TechCrunch Startup News

Exaforce raises $125M Series B to build AI for catching and stopping cyberattacks as they happen

Wed, 13 May 2026 13:10:00 -0000

The round valued the three-year-old startup at $725 million.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Riding an AI rally, Robinhood preps second retail venture IPO; plus, Korea’s biggest manufacturers back Config, the TSMC of robot data

Tue, 12 May 2026 14:25:00 -0000

Robinhood files confidentially for its second venture fund, this time targeting growth as well as early-stage startups.

Also, Samsung, Hyundai and LG just bet on the startup that wants to be robotics' data backbone.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cowboy Space raised $275 million to build rockets for space data centers; plus what will the whisper-filled office of the future sound like

Mon, 11 May 2026 13:00:00 -0000

Cowboy Space Corporation wants to put data centers in orbit. First, it has to build the rockets to get them there.

Also, how will work setups change if we spend more and more time talking to our computers?

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A 20-minute pitch wins Indian startup Pronto backing from Lachy Groom; plus, Khosla-backed robotics startup Genesis AI has gone full stack

Fri, 08 May 2026 09:15:00 -0000

The investment comes as Pronto scales to 26,000 daily bookings and the market heads toward a potential $18 billion size.

Also, Genesis AI, a startup that raised a $105 million seed round to build foundational AI for robotics, has unveiled its first model, GENE-26.5, but also a demo showcasing a set of robotic hands performing complex tasks.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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

Thu, 07 May 2026 09:30:00 -0000

Ethos says it is onboarding 35,000 experts per week

Also, Altara’s AI aims to diagnose failures and help speed up R&D by unifying data siloed across spreadsheets and legacy systems.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

OpenAI’s cozy partner Cerebras is on track for a blockbuster IPO; plus, Katie Haun raises $1 billion for new venture funds

Wed, 06 May 2026 09:30:00 -0000

AI chip maker Cerebras is heading for a blockbuster IPO that could value it at $26.6 billion or more. It's relationship with OpenAI is deep and rich.

Also, Katie Haun announced on Monday that $1 billion has been raised across new funds to continue the firm’s thesis of backing crypto and blockchain startups.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Musely secures $360M from General Catalyst without giving up equity; Meta buys robotics startup

Mon, 04 May 2026 09:30:00 -0000

The direct-to-consumer skin, hair, and and menopause care brand Musely will use the non-dilutive capital to super-charge customer acquisition.

Also, Meta bought humanoid startup Assured Robot Intelligence to beef up its AI models for robots, the company said.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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

Fri, 01 May 2026 12:05:00 -0000

The two wildly fast-growing rivals have raised massive sums, pushed into each other's home turf and now have dueling ad campaigns.

Plus, Shapes, an app where humans and AI characters chat together in shared group conversations, is emerging from stealth with $8 million in seed funding. Think Discord, but with AI characters alongside humans.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Firestorm Labs raises $82M to take drone factories into the field; plus, BMW i Ventures has a new $300M fund

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 09:30:00 -0000

Ships and planes carrying parts to the front lines would be vulnerable to attack. Defense startup Firestorm Labs thinks the answer is a drone factory that fits inside a shipping container.

Also, BMW i Ventures has launched a new $300 million fund and will invest in early-stage through Series B startups in North America and Europe that are working on agentic AI and physical AI.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

BCI startup Neurable looks to license its ‘mind-reading’ tech for consumer wearables

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 09:30:00 -0000

The startup specializes in "non-invasive" "mind-reading" tech — a kind of neural data collection that, its CEO hopes, will have all sorts of consumer applications.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Two college kids raise a $5.1 million pre-seed to build an AI social network in iMessage

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 09:15:00 -0000

Series, a social networking app that's grown popular on college campuses, announced a $5.1 million pre-seed round from some big names in tech.

Plus, Sierra, the AI customer service agent startup founded by technologist Bret Taylor, announced today that it has acquired the YC-backed French startup Fragment.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Beehiiv rolls out new creator tools; Also, another customer of troubled startup Delve suffered a big security incident

Fri, 24 Apr 2026 09:30:00 -0000

Beehiiv is clearly done being just a newsletter platform based on today's launch of a new webinar feature, customizable paywalls, and more.

Plus, TechCrunch has confirmed that Delve was the compliance company that performed the security certifications for Context AI, the AI agent training startup that last week disclosed a security incident.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cathie Woods’ ARK makes its first lead investment in startup Lucra — and it isn’t AI; Esther and Anne Wojcicki join new healthcare accelerator

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 10:25:00 -0000

Lucra offers corporate loyalty programs reimagined as interactive eSports. But winning ARK as a lead wasn't easy.

Also, Mary Minno launches early-stage startup accelerator program, Treehub, and an early-stage firm, AI Health Fund, aimed at backing startups working at the intersection of healthcare and AI.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SusHi Tech Tokyo isn’t a conference — it’s a deal room with 60,000 people; AI research lab NeoCognition lands $40M seed

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:45:00 -0000

When 60,000 attendees descend on Tokyo Big Sight April 27–29, the headline numbers are hard to ignore: 750 startup exhibitors, 151 sessions, city leaders from 49 countries. But the stat that tells you what kind of event this actually is? It's 10,000 facilitated business meetings — brokered, booked, and tracked before most attendees even land.

Here's the link to the article.

Also, founded by an OSU researcher, NeoCognition is developing AI agents that can become experts in any domain.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 09:30:00 -0000

Users are fed up with misinformation and AI slop cluttering their feeds. SaySo is a new short-form video app that delivers news from vetted creators and journalists.

Also, Loop, the San Francisco startup, closed a Series C funding round led by Antonio Gracias' firm Valor, which is a major backer of xAI.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Amazon-backed X-energy files to raise up to $800M in IPO; plus, a simulation startup wants to be the Cursor for physical AI

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 09:00:00 -0000

Nuclear startup X-energy hit the road today to sell prospective investors on its initial public offering.

Also, Antioch raised a $8.5 million seed round to create simulation tools for a new generation of robot builders.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Can AI judge journalism? A Thiel-backed startup says yes, even if it risks chilling whistleblowers

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 09:30:00 -0000

Objection, a Thiel-backed startup, aims to use AI to judge journalism, letting users pay to challenge stories. Critics warn it could chill whistleblowers and reshape how media accountability works.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AI data center startup Fluidstack in talks for $1B round at $18B valuation

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 15:45:00 -0000

Fundraising is reportedly flowing for Fluidstack after it secured a $50 billion deal to build data centers for Anthropic.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

OpenAI has bought AI personal finance startup Hiro

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 09:35:00 -0000

The acquisition indicates a capability that OpenAI is building into ChatGPT: financial planning.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Slate Auto raises $650M to fund its affordable EV truck plans

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 15:15:00 -0000

Slate Auto's latest funding round was led by existing investor TWG Global, a firm run by LA Dodgers owner Mark Walter.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ex-Tesla engineer’s startup taps Pronto to help automate a copper mine; plus, Collide Capital raises $95M fund to back fintech

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 09:30:00 -0000

Pronto's autonomous haulage trucks are about to start operating at Mariana Minerals's Utah copper mine -- the first such deal since Pronto got acquired by Travis Kalanick's Atoms Inc.

Also, Collide Capital, founded by Brian Hollins and Aaron Samuels, announced Thursday the close of a $95 million Fund II.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TC's Julie Bort can’t help rooting for tiny open source AI model maker Arcee; plus, Databricks co-founder wins prestigious ACM award

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 09:30:00 -0000

Arcee is a tiny 26-person U.S. startup that built a high-performing, massive, open source LLM. And it's gaining popularity with OpenClaw users.

Also, Matei Zaharia has won the top honor from the Association for Computing Machinery. Now he's working on AI for research and says AGI is simply misunderstood.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AI startup Rocket offers vibe McKinsey-style reports at a fraction of the cost; plus, Hermeus raises $350M to build unmanned hypersonic fighters

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 09:30:00 -0000

Rocket's new AI platform combines strategy, product building, and competitive intelligence, aiming to move beyond code generation.

Also, the defense aviation startup is coming off two successful flight demonstrations, and with the next one, it's aiming to go supersonic.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Spain’s Xoople raises $130 million Series B to map the Earth for AI

Tue, 07 Apr 2026 09:30:00 -0000

The company is also announcing a deal with L3Harris to build the sensors for Xoople's spacecraft.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Peter Thiel’s big bet on solar-powered cow collars; plus, Anthropic buys biotech startup Coefficient Bio in $400M dea

Mon, 06 Apr 2026 09:30:00 -0000

Why did Founders Fund invest $220 million in cattle management startup Halter?

Also, Anthropic has purchased the stealth biotech AI startup Coefficient Bio in a $400 million stock deal, according to The Information and Eric Newcomer.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Beehiiv expands into podcasting; also, Gateway Capital announces first close of $25M Fund II

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 09:30:00 -0000

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

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 17:00:00 -0000

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

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 09:30:00 -0000

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

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 09:30:00 -0000

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

Mon, 30 Mar 2026 09:30:00 -0000

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

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 09:30:00 -0000

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

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 09:30:00 -0000

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

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 09:30:00 -0000

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

Tue, 24 Mar 2026 09:30:00 -0000

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

AI startups are eating the venture industry and the returns, so far, are good; plus, Delve accused of misleading customers

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 09:30:00 -0000

AI startups accounted for 41% of the $128 billion in venture dollars raised by companies on Carta last year — a record-high annual share.

Also, an anonymous Substack post accuses compliance startup Delve of “falsely” convincing “hundreds of customers they were compliant” with privacy and security regulations.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Geothermal startup Fervo catapults itself over the ‘valley of death’; K2 to launch its first high-powered satellite for space compute

Fri, 20 Mar 2026 09:30:00 -0000

Fervo landed a large new loan with terms that strongly suggest the company's most turbulent days are behind it.

Also, K2's Gravitas is an ambitious project that aims to demonstrate the tech needed to build data centers in space.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rebel Audio is a new AI podcasting tool aimed at first-time creators

Thu, 19 Mar 2026 09:30:00 -0000

Rebel Audio is a new all-in-one podcasting tool that allows creators to record podcasts, edit, clip content for social, and publish episodes, all without ever leaving the platform.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

H&M wants to make clothing from CO2 using this startup’s tech; plus, Niv-AI exits stealth to wring more power performance out of GPUs

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 12:40:00 -0000

Rubi has developed an enzymatic process to turn carbon dioxide into cellulose that's ready to be spun into lyocell or viscose.

Also, Niv-AI raised $12 million in seed funding to measure and manage GPU power surges.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fuse wants to disrupt aging loan origination systems used by US credit unions; plus, Another deep tech chip startup becomes a unicorn: Frore hits $1.64B

Tue, 17 Mar 2026 09:30:00 -0000

The startup also announced a $5M 'rescue fund' to help credit unions ditch legacy software for its AI-native platform.

Also, at Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's urging, Frore developed liquid-cooling tech for chips. That shift helped it just raise $143 million.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The biggest AI stories of the year (so far)

Mon, 16 Mar 2026 16:15:00 -0000

Written by TechCrunch's Amanda Siberling. The AI industry is constantly churning out news, like major acquisitions, indie developer successes, public outcry, and existentially dangerous contract negotiations.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A Chinese Brain-Computer Interface startup raised $21M just two months after launch; plus, Gumloop turns every employee into an AI agent builder

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 09:30:00 -0000

This is the largest early-stage funding in China’s brain computer interface industry.

Also, Benchmark’s new patner Everett Randell, sees Gumloop's enterprise automation as the largest opportunity in AI.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rivian spin-out Mind Robotics raises $500M for industrial AI-powered robots

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 09:30:00 -0000

The startup, which was created by Rivian founder RJ Scaringe, is looking to train on data from, and deploy in, Rivian's factory.

Plus, Replit raised a new $400 million round and said it hopes to have $1B in ARR by year's end.

And, Breakout Ventures is finding growing success by backing early-stage startups in scientific fields such as biology and chemistry.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Canopii looks to succeed where past indoor farms have not; plus, Legora reaches $5.55 billion valuation as AI legal tech boom endures

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 15:15:00 -0000

Canopii's robotic farms can autonomously grow 40,000 pounds of herbs and leafy greens a year while being the size of a basketball court.

Also, Legora, an AI platform for lawyers, is now valued at $5.55 billion following a $550 million Series D led by Accel to fuel its growth in the U.S.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Robinhood’s startup fund stumbled in NYSE debut, plus, AI network startup Eridu emerged from stealth, and ModRetro seeking funding at $1B valuation

Tue, 10 Mar 2026 14:30:00 -0000

-The fund currently offers retail investors exposure to eight startups, including Mercor, Ramp, and Stripe, with plans to expand its portfolio.

-Unlike a vibe-coded product built by a college dropout, Eridu's co-founder, Drew Perkins, has been inventing networking tech since the dawn of the internet.

-The company launched its first product, a Game Boy-style handheld device called the Chromatic, in 2024.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Zeno raises $25M to speed up production of its battery-swap motorbikes; plus, Lio raised $30M from A16Z and others to automate enterprise procurement

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 10:30:00 -0000

The startup, co-founded by Tesla and Apple alumni, has sold nearly 1,000 of its motorbikes so far.

Also, AI procurement startup Lio announced a $30 million Series A in a round led by Andreessen Horowitz.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Science Corp raises $230M as it races to bring its brain implant to market

Thu, 05 Mar 2026 21:00:00 -0000

A source close to the company says the round assigns Science a post-money valuation of $1.25 billion.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Decagon completes first tender offer at $4.5B valuation; plus, three companies dominated the $189 billion in VC investments last month

Thu, 05 Mar 2026 16:00:00 -0000

The AI-powered customer support startup is the latest example of a fast-growing, young company that's providing employee liquidity.

Also, Crunchbase data shows a record $189 billion of global venture capital flowed to startups last month, with AI startups nabbing 90% of the capital.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why AI startups are selling the same equity at two different prices?

Wed, 04 Mar 2026 14:15:00 -0000

Some AI founders are using a novel valuation mechanism to manufacture unicorn status.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fig Security emerges from stealth with $38M to help security teams deal with change; plus, Cursor has reportedly surpassed $2B in ARR

Tue, 03 Mar 2026 20:45:00 -0000

Fig traces data flows in the security stack and then alerts security teams when changes at any point affect detection or response capabilities.

Also, the four-year-old startup Cursor saw its revenue run rate double over the past three months, according to one Bloomberg source.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

MyFitnessPal has acquired Cal AI, the viral calorie app built by teens

Tue, 03 Mar 2026 10:30:00 -0000

After wooing Cal AI for months, MyFitnessPal has successfully acquired its up-and-coming rival, Cal AI, the app built by teens soaring on the apps stores.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Parade’s Cami Tellez announces new creator economy marketing platform, $4M in funding

Mon, 02 Mar 2026 20:30:00 -0000

Cami Tellez announces launch of new company, $4 million raise.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hardware Why China’s humanoid robot industry is winning the early market

Mon, 02 Mar 2026 10:30:00 -0000

As TechCrunch's Kate Park writes, China’s push into humanoid robots is accelerating, with domestic firms shipping more units and iterating faster than U.S. competitors in a still-nascent market.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Deepinder Goyal returns with a $54M brain-monitoring bet; plus, Ultrahuman bets on redesigned smart ring to win back U.S. market

Fri, 27 Feb 2026 21:00:00 -0000

Zomato co-founder Deepinder Goyal's new wearable startup Temple has raised $54 million in a friends-and-family round at a post-money valuation of about $190 million.

Plus, Ultrahuman’s Ring Pro promises 15-day battery life and a $479 price tag as the wearables maker expands its health-tech push.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sophia Space raises $10M seed to demo novel space computers; plus,

Fri, 27 Feb 2026 10:30:00 -0000

Sophia Space's modular computer tiles offer a new vision for space data centers.

Also, Trace is launching with $3 million in seed funding, including investment from Y Combinator, Zeno Ventures, Transpose Platform Management, Goodwater Capital, Formosa Capital, and WeFunder.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jest is challenging the app store status quo; plus, Self-driving truck startup Einride raises $113M PIPE

Thu, 26 Feb 2026 20:30:00 -0000

Jest, a marketplace for messaging games, emerged from stealth with $7 million in seed funding.

Also, self-driving trucks startup Einride has raised an oversubscribed $113 million PIPE in advance of its SPAC merger scheduled for early 2026.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Y Combinator grad and AI insurance brokerage Harper raises $47M; plus, AI chip startup MatX raised $500M

Wed, 25 Feb 2026 20:30:00 -0000

Harper is an AI-native insurance brokerage that just raised a $45 million combined Series A and seed, after a member of YC's Winter 2025 cohort.

Also, MatX, a chip startup founded by two former Google hardware engineers, has raised a $500 million Series B led by Jane Street and Situational Awareness, an investment fund formed by former OpenAI researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Canva acquires startups working on animation and marketing; plus, Stripe, PayPal Ventures bet on India’s Xflow

Wed, 25 Feb 2026 10:30:00 -0000

With the new acquisitions, the company wants to bolster its position as a marketing solution by potentially adding video creation and more granular measurement.

Also, Stripe and PayPal Ventures have participated in Xflow's $16.6 million round that gives it a post-money valuation of $85 million.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ukraine’s startups keep building

Tue, 24 Feb 2026 21:00:00 -0000

In the four years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of their country, Ukrainian startups have done more than survive: they are still building and growing.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Particle’s AI news app listens to podcasts for interesting clips so you you don’t have to

Tue, 24 Feb 2026 10:30:00 -0000

AI news app Particle can now pull in key moments from podcasts, letting readers instantly play short, relevant clips alongside related stories.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Quantonation’s double-sized second fund shows quantum still has believers; plus. Ali Partovi’s Neo looks to upend the accelerator model

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 10:30:00 -0000

Quantonation Ventures, a venture firm investing in quantum and physics-based startups, has closed its oversubscribed second fund at €220 million, or approximately $260 million. That’s more than twice the size of its inaugural fund, and comes in addition to other signals that the quantum winter isn’t coming yet.

Also, Neo's new Residency program invests $750,000 in an uncapped SAFE for startups and provides a $40,000 no-strings-attached grant for college students.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nvidia deepens early-stage push into India’s AI startup ecosystem; plus, General Catalyst commits $5B to India

Fri, 20 Feb 2026 20:00:00 -0000

Nvidia is working with investors, nonprofits, and venture firms to build earlier ties with India's fast-growing AI founder ecosystem.

Also, General Catalyst's pledge marks a sharp jump from the company's earlier $500 million–$1 billion India earmark.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A startup called Germ becomes the first private messenger that launches directly from Bluesky’s app

Fri, 20 Feb 2026 15:52:00 -0000

Social network Bluesky now offers private messaging by integrating the startup Germ's E2E encrypted messenger natively in its app.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Reload wants to give your AI agents a shared memory; plus, Mirai developing a framework for models to perform better on devices

Thu, 19 Feb 2026 19:00:00 -0000

Reload announces a $2.275 million raise in a round led by Anthemis and the launch of its first AI employee, Epic.

Also, Mirai raised a $10 million seed to improve how AI models run on devices like smartphones and laptops.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kana emerges from stealth with $15M to build flexible AI agents for marketers; plus, World Labs lands $200M from Autodesk

Wed, 18 Feb 2026 21:00:00 -0000

Kana, a new AI marketing startup from the founders of Rapt and Krux, has raised $15 million to build customizable, agent-based marketing tools.

The partnership will see the two companies exploring how World Labs’ models can work alongside Autodesk’s tools, and vice versa, starting with a focus on entertainment use cases.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SpendRule raises $2M, emerges from stealth to help hospitals track spending; Mistral AI buys Koyeb; and Thrive raises $10B for new fund, its largest yet

Wed, 18 Feb 2026 10:30:00 -0000

SpendRule, launched last summer, is an AI-powered platform that helps healthcare systems track their spending.

Mistral AI has agreed to buy Koyeb, a Paris-based startup that simplifies AI app deployment at scale and manages the infrastructure behind it.

Thrive Capital just raised $10 billion for its new fund-- nearly double the size of its last fund.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

African defensetech Terra Industries, founded by two Gen Zers, raises additional $22M in a month

Tue, 17 Feb 2026 10:15:00 -0000

Terra Industries, the African defense company, announced Monday that it had secured an additional $22 million in funding to further expand the business.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fusion startup Helion hits blistering temps as it races toward 2028 deadline

Mon, 16 Feb 2026 19:30:00 -0000

Helion's Polaris device hit 150 million degrees C recently, a milestone that nudges the company toward its commercial power plant that will sell electricity to Microsoft.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Eclipse backs all-EV marketplace Ever in $31M funding round

Mon, 16 Feb 2026 10:30:00 -0000

The San Francisco-based startup says its AI-first approach has allowed it to scale faster.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Score, the dating app for people with good credit, is back

Fri, 13 Feb 2026 20:00:00 -0000

Two years ago, a controversial dating app was launched and quickly shuttered: for people with good-to-excellent credit. Now, the founder is relaunching it, open to anyone.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Didero lands $30M to put manufacturing procurement on ‘agentic’ autopilot; plus, AI inference startup Modal Labs in talks to raise at $2.5B valuation, sources say

Fri, 13 Feb 2026 10:15:00 -0000

Didero functions as an agentic AI layer that sits on top of a company’s existing ERP, acting as a coordinator that reads incoming communications and automatically executes the necessary updates and tasks.

Also, General Catalyst is in talks to lead Modal Labs' next round for the four-year-old startup, according to our sources.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Complyance raises $20M to help companies manage risk and compliance; plus, Integrate raises $17M to move defense project management

Thu, 12 Feb 2026 10:15:00 -0000

Complyance raised a $20 million Series A led by GV for its AI-native compliance platform.

Also, Integrate's round was led by FPV Ventures co-founder and managing partner Wesley Chan.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Humanoid robot startup Apptronik has now raised $935M at a $5B+ valuation

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 20:00:00 -0000

Apptronik has sold another $520 million in a Series A extension to existing and new investors like Google and Mercedes-Benz.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Proptech startup Smart Bricks raises $5 million pre-seed led by a16z

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 10:30:00 -0000

Smart Bricks is an AI-powered proptech that helps investors find high-quality real estate investments

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hauler Hero collects $16M for its AI waste management software

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 21:00:00 -0000

Hauler Hero has seen its customer base, revenue, and head count double since the company raised its seed round in 2024.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Anthropic closes in on $20B round; plus, Harvey reportedly raising at $11B valuation just months after it hit $8B

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 10:30:00 -0000

Anthropic raised $13 billion in equity funding just five months ago, but intense competition between frontier labs and the ongoing cost of compute have made them eager to raise as quickly as possible.

Also, after announcing $190 million in ARR in December, Harvey may be raising again a big leap in valuation.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gather AI, maker of ‘curious’ warehouse drones, lands $40M led by Keith Block’s firm

Mon, 09 Feb 2026 21:00:00 -0000

Gather AI has closed funding from former Salesforce CEO's firm Smith Point Capital. Its warehouse AI system doesn't just scan. It seeks out specific data.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sapiom raises $15M to help AI agents buy their own tech tools

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 14:00:00 -0000

The startup -- with backing from Accel -- is building a financial layer that handles the authentication and micro-payments required for AI agents.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fundamental raises a Series A with a new take on big data analysis; plus, Stripe alumni raised a Series A for Duna

Thu, 05 Feb 2026 21:00:00 -0000

Fundamental has built a new foundation model to solve an old problem: how to draw insights from the huge quantities of structured data produced by enterprises.

Also, having raised a €30 million Series A round led by CapitalG, business identity verification startup Duna is now among the most well-capitalized European startups founded by Stripe alumni.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Peak XV says internal disagreement led to partner exits as it doubles down on AI

Thu, 05 Feb 2026 10:30:00 -0000

Peak XV says internal disagreement led to partner exits as it doubles down on AI

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Exclusive: Positron raises $230M Series B to take on Nvidia’s AI chips; plus, Apeiron Labs gets $29M to flood the oceans with autonomous underwater robots

Wed, 04 Feb 2026 19:00:00 -0000

The investment comes from backers including the Qatar Investment Authority as demand for chips beyond Nvidia soars and as Qatar aims to build out its AI infrastructure.

Also, To build and sell more of its autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), Apeiron Labs recently closed a $9.5 million Series A round led by Dyne Ventures, RA Capital Management Planetary Health and S2G Investments, the company exclusively told TechCrunch. Assembly Ventures, Bay Bridge Ventures, and TFX Capital participated.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gradient’s heat pumps get new smarts to enable old-building retrofits

Wed, 04 Feb 2026 10:30:00 -0000

Gradient's heat pumps fit in windows, minimizing installation times. Now, it is introducing software to make those units more intelligent.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Linq raises $20M to enable AI assistants to live within messaging apps

Tue, 03 Feb 2026 21:00:00 -0000

Linq offers an API that lets companies offer their AI assistants via iMessage, RCS and SMS.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Carbon Robotics built an AI model that detects and identifies plants

Tue, 03 Feb 2026 10:30:00 -0000

Carbon Robotics' Large Plant Model will allow farmers to kill new types of weeds without having to retrain the machines.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Two Stanford students launch $2M startup accelator for students nationwide

Mon, 02 Feb 2026 21:00:00 -0000

Two Stanford students launch $2M startup accelator for students nationwide

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HomeBoost’s app will show you where to save on your utility bills; plus, Waymo reportedly raising a $16B funding round

Mon, 02 Feb 2026 10:00:00 -0000

The startup is partnering with utilities to help homeowners determine the best upgrades to cut their energy use.

Also, Waymo is reportedly finalizing a new funding round that will value the robotaxi company at $110 billion.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Upwind raises $250M at $1.5B valuation to continue building ‘runtime’ cloud security; plus, AI security startup Outtake raises $40M

Fri, 30 Jan 2026 10:25:00 -0000

The $250 million Series B was led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from Salesforce Ventures and Picture Capital.

Also, Outtake makes an agentic cybersecurity platform to help enterprises detect identity fraud. Its angel investors are a who's who.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Flapping Airplanes and the promise of research-driven AI; plus, Upwind raises $250M at $1.5B valuation to continue building ‘runtime’ cloud security

Thu, 29 Jan 2026 21:20:00 -0000

A new AI lab called Flapping Airplanes launched yesterday, and a Sequoia partner has an interesting take on why they stand out.

Also, Upwind's $250 million Series B was led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from Salesforce Ventures and Picture Capital.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tiny startup Arcee AI built a 400B-parameter open source LLM from scratch to best Meta’s Llama

Thu, 29 Jan 2026 10:30:00 -0000

30-person startup Arcee AI has released a 400B model called Trinity, which it says is one of the biggest open source foundation models from a U.S. company.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jennifer Garner’s Once Upon a Farm resumes IPO plans; plus, Fashion rental app By Rotation partners with Uber

Wed, 28 Jan 2026 20:40:00 -0000

Once Upon A Farm food company may debut as soon as next week. It has issued a price range for shares, an SEC filing shows.

Also, By Rotation, one of the UK’s most popular peer-to-peer fashion rental platforms, is partnering with Uber to deliver ski clothes.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Phia raises $35M to ‘make shopping fun again’; plus, Risotto raises $10M seed to use AI to make ticketing systems easier to use

Wed, 28 Jan 2026 10:30:00 -0000

Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni’s Phia raises $35M to ‘make shopping fun again’

Also, designed to autonomously resolve help desk tickets, Risotto has raised $10 million in seed funding in a round led by Bonfire Ventures.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Northwood Space secures a $100M Series B and a $50M Space Force contract; plus, AI chip startup Ricursive hits $4B valuation

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 20:00:00 -0000

This is the El Segundo, California-based startup's second raise in less than a year.

Also, Ricursive joins Recursive and Unconventional AI in raising massive funds at multi-billion valuations out of the gate.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AI startup CVector raises $5M for its industrial ‘nervous system’

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 10:15:00 -0000

Industrial AI startup CVector built a brain and nervous system for big industry. Now, founders Richard Zhang and Tyler Ruggles are tasked with a bigger challenge: showing customers and investors how this AI-powered software layer translates to real savings on an industrial scale.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How PopWheels helped a food cart ditch generators for e-bike batteries

Mon, 26 Jan 2026 20:02:00 -0000

PopWheels realized its battery swapping network could be used for more than food delivery workers who need to charge their e-bikes. Now, its planning for an "aggressive rollout" this summer.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This startup will send 1,000 people’s ashes to space — affordably — in 2027

Mon, 26 Jan 2026 10:45:00 -0000

Started by an engineer who worked on the space shuttle program, and at Blue Origin, Space Beyond has a spot on a 2027 Falcon 9 flight.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

OpenAI is coming for those sweet enterprise dollars; plus, Anduril expanding to Long Beach

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 20:30:00 -0000

OpenAI has reportedly appointed Barret Zoph to lead its push into enterprise just a week after Zoph rejoined the company.

