Read More

Last but Not Least

The founder of Hinge raised $18M to build a new AI dating service, Overtone: Overtone describes itself as "a voice- and audio-forward service, enabled by AI, that provides highly curated introductions." Read More