In East London, a group of six individuals in their twenties has created what they call the antithesis of a San Francisco hacker house. Their aim is a “comprehensive enhancement of living,” rather than just “12 weeks until Demo Day,” Rowan Aldean, 26, clarified. 

Curious, I devoted an afternoon to exploring the house, getting acquainted with its inhabitants, and assessing the atmosphere. I reached the location after Aldean guided me through the spotless pathways of a modern East London development to the six-story structure that overlooked the water. 

This residence is known as the London Island Founder House — or “Lift House” — where Aldean and his spouse, Zahraa, 22, a budding pharmaceutical research PhD candidate, have resided since May, just a few months post its official opening in March. Aldean mentioned he sold his previous venture for millions last year and now operates an “applied AI” startup assisting businesses in deploying agents. 

Like all hacker houses, Lift House serves as a combination of startup workspace and co-living environment. According to Aldean, the name reflects both its elevator—its lift—and its objective to elevate tech founders. It ranks among the rare co-living hacker houses present in London (in contrast to San Francisco, which boasts dozens, if not hundreds, at any time). 

Lift House represents a gamble that founders in the U.K. can establish thriving enterprises without replicating the extreme hustle culture of Silicon Valley.  

Founders have recounted experiences of San Francisco hacker houses operating illegally in warehouses, organizing extravagant parties, or camping in tents while participating in grueling, 72-hour work sprints typical of the “996” work ethic.  

“I don’t anticipate the theatrical and extravagant events will happen here,” Aldean noted, referencing one of London’s leading AI firms, DeepMind. “They’ve earned Nobel prizes and pioneered cutting-edge innovation without any fanfare.”  

Instead, Lift House is part of a trend termed “Londonmaxxing,” where founders seek to maximize the benefits offered by the London tech environment. The London tech scene appears less flashy and less dominated by startup culture than its San Francisco counterpart, yet its founders share analogous aspirations: success, wealth, and market supremacy.  

According to Dealroom, London AI startups have secured $12 billion thus far in 2026, out of a total of $14.7 billion amassed by all London startups. Six companies have garnered over $500 million: Wayve, Superintelligence, ElevenLabs, Recursive, Ineffable Intelligence, and Isomorphic Labs, with the latter three founded by alumni of DeepMind. 
 
The excitement surrounding AI has invigorated the U.K. tech landscape, motivating a new wave of founders, including those at the Lift House, to aim high. 

Journaling vs. demo day  

The duration of stay at Lift House is adaptable — some residents have been there for just a month while others plan to remain for a minimum of six months. Aldean stated they handle their own grocery shopping, although they frequently prepare meals together and share ingredients. Cleaning responsibilities are distributed among the members. Everyone chose not to disclose details about their rent payments. 

The inhabitants of Lift House aspire to maintain a harmonious balance in their pursuits, each articulating to me an almost unprecedented concept in the San Francisco startup sphere.  

The group journals together on Sundays, a practice initiated by David Amor, 28, who operates a brain coaching and training business that aids founders and business leaders in understanding their brain and optimizing business performance. The journaling purpose is to assist everyone in monitoring their time spent in nature during the week, their dietary habits, and their physical activity levels.  

“I’m eating healthier, exercising more, and getting better sleep,” Luke, 27, who manages an AI-marketing firm, shared about residing in the house. “I now always ensure to have lunch, which seems basic, but I neglected it before moving here.” (Luke requested his surname remain confidential.)  
 
Tuesdays are reserved for volleyball, with founders participating on the house team in a local league.  

Following dinner on other nights, Wan Ying L, 25, who recently exited an AI startup and is developing a new concept, might entertain the group with piano playing in the shared living space. Occasionally, the collective engages in board games like Catan or visits art exhibits together.  

Presence Plumb, 25, a tech strategist, enjoys hosting rooftop dinner gatherings featuring dishes reflecting the various nationalities represented in the house — from Iraqi to Spanish — while invited founders, researchers, investors, and operators discuss technology trends and investments. 

“It feels a bit more tranquil, balanced, and genuine,” she commented on the people within the London tech scene. “They aren’t overly keen on the typical tech bro culture. They seek a degree of equilibrium.” 

Each founder adheres to their individual routines throughout a standard workday. For instance, Amor rises by 8 a.m., affording himself precisely 30 seconds post-wake before diving into his morning tasks. “I have a distinct goal of ‘this is what I aim to accomplish in the first half of the day, when distractions are negligible.’” Post his morning work session, he indulges in a cold shower, “as it boosts your dopamine by 250%, providing me with that necessary motivation and spark,” he explained.  

Luke, on the other hand, generally gets up around 8:30. His co-founder, Varun, 27 (who requested anonymity), often comes to the Lift House for collaborative work, with the two starting their day around 9 a.m. with a team meeting.  

Aldean rarely rises before 10 a.m. unless significant events occur, like a “noteworthy angel [investor] call,” he stated.
 
