
TechCrunch Startup News
3,836 episodes — Page 37 of 77

Diveplane lands $25M to grow its MLOps platform
In 2017, three entrepreneurs — Chris Hazard, Mike Resnick and Mike Capps — came together to launch a platform for building AI and machine learning tools geared toward the enterprise. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Synthetic DNA startup Catalog partners with Seagate for its DNA-based data storage platform
Data needs to be stored somewhere. However, data storage costs keep growing, and the data people keep producing and consuming can’t keep up with the available storage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stack.io banks $2.7M to teach teens, parents about crypto
The app was designed with Gen Z in mind, a generation that will grow up with the blockchain and most likely own some kind of digital assets.Stack.io banks $2.7M to teach teens, parents about crypto by Christine Hall originally published on TechCrunch Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lucidity keeps cloud block storage neat, tidy and cost-efficient
Cloud storage is expensive (especially in this economy), but many companies often over-provision, cutting their full return on investment. Lucidity was created to help them manage block storage more efficiently with a set of automated tools. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

London-based RegTech SteelEye nabs $21M
London-based regulatory technology (RegTech) startup SteelEye has raised $21 million in a series B round of funding. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nektar.ai exits stealth mode to plug CRM data leakages
A lot of important data gets lost along the sales pipeline because sales teams use multiple tools, including email, Zoom and WhatsApp, to talk with buyers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cultivated Biosciences wants to make plant-based dairy ‘feel’ more like the real McCoy
The vegan food market was pegged as a $27 billion industry last year, a figure that’s expected to more than double within a decade. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

JusticeText raises $2.2M to increase transparency in criminal evidence-gathering
The company currently works with 50 public defender agencies and has around 60 clients who are private criminal defense attorneys. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This Gen Z founder is pitching hundreds of investors… via Venmo
My phone buzzes as I get a text from a friend who’s a partner at a VC firm. It’s a screenshot of a Venmo notification that just came in. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Indian agency searches fintech Paytm, Razorpay and Cashfree offices in Chinese loan apps probe
India’s financial crime fighting agency searched the offices of fintech unicorns Paytm and Razorpay as well as Cashfree on Friday as part of an ongoing investigation into fraudulent Chinese loan apps, it said Saturday, the latest in a series of probes in recent months. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fairmarkit’s AI-fueled platform delivers autonomous procurement sourcing
Companies tend to divide their procurement spending into two main buckets. The first is large purchases over $500,000 with some starting $1 million, depending on the size of the organization. Anything below that figure falls under a category known as “tail spend.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With schools increasingly focused on mental health, PsycApps raises Seed round for US expansion
I’ve been tracking PsycApps, a startup that came up with a gamified mental health game ‘eQuoo’, since 2016, and this company – and its founder – is nothing if not persistent in ‘pivoting into the wind’. T Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This dating app fought scammers with bots… hilarity ensued
You know the feeling; you’re on a dating app, and you start a conversation with someone, and things don’t seem like they add up completely. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Falkon closes $16M round to automate sales workflows and analyses
Falkon, a sales analytics platform that uses AI to attempt to show where successful product sales are occuring in an organization, today announced that it raised $16 million in a funding round led by OMERS Ventures. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

MEDU takes in $4M to develop reusable personal protective equipment
MEDU aims to reduce hospital garment waste and replace single-wear items with its line of sustainable, virus-resistant reusable pieces. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kula makes the job recruitment process less exhausting
The process of finding job candidates often entails a lot of tedious manual work for recruiters, like sending versions of the same email over and over again. That’s Kula was created. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The UK’s £5B Project Gigabit gives out first contract to connect rural areas to high-speed broadband
The first major subsidy contract under the U.K. Government’s £5 billion ($5.9 billion) Project Gigabit scheme has officially been awarded, with Wessex Internet securing £6 million ($7 million) to connect remote properties in South West England to high-speed broadband. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Singapore-based Propseller uses data to take the hassle out of real estate transactions
Headquartered in Singapore, proptech startup Propseller is on a mission to make real estate transactions more efficient and data-driven for sellers and buyers alike. Its platform is able to tell users the likelihood of a conversion each step of the way. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Supply chain startup FourKites, which recently laid off workers, raises $30M
Weeks after laying off workers, supply chain startup FourKites has raised $30 million as part of an ongoing financing round, according to documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Data analytics startup StarTree secures cash to expand its Apache Pinot–powered platform
StarTree, a company building what it describes as an “analytics-as-a-service” platform, today announced that it raised $47 million in a Series B round led by GGV Capital with participation from Sapphire Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures, and CRV. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Korean eyewear brand Gentle Monster jazzes up China’s AR startup Nreal with $15M funding
Augmented reality headsets have been around for years, but none of the market players has really expanded beyond the techy demographic and broken into the mainstream. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SoftBank-backed Tridge, a Korean platform that matches food agriculture buyers and sellers, bags $37.2M Series D at a $2.7B valuation
Supply chain disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine is driving increased costs of goods and services, affecting not only the industrial sector (e.g., semiconductors), but also the agriculture industry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mad Realities’ Devin Lewtan is onboarding crypto users through reality television
Web3 doesn’t have the most inclusive reputation, yet so many crypto founders talk about onboarding the next 100 million users into the space. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Privado is “Grammarly for code privacy issues”
Privacy breaches are not only bad for users, but also costly for tech companies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Apple, Samsung partner Servify raises $65 million for its devices after-sales and management platform
Servify, a startup that manages lifecycle of devices for several popular smartphone vendors including Apple and Samsung in many markets, has raised $65 million as it eyes becoming a public company in two years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dioseve wants to help infertile people with tech that grows egg cells
Based in Japan, biotech startup Dioseve’s ambitious goal is to grow human oocytes, or eggs, from other tissue. Its aim is to help people struggling with infertility, and it recently raised $3 million led by ANRI, with participation from Coral Capital. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

