Indian tech tycoon bets $30M of his own money to build AI alternative to Microsoft Office

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

View this email online in your browser  July 02, 2026 TechCrunch Top 3 Indian tech tycoon bets $30M of his own money to build AI alternative to Microsoft Office: Neo is Bhavin Turakhia’s fifth venture and his latest involving enterprise software. This time he's taking on Microsoft Office and Google Apps with AI. Read More US government says it got hacked — again: A top Democrat on the Senate's Intelligence Committee warned that the information accessed on a Homeland Security intelligence-sharing network may risk national security. Read More Lucid Motors' CFO is out as its new CEO continues leadership shakeup: The company announced a new slate of executive hires meant to help turn things around, as Gravity SUV sales are not taking off as expected. Read More A message from Ai4 Ai4 2026: America’s Largest AI Conference Returns to Las Vegas Join 12000+ founders, execs, & builders at Ai4 2026, America’s largest AI conference. Discover the strategic insights and use cases driving real business impact. Hear from industry pioneers like Geoffrey Hinton, Fei-Fei Li, and Andrew Ng, explore 400+ exhibits, & network with peers in Las Vegas, Aug 4-6. Register now to save $900+ before July 2nd. Register Now Morning Must-Reads Microsoft launches its own AI deployment company with $2.5 billion commitment: Microsoft follows Amazon, OpenAI, and Anthropic with its new AI deployment group. Read More After $18B IPO, Bending Spoons founder says success comes from minimizing luck: The co-founders of Bending Spoons, the Italian company quietly buying beloved, ailing Internet brands, learned big lessons from their own startup's failure. Read More Tesla saw a massive sales jump in the second quarter: The company delivered more than 480,000 EVs globally, seemingly thanks to geographic expansion and cheaper versions of the Model 3, Model Y, and Cybertruck. Read More SpaceX has an AI device prototype, and it sure sounds phone-ish: SpaceX reportedly showed investors a "handset-like" AI device before going public. It could be another signal SpaceX wants to expand into wireless. Read More Rivian raises EV sales forecast as Q2 production ramps up: The company now expects to ship a few thousand more vehicles by the end of 2026 than it previously expected, after launching its R2 SUV last month. Read More Last but Not Least Yep, we're using OpenClaw to date now: Ben Guez has "a bunch of potential international wives in [his] DMs," thanks to an automated script he set up using OpenClaw, Claude code, and Instagram trials. 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

SpaceX has an AI device prototype, and it sure sounds phone-ish

Plus more of TechCrunch's top stories this afternoon

View this email online in your browser  July 01, 2026 TechCrunch Top 3 SpaceX has an AI device prototype, and it sure sounds phone-ish: SpaceX reportedly showed investors a "handset-like" AI device before going public. It could be another signal SpaceX wants to expand into wireless. Read More Apple's Hide My Email feature has a bug that's been exposing real email addresses, researcher claims: Research appears to reveal a bug that could render the feature effectively useless. Read More Ashton Kutcher leaving Sound Ventures to launch new VC firm with Morgan Beller: Sound built its reputation on concentrated, high-conviction bets in category-leading AI labs, while Kutcher's new fund appears to be chasing the layer underneath those companies — the infrastructure and energy that power them. Read More A message from Schneider Electric Where data meets drive Energy tech is foundational to motorsport. It's behind every decision, from software-defined design to precision manufacturing and race-day telemetry. That's why McLaren Racing partners with Schneider Electric for solutions that help drive a competitive advantage. Learn More Afternoon Must-Reads Sony to end physical PlayStation game disc production in 2028: Sony will stop producing physical discs for all new PlayStation games beginning in 2028, as the company embraces an all-digital future. Read More The 'Father of the Internet' is finally retiring: Vinton Cerf, one of the creators of the protocols underlying the internet, will step down as Google's chief internet evangelist next week. Read More Trump drops restrictions on Anthropic's Mythos and Fable models: The Trump administration's erratic approach to AI policymaking has left companies across the industry with little clarity about what will govern future model releases. Read More Cloudflare's new policy pushes AI companies to pay for publishers' content: Cloudflare is giving AI companies until September 15 to separate web crawlers used for search from those used for AI training and agents, or risk being blocked by default on many publisher sites. Read More Venice AI becomes a unicorn with $65M Series A as its privacy-first AI platform takes off: Venice AI is already profitable, with annualized run-rate revenues of over $70 million, CEO Erik Voorhees said. Read More Last but Not Least Lime begins life as a public company after years of uncertainty: The nine-year-old scooter and bike-share company has said it needs the funds to help pay down around $1 billion in liabilities. 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