This week, it was revealed that the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is in a precarious condition, following a year marked by budget cuts, layoffs, and furloughs during the Trump administration. The agency has now appointed a new top acting leader, a CISA representative informed TechCrunch.

The decision to replace Madhu Gottumukkala as the acting director of CISA, an agency under the Department of Homeland Security responsible for cybersecurity and technical safeguards for the federal government, comes after a challenging year leading the agency.

Gottumukkala faced difficulties managing the agency during his time as acting director, resulting in security issues, including the uploading of confidential government documents to ChatGPT, according to sources. The agency’s staff was reduced by one-third. Gottumukkala also allegedly did not pass a counterintelligence polygraph necessary to access classified documents, and subsequently suspended several career officials, including the then-chief security officer of the agency.

Prior to his nomination as deputy director at CISA, Gottumukkala served as the chief technology officer of South Dakota under the then-governor and current Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem.

ABC News was the first to report on Gottumukkala’s exit.

In a statement provided to TechCrunch on Friday, CISA spokesperson Marci McCarthy asserted that Gottumukkala had accomplished a “remarkable job.” McCarthy informed TechCrunch that Nick Andersen would take over as CISA’s new acting director, while Gottumukkala has transitioned to a new role as director of strategic implementation within the Department of Homeland Security, which encompasses CISA.

Before his role as acting director for CISA, Andersen had previously been the agency’s leading official overseeing its cybersecurity division.

The agency has yet to appoint a permanent director confirmed by the Senate since Trump took office again.

McCarthy mentioned that the Trump administration has nominated Sean Plankey to be the permanent director of the agency, which necessitates a majority approval vote in the U.S. Senate. 

The White House re-nominated Plankey to lead CISA in January after Senator Ron Wyden blocked Plankey’s nomination last year until the agency consented to release an unclassified report said to detail cybersecurity vulnerabilities at major phone and telecommunications companies. Wyden insisted on this report’s release following numerous hacks aimed at U.S. and international telecommunications providers attributed to the China-supported hacking organization known as Salt Typhoon. The Senate has not yet arranged a hearing for Plankey’s nomination.

Nextgov reported on Thursday that CISA has lost yet another senior official, Bob Costello, the agency’s chief information officer responsible for its IT systems and data policies. The news source indicated that Gottumukkala attempted to transfer Costello but was obstructed by unnamed political appointees.

CISA’s spokesperson McCarthy did not comment on Costello’s departure when queried by TechCrunch, but she did not deny the report.

On Friday, Spotify revealed its launch of Audiobook Charts for both the U.S. and U.K. Similar to its existing Music and Podcast Charts, the Audiobook Charts will refresh on a weekly basis, showcasing the most popular audiobooks overall and by genre. The rankings are determined by user listening habits and engagement on the platform, according to the company.

These new charts are available to all users, whether they are on a free or premium plan, in the audiobooks section. To find them, just tap the search icon in the app and choose the “Audiobooks” tile to access the hub. After that, you can scroll down to the “Dive deeper” area to locate the charts.

This initiative represents Spotify’s newest commitment to the audiobooks market, following its formal endorsement of the medium in 2022.

Since that time, Spotify has been actively investing in audiobooks with new features like the freshly introduced “Page Match” tool, which allows users to scan a page from a physical book to seamlessly jump to that point in the audiobook, and “Audiobook Recaps,” which provide succinct audio summaries to help you catch up on your reading progress.

Spotify claims that the new Audiobook Charts will assist both listeners and authors by offering a reliable method for discovering popular titles, while also creating fresh opportunities for authors and the publishing sector to engage broader audiences.

“As we’ve shown with Music and Podcasts Charts, when content is simplified for access, discovery, and enjoyment, demand increases,” stated Duncan Bruce, Spotify’s Director of Audiobook Partnerships and Licensing, in a blog entry. “We are thrilled to extend this to audiobooks, facilitating even more avenues for users, publishers, and authors to see what’s trending on Spotify and connecting books with culture in real-time.”

It’s important to highlight that Spotify’s interests aren’t confined to audiobooks, as the streaming powerhouse has also recently entered the realm of physical book sales. Earlier this month, Spotify announced that users in the U.S. and U.K. will soon have the ability to buy physical editions of books directly within the app via a collaboration with Bookshop.org.

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Disrupt: Your launchpad in the tech ecosystem

If you’re seeking investment, recruiting premier talent, launching your business, or scouting your next portfolio asset, missing Disrupt on October 13–15 at San Francisco’s Moscone West isn’t just a hassle. It’s an opportunity lost while others move forward.

Here’s what you gain when you attend:

• Practical insights from builders, operators, and VCs shaping today’s market

• Direct connection to investors for your next funding round, or founders who align with your portfolio

• Early insights into groundbreaking innovations before they reach the broader market

• High-impact relationships that evolve into partnerships, funding, and career transitions

How Disrupt provides tangible benefits

• Over 10,000 founders, operators, and VCs gathering under one venue

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• Tailored programming for founders and investors

The founder–investor synergy

Founder Pass: Access the insights, tools, and investor connections necessary for growth.
Investor Pass: Uncover emerging startups and broaden your portfolio with tailored matchmaking.

Where industry leaders share openly

Disrupt has long served as a platform for founders and investors who shape eras. The voices you’ll experience are straightforward, pragmatic, and often brutally honest. The agenda for 2026 is coming soon. Stay tuned to the event site.

Past speakers have included leaders from industry-defining startups and prestigious venture firms, including:

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Weeks after resigning as CEO of food delivery company Zomato and its parent Eternal, Indian entrepreneur Deepinder Goyal has returned with a $54 million investment for wearable startup Temple, part of what the 43-year-old previously referred to as a move towards “higher-risk exploration and experimentation.”

On Friday, Goyal shared in a post on X that Temple had secured funding in a friends-and-family round from founder acquaintances and early Zomato investors, at a post-money valuation of roughly $190 million. He mentioned that over 30 employees participated at the same valuation.

According to regulatory documents reviewed by TechCrunch, Goyal is spearheading the funding round, with Steadview Capital following suit. Additional investors include Peak XV Partners, Info Edge Ventures, and Dharana Capital, along with angel investors like Vijay Shekhar Sharma of Paytm, Kunal Shah of CRED, and Nithin and Nikhil Kamath of Zerodha, as well as current and former executives from Eternal such as Akshant Goyal, Aditya Mangla, Kunal Swarup, Akriti Chopra, and Rahul Ganjoo.

Goyal stepped down as chief executive of Zomato and its parent, Eternal, in January, passing the role to Albinder Dhindsa, who oversees the quick-commerce unit Blinkit. This change represented a significant transition for Goyal after nearly 20 years at the forefront of the food delivery company he co-founded in 2008.

Temple represents one of the clearest manifestations of that transition. The startup is dedicated to creating a high-performance wearable for elite athletes, an area Goyal has identified as primed for further technological advancement.

In a January discussion with podcaster Raj Shamani, Goyal described Temple’s wearable as a sensor intended to be worn on the user’s temple, continuously monitoring cerebral blood flow.

In a different post on X earlier Friday, he stated that Temple seeks to develop what he referred to as “the ultimate wearable for elite performance athletes,” asserting that the device would measure metrics that existing wearables are unable to capture. He also highlighted an extensive hiring initiative encompassing embedded systems, computational neuroscience, and brain–computer interface engineering.

We’re recruiting at @temple.

At Temple, we are building the ultimate wearable for elite performance athletes. A device that measures what no other wearable in the world measures, with a level of precision that doesn’t exist yet.

To build it, we need people who are obsessive… pic.twitter.com/iCHaMUwdEw

— Deepinder Goyal (@deepigoyal) February 27, 2026

The startup is entering a market for wearables that is increasingly crowded and well-funded, where firms such as Whoop, Oura, and Garmin have spent years honing devices that monitor sleep, recovery, and athletic performance. Whether Temple can significantly distinguish its technology remains uncertain.

The investment in Temple reflects a broader shift in Goyal’s focus. In October 2025, he mentioned committing $25 million of his own funds to another new business, Continue Research, which is investigating methods to extend human longevity. He is also a co-founder of aviation startup LAT Aerospace, which recently ventured into defense technology with the acquisition of the early-stage firm Sharang Shakti.

Goyal established his reputation at Zomato, which he co-founded with Pankaj Chaddah and dedicated nearly 20 years to transforming into one of India’s foremost food delivery services before stepping down as chief executive earlier this year.

Chaddah departed the company in 2018, as Zomato continued to solidify its standing through acquisitions, including the purchase of Uber Eats’ India operations in 2020 and grocery delivery service Blinkit — then known as Grofers — for $568 million in 2022.

Before Temple, Goyal had also supported health and fitness startups, including Ultrahuman, an India-based wearable manufacturer that competes with Oura’s smart ring, highlighting his growing emphasis on performance and health technology.

Goyal refrained from providing additional comments on Temple.