DhiWise takes the tedium out of programming
Programming involves a lot of monotonous tasks. Based in Gujarat, India, DhiWise wants to makes things less onerous for developers with its programming automation platform. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Massdriver wants to abstract away infrastructure to let devs focus on coding
Modern DevOps turned back the clock on agile software development. Them’s fighting words, but they’re words Cory O’Daniel, the CEO of Massdriver, stands by. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stripe has laid off employees behind TaxJar, a tax compliance startup it acquired last year
Stripe has laid off some of the employees that support TaxJar, a tax compliance startup that it acquired last year, TechCrunch has learned from multiple sources and firsthand documentation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

India’s Sunstone raises $35 million for its higher education startup
Sunstone, a higher education startup that collaborates with academic institutions to help upskill their students for employability, has raised $35 million in a new financing round as it looks to expand to more Indian cities. Sunstone founders said Friday WestBridge Capital led the startup’s Series C financing round. Alteria Capital also participated in the funding, […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Aero raises $65M for its semi-private airline
Aero Technologies, which describes itself as a “next-generation air travel company” which currently operates on a limited number of routes in the U.S. and Europe, today announced that it has raised $65 million, with $50 million as a Series B funding round co-led by Albacore Capital Group and $15 million in convertible notes. Expa and […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WebMD acquires French medical news and information platform Jim.fr
Health information publishing giant WebMD has announced that it’s acquiring Jim.fr, a French-language medical news and information website aimed at healthcare professionals (HCPs). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Along’s new mobile app lets creators record ‘infinite length’ video collabs
All major social networks including Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat have their own take on how collaborations should work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Social investment platform eToro to acquire fintech startup Gatsby for $50M
Multi-asset social investment network and Robinhood competitor eToro has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Gatsby. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

India’s Exponent Energy may have found the secret to 15 min rapid EV charging
Bangalore-based Exponent Energy might have come up with a way to deliver 15-minute rapid charging for electric vehicles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mobot secures capital to grow its fleet of robots that bug-test mobile apps
Mobile apps have to be bug-tested across countless devices to ensure they work as intended. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Upskilling platform GrowthSpace secures $25M to grow its global business
As the jobs market remains tight (mass layoffs and hiring freezes in tech aside), companies are laser-focused on retaining staff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Meta invests in Take App, a Singaporean startup that helps merchants sell via WhatsApp
WhatsApp has long transcended its roots as a simple messaging app for friends, and is now a core communication tool for businesses seeking a direct channel to their customers’ pockets — both literally, and metaphorically. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nothing negative about Positive Food’s meal expansion plan after $7M investment
Positive Food is going after the $34 billion fresh prepared foods market with its take on salads, heat-and-eat prepared meals and vegan overnight oats. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dropbase can help turn your messy spreadsheet into queryable SQL database
It’s not unusual for a tech company to be born by accident. Famously, Slack was created as a byproduct of a now defunct gaming company. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SaaS startup Stimulus closes oversubscribed $2.5 million seed round
Her product is a hit with investors, the most notable of which include Morgan Stanley, The BFM Fund and Northwestern Mutual Futures Ventures. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Conversational intelligence company Jiminny nabs $16.5M to unlock sales team insights
Jiminny, a U.K.-based conversational intelligence platform that companies use to record, transcribe, and analyze communications from across sales and other customer-facing teams, today announced it has raised $16.5 million in a series A round of funding. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Medical simulation platform FundamentalVR raises $20M to help surgeons learn through VR
FundamentalVR, an immersive simulation platform for medical and health care professions, has raised $20 million in a round of funding to “accelerate skill-transfer and surgical proficiency” through virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) applications. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Expedock cinches Series A to grow its freight paperwork management platform
Since the start of the pandemic, the global supply chain has undergone — and is undergoing — immense strain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Egyptian startup Convertedin raises $3M, caters to e-commerce brandsin MENA and Latin America
Convertedin, an Egyptian startup that operates a marketing operating system for e-commerce brands, has raised $3 million in a seed round led by Saudi Arabia-headquartered Merak Capital. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Miferia wants to expand its wholesale inventory marketplace across Latin America
The Mexico-based company enables retailers to bring their inventory relationships online, expand their product selection and get more favorable credit terms. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Spin Technology raises $16M to protect SaaS apps against attacks
Spin Technology, a data protection software vendor catering to enterprise clientele, today announced that it raised $16 million in a Series A round led by Blueprint Equity with participation from Santa Barbara Venture Partners and Blu Venture Investors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Zenno Astronautics wants to move spacecraft around using electromagnets, not fuel
It’s easy to think about satellites as a bunch of mini-moons, orbiting the Earth seamlessly and without any (noticeable) movement. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Equalum lands new capital to help companies build data pipelines
The pandemic prompted countless companies to migrate to the cloud. By 2025, driven partly by the need for digital services, 85% of enterprises will have a cloud-first principle, according to Gartner. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On Deck lays off a third of staff after cutting a quarter just months prior
On Deck, a tech company that connects founders to each other, capital and advice, has conducted another round of layoffs just three months after laying off a quarter of staff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices