Category: Startups

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On June 5, TechCrunch Sessions: AI will kick off — and you can be a part of the industry-changing conversations that will be taking place. We have an open invitation for members of the AI community to lead breakout sessions and discussions with over 1,200 startup founders, VC leaders, and AI aficionados attending our newest event,…

Fintech startup Ramp nearly doubles valuation to $13B in secondary share sale

March 3, 2025

Expense management startup Ramp has nearly doubled its valuation to $13 billion after a $150 million secondary share sale, the company announced Monday morning. New and existing backers including VC Stripes, GIC, Avenir Growth, Thrive Capital, Khosla Ventures, General Catalyst, Lux Capital, 137 Ventures and Definition Capital bought the secondaries from employees and early investors.…

Cloudsmith raises $23M to improve software supply chain security

March 3, 2025

The software supply chain is notoriously porous: a reported 81% of codebases contain high- or critical-risk open source vulnerabilities. A single vulnerability can have a far-reaching impact on the wider software supply chain, as evidenced by the likes of the Log4Shell exploit that saw millions of applications exposed to potential remote code execution hacks via…

Flora is building an AI-powered ‘infinite canvas’ for creative professionals

March 2, 2025

With just a few words, AI models can be prompted to create a story, an image, or even a short film. But according to Weber Wong, these models are all “made by non-creatives for other non-creatives to feel creative.” In other words, they’re not built for actual creative professionals. That’s something Wong is hoping to…

Last chance! Last 24 hours to save up to $325 on TechCrunch Sessions: AI

March 2, 2025

Tonight is the night and the clock is winding down to register for TechCrunch Sessions: AI at our Super Early Bird pricing. Register before 11:59 p.m. PT so you can save up to $325 on passes! TC Sessions: AI will bring you invaluable insights into the cutting-edge and ever-evolving world of AI through expert-led main…

DeepSeek claims ‘theoretical’ profit margins of 545%

March 1, 2025

Chinese AI startup DeepSeek recently declared that its AI models could be very profitable — with some asterisks. In a post on X, DeepSeek boasted that its online services have a “cost profit margin” of 545%. However, that margin is calculated based on “theoretical income.” It discussed these numbers in more detail at the end…

OpenAI’s startup empire: The companies backed by its venture fund

March 1, 2025

2 days left to save up to $325 on TechCrunch Sessions: AI tickets

March 1, 2025

Time is ticking to get AI industry insights — and major savings. There are just two days left to save up to $325 and secure your spot at TechCrunch Sessions: AI. But act fast, this special offer ends on March 2 at 11:59 p.m. PT. TC Sessions: AI is an event like no other that…

What is Mistral AI? Everything to know about the OpenAI competitor

March 1, 2025

Mistral AI, the French company behind AI assistant Le Chat and several foundational models, is officially regarded as one of France’s most promising tech startups and is arguably the only European company that could compete with OpenAI. But compared to its $6 billion valuation, its global market share is still relatively low. However, the recent…

SymbyAI raises $2.1M seed to make science research easier

February 28, 2025

SymbyAI, a SaaS platform that uses AI to streamline scientific research, announced a $2.1 million seed round with participation from Drive Capital and CharacterVC, among others. Launched just last year by Aisha Livaudais and Michael House, the platform provides organized workspaces for researchers to access papers, code, data, and experiences within one place. It helps…

Startup co-founded by longevity guru Peter Attia emerges from stealth

February 28, 2025

A comprehensive list of 2024 and 2025 tech layoffs

February 28, 2025

Last week to apply to speak at TechCrunch Sessions: AI

February 28, 2025

AI Leaders, ready to make an impact? Do you have game-changing insights that could shape the future of AI? Share your vision with 1,200 AI founders, investors, and industry pioneers at TechCrunch Sessions: AI on June 5 at Zellerbach Hall in UC Berkeley. Take the stage, lead the conversation, and drive the next wave of…