When queried about what distinguishes this house as uniquely British, as opposed to a wellness-oriented Silicon Valley founder residence, Aldean humorously remarked: “Well, we share tea together like proper Brits, while in SF people just opt for filtered coffee.” 
 
On a more serious note, he elaborated on how British founders confront a distinct type of pressure compared to their U.S. counterparts. They must navigate a cultural reluctance to embrace risk, a tendency toward modesty, and a stigma linked to failure. Instead of sacrificing sleep for relentless work, they grapple with what is termed the “tall poppy syndrome,” where media elevates someone only to vigorously criticize them if they achieve too much success, according to investors and founders. This results in some individuals in the ecosystem being hesitant to flaunt their victories excessively.  

Nonetheless, Luke asserted that London is an excellent choice for early-stage founders: There exists a robust network, plentiful initial capital opportunities, and a chance for a life beyond technology. Culturally, it resembles New York more closely for founders than it does San Francisco.  

“Given London’s diversity, if you look diligently, you’ll consistently uncover engaging activities to participate in,” Amor remarked, “be it a founder-led club, wellness events, or attending jazz nights.” 

Luke and Varun have primarily steered clear of venture capital by leveraging the U.K. government’s SEIS/EIS, designed to attract more angel investment into local startups. “Individuals will effectively pay the same tax rate if they contribute to us versus if they pay income tax,” Luke elaborated, citing another advantage of launching in London.  

Aldean also perceives the London ecosystem as less aggressive than that of Silicon Valley. He recalls his time in a hacker house in the Bay Area — everyone’s workspace was oriented towards a wall, focused on product development. He felt the ecosystem was often too willing to engage in gossip, which reportedly differs in the U.K.  

“There’s no talking like ‘oh my god did you hear that the CTO just did this,’” Aldean noted. “There’s a constant worry,” he mentioned, that someone might circulate negative stories, particularly if it served their interests.  

Aldean believes that London-based startups, more than those in Silicon Valley, engage with slow-moving large corporations rather than competing amongst themselves, enabling entrepreneurs to build without the need to ingratiate themselves or display excessive bravado to earn peer approval.  

Regarding selling dynamics, Varun and Luke pointed out another distinction between U.S. and U.K. ecosystems. “It’s a relatively quick turnaround market,” Varun described the U.S. environment. “You secure rapid wins. Here, closing a customer is more challenging, but once secured, they tend to remain with you for a longer period.” 

Heading to America

However, the trajectory for many U.K. startups often leads directly to the U.S. 

In the U.K., founders have access to reasonably priced top talent from institutions like Oxbridge and a time zone that facilitates collaboration with Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and portions of North America. Meanwhile, the U.S. offers the world’s largest economy and, most crucially, a plethora of investors willing to allocate large sums from early stages to growth phases.  

“It’s somewhat akin to a production line,” Varun remarked. “You begin here, then expand there or vice versa.”  

Moreover, American investors are increasingly attracting British talent away from their homeland. I informed the Lift House residents of a startup founder who indicated that a premier investor wouldn’t support her company unless she relocated to the U.S. She ultimately made the move but chose to keep her family in the U.K. to raise her children.  

“We encountered an investor in Miami who conveyed a similar notion,” Luke remarked, referencing an investor who encouraged him and Varun to relocate to the U.S. “It’s quite a prevalent practice.” They have begun their U.S. expansion already, and while they cherish London, the duo hasn’t dismissed the possibility of moving to the U.S. to be nearer to their customers.  

This tension simmers not only within the U.K. tech scene but across much of Europe. “I collaborate with numerous individuals aiming to bolster the European ecosystem,” Plumb remarked. 

Nevertheless, founders “discuss London; everyone is optimistic about the country until presented with the chance to depart,” Aldean added. 

The Lift House lease has approximately one year remaining, and there exists a desire among residents to extend it as long as feasible. After all, there are surprisingly few establishments like it in London, though the city hosts various temporary meetups, such as the Solana Hacker House series. Some of the more well-known co-living hacker houses are part of a global network, like the San Francisco-based initiative The Residency, which expanded into London last year, and BaseJump is set to unveil a London version of its hacker house program shortly. 

In 2024, a pair of founders attempted the inverse concept of the Lift House named “The London Founder House,” which Sifted reported on, headlined “The individuals here don’t desire work-life balance.” This dwelling is recognized as London’s inaugural hacker house, and although it concluded last year, it left a legacy through its ideas, events, and connections within the ecosystem. Participation in the London Founder House required prior fundraising of at least half a million dollars.  

For Lift House, prospective members need to demonstrate a personal interest outside their businesses and a commitment to physical well-being. This pitch mirrors what many in the Londonmaxxing scene advocate to prevent brain drain: that individuals can have it all here. 

“The ethos is to create something enduring,” Aldean stated, “not merely burn out chasing a fleeting success.” 

Glad to have you back at TechCrunch Mobility, your destination for the future of transportation and the increasing influence of AI within it. To have this delivered to your inbox, sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility!