Also, Anduril announced its plans to expand its Southern California presence with a major campus in Long Beach, the town where founder Palmer Luckey grew up.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Struggling fusion power company General Fusion to go public via $1B reverse merger

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 10:25:00 -0000

General Fusion's merger with an acquisition company will net the company over $300 million. Just last year, the company ran into trouble raising money from other investors.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From invisibility cloaks to AI chips: Neurophos raises $110M to build tiny optical processors for inferencing

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 21:00:00 -0000

Neurophos is taking a crack at solving the AI industry's power efficiency problem with an optical chip that uses a composite material to do the math required in AI inferencing tasks.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Language learning marketplace Preply’s unicorn status embodies Ukrainian resilience

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 10:30:00 -0000

Language learning marketplace Preply is now valued at $1.2 billion after raising a $150 million that marks a new chapter for the 14-year-old company.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

PraxisPro raises $6M seed from AlleyCorp to coach medical sales reps

Wed, 21 Jan 2026 21:00:00 -0000

PraxisPro, founded by a former pharma sales rep, offers small language model AI training specifically designed for medical product sales.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Retail startup Another raises a $2.5M seed to help sell excess inventory

Wed, 21 Jan 2026 10:30:00 -0000

Another raises a $2.5 million seed round led by Anthemis FIL and Westbound to help retailers with off-channel inventory.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Humans&, a ‘human-centric’ AI startup, raised $480M seed round; plus, Grubhub parent acquires restaurant rewards startup Claim

Tue, 20 Jan 2026 21:00:00 -0000

Humans&, a startup that believes AI should empower people, not replace them, has reportedly raised a $480 million seed round at a $4.48 billion valuation.

Also, Grubhub's acquisition of Claim will give restaurants access to Claim’s customer acquisition and retention tools, while Grubhub diners can receive rewards.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AI cloud startup Runpod hits $120M in ARR — and it started with a Reddit post

Tue, 20 Jan 2026 10:15:00 -0000

Their startup journey is a wild example of how if you build it well and the timing is lucky, they will definitely come.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AI video startup, Higgsfield, founded by ex-Snap exec, lands $1.3B valuation; plus, Symbolic.ai signs deal with Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp

Mon, 19 Jan 2026 10:30:00 -0000

Higgsfield says its on a $200 million annual revenue run rate. So it opened its previous Series A round back up and sold another $80 million in shares.

Also, Symbolic.ai claims its AI platform can help optimize editorial processes and research.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

India’s Emversity doubles valuation as it scales workers AI can’t replace

Fri, 16 Jan 2026 21:00:00 -0000

Emversity has raised $30 million in a new round as it scales job-ready training in India.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How one startup is using prebiotics to try and ease the copper shortage

Fri, 16 Jan 2026 10:35:00 -0000

Transition Metal Solutions is applying a special cocktail to coax microbes into unlocking more copper from ore.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Parloa triples its valuation in 8 months; plus, robotics software maker Skild AI hits $14B valuation

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 20:30:00 -0000

The massive round was led by existing investor General Catalyst, with participation from other returning backers.

Also, Skild AI, which is building general-purpose robotic software, just raised a $1.4 billion funding round led by SoftBank.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bandcamp bans AI generated music, plus Bill Gates-backed Type One Energy raises $87M ahead of $250M Series B

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 10:30:00 -0000

"We want musicians to keep making music, and for fans to have confidence that the music they find on Bandcamp was created by humans," the company said.

Also, Type One Energy has raised more than $160 million from investors to date. The new funding will help the company further refine its stellarator technology.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SkyFi raises $12.7M to turn satellite images into insights; plus, OpenAI buying health records startup Torch

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 20:30:00 -0000

The Austin-based marketplace offers imagery from more than 50 space-based imagery providers.

Also, AI health records startup Torch will be using its tech for OpenAI's new ChatGPT Health, according to co-founder Ilya Abyzov.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Converge Bio raises $25M, backed by Bessemer and execs from Meta, OpenAI, Wiz

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 10:31:00 -0000

AI drug discovery startup Converge Bio raised $25 million in a Series A led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with additional backing from executives at Meta, OpenAI, and Wiz.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

These Gen Zers just raised $11.75M to put Africa’s defense back in the hands of Africans

Tue, 13 Jan 2026 22:00:00 -0000

After five years of building an edtech company, Nathan Nwachuku, 22, realized that Africa was at a crossroads.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How the Sleepbuds maker, Ozlo, is building a platform for sleep data

Tue, 13 Jan 2026 10:30:00 -0000

The company's plan kicked into high gear at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week as the company met with prospective partners to expand its reach.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wing to expand drone delivery to another 150 Walmart stores

Mon, 12 Jan 2026 22:00:00 -0000

The two companies announced on Sunday plans to bring the on-demand drone delivery service to an additional 150 Walmart stores.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Former Bolt CEO Maju Kuruvilla’s startup triples to $100M valuation

Mon, 12 Jan 2026 10:30:00 -0000

Spangle has raised $15 million in a Series A round to expand its AI-generated shopping experiences.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

EverNitro is simplifying the process of crafting silky nitro coffee at CES 2026

Fri, 09 Jan 2026 21:00:00 -0000

Get that silky-smooth nitro coffee at home without the wasteful cartridges with EverNitro.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

OpenAI acquiring the team behind Convogo; also, Data security startup Cyera hits $9B valuation 6 months

Fri, 09 Jan 2026 10:30:00 -0000

OpenAI is acquiring the team behind executive coaching AI tool Convogo in an all-stock deal, adding to the firm's M&A spree.

Plus, Cyera raised another $400 million just six months after its last huge round.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Yes, LinkedIn banned AI agent startup Artisan, but now it’s back

Thu, 08 Jan 2026 20:30:00 -0000

Several viral posts noticed that Artisan was banned. But the CEO tells us it wasn't for the reasons many thought.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How Quilt solved the heat pump’s biggest challenge

Thu, 08 Jan 2026 10:15:00 -0000

Quilt's heat pumps are built containing a suite of sensors, which have delivered mountains of data that allow its engineers to wring added performance out of its systems.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

LMArena lands $1.7B valuation four months after launching its product; plus, Intel spinout Articul8 raises more than half of $70M round at $500M valuation

Wed, 07 Jan 2026 14:45:00 -0000

LMArena, which started as a UC Berkeley research project, has raised about $250 million total and become a unicorn in about seven months.

Also, Articul8's valuation for its current funding round marks a roughly fivefold increase since its Series A.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How World Cup champion Mario Götze built a parallel career as an angel investor

Tue, 06 Jan 2026 19:00:00 -0000

Mario Götze will go down in soccer history as the player who scored the winning goal that made Germany the 2014 FIFA World Cup champion. But he is also an increasingly seasoned angel investor.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Teradar reveals its first terahertz-band vision sensor for cars

Mon, 05 Jan 2026 17:45:00 -0000

The company is tapping the terahertz band of the electromagnetic spectrum to bring out the best qualities of more common lidar and radar sensors.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Even as global crop prices fall, India’s Arya.ag is attracting investors

Fri, 02 Jan 2026 17:00:00 -0000

Arya.ag, an Indian agritech company offering storage facilities near farms and offering lending services to hundreds of thousands of farmers, has drawn investor interest and remained profitable even as global crop prices continue to fall in a volatile commodities market.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

‘College dropout’ has become the most coveted startup founder credential

Thu, 01 Jan 2026 14:00:00 -0000

AI founders are increasingly using their "dropout" status as a credential during YC pitches.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How to make your startup stand out in a crowded market, according to investors

Tue, 30 Dec 2025 10:15:00 -0000

At TechCrunch Disrupt, three investors took the stage to dissect what makes — and breaks — a pitch deck. They shared with the crowd their candid views on what works in a pitch deck — and what doesn’t. Their biggest pet peeve? Buzzword overload.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Investors share what to remember while raising a Series A

Mon, 29 Dec 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Investors share what founders should remember if looking to raise a Series A.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How Mill closed the deal with Amazon and Whole Foods

Mon, 29 Dec 2025 10:30:00 -0000

Matt Rogers's food waste startup will soon deploy its commercial food waste bins in grocery stores throughout the U.S. Here's how Rogers thinks about preparing a startup for success.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why ‘hold forever’ investors are snapping up venture capital ‘zombies’

Fri, 26 Dec 2025 10:00:00 -0000

An investor explains the "buy, fix, and hold" model employed by Bending Spoons and similar companies that buy distressed startups.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How a headphone site operator built loyalty startup Lantern to solve his own problems; plus, Deel hits $17.3B valuation after raising $300M from big-name VCs

Thu, 25 Dec 2025 10:00:00 -0000

After struggling to retain customers at his e-commerce site Headphones.com, founder Andrew Lissimore built his own loyalty solution — and it’s now a startup called Lantern. The Shopify-native platform helps brands boost retention through customizable loyalty, referrals, and account management tools.

Also, Deel says it's been profitable for three years and surpassed $1 billion in ARR, including having a month.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How AI startups should be thinking about product-market fit; plus Immortality startup Eternos pivots to a personal AI that sounds like you

Wed, 24 Dec 2025 10:00:00 -0000

Two experienced investors share their tips for founders and operators hoping to nail product-market fit at their AI startups.

Also, Uare.ai, formerly Eternos, raised $10.3 million in seed funding led by Mayfield and Boldstart Ventures.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The tooth fairy just got reimagined for the tech-savvy generation; also, Lemon Slice nabs $10.5M from YC and Matrix to build out its digital avatar tech

Tue, 23 Dec 2025 17:30:00 -0000

Move over, Santa. Now there’s another magical character for kids to track: the Tooth Fairy. After making a personalized Tooth Fairy video for his nephew, Oliver Finel noticed a gap. While there are plenty of Santa trackers, nothing similar existed for the Tooth Fairy.

Also, digital avatar generation company Lemon Slice is working to add a video layer to AI chatbots with a new diffusion model that can create digital avatars from a single image.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As EU waters down 2035 EV goals, electric startups express concern

Mon, 22 Dec 2025 21:00:00 -0000

The future may be electric, but that future is being postponed. The European Commission, citing the need for flexibility, has softened its ambitious plan to ban the sale of gas-powered cars by 2035.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Yann LeCun confirms his new ‘world model’ startup, reportedly seeks $5B+ valuation

Mon, 22 Dec 2025 10:35:00 -0000

Renowned AI scientist Yann LeCun confirmed on Thursday the worst-kept secret in the tech world: that he had indeed launched a new startup. Although he did say he will not be running the new company as its CEO.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

OpenAI is reportedly trying to raise $100B at an $830B valuation; also, Krafton hikes India bet with new $670M fund

Fri, 19 Dec 2025 16:00:00 -0000

The ChatGPT maker is aiming to raise the funding by the end of the first quarter in 2026, and the company may ask sovereign wealth funds to invest in the round.

Also, called the Unicorn Growth Fund, the investment vehicle is a collaboration between Krafton and South Korean internet conglomerate Naver, and investor Mirae Asset. It aims to deploy around $669.3 million over four years.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vibe-coding startup Lovable raises $330M at a $6.6B valuation

Thu, 18 Dec 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Lovable has seen its valuation more than triple just five months after the company's last funding round in July.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Weeks after raising $100M, investors pump another $180M into hot Indian startup MoEngage

Thu, 18 Dec 2025 10:25:00 -0000

The deal valued MoEngage at "well over" $900 million post-money.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Radiant Nuclear raises $300M for its semi-sized 1 MW reactor

Wed, 17 Dec 2025 20:45:00 -0000

Radiant Nuclear is developing a small modular reactor to replace diesel generators. The startup previously raised $165 million in May.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nuclear startup Last Energy raises $100M for its steel-encased micro reactor

Wed, 17 Dec 2025 10:15:00 -0000

Last Energy will use the funds to build its 5 megawatt pilot reactor in Texas, which it hopes to turn on next year.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

VCs discuss why most consumer AI startups still lack staying power; plus, Whole Foods to install smart food waste bins from Mill

Tue, 16 Dec 2025 20:30:00 -0000

The next consumer tech revolution may require an introduction of a new personal device.

Plus, the food waste startup founded by Nest alumnus Matt Rogers also received an investment from Amazon's Climate Pledge Fund.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mirelo raises $41M from Index and a16z to solve AI video’s silent problem; First Voyage raises $2.5M for its AI companion that helps you build habits

Tue, 16 Dec 2025 10:15:00 -0000

Mirelo, a German startup that is building AI to add synced sound effects to videos, has raised a $41 million seed round led by Index Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz.

Also, First Voyage has raised $2.5 million in a seed funding round from a16z speedrun, SignalFire, True Global, and other investors.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thea Energy previews Helios, its pixel-inspired fusion power plant

Mon, 15 Dec 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Thea Energy says that its planar-coil fusion power plant could be cheaper and easier to build thanks to AI-powered control software.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Eclipse Energy’s microbes can turn idle oil wells into hydrogen factories; plus, India’s Spinny lines up funding to acquire GoMechanic

Mon, 15 Dec 2025 10:15:00 -0000

The biotech startup is betting that owners of abandoned oil wells will use the tech to squeeze energy out of their wells.

Also, Spinny is set to be valued at about $1.8 billion post-money in its latest funding round.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Harness hits $5.5B valuation with $240M raise to automate AI’s ‘after-code’ gap

Fri, 12 Dec 2025 21:00:00 -0000

Goldman Sachs has led Harness's Series E round, with participation from IVP, Menlo Ventures, and Unusual Ventures. The new valuation is a 49% jump from its $3.7 billion valuation in a $230 million round in April 2022. With this funding, the startup has raised $570 million of equity to date.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Interest in Spoor’s bird-monitoring AI software is soaring

Fri, 12 Dec 2025 13:00:00 -0000

Spoor's computer vision software can help wind farms, and other industries, track bird populations and migration patterns.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On Me raises $6M to shake up the gift card industry; plus, Port raises $100M at $800M valuation to take on Spotify’s Backstage

Thu, 11 Dec 2025 20:00:00 -0000

On Me raises $6 million for its digital gift card platform that lets users purchase cards categorized by interests rather than being restricted to specific retailers.

Also, Port offers a proprietary alternative to Spotify's popular devtool catalog Backstage, but with a valuable addition: it can be used to manage AI agents, too.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AI startup Tavus founder says users talk to its AI Santa ‘for hours’ per day; Oboe raises $16 million from a16z for its AI-powered course generation platform

Thu, 11 Dec 2025 09:45:00 -0000

Tavus has launched a new experience where you can chat with an AI Santa that asks personal questions and remembers your interests.

Oboe has raised $16 million in funding for its learning app. The company now lets users generate unlimited courses for free.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Boom Supersonic raises $300M to build natural gas turbines for Crusoe data centers

Wed, 10 Dec 2025 10:05:00 -0000

Crusoe will pay Boom $1.25 billion for more than a gigawatt of generating capacity with deliveries of the turbines starting in 2027.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Empromptu raises $2M pre-seed to help enterprises build AI apps; Pebble’s founder introduces a $75 AI smart ring for recording brief notes

Tue, 09 Dec 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Empromptu claims all a user has to do is tell the platform's AI chatbot what they want — like a new HTML or JavaScript app — and the AI will go ahead and build it.

Pebble founder Eric Migicovsky is expanding his company's device lineup with a new smart wearable: an AI-powered smart ring known as Index 01.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tiger Global plans cautious venture future with a new $2.2B fund; plus, SoftBank and Nvidia reportedly in talks to fund SkildAI at $14B, nearly tripling its value

Tue, 09 Dec 2025 10:00:00 -0000

Tiger's last fund did well with investments in OpenAI, Waymo and Databricks. But it warns investors that AI valuations are already 'elevated.'

Skild AI is developing a hardware-agnostic foundation model for robots that can be customized for various uses.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Heat pump startup Quilt raises $20M Series B to expand sales ; plus, OpenAI says it’s turned off app suggestions that look like ads

Mon, 08 Dec 2025 20:30:00 -0000

Quilt has sold nearly 1,000 units in the U.S. and Canada, and the new funding should help expand sales operations to more states and provinces.

Also, while OpenAI continues to insist that there are currently no ads — or tests for advertising — live in ChatGPT, the company’s chief research officer also acknowledged that the company “fell short” with recent promotional messages.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Meta acquires AI device startup Limitless; and Is it time to ‘refound’ your startup?

Mon, 08 Dec 2025 10:10:00 -0000

Limitless said it shares Meta's vision of bringing personal superintelligence to everyone.

Also, sometimes, founding a startup just once isn’t enough.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

New streaming channel launches to give viewers a peek into city council meetings

Fri, 05 Dec 2025 19:00:00 -0000

Hamlet TV is a way to help keep citizens informed of what's happening inside local governments.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nexus isn’t going all in on AI, keeping half of its new $700M fund for India startups; plus, Amazon hopes to jump-start its AI coding tool Kiro by giving it away to startups

Thu, 04 Dec 2025 21:00:00 -0000

Nexus Venture Partners manages $3.2 billion in capital across its funds and has invested in more than 130 companies over the years.

Also, can Kiro win the hearts of startup founders above the many AI coding tools they already have? Amazon hopes a free year will tempt them.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

VCs deploy ‘kingmaking’ strategy to crown AI winners in their infancy

Thu, 04 Dec 2025 15:15:00 -0000

While VCs have long used big investments to spur category winners, they are taking this strategy to new extremes.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Microreactor startup Antares raises $96M for land, sea, and space-based nuclear power; plus Kalshi raises $1B at $11B valuation

Wed, 03 Dec 2025 10:20:00 -0000

Antares is designing and building small modular reactors that it plans to deploy for commercial, space, and defense applications.

The latest funding comes less than two months after Kalshi announced that it raised $300 million at a $5 billion valuation.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Titan OS raises $58 million from Highland Europe for its smart TV OS; also, Paris-based AI voice startup Gradium nabs $70M seed

Tue, 02 Dec 2025 20:30:00 -0000

Titan OS aims to expand its independent TV operating system in Europe and Latin America.

Gradium, a startup spawned out of French AI lab Kyutai (backed by French telecom billionaire Xavier Niel), launched out of stealth on Tuesday.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Black Forest Labs raises $300M at $3.25B valuation; plus, OpenAI’s investment into Thrive Holdings is its latest circular deal

Tue, 02 Dec 2025 10:30:00 -0000

The round was co-led by Salesforce Ventures and Anjney Midha (AMP), and saw participation from a16z, NVIDIA, Northzone, Creandum, Earlybird VC, BroadLight Capital, General Catalyst, Temasek, Bain Capital Ventures, Air Street Capital, Visionaries Club, Canva and Figma Ventures.

Also, analysts will be watching to see if Thrive-owned firms actually succeed in building long-term profitable businesses using OpenAI’s tech, or if the result is really just pumped up valuations based on speculative market potential.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How AI PR startup Clipbook won Mark Cuban’s investment from a cold email

Mon, 01 Dec 2025 21:00:00 -0000

Adam Joseph was shocked when Mark Cuban replied to his email with an inquisition full of questions.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Are you balding? There’s an AI for that; plus, JustiGuide wants to use AI to help people navigate the US immigration system

Mon, 01 Dec 2025 10:30:00 -0000

MyHair AI examines photos of the scalp to help diagnose hair loss and suggest scientifically validated clinics and treatments.

The startup uses AI to help immigrants understand the system, connect with lawyers and reduce associated costs.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Google teams up with Accel to hunt for India’s next AI breakouts

Wed, 26 Nov 2025 10:15:00 -0000

Google and Accel will jointly invest up to $2 million in each startup through their new partnership.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Find Your Grind raises $5M to grow platform empowering students to explore unique career paths; plus Fleet Space finds massive lithium deposit using AI and satellites

Tue, 25 Nov 2025 21:00:00 -0000

Career exploration platform Find Your Grind raises $5 million to help more students discover alternative professions.

Also, the discovery of a massive lithium deposit suggests that a region in Quebec might hold even more lithium than originally suspected.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

X-energy rides nuclear wave, raises $700M Series D

Tue, 25 Nov 2025 10:30:00 -0000

The small modular reactor startup is capitalizing on surging interest from tech companies and data center developers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This startup wants to build a fusion reactor — on a boat; plus, Momentic raises $15M to automate software testing

Mon, 24 Nov 2025 21:00:00 -0000

Startups are still racing to build the world's first commercial fusion power plant on land, but Maritime Fusion thinks the path will be easier out at sea.

Also, AI testing startup Momentic has raised $15 million in a Series A round led by Standard Capital, with participation from Dropbox Ventures. Existing investors at Y Combinator, FCVC, Transpose Platform and Karman Ventures also participated.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bret Taylor’s Sierra reaches $100M ARR in under two years; also, Phictly’s new app brings people together over their favorite books and TV shows

Mon, 24 Nov 2025 10:25:00 -0000

Sierra’s rapid growth suggests that enerprises are embracing AI agents.

Also, Phictly helps fans find niche clubs for their favorite books, shows, and movies, offering intimate, spoiler-safe communities with flexible pacing and tracker tools.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The European startup market is ready for the limelight

Fri, 21 Nov 2025 21:00:00 -0000

The region's startup market is hungry for its first trillion-dollar startup, and in many ways has set itself up to reach that goal.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Source: Kalshi’s valuation jumps to $11B after raising massive $1B round ; plus, this startup can track objects within 3 cm

Fri, 21 Nov 2025 10:35:00 -0000

The quickly growing prediction betting market raised fresh capital from Sequoia and CapitalG, according to someone familiar with the deal.

Also, Point One Navigation, now valued at $230 million, is building out well beyond automotive.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After SEC investigation, Curastory founder resigns, hires replacement

Thu, 20 Nov 2025 21:00:00 -0000

Curastory’s founder and CEO, Tiffany Kelly, has resigned from the role and replaced herself with Dave Dickman, former CEO of the influencer marketing platform Tagger.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cavela lands $6.6M to help brands beat pre-tariff manufacturing costs; plus Function Health raises $298M Series B at $2.5B valuation

Thu, 20 Nov 2025 13:35:00 -0000

When Anthony Sardain began developing Cavela in 2023, an AI startup that helps brands automate supplier sourcing, he did not foresee that new tariffs would drive customers to become increasingly wary of manufacturing products in China.

Function Health, which offers a regular lab testing service to help people track their health, wants to change that by consolidating health data and making it usable for its customers by connecting that data to an AI model. To further that effort, the company recently raised $298 million in a Series B round led by Redpoint Ventures at a valuation of $2.5 billion.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Onepot AI raises $13M to help make chemical drug creation easier

Wed, 19 Nov 2025 21:00:00 -0000

“The best ideas in drug discovery were often blocked not by biology, but by synthesis,” Boiko told TechCrunch. Synthesis is the creation of new molecules by using chemical reactions. It’s like a recipe or Lego pieces, where small pieces, ingredients, molecules, come together to form a wider puzzle picture, a food dish, a larger molecule.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Boop’s new app turns social recommendations into bookable itineraries

Wed, 19 Nov 2025 11:20:00 -0000

Instead of getting an AI-generated travel plan, Boop aims to give users access to itineraries from real people who went on real trips.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Peec AI raises $21M to help brands adapt as consumers ditch Google for ChatGPT

Tue, 18 Nov 2025 21:00:00 -0000

With consumers increasingly asking questions to ChatGPT, not Google, product discovery is changing — and the promise to give brands visibility and control over this fast-growing search channel has made Peec AI one of Europe's hottest startups.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Luminal raises $5.3 million to build a better GPU code framework; plus Sakana AI raises $135M Series B at a $2.65B valuation to continue building AI models for Japan

Tue, 18 Nov 2025 10:30:00 -0000

On Monday, Luminal announced $5.3 million in seed funding, in a round led by Felicis Ventures with angel investment from Paul Graham, Guillermo Rauch, and Ben Porterfield.

Also, as U.S. giants like Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic race to develop the large language models that underpin their AI products, startups such as Sakana AI, Mistral AI, DeepSeek, and AI 21 Labs are carving out their own niche with specialized models designed for specific regions, industries, or unique features.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Is Jeff Bezos returning to the trenches with a new AI startup? Also, Bone AI raises $12M to challenge Asia’s defense giants with AI-powered robotics

Mon, 17 Nov 2025 21:00:00 -0000

Amazon's founder Jeff Bezos seems to be getting his hands dirty once again: the billionaire is partly backing a new AI startup called Project Prometheus that has raised $6.2 billion in funding, and will take on duties as co-chief executive.

Plus, Bone AI, a South Korean startup, is combining AI and manufacturing to build next-gen defense robotics and challenge the region’s industry giants.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Milestone raises $10M to make sure AI rhymes with ROI

Mon, 17 Nov 2025 10:30:00 -0000

Israeli startup Milestone raised a $10 million seed funding round to correlate AI tool usage with engineering metrics, including code quality.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Exowatt wants to power AI data centers with billions of hot rocks

Fri, 14 Nov 2025 21:00:00 -0000

The solar-thermal startup wants to deliver electricity for as little as one cent per kWh. But first it has to scale production to 1 million units per year.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

VCs abandon old rules for a ‘funky time’ of investing in AI startups

Fri, 14 Nov 2025 10:30:00 -0000

The goalposts are moving for AI startups when it comes to growth, product features and just about everything else.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AI data startup WisdomAI has raised another $50M, led by Kleiner, Nvidia

Thu, 13 Nov 2025 10:30:00 -0000

WisdomAI is offering AI-driven data analytics that can answer business questions from structured, unstructured, and even “dirty” data, meaning data not cleaned of typos or errors.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Teradar raises $150M for a sensor it says beats lidar and radar

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 21:00:00 -0000

Teradar's sensor uses the terahertz part of the electromagnetic spectrum, and combines the best traits of radar and lidar sensors without some of the drawbacks.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How founders can prepare for their late-stage fundraises from the start

Tue, 11 Nov 2025 21:00:00 -0000

Startups should start forging connections with late-stage investors while they are still at the early stages.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

6sense founder Amanda Kahlow raises $30 million for new human-replacement AI sales startup 1mind

Tue, 11 Nov 2025 10:30:00 -0000

Amanda Kahlow has been quietly been back in sales and marketing tech for about a year with agentic startup 1Mind.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Knicks player Miles McBride launches Mmotion, a location-sharing friendship app, also, Scribe hits $1.3B valuation as it moves to show where AI will actually pay off

Mon, 10 Nov 2025 21:00:00 -0000

Mmotion is a new friendship app that combines elements of location sharing with social discovery features to find nearby users with shared interests.

Also, Scribe Optimize is the startup's next major offering to help organizations identify where AI will be most useful.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How startups can lure good talent fairly without big tech bank accounts

Mon, 10 Nov 2025 10:30:00 -0000

Three industry insiders walk through how startups can set up an employee equity strategy that remains fair as a company grows.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How one founder plans to save cities from flooding with terraforming robots; plus Chris Sacca’s VC firm is raising a second nuclear fusion fund

Fri, 07 Nov 2025 17:45:00 -0000

Instead of building seawalls or dikes, Terranova has developed a new way to raise cities to protect them from sea-level rise.

In addition, Chris Sacca’s venture firm Lowercarbon Capital is raising a second fund to back nuclear fusion energy hopefuls, the VC said at the SOSV Climate Tech Summit on Thursday, as reported by Bloomberg.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Anker-backed hybrid RV startup Evotrex comes out of stealth; plus, Inception raises $50 million to build diffusion models

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 21:00:00 -0000

Evotrex joins startups like Lightship, Pebble, and Grounded in trying to disrupt the RV market, which is skewing younger.

Also, diffusion models already power AI image generators, but Inception thinks they can be even more powerful applied in software development.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Replika founder raises $20M pre-seed for Wabi, the ‘YouTube of apps’

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 10:30:00 -0000

Wabi, a startup from the founder of Replika, has just raised a $20 million pre-seed round. Wabi is like "YouTube for apps" -- a social platform where anyone can use prompts to instantly create mini apps and share them with friends.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This startup’s metal stacks could help solve AI’s massive heat problem

Wed, 05 Nov 2025 21:00:00 -0000

Alloy Enterprises has developed a new additive manufacturing technique that can improve liquid cooling performance while bringing it to new parts of the server rack.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Goldman Sachs doubles down on MoEngage in new round to fuel global expansion

Wed, 05 Nov 2025 16:00:00 -0000

MoEngage already has customers across 75 countries, with North America being its biggest business driver.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Elad Gil on which AI markets have winners and which are still wide open; also, Locket’s social app is picking up steam with Gen Alpha

Tue, 04 Nov 2025 21:00:00 -0000

Over the last year, certain AI markets appear to be nearly sewn up by startup market leaders.

Plus, Locket's social app is using iOS Live Activities to reach Gen Alpha via the iPhone Lock Screen.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

a16z pauses its famed TxO Fund for underserved founders, lays off staff

Tue, 04 Nov 2025 12:20:00 -0000

Andreessen Horowitz is pausing its Talent x Opportunity (TxO) fund and program, according to multiple sources. Several people who spoke to TechCrunch pointed out that its hiatus comes as top names in tech eliminate, cut, reframe, or completely walk back on prior public commitments related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. The Trump administration has threatened legal and political ramifications for businesses supporting anything that could be seen as DEI.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pine Labs aims to take Indian fintech global even as it cuts valuation for IPO

Mon, 03 Nov 2025 21:00:00 -0000

Pine Labs aims to take Indian fintech global even as it cuts valuation for IPO

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sam Altman says ‘enough’ to questions about OpenAI’s revenue; plus, Bluesky hits 40 million users, introduces ‘dislikes’ beta

Mon, 03 Nov 2025 10:30:00 -0000

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently said that the company is doing “well more” than $13 billion in annual revenue — and he sounded a little testy when pressed on how it will pay for its massive spending commitments.

