Meta to shut down Messenger desktop apps for Mac and Windows

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

View this email online in your browser  October 16, 2025 TechCrunch Top 3 Meta to shut down Messenger desktop apps for Mac and Windows: Starting December 15, users will no longer be able to log into the apps and will be automatically redirected to the Facebook website to access Messenger. Read More The real reason Google DeepMind is working with a fusion energy startup: Google has invested in fusion startups as potential power suppliers. This latest move suggests Google sees them as potential customers, too. Read More Deel hits $17.3B valuation after raising $300M from big-name VCs: Deel says it's been profitable for three years and surpassed $1 billion in ARR, including having a month that hit $100 million in revenue Read More A message from Fidelity Raise the bar on fundraising. Successful fundraising begins with the right equity strategy. Fidelity's latest guide will help you learn how to streamline your equity management and avoid common pitfalls. Learn key equity concepts like ownership and dilution and how to optimize your cap table and data room to connect with investors more effectively. Download the guide Afternoon Must-Reads Waymo dips its wheels back into delivery, this time with DoorDash: Waymo has spent the past several years scaling up its robotaxi business. The partnership with DoorDash could mark a return to delivery. Read More EFF, unions sue Trump admin. over alleged mass social media surveillance of legal residents: The lawsuit, filed in federal court, alleges the Trump administration is monitoring and punishing non-citizens who express social media views that the government disfavors. Read More Kayak launches an 'AI Mode' for travel questions, search, and bookings: Kayak is bringing AI directly to its main platform with a new "AI Mode" that lets travelers research, plan, and book trips through a built-in chatbot. Read More Why AI startups are taking data into their own hands: Where training sets were once scraped freely from the web or collected from low-paid annotators, companies are looking to proprietary training data as a competitive advantage. Read More Amazon's Ring to partner with Flock, a network of AI cameras used by ICE, feds, and police: Agencies that use Flock can request that Ring doorbell users share footage to help with "evidence collection and investigative work." Read More A message from TechCrunch Events Less than 2 days: Save up to $624 or 30% for groups to Disrupt Get access to 250+ top tech voices, 200+ sessions, 300+ showcasing innovations, and 10,000+ attendees for 3 days straight — October 27–29 in San Francisco. Gain key takeaways across 5 industry stages, breakouts, roundtables, and networking. Hear from leaders at Microsoft, Waymo, Reddit, Netflix, Amazon, and more. Register now to save up to $624 or 15% to 30% on group passes for Disrupt 2025. Deal ends October 17. Register Now The Latest From TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 Final 2 days to claim your exhibit table at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025: With less than 48 hours to secure your table at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, now is the time to step in before a competitor takes your place. Read More Aquawise will show off its AI-driven water-quality tech at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025: Aquawise uses satellite images and a physics-based AI model to monitor and predict water quality at aquaculture farms. Read More The full Space Stage agenda at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025: The future of tech launches here: The Space Stage agenda is full at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025. Join 10,000 tech leaders to hear what's next in space tech from top voices like Baiju Bhatt, Will Bruey, Bridgit Mendler, and more. Register now to save up to $624. Read More Brought to you by MongoDB MongoDB – Powering Growth for AI Startups Startups face intense pressure: ship fast, secure funding, and scale while managing complex data. MongoDB for Startups provides a trusted foundation with tailored tiers, credits, expert guidance, and a global community. Build, scale, and succeed from 0→1 or IPO. Apply now and join us at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025. Join MongoDB Startups Be the first to know when news breaks Subscribe to our News Alerts, and you won't miss a thing. Breaking news, exclusives, and special reports—straight to your inbox. Sign up for News Alerts! Last but Not Least Rent a Cyber Friend will pay you to talk to strangers online and will show off its platform at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025: "Loneliness is the biggest disease in the world right now," founder Francesco Vitali said. "So we built a platform where human time has value again, and a place where being human is important." 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 © 2025 TechCrunch Media LLC 501 2nd Street, Suite 650, San Francisco, CA 94107