Apply to Speak at TechCrunch All Stage 2025

February 28, 2025

Founders, VCs and startup experts, now’s your chance! Have crucial scaling insights to offer? Share them with 1,200+ founders, investors, and entrepreneurs at TechCrunch All Stage 2025 presented by Fidelity, on July 15 in Boston, and share your expertise! We’re assembling the best minds from the startup and VC communities to lead exciting sessions, interactive…

Only 3 more days to save up to $325 at TechCrunch Sessions: AI

February 28, 2025

The AI revolution won’t wait — will you? Secure your seat at TechCrunch Sessions: AI before time runs out! You’ve got only three days left to save up to $325. The clock stops on March 2 at 11:59 p.m. PT. Don’t miss out on the lowest rates of the year! AI is transforming everything, and…

TechCrunch Disrupt 2025: Final 24 hours to save up to $1,130

February 28, 2025

The early bird gets the worm and time is running out! You have less than 24 hours left to save up to $1,130 when purchasing passes to TechCrunch Disrupt 2025. If you want massive savings on Disrupt 2025 individual passes and up to 30% on group tickets, secure your low ticket rate today. These offers…

Snowflake grows startup accelerator with $200M in new capital

February 27, 2025

Snowflake plans to expand its startup accelerator with $200 million in additional commitments, the tech giant that specializes in cloud-based data storage said Thursday. The new injection of capital follows a string of activity by Snowflake over the past several months that illustrates that company’s growth ambitions. The Snowflake Startup Accelerator, formerly known as the…

Accounting hasn’t fully embraced AI yet. Quanta just raised $4.7M to change that

February 27, 2025

Quanta, founded by a former Affirm engineer, sells an AI-powered accounting platform to software companies. It has raised a seed round led by Accel. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Workhelix taps years of research to help enterprises figure out where to apply AI

February 27, 2025

AI has the power to transform how people work, but getting tangible value out of AI isn’t as easy as throwing any AI application at any workflow. It can be hard for enterprises to figure out which AI applications help their business and which are just hype. Workhelix wants to solve that problem. Workhelix is…

YC grad Deepnight nabs $5.5M for AI night vision software that disrupts a multi-billion dollar industry

February 27, 2025

2025 TechCrunch Events Calendar

February 27, 2025

For two decades, TechCrunch has provided a front row view to the future of technology, shaping conversations that matter and spotlighting the next big things before they break — both on the page and in person at our world-renowned events. This year, as we celebrate our 20th anniversary, we’re launching our most ambitious events calendar…

TechCrunch Disrupt 2025: Just 2 days left to save up to $1,130

February 27, 2025

Clock’s ticking! You’ve got just 48 hours left to lock in your spot at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 and save up to $1,130 on individual ticket types or 30% on group tickets. Don’t wait — secure your pass now before prices go up on February 28 at 11:59 p.m. PT. Disrupt 2025 takes place on October…

4 days left to save up to $325 at TechCrunch Sessions: AI

February 27, 2025

Don’t let the world of AI pass you by. You have just four days left to secure your spot at TechCrunch Sessions: AI and get savings of up to $325. But make sure to act fast — this offer ends on March 2 at 11:59 p.m. PT. There’s never been a better time to network…

Just Move In raises $8M Series A for its home setup service

February 27, 2025

Fintech has fragmented into increasingly specialized, cucumber-sliced micro-services, ranging from embedded buy-now-pay-later loans to specialized neo banks to yet more payment processing systems. What opportunities remain for innovators in such a fragmented landscape? One U.K. startup, Just Move In, zoomed out and realised that the home had been overlooked by everyone in the industry. And…

Taktile helps fintechs build automated decision-making workflows

February 27, 2025

The automated logic behind many financial decisions — for example, decisions that determine whether a client is approved for a credit line — is hard-coded. Often, it’s not easily changed. If a head of credit at a bank wanted to adjust the bank’s lending criteria, for example, they’d likely have to raise a ticket with…

Maternity clinic Millie nabs $12M Series A from an all-star, all female class of VCs

February 26, 2025

Millie, a California-based maternity clinic, founded by Anu Sharma, announced the raise of a $12 million Series A by investors including RH Capital, TMV, and Melinda French Gates’ Pivotal Ventures. Sharma was inspired to launch the company after the birth of her daughter in 2019. She faced pregnancy complications and, as the child of a…

SonicWall Report: “Threat Actors are Moving at Unprecedented Speeds”

February 26, 2025

SonicWall’s 2025 Annual Threat Report noted the U.S. healthcare sector and Latin America were targeted by cybercriminals.