Also, Bluesky is looking to a new signal — "dislikes" — to personalize users' feeds.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

YC alum Adam raises $4.1M to turn viral text-to-3D tool into AI copilot; also, Cluely’s Roy Lee on the ragebait strategy for startup marketing

Fri, 31 Oct 2025 17:00:00 -0000

After generating over 10 million social media impressions with the launch of its text-to-3D model app, Adam has raised a $4.1 million seed round to power its next steps.

Plus, Cluely's Roy Lee has a message for startup founders: you should be thinking harder about how to go viral.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bevel raises $10M Series A from General Catalyst for its AI health companion; plus, IntrCity SmartBus lands $30M to deepen its grip on India’s intercity travel market

Thu, 30 Oct 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Most people tracking their health today end up with scattered clues. Their smartwatch shows sleep duration. A fitness app logs steps. A nutrition app counts calories. Yet few tools help people understand how all of this fits together. Bevel, a New York–based startup, believes that’s the missing piece in the shift toward proactive health.

Also, IntrCity SmartBus, a tech-enabled intercity bus platform in India, has raised $30 million in funding to expand its network across smaller cities and towns in the South Asian nation. The all-equity Series D round, led by A91 Partners, values the Noida-based startup at $140 million post-money.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Prompting Company snags $6.5M to help products get mentioned in ChatGPT and other AI apps, plus India’s Snabbit valuation doubled to $180M in 5 months

Thu, 30 Oct 2025 14:30:00 -0000

People are increasingly asking AI, not Google, to help them discover products. A recent shopping report says Americans, this holiday season, will likely turn to large language models this season to find gifts, deals, and sales instead of traditional search.

Also, Snabbit has raised its third funding round in nine months.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Phia’s founders on how AI is changing online shopping, plus, Grammarly rebrands to ‘Superhuman,’ launches a new AI assistant

Wed, 29 Oct 2025 15:00:00 -0000

Phia founders, Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni, are building an AI assistant that aims to help you shop, and save.

Also, Grammarly is renaming itself as Superhuman, after acquiring Superhuman email client in July

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AccessGrid raises $4.4M to help turn phones into key fobs; also, Mem0 raises $24M to build the memory layer for AI apps

Tue, 28 Oct 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Access Grid builds APIs that companies can use to manage digital key fobs directly within Apple and Google's wallet platforms.

Plus, Taranjeet Singh has launched six companies, with some failing and others seeing varying degrees of success. His seventh, Mem0, could be his defining one. The startup starts with the premise that large language models can’t remember past interactions the way humans do

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Oxford spinout RADiCAIT uses AI to make diagnostic imaging more affordable and accessible

Tue, 28 Oct 2025 13:00:00 -0000

“What we really do is we took the most constrained, complex, and costly medical imaging solution in radiology, and we supplanted it with what is the most accessible, simple and affordable, which is CT,” Sean Walsh, RADiCAIT’s CEO told TechCrunch.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Israeli intelligence vets raise $20M to track developer buying signals; plus, Mercor quintuples valuation to $10B with $350M Series C

Mon, 27 Oct 2025 20:32:00 -0000

Onfire, a vertical AI platform for IT revenue teams, is coming out of stealth with $20 million in funding, including a $14 million Series A co-led by Grove Ventures and TLV Partners.

Also, Mercor, which connects AI labs with domain experts for training their foundational AI models, is close to raising $350 million at a $10 billion valuation.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

India, the market BlaBlaCar once walked away from, is now its biggest

Mon, 27 Oct 2025 10:00:00 -0000

BlaBlaCar is seeing rapid growth in India, with 20 million passengers expected this year — up 50% from last year.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tensormesh raises $4.5M to squeeze more inference out of AI server loads; also, Palantir enters $200M partnership with telco Lumen

Fri, 24 Oct 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Tensormesh uses an expanded form of KV Caching to make inference loads as much as ten times more efficient.

Plus, Palantir said on Thursday it had struck a partnership with Lumen Technologies that will see the telecommunications company using the data management company's AI software to build capabilities to support enterprise AI services.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Redwood Materials raises another $350M to power up its energy storage business, also, Wonder raised $12M to bring AI content to Hollywood

Thu, 23 Oct 2025 20:00:00 -0000

The round was led by Eclipse and saw participation from Nvidia's venture capital arm, NVentures.

Also, Wonder will use the fresh funds to double its engineering team and accelerate its push into IP ownership and original content production.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why Cohere’s ex-AI research lead is betting against the scaling race

Thu, 23 Oct 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Cohere's former VP of AI research, Sara Hooker, is launching a new startup to build AI models that can adapt to their environment.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Top OpenAI, Google Brain researchers set off a $300M VC frenzy for their startup Periodic Labs

Wed, 22 Oct 2025 20:00:00 -0000

After endless Silicon Valley takes on how generative AI would radically change scientific discovery, the founders decided that the pieces were finally in place to make this a reality. Or at least to found a startup that attempted it.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

a16z-backed Codi launches AI agent office manager

Wed, 22 Oct 2025 10:55:00 -0000

Codi was founded in 2018, in a pre-pandemic world, with a mission to help companies find flexible office spaces.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Scale AI alum raises $9M for AI serving critical industries in MENA

Tue, 21 Oct 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Abu-Ghazaleh said his two-month-old company promises to cut inefficiencies in high-stakes sectors like aviation, logistics, and oil and gas through an AI-native operating system for decision-making.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Oura launches redesigned app and 'Cumulative Stress' feature

Tue, 21 Oct 2025 11:37:00 -0000

The redesigned Oura app introduces more personalization with three main tabs.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A new wave of social media apps provide hope in a doomscrolling world

Mon, 20 Oct 2025 20:00:00 -0000

"The platforms that won were the ones that kept people scrolling the longest, not the ones that made them feel the most connected,”  Zehra Naqvi told TechCrunch. “Now there is an abundance of content but a scarcity of joy.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Too burned out to travel? This new app fakes your summer vacation photos for you

Mon, 20 Oct 2025 11:45:00 -0000

Product designer Laurent Del Rey, who recently joined Meta’s Superintelligence Lab, launched a side project called Endless Summer, a photobooth app for iPhone that creates AI-generated vacation photos starring you in locations around the world.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

General Intuition lands $134M seed to teach agents spatial reasoning using video game clips, also, Electric aircraft startup Beta Technologies seeks to raise $825M in IPO

Thu, 16 Oct 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Late last year, OpenAI reportedly tried to buy Medal and its vast trove of video game data for $500M. Today, the company spun out a frontier research lab that's using that data to build AI agents that understand how they move through space and time, a concept called spatial-temporal reasoning.

Also, electric aviation startup Beta Technologies has priced shares for its initial public offering between $27 and $33, in hopes of raising as much as $825 million, according to a regulatory document filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. If the company attracts investors at the top of that range it will debut with a valuation of about $7.2 billion.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Liberate bags $50M at $300M valuation to bring AI deeper into insurance back offices; also, Eightfold raised $35M for an AI digital twin startup

Thu, 16 Oct 2025 09:00:00 -0000

Liberate’s AI agents automate tasks for P&C insurers, working across sales, service, and claims.

Viven's seed funding was led by Khosla Ventures and Foundation Capital.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Inaudible sound might be the next frontier in wildfire defense

Wed, 15 Oct 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Sonic Fire Tech has developed a device that can extinguish flames using acoustic energy below the range of human hearing. The startup is building a demo capable of protecting a home.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

FleetWorks raises $17M to match truckers with cargo faster

Wed, 15 Oct 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Co-founded by a former Uber Freight product manager, and backed by Uber's lead seed investor, FleetWorks is quickly scooping up customers in the trucking world.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sheryl Sandberg-backed Flint wants to use AI to build and update websites, and Coco Robotics taps UCLA professor to lead new physical AI research lab

Tue, 14 Oct 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Flint raised a $5 million seed round led by Accel, with participation from Sheryl Sandberg’s fund, Sandberg Bernthal Venture Partners, and prior investor Neo.

Also, Coco Robotics is working toward automating its fleet of delivery robots using its millions of miles of collected data.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

India’s Airbound bags $8.65M to build rocket-like drones for one-cent deliveries

Tue, 14 Oct 2025 11:30:00 -0000

An Indian drone startup called Airbound raised nearly $9 million in seed funding as it begins a drone-delivery pilot with a private hospital and works toward one-cent delivery using its ultra-light, blended-wing-body aircraft.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kalshi hits $5B valuation days after rival Polymarket gets $2B NYSE backing at $8B; also,

Mon, 13 Oct 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Kalshi, a prediction market that allows people to bet on future events, announced that it raised over three hundred million dollars at a 5 billion dollar valuation. The company’s value has increased two and a half times since its last fundraise just three months ago, when it was valued at two billion dollars.

Thinking Machines Lab, the AI startup led by former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, has lost one of its co-founders to Meta.

The Wall Street Journal reports that AI researcher Andrew Tulloch announced his departure to employees in a message on Friday. A Thinking Machine Labs spokesperson confirmed Tulloch’s departure to the WSJ, saying he “has decided to pursue a different path for personal reasons.”

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Reflection AI raises $2B to be America’s open frontier AI lab, challenging DeepSeek

Fri, 10 Oct 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Reflection, once focused on autonomous coding agents, has raised $2B at an $8B valuation to expand into both an opensource alternative to closed frontier labs like OpenAI and Anthropic, and a Western equivalent to Chinese AI firms like DeepSeek.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Novoloop’s upcycled plastic takes a step closer to production; and Knapsack picks up $10M to help bridge the gap between design and engineering teams

Thu, 09 Oct 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Novoloop has signed a deal with a contract manufacturer to produce its Lifecycled TPU material.

Also, Knapsack creates a unified workspace that integrates design and coding tools to ensure design and engineering teams are on the same page.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Base Power raises $1B to deploy home batteries everywhere

Thu, 09 Oct 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Base Power's Series C will help the company expand beyond Texas, its beachhead market, and build batteries in the United States.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Trump’s DOE proposes cutting billions in grants for GM, Ford, and lots of startups

Wed, 08 Oct 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Trump's Department of Energy wants to cancel billions more in awards that were granted by the Biden administration, and startups are in the crosshairs.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One startup’s paper-thin stainless steel could change how bridges are built

Wed, 08 Oct 2025 09:30:00 -0000

By coating regular rebar with a thin layer of stainless steel, Allium Engineering could reduce the amount of concrete needed to build a bridge while also prolonging its life.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alternative app store AltStore raises $6M, connects with the fediverse; also, ÄIO invented a method to make edible fat from ag waste like sawdust

Tue, 07 Oct 2025 20:00:00 -0000

The third-party app store known as AltStore, one of the first companies to offer an alternative app marketplace in the European Union, is preparing to connect its platform with the open social web known as the fediverse.

Also, ÄIO has developed a process to turn agricultural waste like sawdust into fats for the food and cosmetic industries.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A 19-year-old nabs backing from Google execs for his AI memory startup, Supermemory

Tue, 07 Oct 2025 09:30:00 -0000

19-year-old Dhravya Shah, who is originally from Mumbai, has built a memory layer for AI applications with Google's AI chief's backing.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Heidi Health raises $65M Series B; also, Sugar Free Capital raises $32M inaugural fund

Mon, 06 Oct 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Heidi Health raised a $65 million Series B led by Steven Cohen’s Point72.

Also, Sugar Free Capital raises $32M inaugural fund to invest in MIT early-staged founders.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Event startup Partiful wasn’t stripping GPS locations from user-uploaded photos; plus, If you’re not an AI startup, good luck raising money from VCs

Mon, 06 Oct 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Social event planning app Partiful, which calls itself “Facebook events for hot people,” has firmly replaced Facebook as the go-to platform for sending party invitations. But what Partiful also has in common with Facebook is that it’s collecting a tsunami of user data, and Partiful could have done better at keeping that data secure.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A new search engine raises $1.1M to let obsessive fans dive down internet rabbit holes; also, New deep tech fund Wave Function Ventures raises $15 million

Fri, 03 Oct 2025 16:00:00 -0000

Zehra Naqvi grew up as an obsessive fan girl in the 2010s and recently started Lore, a search platform for people to research and discover internet obsessions. The company has already raised $1.1 million in pre-seed funding. It is set to emerge from stealth on October 6th.

Also, when Jamie Gull graduated from Stanford University in 2007 with a master’s degree in aeronautics, there was one place he wanted to go next: the desert.

The Mojave desert, to be specific. A company called Scaled Composites had spent years developing experimental aircraft out on that arid land, and Gull wanted in.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How startups could be affected by a prolonged government shutdown, plus Oneleet raises $33M to shake up the world of security compliance

Thu, 02 Oct 2025 20:25:00 -0000

The U.S. government shutdown could stifle deal flow, freeze visa processing for workers, and cause other problems for startups and the broader tech sector, especially if it lasts longer than a week, according to experts who spoke to TechCrunch.

Also, Bryan Onel’s father was a locksmith. As for Onel, he described himself as the digital equivalent. Ethical hacking was Onel’s hobby growing up. He studied AI at university and then turned that hacking hobby into a profession. Onel told TechCrunch, “I spent a decade performing penetration tests for over 150 companies across all sectors.” He added that he kept easily breaking into companies that had passed their security checks.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kevin Hart’s VC firm led $35M Series B for weight-loss app Simple, also, Electroflow promises to make LFP material for 40% less than Chinese producers

Thu, 02 Oct 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Simple is an AI-powered health coaching app that helps people lose weight.

Electroflow drew inspiration from batteries themselves to develop a new way of producing LFP material for EVs. The process could undercut today's lowest price sources in China.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Composite gets backing from NFDG for its cross-browser agent tool

Wed, 01 Oct 2025 20:00:00 -0000

The startup was started earlier this year by Yang Fan Yun and Charlie Deane. Yun is a former product manager at Uber, while Deane founded a company selling server proxies. When he was at Uber, he realized that a lot of people around him were doing grunt work in their browsers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Former OpenAI and DeepMind researchers raise whopping $300M seed to automate science, plus, Whoop opens blood-testing service to what it says is a 350,000-person waitlist

Wed, 01 Oct 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Periodic Labs was founded by Ekin Dogus Cubuk and Liam Fedus. Cubuk led the materials and chemistry team at Google Brain and DeepMind, where one of his projects was, for instance, an AI tool called GNoME. Researchers say that tool discovered over 2 million new crystals in 2023, materials that could one day be used to power new generations of technology.

Whoop Advanced Labs offers health-screening blood tests from Quest Diagnostics that cover a variety of markers, from calcium to white blood cells. The platform integrates those results with the band’s continuous monitoring of activity, sleep, respiratory rate, and blood pressure to offer more personalized wellness advice.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

CommanderAI building Salesforce for the waste management industry, also, a year after filing to IPO, still-private Cerebras Systems raises $1.1B

Tue, 30 Sep 2025 20:10:00 -0000

CommanderAI launched in early 2024 as a customer relationship manager and sales prospecting platform built for waste management — and other industrial services like dumpster rentals and industrial recyclers – to fill that gap.

Also, Silicon Valley-based Cerebras announced it raised a $1.1 billion Series G round on Tuesday that valued the AI hardware company at $8.1 billion. The round was co-led by Fidelity and Atreides Management with participation from Tiger Global, Valor Equity Partners, and 1789 Capital, among others.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vibe-coding startup Anything nabs a $100M valuation after hitting $2M ARR in its first two weeks; also, AI recruiter Alex raises $17M to automate initial job interviews

Tue, 30 Sep 2025 09:30:00 -0000

It’s no secret that vibe coding — using AI-powered coding tools to build apps and websites via natural language prompts — is exploding in popularity. In July, Swedish vibe coding startup Lovable hit $100 million in annual recurring revenue just eight months after launch, plans to close the year at $250 million ARR and thinks it will hit $1 billion ARR within the next 12 months. Meanwhile, Replit said earlier this month that its ARR soared from $2.8 million to $150 million in less than a year.

Also, job seekers in all fields can expect to soon be doing a lot more initial screening interviews. While that may sound like positive news, it doesn’t mean that there will suddenly be more open positions. Instead, recruiters, often bogged down with determining which applicants are qualified for the next round, will outsource the routine screening tasks — like checking backgrounds, salary needs, and availability — to (you guessed it) AI.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The startup behind open source tool Polars raises $21M from Accel; plus, ComplexChaos thinks AI can help people find common ground

Mon, 29 Sep 2025 20:08:00 -0000

Polars, the Amsterdam-based company behind the popular open source project of the same name, has raised about $21 million in a Series A round led by Accel, with participation from Bain Capital Partners and angel investors. But while raising this kind of money is the dream of many developers, its creator Ritchie Vink didn’t set out to do so.

Also, making democracy work isn’t easy, as recent events have made clear. Some critics would argue that technology is making it worse. But one startup is hoping that AI could help bridge some differences instead of widen them.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Paid, the AI agent ‘results-based billing’ startup, raised huge $21M seed; former Microsoft execs launch AI agents to end Excel-led finance

Mon, 29 Sep 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Paid just closed an oversubscribed $21.6 million seed round led by Lightspeed. With the €10 million pre-seed round it raised in March, London-based Paid has already raised $33.3 million and hasn’t even hit its Series A yet. A source familiar with the deal says the startup’s valuation is over $100 million.

Also, despite millions spent on financial software, many finance teams still rely on Excel to close their books and reconcile numbers while preparing them for audit. Two former Microsoft executives view it as a problem — and they have started Maximor to replace spreadsheets with AI agents for the grunt work finance teams perform.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Steph Curry’s VC firm just backed an AI startup that wants to fix food supply chains, also Doorstep raises $8M seed to help find missing food deliveries

Fri, 26 Sep 2025 09:15:00 -0000

A Y Combinator startup called Burnt thinks AI agents — software that can automatically handle tasks typically done by humans — can succeed where traditional enterprise software hasn’t in the trillion-dollar U.S. food market.

Doorstep integrates into existing delivery apps and then, using phone sensors, tracks when a driver has entered a building, gone up an elevator, and made it to the desired doorstep.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Starpath bets on mass-produced, space-rated solar

Thu, 25 Sep 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Starpath’s new space-rated solar panel business kicked off sales in the U.S. on Thursday with an eyebrow-raising pitch. The company says its solar panels, called “Starlight,” are priced around 10 times cheaper than typical industry pricing of $72.50 per watt, roughly a 90% cost reduction versus the status quo.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nothing to spin off its affordable CMF brand; plus Y Combinator's ‘Early Decision’ is for students who want to graduate first, build later

Thu, 25 Sep 2025 09:15:00 -0000

Hardware startup Nothing said Thursday that it plans to make its affordable device brand, CMF, into an independent subsidiary with India serving as its headquarters for manufacturing and R&D. The company first launched CMF in 2023 with a pair of earbuds and a smartwatch. Since then, it has introduced smartphones under the brand as well.

Also, the accelerator has introduced a new application track called Early Decision, designed for students who want to start companies but don’t want to drop out. The program allows them to apply while still in school, get accepted and funded immediately, and defer their participation in YC until after they graduate. For example, a student applying in fall 2025 could graduate next spring, then participate in YC’s Summer 2026 batch.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cohere hits $7B valuation a month after its last raise, partners with AMD; plus, Waymo is getting into the corporate travel business

Wed, 24 Sep 2025 20:05:00 -0000

On Wednesday, Enterprise AI model-maker Cohere said it raised an additional $100 million in an extension to a round announced in August, bumping its valuation to $7 billion. The company said at the time that the August round was an oversubscribed $500 million round at a $6.8 billion valuation.

Also, Waymo’s ever-expanding robotaxi aspirations have spread to the corporate world.

The Alphabet-owned self-driving vehicle unit has launched “Waymo for Business,” a new service designed for companies to set up accounts so their employees can access robotaxis in cities like Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Francisco.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Telo raises $20 million to build tiny electric trucks for cities; also, Sila opens U.S. factory to make silicon anodes for energy dense EV batteries

Wed, 24 Sep 2025 09:30:00 -0000

The US loves trucks. So is the key to making them love electric trucks… a very small one? That’s the bet that California-based startup Telo has been making since its inception in 2022. The company has designed a bite-sized truck called the MT1 with an admittedly not-so-small starting price of around $41,000.

Also, Sila, the battery materials startup, started operations Tuesday at its facility in Moses Lake, Washington, a milestone that could pave the way for longer range, faster charging EVs. The factory, which will initially be capable of making enough battery materials for 20,000 to 50,000 EVs, is the first large-scale silicon anode factory in the West, and future expansion could fulfill demand for as many as 2.5 million vehicles.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tim Chen has quietly become of one the most sought-after solo investors; and AI company Superpanel raises $5.3M seed to automate legal intake

Tue, 23 Sep 2025 18:00:00 -0000

Tim Chen, solo VC at his firm Essence VC, said he just closed his fourth fund, a fresh $41 million, without even trying. Limited partner investors were so eager to invest, they preempted it, he told TechCrunch. He didn’t even have time to generate a pitch deck.

Also, For Julien Emery, the problem has always been personal.

He’s the CEO and co-founder of Superpanel, a platform that helps law firms seamlessly onboard new clients.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bluesky says it’s getting more aggressive about moderation and enforcement, also, Oura ring maker raising $875M Series E

Mon, 22 Sep 2025 20:20:00 -0000

In a new blog post, the company said it received comments from more than 14,000 community members and that it “especially heard from community members who shared concerns about how the guidelines could impact creative expression and traditionally marginalized voices.” The company said, “after considering this feedback, and in a return to our experimental roots, we are going to bring a greater focus to encouraging constructive dialogue and enforcing our rules against harassment and toxic content. For starters, we are going to increase our enforcement efforts.”

Also, Oura Health Oy, the maker of the Oura health and fitness ring, is raising $875 million in a new Series E financing round valuing it around $10.9 billion, according to a new report from Bloomberg.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nvidia eyes $500M investment into self-driving tech startup Wayve, also, UK fintech Tide becomes a TPG-backed unicorn

Mon, 22 Sep 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang descended on the United Kingdom this week, armed with a pledge to invest $2.6 billion to supercharge the country’s AI startup ecosystem. Wayve, the U.K.-based self-driving tech startup, could be one of those to receive funds from Nvidia’s AI investment commitment.

Also, U.K.-based fintech Tide has entered the unicorn club with a fresh funding of $120 million led by TPG, as the startup now serves over 1.6 million micro and small enterprises globally — with more than half of them based in India, the company’s largest and fastest-growing market.

The new round — a mix of primary and secondary investment, though the startup declined to confirm the exact split — values the eight-year-old startup at $1.5 billion.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Indian fintech Jar turns profitable by enabling millions to save in gold

Fri, 19 Sep 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Jar, an Indian fintech startup that allows users to invest in gold, has turned profitable by helping millions of first-time savers use its app to build digital gold holdings.

While many consumer fintechs focus on affluent urban users or credit products, Jar has gained traction by offering a culturally familiar asset — gold — as a low-barrier entry point to saving.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How AI startups are fueling Google’s booming cloud business, also, Numeral raises $35M to automate sales tax with AI

Fri, 19 Sep 2025 09:23:00 -0000

On Thursday, Google Cloud announced it added fast-rising AI coding startups Lovable and Windsurf to its roster of customers. Both companies have chosen Google Cloud as their primary cloud computing provider, the latest sign of Google’s rising prominence against larger rivals AWS and Microsoft Azure.

Also, Sam Ross, the co-founder and CEO of Numeral, came up with the idea for his sales tax compliance startup while traveling the world after having worked as a product manager at Airbnb.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Airbuds is the music social network Apple and Spotify wish they had built

Thu, 18 Sep 2025 16:00:00 -0000

Airbuds, a music social app aimed at Gen Z, raises $5M as the app reaches 5 million monthly users.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Google Ventures doubles down on dev tool startup Blacksmith just 4 months after its seed round; also, Icarus raises $6.1M to take on space’s “warehouse work” with embodied-AI robots

Wed, 17 Sep 2025 20:00:00 -0000

As speed becomes the defining currency in an AI-driven software world, Blacksmith has raised another round led by Google Ventures — just four months after its initial seed round — to accelerate how code gets shipped.

Icarus Robotics cofounders Ethan Barajas and Jamie Palmer spent hours interviewing astronauts about what it was like working in space as they homed in on their startup idea. Their big takeaway: the work was often more cargo logistics than cutting-edge science.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Same-day delivery comes to space, as Impulse promises satellite transport in hours, not months, and more

Wed, 17 Sep 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Amazon made same-day delivery the benchmark on Earth. Impulse Space is pitching a similar concept for satellites bound for geostationary orbit about 22,000 miles above Earth, compressing what is typically a months-long transit into a matter of hours.

Also, CodeRabbit is helping companies like Chegg, Groupon, and Mercury, along with over 8,000 other businesses, save time on the famously frustrating task of code review, which has become even more time-consuming with the rise of AI-generated code.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

MicroFactory built a tabletop manufacturing kit the size of a s dog crate; also, Nothing closes $200M Series C led by Tiger Global

Tue, 16 Sep 2025 20:00:00 -0000

While many robotics companies are building human-sized robots, or working to automate entire factories, MicroFactory is instead trying to think big by building small.

Also, Smartphone startup Nothing announced today that it closed its Series C round of $200 million, which was led by the investment firm Tiger Global. With this round, the consumer electronics company is now valued at $1.3 billion.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Robinhood plans to launch a startups fund open to all retail investors

Tue, 16 Sep 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Robinhood announced Monday it has filed an application with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to launch a new publicly traded fund that will hold shares of startups. The idea behind the “Robinhood Ventures Fund I” is to allow every retail investor access to make money on the hottest startups before they go public.

Also, Rodatherm Energy, a new geothermal startup, emerged from stealth Monday with $38 million in funding and a plan to build a pilot plan in Utah.

And, Amid an ongoing surge in defense tech investing, advanced manufacturing company Divergent Technologies raised $290 million to expand production of missile parts and other specialized components for the military.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Harvard Law to AI: MarqVision lands $48M to combat brand abuse ... and OpenAI's board chair says we’re in an AI bubble (but that’s okay)

Mon, 15 Sep 2025 20:00:00 -0000

When Mark Lee was a law student at Harvard, a trademark class exposed him to the staggering scale of counterfeiting, an illicit industry worth more than $3 trillion annually, and set him on an unexpected path to entrepreneurship.

Bret Taylor, board chair at OpenAI and CEO of AI agent startup Sierra, was asked in a recent interview with The Verge whether he agreed with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s declaration that “someone is going to lose a phenomenal amount of money in AI.”

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hike, once a unicorn, shuts down as India cracks down on real-money gaming

Mon, 15 Sep 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Initially launched as an instant messaging app rivaling WhatsApp in 2012, Hike pivoted to real-money gaming in recent years, with its primary platform, Rush, offering casual games like carrom and ludo for cash prizes, following the shutdown of Hike Messenger in 2021. Rush attracted over 10 million users and generated more than $500 million in gross revenue over its four-year run.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We are entering a golden age of robotics startups — and not just because of AI

Fri, 12 Sep 2025 21:05:00 -0000

After investing in robotics startups for 10 years, Seth Winterroth, a partner at Eclipse, said the time to invest in robotics has never been better. The robotics startup market has matured and the hardware and software powering these bots has gotten significantly better — and cheaper.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The music industry is broken: OpenWav’s new app aims to change that

Fri, 12 Sep 2025 09:15:00 -0000

Grammy Award-winning musician, composer, and producer Wyclef Jean says the music industry is broken, which is why he’s now involved with a startup, OpenWav, that’s looking to give the power back to the artists. Through the OpenWav app, launched over the summer, artists can drop new music and exclusives; connect directly with fans; sell merch; host concerts, pop-ups, and listening parties; and more.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

While US stalls, Australia and Anduril move to put XL undersea vehicle into service, plus Perplexity reportedly raised $200M

Thu, 11 Sep 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Anduril announced Tuesday that a fleet of its XL uncrewed undersea vehicle “Ghost Shark” will begin operations in Australian waters next year under a massive billion dollar contract. The five-year award structure is the defense-startup holy grail; it’s a program of record that essentially locks in recurring revenue by becoming a line item in the country’s defense budget.

Also, Perplexity, the AI-powered search startup that competes with Google by providing conversational answers to user queries, has secured $200 million in new capital at a $20 billion valuation.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Arc gets its first major order for electric tugboats worth $160M, also Klarna’s IPO pops, raising $1.4B

Thu, 11 Sep 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Arc announced Wednesday it has signed a contract of that value with Curtin Maritime, a tug and barge operator. The new hybrid-electric tugs are expected to hit the waters around the Los Angeles port in 2027. Curtin has ordered eight tugs — at around $20 million apiece — and Arc will build them in conjunction with Snow & Co. shipyard.