OpenAI has secured $110 billion in private investment, the firm declared Friday morning, marking the beginning of one of the most substantial private funding rounds ever recorded. This latest funding includes a $50 billion contribution from Amazon, alongside $30 billion each from Nvidia and SoftBank, based on a pre-money valuation of $730 billion.

Importantly, the funding round remains open, and OpenAI anticipates additional investors will come on board as it advances.

“We are entering a new era where frontier AI transitions from research into regular application on a global scale,” OpenAI stated. “Leadership will hinge on who can expand infrastructure rapidly enough to meet demand and convert that capacity into products that people depend on.”

As part of the investment, OpenAI is establishing major infrastructure collaborations with both Amazon and Nvidia. Similar to previous funding rounds, it’s probable that a considerable part of the funding will be in the form of services rather than actual cash, although the exact division was not revealed.

The company’s last funding round concluded in March 2025, securing $40 billion against a $300 billion valuation. At that time, it was the largest private funding round recorded.

In its collaboration with Amazon, OpenAI aims to create a new “stateful runtime environment” where OpenAI models will operate on Amazon’s Bedrock platform. The company will also enhance its previously announced AWS partnership, which pledged $38 billion in computing services, by an additional $100 billion. OpenAI has promised to utilize a minimum of 2GW of AWS Tranium computing as part of this agreement and also plans to develop custom models to aid Amazon’s consumer products.

“We have numerous developers and companies excited to operate services powered by OpenAI models on AWS,” remarked Amazon CEO Andy Jassy in a statement, “and our exceptional partnership with OpenAI to deliver stateful runtime environments will revolutionize possibilities for customers creating AI applications and agents.”

The Information previously indicated that $35 billion of Amazon’s investment might depend on the company achieving AGI or conducting its IPO before year’s end. OpenAI’s announcement clarifies the funding distribution but states only that the extra $35 billion will be provided “in the coming months when certain conditions are fulfilled.”

OpenAI provided limited information regarding the Nvidia partnership but mentioned a commitment to utilizing “3GW of dedicated inference capability and 2GW of training on Vera Rubin systems” as part of the agreement.

Nvidia’s involvement in this funding round has been widely speculated, especially as rumors of a $100 billion investment in September transitioned to reports of a lower investment in the subsequent months.

In January, Huang rejected the notion that Nvidia was retreating from OpenAI, asserting, “we will invest a significant amount of money. I have faith in OpenAI. The work they are doing is remarkable.”

An increase in the demand for computers and data centers to support AI is leading to a significant RAM shortage, which in turn is pushing memory prices upward. Currently, the analyst firm IDC forecasts that this situation will lead to a 12.9% decline in smartphone shipments this year, representing the largest single-year drop in over ten years. Shortly after IDC released its findings, Counterpoint, another analytics firm, echoed this prediction, suggesting a 12% drop in the market this year.

Earlier in the year, IDC indicated that manufacturers delivered 1.26 billion devices in 2025. The firm now anticipates that this number will fall to just 1.12 billion in the current year.

“The memory shortage is set to initiate more than a temporary downturn; it signifies a structural transformation of the entire market, significantly altering the long-term TAM [total addressable market], the vendor landscape, and the product mix,” stated Nabila Popal, senior research director at IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, in a statement.

Popal noted that due to the memory shortage, the average selling price of a smartphone is predicted to increase by 14%.

“We foresee consolidation as smaller players withdraw, and low-end manufacturers will experience significant declines in shipments due to supply limitations and diminished demand at elevated price levels. Despite the anticipated record drop in shipments, smartphone ASP [average selling price] is expected to increase 14% to an unprecedented $523 this year,” she further elaborated.

Popal also remarked that escalating component costs may render the sub-$100 smartphone “permanently unfeasible,” eliminating options for manufacturers that create devices at that price point.

The firm indicated that, as a consequence of this trend, shipments in the Middle East and Africa will decrease by over 20% year-over-year. Additionally, China and the wider Asia Pacific region (excluding Japan) will experience declines of 10.5% and 13.1%, respectively.

IDC projected that RAM prices will likely stabilize by mid-2027.

Counterpoint indicated that high-end smartphones would remain more resilient amid this shift, but the sub-$200 smartphone sector will see a 20% decline.

“The effects are expected to persist through the second half of 2027, as it will take several quarters for memory supply growth to come to fruition. Lower-end smartphones are anticipated to be the most affected, particularly due to the rapid decline in LPDDR4 supply. OEMs are already adapting with postponed launches, streamlined product lines, and adjusted specifications. We have also noted price increases of 10% to 20% across some Android OEM product lines in January 2026,” stated Principal Analyst Yang Wang.

