Perplexity sees India as a shortcut in its race against OpenAI

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

View this email online in your browser  July 18, 2025 Welcome to TechCrunch AM! This morning, we're reading about Perplexity's quiet moves to gain ground in India; Anthropic narrowing Claude usage limits; Netflix using AI to cut costs; and Meta taking a stance against EU's AI Act. We've got much more, of course, so let's dive in! TechCrunch Top 3 Perplexity sees India as a shortcut in its race against OpenAI: Perplexity is quietly expanding into India to catch up to its rivals as AI adoption soars in the South Asian country. Read More Anthropic tightens usage limits for Claude Code – without telling users: Since Monday morning, Claude Code users have been hit with unexpectedly restrictive usage limits. The problems, many of which have been aired on Claude Code's GitHub page, seem to be concentrated among heavy users of the service, many of whom are on the $200-a-month Max plan. Read More Netflix starts using GenAI in its shows and films: For the first time, Netflix used generative AI to make a scene in a show, and it says the move helped it save time and cut costs. Read More A message from Persona Take Smart Risks, Skip Risky Users Early-stage growth is fragile. Don't let fake accounts, fraud, or compliance missteps derail your momentum. Persona helps fast-growing startups embed smart, scalable identity verification solutions that build trust. Learn More Morning Must-Reads Meta refuses to sign EU's AI code of practice: Meta's chief global affairs officer Joel Kaplan said the company will not sign the EU's new code of practice for its AI Act, calling the implementation "over-reach" Read More Lovable becomes a unicorn with $200M Series A just 8 months after launch: Only eight months after its launch, Sweden's Lovable has raised a $200 million Series A round led by Accel at a $1.8 billion valuation. Read More OpenAI launches a general purpose agent in ChatGPT: OpenAI announced the launch of ChatGPT agent, which the company claims to be its most capable AI agent product yet. Read More Ex-Waymo engineers launch Bedrock Robotics with $80M to automate construction: Former Waymo engineers have launched an autonomous vehicle startup with $80 million in venture funds. Read More Call of Duty cheaters complain after Activision launches new wave of mass-bans: The video game giant banned an unknown number of cheaters that were using one of the oldest-running cheats. Read More A message from TechCrunch Partnerships Become a Sponsor at TechCrunch Disrupt - the World's Most Important Technology & Startup Conference Attended by over 10,000 founders, investors and tech professionals from all across the startup ecosystem, our sponsorship programs can help you: Maximize brand visibility, generate new leads, get IRL access to startups, make a big announcement and intro your next customers and business partners. Contact TechCrunch Last but Not Least 'Utopian' city California Forever announces huge tech manufacturing park : Solano Foundry is a 2,100-acre manufacturing park that can host 40 million square feet of advanced tech manufacturing space. 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