Mercor says it was hit by cyberattack tied to compromise of open source LiteLLM project

Recapping this week in startups

View this email online in your browser  April 03, 2026 TechCrunch Top 3 Mercor says it was hit by cyberattack tied to compromise of open source LiteLLM project: The AI recruiting startup confirmed a security incident after an extortion hacking crew took credit for stealing data from the company's systems. Read More The reputation of troubled YC startup Delve has gotten even worse: Delve faces new allegations that it violated the open source license of its customer, Sim.ai, by taking the customers's tool and passing it off as its own. Read More From moon hotels to cattle herding: 8 startups investors chased at YC Demo Day: We polled nearly a dozen VCs to find out which W26 startups are the sought after in the batch. Read More A message from Cannes Lions The Classic Challenger Pass is live. Ready to grow? New for Cannes Lions 2026, the Classic Challenger Pass is a stepping stone for independent businesses that want to progress to the global stage. Whether it's your first Festival or your fiftieth – this is your moment to bring independent business voices to the forefront of the industry. Join us 22–26 June 2026 in Cannes, France. Learn more Must-Reads Whoop's valuation just tripled to $10 billion: The fitness tracking startup just closed a $575 million Series G with Cristiano Ronaldo and LeBron James among its investors. The obvious question looming over a round of this size at this valuation: Is an IPO coming? Read More The Facebook insider building content moderation for the AI era: Moonbounce has raised $12 million to grow its AI control engine that converts content moderation policies into consistent, predictable AI behavior. Read More Elon Musk's last co-founder reportedly leaves xAI: All but two of Musk's 11 xAI co-founders departed before this week. Read More Yupp shuts down after raising $33M from a16z crypto's Chris Dixon: Less than a year after launching, with checks from some of the biggest names in Silicon Valley, crowdsourced AI model feedback startup Yupp is closing its business, the company said Tuesday. Read More Startup funding shatters all records in Q1: The record quarterly fundraise largely fueled four mega-deals into OpenAI, Anthropic, xAI, and Waymo. But it also indicates a generally hot market. Read More A message from TechCrunch Events Limited tickets available: StrictlyVC San Francisco StrictlyVC kicks off the series in SF on April 30. Be in the room for unfiltered fireside chats on fundraising and AI accuracy with industry leaders like Forum AI founder Campbell Brown, Replit co-founder Amjad Masad, and more. Make high-value connections that actually move the needle. Tickets are limited. Register Now 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. Sign up! Last but Not Least Delve whistleblower strikes again, with alleged receipts about 'fake compliance': Shortly after Delve's founder published a lengthy denial of allegations, while promising changes, the accuser came forward with more alleged details. Read More Check out some of our other newsletters: StrictlyVC TechCrunch Events TechCrunch Mobility Got a tip? Get in touch securely. Want to advertise on TechCrunch? advertise@techcrunch.com Has this been forwarded to you? Click here to subscribe to this newsletter. Unsubscribe Member Center Privacy Policy Copyright © 2026 TechCrunch Media LLC 501 2nd Street, Suite 650, San Francisco, CA 94107