Also, it’s been a long road for the 20-year-old fintech Klarna to make it to an IPO. But on Wednesday, the company successfully landed on the New York Stock Exchange, having raised $1.4 billion, largely for its existing investors, rather than itself.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AI gaming startup Born raises $15M to build ‘social’ AI companions that combat loneliness, plus another app just raised $14M to take on the loneliness epidemic

Wed, 10 Sep 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Fabian Kamberi, CEO and co-founder of the Berlin-based AI gaming startup Born, thinks the current AI companions on the market are designed to be exploitative and geared towards isolating users through one-to-one relationships with AI chatbots.

Also, Clyx is a social platform that helps users find community events to join. Five years after its launch, the app today has 50,000 active users buying tickets for events, and more than 200,000 users browsing events. The company has now raised $14 million in a Series A round led by Blitzscaling Ventures, with participation from other investors, including Iqram Magdon-Ismail, the co-founder of Venmo, and F1-driver-turned-investor Nico Rosberg

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why SpaceX made a $17B bet on the direct-to-cell market, also Ramp says it has hit $1B in annualized revenue

Wed, 10 Sep 2025 09:25:00 -0000

SpaceX just fired off one of the biggest shots yet in the spectrum wars, agreeing to pay $17 billion to take over a massive chunk of wireless airwaves from EchoStar for Starlink’s Direct-to-Cell services.

The deal is the most aggressive signal yet that SpaceX wants to rule the satellite-to-phone market.

Also, Ramp answered any lingering questions as to why investors recently valued the expense management startup at $22.5 billion, just 45 days after a previous funding round valued it at $16 billion: The company says it has achieved $1 billion in annualized revenue.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nuclearn gets $10.5M to help the nuclear industry embrace AI, plus ReOrbit lands record funding to take on Musk’s Starlink from Europe

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Nuclearn got its start when the founders were working at the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station just west of Phoenix. They had been experimenting with ways to streamline various repetitive tasks first from a data science perspective then with more advanced AI models.

Also, ReOrbit, a Finnish startup focused on helping nations control their own sovereign satellites, has raised a record €45 million (about US $53 million) Series A round of funding for a European space tech company. The funding round signals that Europe’s new space market is heating up, fueled by a geopolitical environment in which countries increasingly worry about relying on foreign technology for critical infrastructure.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nuclear startup Deep Fission goes public in a curious SPAC, Space DOTS raises $1.5M, and Cognition AI defied turbulence with a $400M raise at $10.2B valuation

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 09:05:00 -0000

Deep Fission is proposing to build small, cylindrical nuclear power plants and lower them into 30-inch diameter holes drilled one mile down into the Earth. By burying the reactors, the company hopes to solve several problems that plague current reactors, including concerns over meltdowns and potential terrorist attacks.

Also, The corporate space world tired Bianca Cefalo to the point that she found it easier to literally start her own space company and launch objects into orbit.

Bloomberg reported that Cognition AI, the startup behind AI coding agent Devin, has hit a $10.2 billion valuation after raising $400 million, marking a jump from the company’s $4 billion valuation earlier this year.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why is an Amazon-backed AI startup making Orson Welles fan fiction?

Mon, 08 Sep 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Why is a startup that bills itself as the “Netflix of AI,” and that recently raised money from Amazon’s Alexa Fund, talking about remaking a movie that was first released in 1942?

Well, the company has built a platform that allows users to create their own cartoons with AI prompts — Fable is starting out with its own intellectual property, but it has ambitions to offer similar capabilities with Hollywood IP.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Koah raises $5M to bring ads into AI apps

Mon, 08 Sep 2025 09:25:00 -0000

If you spend any time online, there’s a good chance you’ve seen plenty of ugly, AI-generated ads — but few to none when interacting with AI chatbots themselves. Koah co-founder and CEO Nic Baird argued that will inevitably change.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Natron’s liquidation shows why the US isn’t ready to make its own batteries and more tech news

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Sodium-ion battery startup Natron ceased operations this week, ending the company’s 12-year quest to commercialize its technology in the U.S.

The company had $25 million worth of orders lined up for its Michigan factory, but it couldn’t deliver them until it had UL certification, according to Raleigh’s The News & Observer, which reported on the business’s closure because Natron had been planning to bring jobs to the state of North Carolina with its new factory.

Also, Acqui-hires feel like they’re here to stay: The team behind Alex Codes, a popular tool that lets developers use AI models within Apple’s development suite Xcode, is joining OpenAI.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AI logistics startup Augment raised massive $85M Series A; plus Mark Zuckerberg sues Mark Zuckerberg

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 09:35:00 -0000

On Thursday, Augment announced that it raised an $85 million Series A led by Redpoint, with participation from 8VC, Autotech Ventures, and others. The massive round comes just five months after the startup launched out of stealth with a hefty $25 million seed round.

Also, Mark Zuckerberg, a bankruptcy lawyer from Indiana, has filed a lawsuit against Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta.

Mark Zuckerberg the lawyer uses a commercial Facebook page to advertise his legal practice and communicate with potential clients. But his page has been disabled five times in the last eight years, since Meta’s moderation systems flag his account as falsely impersonating Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of the platform.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Atlassian to buy Arc developer The Browser Company for $610M; also, Madrid’s Orbital Paradigm aims to prove a cheaper path to orbital reentry

Thu, 04 Sep 2025 20:30:00 -0000

Mike Cannon-Brookes, Atlassian’s CEO and co-founder, said, ‘today’s browsers weren’t built for work; they were built for browsing. This deal is a bold step forward in reimagining the browser for knowledge work in the AI era.’

Also, Francesco Cacciatore is a self-proclaimed skeptic. Yet after spending two decades in the European aerospace industry and hitting, as he put it, a “crisis,” he made an undeniably optimistic bet: he started a space company, saying ‘I wanted to try and build something myself.’

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Orchard Robotics raises $22M for farm vision AI; also, Mistral on the cusp of securing a $14B valuation

Thu, 04 Sep 2025 13:20:00 -0000

On Wednesday, Orchard Robotics announced that it raised a $22 million Series A funding led by Quiet Capital and Shine Capital, and with participation from returning investors, including General Catalyst and Contrary. Although the idea of using computer vision for specialty crops isn’t new, Wu says that the largest farms in the U.S. still rely on manual sampling to make critical decisions about farm operations.

Also, French AI startup Mistral AI is finalizing a €2 billion investment at a post-money valuation of $14 billion, reports Bloomberg, positioning the company as one of Europe’s most valuable tech startups. The two-year-old OpenAI rival, founded by former DeepMind and Meta researchers, develops open source language models and Le Chat, its AI chatbot built for European audiences.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Advanced geothermal startups are getting warmed up and Fizz expands into grocery delivery

Wed, 03 Sep 2025 20:00:00 -0000

When congressional Republicans took a sledgehammer to the Inflation Reduction Act last summer, advanced geothermal startups were largely spared. Drilling for renewable energy appears to be one of the few things that engenders bipartisan support. Now, with the uncertainty settled, geothermal companies are announcing deals that promise to pave the way for broader deployment of their technology.

Also, Fizz, the college social app, is expanding into grocery delivery thanks to a new partnership with Gopuff, the startup told TechCrunch exclusively. The partnership will allow students to order anything from late-night snacks to weekly groceries directly within the Fizz app in as fast as 15 minutes.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Anthropic raises $13B Series F at $183 billion valuation, also OpenAI acquires product testing startup Statsig

Wed, 03 Sep 2025 09:30:00 -0000

AI firm Anthropic has raised a $13 billion Series F round that brings its post-money valuation up to $183 billion — funds the company says will be used to grow its enterprise adoption, deepen safety research, and support international expansion.

Also, OpenAI announced in a blog post on Tuesday that it agreed to acquire the product testing startup Statsig, and bring on its founder and CEO, Vijaye Raji, as the company’s CTO of Applications.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Klarna revives IPO plans, aims to raise $1.27B, also India’s Offgrid raises $15M to make lithium optional for battery storage

Tue, 02 Sep 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Swedish buy-now, pay-later startup Klarna and its shareholders are reviving its initial public offering, hoping to raise as much as $1.27 billion in a listing that would value the company at up to $14 billion.

The company and some of its shareholders are together selling approximately 34.3 million shares between $35 and $37 each. That’s according to a company update earlier this week. Klarna would receive proceeds from about 5.6 million shares, while its shareholders are offloading nearly 29 million shares.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Billionaire Ambani taps Google, Meta to build India’s AI backbone

Tue, 02 Sep 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Reliance is launching a new subsidiary to drive India's AI ambitions, including a pending partnership with OpenAI.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Microsoft and Uber alum raises $3M for YC-backed Munify, a neobank for the Egyptian diaspora

Mon, 01 Sep 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Khalid Ashmawy found it hard to send money home while studying in Europe. Now, he’s launched a startup to help other Egyptians with the same problem.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Maisa AI gets $25M to fix enterprise AI’s 95% failure rate

Mon, 01 Sep 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Maisa AI is built on the premise that enterprise automation requires accountable AI agents, not opaque black boxes.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

No-code website builder Framer reaches $2B valuation, also US manufacturing investment stumbles as clean tech cancellations pile up

Fri, 29 Aug 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Framer, a no-code website builder that claims over half a million monthly active users,has reached a $2 billion valuation after raising a $100 million Series D funding round led by existing investors Meritech and Atomico.

Companies cancelled $5 billion worth of clean tech manufacturing projects in the U.S. in Q2, mirroring a pullback in the broader manufacturing sector.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How one AI startup is helping rice farmers battle climate change, also, Assort Health nabs $50M to automate patient phone calls

Fri, 29 Aug 2025 09:15:00 -0000

Mitti Labs is working with The Nature Conservancy to expand the use of climate-friendly rice farming practices in India. The startup uses its AI to verify reductions in methane emissions. In other news, Assort Health now valued at $750 million, is one of three that recently raised funding to use AI agents for helping healthcare practices answer patient calls.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Terraton wants to be the McDonald’s of biochar, also Hyundai is working with a startup on plant-based leather that smells like the real thing

Thu, 28 Aug 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Terraton sees promise in biochar, but the technology has struggled to scale. The startup thinks a franchise model could be what unlocks biochar's potential. Also, Uncaged Innovations is working with Hyundai to develop alternatives to leather with a fraction of the environmental impact.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Robomart unveils new delivery robot to challenge DoorDash, Uber Eats, also

Thu, 28 Aug 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Robomart's RM5 autonomous delivery robot can carry up to 50 pounds and deliver multiple customer orders at once.

Also, OpenAI has started hiring in India as it looks to expand its presence in the fast-growing South Asian tech market.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Eyebot gets $20M Series A to boost to expand eye care access and more tech news

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Eyebot secured $20M Series A for 90-second prescription kiosk.

Also, Pintarnya raised $16.7M to power jobs and financial services in Indonesia. The Indonesian startup, now backed by $16.7M in Series A funding, helps workers find full-time and side gigs while offering financial solutions

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

FieldAI raises $405M to build universal robot brains and Y Combinator says Apple’s App Store has hindered startup growth

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 09:20:00 -0000

FieldAI builds foundational AI models that help all kinds of robots learn and adapt to new environments using physics. Also, Y Combinator is asking the court to deny Apple’s appeal.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As India bans real-money games, Dream Sports, MPL start pulling the plug

Tue, 26 Aug 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Several Indian startups, including Dream Sports, MPL, and Zupee, are shutting down their real-money games after parliament passed a bill banning such games.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

YC-backed Oway raises $4M to build a decentralized ‘Uber for freight’

Tue, 26 Aug 2025 09:15:00 -0000

The thousands of trucks zipping along U.S. highways are often only about half full -- something Oway wants to change with its 'ride-share for freight' software.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ecosia has offered to take ‘stewardship’ of Chrome. And it’s not a bad idea.

Mon, 25 Aug 2025 19:53:00 -0000

Berlin-based non-profit search engine Ecosia has asked a U.S. judge to turn Chrome into a foundation it controls, funding billions in climate projects.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Group14 lands $463M to make silicon anodes for EVs, also, SRE.ai raises $7.2M for DevOps AI agents

Mon, 25 Aug 2025 09:30:00 -0000

The battery materials startup raised significant Series D funding to expand its manufacturing capability. At the same time, it bought out partner SK's stake in a joint venture.

The company helps automate complex enterprise workflows (like continuous integration and testing) — or, in other words, it makes DevOps capabilities more efficient as AI technology takes hold.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

New zero-day startup offers $20 million for tools that can hack any smartphone

Fri, 22 Aug 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Prices for hacking tools that allow governments to break into mobile phones keep going up, thanks to efforts by tech firms shoring up their cybersecurity.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

FieldAI raises $405M to build universal robot brains, plus Garage raises $13.5M to help firefighters buy equipment

Fri, 22 Aug 2025 09:30:00 -0000

FieldAI builds foundational AI models that help all kinds of robots learn and adapt to new environments using physics.

Also, YC backed Garage is a marketplace that sells specialized equipment commonly used in local governments and public safety.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dex is an AI-powered camera device that helps children learn new languages

Thu, 21 Aug 2025 20:00:00 -0000

A new gadget called Dex allows kids to take pictures of objects and the AI translates the word into different languages.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AI crawler Firecrawl raises $14.5M and is still looking to hire agents as employees, also, Databricks CEO says fresh $1B will help him attack a new AI database market

Thu, 21 Aug 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Firecrawl nabbed Shopify’s CEO Tobias Lütke as an investor from a gutsy email after they discovered he was using the product. Also, The round, which pushes Databricks' valuation to $100B, was co-led by Insight Partners and Thrive. CEO Ali Ghodsi says he's found an enormous untapped AI agent market to spend the funds.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Eight Sleep raises $100M to expand it AI-powered sleep tech

Wed, 20 Aug 2025 20:00:00 -0000

The sleep tech company raised from HSG, Valor Equity Partners, Founders Fund, Y Combinator and big F1 names like Charles Leclerc and Zak Brown.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Google vet raises $8M for Continua to bring AI agents to group chats

Wed, 20 Aug 2025 09:30:00 -0000

David Petrou, founding member of Google Goggles and Google Glass, wants to enhance group chats with AI.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Les Amis, the app helping women form friendships, launches in New York ... and more

Tue, 19 Aug 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Les Amis is an app designed to make it easy for women to form friendships and attend local events. Also, why did Paradigm built a spreadsheet with an AI agent in every cell? The company raised a $5 million seed round and is releasing it's AI-powered spreadsheet to the general public.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hank Green’s Focus Friend app is climbing the App Store charts — and it’s extremely cute

Tue, 19 Aug 2025 09:30:00 -0000

This is the premise of Focus Friend, a productivity app created by Honey B Games and Hank Green, the longtime online creator/entrepreneur/educator/sock salesman. Though the app was soft launched last month, Focus Friend is only now gaining momentum on the App Store charts — likely because Green and his brother, author John Green, are posting about it more — reaching No. 4 among all free apps and No. 2 among productivity apps. Also, another crypto company is headed for the public markets. This time, it’s Gemini Space Station Inc., the New York-based crypto exchange and custodian bank founded by billionaire twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Buzzy AI startup Multiverse creates two of the smallest high-performing models ever ... and more news

Mon, 18 Aug 2025 20:00:00 -0000

It humorously calls this family the Model Zoo because one is like the size of a fly's brain and the other the size of a chicken's. Also, Ultrahuman acquires viO HealthTech to launch enhanced cycle and ovulation tracking. Cycle and Ovulation Pro is available starting Friday as a premium PowerPlug in the Ultrahuman app for $3.99 per month or $39.99 per year for users in the U.S., U.K., EU, Australia, and Canada; and Loveable projects $1B in ARR within next 12 months. Loveable is a vibe coding startup growing phenomenally quickly, according to new sales projections from CEO Anton Osika.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Anthropic nabs Humanloop team as competition for enterprise AI talent heats up ... and more

Mon, 18 Aug 2025 09:30:00 -0000

While an Anthropic spokesperson confirmed that the AI firm did not acquire Humanloop or its IP, that’s a moot point in an industry where IP lives in the brain. And what Humanloop’s team is bringing to Anthropic is experience developing the tools that help enterprises run safe, reliable AI at scale. Also, India’s Rapido begins testing food delivery to take on Swiggy, Zomato. Rapido's beta food delivery service has popped up in three key localities in Bengaluru before a broader rollout.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cohere hires long-time Meta research head Joelle Pineau as its chief AI officer ... and more

Fri, 15 Aug 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Cohere has hired Joelle Pineau, Meta's former VP of AI research who previously oversaw the tech giant's fundamental AI research (FAIR) lab. In her newly created Chief AI Officer role, Pineau will oversee AI strategy across Cohere's research, product and policy teams. Also, Monarch Tractors won’t be built by Foxconn after Ohio factory sale. The tractors were the only vehicles being built by Foxconn in Ohio after Lordstown Motors, Fisker Inc., and IndiEV went bankrupt.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Uber Freight CEO Lior Ron leaves to join self-driving startup Waabi as COO

Fri, 15 Aug 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Self-driving truck maker Waabi has hired autonomous vehicle industry veteran and Uber Freight CEO, Lior Ron, to step in as chief operating officer, as the startup looks to scale its commercial operations ahead of its planned launch of driverless trucks on public highways later this year.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sam Altman, OpenAI will reportedly back a startup that takes on Musk’s Neuralink

Thu, 14 Aug 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Neuralink has been making serious progress. Soon Sam Altman and OpenAI could be backing a challenger.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Anduril opens solid rocket motor factory amidst ongoing chemical chokepoint

Thu, 14 Aug 2025 09:30:00 -0000

As more solid rocket motor suppliers are coming online, a supply chain chokepoint looms.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TDK backs Ultraviolette with $21M to take India-made electric motorcycles global

Wed, 13 Aug 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Ultraviolette aims to expand its electric motorcycles to 40 European countries, as well as Latin America and Southeast Asia.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nigerian profitable food delivery Chowdeck lands $9M from Novastar, Y Combinator

Wed, 13 Aug 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Chowdeck, a Lagos-based food delivery startup that has stayed profitable in a notoriously tough and low-margin market, has raised $9 million in Series A funding to launch a quick commerce strategy and expand into more cities in Nigeria and Ghana.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why investors just bet $85M on this Indian company’s generic drug strategy

Tue, 12 Aug 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Truemeds has taken a different route from other Indian online pharmacies — and it has helped the startup double its revenue.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AI agents aren’t the ‘new Google,’ says Airbnb CEO

Tue, 12 Aug 2025 09:30:00 -0000

"I think we're still kind of feeling out the space," CEO Brian Chesky told investors on the Q2 earnings call.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The high costs and thin margins threatening AI coding startups

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Coding assistant startups are highly unprofitable, says a source familiar with Windsurf financials.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AI startup OpenArt now creates ‘brain rot’ videos in just one click, also OpenAI priced GPT-5 so low, it may spark a price war

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 09:30:00 -0000

AI-generated “brain rot” videos are popping up all over the internet and getting a lot of attention. Currently gaining traction among younger users, these clips feature wild characters, like a shark wearing sneakers and a ballerina with a cappuccino for a head. One startup driving this trend is OpenArt, founded by two former Google employees in 2022. It touts around 3 million monthly active users. In other news, OpenAI astounded the tech industry for the second time this week by launching its newest flagship model, GPT-5, just days after releasing two new freely available models under an open source license. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman went so far as to call GPT-5 “the best model in the world.” That may be pride or hyperbole, as TechCrunch’s Maxwell Zeff reports that GPT-5 only slightly outperforms other leading AI models from Anthropic, Google DeepMind, and xAI on some key benchmarks, and slightly lags on others.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Billing platform Lava raises $5.8M to build digital wallets for the ‘agent-native economy’

Fri, 08 Aug 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Lava is a digital wallet that lets merchants use credits to facilitate transactions.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Photo-sharing app Locket is banking on a new celebrity-focused feature to fuel its growth plus Tavily raises $25M to connect AI agents to the web

Fri, 08 Aug 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Celebrity Lockets is a new feature where celebrities can engage with their most loyal followers on their home screens. Also, Tavity, the one-year-old startup raised a Series A led by Insight Partners.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For the first time, OpenAI models are available on AWS and ElevenLabs launched an AI music generator

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 19:57:00 -0000

This is a juicy competitive move for both companies after AWS faced an onslaught of criticism over its progress with AI.

In other news, the AI audio-generation unicorn ElevenLabs announced the launch of a new model that allows users to generate music that's cleared for commercial use.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Clay confirms it closed $100M round at $3.1B valuation and Substack rival Ghost connects to the open social web with its latest public release

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 09:30:00 -0000

-The AI sales automation startup raised fresh funds, led by CapitalG, just months after its last round.

-While the ActivityPub integration is a main selling point for Ghost 6, this major release includes a number of other changes and new additions.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

OpenMind wants to be the Android operating system of humanoid robots

Wed, 06 Aug 2025 20:00:00 -0000

OpenMind is building humanoid robot operating software designed for robots that interact with people and other robots.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Germ brings end-to-end encrypted messages to Bluesky

Wed, 06 Aug 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Germ's new app lets users send end-to-end encrypted messages on Bluesky. TechCrunch speaks with the Germ founders to hear why they came up with the idea.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jeh Aerospace nets $11M to scale the commercial aircraft supply chain in India

Tue, 05 Aug 2025 20:17:00 -0000

Indian startup Jeh Aerospace has secured $11 million in a new funding round to help ease global supply chain bottlenecks.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Anthropic cut off OpenAI’s access to its Claude models, also PlayerZero raised $15M and Figma’s stock soared in its IPO

Tue, 05 Aug 2025 15:17:00 -0000

Anthropic has revoked OpenAI’s access to its Claude family of AI models, according to a report in Wired. Sources told Wired that OpenAI was connecting Claude to internal tools that allowed the company to compare Claude’s performance to its own models in categories like coding, writing, and safety. Also, as Silicon Valley races toward a future where AI agents do most of the software programming, a new problem is created: finding the AI-generated bugs before they are put into production. Even OpenAI is dealing with such issues, a former employee has described; Figma began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday after a long delay. It soared so quickly that trading was halted for a short time due to market volatility.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Handwave lends a hand to retailers with its European alternative to Amazon’s palm payments

Mon, 04 Aug 2025 20:30:00 -0000

Latvian startup Handwave aims to compete with Amazon palm payments by offering an independent alternative.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Female-founded semiconductor AI startup SixSense raises $8.5M

Mon, 04 Aug 2025 09:30:00 -0000

SixSense offers an AI-powered platform that helps chip makers prevent defects. It landed backing led by Peak XV’s Surge (formerly Sequoia India & SEA).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AIR lands $23M to bring its eVTOLs to the US

Fri, 01 Aug 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Israel-based eVTOL startup AIR has raised $23 million to scale production of both its piloted and uncrewed cargo aircraft, and enter the U.S.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How 2 UC Berkeley dropouts raised $28 million for their AI marketing automation startup

Fri, 01 Aug 2025 09:30:00 -0000

A marketing automation startup called Conversation has a founding story that sounds like it could have been an episode of the HBO show “Silicon Valley.”

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fed up with brands that use corn syrup and skim milk, this mother developed her own ‘clean’ baby formula

Thu, 31 Jul 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Nara Organics is a new organic, whole milk baby formula brand that's free from palm oil, soy, corn syrup, maltodextrin, and GMOs.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This founder left Silicon Valley to challenge U.S. defense supremacy from Athens, and investors are paying attention

Thu, 31 Jul 2025 09:40:00 -0000

Delian Alliance Industries recently raised $14 million in funding to continue building its defense products, which include surveillance towers, and concealed sea drones.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Index Ventures’ Jahanvi Sardana shares the truth about TAM and what founders should focus on instead

Wed, 30 Jul 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Index Ventures partner Jahanvi Sardana has a reminder for all those founders worried about finding TAM for their product or service: many startups have emerged from markets that, at the time, were essentially nonexistent.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This industrial AI startup is winning over customers by saying it won’t get acquired

Tue, 29 Jul 2025 20:00:00 -0000

In red-hot acquisition market, this CVector founders answer this key question in its first conversation with prospective customers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How a Y Combinator food delivery app used TikTok to soar in the App Store ... and Chime backer Lauren Kolodny bets on AI

Tue, 29 Jul 2025 09:30:00 -0000

The internet trend is simple: A friend or family member looks into the camera and tells viewers, in a slightly aggressive tone, that they are about to witness a presentation and that they had better be nice. Also, Acrew Capital's Lauren Kolodny led a $20 million Series A in Alix, a startup that uses AI to automate estate processing.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Preston Thorpe is a software engineer at a San Fransisco startup. He’s also serving his eleventh year in prison.

Mon, 28 Jul 2025 20:00:00 -0000

A senior software engineer for Turso, Thorpe is part of an experimental program in the Maine state prison system that allows incarcerated people to work remote jobs from custody.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mission Barns is betting that animal-free pork fat will make artificial meat delicious ... and more

Mon, 28 Jul 2025 09:30:00 -0000

It’s the first such product to reach the market, and it could unlock a host of fattened-up meat alternatives. Also, iRocket is aiming to hit the public markets but the SPAC vehicle has hardly any cash left.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SoftBank-backed LegalOn lands $50M to streamline legal workflow with AI

Fri, 25 Jul 2025 20:00:00 -0000

LegalOn Technologies, a Tokyo- and San Francisco-headquartered legal tech startup that has built an AI contract review software for legal teams, has raised $50 million in Series E funding led by Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives, along with existing investor World Innovation Lab (WiL), and new investors Mori Hamada & Matsumoto

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nevoya raises $9.3M as its EV truck fleet reaches cost parity with diesel

Fri, 25 Jul 2025 09:30:00 -0000

All-electric truck fleet startup Nevoya has landed a fresh round of capital and plans to expand.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Robot guard dogs help Asylon raise a $26M Series B ... plus Eight months in, Swedish unicorn Lovable crosses the $100M ARR milestone

Thu, 24 Jul 2025 20:00:00 -0000

DroneDogs can be sent to places unsafe for humans or real dogs and can do tasks like dangerous chemical detection. In other news, less than a week after becoming Europe’s latest unicorn, Swedish vibe coding startup Lovable has now crossed the $100 million annual recurring revenue mark.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Three things veteran planetary health investors look for in a startup

Thu, 24 Jul 2025 09:30:00 -0000

RA Capital Planetary Health closed a $120 million fund. Here's the rubric two investors use to determine where to place their fund's money.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This startup thinks email could be the key to usable AI agents

Wed, 23 Jul 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Startup Mixus has built an AI agent platform that not only keeps humans in the workflow, but also allows those humans to interact with agents directly from their email or Slack.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cursor snaps up enterprise startup Koala in challenge to GitHub Copilot

Wed, 23 Jul 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Cursor-maker Anysphere is snapping up top talent from AI enterprise startups in an effort to compete with Microsoft's GitHub Copilot.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The perfect pitch: This NEA partner says every founder should answer these 5 questions

Tue, 22 Jul 2025 20:05:00 -0000

Tiffany Luck, a partner at NEA, outlined what she looks for in a pitch, during a presentation at TechCrunch’s All Stage event in Boston.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After raising over $3M, popular VC-backed beauty brand Ami Colé is shuttering

Tue, 22 Jul 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Diarrha N'Diaye-Mbaye, one of the first among the small number of Black women to raise more than $1 million in venture capital, announced on Thursday the closure of her award-winning beauty startup Ami Colé.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Confident Security, ‘the Signal for AI,’ comes out of stealth with $4.2M

Mon, 21 Jul 2025 20:00:00 -0000

San Francisco-based startup Confident Security wants to be “the Signal for AI." The company just came out of stealth with $4.2 million and a tool that wraps around AI models to guarantee data stays private.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rex Salisbury’s Cambrian Ventures raises new fund, bucking fintech slowdown

Mon, 21 Jul 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Spurred by the performance of its first fund, Cambrian Ventures' $20 million second fund will continue the firm's thesis of focusing on fintech startups.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lovable becomes a unicorn with $200M Series A just 8 months after launch

Fri, 18 Jul 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Only eight months after its launch, Sweden's Lovable has raised a $200 million Series A round led by Accel at a $1.8 billion valuation.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Auriga Space raises $6M to shoot rockets off an electromagnetic launch track

Fri, 18 Jul 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Auriga Space wants to reimagine launch by using electromagnetic forces.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AV startup Pronto.ai acquires off-road autonomous vehicle rival SafeAI

Thu, 17 Jul 2025 20:04:00 -0000

Pronto.ai CEO Anthony Levandowski said the move is meant to help bolster his company's ranks with like-minded talent and complimentary technology.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rainmaker partners with Atmo to squeeze more rain from clouds

Thu, 17 Jul 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Atmo will use its deep learning models to help Rainmaker identify clouds that have potential for seeding.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rwazi raises $12M Series A to help companies with consumer insights and intelligence

Wed, 16 Jul 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Rwazi has raised a $12 million Series A led by Bonfire Ventures to help companies with market intelligence and consumer insights

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Firefly Space files for an IPO