Tesla has initiated earnings season — at least for this domain — and the shareholder letter, alongside Elon Musk’s comments during the conference call, revealed some quite astonishing disclosures that likely have left some investors either worried or at least confused. 

Tesla has withdrawn from earlier commitments to achieve “volume production” of the Cybercab, Tesla Semi, and Megapack 3 by 2026. While the firm has publicly announced the expansion of its Tesla Robotaxi service into additional cities in Florida and Texas, the quarter-over-quarter statistics reflect a decrease in paid robotaxi miles. 

Senior reporter Sean O’Kane examined a graph included in Tesla’s shareholder letter more closely.  At first glance, the chart seems to indicate steady growth in paid robotaxi rides from August 2025 to June 2026, as O’Kane points out. However, the figures presented are cumulative, and when analyzed quarterly, they reveal that Tesla’s Robotaxi fleet of Model Y SUVs transporting paying passengers covered approximately 1.1 million miles in the first quarter. That number dropped to about 700,000 miles in the second quarter, a decline of roughly 36%.

Musk also mentioned during the call that Tesla must gather driving data specific to the Cybercab before it can deploy significant numbers of the vehicles. This is not too unexpected; after all, the Cybercab is a new model. However, the rationale caught my attention. He shared that Tesla must collect miles from Cybercabs equipped with steering wheels and accelerator and braking pedals in order to calibrate them to the Cybercab chassis.

This represents a shift from the company’s earlier assertions. For years, Tesla claimed its fleet of nearly 10 million customer vehicles was accumulating data useful for training its advanced driver-assistance system, Full Self-Driving (Supervised), and upcoming robotaxis. Musk’s clarification implies a discrepancy between that fleet data and how it relates to the Cybercab.

On the financial side, Tesla’s Q2 earnings reveal a company investing significantly in its next generation of products (CapEx has doubled, and the firm has returned to negative free cash flow territory). Though revenue has increased, the gain wasn’t sufficient to counterbalance the operational costs. The company’s net income dropped 5% year over year.

Deals!

Travis Kalanick made a notable return to the robotics and mobility landscape earlier this year with Atoms — a newly branded holding firm overseeing his ghost kitchen initiative — and a deal to acquire Anthony Levandowski’s industrial automation company, Pronto. Now, the former Uber co-founder and CEO has $1.7 billion in funding to utilize. Venture capital titan Andreessen Horowitz spearheaded the round with contributions from Bain Capital, Fifth Wall, and Uber. Ben Horowitz is set to join the company’s board post-investment.

This may come as a shock to those who recall Kalanick’s exit from Uber’s forefront nearly a decade ago — along with the series of scandals and legal issues that preceded his departure. What’s even more astonishing is that Uber took part in the funding round. Reports indicate Uber invested $100 million into Atoms; subsequent conversations have verified that amount and presented fresh information, including that the investment occurred six months prior.  

Keep in mind: Back in 2016, while Kalanick was still CEO, Uber acquired Levandowski’s self-driving truck startup Otto. Less than a year after, Levandowski’s previous employer Waymo (Google’s self-driving project) sued Uber for trade secret theft. Both parties reached a settlement on the fifth day of the trial. 

There’s a complicated backstory, much of it tumultuous, between Kalanick and Uber (and Levandowski as well). Nevertheless, it appears that the ride-hailing service remains open to investing in them. 

So, what plans does Atoms have for this funding? Details remain unclear, but a company email from Levandowski indicates that Pronto will play a significant role in those plans. 

The communication states that “Atoms is heavily investing in Industrial AI and physical automation tailored to mining and transport.” It later adds, “Pronto is a fundamental strategic priority for Atoms, and this funding round aims to expedite precisely what is crucial for your operations: the scale of practical, OEM-agnostic autonomy.”

Other noteworthy deals …

Einride, the Swedish firm focused on electric and autonomous trucking, has come to an agreement to acquire EV charging startup Flipturn in an all-stock transaction valued at $38 million.

IBM has entered into an agreement to purchase HRL Laboratories, a quantum computing research facility co-owned by Boeing and General Motors. 

Sila, the battery materials enterprise, secured $300 million in funding led by Atreides Management and Sutter Hill Ventures, with contributions from 8VC, Bessemer Venture Partners, Matrix Partners, and funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates Inc. The capital will support Sila’s factory expansion in Washington state to produce enough anode material for over 100,000 EVs.

Notable reads and other tidbits

Aurora had some developments this week that may not have garnered significant attention, but arguably should have. The company unveiled its second-generation driverless trucks, featuring new hardware that is smaller and enhanced sensor-cleaning systems along with extended range lidar — all engineered to last a million miles. The initial fleet will be limited and operational on its Dallas-to-Houston route. Ultimately, it plans to expand to 200 driverless trucks by year-end, which will transport freight for clients such as Hirschbach, Uber Freight, McLane, and Detmar, the company reported. Crucially for Aurora, these trucks will not have a human observer in the cab.

