Cauldron Ferm has turned microbes into nonstop assembly lines

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

View this email online in your browser  March 24, 2026 TechCrunch Top 3 Cauldron Ferm has turned microbes into nonstop assembly lines: The Australian startup says it has solved one of the biggest challenges facing synthetic biology companies, which it counts as customers. Read More Spotify's new SongDNA feature maps how your favorite songs are connected: The new feature lets you explore samples, covers, and more about the people behind your favorite songs, says Spotify. Read More TikTok ads are about to get a tad more disruptive: One new ad format displays another brand's logo alongside TikTok's on the launch page when users open the app. 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 UK Office for Investment UK Quantum – Optimising energy networks By delivering greater computational speed, UK quantum can support complex optimisation of renewable energy planning, determining which plants run and when. The result is the potential for lower system costs, higher efficiency, and improved balancing of supply and demand. Learn More Morning Must-Reads Emil Michael, now a senior Pentagon official, says he'll never forgive Uber investors who ousted him and Kalanick: When asked whether he was still "salty" about about being shown the door at Uber, alongside co-founder Travis Kalanick, Michael didn't equivocate. "I'll never forget that, nor forgive," he said. Read More Insight Partners scrubs investment post about Delve amid 'fake compliance' allegations: After a whistleblower alleged that the startup fabricated audit evidence, its prominent Series A investor removed an article detailing why it led the deal. Read More Despite bitter rivalry, Kalshi, Polymarket CEOs back $35M predictions markets VC fund: As prediction markets explode, the new firm called 5(c) Capital, will back startups supporting the burgeoning category. Read More Bengaluru food delivery startup Swish raises $38M, its third round in 18 months: Swish has more than doubled its valuation in a year as its full-stack, hyperlocal model positions ultra-fast food delivery as a high-frequency habit. Read More Mirage raises $75M to continue building models for its AI video editing app Captions: Mirage, the maker of video editing app Captions, has raised $75 million in growth financing from General Catalyst's Customer Value Fund (CVF). Read More A message from Snyk Agentic security for AI-powered software AI-native applications are dynamic, unpredictable, and moving at machine speed. Evo by Snyk introduces a new era of "agentic security"—using specialized AI agents to discover, test, and protect your AI ecosystem. Meet Evo Last but Not Least Ultrahuman ramps up U.S. push with Ring Pro as Oura tightens its grip: Ultrahuman pushes back into the U.S. with Ring Pro, as Oura strengthens its lead in a market driving 60% of global demand. 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

Leonid Radvinsky, the owner of OnlyFans, has passed away

Plus more of TechCrunch's top stories this afternoon

View this email online in your browser  March 23, 2026 TechCrunch Top 3 Leonid Radvinsky, the owner of OnlyFans, has passed away: OnlyFans owner Leonid Radvinsky has passed away at the age of 43 after a battle with cancer.  Read More Vibe-coding startup Lovable is on the hunt for acquisitions: Lovable's founder said the fast-growing vibe-coding startup is looking for startups and teams to join its company. Read More Apple sets June date for WWDC 2026, teasing 'AI advancements': Apple will host its next Worldwide Developers Conference the week of June 8. The company is expected to announce major updates to Siri with advanced AI capabilities. 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 Fidelity Your Pitch Isn't the Only Thing Investors Are Evaluating.   Investors don't just listen to what you say - they look at how your company operates. Is ownership clear? Do your numbers match your story? Can you answer follow-up questions without digging through spreadsheets? The Fundraise-Ready Startup Kit equips founders with the materials investors expect to see, before pressure is on. Because confidence in the room doesn't come from slides. It comes from preparation.  Learn More Afternoon Must-Reads Someone has publicly leaked an exploit kit that can hack millions of iPhones: Leaked "DarkSword" exploits published to GitHub allow hackers and cybercriminals to target iPhone users running old versions of iOS with spyware, according to cybersecurity researchers. Read More Federal immigration agents filmed making airport arrests as Trump calls in ICE to ease security line delays: The Trump administration has deployed ICE agents to over a dozen U.S. airports amid an ongoing federal shutdown that's causing long wait times. Eyewitnesses have already recorded at least one arrest in San Francisco's airport. Read More Elizabeth Warren calls Pentagon's decision to bar Anthropic 'retaliation': In a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) equated the DOD's decision to label Anthropic a "supply-chain risk" as retaliation, arguing that the Pentagon could simply have terminated its contract with the AI lab. Read More Startup Gimlet Labs is solving the AI inference bottleneck in a surprisingly elegant way: Gimlet Labs just raised an $80 million Series A for tech that lets AI run across NVIDIA, AMD, Intel, ARM, Cerebras and d-Matrix chips, simultaneously. Read More Bernie Sanders' AI 'gotcha' video flops, but the memes are great: Sen. Bernie Sanders thinks he's tricked Claude into revealing the AI industry's secrets, but he really just exposed how agreeable chatbots can become. Read More A message from Deck Computer-use that works in production Most computer-use agents fail at the login screen. Deck handles authentication, MFA, and session management out of the box — so your agents run in production, not just demos. Try It Free 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 FBI says Iranian hackers are using Telegram to steal data in malware attacks: Hackers working for Iran's government are using Telegram in hacking operations that use malware to target dissidents, opposition groups, and journalists who oppose its regime, according to the FBI. 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