Wed, 16 Jul 2025 09:00:00 -0000

Firefly Space has filed for a initial public offering.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A cloud seeding startup did not cause the Texas floods

Tue, 15 Jul 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Despite conspiracy theories, there's no way that cloud seeding operations days before the storm could have influenced the floods, scientists say.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

RealSense spins out of Intel to scale its stereoscopic imaging technology

Tue, 15 Jul 2025 09:30:00 -0000

RealSense is building vision tech that helps machines like robots and drones navigate and respond to a 3D world.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Helios wants to be the AI operating system for public policy professionals

Mon, 14 Jul 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Helios, a startup aiming to build an AI-powered operating system for policy professionals, has raised $4 million in seed funding.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Goldman Sachs is testing viral AI agent Devin as a ‘new employee’ ... and more

Mon, 14 Jul 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Devin won’t replace humans developers at the bank. It will be supervised by them. Also, Sarah Smith launches $16M fund, says AI can ‘unlock’ so much for solo GPs like herself. Smith launched her eponymous fund in 2022 and is a solo GP. She said she’s “stunned” by what AI can unlock for firms like hers, solo and next-generation.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Knox lands $6.5M to compete with Palantir in the federal compliance market

Fri, 11 Jul 2025 20:00:00 -0000

While highly sought after, federal software contracts frequently come with a hidden cost: Achieving government SaaS security compliance, known as FedRAMP, can take years and require substantial resources. Achieving this certification typically takes up to three years and costs more than $3 million, covering everything from security operations engineer salaries to security audits

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rivian spinoff Also raises another $200M to build e-bikes and more

Fri, 11 Jul 2025 09:30:00 -0000

The micromobility startup that spun out of Rivian this year, was raised $200 million from Greenoaks Capital. Also, French AI startup Mistral is in talks to raise up to $1 billion in equity from investors including Abu Dhabi’s MGX fund, reports Bloomberg

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

European VC breaks taboo by investing in pure defense tech from Ukraine’s war zones

Thu, 10 Jul 2025 20:00:00 -0000

With a fundraising target of €25 million, Darkstar’s goal is to help startups bring battle-tested products to military customers both in Ukraine and throughout Europe.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

LangChain is about to become a unicorn, sources say

Thu, 10 Jul 2025 11:51:00 -0000

AI infrastructure startup LangChain is raising a new round at about $1 billion valuation led by IVP.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why this LA-based VC firm was an early investor in Slate Auto

Wed, 09 Jul 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Slate Auto, which came out of stealth mode earlier this year with a surprising – and surprisingly affordable – customizable electric truck, has raised $700 million to date. But long before the EV startup broke cover, it quietly raised a Series A round of more than $100 million in 2023.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

UAE proptech Huspy raises $59M to scale in Europe

Wed, 09 Jul 2025 10:16:00 -0000

If you walked into a Dubai bank to apply for a mortgage in 2020, chances are you’d spend months buried in paperwork or face a huge price discrepancy when it came to listings. Such experiences led Jad Antoun to start Huspy, a startup streamlining how people in the UAE buy homes digitally.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stripe’s first employee, the founder of fintech Increase, sort of bought a bank

Tue, 08 Jul 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Competitors to Darragh Buckley's Increase are so nervous about his ambitions to "own" a bank, someone has been trying to stop him.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lovable on track to raise $150M at $2B valuation

Tue, 08 Jul 2025 09:45:00 -0000

Lovable released its vibe coder in late November. Within six month, the startup hit $50 million in ARR, CEO Anton Osika said.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Former SpaceX manager alleges harassment, retaliation, and security violations in lawsuit

Mon, 07 Jul 2025 20:00:00 -0000

SpaceX is facing another lawsuit alleging discrimination, sexual harassment, and retaliation.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lucid sales inch forward as EV maker pushes to ramp Gravity production

Mon, 07 Jul 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Lucid sold 3,309 vehicles in the second quarter, a new record for the EV maker. Still, the company must ramp up production of its Gravity SUV to meet its 2025 target.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Israeli quantum startup Qedma just raised $26 million, with IBM joining in

Fri, 04 Jul 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Qedma specializes in error mitigation software. Its main piece of software, QESEM, standing for Quantum Error Suppression and Error Mitigation, analyzes noise patterns to suppress some classes of errors while the algorithm is running and mitigate others in post-processing.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Genesis AI launches with $105M seed funding from Eclipse, Khosla to build AI models for robots

Fri, 04 Jul 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Genesis AI, which aims to build a foundational model for powering all kinds of robots, has emerged from stealth with $105M in seed funding.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sri Mandir keeps investors hooked as digital devotion grows

Thu, 03 Jul 2025 09:30:00 -0000

AppsForBharat, the Indian startup behind the Hindu devotional app Sri Mandir, has raised $20 million in a new round — just over nine months after securing $18 million — as the app continues to attract not only devotees but also strong investor interest

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tailor, a ‘headless’ ERP startup, raises $22M Series A

Wed, 02 Jul 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Tailor, a San Francisco- and Tokyo-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform, has raised $22 million in a Series A funding round. Investors include ANRI, JIC Venture Growth Investments (JIC VGI), New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Spiral Capital and Y Combinator.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rubrik acquires Predibase to accelerate adoption of AI agents

Wed, 02 Jul 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Predibase helps companies train and fine-tune open source AI models which will help Rubrik customers deploy AI agents faster.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Google inks its first fusion power deal with Commonwealth Fusion Systems

Tue, 01 Jul 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Google will invest in Commonwealth Fusion Systems and buy 200 MW of electricity from its forthcoming power plant.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

PetLibro’s new smart camera uses AI to describe your pet’s movements, and it’s adorable

Tue, 01 Jul 2025 09:30:00 -0000

PetLibro launched an AI-powered smart camera that provides users with real-time insights into their pets' activities.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This AI-powered startup studio plans to launch 100,000 companies a year — really

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Henrik Werdelin has spent the last 15 years helping entrepreneurs build big brands like Barkbox through his startup studio Prehype. Now, with his new, New York-based venture Audos, he’s betting that AI can help him scale that process from “tens” of startups a year to “hundreds of thousands” of aspiring business owners.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bill Gates-backed AirLoom begins building its first power plant

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Wind power has run into some headwinds, and not the kind that spin its turbines. Recently, President Trump has decided to wage war against the technology, an unwelcome bit of friction that coincides with rising costs in recent years.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Indian drone startup Raphe mPhibr raises $100M as military UAV demand soars

Fri, 27 Jun 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Indian drone startup Raphe mPhibr has raised $100 million in an all-equity Series B round led by General Catalyst, as the startup aims to boost its R&D and local production capabilities amid growing demand for drones in battlefields and for border surveillance.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

India’s GoKwik raised a small $13M round for a hefty leap in valuation

Fri, 27 Jun 2025 09:30:00 -0000

GoKwik, an Indian startup that offers a suite of integrated e-commerce products, has raised a small round of $13 million, which it calls a “growth” round, that has boosted its valuation to $450 million pre-money.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wispr Flow raises $30M from Menlo Ventures for its AI-powered dictation app

Thu, 26 Jun 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Startups developing voice AI technology and applications are having their moment. Model builders like ElevenLabs and Cartesia have raised millions of dollars in the last few months. Applications such as AI-powered notetaker Granola, and meeting tools Read AI and Fireflies AI have also received investor attention and backing.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Databricks, Perplexity co-founder pledges $100M on new fund for AI researchers

Wed, 25 Jun 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Andy Konwinski is pledging $100 million of his own money for a new kind of institute to fund researchers. It's already backed Ion Stoica's new lab.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AllSpice’s platform is the GitHub for electrical engineering teams

Wed, 25 Jun 2025 09:30:00 -0000

AllSpice's platform has landed customers including Blue Origin and Bose and just raised a $15 million Series A round.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Japanese shipping firm NYK acquires Kadmos, a salary payment platform for seafarers

Tue, 24 Jun 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha is acquiring German salary payment platform for seafaring workers, Kadmos.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

VanMoof is back with a new custom e-bike and rebooted repair network

Tue, 24 Jun 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Dutch e-bike startup VanMoof is back two years after bankruptcy with its first model designed under new leadership. And despite past criticism that VanMoof’s over-reliance on custom parts led to the company’s downfall, the S6 sticks to the brand’s signature bespoke design.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stripe’s former growth lead helps African diaspora invest in startups, real estate

Mon, 23 Jun 2025 20:00:00 -0000

When Joe Kinvi joined Touchtech Payments in 2017 as head of finance, the Irish startup couldn’t afford his full salary. So he negotiated for stock to make up the difference.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Midjourney launches its first AI video generation model, V1

Mon, 23 Jun 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Midjourney launched its much anticipated AI video generation model, V1, on Wednesday and laid out a roadmap for its future releases.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Grifin secures $11M to make investing less intimidating for its female user base

Fri, 20 Jun 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Investment app Grifin secured a $11 million Series A funding round.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Observability startup Coralogix becomes a unicorn, eyes India expansion

Fri, 20 Jun 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Coralogix, an Israeli startup offering a full-stack observability and security platform, has raised $115 million at a pre-money valuation of over $1 billion, almost doubling in three years from its last round in 2022.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Own, a new social media app, aims to tokenize the creator economy

Thu, 19 Jun 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Own is the latest alternative to TikTok to emerge in the market, featuring blockchain technology and a token economy.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After Shopify bought his last startup, Birk Jernström wants to help developers build one-person unicorns

Thu, 19 Jun 2025 09:15:00 -0000

With Polar as their ‘Merchant of Record’ responsible for handling billing and taxes, developers can sell online products and SaaS subscriptions globally from day one.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Police shut down Cluely’s party, the ‘cheat at everything’ startup

Wed, 18 Jun 2025 20:00:00 -0000

The latest San Francisco startup culture drama happened on Monday night. And it occurred over “the most legendary party that never happened."

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Aspora gets $50M from Sequioa to build remittance and banking solutions for Indian diaspora

Wed, 18 Jun 2025 09:00:00 -0000

India has been one of the top recipients of remittances in the world for more than a decade. Inward remittances jumped from $55.6 billion in 2010-11 to $118.7 billion in 2023-24, according to data from the country’s central bank. The bank projects that figure will reach $160 billion in 2029.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alta raises $11M to bring ‘Clueless’ fashion tech to life with all-star investors

Tue, 17 Jun 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Throughout her years working in technology, Jenny Wang, 28, always found herself stumbling back to one idea — a personal styling agent to help users decide what to wear and buy based on their budget, lifestyle, weather and calendar.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Multiverse Computing raises $215M for tech that could radically slim AI costs

Tue, 17 Jun 2025 09:00:00 -0000

Spanish startup Multiverse Computing announced that it raised an enormous Series B round on the strength of a technology it calls “CompactifAI.”

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Zevo’s EV-only car-share fleet is helping Tesla owners make money

Mon, 16 Jun 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Zevo is a new peer-to-peer car-sharing startup, which is broadly similar to Turo, but focused exclusively on electric vehicles.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Automattic acquires relationship manager Clay to add an identity layer to online tools

Mon, 16 Jun 2025 13:26:00 -0000

WordPress.com owner Automattic has added another communication-focused startup to its lineup: relationship-management app Clay.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Legal tech platform Definely raises $30M Series B to make contract reviewing more efficient

Fri, 13 Jun 2025 20:00:00 -0000

The company, based in the U.K., offers a productivity suite to streamline the legal drafting and review process.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Standard Nuclear emerges from the ashes of a failed startup

Fri, 13 Jun 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Standard Nuclear was the winning bidder for Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation's fuel-related assets at a bankruptcy auction.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Proxima Fusion joins the club of well-funded nuclear contenders with €130M Series A

Thu, 12 Jun 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Commercial nuclear fusion power isn’t a reality yet. But venture capital is flowing into startups that promise that clean, safe, and virtually limitless energy is no longer just a distant dream

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tebi, the new startup by Adyen’s departed cofounder, raises a fresh $30M from Alphabet’s CapitalG

Thu, 12 Jun 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Co-founded by Adyen's former CTO, Tebi helps restaurants, bars and other hospitality businesses manage their operations with an all-in-one subscription-based platform that can handle payments, reservations, inventory, and more.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mitra Chem is raising $50M for its cheaper, domestic battery materials

Wed, 11 Jun 2025 20:05:00 -0000

Mitra Chem is developing materials to make lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) batteries store more energy.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

XRobotics’ countertop robots are cooking up 25,000 pizzas a month

Wed, 11 Jun 2025 09:30:00 -0000

XRobotics recently raised a $2.5 million seed round to help it produce more of its countertop pizza robots.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

An investor makes a case for funding sex, drugs and other socially taboo products

Tue, 10 Jun 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Impact investor and advisor Christian Tooley posed a simple question to the audience at SXSW London last week: What if investors put aside societal prudence for profit? Tooley was mainly referring to vice clauses, the restrictions that limited partners place on venture firms to guardrail their investments.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Obvio’s stop sign cameras use AI to root out unsafe drivers

Tue, 10 Jun 2025 09:30:00 -0000

American streets are incredibly dangerous for pedestrians. A San Carlos, California-based startup called Obvio thinks it can change that by installing cameras at stop signs -- a solution the founders also say won’t create a panopticon.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rippling calls Deel ‘a criminal syndicate’ and claims 4 other competitors were spied on, too

Mon, 09 Jun 2025 20:00:00 -0000

The fight between HR tech startups has heated up again after Rippling filed an amended complaint accuses Deel of targeting, infiltrating, and compromising of four other competitors, in addition to Rippling.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

North America takes the bulk of AI VC investments, despite tough political environment

Mon, 09 Jun 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Despite what some experts have characterized as an environment increasingly hostile to AI R&D, North America continues to receive the bulk of AI venture dollars, according to data from investment tracker PitchBook. Between February and May of this year, VCs poured $69.7 billion into North America-based AI and machine learning startups across 1,528 deals.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Toma’s AI voice agents have taken off at car dealerships – and attracted funding from a16z

Fri, 06 Jun 2025 20:00:00 -0000

When Monik Pamecha co-founded AI voice startup Toma in early 2024, he hadn’t anticipated spending the summer months sweating in Bible Belt car dealerships. He and co-founder Anthony Krivonos were still focused on banking and healthcare customers when the dealers came knocking.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Windsurf says Anthropic is limiting its direct access to Claude AI models

Fri, 06 Jun 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Windsurf, the popular vibe coding startup that’s reportedly being acquired by OpenAI, said Anthropic significantly reduced its first-party access to the highly popular AI models Claude 3.7 Sonnet and Claude 3.5 Sonnet.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Colossal Labs will release the sounds of dire wolves howling ‘later this year’

Thu, 05 Jun 2025 20:00:00 -0000

The company is working on a bio-acoustic project, which will map out the different types of dire wolf howls.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Console raises $6.2M from Thrive to free IT teams from mundane tasks with AI

Thu, 05 Jun 2025 09:30:00 -0000

If you’ve ever been locked out of your work computer, you know the urgent need to reach IT support. Unfortunately, helpdesk staff are often busy assisting others, which can mean a significant delay before you regain access.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Speedata, a chip startup competing with Nvidia, raises a $44M Series B

Wed, 04 Jun 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Speedata, a Tel Aviv-based startup developing an analytics processing unit (APU) designed to accelerate big data analytic and AI workloads, has raised a $44M Series B funding round, bringing its total capital raised to $114M.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NAACP calls on Memphis officials to halt operations at xAI’s ‘dirty data center’

Wed, 04 Jun 2025 09:30:00 -0000

The NAACP is calling on local officials to halt operations at Colossus, the “supercomputer” facility operated by Elon Musk’s xAI in South Memphis. As reported in NBC News, leaders from the civil rights group sent a letter Thursday to the Shelby County Health Department and Memphis Light Gas and Water criticizing the organizations’ “lackadaisical approach."

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Left-leaning influencers embrace Bluesky without abandoning X

Tue, 03 Jun 2025 20:00:00 -0000

It’s no surprise that many big, left-leaning social media accounts have recently joined Bluesky — but a new analysis from the Pew Research Center attempts to quantify that shift. This comes as an update to Pew’s news influencer report released in November 2024, which did not include Bluesky in its numbers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Grocery platform Misfits Market acquires The Rounds to further its mission of reducing food waste

Tue, 03 Jun 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Misfits Market, the online platform that delivers imperfect groceries to help minimize waste, announced the acquisition of household restocking service The Rounds on Friday. As a result of the deal, Misfits Market plans to take on over 250 items from The Rounds’ inventory.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Apple’s US App Store topped $400B in developer billings and sales in 2024

Mon, 02 Jun 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Just ahead of its Worldwide Developers Conference next month, Apple on Thursday announced new figures related to the U.S. App Store’s financial success. The company says its U.S. App Store ecosystem has generated $406 billion in developer billings and sales

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Context gets $11M to build an AI-powered office suite

Mon, 02 Jun 2025 09:30:00 -0000

AI-powered office suite Context raises $11 million in seed funding from Lux Capital, Qualcomm Ventures and General Catalyst

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rillet raises $25M from Sequoia to automate general ledger systems using AI

Fri, 30 May 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Rillet directly pulls data from their customers' banks and platforms to generate financial statements, including the balance sheet and income statement.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A decade in, bootstrapped Thinkst Canary reaches $20M in ARR without VC funding

Fri, 30 May 2025 10:00:00 -0000

Reflecting on 10 years since its launch, the honeypot maker explains why the company did not take on any VC funding.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Litehaus raises €1.46M pre-seed to build home-building platform

Thu, 29 May 2025 20:00:00 -0000

All Thibault Launay and his wife Simi wanted nearly five years ago was to build a dream home in Portugal, where they both now live. But what they encountered instead was a broken system. “Fourteen months of delays, 20% budget overruns, and endless stress managing over 10 subcontractors,” Thibault recalled.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Salesforce acquires Informatica for $8 billion

Thu, 29 May 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Salesforce has acquired cloud data management firm Informatica in an $8 billion equity deal, marking a major move in its push to strengthen its AI and data infrastructure capabilities. The announcement, made Tuesday, comes about a year after early rumors of the acquisition sent both companies’ stock prices sliding.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rocket Lab backer Outset raises $25M to fund New Zealand’s deep tech moonshots

Wed, 28 May 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Outset Ventures, the Auckland-based venture firm and incubator that spun out deep tech unicorns like Rocket Lab and LanzaTech, has closed its second fund at an oversubscribed $41.5 million NZD.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

RevenueCat raises $50M as it expands beyond mobile app monetization

Wed, 28 May 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Key to the company's growth are the next products RevenueCat has on its roadmap, the company's founder says.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The wild story of how gut health AI toilet startup Throne raised $4M led by Moxxie

Tue, 27 May 2025 20:00:00 -0000

The tale of how smart toilet startup Throne landed its seed round is so full of serendipities, one could almost believe it was orchestrated by the hand of Fortuna, Roman god of providence.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A safety institute advised against releasing an early version of Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4 AI model

Tue, 27 May 2025 09:30:00 -0000

A third-party research institute that Anthropic partnered with to test one of its new flagship AI models, Claude Opus 4, recommended against deploying an early version of the model due to its tendency to “scheme” and deceive.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hinge Health pops 17%, but joins growing ranks of down round IPOs

Mon, 26 May 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Hinge Health, a digital physical therapist company, closed its first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday at $37.56, up about 17% over the $32 IPO price it set the previous day. That’s a good first-day result.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alt Carbon scores $12M seed to scale carbon removal in India

Mon, 26 May 2025 09:30:00 -0000

From a struggling family tea estate to an innovative climate venture, Alt Carbon has raised $12 million in a seed round as it plans to scale its carbon dioxide removal work in the South Asian nation.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Field raises $17M to automate the drudgery of tax prep

Fri, 23 May 2025 22:23:00 -0000

There is a new accounting software in town, coming in with a fresh $17.2 million raise and a desire to shake things up. The company, Field, hopes to automate the grunt work. “The tax industry is facing a genuine crisis,” Leroy Kerry, Field’s co-founder CEO, told TechCrunch.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Brex partners with former competitor Zip, with an eye on reducing cash burn to get to an IPO

Fri, 23 May 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Brex has once again made the surprising, but perhaps realistic, decision to partner with another one-time competitor. This time Zip, the CEOs of both companies told TechCrunch exclusively. In April 2022, fintech Brex announced it was making “a big push” into both the enterprise and software.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sylndr, with fresh $15.7M, allows users to buy, sell, finance, and service used cars in Egypt

Thu, 22 May 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Cairo-based Sylndr has raised $15.7 million as it expands beyond online used car sales into auto financing, servicing, and tools for dealers. The round was led by Development Partners International’s Nclude Fund and included follow-on investments from Algebra Ventures and Nclude.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gravitee, a platform that helps companies manage APIs, raises $60M

Thu, 22 May 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Gravitee, a platform designed to help companies manage their APIs and other digital traffic pipelines, has raised $60 million in a Series C funding round led by Sixth Street Growth with participation from Riverside Acceleration Capital and Albion VC.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Adaptation Ventures is a new angel investor group focused on disability and accessibility tech

Wed, 21 May 2025 20:00:00 -0000

The global assistive technology market was valued at more than $22 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow substantially by 2030.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AI video startup Moonvalley lands $53M, according to filing

Wed, 21 May 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Roughly a month after Moonvalley, a Los Angeles-based startup developing AI tools for video creation, said it secured $43 million in new funding, the company has raised more, according to a filing with the SEC.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Y Combinator startup Firecrawl is ready to pay $1M to hire three AI agents as employees

Tue, 20 May 2025 19:57:00 -0000

Y Combinator startup Firecrawl is back on the hunt for AI agent employees, after a previous attempt to hire one didn't go as planned.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Acorns acquires family wealth and digital memory platform EarlyBird

Tue, 20 May 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Savings and investing startup Acorns has acquired EarlyBird, an investment gifting platform for families, the company told TechCrunch exclusively. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. As part of the acquisition, EarlyBird will shut down, and all customer accounts will officially close on June 23.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bain bets on Indian domestic work startup Pronto even as rivals face criticism

Mon, 19 May 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Pronto, which provides cleaning, laundry and home services within 10 minutes, has raised $2M at a $12.5M valuation.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AI note-taking app Granola raises $43M at $250M valuation, launches collaborative features

Mon, 19 May 2025 09:30:00 -0000

AI-powered notetaking app Granola is raising $43 million in funding at a $250 million valuation. It is also launching a team sharing feature.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tensor9 helps vendors deploy their software into any environment using digital twins

Fri, 16 May 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Enterprises want access to new software and AI tools but can’t risk sending their sensitive data out to a third-party software-as-a-service (SaaS) providers. Tensor9 looks to help software companies land more enterprise customers by helping them deploy their software directly into a customer’s tech stack.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Anthropic, Google score win by nabbing OpenAI-backed Harvey as a user

Fri, 16 May 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Popular legal AI tool Harvey will now be using leading foundation models from Anthropic and Google, moving beyond strictly using OpenAI’s, Harvey announced in a blog post on Tuesday. This is noteworthy because Harvey is one of the OpenAI Startup Fund’s most successful early-backed portfolio companies.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Realta Fusion taps $36M in fresh funds for its fusion-in-a-bottle reactor

Thu, 15 May 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Realta hopes to build power plants cheaply enough to supply power as low as $40 per megawatt-hour.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Improvements in ‘reasoning’ AI models may slow down soon, analysis finds

Thu, 15 May 2025 09:30:00 -0000

An analysis by Epoch AI, a nonprofit AI research institute, suggests the AI industry may not be able to eke massive performance gains out of reasoning AI models for much longer. As soon as within a year, progress from reasoning models could slow down, according to the report’s findings.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AllTrails debuts $80/year membership that includes AI-powered smart routes

Wed, 14 May 2025 20:00:00 -0000

AllTrails, the hiking and biking companion that was named 2023’s iPhone App of the Year, is launching a new premium membership called “Peak” that includes an upgraded feature set. This $80-per-year subscription will introduce AI tools to build custom routes, real-time trail condition forecasts, trail traffic heatmaps, and a feature that lets you identify trees

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This American VC is betting on European defense tech; that’s still very unusual

Wed, 14 May 2025 09:30:00 -0000

VCs are known to move in herds, which is why Eric Slesinger stands out a bit. While most American investors chase AI startups or U.S.-based defense tech startups, the former CIA officer is hunting for defense tech deals in Europe.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

DeepSeek: Everything you need to know about the AI chatbot app

Tue, 13 May 2025 20:00:00 -0000

DeepSeek has gone viral. Chinese AI lab DeepSeek broke into the mainstream consciousness this week after its chatbot app rose to the top of the Apple App Store charts (and Google Play, as well).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

FBI and Dutch police seize and shut down botnet of hacked routers

Tue, 13 May 2025 09:30:00 -0000

U.S. authorities indicted three Russians and one Kazakhstan national for hacking and selling access to a botnet made of vulnerable internet-connected devices.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Clay authorizes employee tender at a $1.5B valuation led by Sequoia

Mon, 12 May 2025 20:00:00 -0000

It took seven years of hard work for Kareem Amin, co-founder and CEO of sales automation startup Clay, to see the company’s product finally take off in 2022.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Social media startup Fizz sues Instacart and Partiful for trademark infringement over new Fizz app

Mon, 12 May 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Social media startup Fizz is suing grocery delivery giant Instacart and party planning app Partiful for trademark infringement, the company announced on Thursday. Earlier this week, Instacart launched a new drinks and snack delivery app for parties called Fizz and announced that Partiful had integrated Fizz directly into its platform.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Breathe lands $21M Series B to predict battery performance

Fri, 09 May 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Breathe has developed a suite of tools that it says helps automakers and others get the most out of their batteries.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ox Security lands a fresh $60M to scan for vulnerabilities in code

Fri, 09 May 2025 09:30:00 -0000

As “vibe coding” gains in popularity and tech companies push devs in their employ to embrace generative AI tools, a platform that scans for vulnerabilities in AI-generated code has raised a fresh round of funding.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Agree.com raises $7.2M to take on Docusign, Bill.com with AI

Thu, 08 May 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Agree.com says its AI-powered e-signature platform is different from competitors because it includes invoicing and payment processing. That’s why the company might have a shot at tackling the industry goliath, Docusign.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Relevance AI raises $24M to help businesses build AI agents

Thu, 08 May 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Individuals may work closely with AI agents as they become increasingly prevalent in the workplace. According to a report by Boston Consulting Group, the market for AI agents is expected to grow at a 45% compound annual growth rate over the next five years.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Social Agent’s new app lets you book a photographer within 30 minutes

Wed, 07 May 2025 20:00:00 -0000

There’s an unspoken pressure nowadays to share all your special moments online, whether it be birthdays, graduations, or engagements. However, not everyone has the skills to take high-quality pictures, and often, people find themselves too distracted to snap the perfect shot.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Revelo’s LatAm talent network sees strong demand from US companies, thanks to AI

Wed, 07 May 2025 09:30:00 -0000

While many tech companies are mandating that their employees return to their offices, and putting an emphasis on building in-person teams, they are also turning in droves to Latin America to find developer talent — especially for post-training AI models.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ara Partners new $800M fund will decarbonize old industrial assets

Tue, 06 May 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Ara Partners recently raised an $800 million infrastructure fund focused on reducing carbon emissions in industrial sectors.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sam Altman’s World unveils a mobile verification device ... and more

Tue, 06 May 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Tools for Humanity, the startup behind the World human verification project that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman co-founded, plans to unveil Wednesday a mobile device designed to help people determine the difference between a human and an AI agent. Also, the dating app Raw claims it uses end-to-end encryption, but spilled its users' dating preferences and granular location data to the open web.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AI sales tax startup Kintsugi had doubled its valuation in 6 months

Mon, 05 May 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Kintsugi, a Silicon Valley-based startup that helps companies offload and automate their sales tax compliance, has raised $18 million in new funding led by global indirect tax technology solution provider Vertex. The startup plans to enable more small and medium businesses to use its AI-enabled capabilities for tax calculations and filings.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sam Altman’s World unveils a mobile verification device

Mon, 05 May 2025 09:00:00 -0000

Tools for Humanity, the startup behind the World human verification project that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman co-founded, plans to unveil Wednesday a mobile device designed to help people determine the difference between a human and an AI agent. The company, which is debuting the device during its its “At Last” event in San Francisco.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Supio, an AI-powered legal analysis platform, lands $60M

Fri, 02 May 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Supio, a startup that uses AI to automate data collection and analysis for legal teams, has raised $60 million in a funding round led by Sapphire Ventures with participation from Mayfield and Thomson Reuters Ventures.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Startups launch products to catch people using AI cheating app Cluely

Fri, 02 May 2025 09:30:00 -0000

AI cheating startup Cluely went viral last week with bold claims that its hidden in-browser window is “undetectable” and can be used to “cheat on everything” from job interviews to exams. But some startups are claiming they can catch Cluely’s users.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Grouphug is a stealth-mode startup that plans use AI inside WhatsApp groups

Thu, 01 May 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Veterans of the European startup scene, who’ve launched multiple consumer apps in the past, are partly coming out of stealth Tuesday with a new app. On the face of it, Grouphug will simply generate memes from the archive of a group WhatsApp chat.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Near Space Labs nabs $20M to take its high-res imaging Swift robots into the stratosphere

Thu, 01 May 2025 09:30:00 -0000

When it comes to creating images of the earth from above, satellites, drones and planes are the air and spacecraft that tend to come to mind. But a startup called Near Space Labs is taking a very different approach to high-resolution photos from up high.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hoofprint Biome boosts cow nutrition while slashing methane burps

Wed, 30 Apr 2025 20:00:00 -0000

The startup's enzymes modify a cow’s microbiome using enzymes, slashing methane while boosting the nutrients available to the cow.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From coding tests to billion-dollar startups, Ali Partovi’s eight-year experiment is paying off

Wed, 30 Apr 2025 09:30:00 -0000

In Silicon Valley, where the same high-wattage names tend to dominate the headlines, Ali Partovi has long wielded outsized influence despite limited name recognition.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

RepAir Carbon is making carbon removal machines inspired by batteries

Tue, 29 Apr 2025 20:00:00 -0000

RepAir recently raised a $15 million extension to its Series A.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bezos-backed Slate Auto debuts analog EV pickup truck that is decidedly anti-Tesla

Tue, 29 Apr 2025 09:30:00 -0000

A new American electric vehicle startup called Slate Auto has made its debut, and it’s about as anti-Tesla as it gets. It’s affordable, deeply customizable, and very analog. It has manual windows and it doesn’t come with a main infotainment screen. Heck, it isn’t even painted.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Datadog acquires AI-powered observability startup Metaplane

Mon, 28 Apr 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Cloud monitoring and security platform Datadog on Wednesday announced that it has acquired Metaplane, an AI-powered data observability startup, for an undisclosed amount. In a press release, Datadog said that the deal “accelerates” its expansion into data observability, building on the launch of related products.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ex-Meta engineer raises $14M for Lace AI, a revenue generation software startup

Mon, 28 Apr 2025 09:30:00 -0000

As an AI engineer at Meta, Boris Valkov helped build PyTorch, one of the world’s largest machine learning libraries. During his time there, Valkov realized that artificial intelligence “was about to unlock capabilities…in the application layer in the software stack.”