Ford is looking at Apple for its upcoming generation of EVs. Specifically, Ford will integrate Apple Maps navigation and mapping via a new suite of developer tools named MapKit for Automotive into its new range of electric vehicles, kicking off with the $30,000 midsize truck in 2027. When I inquired about the impact on Google, which is already a partner, a company spokesperson informed me that the Apple announcement “does not alter Google Automotive Services’ role across our current and near-term production programs.”

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety published a study titled “Rise of the machines: crash experiences of highly automated vehicles and human drivers.” The organization opted for a more sensational headline (Waymo’s driverless cars crash less often than people) to draw readers to its findings. However, that headline overlooks some of the nuances. The study does supply evidence that Waymo’s existing robotaxis experience lower crash involvement rates than human drivers. “Overall, factoring in police-reportable crashes, Waymo’s crash rate was 68% lower than that of human drivers,” the research indicates. It also importantly concludes that national crash and vehicle-miles-traveled data collection for Level 4 vehicles “can be enhanced for more timely and accurate safety evaluations.” 

Mobileye founder and CEO Amnon Shashua is set to step down from his leadership role after nearly three decades, coinciding with the company’s push into robotaxis and humanoid robots.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will explore the possibility of establishing new requirements for automakers to allow drivers and passengers to exit their vehicles safely — following a request that urged the agency to investigate a safety defect tied to the emergency mechanical door release on 2022 Tesla Model 3 cars. To clarify, this does not imply that new regulations will definitely be forthcoming. 

Rivian has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government seeking a “full refund” on tariffs incurred under President Trump’s “Liberation Day” taxes, which the Supreme Court later deemed unconstitutional. 

Two Volkswagen engineers have been accused of securities fraud after allegedly benefiting from insider information concerning the German automaker’s joint venture with Rivian. 

Waymo is reportedly holding internal discussions about terminating its contract with Uber, as reported by the Financial Times. Observers familiar with this partnership may have read this and thought “obviously!” However, there are interesting specifics, including that the Uber-Waymo agreement covering Atlanta and Austin is set to expire in May 2028. Uber informed TechCrunch that Waymo plans to launch its own app in Austin and Atlanta come January 2028.

WhatsApp is introducing a variety of new features, including an upgraded Apple CarPlay and Android Auto experience.

This week, Monday.com, the Tel Aviv-headquartered work management software firm recognized for its vibrant, adjustable project-tracking boards, became the latest technology firm to point to AI as a contributing factor behind job reductions. On Wednesday, the company revealed in an SEC filing that it plans to divert approximately 20% of its staff, translating to over 600 employees, as part of a “restructuring strategy” linked to its “continuous evolution of its product, marketing, and go-to-market tactics” in alignment with “a more streamlined, concentrated operational model” while maintaining investments in its “AI-driven growth approach.”

Co-founder Eran Zinman informed staff in a LinkedIn message that this decision “was not intended to cut costs or substitute jobs with AI,” instead framing it as a method to adapt the company to a new AI-centric vision established approximately a year ago during its rebranding focused on an organization-wide AI initiative. With two offices in the U.S., Monday.com anticipates incurring $45 million to $55 million in net restructuring expenses but still forecasts as much as 20% year-over-year revenue growth for 2026.

According to a new analysis from the Financial Times, U.S. tech firms have eliminated nearly 140,000 jobs since the beginning of the year, with Amazon, Oracle, Meta, and Microsoft collectively responsible for almost 50,000 of those layoffs as they channel hundreds of billions into AI data center expansions. Interestingly, the FT’s analysis also shows that companies attributing job cuts to AI have lagged behind the Nasdaq by nearly 10% in the 30 trading days post-announcement, indicating that the market may not fully accept their narratives.

However, the outlook is not wholly negative. The FT notes that AI-centric companies such as Anthropic and OpenAI are aggressively hiring, absorbing some of the talent lost from other sectors. Additionally, within some of the firms implementing cuts, workforce roles are merely shifting rather than entirely vanishing. For example, Meta reallocated around 7,000 employees to new AI-focused positions earlier this year, despite laying off 8,000, while IBM reports that it is tripling entry-level recruitment for AI and hybrid-cloud roles even amidst recent reductions.

Below is an ongoing overview—listed in reverse chronological order—of major tech firms that have announced significant layoffs this year with AI as a specified factor.

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Microsoft — July 9, 2026. Microsoft eliminated about 4,800 positions, or 2.1% of its global workforce, predominantly from its Xbox gaming division, restructuring the business just three years after its acquisition of Activision Blizzard for $75 billion, according to the FT. Separately, the company offered buyouts framed as voluntary departures, without specifying how many employees would be affected. Microsoft stated that the job cuts were “not being replaced by AI,” but did acknowledge that “AI is altering how work is conducted.” CFO Amy Hood mentioned a year-over-year decline in total headcount in fiscal Q3, which is anticipated to persist as the company concentrates on “developing high-performing teams that function swiftly and flexibly” amid rising AI investments.

