Grok keeps sending gibberish responses to users

Plus more of TechCrunch's top stories this afternoon

View this email online in your browser  August 20, 2026 TechCrunch Top 3 Grok keeps sending gibberish responses to users: Affected users told TechCrunch they were using Grok Lite, and noticed the issues as early as Wednesday morning. Read More Mark buys a castle: Mark Zuckerberg just bought a cozy abode somewhat close to Meta’s international headquarters in Ireland. Read More A third of web pages published since ChatGPT's launch show signs of AI authorship, study finds: ChatGPT and other AI models are now authoring and editing much of the new web. Read More Afternoon Must-Reads Early Cerebras investor Adit Singh joins Mayfield as infrastructure partner: At Mayfield, Singh will focus on semiconductor, cybersecurity, and physical AI investments. Read More The 2026 Startup Battlefield 200 is here — see who made the cut: We’re thrilled to unveil the 2026 Startup Battlefield 200, our annual handpicked list of the 200 most promising early-stage startups from around the world. Read More Someone targeted security researchers using a fake crypto conference as a lure: A hacker pretending to work for a leading cryptocurrency news website targeted several cybersecurity professionals using Google Docs as a way to deliver malware. Read More Inertia Enterprises finds a way to make its fusion fuel fast: Fusion power startup Inertia Enterprises reduced the fuel filling process from a week to just a few hours. It's one of 10 hurdles the company must overcome to make a profitable power plant. Read More Google gives publishers a new way to fight AI-driven traffic losses: Google is giving publishers a new button that lets readers make them a preferred source across Search, Discover, and Google News, potentially boosting their traffic as AI search sends fewer clicks to the web. Read More Last but Not Least The Enhanced Games — tech's steroid extravaganza — didn't pay off, as company posts $60 million loss: An effort to transform the world of sports through steroid use doesn't exactly seem to be bearing financial fruit. 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

Waymo's cheaper, next-gen robotaxi is now open to all riders in these three cities

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

View this email online in your browser  August 20, 2026 TechCrunch Top 3 Waymo's cheaper, next-gen robotaxi is now open to all riders in these three cities: The next-generation robotaxi, called the Waymo Ojai, is central to the company's push towards mass scale, and eventually, profitability. Read More Stripe didn't really buy OpenRouter because of the 'singularity': What does a payments giant want with a startup that routes prompts between different AI models? Stripe says it's because of "the singularity" but it's really for a far more real and powerful reason. Read More Rillet raises $100M Series C at $1B valuation — 2 years after emerging from stealth: AI-native account startup Rillet became a unicorn, led by Iconiq, after it doubled its ARR in the past three months, it said. Read More The Best Disrupt 2026 Discount Ends Soon AI has made it faster than ever to bring an idea from concept to launch.   But it hasn't made it easier to build something durable.     Disrupt 2026's programming is built around that challenge, delivering practical sessions on what actually holds up and how to build it. Ticket prices increase at midnight PT Friday, so grab yours before then!  Register Now Morning Must-Reads US says hackers are targeting vulnerable water systems with the help of AI: Hackers are targeting internet-connected Siemens controllers used in water facilities around the United States. Read More Gwyneth Paltrow allegedly set to throw dinner in honor of Sam Altman: The actress' firm Kinship Ventures is an investor in the company. Read More OpenAI seeks to one-up Anthropic with new customer privacy protections: A competition is developing between OpenAI and Anthropic over who can provide the best privacy protections for enterprise customer data. Read More AI data giant Alation confirms cyberattack: The data search and AI giant confirmed unauthorized access to its systems during an incident on Tuesday, and said it was investigating the breach. Read More Meta AI's new Mac app wants you to talk to your apps: Meta said its Muse Spark model is powering the dictation feature. Read More Get Your Startup in Front of the Disrupt Crowds Not everyone needs a keynote slot to make noise at Disrupt 2026. Sometimes the best way to meet investors, customers, and partners is by exhibiting directly in the Expo Hall. And by exhibiting, you get 10 passes to Disrupt to share with your team! Learn More Last but Not Least Apollo Atomics wants to make nuclear power cheaper by shrinking an overlooked part: Y Combinator alumnus Apollo Atomics is shrinking a key nuclear reactor part, which promises to slash the cost of electricity below natural gas. 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