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

British startup Isembard lands $9M to reshore manufacturing for critical industries

Fri, 25 Apr 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Geopolitical pressures are accelerating a demand in many countries and regions to reshore — that is, to redevelop critical industry infrastructure, and to bring back businesses, which had moved or outsourced some or all of their industrial operations to cheaper countries further away. But that is easier said than done.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Endor Labs, which builds tools to scan AI-generated code for vulnerabilities, lands $93M

Fri, 25 Apr 2025 09:30:00 -0000

AI-generated code is no doubt changing how software is built, but it’s also introducing new security challenges. More than 50% of organizations encounter security issues with AI-produced code sometimes or frequently, according to a late 2023 survey by developer security platform Synk.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fluent Ventures backs replicated startup models in emerging markets

Thu, 24 Apr 2025 20:00:00 -0000

A new venture firm aims to prove that the most successful startup ideas don’t have to be born or scaled in Silicon Valley. Fluent Ventures, a global early-stage fund, is backing founders replicating proven business models from Western markets in fintech, digital health, and commerce across emerging markets.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vibe coding helps Supabase nab $200M at $2B valuation just seven months after its last raise

Thu, 24 Apr 2025 12:45:00 -0000

In 2020, when open source database Supabase was founded, its New Zealand-based CEO, Paul Copplestone, couldn’t have imagined it would be sitting in the sweet spot for 2025’s biggest trend: vibe coding.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Manychat taps $140M to boost its business messaging platform with AI

Wed, 23 Apr 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Chatbots and other kinds of AI agents — and the companies that build them — may feel like a dime a dozen these days. But the truth is that, for both businesses and consumers, some may be infinitely more useful (and perhaps less dystopian) than others.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Superpower wants to help people detect and address health issues before symptoms appear

Wed, 23 Apr 2025 09:30:00 -0000

A startup called Superpower is publicly launching what it calls the world’s first super-app that is designed to help people better understand and take care of their health. For $499, the startup offers biannual lab testing that analyzes over 100 blood biomarkers across 21 categories

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Famed AI researcher launches controversial startup to replace all human workers everywhere

Tue, 22 Apr 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Every now and then, a Silicon Valley startup launches with such an “absurdly” described mission that it’s difficult to discern if the startup is for real or just satire. Such is the case with Mechanize, a startup whose founder – and the non-profit AI research organization he founded called Epoch

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

OpenAI’s new reasoning AI models hallucinate more

Tue, 22 Apr 2025 09:30:00 -0000

OpenAI’s recently launched o3 and o4-mini AI models are state-of-the-art in many respects. However, the new models still hallucinate, or make things up — in fact, they hallucinate more than several of OpenAI’s older models. Hallucinations have proven to be one of the biggest and most difficult problems to solve in AI

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Deck raises $12M to ‘Plaid-ify” any website using AI

Mon, 21 Apr 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Deck, a startup that claims to be building “the Plaid for the rest of the internet,” has raised $12 million in a Series A funding round — about nine months after closing its seed financing, it tells TechCrunch exclusively. The new raise, led by Infinity Ventures, brings Montreal-based Deck’s total raised

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Capsule captures $12M to build the next version of its AI video editor for brands

Mon, 21 Apr 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Capsule is upgrading its AI-powered video editing assistant for marketing, sales, and media teams following the close of a $12 million round of Series A funding, the company announced on Wednesday. The upgraded editor will include new features like AI suggestions and support for real-time collaboration.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Former Tesla supply chain leaders create Atomic, an AI inventory solution

Fri, 18 Apr 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Tesla famously struggled to scale up production of the Model 3 sedan in 2018 — so much so that CEO Elon Musk said his company was weeks away from collapsing. That near-death experience helped spawn a whole new company called Atomic that’s built around using AI to streamline supply chains. Co-founded by former Tesla employees

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

OpenAI says it may ‘adjust’ its safety requirements if a rival lab releases ‘high-risk’ AI

Fri, 18 Apr 2025 09:30:00 -0000

In an update to its Preparedness Framework, the internal framework OpenAI uses to decide whether AI models are safe and what safeguards, if any, are needed during development and release, OpenAI said that it may “adjust” its requirements if a rival AI lab releases a “high-risk” system without comparable safeguards.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Marshmallow, the UK insurance startup for migrants, raises $90M at a $2B+ valuation

Thu, 17 Apr 2025 20:00:00 -0000

U.K. startup Marshmallow has blown up over the years by using innovations in data science to build car insurance policies for immigrants and other consumers who have been overlooked or priced out of traditional insurance.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fusion power has a fuel problem; Hexium has a laser-powered solution

Thu, 17 Apr 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Hexium has emerged from stealth with $8 million in seed funding.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Forerunner’s long game: As startups stall before IPO, all options are on the table

Wed, 16 Apr 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Thirteen years ago, Forerunner Ventures began helping to usher in a new era of consumer startups, including Warby Parker, Bonobos, and Glossier. None has gone through a traditional IPO process. Warby Parker was taken public through a special purpose acquisition vehicle. Bonobos was acquired by Walmart. Glossier is still privately held.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Conifer locks down $20M seed round for its ‘drop-in’ electric hub motor

Wed, 16 Apr 2025 09:30:00 -0000

A handful of engineers who worked at Lucid Motors and on Apple’s electric car project have launched a new startup that puts a fresh spin on electric hub motors.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why Nest co-founder Matt Rogers is still bullish on HVAC

Tue, 15 Apr 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Matt Rogers says Quilt is picking up where his old startup, Nest, left off.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Parallel Systems is building autonomous electric rail for short-distance freight

Tue, 15 Apr 2025 09:30:00 -0000

The business of moving goods in the United States is dominated by trucks, which handles about two-thirds of the 20.2 billion tons of freight that’s transported annually. Parallel Systems founder and CEO Matt Soule wants to change that by putting a modern autonomous and electric twist on the centuries-old railroad system.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Drafted uses AI and video resumes to help early-career professionals land jobs

Mon, 14 Apr 2025 20:00:00 -0000

As the job market continues to get more competitive, it’s taking months for new grads to land employment, with many settling for roles that don’t align with their goals.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nuro’s $106M raise backs its shift from delivery robots to licensing autonomy tech

Mon, 14 Apr 2025 09:35:00 -0000

After months of hearty marketing efforts and large-scale technology demos across the U.S., Nuro has secured $106 million in fresh funding to help scale its autonomous driving technology and advance commercial partnerships. The Series E round brings Nuro’s total funding raised to $2.2 billion and its valuation to $6 billion.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tessell snags $60M to drive data management at scale

Fri, 11 Apr 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Tessell, a startup developing a multi-cloud database-as-a-service, has raised $60 million in a new funding round led by WestBridge Capital ahead of its plans to expand its market presence and launch an AI-powered conversational database management service.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Solve Intelligence raises fresh $12M to bring AI to IP, patent workflows

Fri, 11 Apr 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Legal tech has come a long way, but the bulk of an intellectual property or patent lawyer’s work today is still done with spreadsheets, word processors and PDFs.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sizl raises $3.5M to expand its cook-to-order food delivery service

Thu, 10 Apr 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Dark kitchens– also referred to as ghost kitchens, cloud kitchens, or virtual kitchens– often receive criticism for their food quality. Sizl, a cook-to-order delivery service based in Chicago, seeks to change this perception by delivering meals made with fresh ingredients in around 30 minutes flat.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

XL Batteries is using petrochemical infrastructure to store solar and wind power

Thu, 10 Apr 2025 09:30:00 -0000

The startup has commissioned a demonstration unit of its organic flow battery.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SF Mayor Lurie to tech CEOs: ‘How can we get you back?’

Wed, 09 Apr 2025 20:00:00 -0000

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie wants to bring his city back to its glory days. And he’s convinced tech leaders — who often pitch utopian ideals of their own — can help him deliver. “I’m a mayor that is picking up the phone and calling CEOs,” said Lurie during TechCrunch’s StrictlyVC event on Thursday night.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SignalFire raises over $1B as LPs embrace data-driven investing

Wed, 09 Apr 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Thirteen years ago, when Chris Farmer founded early-stage venture firm SignalFire with data analysis at the core of its investment strategy, many were skeptical about the approach — conventional wisdom dictated that nascent companies didn’t have enough data to make investment algorithms effective. “This was a very radical idea, and everyone thought I was crazy.”

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

OpenAI just made its first cybersecurity investment

Tue, 08 Apr 2025 20:00:00 -0000

OpenAI just co-led a $43 million Series A into deepfake defense startup Adaptive Security.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thatch raises $40M to give employees more control of their health care choices

Tue, 08 Apr 2025 09:00:00 -0000

Thatch, a startup that aims to transform the health insurance experience for employers and employees alike, has raised $40 million in a Series B round of funding, it tells TechCrunch exclusively.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Space solar startup Aetherflux raises $50M to launch first space demo in 2026

Mon, 07 Apr 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Aetherflux, the space solar startup founded by billionaire co-founder of Robinhood Baiju Bhatt, has raised a $50 million in a Series A round as it works to launch its first low Earth orbit demonstration in 2026.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Parasail says its fleet of on-demand GPUs is larger than Oracle’s entire cloud

Mon, 07 Apr 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Cloud infrastructure is dominated by several large industry players: AWS, Microsoft’s Azure, and Google Cloud. While to some it may look like AI is headed in a similar direction, the founders of Parasail think AI infrastructure will look very different — and are betting their company’s fate on it.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The affidavit of a Rippling employee caught spying for Deel reads like a movie

Fri, 04 Apr 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Rippling released the affidavit of the its employee who admitted he was spying for Deel.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Meet Ponte Labor, a startup matching Hispanic immigrants to jobs using WhatsApp

Fri, 04 Apr 2025 09:30:00 -0000

While working on their MBAs at Harvard Business School, Colombian immigrants Stephanie Murra and Lorenza Vélez noticed that most of the workers in the cafeteria were Hispanic. In conversations with them, a common theme kept coming up: how difficult it was for people who legally moved to the U.S. from Spanish-speaking countries.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mark Cuban backs Skylight, a TikTok alternative built on Bluesky’s underlying technology

Thu, 03 Apr 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Skylight, a startup taking on TikTok with a more open alternative, is launching its mobile app to the public on Tuesday after just ten weeks of active development.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Runway releases an impressive new video-generating AI model

Thu, 03 Apr 2025 09:30:00 -0000

AI startup Runway on Monday released what it claims is one of the highest-fidelity AI-powered video generators yet. Called Gen-4, the model is rolling out to the company’s individual and enterprise customers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ente wants to take on Google Photos with its privacy-first photo storage service

Wed, 02 Apr 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Despite Google’s intentions for its default image viewing and editing app for Android, the Photos app has, over the years, become one of the most popular photo backup services around. In fact, it was one of the most attractive offerings for years until it stopped offering unlimited storage in 2020.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Javice found guilty of defrauding JPMorgan in $175M startup purchase

Wed, 02 Apr 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Charlie Javice, the founder of student loan application startup Frank that was purchased by JP Morgan for $175 million, was found guilty on Friday of defrauding the bank by greatly inflating the customer count.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Temporal lands $146 million at a flat valuation, eyes agentic AI expansion

Tue, 01 Apr 2025 20:15:00 -0000

Seattle-based Temporal has made its name over the last several years in the world of microservices — specifically providing a platform to orchestrate the messy business of building and operating integrations and updates across disparate services and apps in the cloud. But the AI boom has come at the company fast.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why HoneyBook’s $140M in ARR may finally justify its $2.4B ZIRP-era valuation

Tue, 01 Apr 2025 09:30:00 -0000

HoneyBook, a startup last valued in late 2021 at $2.4 billion, told TechCrunch that it hit $140 million annualized recurring revenue (ARR). This makes HoneyBook one of the few startups with peak-VC-era valuations to report their financials after the market cooled.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Twin’s first AI agent is an invoice retrieval agent for Qonto customers

Mon, 31 Mar 2025 20:00:00 -0000

When Twin came out of stealth in January 2024, AI agents were more of a theoretical concept than a reality. Today, the Paris-based is releasing an automation agent in partnership with Qonto, the fintech startup that offers business bank accounts to more than 500,000 customers across Europe.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Has GetReal cracked the code on AI deepfakes? $18M and an impressive client list says yes

Mon, 31 Mar 2025 09:30:00 -0000

The proliferation of scarily realistic deepfakes is one of the more pernicious byproducts of the rise of AI, and falling victim to scams based on these deepfakes is already costing companies millions of dollars — not to mention the implications these could have on national security.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

OpenAI’s viral Studio Ghibli moment highlights AI copyright concerns

Sat, 29 Mar 2025 20:00:00 -0000

It’s only been a day since ChatGPT’s new AI image generator went live, and social media feeds are already flooded with AI-generated memes in the style of Studio Ghibli, the cult-favorite Japanese animation studio behind blockbuster films such as “My Neighbor Totoro” and “Spirited Away”.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Outreach founder Manny Medina has a new startup that helps AI agents get paid

Fri, 28 Mar 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Medina's new startup, called Paid, helps agentic startups profitably charge for their bots.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Plural’s platform allows enterprises to manage their Kubernetes clusters in one place

Thu, 27 Mar 2025 20:00:00 -0000

When Sam Weaver was vice president of product management at Unqork, he realized that the company needed a better way to manage its sprawling network of Kubernetes clusters — which are groups of computing nodes. When Unqork couldn’t find anything off the shelf, it assembled a 15-person team to build a Kubernetes management product.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pruna AI open sources its AI model optimization framework

Thu, 27 Mar 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Pruna AI, a European startup that has been working on compression algorithms for AI models, is making its optimization framework open source on Thursday. Pruna AI has been creating a framework that applies several efficiency methods, such as caching, pruning, quantization and distillation, to a given AI model.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AI creation platform Arcade expands from jewelry to home goods

Wed, 26 Mar 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Arcade, a generative AI marketplace for designing jewelry, is expanding its offerings to include home goods, starting with rugs. The company on Monday also introduced a new feature called “Match My Room,” which allows users to upload a photo of their room so that their design complements the existing colors and style

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mortgage as an employee benefit? Kleiner Perkins leads $23.5M Series A for Multiply Mortgage

Wed, 26 Mar 2025 09:30:00 -0000

After hitting record lows at the start of the pandemic, mortgage rates began to climb in 2022 and haven’t come down significantly since. With 30-year mortgage rates hovering at over 6.5% today (they were as low as 2.49% in 2020!), buying a home is simply not that attainable for many people.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Aletiq secures $6.5M for its SaaS tool focused on product lifecycle management

Tue, 25 Mar 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Aletiq has raised a €6 million funding round led by Point Nine a few months ago (around $6.5 million at current exchange rates). The French startup is announcing the founding round today. Aletiq has been developing product lifecycle management (PLM) software for manufacturing industrial companies working in aerospace, automotive, electronics, luxury and more.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

1X will test humanoid robots in ‘a few hundred’ homes in 2025

Tue, 25 Mar 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Norwegian robotics startup 1X plans to start early tests of its humanoid robot, Neo Gamma, in “a few hundred to a few thousand” homes by the end of 2025, according to the company’s CEO, Bernt Børnich. “Neo Gamma is going into homes this year.”

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wayve CEO shares his key ingredients for scaling autonomous driving tech

Mon, 24 Mar 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Wayve co-founder and CEO Alex Kendall sees promise in bringing his autonomous vehicle startup’s tech to market. That is, if Wayve sticks to its strategy of ensuring its automated driving software is cheap to run, hardware agnostic, and can be applied to advanced driver assistance systems, robotaxis, and even robotics.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

ClearGrid, armed with a fresh $10M, is developing AI to improve debt collection in MENA

Mon, 24 Mar 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Debt collection in emerging markets often feels outdated, and can be costly — damaging borrower trust. As consumer lending surges and regulators push for fairer practices, legacy collection outfits are struggling to maintain pace. ClearGrid aims to help modernize debt collection — and recovery — with AI.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Amid calls for sovereign EU tech stack, Evroc raises $55M to build a hyperscale cloud in Europe

Fri, 21 Mar 2025 20:00:00 -0000

A Swedish startup aiming to build a hyperscale cloud company in Europe has raised €50.6 million ($55 million) in Series A funding. Evroc, as it’s called, says it’s laying the foundations for a “secure, sovereign and sustainable hyperscale cloud to reimagine the digital future of Europe.”

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Factorial snaps up $120M from General Catalyst to boost its HR sales and marketing

Fri, 21 Mar 2025 09:30:00 -0000

While Rippling and Deel duke it out in the field and in the courtroom alleging illegal sales and marketing tactics, here’s another way to boost business growth: pick up a massive sum of cash to expand your operations in those areas. Factorial, the Barcelona-based “unicorn” startup that provides an all-in-one HR platform.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Arcade raises $12M from Perplexity co-founder’s new fund to make AI agents less awful

Thu, 20 Mar 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Arcade, an AI agent infrastructure startup founded by former Okta exec Alex Salazar and former Redis engineer Sam Partee, has raised $12 million from Laude Ventures. Laude is the new fund launched in 2024 by Perplexity co-founder Andy Konwinski, the UC Berkeley computer scientist who also co-founded Databricks. This isn’t the only check Laude has cut.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rippling sues Deel, Deel denies ‘all legal wrongdoing’, and Slack is the main witness

Thu, 20 Mar 2025 09:30:00 -0000

It’s gloves off in one of the more tense rivalries in the world of startups. HR company Rippling Monday morning announced a lawsuit against Deel, another big player in the same space. The dramatic 50-page complaint alleges racketeering, misappropriation of trade secrets, tortious interference, unfair competition, and aiding & abetting breach of fiduciary duty.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Flexport accuses former employees of stealing its source code to create a rival startup

Wed, 19 Mar 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Flexport accuses Freightmate of being the product of "theft, not ingenuity" in its lawsuit against the startup.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Photo calorie app Cal AI, downloaded over a million times, was built by two teenagers

Wed, 19 Mar 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Cal AI has generated over 5 million downloads in 8 months, it says. Founders Zach Yadegari and Henry Langmack are just 18.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tern AI’s low-cost GPS alternative actually works

Tue, 18 Mar 2025 20:00:00 -0000

We’ve all experienced that moment of frustration when the GPS glitches and you miss an exit on the highway. The team at Tern AI, which is building a low-cost GPS alternative, says that’s because the current technology is limited by its reliance on satellite positioning.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bria lands new funding for AI models trained on licensed data

Tue, 18 Mar 2025 09:30:00 -0000

AI-powered image generators, which are at the center of a number of copyright lawsuits against AI companies, are frequently trained on massive amounts of data from public websites. Most of these companies argue that fair use doctrine shields their data scraping and training practices. But many copyright holders disagree.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kerry Washington invests in wedding marketplace Cheersy

Mon, 17 Mar 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Kerry Washington is expanding her angel investment portfolio, serving as lead investor in the pre-seed round of the wedding marketplace Cheersy.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Omni raises $69M to design tools that help companies better analyze their data

Mon, 17 Mar 2025 08:30:00 -0000

Employees at many companies today are expected to make decisions through careful data analysis, but the tools they need to do it are clunky, slow or — in some cases — don’t exist.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Y Combinator’s police surveillance darling Flock Safety raises $275M at $7.5B valuation

Sat, 15 Mar 2025 10:00:00 -0000

Flock Safety and one of its long-time VCs, Bedrock Capital, announced Thursday that the startup raised a fresh $275 million at a $7.5 billion valuation. Flock makes computer vision-enabled video surveillance technology used by law enforcement as well as businesses, property management companies, and so on.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How La Fourche, an online organic supermarket, is thriving after q-commerce’s busted flush

Fri, 14 Mar 2025 20:00:00 -0000

La Fourche is just seven years old but it has been quite a rollercoaster for the French startup. During this time, the online grocery retailer has gone through a global pandemic, followed by the rise of venture-backed quick-commerce startups that promised grocery deliveries in less than 15 minutes, followed by the implosion of that vertical.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Scimplify raises $40M to help manufacturers access specialty chemicals

Fri, 14 Mar 2025 09:30:00 -0000

Scimplify has raised $40 million in a new equity round backed by Accel to expand its presence in the U.S. and enter new markets.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Startup studio Hexa acquires majority stake in Veevart, a vertical SaaS platform for museums

Thu, 13 Mar 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Hexa is trying something new. Instead of fostering startups from the ground up and incubating them for the first year or so, the Paris-based startup studio is acquiring a majority stake in Veevart, a vertical software-as-a-service company for museums that provides solutions for ticketing, fundraising, CRM and collection management.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

General Fusion fires up its newest steampunk fusion reactor

Thu, 13 Mar 2025 09:30:00 -0000

The reactor, called Lawson Machine 26 (LM26), is General Fusion’s latest iteration in a string of devices that have tested various parts of its unique approach.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Radiology AI software provider Gleamer expands into MRI with two small acquisitions

Wed, 12 Mar 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Medical imaging is a broad term that encompasses several distinct technologies. After working on AI-powered tools to enhance X-rays and mammographies, French startup Gleamer now aims to tackle magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Instead of starting from scratch, Gleamer has acquired two startups that have already been working on AI-powered MRI analysis: Pixyl and Caerus Medica

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Anna Patterson’s Ceramic.ai looks to help enterprises build AI models faster and more efficiently

Wed, 12 Mar 2025 09:00:00 -0000

Anna Patterson has had a storied career in Silicon Valley. She founded three startups, including search engine upstarts Xift and Cuil, as well as recall.archive.org, which became the Internet Archive.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Intangible AI, a no-code 3D creation tool for filmmakers and game designers, raises $4M

Tue, 11 Mar 2025 20:00:00 -0000

Intangible AI, now backed by $4 million in seed funding, offers an AI-powered creative tool that allows users to create 3D world concepts with text prompts to aid creative professionals across a variety of industries.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

CollX raises $10M to grow its card collection marketplace

Tue, 11 Mar 2025 09:30:00 -0000

CollX, a company offering an online trading card marketplace, has raised $10 million in Series A funding. The round was co-led by Austin-based Brand Foundry Ventures and Philadelphia-based 114 Ventures, both of which were previous investors in the company. Other investors such as Next Coast Ventures, FJ Labs, and Ben Franklin Technology Partners also participated .

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alpine Eagle secures funding from European backers for counter-drone tech amid rising threats

Mon, 10 Mar 2025 20:00:00 -0000

The war in Ukraine has brought drones to the forefront of modern warfare, creating a surge in demand for counter-drone systems. However, legacy solutions to counter drones, such as ground-based defense systems and cyber warfare, often come with a hefty price tag. For German startup Alpine Eagle, these solutions fall short:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Turing raises $111M at a $2.2B valuation

Mon, 10 Mar 2025 09:40:00 -0000

As AI companies race to improve the accuracy of large language models (LLMs) and apps built on top of them, a startup that has emerged as a key partner in that effort is announcing a significant round of funding. Turing, which works with armies of engineers to contribute code to AI projects

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ahead of a possible $4 billion IPO, CoreWeave’s founders already pocketed $488 million

Fri, 07 Mar 2025 21:00:00 -0000

CoreWeave’s initial S-1 document for its upcoming IPO is full of surprises. Backed by Nvidia, CoreWeave runs an AI-specific cloud service from its network of 32 data centers that together have more than 250,000 Nvidia GPUs as of the end of 2024, according to the company.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From high school science project to $18.3M: AI-accelerated enzymes are coming for fast fashion’s plastic waste

Fri, 07 Mar 2025 10:30:00 -0000

A U.K. startup, originating from founder Jacob Nathan’s high school science project on using enzymes to break down plastic waste, has secured an oversubscribed $18.3 million in Series A funding. Founded in 2019 in London, Epoch Biodesign now a 30+ strong multidisciplinary team of chemists, biologists and software engineers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Moonwatt secures $8.3M to dial up solar’s staying power with sodium-ion storage

Thu, 06 Mar 2025 21:00:00 -0000

The drive to decarbonize our economies through electrification and clean energy continues to generate momentum around battery technologies, as storage has a key role to play in enabling the green transition. While renewables are clean sources of energy compared to burning fossil fuels, their power output isn’t always consistent.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mach Industries, founded by 21-year-old Ethan Thornton, lands US Army contract, builds weapons factory

Thu, 06 Mar 2025 10:10:00 -0000

Sequoia-backed Mach Industries, the defense tech founded by 21-year-old Ethan Thornton, landed a contract with the U.S. Army and has plans for its first factory, Thornton told TechCrunch. The factory will be 115,000 square feet in Huntington Beach, California, where Mach’s headquarters is located, CEO Thorton said.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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

Wed, 05 Mar 2025 21:00:00 -0000

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cloudsmith raises $23M to improve software supply chain security

Wed, 05 Mar 2025 10:00:00 -0000

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

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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

Tue, 04 Mar 2025 21:00:00 -0000

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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

Tue, 04 Mar 2025 10:30:00 -0000

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Inception emerges from stealth with a new type of AI model

Mon, 03 Mar 2025 21:00:00 -0000

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Europe’s Relay pulls in $35M Series A after applying Asia’s model to delivery

Mon, 03 Mar 2025 10:10:00 -0000

Being somewhat later than Europe in adopting the idea of parcel delivery, much of Asia built its delivery infrastructure around e-commerce, effectively ‘Uberising’ how deliveries worked down to the last mile.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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

Fri, 28 Feb 2025 21:00:00 -0000

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Anagram takes a gamified approach to employee cybersecurity training

Fri, 28 Feb 2025 10:20:00 -0000

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Redalpine, Founders Fund back Magdrive’s electric thruster business

Thu, 27 Feb 2025 21:00:00 -0000

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Perfect taps $23M to fix the flaws in recruitment with AI

Thu, 27 Feb 2025 09:20:00 -0000

“Agentic AI” is the concept of the moment. Developers big and small are rushing to build apps to leapfrog the heavy lifting needed to employ generative AI in specific contexts… and investors are rushing to fund the most interesting of these.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Patlytics raises $14M for its patent analytics platform

Wed, 26 Feb 2025 21:00:00 -0000

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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

Wed, 26 Feb 2025 10:20:00 -0000

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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

Tue, 25 Feb 2025 21:00:00 -0000

The AI observability platform has raised $70 million in Series C funding.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Solar crushed 2024, but emissions were up as industry used more natural gas

Tue, 25 Feb 2025 09:40:00 -0000

Solar and wind together now represent nearly a quarter of electricity demand and nearly 10% of all energy consumption in the U.S.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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

Mon, 24 Feb 2025 21:00:00 -0000

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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

Mon, 24 Feb 2025 10:20:00 -0000

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hyperlume wants to make chip-to-chip communication faster and more efficient

Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:00:00 -0000

Data centers consumed 4.4% of U.S. electricity in 2023 and are estimated to use up to 12% by 2028. The majority of the energy data centers suck up is used to help transfer data from chip to chip. A company called Hyperlume is looking to make that process more energy-efficient while also speeding it up.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Augury raises $73M on a $1B+ valuation for AI to detect malfunctions in factory machines

Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:00 -0000

As companies like Nvidia and SoftBank make industrial robotics into a key focus for future R&D, a startup has raised funding today for another facet of how AI is being used on the factory room floor. Augury, which develops AI-based hardware that measures vibrations, sound, temperature and other factors to understand how machines are working

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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

Thu, 20 Feb 2025 21:00:00 -0000

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Legal tech startup Luminance, backed by the late Mike Lynch, raises $75M

Thu, 20 Feb 2025 10:30:00 -0000

Generative AI is getting better at interpreting dense texts, and this progress has proven to be a boon for startups attacking one of the most complex sets of texts there is: the law. It makes sense then that we’ve been seeing a new burst of activity in the legal tech space

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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

Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:00 -0000

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.”

