founders

Jeff Bezos has issued a stark warning that the United States has to beat China in the race back to the moon, saying the stakes of the new lunar competition are high. The billionaire Amazon founder and Blue Ocean-style space entrepreneur framed the contest as a defining challenge for America, drawing wide attention and debate about the US-China space rivalry.

President Trump has awarded SpaceX founder Elon Musk the National Medal of Science, one of the highest US honours for scientific achievement. The award recognises Musk's role in advancing space technology through SpaceX, including reusable rockets and commercial spaceflight. The move is drawing attention given Musk's political ties to Trump and his influence in the space industry.

Orkut Büyükkökten, creator of the once-hugely popular social network Orkut, says he wants to bring the platform back. Orkut was shut down by Google in 2014 after being overtaken by Facebook, but it remains fondly remembered, especially in Brazil and India. News of a possible revival is drawing nostalgia and curiosity from former users wondering whether an old-school social network could find a place today.

Susan Dell, philanthropist and wife of Dell Technologies founder Michael Dell, is in the spotlight after President Trump publicly praised her for backing the 'Trump Accounts' initiative, which aims to provide investment accounts for American children. The Dells have pledged support to the program, drawing attention to her role in the policy push and prompting widespread searches for details about her background and philanthropic work.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has endorsed a 'bunker mode' proposal urging the crypto industry to harden its cryptography now, amid warnings that rapid advances in AI-driven mathematics could break wallet security within months. The call, floated by Ethereum researcher Justin Drake, is prompting debate among developers and investors about how quickly the sector can migrate to AI-resistant cryptographic standards.

The founder of Stacks, a Bitcoin layer-2 project, has issued a public warning that a security breach affecting Bitcoin could spill over into the entire cryptocurrency market. The comments highlight concerns about Bitcoin's role as the foundation of the wider crypto ecosystem, where a major vulnerability or exploit could trigger losses far beyond Bitcoin itself. Further details about the specific risk or timing were not provided.

Jeff Bezos has shared his views on the problems facing the housing market. The Amazon founder's comments come as housing affordability remains a pressing issue in many countries. Details of his specific remarks were not immediately available, but his intervention is drawing attention because of his prominence in business and his influence on debates about the economy.

Anthropic has suspended its program offering free Claude access and credits to startups just days after launching it. The company has not publicly explained the decision, and founders who had been counting on the perks are left without details on refunds or whether the program will return. The abrupt reversal adds to questions about how AI vendors manage promotional offers for early-stage companies.

Mitchell Hashimoto, co-founder of HashiCorp, has published a proposal for OSC 7501, a new terminal escape-sequence protocol that would let command-line programs report structured status information, such as progress and running tasks, to terminal emulators in a standard way. Discussion among developers is focused on whether terminals should adopt a shared convention for richer program output, with the proposal drawing strong attention on Hacker News.

The founder of a major dark web marketplace has been sentenced to 40 years in prison, and roughly $100 million in seized Bitcoin is now subject to forfeiture. The key question drawing attention is where the cryptocurrency will end up — whether auctioned off by authorities, transferred to government holdings, or redistributed to victims of the platform.

TechCrunch has published a guide to the unofficial side of Disrupt 2026, listing the parties, meetups and networking events taking place around the main conference. For founders and investors, these satellite gatherings are often where the most valuable connections happen, and attendees are comparing notes on which invitations matter most this year.

TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 will feature a panel with Gamma co-founder Grant Lee, Engine's Elia Wallen and GV investor Crystal Huang on how startups land their first 1,000 customers. The session, scheduled for October 9, brings together founders and a venture capitalist to share practical advice on early customer acquisition for early-stage companies.

TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 kicks off in four days, and organisers are urging would-be attendees to buy passes now to save up to $100 before ticket prices rise. The annual startup and venture conference brings founders, investors and industry figures together for pitching, panels and networking. It remains one of the most prominent events on the startup calendar.

Anthropic co-founder Daniela Amodei has shared her view on what distinguishes successful startup founders from the rest. The remarks, published by CTech, come as interest in her company and the wider AI startup scene keeps growing, prompting founders and investors to weigh her advice on the traits that matter most in early-stage ventures.

Utah's new Business and Chancery Court is drawing attention from startup founders and investors as a potentially faster, more specialized venue for resolving corporate disputes in the state. Coverage is focused on what the court means for company formation, governance disputes, and whether Utah can position itself as a founder-friendly alternative to Delaware for incorporation.

Apple has acqui-hired Huxe, an AI audio startup founded by former Google developers who worked on NotebookLM. The founders join Apple as part of the deal, which is not a full company purchase. The move signals Apple's continued push to strengthen its artificial intelligence and audio capabilities by bringing in proven talent from competing AI products.

Anthropic has halted its startup support program just three days after launching it, following an overwhelming surge in applications. The company has ordered a re-review of the process before deciding next steps, leaving applicants in limbo. The abrupt pause has drawn attention across the startup and AI communities, with many commenting on the scale of demand for AI-related founder support.

A new legal technology startup called iDealLegal.ai has been introduced as part of a startup spotlight series covering emerging legal AI companies. Details about the team, its founders, and its products are limited, but the company positions itself within the fast-growing legal AI sector, where firms are racing to automate legal work and attract law firm clients.