Oracle — June 22, 2026. Oracle revealed in late June that it had reduced its workforce by 21,000 employees over the last year, a 13% drop, indicating more cuts than previously disclosed, partly due to AI. “The implementation and usage of AI technologies across our operations have led, and may continue to lead, to reductions in our workforce,” the company noted in an annual financial regulatory filing.

GitLab — June 3, 2026. GitLab cut approximately 350 jobs, about 14% of its staff, to finance AI infrastructure investments and manage increased traffic from AI workflows. CEO Bill Staples stated that agentic workloads are “pushing competitors to the brink” and that the company had initiated a “generational rebuild” of its core infrastructure to meet what he termed 100x growth requirements. GitLab is withdrawing from 22 countries, simplifying its management structure, and collaborating with an unspecified AI lab to reconstruct its platform for agent-scale workloads. For the first quarter, GitLab reported revenue of $264 million, up 23% year-over-year, anticipating $30 to $35 million in restructuring costs.

Google — ongoing through May. Alphabet’s Google has discreetly reduced headcount within its Cloud division, including the Threat Intelligence Group and cybersecurity personnel associated with Mandiant, even with Cloud revenue rising by 63% to surpass $20 billion for the first time, and its backlog nearly doubling to over $460 billion. Over the past year, Google has cut more than a third of managers supervising small teams — reporting 35% fewer managers with fewer direct reports. Unlike most firms on this list, Google has not released a single cumulative figure — cuts were made through an ongoing performance review method, a voluntary buyout initiative, and structural reorganizations, with external estimates indicating the total for 2026 is between 1,500 and 3,000+ engineers.

Intuit — May 20, 2026. Intuit announced plans to cut about 3,000 jobs — nearly 17% of its workforce — in a restructuring focused on decreasing complexity and reallocating resources towards AI. CEO Sasan Goodarzi reportedly informed employees that the company is simplifying its structure to enhance product delivery.

Meta — May 20-21, 2026. Meta terminated around 8,000 employees, roughly 10% of its workforce, while transitioning about 7,000 employees into new AI-centered roles (which they are said to dislike). CEO Mark Zuckerberg told staff that the layoffs were essential because “success isn’t guaranteed” in AI.

Cisco — May 14, 2026. Cisco declared that it is cutting nearly 4,000 positions, about 5% of its workforce, despite reporting better-than-expected profits and revenue. CFO Mark Patterson remarked: “This restructuring was not primarily cost-driven… it’s more about reallocating… resources towards silicon, optics, security, and AI.”

Cloudflare — May 7-8, 2026. Cloudflare reduced its workforce by about 20% (1,100 people), reporting quarterly revenue of $639.8 million, a 34% increase year-over-year and a record single quarter for the company. CEO Matthew Prince stated that “the vast majority of those laid off last week were measurements” — middle management, finance, legal, internal auditing, and revenue recognition roles.

General Motors — May 12, 2026. GM eliminated between 500 to 600 jobs, mainly in IT positions in Austin, Texas, and Warren, Michigan, stating it was reassessing its workforce needs amid uncertain market conditions. A source familiar with the cuts informed CNBC that AI played a role in the decision, though it wasn’t the sole factor. GM’s statement indicated it is “transforming its Information Technology organization to better position the company for the future.” Despite the layoffs, the company had around 80 open IT roles, including positions in AI, motorsports, and autonomous vehicles.

Coinbase — May 5, 2026. The cryptocurrency exchange announced it was laying off roughly 700 employees, or 14% of its workforce, as part of a restructuring aimed at responding to market fluctuations and enhancing AI efficiency. The company streamlined its structure to five layers beneath the CEO and COO while indicating it would explore “one-person teams” combining engineering, design, and product roles. CEO Brian Armstrong explained that AI had significantly accelerated work pace — “engineers utilize AI to complete tasks in days that previously took a team weeks” — and asserted that the company needs to “integrate AI across all aspects of our operations.”

PayPal — May 5, 2026. PayPal disclosed intentions to cut approximately 20% of its workforce over the next two to three years — exceeding 4,500 jobs — as part of a turnaround strategy focused on AI adoption and organizational simplification. CEO Enrique Lores informed investors that the company would “actively integrate AI” into its development workflows and established a new “AI transformation and simplification” team that reports directly to him, assigned with restructuring the company’s processes “function by function.” Lores characterized the layoffs as a means of eliminating managerial layers, noting that AI would extend well beyond software development into customer service, support operations, and risk management.

Microsoft — April-May 2026. Microsoft offered voluntary buyouts without specifying how many positions would be impacted. CFO Amy Hood indicated a year-over-year decline in total workforce in fiscal Q3, which is expected to continue as the company focuses on “creating high-performing teams that operate swiftly and effectively” alongside increasing AI investments.