Inception emerges from stealth with a new type of AI model

February 26, 2025

Inception, a new Palo Alto-based company started by Stanford computer science professor Stefano Ermon, claims to have developed a novel AI model based on “diffusion” technology. Inception calls it a diffusion-based large language model, or a “DLM” for short. The generative AI models receiving the most attention now can be broadly divided into two types:…

Continue wants to help developers create and share custom AI coding assistants

February 26, 2025

A new startup wants to help developers create customized, contextual coding assistants that can connect with any model and integrate seamlessly with their development environments. Founded in June 2023 by CEO Ty Dunn and CTO Nate Sesti (pictured above), Y Combinator alum Continue has already garnered some 23,000 stars on GitHub and 11,000 Discord community…

Oliver Cameron talks about going up against incumbents at TechCrunch Sessions: AI

February 26, 2025

TechCrunch Sessions: AI, taking place on June 5 at Zellerbach Hall in UC Berkeley, will feature a panel discussing how startups can compete against established rivals in the AI industry. The panel, “How to Launch a Product Against Entrenched Incumbents,” will look at ways small companies are managing to stay relevant in a fast-paced and…

5 days left — save over $300 to TechCrunch Sessions: AI

February 26, 2025

The hub of AI awaits — don’t miss out! You have 5 more days to secure your spot at TechCrunch Sessions: AI with savings of up to $325. This offer ends on March 3 at 11:59 p.m. PT. As AI continues to be the biggest topic of conversation in the tech world, TechCrunch has you…

TechCrunch Disrupt 2025: 3 days left to save up to $1,130 on passes

February 26, 2025

Tick-tock! The last three days to save up to $1,130 to TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 are winding down! Get your tickets today for massive savings on Disrupt 2025 individual passes and up to 30% on group tickets. These offers end February 28 at 11:59 p.m. PT, so don’t miss out on major savings of the year.…

Anagram takes a gamified approach to employee cybersecurity training

February 26, 2025

Despite employers requiring their employees to complete yearly cybersecurity training courses, human-driven cybersecurity breaches still happen. The problem could even get substantially worse as generative AI increases the scale and personalization of social engineering campaigns. Anagram, formerly known as Cipher, is taking a new approach to employee cybersecurity training that the company hopes can keep…

Regie.ai injects sales enablement with AI, but keeps humans in the loop

February 26, 2025

There’s no sure-fire approach to sales enablement, the process of providing a sales team with the resources it needs to close deals. Some teams are deficient on the prospecting side — that is, identifying and contacting potential customers. Others require help getting deals over the finish line. To meet these diverse wants, founders Matt Millen…

Bridgetown Research raises $19M to speed up due diligence with AI

February 26, 2025

Birdgetown Research has raised $19 million in a round co-led by Accel and Lightspeed to deploy AI agents for business decisions and M&A deals. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Y Combinator deletes posts after a startup’s demo goes viral

February 25, 2025

DocUnlock wants to solve a customs bottleneck

February 25, 2025

When goods enter the U.S., they have to be declared to U.S. customs so the importer can be charged the proper taxes. That applies to everything from a consumer ordering clothes from a brand based overseas to every single item on a massive container ship. When it comes to commercial importing, filling out the necessary…

University spin-out Afynia secures $5M seed to commercialize its microRNA panel test for endometriosis

February 25, 2025

Canadian biotech startup Afynia Laboratories, a spin-out from McMaster University in Ontario, has picked up $5 million in seed funding to commercialize a blood test for endometriosis — a medical condition that can afflict people with a uterus, causing problems like chronic pelvic pain and fertility issues. Endometriosis affects nearly 200 million people worldwide. Getting…