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mistral releases regional model focused on Arabic language and culture

Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:20:00 -0000

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tofu is building an omni-channel marketing platform for enterprises

Tue, 18 Feb 2025 21:00:00 -0000

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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

Tue, 18 Feb 2025 10:30:00 -0000

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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

Mon, 17 Feb 2025 21:00:00 -0000

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 Googl

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Avride launches sidewalk delivery bots on Uber Eats in Jersey City

Mon, 17 Feb 2025 10:30:00 -0000

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

No-code app builder Softr expands beyond Airtable databases

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 21:00:00 -0000

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SpotDraft taps AI to help streamline contract management

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 10:30:00 -0000

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chestnut Carbon gets $160M to turn old farms into forests

Thu, 13 Feb 2025 21:00:00 -0000

The company buys marginal and degraded farmland, plants them with native trees, and harvests the resulting carbon credits.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Voyantis aims to help companies figure out their customers’ worth

Thu, 13 Feb 2025 10:30:00 -0000

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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

Wed, 12 Feb 2025 21:00:00 -0000

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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

Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:30:00 -0000

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.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman admits that AI’s benefits may not be widely distributed

Tue, 11 Feb 2025 21:00:00 -0000

In a new essay on his personal blog, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said the company is open to a “compute budget,” among other “strange-sounding” ideas, to “enable everyone on Earth to use a lot of AI” and ensure the benefits of the technology are widely distributed.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

PromptLayer is building tools to put non-techies in the driver’s seat of AI app development

Tue, 11 Feb 2025 10:30:00 -0000

The GenAI boom of the last few years has unleashed a wave of startups promising to support the process of prompt engineering — i.e., coming up with instructions to precisely steer an AI chatbot to serve useful output.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hiveclass, a platform for virtual PE classes for kids, raises $1.5M

Mon, 10 Feb 2025 21:00:00 -0000

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020 and schools transitioned to online learning, both Joe Titus and Paul Suhr were concerned about how to maintain their children’s activity levels in the absence of mandatory physical education classes and sports. The two friends’ solution was Hiveclass, a New York-based edtech platform that hosts online courses.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fizz brings on TikTok alum to help build out its marketplace and recommendation engine

Mon, 10 Feb 2025 10:30:00 -0000

Fizz, the college social app, is looking for ways to enhance and expand its platform, and a recent new hire is poised to help drive these ambitions. The company has brought on David Vasquez, who previously served as TikTok’s head of creator monetization and a product lead for TikTok Shop

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pendulum’s AI-driven platform helps enterprises better predict supply and demand

Fri, 07 Feb 2025 21:00:00 -0000

Supply chains have had a tumultuous few years, beginning in 2020, when COVID-19 upended legacy global supply chains. More recently, the “TikTok-ification” of retail has companies like Shein and Temu creating new products constantly as consumer demands change at the same rapid pace.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

European AI startups have raised $8 billion in 2024

Fri, 07 Feb 2025 10:30:00 -0000

In just a few days, France will host the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit, with heads of state flocking to Paris to meet global tech leaders. They’ll most likely announce some big investments and diplomatic agreements focused on safety or the environmental impact of artificial intelligence.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Neuralk-AI is developing AI models specifically designed for structured data

Thu, 06 Feb 2025 21:00:00 -0000

Tabular data is a broad term that encompasses structured data that generally fits into a specific row and column. It can be a SQL database, a spreadsheet, a .CSV file, etc. While there has been tremendous progress on artificial intelligence applied to unstructured and sequential data, these large language models are fuzzy by design.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Archive raises $30M to solve fashion’s pollution problem and Sotira landed $2M to help brands offload and monetize their surplus inventory

Thu, 06 Feb 2025 10:30:00 -0000

The fashion industry has concerned Emily Gittins since adolescence. The sector is, after all, one of the most polluting in the world. According to some sources, it is responsible for nearly 10% of the earth’s CO2 emissions and more than 20% of all water waste. Yet people still want more, fast.; Also,

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Waabi and Volvo team up to build self-driving trucks at scale

Wed, 05 Feb 2025 21:00:00 -0000

Self-driving truck startup Waabi is partnering with Volvo Autonomous Solutions to jointly develop and deploy autonomous trucks, an important milestone as it gets closer to a commercial launch. The tie up also marks Volvo’s second partnership to co-develop self-driving big rigs with a startup partner.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AI agents could birth the first one-person unicorn — but at what societal cost?

Wed, 05 Feb 2025 10:30:00 -0000

Thanks to the advent of cloud computing and distributed digital infrastructure, the one-person micro-enterprise is far from a novel concept. Cheap on-demand compute, remote collaboration, payment processing APIs, social media, and e-commerce marketplaces have all made it easier to “go it alone” as an entrepreneur.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Riot raises $30 million for its cybersecurity product suite focused on employees

Tue, 04 Feb 2025 21:00:00 -0000

French startup Riot has raised a $30 million Series B round after reaching $10 million in annual revenue in 2024. Originally focused on educating employees about cybersecurity risks, the company now wants to go one step further and nudge employees so that they minimize their attack surface.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Custom feed builder Graze is building a business on Bluesky, and investors are paying attention

Tue, 04 Feb 2025 10:30:00 -0000

A startup called Graze, which lets you build your own feeds for the Bluesky social network, has caught investors’ attention. In addition to offering tools to easily build, customize, publish, and manage Bluesky feeds, Graze will soon allow feed creators to monetize their efforts with advertising, sponsored posts, and subscriptions.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Backed by Mayo Clinic, Nutrix’s hardware monitors worker stress

Mon, 03 Feb 2025 21:00:00 -0000

Stress isn’t just bad for you — it’s also bad for your employer. Factoring in absenteeism, diminished productivity, turnover, medical costs, and accidents, the non-profit American Institute of Stress estimates that workplace stress costs U.S. businesses over $300 billion annually. One way to measure stress is by monitoring cortisol levels.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

European embedded banking startup Swan adds another $44 million to its Series B

Mon, 03 Feb 2025 10:30:00 -0000

French startup Swan has raised another €42 million (around $44 million at current exchange rates). The company considers this round as the second part of the Series B round that was originally announced in September 2024. Swan helps other companies offer financial products at scale.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Data analytics startup Athenic AI wants to be an enterprise’s central nervous system

Fri, 31 Jan 2025 21:00:00 -0000

Jared Zhao originally got interested in data analytics during his time at UC Berkeley because he was drawn to how it could turn raw data into a story. Zhao founded his first data analytics startup Polyture in 2021

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Naboo secures $21M for its concierge-style corporate event booking platform

Fri, 31 Jan 2025 10:30:00 -0000

If you’ve ever tried to book a venue for a company event, you’ll know how onerous a task it can be. You have to contact multiple vendors, wait for quotes, evaluate them, see if you can get a good deal, and then get all that approved.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This Bay Area startup is using AI to help families navigate long-term care planning

Thu, 30 Jan 2025 21:00:00 -0000

Lily Vittayaruksku was studying aerospace engineering when her aunt was diagnosed with terminal colon cancer. Her aunt had lived under the same roof as Vittayaruksku while she was growing up and helped raise her.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TravelPerk raises $200M as valuation nearly doubles to $2.7B

Thu, 30 Jan 2025 10:30:00 -0000

Barcelona-based business travel management platform TravelPerk has raised $200 million at a hefty $2.7 billion valuation — almost double the $1.4 billion valuation at its previous fundraise last year. Alongside the raise, TravelPerk also announced it has acquired Swiss startup Yokoy to bring native expenses management into the fray.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alice&Bob raises $104M, says quantum computers based on cat qubits will be ready by 2030

Wed, 29 Jan 2025 21:00:00 -0000

Quantum computing remains something of a holy grail in the world of technology: it promises a huge leap in computing power, but only if someone can figure out how to square away the fault rates that prevent any scaling of the tech.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kodiak has made its first driverless truck deliveries to customer Atlas Energy

Wed, 29 Jan 2025 10:30:00 -0000

Kodiak Robotics has officially handed off two autonomous trucks to customer Atlas Energy Solutions, marking the startup’s first commercial launch. Atlas, a provider of proppant (i.e., sand) and oilfield logistics, received its first Kodiak-equipped trucks in December and began driverless operations in an off-road environment in West Texas’s remote Permian Basin shortly after.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mistral’s origin story has an insuretech founder at its heart

Tue, 28 Jan 2025 21:00:00 -0000

If you’ve been following the AI industry, Mistral should be a familiar name by now. The French AI startup with a $6 billion valuation is arguably the biggest AI company working on foundation models in Europe. Alan, on the other hand, isn’t as well known.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fundraise Up claims its AI can boost nonprofit donations

Tue, 28 Jan 2025 10:45:00 -0000

Many nonprofits are stuck with outdated, expensive, and limited tech that hinders their ability to fund their mission or cause. While most consider adopting tech to be a priority, they’re faced with a number of blockers, including siloed data and issues with integration.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Allara lands $26M to expand women’s hormone telehealth

Mon, 27 Jan 2025 21:00:00 -0000

Growing up with an OB-GYN father, Rachel Blank assumed that most women received excellent gynecological care. She regularly witnessed her dad’s patients thanking him for delivering their child when they would bump into him around town.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Some shareholders of a16z-backed Divvy Homes may not see a dime from $1B sale

Mon, 27 Jan 2025 10:30:00 -0000

The $1 billion acquisition of rent-to-own startup Divvy Homes, which was announced Wednesday, is expected to leave some shareholders without a payout, according to sources familiar with the deal. The terms — and Divvy’s journey from buzzy startup to acquisition target — reflects the rollercoaster ride the proptech industry has endured over the past decade.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Neko, the body-scanning startup co-founded by Spotify’s Daniel Ek, snaps up $260M at a $1.8B valuation

Fri, 24 Jan 2025 21:00:00 -0000

Stockholm startup Neko Health has made a big bet on consumers wanting to learn about their state of health and how to prevent things going wrong. Now, investors are making a big bet on Neko. The startup has raised a fresh $260 million in funding, a Series B that values Neko at $1.8 billion post-money

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sales knowledge automation platform 1up gets a third of its customer leads from memes

Fri, 24 Jan 2025 11:00:00 -0000

When George Avetisov was the founder and CEO of cybersecurity startup HYPR, he spent a lot of time in the trenches with the company’s sales team. He quickly realized that regardless of how good his sales team was, they were consistently pulling in other departments to answer customer questions or fill out technical questionnaires.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vertice raises $50M for its AI-powered SaaS spend platform

Thu, 23 Jan 2025 21:00:00 -0000

London startup Vertice has made a name for itself over the years in the very crowded world of expense management with a focus on applying AI to optimize a single area where businesses, collectively, are currently sinking hundreds of billions of dollars in IT budgets that are exceeding $5 trillion annually.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

US safety regulators expand Ford hands-free driving tech investigation

Thu, 23 Jan 2025 10:45:00 -0000

A U.S. federal safety regulator has “upgraded” its investigation into Ford’s hands-free advanced driver assistance system known as BlueCruise — a required step before a recall can be issued. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Office of Defects Investigation launched a probe into Ford BlueCruise last April after the agency confirmed the system was active.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

At the Microsoft Excel World Championship, selfies and a ‘hype’ tunnel, plus Anthropic plans to release a ‘two-way’ voice mode for Claude and IMDb's founder steps down

Wed, 22 Jan 2025 21:00:00 -0000

An arena. A hype tunnel, the kind through which NBA players typically streak. A competitor dressed in a jersey patterned with a six-pack abs. In a new piece, the New York Times takes readers to an event that organizers call the Microsoft Excel World Championship, a 40-minute, Las Vegas-based competition featuring 12 contestants; Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei says that the company plans to release a “two-way” voice mode for its chatbot, Claude, as well as a memory feature that lets Claude remember more about users and past conversations; IMDb founder steps down as CEO after 35 years

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Teal Health raises $10M to create at-home cervical cancer screenings

Wed, 22 Jan 2025 10:30:00 -0000

The process of getting screened for cervical cancer is quite intimidating. It’s the once-a-year, sometimes life-changing treatment that involves the bright lights of a doctor’s office and an uncomfortable insertion that always seems to last too long.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mark Cuban is ready to fund a TikTok alternative built on Bluesky’s AT Protocol

Tue, 21 Jan 2025 21:00:00 -0000

Entrepreneur and investor Mark Cuban is ready to fund a TikTok alternative built on Bluesky’s AT Protocol, he shared in a TikTok video posted on Wednesday. In anticipation of the coming U.S. TikTok ban, which will go through on Sunday unless paused by the Supreme Court, users have been fleeing to other video platforms

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dub.co is an open-source URL shortener and link attribution engine packed into one

Tue, 21 Jan 2025 11:00:00 -0000

In the last few weeks, PayPal-owned Honey, which claims to find you the best coupon codes for a deal, has been at the center of controversy. Allegedly, the tool sneakily earned affiliate money by changing attributes of product links creators posted on their videos.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chinese AI company MiniMax releases new models it claims are competitive with the industry’s best

Mon, 20 Jan 2025 21:00:00 -0000

Chinese firms continue to release AI models that rival the capabilities of systems developed by OpenAI and other U.S.-based AI companies. This week, MiniMax, an Alibaba- and Tencent-backed startup that has raised around $850 million in venture capital and is valued at more than $2.5 billion, debuted three new models:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hyperline secures $10 million for its automated billing platform

Mon, 20 Jan 2025 11:00:00 -0000

French startup Hyperline wants to build the next-generation Chargebee. Over the past two years, the startup has built a new billing platform that can be used for recurring subscriptions, one-off purchases, usage-based billing and more. Hyperline raised an initial €4 million funding round from Index Ventures back in 2023 ($4.1 million at today’s exchange rate).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nvidia backs MetAI, a Taiwanese startup that creates AI-powered digital twins

Fri, 17 Jan 2025 21:00:00 -0000

Nvidia has been doubling down on the opportunity to build robotics and other industrial AI applications, with the launch of its Omniverse platform, and most recently Mega, an Omniverse Blueprint framework to create digital twins to operate these applications. It’s also investing in digital twin startups to get the effort off the ground.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

EV startup Harbinger’s obsession with simplicity fuels $100M Series B and eBay acquires Caramel

Fri, 17 Jan 2025 11:00:00 -0000

It’s not an easy time to raise money for an electric vehicle startup, especially given how many have failed or are close to failing. But Los Angeles-based Harbinger has pulled it off by taking a hyper-focused approach to electrifying commercial trucking

E-commerce giant eBay has announced plans to acquire Caramel, a startup that helps car sellers and buyers complete the final steps of the transaction — including verification, financing, paperwork, ownership transfer, insurance, and more. Founded out of Los Angeles in 2021, Caramel formally launched last year with some $19 million in funding behind it

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nelly raises $51 million to digitalize medical practices across Europe; Float Financial lands US$48.5M Series B

Thu, 16 Jan 2025 21:00:00 -0000

Nelly wants to become the biggest fintech startup in the healthcare industry. The Berlin-based startup is already working with more than 1,200 medical practices in a handful of European countries. But there are thousands more that could benefit from an upgrade for their administrative workflows.

Float Financial, an expense management and corporate card startup focused on the Canadian market, has raised $48.5 million in a Series B funding round. The Toronto-based fintech likens itself to U.S.-based fintech giants Brex and Ramp but says it is different in that its sole focus is on Canadian SMBs

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AWS pledges to spend $5B in Mexico, launches new Mexico server region

Thu, 16 Jan 2025 10:30:00 -0000

In an announcement Tuesday, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Amazon’s cloud computing division, said it plans to invest $5 billion in Mexico over the next 15 years as a part of a “long-term commitment” in the region.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Venture funding remains stable in France thanks to AI startups

Wed, 15 Jan 2025 21:00:00 -0000

Alex Dewez, a partner at 20VC, just released its highly anticipated State of the French tech ecosystem report. This is a nice followup to Atomico’s State of European Tech report, with a more granular view on French startups in particular.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Raspberry AI raises $24M from a16z to accelerate fashion design

Wed, 15 Jan 2025 10:46:00 -0000

The world of fashion is moving at a faster pace each year. Most retailers introduce new styles each season, and fast-fashion companies like Shein, H&M and Zara update their collections continuously.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mastodon announces transition to non-profit structure

Tue, 14 Jan 2025 21:00:00 -0000

Decentralized social network organization Mastodon said Monday that it is planning to create a new non-profit organization in Europe and hand over ownership of entities responsible for key Mastodon ecosystem and platform components. This means one person won’t have control over the entire project.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gumloop, founded in a bedroom in Vancouver, lets users automate tasks with drag-and-drop modules

Tue, 14 Jan 2025 10:45:00 -0000

Developers Max Brodeur-Urbas and Rahul Behal think that AI has the potential to automate lots of business-relevant tasks, but that many of the AI-powered automation tools on the market today are unreliable and costly.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Grand Games, the Turkish startup behind Magic Sort, drinks up $30M

Mon, 13 Jan 2025 21:00:00 -0000

Gaming startups, specifically those building casual mobile games, are very hot in Turkey right now, and today another one is announcing a sizable round.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Overhaul raises another $55M to help companies like Dyson and Microsoft fight supply chain theft

Mon, 13 Jan 2025 10:46:00 -0000

Businesses dependent on the physical supply chain — the network of facilities and transportation systems used to move materials from one location to another — chain face a number of challenges, from staff shortages to increasing customer expectations. The pressures aren’t easing up.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

PrettyDamnQuick snaps up $25M to speed up online checkout

Fri, 10 Jan 2025 10:30:00 -0000

A startup hoping to provide a credible alternative to Amazon has picked up funding to double down on the gap in the market. PrettyDamnQuick (PDQ) provides tech to retailers to let them customize and test different shipping and checkout flows, and now it has picked up a deal of its own: a $25 million Series A to expand its business.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Xocean raises $119M to capture ocean data with uncrewed surface vessels

Thu, 09 Jan 2025 14:45:00 -0000

Xocean, an Irish marine robotics startup that provides ocean data to the energy and hydrography industries using uncrewed surface vessels (USVs), has raised €115 million ($119 million) as it looks to expand coverage to additional sectors.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

CES 2025: Omi, a competitor to Friend, wants to boost your productivity using AI and a ‘brain interface’

Wed, 08 Jan 2025 21:00:00 -0000

The startup’s founder, Nik Shevchenko, started marketing this device on Kickstarter as “Friend,” but changed the device’s name after another San Francisco hardware maker launched his own Friend device and bought the domain name for $1.8 million. Shevchenko, a Thiel fellow with a history of eye-grabbing stunts, is taking a slightly different approach with Omi. Instead of seeing the device as a smartphone replacement or an AI companion, he wants Omi to be a complementary device to your phone that boosts your productivity.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fermata uses computer vision to detect diseases and pests in plants

Wed, 08 Jan 2025 14:00:00 -0000

When Valeria Kogan started her PhD program in bioinformatics, the scientific field that uses computation and software to analyze biological data, in 2017, she imagined her career would always be within the fields of mathematics, medicine, or biology. But after the first AI boom in the late 2010s, she got an intriguing opportunity in a sector she hadn’t considered: agriculture.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

RoboForce raises $10 million to create a robot workforce

Tue, 07 Jan 2025 21:00:00 -0000

“These are the kind of jobs that we shouldn't need people to do anymore," founder Leo Ma said about dangerous factory jobs.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bluesky bump from X exodus is slowing down, data shows

Tue, 07 Jan 2025 10:30:00 -0000

Social network and X competitor Bluesky’s massive growth slowed in December in the U.S., after having surged from 9+ million in September to north of 20 million users in November.

The slowdown is based on an analysis of web traffic and mobile app daily active users by analytics firm Similarweb, which found that Bluesky grew less than 10% month-over-month in December 2024, compared with 189% growth in November.

Daily active users of the Bluesky mobile app in the U.S. also grew 12% in December, compared with 284% growth in November, the firm says.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

CES 2025: Soliddd Vision Glasses for those with macular degeneration and Elvie's Smart Bouncer

Mon, 06 Jan 2025 21:00:00 -0000

This week at CES 2025, the company is showcasing a prototype version of its forthcoming SolidddVision glasses. The Brooklyn-based startup is specifically targeting people with macular degeneration. The degenerative eye disease affects roughly 13% of U.S. residents aged 40 and up, according to figures from the CDC; Elvie, a female-founded hardware startup, has unveiled a new app-controlled smart bouncer that gently transforms into a bassinet — while the baby is still in it. With the new Elvie Rise, announced at CES 2025 on Monday, parents and caregivers don’t have to move their baby between soothing, sleep, and play products.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hydrogen tax credit rules give startups clarity while boosting nuclear and carbon capture

Mon, 06 Jan 2025 10:45:00 -0000

Hydrogen startups are widely seen as a promising way to eliminate fossil fuels from heavy industry and long-haul transportation. But they have been stuck in limbo for the last couple years, waiting for official guidance from the U.S. Treasury on lucrative tax credits. That was until last Friday.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Electra found a cheap, clean way to purify iron, and it’s raising $257M to make it happen

Fri, 03 Jan 2025 21:00:00 -0000

Electra has raised $76.3 million to clean up the dirty ironmaking industry, TechCrunch has learned. The startup has developed a novel method of using electricity to coax pure iron out of low-grade ores, opening the door to cleaner steel.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

2025 will be the year climate tech learns to love AI

Fri, 03 Jan 2025 11:00:00 -0000

As 2025 dawns, it’s a good time to look at the trends that are likely to define the coming 12 months.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After ups and down, food delivery startup Epicery closes shop

Wed, 01 Jan 2025 21:00:00 -0000

French food delivery startup Epicery will cease operations Tuesday, after one last holiday season hurrah for its clients and the local food businesses that were using the platform during its nine years in business in exchange for a 25% commission.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Calo raises $25 million to expand its ready-to-eat meal service beyond the Middle East

Wed, 01 Jan 2025 11:00:00 -0000

A business built around increasingly customized ready-to-eat meals has netted Middle Eastern startup Calo a sizeable funding injection as it looks to expand both what it can offer its time-strapped customers and where it delivers its growing range of just-heat-to-eat dishes.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Backed by a16z and QED, Brazilian startup Carecode puts AI agents to work on healthcare

Tue, 31 Dec 2024 21:00:00 -0000

AI holds huge promise for healthcare, but not just on the medical side; many startups are convinced machine learning-based systems can do a lot of good on adjacent tasks such as appointment scheduling and confirmations. Brazilian startup Carecode is among these AI believers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The trends that shaped EVs, robotaxis, and electric flight in 2024

Tue, 31 Dec 2024 11:00:00 -0000

If there was one phrase that captured the vibe and theme of 2024 — at least in the transportation sector — it was business whiplash. Legacy automakers changed direction on their all-EVs-or-bust strategy, startups pivoted, and some Silicon Valley VCs and executives adjusted their views to a changing political landscape

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AI sales rep startups are booming. So why are VCs wary?

Mon, 30 Dec 2024 21:00:00 -0000

When you really probe venture capitalists about investing in AI startups, they’ll tell you that businesses are experimenting wildly but are very slow to add AI solutions into their ongoing business processes. But there are some exceptions.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After causing outrage on the first day of Y Combinator, AI code editor PearAI lands $1M seed

Mon, 30 Dec 2024 11:05:00 -0000

On the first day of Y Combinator the founders of PearAI got “cancelled." They used the hate to launch a new product, raise $1 million.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

British university spinoff Mindgard protects companies from AI threats

Mon, 23 Dec 2024 21:00:00 -0000

AI creates a dilemma for companies: Don’t implement it yet, and you might miss out on productivity gains and other potential benefits; but do it wrong, and you might expose your business and clients to unmitigated risks.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Access bets people will pay thousands of dollars a year for guaranteed restaurant reservations

Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Once, not long ago, booking a table at a hot new restaurant didn’t entail a midnight dash to Resy. Truly, we didn’t know how good we had it then. Hours-long lines out the door are now the norm, not the exception, in major cities from New York to Los Angeles.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hauler Hero wants to bring waste management software into the 21st century

Fri, 20 Dec 2024 21:00:00 -0000

After nearly four years of working in sales at tradesperson software company ServiceTitan, Mark Hoadley (pictured above) was looking for a change and to potentially start something of his own in a similar industry. Hoadley’s brother-in-law, and now co-founder, Ben Sikma, was working on M&A in the waste management space at the time.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sustainable Ocean Alliance marks 10 years with ocean-friendly startup label and a new batch of ‘ecopreneurs’

Fri, 20 Dec 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Over the last decade, the Sustainable Ocean Alliance has graduated from dorm room activism to a thousands-strong global network of experts, investors, and “ecopreneurs” — all of whom believe the best way to save the ailing oceans is to embrace innovation.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Slip Robotics snags $28M for its bots that can load a truck in five minutes

Thu, 19 Dec 2024 21:00:00 -0000

Drop by any given loading dock and a buzz of forklifts — loaded up with goods — can be spotted maneuvering in and out of truck trailers. This logistical dance can take up to an hour to fill a trailer, leaving truck drivers in idle limbo.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Grammarly acquires productivity startup Coda, brings on new CEO

Thu, 19 Dec 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Grammarly is acquiring productivity startup Coda, the company announced on Tuesday. As part of the deal, Coda’s CEO and co-founder Shishir Mehrotra will become the new CEO of Grammarly. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Focused Energy buys two of the world’s most powerful lasers for its fusion quest

Wed, 18 Dec 2024 21:00:00 -0000

The massive lasers will be installed in the startup’s future facility, which it is building in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Prequel is building a community-driven approach to finding software bugs

Wed, 18 Dec 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Cybersecurity practitioners take a community-driven approach to solving problems. Security researchers share the vulnerabilities they find with the broader cybersecurity community, which allows companies to patch up their security holes before something catastrophic happens. Prequel is looking to bring that same approach to software.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Revisiting 19th-century Paris with VR

Tue, 17 Dec 2024 21:00:00 -0000

While I have fond memories of past efforts to combine VR content with real-world locations, I’d assumed the pandemic had put those ambitions to an end. If I wanted VR in 2024, I thought I’d have to buy a headset, and it would be a largely solitary experience at home or in the office

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Flare raises $30M to thwart info-stealers like those used on Snowflake customers

Tue, 17 Dec 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Threat exposure management startup Flare thinks it has an answer to info-stealers with a service that watches the dark web, resets passwords.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As AI-fueled disinformation explodes, here comes the startup counterattack

Mon, 16 Dec 2024 21:00:00 -0000

With disinformation on the rise, especially given the explosion of AI, companies are just as vulnerable to its effects as individuals. Refute is a London-based startup that detects and responds to disinformation on behalf of these commercial entities. It’s now raised a £2.3 million ($2.9 million) pre-seed round led by UK investors Playfair and Episode.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Activate and The Engine Accelerator team up to train scientists to become founders

Mon, 16 Dec 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Two prominent programs, Activate and The Engine Accelerator, have decided they can give founders an advantage if they team up.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Twelve Labs is building AI that can analyze and search through videos

Fri, 13 Dec 2024 21:00:00 -0000

AI models that understand videos as well as text can unlock powerful new applications. At least, that’s what Jae Lee, the co-founder of Twelve Labs, believes. Granted, Lee’s a little biased. Twelve Labs trains video-analyzing models for a range of use cases. But there may just be something to his assertion.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Upvest, a stock trading API used by N26, Revolut and others, raises $105 million

Fri, 13 Dec 2024 11:10:00 -0000

Upvest might not be a familiar name if you don’t pay close attention to the fintech industry, but chances are you’ve already interacted with the company’s products. Founded by Martin Kassing (pictured above), the Berlin-based startup builds a white-label investment platform that is used by some of the biggest fintech companies in Europe.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Albert Invent hopes to revolutionize the chemicals sector with its AI platform

Thu, 12 Dec 2024 21:00:00 -0000

If startup funding rounds are any metric, generative AI is seeing ample adoption in the sciences. It makes sense: there’s a lot of trial and error involved in research and development, and any tool that can speed up the process for researchers is bound to be useful.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mynt raises a cool $23M on a $210M valuation to build a smarter expense card for SMEs

Thu, 12 Dec 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Small and medium businesses are getting more love in the world of fintech these days, and one example of that is the growth of a startup out of Sweden. Mynt, which has built an AI-based platform for corporate cards and spend management catering to SMEs, has closed a round of €22 million ($23 million).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Software testing platform LambdaTest secures $38 million for AI push

Wed, 11 Dec 2024 21:00:00 -0000

LambdaTest, a cloud-based software testing platform, has raised $38 million in a funding round as it looks to expand its presence in existing markets and advance its AI capabilities. The San Francisco and Noida-headquartered startup’s Series D round has been led by Avataar Ventures with participation from Qualcomm Ventures, bringing its total funding to $108 million.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nexalus has a new method for liquid-cooling data centers that could make the waste heat useful

Wed, 11 Dec 2024 11:00:00 -0000

The startup argues that its hot-water approach is not only more efficient, but also more useful.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Riverside raises $30 million Series C to expand its podcast and video recording platform

Tue, 10 Dec 2024 21:00:00 -0000

Podcast recording platform Riverside said Monday that it has raised $30 million in Series C funding led by Zeev Ventures, with participation from Seven Seven Six, and angel investor Sam Lessin. The company wants to use this funding to grow its team and build out solutions for the podcast and content creation space.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Connyct, an exclusive social media app for college students, emerges amid potential TikTok ban

Tue, 10 Dec 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Do we really need another social media app for college students? With the looming TikTok ban in the U.S., a new app called Connyct seems to think so. Connyct closely resembles the popular short-form video app, providing all the features you would expect, such as a personalized content feed, private chatting, as well as video .