Snap — April 16, 2026. Snap terminated approximately 16% of its global workforce — about 1,000 full-time positions — and closed over 300 job openings, with CEO Evan Spiegel attributing AI advancements as a major influence. “Swift developments in artificial intelligence permit our teams to lessen repetitive tasks, enhance speed, and improve support for our community, partners, and advertisers,” Spiegel outlined in a memo submitted to the SEC. The company noted having observed small teams utilizing AI tools to drive progress across Snapchat+, ad platform efficacy, and infrastructure optimization.

IBM — ongoing through 2026. Between Q4 2025 reductions and April 2026 cuts in Red Hat engineering, estimates suggest that between 3,000 and 9,000 U.S. positions have been eliminated, lifting IBM’s cumulative total past 15,000 since September 2024. Bloomberg reported that IBM plans to increase its U.S. entry-level recruitment for AI and hybrid-cloud roles threefold, even as around 200 HR positions were replaced by AI systems. An IBM representative described the Q4 2025 layoffs as a routine adjustment affecting “a low single-digit percentage” of the global workforce.

Atlassian — March 11, 2026. Atlassian laid off approximately 1,600 employees (10% of its workforce) to “rebalance” towards AI and enterprise sales, even as stock prices rose nearly 2% following the news. CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes remarked: “Our stance is not ‘AI supplanting staff.’ However, it would be misleading to act as though AI doesn’t alter the types of skills we require or the number of roles needed in specific areas. It indeed does.”

Dell — January 30 (publicly disclosed in March 2026). Dell’s overall workforce reduced by roughly 10% in fiscal 2026 — about 11,000 positions — dropping from around 108,000 to 97,000 employees, with $569 million spent on severance. These reductions occurred as Dell projected its AI-optimized server revenue might double in fiscal 2027.

Oracle — March 5-31, 2026. As previously mentioned, Oracle began notifying employees about mass layoffs through terminal emails. The layoffs arose despite Oracle announcing $3.7 billion in quarterly net income, representing a 27% increase year-over-year, with remaining performance obligations surging 325% to $553 billion — savings are directed towards AI data centers. The total cuts would eventually amount to 21,000 over 12 months, as Oracle revealed in its June 22 annual filing.

Block — February 26-27, 2026. Jack Dorsey’s Block laid off 4,000 employees — nearly half of its workforce, reducing it to under 6,000 from over 10,000. Dorsey posted on X: “We’re already observing that the intelligence tools we’re creating and employing, combined with smaller and flatter teams, are enabling a new approach to work that fundamentally transforms what it means to establish and run a business.” He added: “I believe most companies are behind the curve. In the coming year, I anticipate that the majority of companies will reach similar conclusions and implement analogous structural modifications.”

Salesforce — February 10, 2026. Salesforce terminated fewer than 1,000 employees across marketing, product management, data analytics, and its Agentforce AI division. The company informed Fortune, “Due to the advantages and efficiencies brought by Agentforce, we’ve witnessed a decrease in the number of support cases we handle, meaning we no longer need to actively backfill support engineering roles.” This followed an earlier reduction of around 4,000 customer-support positions, decreasing that team from approximately 9,000 to 5,000, with CEO Marc Benioff stating the company requires “fewer heads” as AI agents manage the workload.

Amazon — January 28, 2026. Amazon eliminated 16,000 corporate jobs, following a previous cut of 14,000 in October 2025 — representing about 9% of its corporate workforce in just three months. The company indicated this was part of “strengthening our organization by reducing layers, increasing ownership, and minimizing bureaucracy.” CEO Andy Jassy mentioned in June 2025, that “As we implement more generative AI and agents, it should transform the nature of our work. We will require fewer individuals performing some of the tasks currently carried out today… in the upcoming years, we anticipate this will lessen our overall corporate workforce due to efficiency gains from extensively applying AI across the organization.”

In recent decades, a number of elusive hackers have captivated the public’s attention, but none as much as Phineas Fisher. A decade after their most notable breach, Phineas continues to be regarded, by many, as the most active and visible hacker who has never been apprehended. 

As part of our exploration into the most significant cybersecurity enigmas of all time, we are investigating the mystery surrounding Phineas, the hacktivist known for targeting controversial spyware developers FinFisher and Hacking Team. The latter, an Italian startup, was among the pioneers in transforming government spyware into a thriving global enterprise, setting a precedent for other spyware firms like the Israeli NSO Group. Phineas’ incursion into Hacking Team eventually contributed to the startup’s downfall years later.

Aside from Anonymous, a vague collective of hacktivists known for a patchy history of primarily attention-seeking hacks rather than impactful actions, Phineas is arguably the most famous hacktivist ever. Their narrative is filled with remarkable breaches and endless inquiries that remain unresolved.  

Who is Phineas Fisher? 

Described variously as an anarchist, a cybercriminal, a hacktivist, and a vigilante, the hacker has stated that they “utilize numerous aliases” for different hacking endeavors. 

