TechCrunch Top 3

US accuses American of allegedly wiping his phone using a 'duress' password during border search: A U.S. citizen has asked a court to throw out the government's claim that he gave over a passcode to border authorities that wiped his phone's data, opening up fresh questions about a person's constitutional rights at the U.S. border. Read More

SpaceX launches new V3 Starlink satellites but suffers another booster failure: The company ticked off a few more boxes on the second Starship V3 flight, but appears to have had another issue relighting the booster's rocket engines. Read More

The hacker who humiliated spyware makers and was never caught: An awe-inspiring hacktivist who hacked two controversial government spyware makers may be the most prolific hacker to have never gotten caught. What do we know about Phineas Fisher? Read More

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Sunday Must-Reads

Why Cognition bought Poke: AI personality is becoming a competitive advantage: The acquisition brings Poke’s conversational style and interaction model to Cognition’s coding agent Devin, reflecting a growing belief that how AI assistants interact with users is as important as the models powering them. Read More

Kalshi demands Netflix take down trailer for ‘Prediction Games’ documentary: Kalshi claims the trailer is “defamatory” and contains “both fabricated documents and false and misleading statements.” Read More

Volkswagen engineers charged with insider trading tied to Rivian joint venture: The indictment, which was unsealed Friday, alleges the Volkswagen engineers used confidential insider information to buy stock in Rivian. Read More

Anduril reportedly in talks to raise funding at $100B valuation, more than 3x last year's mark: Anduril is said to be raising a new round of funding that may push its valuation up to about $100 billion, per Reuters. Read More

Monday.com is the latest tech company to blame AI for layoffs — here are 20 others: A running look — in reverse chronological order — at the bigger tech companies that have announced significant layoffs this year with AI as a stated factor. 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.

Last but Not Least

Elon Musk’s Boring Company reportedly raising funding at a $20 billion valuation: Elon Musk's tunneling startup is reportedly in talks for a major new funding round. Read More