TechCrunch Startup News
3,872 episodes — Page 2 of 78
Brynn Putnam's Board raised $20M; plus, ZeroDrift raises $10M to protect AI models from themselves
Pacific Fusion’s latest prototype packs 440 gigawatts into an 80-nanosecond burst; plus, Rocket engine startup Impulse raises $500 million to hire people, not AI
Snap alums unveil Ghost Angels fund; Defense tech darling Mach Industries hits $1.8B valuation
This chip startup just raised $135M on a bet that AI’s biggest bottleneck isn’t compute — it’s memory; plus, Glean’s top line crosses $300M as AI budget-cutting becomes its major selling point
Corgi doubled in value in 3 weeks; plus, Anthropic raises $65 Billion, nears $1T valuation ahead of IPO
SOND, a sleep tech startup, exits stealth with $7M; plus, Airbnb-backed WeRoad raises $58M
Amazon fulfillment competitor Stord raises $250M at $3B valuation; OpenRouter more than doubles valuation to $1.3B in a year
Maka Kids is redefining kids’ screen time with a streaming app; also, Peec, one of Berlin’s rising startups, more than doubled ARR
This young startup is taking on a fragrance industry that hasn’t changed in almost half a century
Imperagen raises £5 million to use quantum physics, AI on enzyme engineering; plus, Beauty booking startup Fresha hits $1 billion valuation
Quartermaster is building a maritime hive mind; plus, NanoClaw creator turns down $20M buyout offer
Status AI raises $17M to turn social media into interactive entertainment; plus, Stilta helps companies rediscover the patents they forgot they had
South Korea’s LetinAR is building optics behind AI glasses; plus, Marketing operating system Nectar Social raises $30M Series A led by Menlo
Lovable just backed a company that’s looking to bring vibe coding to hardware; plus, Meridian Ventures launched $35M fund to back MBA-deferred founders
Khosla Ventures is betting $10M on Ian Crosby; plus, Cerebras raises $5.5B, then stock pops $108%
Clio’s $500M milestone arrives just as Anthropic ups the ante; plus, Anduril raises $5B, doubles valuation to $61B
Exaforce raises $125M Series B to build AI for catching and stopping cyberattacks as they happen
Riding an AI rally, Robinhood preps second retail venture IPO; plus, Korea’s biggest manufacturers back Config, the TSMC of robot data
Cowboy Space raised $275 million to build rockets for space data centers; plus what will the whisper-filled office of the future sound like
A 20-minute pitch wins Indian startup Pronto backing from Lachy Groom; plus, Khosla-backed robotics startup Genesis AI has gone full stack
Ethos raises $22.75M from a16z for its expert network with voice onboarding; plus, Altara secures $7M to bridge the data gap that’s slowing down physical sciences
OpenAI’s cozy partner Cerebras is on track for a blockbuster IPO; plus, Katie Haun raises $1 billion for new venture funds
Musely secures $360M from General Catalyst without giving up equity; Meta buys robotics startup
Legal AI startup Legora hits $5.6B valuation and its battle with Harvey just got hotter; also, Shapes brings humans and AI into the same group chats
Firestorm Labs raises $82M to take drone factories into the field; plus, BMW i Ventures has a new $300M fund
BCI startup Neurable looks to license its ‘mind-reading’ tech for consumer wearables
Two college kids raise a $5.1 million pre-seed to build an AI social network in iMessage
Beehiiv rolls out new creator tools; Also, another customer of troubled startup Delve suffered a big security incident
Cathie Woods’ ARK makes its first lead investment in startup Lucra — and it isn’t AI; Esther and Anne Wojcicki join new healthcare accelerator
SusHi Tech Tokyo isn’t a conference — it’s a deal room with 60,000 people; AI research lab NeoCognition lands $40M seed
SaySo is a new short-form video app that aims to restore users’ trust in news; plus, Loop wants to build supply chain AI that predicts disruptions
Amazon-backed X-energy files to raise up to $800M in IPO; plus, a simulation startup wants to be the Cursor for physical AI
Can AI judge journalism? A Thiel-backed startup says yes, even if it risks chilling whistleblowers
AI data center startup Fluidstack in talks for $1B round at $18B valuation
OpenAI has bought AI personal finance startup Hiro
Slate Auto raises $650M to fund its affordable EV truck plans
Ex-Tesla engineer’s startup taps Pronto to help automate a copper mine; plus, Collide Capital raises $95M fund to back fintech
TC's Julie Bort can’t help rooting for tiny open source AI model maker Arcee; plus, Databricks co-founder wins prestigious ACM award