Serverless cloud platform Koyeb now lets developers spin up Tenstorrent’s AI accelerators

February 25, 2025

Just a few weeks after chipmaker Tenstorrent raised nearly $700 million in funding, developers can now try out Tenstorrent’s AI accelerators on Koyeb. Tenstorrent sells AI processors built around the RISC-V instruction set architecture, and has developed its own open-source neural network library, TT-NN, and open-source low-level programming model, TT-Metalium. Tenstorrent is part of a…

Thoma Bravo raises €1.8B for its first European fund

February 25, 2025

Private equity firm Thoma Bravo has closed its inaugural European fund at €1.8 billion ($1.9 billion), through which it plans to take equity stakes in mid-sized software companies across the continent. Europe has no shortage of homegrown venture capital (VC) funds — the likes of Atomico and Cherry Ventures have closed early and growth-stage funds…

A comprehensive list of 2024 and 2025 tech layoffs

February 24, 2025

The startup battle begins now: TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 200 applications are open

February 24, 2025

Pre-Series A founders, this is your moment! If you’re ready to showcase your game-changing innovations on a global stage, the battlefield awaits. Applications for TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 200 — the premier startup pitch competition — are officially OPEN. This is your shot to shine! Step onto the global stage and showcase your groundbreaking startup to…

Patlytics raises $14M for its patent analytics platform

February 24, 2025

For decades, patents have been a bone of contention in the technology world, seen by some as a way to protect intellectual property, but by critics as a blunt weapon against innovation. In the age of AI, they are once again getting revisited. New York startup Patlytics has developed an AI-enabled patent analytics platform to…

The lesson of Larry Ellison’s misadventures in farming

February 23, 2025

Larry Ellison’s leap into farming with his company, Sensei Farms, serves up a classic reminder: being a genius in one arena doesn’t mean success in another. As the WSJ reports, the Oracle co-founder set out to reinvent agriculture on Hawaii’s Lāna‘i Island, which he scooped up for $300 million back in 2012. Eight years and…

This mental health chatbot aims to fill the counseling gap at understaffed schools

February 23, 2025

As school districts struggle to support the mental health of their students, a startup called Sonar Mental Health has built a “wellbeing companion” called Sonny to help. As described in the Wall Street Journal, Sonny is a chatbot that relies on a combination of human staff and AI. When students text their questions to Sonny,…

Fintech founder Charlie Javice’s criminal trial has begun

February 21, 2025

The criminal trial against fintech startup founder Charlie Javice began on Friday, with lawyers laying out their opening arguments, Reuters reported. Lawyers reiterated their original claims and defenses from the lawsuit filed by JPMorgan Chase against Javice in December of 2022. The financial services giant alleges that Javice had helped “fake millions of customers in…

Augury and Hightouch joined the unicorn club

February 21, 2025

Welcome to Startups Weekly — your weekly recap of everything you can’t miss from the world of startups. Want it in your inbox every Friday? Sign up here. Startup life is a story of births and deaths. This week confirmed this, and it confirmed that unicorn rounds are not dead. Most interesting startup stories from…

How automotive exec Crystal Brown founded CircNova, an AI drug discovery biotech

February 21, 2025

Tiny Michigan biotech startup CircNova has raised a $3.3 million seed round for its technology that uses AI to target so-called “circular RNA.” The development holds promise as a new method to quickly develop therapies for conditions that currently have no drug treatments. The new funding is also a victory lap for co-founder and CEO…

Apply to Speak at TechCrunch Sessions: AI before the deadline

February 21, 2025

AI Innovators, seize your moment! Have insights that could inspire 1,200 AI founders, investors, and enthusiasts eager to advance the future of AI? Take center stage, influence the AI conversation, and exchange ideas at TechCrunch Sessions: AI on June 5 at UC Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall. We’re gathering top AI visionaries from the startup world to…

Three reasons every founder and VC should be at TechCrunch All Stage 2025

February 21, 2025

From idea to IPO — where are you on your startup journey? If any of that sounds like you — or if you’re in between stages and ready to level up — TechCrunch All Stage 2025 (formerly Early Stage) is the place to be. Join 1,200 founders to exchange ideas and meet the right VC…

TechCrunch Disrupt 2025: Lowest prices of the year end in 7 days

February 21, 2025

You read that headline correctly! The best deals for TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 tickets are about to end in just 7 days. Save up to $1,130 on individual passes and up to 30% on group tickets. Don’t wait — these offers end on February 28 at 11:59 p.m. PT. Join us in celebrating 20 years of…

6 new tech unicorns were minted in January 2025 so far.

