Whoop's valuation just tripled to $10 billion

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View this email online in your browser  March 31, 2026 TechCrunch Top 3 Whoop's valuation just tripled to $10 billion: The fitness tracking startup just closed a $575 million Series G with Cristiano Ronaldo and LeBron James among its investors. The obvious question looming over a round of this size at this valuation: Is an IPO coming? Read More Social gaming platform Rec Room, once valued at $3.5B, is shutting down: Rec Room, the social platform for user-generated games and virtual experiences, will shutter on June 1. Read More Uber increases stake in WeRide as robotaxi partnership ramps up in Dubai: Uber and WeRide have launched robotaxi operations without a human safety operator in Dubai as part of a broader expansion in the Middle East. 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. Sign up! 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 Afternoon Must-Reads Google is now letting users in the US change their Gmail address: Users will be able to change their username only once every 12 months. Plus, they won't be able to delete their new email address for that period of time. Read More North Korean hackers blamed for hijacking popular Axios open source project to spread malware: A hacker inserted malware in Axios, an open source web tool downloaded tens of millions of times weekly, in a widespread hack. Read More Rivian spinoff Also will build autonomous delivery vehicles for DoorDash: DoorDash joins Greenoaks Capital in another $200 million funding round for Also, bringing its total funding to more than $500 million. Read More OpenAI, not yet public, raises $3B from retail investors in monster $122B fund raise: OpenAI's latest funding round, led by Amazon, Nvidia, and SoftBank, values the AI lab at $852 billion as it nears an IPO. Read More Meta launches two new Ray-Ban glasses designed for prescription wearers: Meta says these glasses are the most comfortable ones it has ever designed, as they're made for all-day comfort. 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 Yupp shuts down after raising $33M from a16z crypto's Chris Dixon: Less than a year after launching, with checks from some of the biggest names in Silicon Valley, crowdsourced AI model feedback startup Yupp is closing its business, the company said Tuesday. 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

Exclusive: Runway launches $10M fund, Builders program to support early stage AI startups

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View this email online in your browser  March 31, 2026 TechCrunch Top 3 Exclusive: Runway launches $10M fund, Builders program to support early stage AI startups: Runway is launching a $10 million fund and startup program to back companies building with its AI video models, as it pushes toward interactive, real-time "video intelligence" applications. Read More Waymo starts robotaxi services at San Antonio International Airport: It's the fourth airport Waymo is serving, adding to Phoenix Sky Harbor, San Francisco, and San Jose International airports. Read More With its new app store, Ring bets on AI to go beyond home security: Ring's app store will allow the company to target broader use cases beyond security, like elder care or business needs. 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. Sign up! 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 Morning Must-Reads Google is now letting users in the US change their Gmail address: Users will be able to change their username only once every 12 months. Plus, they won't be able to delete their new email address for that period of time. Read More Speechify's Windows app uses local models for transcription and dictation: Speechify just launched a native Windows app that employs locally stored models to enable dictation and transcription across apps. Read More The company behind ClassPass and Mindbody just got a lot bigger with a $7.5B merger: The merger is a sign that the fitness industry is continuing to move toward consolidation to compete at a larger scale. Recent moves include MyFitnessPal acquiring Cal AI, an AI calorie counting app, and Strava buying two apps: cycling app The Breakaway and running app Runna. Read More Meta launches two new Ray-Ban glasses designed for prescription wearers: Meta says these glasses are the most comfortable ones it has ever designed, as they're made for all-day comfort. Read More Former Coatue partner raises huge $65M seed for enterprise AI agent startup : A few things turned investors' heads and drew them to participate in such a big round out of the gate. 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 Last but Not Least Allbirds is selling for $39 million. It raised nearly 10 times that amount in its IPO.: The collapse of the brand, which was originally venture-backed and that went public in 2021, has been well-documented. 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