Plus more of TechCrunch's top stories this afternoon

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April 29, 2026

 

TechCrunch Top 3

Parallel Web Systems hits $2B valuation five months after its last big raise

Parallel Web Systems hits $2B valuation five months after its last big raise: The AI agent-tool startup founded by former Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal has raised $100 million, led by Sequoia, months after raising a previous $100 million. Read More

Google Photos uses AI to make the iconic closet from 'Clueless' a reality: Google says the new feature will leverage AI technology to automatically create a copy of your wardrobe that's based on the pieces of clothing appearing in your Google Photos library. Read More

Fusion power startup Zap Energy pulls a partial pivot, adding nuclear fission to the mix: Surprise! Fusion startup Zap Energy says it will be developing fission reactors alongside its fusion devices. Read More

Disrupt 2026: Where deals and ideas ignite

Oct 13–15 at San Francisco's Moscone West, 10,000 founders, investors, and operators gather for high-signal insights, curated connections, and real momentum.

Register Now!
 

A message from Oracle NetSuite

Your 30-day roadmap to AI-driven insights

AI in finance is moving from hype to hands-on. Whether you’re a CFO modernizing finance operations or an analyst looking to work faster and more accurately, this handbook delivers actionable strategies you can use right away—no technical background required. Download Nicolas Boucher’s handbook for ready-to-use prompts, NetSuite AI features, MCP guidance, security best practices, and a 30-day plan to drive measurable impact starting with one use case this week!

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Afternoon Must-Reads

Uber is in the hotel business now, thanks in part to AI

Uber is in the hotel business now, thanks in part to AI: Uber announced several new features on Wednesday during its annual event, which push far beyond the company's original ride-hailing purpose and deeper into its users' lives. Read More

Google gains 25M subscriptions in Q1, driven by YouTube and Google One: Google added 25M paid subscriptions in Q1, reaching 350M total, as YouTube and Google One grow. Read More

Jack Dorsey-backed Vine reboot Divine launches to the public: Divine offers access to an archive of roughly 500,000 Vine videos, restored from a backup of the original service, and allows creators to post new Vines once again. Read More

Roku’s $3 streaming service, Howdy, reaches 1M subs, per recent report: Roku’s $2.99 streaming service Howdy has topped 1M subscribers, showing demand for cheaper, low-commitment alternatives to pricier streamers. Read More

Google Translate now lets you practice pronunciation: When you translate a word, sentence, or phrase, you can navigate into the "Practice" menu to find a "Pronounce" button, which shows you phonetics that you can say out loud to practice speaking the translated text. Read More

A message from Fidelity

Your Pitch Isn’t the Only Thing Investors Are Evaluating.  

Investors don’t just listen to what you say - they look at how your company operates. Is ownership clear? Do your numbers match your story? Can you answer follow-up questions without digging through spreadsheets? The Fundraise-Ready Startup Kit equips founders with the materials investors expect to see, before pressure is on. Because confidence in the room doesn’t come from slides. It comes from preparation. 

Learn More

Last but Not Least

Colby Adcock's Scout AI raises $100M to train its models for war: We visited its bootcamp

Colby Adcock's Scout AI raises $100M to train its models for war: We visited its bootcamp: We visited Scout AI's training ground where it's working on AI agents that can help individual soldiers control fleets of autonomous vehicles. Read More

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