The firm also anticipated that price fluctuations within handsets will enhance the second-hand device market.

Earlier this year, Carl Pei, co-founder and CEO of Nothing, warned that smartphone prices would rise in 2026 due to increasing memory costs. “Companies are now left with a straightforward choice: increase prices by 30% or more in some cases, or downgrade specifications. The ‘more features for less cost’ approach that many value brands once thrived on is no longer viable in 2026,” he stated.

“Consequently, certain markets, especially in the entry and mid-tier segments, are likely to contract by 20% or more, and brands that have traditionally led these markets will face challenges,” Pei continued.

After numerous appeals, Google has at last obtained conditional permission to export high-precision geographic data from South Korea, a decision that paves the way for the company to offer comprehensive Google Maps services in the nation, including walking and real-time driving directions.

This decision overturns a long-standing policy on data restrictions that had rendered both Google Maps and Apple Maps virtually unusable in the region. Google has, until now, provided mapping services in South Korea using high-resolution, 1:5,000 scale map data, but without the facility to export that data to its own servers, the company was unable to provide functionalities such as turn-by-turn navigation or detailed business listings.

Since 2011, South Korea has resisted Google’s requests, contending that the company’s precise satellite maps could jeopardize national security by revealing sensitive military locations when combined with commercial imagery and online information. Given that South Korea remains technically engaged in conflict with North Korea, the government is understandably cautious about revealing such sites and had previously insisted that Google establish a data center within the country and obfuscate sensitive locations.

The approval comes with rigorous guidelines intended to safeguard sensitive military and infrastructure areas. The South Korean authorities will ensure compliance before any data departs the country; all images of South Korean territory included in Google Maps and Google Earth must adhere to national security protocols; and historical imagery in Google Earth and Street View must conceal sensitive military locations. Additionally, Google is mandated to either eliminate or restrict coordinate data for locations in South Korea, permitting only essential navigation and routing data to be exported.

The government also stipulates that all data processing must occur on servers managed by Google’s local partners. Sensitive topographic and military information remain prohibited, and any updates concerning military or security sites must be executed swiftly on domestic servers at the behest of the government.

Google has not yet responded to a request for comment.

This development will undoubtedly create ripples in Korea’s domestic mapping market, which has seen local navigation applications like Naver Map, T Map, and Kakao Map prosper in the relative absence of major providers such as Google or Apple.

In its statement, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport noted that the decision was motivated by a desire to enhance tourism in the country — as Google Maps has thus far been somewhat ineffective in South Korea, tourists have had to depend on local apps, regardless of their English language capabilities.

The ministry added that the initiative also aims to bolster the nation’s geospatial sector by fostering the development of high-precision, 3D infrastructure and geo AI technologies. The government is encouraging Google to assist in expanding South Korea’s geospatial industry so that the export of data benefits not just the tech giant, but also local innovation and economic advancement.

Google has not confirmed whether it plans to establish a data center in South Korea. The company operates a network of data centers across Asia, including locations in Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, Thailand, and Malaysia.

The government has also introduced new protocols to address potential security issues related to the export of high-resolution maps. The ministry stated it would collaborate with Google to create a “security incident prevention and response framework” to manage potential risks before any data exits the country. For scenarios involving immediate threats to national security, a technical “red button” mechanism will be implemented, enabling swift emergency response.

Additionally, South Korea will mandate the presence of a local officer to maintain ongoing communication with the government and ensure the effective management of any security incidents.

On Friday, Ultrahuman introduced a new smart ring featuring an extended battery life and an updated design, as the Bengaluru-based wearable manufacturer aims to revive its U.S. operations that were affected last year due to a patent conflict with competitor Oura.

The Ring Pro, Ultrahuman’s latest generation of smart ring, boasts a battery life of up to 15 days — in contrast to the four to six days offered by the Ring Air — and is priced at $479. It will be available for global pre-orders, excluding the U.S., with deliveries commencing in March.

Ultrahuman’s operations in the U.S. faced challenges in October 2025 after the U.S. International Trade Commission, a federal entity managing trade conflicts, ruled in favor of Oura in a patent case. This decision halted the startup’s ability to import new ring stock into the country, although existing inventory remained available for sale. The impact was substantial, as the U.S. represented approximately 45% of Ultrahuman’s nearly 700,000 daily active users globally, according to co-founder and CEO Mohit Kumar.

In August 2025, Ultrahuman filed a separate patent violation lawsuit against Oura in the Delhi High Court, where the issue is still unresolved.