February 20, 2025

Despite a still tight venture capital market, new unicorns are still being created every month. Using data from Crunchbase and PitchBook, TechCrunch tracked down the newly VC-backed startup minted unicorns so far this year as of the end of January. Those include healthcare companies like Hippocratic AI and satellite space companies like Loft Orbital. This…

CEO of Clearview AI, a controversial facial recognition startup, has resigned

February 20, 2025

Arize AI hopes it has first-mover advantage in AI observability

February 20, 2025

Spore.Bio raises $23M to apply machine learning to microbiology testing

February 19, 2025

Recalls in the food and beverage industry due to contamination incidents can have catastrophic effects. Not only do companies have to pay fines and damages, but the impacts on the brand’s reputation can be long-lasting. That’s why Spore.Bio, a Paris-based deeptech startup, is trying to reinvent microbiology testing to avoid the next PR crisis in…

AI-coding startup Codeium in talks to raise at an almost $3B valuation, sources say

February 19, 2025

Codeium, an AI-powered coding startup, is raising a new round of funding at a $2.85 billion valuation, including fresh capital, according to two sources with knowledge of the deal. The round is being led by a returning investor Kleiner Perkins, the people said. The new round comes just six months after Silicon Valley-based Codeium announced…

Saronic raises $600M to mass produce autonomous warships

February 19, 2025

Austin-based defense startup Saronic has raised a $600 million Series C to build an autonomous ship factory called “Port Alpha,” it announced. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

IVF insurance startup Future Family promises a baby or your money back

February 19, 2025

For decades, couples going through in vitro fertilization have had to spend tens of thousands of dollars on the procedures with no guarantee of success. It’s not only an emotionally draining process, but a financially exhausting one as well. Startup Future Family wants to help ease some of that burden for couples with a new…

Sanas taps AI to change call center workers’ accents in real time

February 19, 2025

The demand for voice and speech recognition technologies is massive — and growing. An analysis by market research firm Markets and Markets found that the sector could be worth over $28.1 billion by 2027. There’s no shortage of vendors providing voice and speech recognition solutions, but some newer upstarts have managed to carve out niches.…

Mistral’s Le Chat tops 1M downloads in just 14 days

February 19, 2025

A couple of weeks after the initial release of Mistral’s AI assistant, Le Chat, the company told Le Parisien that it has reached one million downloads. In particular, Le Chat quickly reached the top spot for free downloads on the iOS App Store in the company’s home country, France. “Go and download Le Chat, which…

Guidde taps AI to help create software training videos

February 19, 2025

Creating corporate training videos for software is a time-consuming ordeal, especially if you’re an organization with a lot of software licenses. Training videos can help get employees up to speed, but they’re a big lift. They often take entire teams to produce. Tel Aviv-based entrepreneur Yoav Einav thought there might be an alternative, cheaper way…

Safe Superintelligence, Ilya Sutskever’s AI startup, is reportedly close to raising roughly $1B

February 18, 2025

Safe Superintelligence, an AI startup founded by former OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, could be close to raising more than $1 billion at a $30 billion valuation — a higher valuation than reported just weeks ago. Bloomberg reports that VC firm Greenoaks Capital Partners is leading the deal and pledging to invest half a billion…

Thinking Machine Labs is ex-OpenAI CTO Mira Murati’s new startup

February 18, 2025

Former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati has announced her new startup. Unsurprisingly, it’s focused on AI. Called Thinking Machine Labs, the startup, which came out of stealth today, intends to build tooling to “make AI work for [people’s] unique needs and goals,” and to create AI systems that are “more widely understood, customizable, and generally capable”…