The hacks that are known have been substantial enough to elevate Phineas to legendary status among hackers. “I would love to meet Phineas Fisher so that I could take them out for a seven-course, three-Michelin-star meal somewhere and hear them explain how they turned Hacking Team inside out like a gym sock,” a prominent security researcher famously tweeted. There’s even a song dedicated to them. 

Phineas first surfaced in August 2014, claiming they had breached Gamma Group, the creators of the FinFisher spyware — which is the origin of the nickname. They announced the breach through a Twitter handle playfully called @GammaGroupPR, leaking compromised data that included mobile spyware, product manuals, and a pricing list. The impact was minimal, and FinFisher continued to operate. Phineas published a post-mortem that also served as a leftist manifesto, then disappeared. 

A year later, they returned with a vengeance, breaching Hacking Team, another spyware producer. They obtained nearly everything: over 400 gigabytes comprising source code, tens of thousands of internal emails, confidential agreements, and client databases. This leak enabled journalists to uncover scandals in Ecuador, Mexico, and Panama. Years later, Hacking Team’s CEO David Vincenzetti was coerced into selling his company for one euro. For some ex-employees, Phineas’ hack marked the start of the company’s decline. 

Phineas proceeded to hack the union of the Mossos d’Esquadra, the police force in Catalonia, releasing a post-mortem and a 39-minute tutorial video — consistent with their declared anti-police beliefs. Their following target was the ruling party of Turkey’s authoritarian leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, a hack driven by solidarity with Rojava, a leftist autonomous region in northern and eastern Syria that Turkey was battling against. 

The last known target of Phineas was Cayman National Bank’s branch in the Isle of Man, a self-governing island located between England and Ireland. This breach revealed a different dimension of Phineas. “I look for illegal methods to earn money, allowing me to liberate my time for more worthwhile pursuits. Once I figured that out, I began to scale it up and accumulate more than I need, donating the surplus,” Phineas stated during an interview with activist Freddy Martinez. (Phineas contributed at least $10,000 in Bitcoin to Rojava.) 

Phineas kept the breach — which occurred in 2016 — under wraps for three years before unveiling the “Hacktivist Bug Bounty Program,” an initiative to reward hacktivists who expose unethical and illegal behaviors of corporations. When Cayman National Bank acknowledged the breach, it asserted it “was one of several banks targeted.” Phineas verified that they had been penetrating multiple banks for years. 

That was their last public engagement. Their Twitter and Reddit profiles have long been eradicated, leaving no digital footprint. According to a former employee, FinFisher never reached out to law enforcement. The investigation by Italian authorities into the Hacking Team breach concluded without any leads pointing to Phineas’ true identity. Based on my own findings, I can assert that Phineas is alive and well — they have communicated with me within the last few years. 

So who is Phineas Fisher? If we take their statements at face value, they are a hacktivist with anarchist principles, but also a cybercriminal. Could they instead be an invented persona managed by a spy agency — Russia, perhaps, which has historically created hacktivists to obscure the truth after their own cyber operations? Phineas has refuted being a Russian operative, and it remains unclear why Moscow would target all of Phineas’ chosen victims. 

Their origins are equally obscure. Phineas has referred to Spanish-speaking anarchists, composed the Hacking Team post-mortem in Spanish, and followed numerous leftist Latin American accounts on Twitter. They informed me that their first language is neither English nor Spanish, although they have admitted to residing in a Spanish-speaking nation. It’s all important to approach with skepticism. “Everything I disclose that provides hints about my identity is partly meant to mislead,” Phineas once shared with me. “I’m accustomed to sharing disinformation.” 

It’s also feasible that the Phineas identity was shared among different individuals between 2014 and 2019. However, there is no proof of this, and after a decade of discussions, my instinct suggests Phineas is indeed the hacktivist they claim to be. 

Prediction market Kalshi issued a cease-and-desist note to Netflix on Friday, insisting that the streaming platform remove the trailer for an upcoming documentary. In the notice, Kalshi asserted that the trailer is “defamatory” and includes “both fabricated documents and misleading statements.”

“Instadocs: The Prediction Games” is a documentary focusing on the growth of prediction markets. As per Netflix, the documentary — part of the streamer’s “Instadoc” series of quick-turnaround films — features conversations with both Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan and Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour.

The trailer emphasizes a recent gathering in Las Vegas, where men who have “earned millions on prediction markets, likely eight figures, just during the World Cup” have come together to witness the World Cup final. One guest expresses, “I enjoy betting on Kalshi,” while another flaunts a supposed $5,000 wager on their device.

Nonetheless, Kalshi is presently prohibited from functioning in Nevada due to a judicial ruling. In its cease-and-desist correspondence, Kalshi indicated that the wager displayed on the device is actually a screenshot of a bet placed on May 16, 2025 — well before the ruling. The firm contended that in the trailer, Netflix “misled its millions of viewers into thinking this individual was able to successfully trade sports event contracts in Nevada on July 19, 2026.”

In its communication, Kalshi also mentioned that it recently conversed with a Netflix staff member who “agreed not to showcase the receipt in the documentary when it debuts” on Sunday, July 26.

“However — despite Kalshi demonstrating to this employee that the assertions in the video were clearly false — Netflix inexplicably declined to eliminate the receipt from the trailer currently available on the homepage of the Netflix application,” the company stated.

Netflix does not contest that the screenshot is from a 2025 wager, but a representative informed The Hollywood Reporter that none of the documentary footage was altered.

“The footage was recorded at the Winible World Cup Watch Weekend in Las Vegas on July 17, 2026,” the representative noted. “The trader shown with the trade on Spain provided us a screenshot of his bet, made in May 2025 before any Nevada court ruling. Any specific trades or wagers mentioned during that weekend are between the individual and the application in which they executed the trades.”

“Everyone’s glued to their phones at my program!” quips Charlie Bailey, a librarian based in South Philadelphia. He has just requested his audience to bring out their phones so he can guide them through the procedure of disabling Apple Intelligence and Gemini.

Bailey stands at the front of a library classroom designed for kids—the centerpiece is the colorful rug beneath his feet, reminding us that M represents “moon” and Z signifies “zebra.” However, the roughly 20 adults present are not here to learn the alphabet. They are attending a workshop titled Avoiding AI, which in this situation does not imply “apple” and “igloo.”

“I was motivated by the sense of frustration people have with AI tools being somewhat imposed on them, feeling like AI tools we never requested are suddenly prevalent in our lives,” Bailey shared with TechCrunch.

Bailey begins the hour-long workshop with a summary of how AI chatbots and other consumer AI tools function, discussing why individuals might choose to employ these products and why some may opt out. He then goes through the most popular tech platforms and devices, providing step-by-step guidance on the projector for disabling specific features.

“As a librarian, I believe it’s essential to view this as promoting digital literacy and assisting individuals in reclaiming their autonomy regarding the use of AI tools,” Bailey remarked. “It’s crucial, especially since abstaining from them can often be challenging, and the design seems to encourage their acceptance.”

Bailey got inspired to create the Avoiding AI workshop thanks to Hannah Cyrus, a librarian from Maine. He was one of many librarians worldwide who reached out to Cyrus after she released a journal article detailing her own workshop development.

“This has never happened before with anything I’ve been involved in,” Cyrus recalled to TechCrunch. “Nobody has ever been emailing me asking, ‘Can I have your Intro to Computers slides?’”

At the Bangor Public Library, patrons approach Cyrus when they require assistance with any tech-related issues.

“I was increasingly receiving inquiries like, ‘How do I disable this [AI] stuff? Why is it attempting to write my emails? Why does it try to summarize my brief email that I can read easily?’” Cyrus stated. “I decided that given the extensive media buzz surrounding AI products, it’d be a valuable chance to educate people about the fundamentals of what happens when using this technology, and then delve into how to disable it if they choose not to use it.”

Typically, Cyrus’ classes such as Intro to Computers attract around a dozen participants. However, the demand for her inaugural Avoiding AI workshop was so high that she had to limit registration to 30 individuals, open a waitlist, and stream the workshop on Zoom. Including the livestream, roughly 70 participants attended each of her first two workshops.

When Bailey followed in Cyrus’ footsteps to host a workshop in Philadelphia, the response was similarly extraordinary. The library’s Instagram announcement regarding the “Avoiding AI” event garnered over 2,000 likes and 220 shares, while most of the library’s posts typically receive only a few dozen likes. He arranged a second session because the first one exceeded capacity.

“As an information professional, it feels rewarding to witness a degree of skepticism towards AI,” Bailey remarked. “It was truly gratifying to observe how many individuals resonate with this sentiment.”

A feeling of camaraderie pervades the room filled with strangers during the workshop. When Bailey encourages attendees to share their own insights, one participant mentions that appending “&udm=14” to a Google Search can conceal AI results. Bailey jots down the character string on a whiteboard beside the login information for the teen Wi-Fi network.

“In today’s world, you have to go through extensive efforts to purchase a home, and in two years, there could be a data center beside yours,” states an attendee named Johnny.

“I keep having AI thrust upon me in my job, and each time I encounter it, I consider its environmental impact,” adds another attendee, Gabrielle. However, she doesn’t dismiss AI as a technology completely. “I’m not opposed to AI concerning medical advancements.”

Critics of AI understand that this technology encompasses much more than just chatbots and deepfake applications. Cyrus pointed out the practicality of optical character recognition for digitizing old documents at the library. Yet, for her and participants in her workshops, the anti-AI movement isn’t about a blanket rejection of technology; rather, it’s about advocating for increased control, autonomy, and freedom in how individuals engage with technology.

“I believe that the forced integration of AI into people’s devices could be the tipping point in some respects,” she added. “Awareness has been building for quite some time that these products and the companies behind them exert significant influence over us, and that we’re not utilizing these products in the ways we would prefer.”