To navigate around Oura’s patent, Ultrahuman created the Ring Pro with an innovative design, Kumar informed TechCrunch, noting that the device has been submitted to U.S. Customs and Border Protection for approval to ensure it can be legally imported into the U.S.

Despite the setbacks in the U.S. market, Ultrahuman is currently functioning with an annual revenue run rate of approximately $150 million, Kumar stated. The startup reported an operational revenue of $64 million for the financial year ending March 2025. It remains profitable post-tax, although margins are anticipated to decrease due to litigation expenses, tariffs, and redesign efforts, he added.

Along with the new ring, Ultrahuman launched Jade, a real-time “biointelligence” platform that analyzes user health data across its devices and services, providing personalized insights and recommendations.

Kumar highlighted that Jade is intended to transition from retrospective health summaries to real-time, actionable advice.

“Most AI tools available today analyze past data,” he remarked. “Jade is designed to respond to your health in real time and highlight actions for users to consider.”

Kumar mentioned that Jade will be accessible to all Ultrahuman users, including those using the older Ring Air, with no current subscription requirements.

The Ring Pro incorporates an improved heart-rate sensing architecture for better signal quality during sleep and features a new dual-core processor to boost data accuracy and on-device processing. The device can retain up to 250 days of health data and is approximately 5% to 6% heavier than the Ring Air, which was launched in July 2023 at $349.

Additionally, Ultrahuman has launched a Pro Charger with a battery life of up to 45 days to facilitate on-the-go charges and enable quicker updates and diagnostics through direct case connectivity. The charger is also compatible with wireless charging via Qi, the standard widely used by modern smartphones.

Women represent roughly 68% of Ultrahuman’s user base, an increase from about 65% the previous year, Kumar noted, indicating strong engagement with the startup’s women’s health features.

Ultrahuman also provides subscription-based offerings across its extensive health platform, which includes a coaching and recovery program known as PowerPlugs, the Blood Vision metabolic panel, Ultrahuman Home, and a continuous glucose monitoring service. Subscription services account for approximately 16% of Ultrahuman’s total revenue, while Blood Vision contributes around 5% to 6% to the business, Kumar mentioned.

Kumar informed TechCrunch that Ultrahuman’s primary growth markets include the UK, Canada, Australia, and India, with India generating roughly 8% to 9% of total revenue following recent investments in local customer support.

Worldwide smart ring shipments surged nearly 80% year-over-year in 2025, propelled by the demand for compact wearables featuring advanced sleep tracking and prolonged battery life, stated Anshika Jain, senior analyst at Counterpoint Research. Oura maintains its lead, holding more than two-thirds of the market, while Ultrahuman occupies the second spot.

Jain further stated that future leaders in this category will be determined by sensor precision, AI-driven insights, and seamless ecosystem integration.

Separate data from IDC revealed that global smart ring shipments increased by approximately 30% year-over-year in Q3 2025, reaching nearly 1 million units, partly due to the rising demand for screenless fitness trackers, according to Navkendar Singh, associate vice president at IDC India. Ultrahuman captured about 25% of the market during this time, as per IDC.

Established in 2019, Ultrahuman has raised around $55 million to date and counts investors such as Alpha Wave Incubation, Blume Ventures, Steadview Capital, and Nexus Venture Partners.

Ultrahuman is in the process of increasing production capacity to meet the demand for the Ring Pro in the upcoming months, Kumar revealed.

Plaid, a firm that links financial apps to users’ bank accounts for payment processing and data validation, has permitted employees to liquidate portions of their shares at an $8 billion valuation, the company disclosed to TechCrunch on Thursday.

This valuation indicates a 31% rise from the $6.1 billion valuation the 13-year-old firm reached in April of the previous year, when it secured a $575 million funding round led by Franklin Templeton, partially aimed at enabling employees to sell shares to cover taxes associated with converting expiring restricted stock units (RSUs, a form of equity compensation) into shares.

Although it now boasts a larger headline figure, Plaid’s valuation remains 40% lower than its $13.4 billion peak in 2021, when ultra-low interest rates triggered a significant boom in fintech valuations.

Such share transactions are increasingly prevalent among private firms employing liquidity as a retention strategy. Recent instances include Stripe, which announced this week the option for employees to sell shares at a $159 billion valuation, along with Clay, ElevenLabs, and Linear.

In addition to aiding retention and assisting staff with tax obligations incurred when RSUs vest, these actions diminish the pressure on management to pursue an IPO prematurely.