Thinking Machines Lab is ex-OpenAI CTO Mira Murati’s new startup

February 18, 2025

Former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati has announced her new startup. Unsurprisingly, it’s focused on AI. Called Thinking Machines Lab, the startup, which came out of stealth today, intends to build tooling to “make AI work for [people’s] unique needs and goals,” and to create AI systems that are “more widely understood, customizable, and generally capable”…

Fetii’s group rideshare app for young people attracts funding from Mark Cuban, YC

February 18, 2025

When he was a senior studying at Texas A&M University, Matthew Iommi realized that there were no good options for transporting groups of people. Fellow college students heading out for the night together didn’t have access to on-demand rides with the same convenience, accessibility, and affordability of typical ride-hail platforms, like Uber and Lyft. “Once…

Level Zero Health banks $6.9M to prove wearable medtech can take the strain out of hormone testing

February 18, 2025

Level Zero Health, a female-founded medical device startup that’s aiming to break new ground by developing a device for continuous hormone monitoring, has closed an oversubscribed $6.9 million pre-seed funding round despite being only a little over a year old. The startup wants to do away with the need for invasive blood draws and support…

Gamemaker Polymath aims to make learning math as enjoyable as Roblox

February 17, 2025

As gaming platforms like Roblox and Minecraft continue to grow in popularity among young children, and with platforms like YouTube consuming hours of their daily screen time, edtech companies face challenges in capturing their attention. Polymath aims to tackle this by combining gamified mechanics inspired by these popular games with adaptive math lessons to make…

Mistral releases regional model focused on Arabic language and culture

February 17, 2025

The next frontier for large language models (LLMs), one of the key technologies underpinning the boom in generative AI tools, might be geographical. On Monday, Paris-based AI startup Mistral — which is vying to rival the likes of U.S.-based Anthropic and OpenAI — is releasing a model that’s a bit different from its usual LLM.…

xAI’s “Colossus” supercomputer raises health questions in Memphis

February 15, 2025

Elon Musk’s AI startup xAI plans to continue using 15 gas turbines to power its “Colossus” supercomputer in Memphis, Tennessee, according to an operating permit with the Shelby County Health Department for non-stop turbine use from June 2025 to June 2030. Why does it matter? The Commercial Appeal, a news outlet that obtained the documents,…

Perplexity launches its own freemium ‘deep research’ product

February 15, 2025

Perplexity has become the latest AI company to release an in-depth research tool, with a new feature announced Friday. Google unveiled a similar feature for its Gemini AI platform in December. Then OpenAI launched its own research agent earlier this month. All three companies even have given the feature the same name: Deep Research. The…

Figure AI is in talks to raise $1.5B at 15x its last valuation

February 14, 2025

SailPoint’s dull debut did little to loosen the stuck IPO window, expert says

February 14, 2025

SailPoint’s IPO on Thursday was a disappointment for anyone hoping it would indicate that tech IPOs are hot again. The first day’s trading ended below the $23 initial price. The stock fared a tad better Friday, closing at over $24. But that’s nothing close to the big bang companies and VCs hope for. For instance,…

Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, said to be in talks to raise $10B

February 14, 2025

Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, is said to be in talks to raise $10 billion in a round that would value xAI at $75 billion. Bloomberg reported Friday that xAI is canvassing existing investors, including Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, and Valor Equity Partners for the round, which would bring xAI’s total raised to $22.4 billion,…

Call for Speakers: TechCrunch All Stage 2025

February 14, 2025

Founders, VCs, and startup experts—This is your moment! Got scaling insights? Now’s your chance to share them with 1,200 founders, investors, and entrepreneurs at TechCrunch All Stage 2025 presented by Fidelity, on July 17 in Boston! We’re gathering leading experts from the startup and VC communities to host engaging sessions, interactive roundtables, and dynamic breakouts.…

Apply to Speak at TechCrunch Sessions: AI

February 14, 2025

AI Innovators, this Is your moment! Have insights to share with 1,200 AI founders, investors, and enthusiasts eager to push the boundaries of innovation? Take the stage, shape the AI conversation, and exchange ideas at TechCrunch Sessions: AI on June 5 at UC Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall! We’re bringing together top AI minds from the startup…

Elon Musk’s full offer letter to buy OpenAI reveals five key details

February 13, 2025

Phase raises $13M to speed up the UX design process with its no-code platform

February 13, 2025

UX and UI designers work closely with engineers throughout product development to build and implement design concepts and wireframes for functional user interfaces. Regular communication, feedback and testing are required for the collaboration to work smoothly and deliver a user experience that aligns with the intended design goals. Nick Budden, a serial entrepreneur who used…

Tofu is building an omni-channel marketing platform for enterprises

February 13, 2025

When EJ Cho started his first company in 2018, he was exposed to what it takes to market a product. He was surprised to find a market filled with different single-use tools. “It was a very frustrating experience,” Cho told TechCrunch. “I had to learn and juggle all these different tools. It felt like a…

OpenAI scrubs diversity commitment web page from its site

February 13, 2025

OpenAI has eliminated a page on its website that used to express its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. The URL “https://openai.com/commitment-to-dei/” now redirects to “https://openai.com/building-dynamic-teams/,” a page that talks about people with “different backgrounds” with no use of the word diversity. The previous page stated that the company’s “investment in diversity, equity and inclusion”…

Startup Battlefield 200: The competition starts on the waitlist

February 13, 2025

Is your pre-Series A startup solving big problems with game-changing potential? Do you have the drive to compete against the world’s top early-stage startups? Or know a founder whose vision deserves to be seen? TechCrunch’s Startup Battlefield 200 is where the most innovative early-stage startups battle it out in front of world-renowned VC judges in…

Germany’s Helsing doubles down on drones for Ukraine, scales up manufacturing

February 13, 2025

Helsing, the German defense tech startup backed by Spotify’s Daniel Ek and others, is producing 6,000 HX-2 strike drones in addition to the 4,000 HF-1 strike drones financed by Germany that are currently being delivered to Ukraine. “We are scaling up production of HX-2 in response to additional orders from Ukraine,” Helsing co-founder Gundbert Scherf…

Avride launches sidewalk delivery bots on Uber Eats in Jersey City

February 13, 2025

Uber Eats customers in Jersey City can now have their orders delivered by one of Avride’s autonomous sidewalk delivery robots. The launch, which kicked off this week in New Jersey, is Uber’s latest foray into autonomous vehicles and represents an expanding relationship with Avride. The ride-hail and delivery giant deploys AVs on its app in…

Apptronik, which makes humanoid robots, raises $350M as category heats up

February 13, 2025

Apptronik, a University of Texas spin-out that was quietly building humanoid robots before it became quite so fashionable, on Thursday announced a $350 million Series A round of financing. B Capital and Capital Factory co-led the round, which also featured participation from Google, whose DeepMind division is partnering with Apptronik to deliver embodied AI for…

May Mobility launches its first driverless commercial ride-hail service

February 12, 2025

May Mobility is deploying autonomous vehicles differently than its peers. Rather than operate robotaxis for individual ride-hail, May has followed a “gentle onramp” approach to commercialization by offering on-demand shuttles and pooled rides within campuses and along uncomplicated routes. The startup announced Wednesday the launch of its first fully driverless commercial service in Peachtree Corners,…

Security compliance firm Drata acquires SafeBase for $250M

February 12, 2025

Drata, a security compliance automation platform that helps companies adhere to frameworks such as SOC 2 and GDPR, has acquired software security review startup SafeBase for $250 million. SafeBase co-founders Al Yang (CEO) and Adar Arnon (CTO) will retain their roles, and SafeBase will continue to offer a standalone product while bringing its core solutions to…

VC Sheel Mohnot talks about Twitter fame, fintech, and the truth about AI startups

February 12, 2025

If you follow fintech on X, it’s very likely that you have come across the account of Sheel Mohnot, co-founder and general partner of Better Tomorrow Ventures. With over 150,000 followers, Mohnot has built an impressive presence on the social media site. Interestingly, many of his posts have nothing to do with venture capital. Mohnot…

