Three weeks after acquiring Windsurf, Cognition offers staff the exit door

Plus more of TechCrunch's top stories this afternoon

View this email online in your browser  August 05, 2025 TechCrunch Top 3 Three weeks after acquiring Windsurf, Cognition offers staff the exit door: Cognition is also laying off 30 employees. Those who don't take the buyout are expected to work 80+ hour weeks. Read More Roku launches Howdy, a $2.99 ad-free streaming service: The service features a library of nearly 10,000 hours of content from Lionsgate, Warner Bros. Discovery, and FilmRise, alongside select Roku Original titles. Read More Some people are defending Perplexity after Cloudflare 'named and shamed' it: In a debate likely to get louder as AI agent usage grows, some people say Perplexity crawling blocked websites isn't a simple matter. Read More A message from Persona Onboard new users faster while deterring fraud. Verify users at onboarding to prevent fraud, stay compliant, and build customer trust. Persona's low-code identity verification platform allows you to verify individuals and businesses in over 200 countries and territories, dynamically adapting your flows based on real-time risk signals so you can maximize conversion and minimize risk. Sign Up Now Afternoon Must-Reads OpenAI launches two 'open' AI reasoning models: For the first time in more than five years, OpenAI is launching a new open language model that appears to be state of the art. Read More DeepMind thinks its new Genie 3 world model presents a stepping stone toward AGI: Google DeepMind has revealed Genie 3, its latest foundation world model that the AI lab says presents a crucial stepping stone on the path to artificial general intelligence, or human-like intelligence.  Read More For the first time, OpenAI models are available on AWS: This is a juicy competitive move for both companies after AWS faced an onslaught of criticism over its progress with AI. Read More ElevenLabs launches an AI music generator, which it claims is cleared for commercial use: The AI audio-generation unicorn ElevenLabs announced the launch of a new model that allows users to generate music that's cleared for commercial use. Read More Uzbekistan's first unicorn, Uzum, leaps to a $1.5B valuation: Uzbekistan's Uzum has raised $65.5 million in a new funding round co-led by China's Tencent and the New York- and London-based VR Capital, with participation from U.S.-based FinSight Capital. Read More A message from TechCrunch Partnerships Stand Out at Disrupt: 4 Smart Ways to Activate Your Exhibit Space TechCrunch Disrupt is almost here—don't just show up, show off. Engage attendees with interactive displays, free snacks (ice cream wins hearts), and comfy seating that invites conversation. Add eye-catching giveaways and you've got a booth that not only draws a crowd—but keeps them coming back. Click here to book your Disrupt exhibit space online today. Contact TechCrunch Last but Not Least Trump says he'll announce semiconductor and chip tariffs: This announcement comes as the Trump administration is also mulling over its approach to AI chip export restrictions. 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