Zepto raises $450M at $7B valuation as Indian quick-commerce market heats up

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View this email online in your browser  October 16, 2025 TechCrunch Top 3 Zepto raises $450M at $7B valuation as Indian quick-commerce market heats up: Indian quick-commerce startup Zepto said it has raised $400 million in a funding round led by a new investor, the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS), a U.S.-based pension fund. Read More General Intuition lands $134M seed to teach agents spatial reasoning using video game clips: Late last year, OpenAI reportedly tried to buy Medal and its vast trove of video game data for $500M. Today, the company spun out a frontier research lab that's using that data to build AI agents that understand how they move through space and time, a concept called spatial-temporal reasoning. Read More India's Kuku snags $85M as mobile content wars intensify: Kuku plans to expand beyond India with a U.S. launch slated for next year. Read More A message from Silicon Valley Bank SVB helps you scale to and through Series A. With deep industry expertise and a commitment to innovation, SVB is the partner you need to help you get to A, B and beyond. Scale with confidence with SVB by your side. Learn More Morning Must-Reads How a headphone site operator built loyalty startup Lantern to solve his own problems: After struggling to retain customers at his e-commerce site Headphones.com, founder Andrew Lissimore built his own loyalty solution — and it's now a startup called Lantern. The Shopify-native platform helps brands boost retention through customizable loyalty, referrals, and account management tools. Read More Pinterest adds controls to let you limit the amount of 'AI slop' in your feed: Pinterest is rolling out new controls that let users limit how much AI-generated content appears in their feeds. The company is also making its AI content labels more visible. Read More Microsoft, AWS and Google are trying to drastically reduce China's role in their supply chains: Microsoft, Amazon and Google are ramping up efforts move production of their products and data centers outside of China, Nikkei reported, citing supply chain sources. Read More Amazon launches pay-per-visit virtual healthcare service for kids: Amazon's One Medical is expanding into pediatric care with a new pay-per-visit virtual health service for children ages 2 to 11. Starting at $29 for message-based visits and $49 for video calls, the service treats common conditions like pink eye, eczema, and rashes, and also handles medication renewals Read More Spotify partners with record labels to create 'artist-first' AI music products: Spotify has announced new partnerships with major record labels — including Sony, Universal, Warner, and Merlin — to build "responsible AI" tools that protect artists' rights and ensure fair compensation. The initiative will let artists opt in or out of AI use. Read More A message from HSBC Innovation Banking US Discover founder-first banking for the future. HSBC Innovation Banking US is committed to helping leaders in the innovation economy get started on the future faster by providing access to an extensive global network, dedicated sector experts, and a robust suite of banking products and services. Learn more The Latest From TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 Final 2 days to claim your exhibit table at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025: With less than 48 hours to secure your table at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, now is the time to step in before a competitor takes your place. Read More Aquawise will show off its AI-driven water-quality tech at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025: Aquawise uses satellite images and a physics-based AI model to monitor and predict water quality at aquaculture farms. Read More The full Space Stage agenda at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025: The future of tech launches here: The Space Stage agenda is full at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025. Join 10,000 tech leaders to hear what's next in space tech from top voices like Baiju Bhatt, Will Bruey, Bridgit Mendler, and more. Register now to save up to $624. Read More Brought to you by JetBrains JetBrains IDEs get multi-agent experience with Claude Agent Claude Agent has become the first third-party AI agent to be built natively into JetBrains IDEs. Powered by Anthropic's Claude Agent SDK, it delivers advanced agentic coding inside familiar workflows. With the addition of Claude Agent, JetBrains introduces a multi-agent IDE experience, empowering developers to do even more with the tools they already know and love. Learn More Be the first to know when news breaks Subscribe to our News Alerts, and you won't miss a thing. Breaking news, exclusives, and special reports—straight to your inbox. Sign up for News Alerts! Last but Not Least Apple loses another AI exec to Meta : Yang's departure marks the latest in a string of exits from Apple's AI unit, putting the company into jeopardy in the lead up to a much-anticipated Siri revamp scheduled for March.   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 © 2025 TechCrunch Media LLC 501 2nd Street, Suite 650, San Francisco, CA 94107