Suger helps companies list and scale up on cloud marketplaces

February 12, 2025

When cloud providers like Microsoft Azure and AWS launched cloud software marketplaces a decade ago, it opened up a new sales channel for software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies to get in front of potential enterprise customers. These marketplaces effectively enabled SaaS companies to bypass the traditional, lengthy sales cycles. But rarely is the seller-side experience a walk…

SpotDraft taps AI to help streamline contract management

February 12, 2025

More and more legal professionals are embracing AI, surveys show. Per a recent poll from legaltech company Clio, 79% of firms used some form of AI for casework last year, up from just 19% in 2023. Despite some skepticism of the tech, in-house counsel has shown an interest, as well, with one survey suggesting that…

No-code app builder Softr expands beyond Airtable databases

February 12, 2025

If you’re working for a small company and want to build a client portal or an internal tool, it can be difficult to find the budget and resources to allocate a developer to that small project. That’s why more than 600,000 people, including project managers, HR employees and marketing people, have been trying Softr’s no-code…

Anduril takes control of Microsoft’s $22B VR military headset program

February 11, 2025

The Army has granted upstart weapons maker Anduril control of one of its highest-profile and long-troubled projects known as the Integrated Visual Augmentation System, founder Palmer Luckey announced in a blog post Tuesday. IVAS was initially awarded to Microsoft in 2018 to develop augmented reality headsets for soldiers based on a ruggedized version of Hololens.…

How Musk’s $97.4B bid could gum up OpenAI’s for-profit conversion

February 11, 2025

On Monday, Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, offered to buy the nonprofit that effectively governs OpenAI for $97.4 billion. The unsolicited buyout would be financed by Musk’s AI company, xAI, and a consortium of outside investors, per a letter sent to California and Delaware’s attorneys general. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman quickly dismissed Musk’s bid,…

Stripe mulls employee shareholder sale at $85B-plus valuation

February 11, 2025

Stripe is in talks for another shareholder sale that could value the company at “at least” $85 billion, according to multiple reports and a source familiar with the matter. The Information first reported the news that the payments infrastructure giant is working to sell employee-owned stocks. The move would help workers gain some liquidity as…

3D mood board and marketplace Mattoboard picks up $2M to launch AI visual search

February 11, 2025

Mattoboard, the makers of web-based software designed to simplify the creative process for interior designers and architects, is getting into AI. On Tuesday, the startup announced its $2 million seed funding round, which will support the launch of a new feature called Design Stream, an AI-driven visual search and discovery tool. The company’s software, a…

Voyantis aims to help companies figure out their customers’ worth

February 11, 2025

How much is a customer worth to a company? That’s the eternal question. To arrive at an answer, customer and sales teams are often forced to use spreadsheets and other manual data analysis methods. The problem is, these methods tend to be slow and error-prone, leading to gaps in reporting processes. The challenge spurred two…

Archer Aviation doubles down on defense aircraft with fresh $300M

February 11, 2025

Escalating geopolitical tensions and a new administration with a hawkish defense agenda has led many startups to embrace dual-use strategies to secure revenue through military applications. And it’s a trend that is already heating up in aerospace. Just look at Archer Aviation, a California-based startup building eVTOLs (electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles). Until very…

QED leads $11M investment in Nigerian fintech Raenest

February 11, 2025

As Africa’s tech ecosystem booms, more local talent is landing remote jobs with Big Tech firms and global startups. But getting paid remains a challenge for many of these freelancers and remote workers. They struggle to open accounts that accept US dollars, with foreign employers using incompatible payment platforms, and face slow invoicing and payment…

Zeta valued at $2B in new funding

February 10, 2025

Zeta, a provider of banking software to banks and fintech startups, has raised $50 million from a strategic investor at a $2 billion valuation. The new investment from American healthcare company Optum marks a 70% increase in the Bengaluru-based startup’s valuation from the $1.15 billion price tag (pre-money) it earned in 2021, when it raised…

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