AI startup Rocket offers vibe McKinsey-style reports at a fraction of the cost; plus, Hermeus raises $350M to build unmanned hypersonic fighters
Spain’s Xoople raises $130 million Series B to map the Earth for AI
Peter Thiel’s big bet on solar-powered cow collars; plus, Anthropic buys biotech startup Coefficient Bio in $400M dea
Beehiiv expands into podcasting; also, Gateway Capital announces first close of $25M Fund II
One way Beehiiv is convincing creators to switch from rivals like Substack and Patreon is by not taking a cut of revenue. Plus, Gateway Capital Partners, the venture firm founded by Dana Guthrie, announced the first close for its $25 million target Fund II earlier this week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Commonwealth Fusion Systems leans on magnets for near-term revenue; plus the company behind ClassPass and Mindbody just got a lot bigger with a $7.5B merger
Realta Fusion is buying magnets from Commonwealth Fusion Systems, providing a revenue stopgap. Also, the merger is a sign that the fitness industry is continuing to move toward consolidation to compete at a larger scale. Recent moves include MyFitnessPal acquiring Cal AI, an AI calorie counting app, and Strava buying two apps: cycling app The Breakaway and running app Runna. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Exclusive: Runway launches $10M funExclusive: Runway launches $10M fund, Builders program to support early-stage AI startupsd, Builders program to support early-stage AI startups
Runway is launching a $10 million fund and startup program to back companies building with its AI video models, as it pushes toward interactive, real-time “video intelligence” applications. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
ScaleOps raises $130M to improve computing efficiency amid AI demand; Qodo raises $70M for code verification as AI coding scales
ScaleOps just raised $130M to tackle GPU shortages and soaring AI cloud costs by automating infrastructure in real time. Plus, as AI floods software development with code, Qodo is betting the real challenge is making sure it actually works. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Defense startup Shield AI lands $12.7B valuation; plus, Aetherflux reportedly raising Series B at $2 billion valuation
In one year, Shield AI's value has leaped 140%. This after it won a contract to be the software provider to Anduril's Fury fighter jet for the U.S. Air Force. Also, Index Ventures is said to be leading a $250 million to $350 million round. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Conntour raises $7M to build an AI search engine for security video systems; plus, Lucid Bots raises $20M for its window-washing drones
Conntour uses AI models to let security teams query camera feeds using natural language to find any object, person, or situation. Also, Lucid Bots has seen demand accelerate over the last year for its window cleaning drones and power washing robots. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Seattle's Brinc just launched a drone it says can replace police helicopters; Arinna raises $4M seed round to solve the space power problem
Brinc launched its newest 911 response drone this week, as the company seeks to expand its prominence in the public safety industry. Also, Arinna builds solar cells specifically for spacecraft and has developed an ultrathin new material that it expects to be far more flexible and more efficient than current technology. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Startup Gimlet Labs is solving the AI inference bottleneck in a surprisingly elegant way; plus, Flighty gives you real-time alerts about airport disturbances
Gimlet Labs just raised an $80 million Series A for tech that lets AI run across NVIDIA, AMD, Intel, ARM, Cerebras and d-Matrix chips, simultaneously. Also, Flighty's new feature will give users real-time updates about why operations at an airport are disrupted. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Sam Altman-backed fusion startup Helion in talks with OpenAI; plus, the SEC dropped its four-year-old investigation into EV startup Faraday Future
Helion is reportedly negotiating a deal that would see it sell 12.5% of its power output to OpenAI. Also, after four years, and multiple subpoenas and depositions, the beleaguered EV startup, Faraday Futures, has dodged yet another bullet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices