TechCapsules

At TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, Gusto CEO Josh Reeves, Insight Partners’ Michelle Johnson, and Leland co‑founder John Koelliker convened on the Builders Stage to discuss “Hiring When AI Is a Co‑Founder.” They examined how early‑stage companies can blend human and AI agents across engineering, support, and sales, addressing ownership, accountability, and decision‑making. The session highlighted practical strategies for building AI‑native teams without sacrificing speed, culture, or control, and offered insights for founders, investors, and talent leaders. [...]

Build A Rocket Boy, the studio behind the troubled MindsEye project and founded by Grand Theft Auto veteran Leslie Benzies, is undergoing another wave of layoffs, according to IGN. Employees including head of audio Stuart Ross, level designer Liam Shannon, release manager Michaela Emslie, lead QA analyst Sandy Greig, QA analyst Elizabet Tyaneva, production QA analyst Cameron Deaves and several others announced their departures. This follows previous cuts: an undisclosed number of redundancies last year and a reported 170‑person layoff in May, after [...]

Sergey Brin, Google’s co‑founder, has re‑entered the company’s artificial‑intelligence work in a hands‑on capacity, focusing on the Gemini model as Alphabet intensifies its generative‑AI push. Though he holds no formal executive title, Brin now operates from a converted micro‑kitchen in Google’s Gradient Canopy building in Mountain View, convening a small team of engineers and leaders. Employees say he participates in Gemini‑related discussions, influences computing‑resource allocation, and advocates a faster, startup‑like development pace. Brin’s involvement follows an April town‑hall [...]

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei published a 3,800‑word essay urging a global slowdown of artificial‑intelligence development, citing risks that outweigh benefits. The call follows an Anthropic researcher’s resignation over safety concerns and a warning that the technology has more than a 10% chance of causing human extinction. Amodei’s plea was met with lukewarm support from other AI leaders, including Elon Musk, Sam Altman, and Demis Hassabis. The article highlights growing alarm among AI pioneers about potential misuse, misinformation, cyberattacks, and job‑market disruption. [...]

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Bill Gates announced a $50 million partnership between the Gates Foundation and OpenAI to improve healthcare in Rwanda. The foundation had earlier released a report warning of rising child mortality amid global health aid cuts. Following the Davos announcement, the foundation secured a $200 million collaboration with Anthropic and, on Tuesday, committed $1 billion over two years to scale AI solutions in health, education, and agriculture worldwide. The initiative aims to leverage AI [...]

At Dreamforce in San Francisco, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman urged the public to trust AI firms to safeguard technology, acknowledging legitimate fears about AI risks. He asserted that companies can self‑regulate and will “get it right,” warning that failure to keep safety ahead of capability would force a slowdown or halt. Altman’s remarks followed a viral claim by an Anthropic researcher that unchecked AI could end humanity by decade’s end. Industry leaders, including Nvidia’s Jensen Huang and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, echoed [...]

Bulkhead CEO Joe Brammer sparked controversy after an interview on The Game Business in which he admitted the studio expects occasional crunch and that it screens job applicants’ social media for anti‑crunch posts. The remarks prompted a backlash on X, with critics accusing him of endorsing a hostile work environment. Brammer later responded to Eurogamer, claiming his comments were taken out of context and emphasizing that Bulkhead offers a four‑day work week for part of development, gives staff [...]

Bill Gates warned that governments worldwide are lagging behind the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence, citing insufficient preparation for its societal impacts. Speaking to Reuters, the Microsoft co‑founder highlighted concerns over job displacement, cybersecurity threats, and growing dependence on AI companions. Gates urged policymakers to deepen their understanding and establish safeguards without stifling innovation. He emphasized AI’s potential to improve living standards in developing countries and reduce inequality if access is equitable. The Gates Foundation will invest [...]