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This digest compiles the latest from Tech Crunch.
Today’s Tech Crunch Roundup
After sale of its shoe business, Allbirds pivots to AI
15 Apr 2026, 2:24 pm by Sarah Perez
Allbirds is ditching wool sneakers for AI servers, rebranding as NewBird AI after locking in a $50M convertible financing facility.
Sweden blames Russian hackers for attempting ‘destructive’ cyberattack on thermal plant
15 Apr 2026, 2:21 pm by Zack Whittaker
Sweden’s minister for civil defense said Russian hackers are “now attempting destructive cyber attacks against organizations in Europe.”
Snap is cutting 1,000 jobs, 16% of its workforce
15 Apr 2026, 1:54 pm by Aisha Malik
The company cites advancements in AI for the cuts.
Reid Hoffman weighs in on the ‘tokenmaxxing’ debate
15 Apr 2026, 1:06 pm by Sarah Perez
Reid Hoffman says tracking AI token use can gauge adoption, but cautions it should be paired with context and not treated as a direct productivity metric.
Adobe’s new Firefly AI assistant can use Creative Cloud apps to complete tasks
15 Apr 2026, 1:01 pm by Ivan Mehta
Adobe says the assistant can work across apps like Firefly, Photoshop, Premiere, Lightroom, Express, Illustrator and its other apps to do tasks for you.
Chipmakers AMD, Arm, and Qualcomm are all investing in this buzzy self-driving tech startup
15 Apr 2026, 1:00 pm by Kirsten Korosec
Wayve’s $1.2 billion Series D round, which was announced in February, keeps growing.
Amazon unveils a slimmer Fire TV Stick HD, opens Ember Artline TVs for preorder
15 Apr 2026, 1:00 pm by Lauren Forristal
On Wednesday, Amazon announced the launch of its new Fire TV Stick HD and Ember Artline televisions, both now available for preorder. Following the initial release of the first-generation Fire TV Stick HD two years ago, Amazon has created a new model that is its thinnest streaming device to date, the company says. Launched in […]
This startup is betting tokenmaxxing will create the next compute giant
15 Apr 2026, 1:00 pm by Tim Fernholz
Parasail raised $32 million in a Series A, signaling a fractured future of models and compute.
Gitar, a startup that uses agents to secure code, emerges from stealth with $9 million
15 Apr 2026, 1:00 pm by Lucas Ropek
The company uses AI to review code that, more often than not these days, has also been generated by AI.
This energy startup’s bet on 100-year-old grid tech is paying off
15 Apr 2026, 1:00 pm by Tim De Chant
Ayr Energy is using a shortage of power conversion equipment to break open a decades-old market.
HBO Max comes to India via exclusive JioHotstar deal
15 Apr 2026, 12:47 pm by Jagmeet Singh
HBO Max will be available to JioHotstar subscribers as an add-on starting at ₹49 (about $0.50) per month, and would feature content from HBO, Max Originals, Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros. Television, and DC Studios.
Fathom adds a bot-less meeting mode in a bid to take on Granola
15 Apr 2026, 12:00 pm by Ivan Mehta
Fathom will allow you to choose between video, audio-only, and transcription modes.
Spotify launches the ability to purchase physical books in the US and UK
15 Apr 2026, 10:00 am by Lauren Forristal
Spotify users in the US and UK can officially purchase physical books through the Android app. iOS users will get the feature next week.
Anthropic’s rise is giving some OpenAI investors second thoughts
15 Apr 2026, 2:31 am by Connie Loizos
One investor who has backed both companies told the FT that justifying OpenAI’s recent round required assuming an IPO valuation of $1.2 trillion or more — making Anthropic’s current $380 billion valuation look like the relative bargain.
End of today’s Tech Crunch roundup.
