Cerebras IPO makes billions for Benchmark but VC Eric Vishria almost didn't take the meeting

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View this email online in your browser  May 15, 2026 TechCrunch Top 3 Cerebras IPO makes billions for Benchmark but VC Eric Vishria almost didn't take the meeting: Benchmark almost never backs hardware startups. So Eric Vishria dragged his feet 10 years ago before agreeing to hear Cerebras' pitch. Read More Meridian Ventures launched $35M fund to back MBA-deferred founders: Meridian Ventures, the venture firm founded by Devon Gethers and Karlton Haney, announced on Friday the raise of a $35 million second fund to back pre-seed and seed-stage companies founded by those who have deferred MBAs. Read More OpenAI is reportedly preparing legal action against Apple; it wouldn't be the first partner to feel burned: OpenAI is so frustrated with Apple over a ChatGPT integration that failed to deliver the subscribers and prominence it expected that the company is now actively exploring legal action against the iPhone maker. 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 Deck AI that runs your software as-is No connectors. No migration. No changes to your stack. Deck operates your existing tools the way an employee would — logging in, clicking through, getting the job done. If a human can use it, Deck can too. Try It Free Morning Must-Reads Clawdmeter turns your Claude Code usage stats into a tiny desktop dashboard: A new open source gadget called Clawdmeter turns Claude Code usage stats into a tiny desktop dashboard for AI coding power users. Read More Even GoPro is pivoting to defense: The action camera maker, like so many other companies these days, is looking to defense applications as it evaluates a possible sale. Read More Runway started by helping filmmakers. Now it wants to beat Google at AI.: AI video generation startup Runway is betting that video generation is the path to world models. And that being an AI outsider is an advantage, not a liability. Read More Cerebras raises $5.5B, then stock pops $108%, in the first huge tech IPO of 2026: A year ago, it looked like this day would never happen for Cerebras. Read More OpenAI says Codex is coming to your phone: The update gives users enhanced flexibility over how they can manage their workflows. 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 What happens when AI starts building itself?: Richard Socher's new $650 million startup wants to build an AI that can research and improve itself indefinitely — and he insists it will actually ship products. Read More Check out some of our other newsletters: StrictlyVC TechCrunch Events TechCrunch Mobility Want to adjust your daily newsletter schedule? You can do it right here 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