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fitness startup Ladder comes after Peloton for allegedly copying their app

Mon, 09 Dec 2024 21:00:00 -0000

Ladder, an Austin, Texas-based fitness startup that makes a popular strength-training app, is accusing Peloton of ripping off its work with the launch of Peloton’s new Stength+ app, which exited beta on Wednesday. After receiving feedback from Peloton’s beta testers that the app looked, felt, and functioned much like Ladder’s own.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Planet A Foods nabs $30M to make tons more cocoa-free chocolate

Mon, 09 Dec 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Turning sunflower seeds into sustainable, cocoa-free chocolate has netted Munich-based B2B foodtech startup Planet A Foods (formerly QOA) a $30 million Series B funding round. Now, the Y Combinator alum is gearing up for industrialization, with the funds set to be deployed to scale its production capacity by around 7.5x

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After selling his startup to IBM, this founder wants to bring ‘agentic memory’ to enterprise data

Fri, 06 Dec 2024 21:00:00 -0000

Not everyone agrees on what an “AI agent” actually is, but they are all still the rage. At a broad level, these so-called “agents” promise to go several steps beyond a mere chatbot, making decisions and taking actions on people’s behalf.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Twos to-do app adds a feature that automatically adds a suggested action against a task

Fri, 06 Dec 2024 11:00:00 -0000

The overarching promise of companies working on AI-powered productivity tools is to build solutions that would do a task for you. Some of the early demos that we have seen don’t really fare well in fulfilling those promises. A to-do list app called Twos is approaching this problem differently.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This ex-Scale AI leader built a platform to automatically extracts insights from customer feedback

Thu, 05 Dec 2024 21:00:00 -0000

In this hyperconnected world we live in, it’s easier than ever to send feedback to the companies we patronize. But just because businesses offer more ways to get in touch doesn’t mean they’re poring over every comment. According to a 2020 survey from Productboard, 90% of companies fail to successfully capture feedback from all channels.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Google’s Gradient backs Cake, a managed open-source AI infrastructure platform

Thu, 05 Dec 2024 11:00:00 -0000

A new company is emerging from stealth today with backing from Google’s AI-focused venture fund to help businesses compile their open-source AI infrastructure and reduce their engineering overheads. Cake integrates and secures more than 100 components for enterprises.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Yurts raises $40 million to be the DoD’s AI Chatbot

Wed, 04 Dec 2024 21:00:00 -0000

Yurts has raised a $40 million Series B led by XYZ Venture Capital to provide the DoD with gen AI.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Orakl Oncology combines data and biology to bring new drugs to cancer patients

Wed, 04 Dec 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Cancer incidence is on the rise, particularly among younger adults, but most new drug compounds fail to progress through clinical trials. According to French entrepreneur Fanny Jaulin (on the right in the picture above), the problem lies with clinical trial design.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Joco almost died at launch. Now, it’s a lifeline for e-bike delivery riders — and a profitable business

Tue, 03 Dec 2024 21:00:00 -0000

On a September morning in 2024, two Jonathan Cohens — one from the Rockaways in Queens, the other from London — stood in an empty 15,000-square-foot parking garage near Hudson Yards in New York City. As they walked over chipped yellow lines, they explained how the space would help Joco, their shared e-bike startup.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why Olympic champion cyclist Sir Chris Hoy is backing Skarper to make any bike an e-bike

Tue, 03 Dec 2024 11:00:00 -0000

As one of the most decorated track cyclists of all time, Sir Chris Hoy might not seem an obvious candidate to back the burgeoning electric bike movement. The common refrain, after all, is that e-bikes aren’t real bikes.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

India, already an IPO bright spot, prepares for bigger surge in 2025

Mon, 02 Dec 2024 21:00:00 -0000

India has bucked the global trend in initial public offerings this year, establishing itself as a rare bright spot for tech listings while other major markets face continued headwinds. The world’s most populous nation is now preparing for an even more substantial wave of startup IPOs in 2025

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From pond scum to premium skincare?

Mon, 02 Dec 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Decarbonizing our economies in the race to fight climate change demands a wholesale overhauling of all sorts of production processes to make them as sustainable as possible. Greening chemicals, which are used as ingredients in all sorts of products, is where U.K. startup Deep Blue Biotech is putting its energies.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Volta, a Shopify for B2B transactions, raises biggest pre-seed round of Italy

Fri, 29 Nov 2024 21:00:00 -0000

Volta, a new startup with a team split between two headquarters in Milan and Paris, has secured a €6 million pre-seed round ($6.3 million) to develop a new vertical software-as-a-service platform focused on B2B sales. In more practical terms, the Volta team pitches its product as an equivalent to Shopify but focused on B2B transactions.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Scaling startups top priority, as EU reboots its top team

Fri, 29 Nov 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Europe must get much better at scaling startups. That’s the prognosis of the European Union’s president, Ursula von der Leyen, who’s on the cusp of taking up her second five-year term steering the bloc of some 449 million people — with a December 1 start date now locked in.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Biolevate’s raises €6M to helps medical writers keep up with the pace of new drugs

Wed, 27 Nov 2024 21:00:00 -0000

Writing the documentation that must go alongside the development of new drugs is a highly labor-intensive process: not much software is used and there’s a shortage of expert writers. Paris-based Biolevate helps medical writers go faster with a platform that uses NLP and visual document reading to assisting in writing.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cambridge materials science spin-out Molyon is on a mission to make next-gen batteries fly

Wed, 27 Nov 2024 11:15:00 -0000

Battery tech is pivotal as the world leans into electrification to power decarbonization in the race against climate change. But rising demand is putting more attention on the limits and drawbacks of current generation lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery technology.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Raspberry Pi releases the Pico 2 W, a $7 wireless-enabled microcontroller board

Tue, 26 Nov 2024 21:00:00 -0000

Meet the Raspberry Pi Pico 2 W, a tiny board designed around a microcontroller that lets you build hardware projects at scale. Raspberry Pi is once again using the RP2350, its own, well-documented microcontroller. But what is a microcontroller again? As the name suggests, microcontrollers let you control other electronic components or devices.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Anthropic raises an additional $4B from Amazon, makes AWS its ‘primary’ training partner

Tue, 26 Nov 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Anthropic, OpenAI’s close rival, has raised an additional $4 billion from Amazon, and has agreed to make Amazon Web Services (AWS), Amazon’s cloud computing division, the primary place it’ll train its flagship generative AI models.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Battery unicorn Northvolt files for bankruptcy, upending Europe’s industrial plan

Mon, 25 Nov 2024 21:00:00 -0000

The company chose Chapter 11 in an effort to right its listing finances.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Anthropic raises an additional $4B from Amazon, makes AWS is ‘primary’ cloud partner

Mon, 25 Nov 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Anthropic, OpenAI’s close rival, has raised an additional $4 billion from Amazon, and has agreed to make Amazon Web Services — Amazon’s cloud computing division — the sole place it’ll train its flagship generative AI models.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lighthouse, an analytics provider for the hospitality sector, lights up with $370M at a $1B valuation

Fri, 22 Nov 2024 21:00:00 -0000

Here is yet one more sign of the travel industry’s noticeable boom: a major growth round for one of the B2B startups servicing it. Lighthouse, a data analytics platform for hotels and others in the hospitality industry, has closed a Series C of $370 million.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Raven Space Systems opens up a whole new category of industrial 3D printing

Fri, 22 Nov 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Manufacturing has been one of the hottest categories in venture this year, but there are still many innovative materials and processes yet to scale.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ben Ling’s Bling Capital has already nabbed another $270M for fourth fund

Thu, 21 Nov 2024 21:00:00 -0000

Bling Capital, one of the more prolific and well-connected seed VC firms, has nabbed another $270 million for a new flagship, fourth fund.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Portugal’s Tekever raises $74M for dual-use drone platform deployed to Ukraine

Thu, 21 Nov 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Dual-use drone startup Tekever has raised €70 million ($74 million) to develop its product and expand into new markets, specifically the U.S.. The news is part of a trend of smaller tech-driven startups moving into markets normally dominated by large ‘defense primes’.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ex-Duolingo execs raise $13M for startup making it easier to access a college education

Wed, 20 Nov 2024 21:00:00 -0000

As college tuition increases and the student loan debt crisis continues, three former executives from language learning app Duolingo are building a new startup aimed at making college education more affordable and accessible.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Selector automatically spots IT issues and recommends fixes

Wed, 20 Nov 2024 11:00:00 -0000

AIOps, short for artificial intelligence in operations, is a process that uses AI to automate IT tasks. More organizations are embracing it as AI commodifies, yet adoption is still lagging.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Norwegian startup Factiverse wants to fight disinformation with AI

Tue, 19 Nov 2024 21:00:00 -0000

In the wake of the U.S. 2024 presidential election, one fact became clear: Disinformation proliferated online at a startling rate, shaping Americans’ views about each candidate as well as a diverse set of topics, including public health, climate change, and immigration. Generative AI – with its ability to produce deepfakes in seconds

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Moonvalley wants to build more ethical video models

Tue, 19 Nov 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Moonvalley, a new generative video startup, claims it's building models using more ethical and transparent approaches.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Influur wants to standout from other influencer marketplaces by promising timely payout

Mon, 18 Nov 2024 21:00:00 -0000

As the influencer economy grows, startups like PassionFroot, Agentio, and One Impression, along with social platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok are trying to build marketplaces to connect brands with creators. Miami-based startup Influur, is banking on two unique aspects of its platform: quick response from creators and financial tools to ensure they are paid

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mission Space launches next quarter to provide real-time space weather forecasts

Mon, 18 Nov 2024 11:00:00 -0000

When you board a plane, the pilot already knows the weather on the flight path and can steer clear, or at least warn you it’s coming. The same can’t be said of “space weather” from solar events, which can seriously affect satellites and even passenger planes.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

ePlane looks to ride the Indian government’s interest in air taxis with new $14M round

Fri, 15 Nov 2024 21:00:00 -0000

India's ePlane Company has raised $14 million in a Series B round as it plans to commercialize its air taxi in 2026.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Atlas.co wants its web-based mapping tool to be the Figma of geospatial data

Fri, 15 Nov 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Startup inspiration can strike anywhere. But for Atlas.co*, a freemium browser-based, real-time mapping tool that’s being built by an Oslo, Norway-based team of (initially student) engineers, the realization that there might be a business opportunity in competing with expensive legacy mapping software hit the founders during class.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Just Eat Takeaway sells Grubhub to Wonder for $650 million

Thu, 14 Nov 2024 21:00:00 -0000

Netherlands-based Just Eat Takeaway announced today that it is selling Grubhub to Wonder in a deal valued at $650 million. The company said that it expects the deal to be completed by Q1 2025. “The sale of Grubhub to Wonder will increase the cash generation capabilities of Just Eat Takeaway.com and will accelerate our growth.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Swiggy market debut fuels India’s food, quick commerce wars

Thu, 14 Nov 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Shares of Swiggy dropped 4% to 401 rupees on Wednesday as the food delivery and quick commerce startup concluded India’s second-largest IPO this year, in a closely watched debut that puts it in direct comparison with what analysts have long considered the benchmark Indian internet stock: Zomato.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bounce bags $19M to expand its traveler convenience network

Wed, 13 Nov 2024 21:00:00 -0000

Luggage storage as a vector for piling into convenience-based revenue opportunities in the business of global travel continues to put a spring in San Francisco-based Bounce‘s step. The startup has just tucked $19 million in Series B funding into its suitcase, with a plan to keep rolling revenue that’s grown 20x since its $12M Series

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SmartBank secures $26M for its personal finance management app

Wed, 13 Nov 2024 11:06:00 -0000

The majority of the aging population in Japan still prefers using cash for transactions, according to a recent report citing government data. In 2023, cashless transactions in Japan totaled 126.7 trillion yen ($885 billion), accounting for 39.3 percent of all spending in the country, said the Japanese government.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Equal has a plan to fight India’s growing cyber fraud problem

Tue, 12 Nov 2024 21:00:00 -0000

Equal, an Indian startup founded by Keshav Reddy, has raised $10M in its maiden funding round led by Prosus Ventures to scale identity verification and financial data sharing.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Brazilian fintech Tako emerges from stealth with sizable seed round led by a16z and Ribbit Capital

Tue, 12 Nov 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Running payroll is hard in any country, but perhaps especially so in Brazil thanks to consistently changing laws and extremely influential unions that make it significantly harder to get it right. Fernando Gadotti struggled with this as the co-founder and CEO of DogHero, LatAm’s version of Rover.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Yelp just spent $80M on a site for car repair estimates

Mon, 11 Nov 2024 21:00:00 -0000

Yelp, which made a name for itself giving restaurant recs, just bought an auto services website. In the company’s earnings report on Thursday, Yelp revealed that it agreed to buy RepairPal, a site for car repair estimates, for $80 million in cash

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Supersonic aircraft startup Exosonic is shutting down

Mon, 11 Nov 2024 10:20:00 -0000

Exosonic, a startup developing supersonic commercial air travel and UAV tech, is winding down after five years of operation. In an update posted to its website, Exosonic said it was unable to find the traction necessary to continue operations.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Glint Solar grabs $8M to help accelerate solar energy adoption across Europe

Fri, 08 Nov 2024 21:00:00 -0000

Solar energy is booming, which is good news for Glint Solar. The Norwegian software-as-a-service startup has built a platform that’s helping energy giants and large solar developers such as E.ON, Recurrent Energy, and Statkraft cut the time it takes to plan and pre-design solar installations to accelerate the transition to renewables.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ulysses is using robots to restore seagrass populations

Fri, 08 Nov 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Seagrass punches above its weight. The marine plant only occupies 0.1% of the ocean floor but can be credited with supporting marine ecosystems of plants and fish, filtering ocean water and capturing quite a bit of carbon

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nodal connects hopeful parents with surrogates as reproductive freedom hangs in limbo

Thu, 07 Nov 2024 21:00:00 -0000

Many people who want to have children can’t, or shouldn’t, carry a pregnancy for a variety of reasons. Gestational surrogacy can be a great option for those individuals — if they can endure the lengthy wait times and afford to pay for the costly service.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Research Grid raises $6.4M to automate clinical trial admin

Thu, 07 Nov 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Amber Hill spent 14 years as a medical researcher. She didn’t mind the work, but there was one thing she consistently hated: administrative tasks.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alan unveils AI health assistant for its 680,000 health insurance members

Wed, 06 Nov 2024 21:00:00 -0000

French tech startup Alan held a press conference this morning to announce three product updates. While it is better known as a health insurance company, the startup has always been trying to offer more than insurance coverage. It wants to build a super app for all things related to healthcare

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Datadog challenger Dash0 aims to dash observability bill shock

Wed, 06 Nov 2024 11:00:00 -0000

The end of zero-interest rates has driven companies to look for savings wherever they can, but one area continues to be a major budget drain. Observability — collecting and understanding data and systems — typically remains an organization’s second-highest cloud expenditure, right after cloud provisioning itself.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

CareYaya is enabling affordable home care by connecting healthcare students with elders

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 21:00:00 -0000

CareYaya, a platform that matches people who need caregivers with healthcare students, is working to disrupt the caregiving industry. The startup, which exhibited as part of the Battlefield 200 at TechCrunch Disrupt, is looking to enhance affordable in-home support, while also helping students prepare for their future healthcare careers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

CoffeeSpace is a Hinge-like app that wants to help you find your co-founder

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 11:00:00 -0000

CoffeeSpace is on a mission to help people find partners for their startup ideas online. The startup, which exhibited as part of the Startup Battlefield 200 at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024, has launched a social networking app that matches people exploring startup ideas and looking for co-founders.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Former Caribou founder launches Further, a fintech that’s focused on helping people buy homes

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 21:00:00 -0000

Buying a home has always been complicated. You have to figure out how much money to put down and how that down payment will affect a monthly mortgage bill.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Buddy.ai is using AI and gaming to help children learn English as a second language

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 11:00:00 -0000

In 2014, Ivan Crewkov moved his family from Serbia to the U.S. as his startup, Cubic.AI, was preparing to launch a Kickstarter campaign for its smart speaker. A week before the campaign was supposed to go live, Amazon launched its Echo smart speaker, rendering Cubic.AI essentially dead in the water.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hummingbirds, a platform that connects local creators with brand campaigns in their area, raises $5.4M

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Hummingbirds is a female-founded startup that connects hyperlocal content creators with locally-based brands that reward them for sharing products with their small and highly engaged communities via social media. The company announced Wednesday its latest funding round of $5.4 million, bringing the total amount raised to $10 million.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

MealMe, the startup integrating food ordering tech into apps, picks up $8M

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 10:00:00 -0000

MealMe, a unified API that embeds food and retail ordering into consumer apps and websites, announced on Thursday that it secured $8 million in Series A funding. The newly raised capital brings the total amount raised to $16 million. MealMe has undergone several changes since its launch in 2019. Initially,

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gecko Materials wants to sell you the next Velcro

Thu, 31 Oct 2024 20:00:00 -0000

A new startup setting out to combat the scourge of deepfakes and spoofed evidence in the age of AI is showing off its wares on the Startup Battlefield stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 this week.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Luna wants to help young girls navigate their health and well-being

Thu, 31 Oct 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Meet Luna, a health and well-being app for teen girls that is designed to help them navigate teenhood. The app lets teens ask questions about their health and wellness and get responses from experts. It also lets them track their periods, moods, and skin.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Infraspeak raises $19.5M to bring collaboration to facilities management

Wed, 30 Oct 2024 20:00:00 -0000

It might not be the sexiest of subjects, but facilities management is central to any business that has a physical premises — the bigger that footprint becomes, the more complex it gets.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Emidat is building a tool to clean up construction by automating environmental reporting

Wed, 30 Oct 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Fixing the climate crisis is a vast, world-sized puzzle. But one particularly large piece of this ginormous conundrum is construction and real estate — which collectively amount for around 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Enter Munich-based data startup Emidat, which has built a software platform for automating the generation of validated Environmental Product Declaration

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Read AI raises $50M to integrate its bot with Slack, email, and more

Tue, 29 Oct 2024 20:00:00 -0000

There are plenty of startups now that have AI bots that will listen to your meetings, transcribe them, make notes, and create insights. That means companies in this area must differentiate themselves by offering additional feature sets and integrations.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vinted hits $5.4B valuation amid wave of secondary share sales in Europe

Tue, 29 Oct 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Lithuania’s Vinted has secured a new valuation of €5 billion (around $5.4 billion at current exchange rates), after the second-hand fashion marketplace closed a secondary share sale worth €340 million ($367 million).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

General Catalyst raises $8B in fresh funds to back startups globally

Mon, 28 Oct 2024 20:00:00 -0000

U.S. venture capital giant General Catalyst has announced a fresh $8 billion in funds as it looks to ramp up its investments in multi-sector early-stage startups globally, with a specific focus on the U.S., Europe, and India. The capital constitutes around $4.5 billion for its “core VC funds” which spans seed and growth equity funding,

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Screenable’s app turns any iPhone into a starter phone for kids

Mon, 28 Oct 2024 10:00:00 -0000

A new app called Screenable will help parents introduce their children to technology by turning an iPhone or iPad into a starter phone. The app is designed to grow over time with a child, as it offers different modes for kids of different ages.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Supply chain startup Interos lands new customers, cash

Fri, 25 Oct 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Each year, supply chain disruptions cost the global economy trillions of dollars. In a recent McKinsey poll, nine in ten businesses said they had encountered logistics challenges over the past 12 months. Headwinds have only grown stronger as chaos reigns in key shipping corridors.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cash collection startup Upflow also wants to handle B2B payments

Fri, 25 Oct 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Upflow, a French startup we’ve been covering for quite a while, originally focused on managing outstanding invoices. The company is now announcing a shift in its strategy to become a B2B payment platform with its own payment gateway to complement its accounts receivable automation solution.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Interface.ai raises $30M to help banks field customer requests

Thu, 24 Oct 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Interface.ai, a customer automation platform for banks and other financial institutions, today announced that it closed a $30 million funding round led by Avataar Venture Partners. $20 million of the round was equity, while the remaining $10 million was in the form of debt. It’s Interface’s first outside capital; the startup had been completely bootstrapped

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cement startup Furno lands $20M grant to build low-carbon micro-kilns in Chicago

Thu, 24 Oct 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Furno’s micro-kilns promise to reduce pollution and eliminate transportation costs.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

CrewAI uses third-party models to automate business tasks

Wed, 23 Oct 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Back in 2022, João Moura was directing AI engineering efforts at Clearbit, a startup creating a unified hub for business intelligence tools. There, Moura was responsible for leading the development of AI integrations, as well as defining Clearbit’s AI product roadmap.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Socket lands a fresh $40M to scan software for security flaws

Wed, 23 Oct 2024 09:00:00 -0000

The software supply chain, which comprises the components and processes used to develop software, has become precarious. According to one recent survey, 88% of companies believe poor software supply chain security presents an “enterprise-wide risk” to their organizations.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Shobizzy, a networking app for the TV industry, aims to open new doors for freelancers

Tue, 22 Oct 2024 20:00:00 -0000

With the current unemployment crisis in Hollywood, many TV and film crew members are concerned about finding their next job. This is particularly the case for freelancers, who often face unstable work and irregular pay. Shobizzy is the latest professional networking app for the entertainment industry that aims to address this challenge.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Uprise wants to help small businesses make better financial decisions

Tue, 22 Oct 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Small business creation has been on the rise in the U.S. since the pandemic. There are a lot of tech tools designed to help these companies with things like payroll or setting up retirement benefits — but more tools doesn’t mean small businesses know how to use them to make smart decisions.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Byju’s founder says his edtech startup, once worth $22B, is now ‘worth zero’

Mon, 21 Oct 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Byju Raveendran, the founder of the embattled edtech group Byju’s, acknowledged on Thursday afternoon that he made mistakes, mistimed the market, and that his startup, once valued at $22 billion, is now effectively worth “zero.”

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With $11.9 million in funding, Dottxt tells AI models how to answer

Mon, 21 Oct 2024 10:00:00 -0000

As we’ve reported before, enterprise CIOs are taking generative AI slow. One reason for that is AI doesn’t fit into existing software engineering workflows, because it literally doesn’t speak the same language. For instance, LLMs (aka large language models) require a lot of cajoling to deliver valid JSON.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How Paladin’s drones helped Asheville during Hurricane Helene

Fri, 18 Oct 2024 20:00:00 -0000

When Hurricane Helene hit Asheville, North Carolina in September, the city’s police department reached out to public safety drone startup Paladin for help. The startup’s 30-member team jumped into action working nights and through the weekend to assist Asheville’s police department with locating people and dropping off supply.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

ODD taps $27M for diamond chips to clear radioactive debris at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant

Fri, 18 Oct 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Back in 2011, the world held its breath after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan suffered a failure of its cooling systems, in the wake of the country getting hit by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Support automation firm Capacity grows with new cash and acquisitions

Thu, 17 Oct 2024 20:00:00 -0000

David Karandish has been busy. Capacity, his support automation company, was planning a $5 million “bridge round” to help the company reach the break-even point. But TVC Capital, Toloka.vc, and the venture’s other backers had something grander in mind.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Storio is helping other businesses unlock more value from solar energy

Thu, 17 Oct 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Meet Storio, a French startup that’s focused on providing smart energy storage for commercial and industrial customers. Founded in 2023, the startup raised a €5 million seed round earlier this year (around $5.5 million at current exchange rates) and has signed its first client. Storio believes solar panels have a bright future.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Data center tech is exploding but adoption won’t be easy for startups

Wed, 16 Oct 2024 20:00:00 -0000

The data center industry is expanding rapidly to keep up with the flywheel growth of AI. While these data centers are necessary AI infrastructure, they store an AI company’s compute, they are expensive to build, seemingly more so to run, and they are a huge energy suck.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Table Space eyes $2.5B valuation in India IPO

Wed, 16 Oct 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Table Space is targeting a valuation of $2.5 billion or higher for an India IPO planned planned for 2025.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Peanut, a social network for women, adds a pregnancy tracking tool

Tue, 15 Oct 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Peanut, a social networking app for women, is launching a new feature to help users track their pregnancies. The new Peanut Track tool leverages seven years of data from questions asked on the social network and uses AI to anticipate questions that women have during different stages of their pregnancy.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This three-person robotics startup is working with designer Yves Béhar to bring humanoids home

Tue, 15 Oct 2024 10:00:00 -0000

It’s hard to know where to focus when speaking to Christoph Kohstall. The contents of his packed Palo Alto garage compete for attention. To his immediate right stands a tower of electrical components, dotted with flashing lights. To his left is a workbench and the tops of machining tools.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

MiLaboratories gets $10M for a platform play to accelerate genomic research

Mon, 14 Oct 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Advances in DNA sequencing and the vast amounts of genomic data being produced by next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology have created a startup opportunity to build software for biologists so they can more easily analyze this big data and take the next leap.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

UK neobank Monzo hits $5.9B valuation with secondary market sale

Mon, 14 Oct 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Monzo is now valued at $5.9 billion after the U.K.-based challenger bank announced a secondary market share sale to provide liquidity for its employees. The transaction saw existing investors such as Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund (GIC) and StepStone Group procuring additional shares in the London-based fintech.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Streamer Plex rolls out movie and TV show reviews

Fri, 11 Oct 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Following its $40 million fundraise at the beginning of this year, streaming media company Plex announced on Wednesday it’s rolling out a new TV show and movie reviews feature, putting its app in more direct competition with other apps, like Letterboxd and TV Time.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Health insurtech startup Qantev raises €30 million to outperform LLMs with small AI models

Fri, 11 Oct 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Health and life insurance providers face a rising volume of claims due to chronic disease and aging populations, but their processes lack scalability. AI automation can help, but it takes more tailoring than for other insurance types.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Zap Energy shows off its new fusion power prototype, Century

Thu, 10 Oct 2024 20:00:00 -0000

After keeping Century under wraps for several months, the startup gave TechCrunch a peek under the hood.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alaska Airlines’ venture lab spins out its first startup: Odysee

Thu, 10 Oct 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Odysee CEO Steve Casley sees dollar signs in data. Or more specifically, AI-powered software that can analyze reams of data to help commercial airlines get the most out of its complex flight schedules.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Distributional raises $19M to automate AI model and app testing

Wed, 09 Oct 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Distributional, an AI testing platform founded by Intel’s former GM of AI software, Scott Clark, has closed a $19 million Series A funding round led by Two Sigma Ventures.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Revyze, a ‘TikTok for education’ startup, draws on Duolingo to add bite-sized learning too

Wed, 09 Oct 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Middle and high schoolers are both the easiest and most difficult audience. If you’re developing a neat little video game, chances are they’re willing to download it right away. But if, like the team behind Revyze, you’re working on a learning app, good luck pitching them.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ollie scoops up health startup to launch a tool that analyzes dog poop

Tue, 08 Oct 2024 20:00:00 -0000

The global pet food market has become fiercely competitive, with an estimated market share of $103.3 billion in 2023 and still growing. This growth has led many companies to target pet owners who are willing to invest in quality food to enhance their pets’ well-being and longevity.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SoCreate wants to transform screenwriting software with AI imagery and community sharing tools

Tue, 08 Oct 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Many screenwriters have embraced modern tools over traditional PDFs to craft their film or TV show pilots. SoCreate, the latest entrant in the screenwriting software arena, is challenging established players like Final Draft and Celtx with its fresh approach to storytelling.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AirOps is an all-in-one platform for generating and managing AI-based marketing content

Mon, 07 Oct 2024 20:00:00 -0000

To some degree, every business that has a presence on the web is in the content business — whether that’s for informing customers, finding new clients, or for SEO. That means managing the production of those texts and images, updating them, and potentially optimizing them for a search engine to index and rank.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Voyage AI is building RAG tools to make AI hallucinate less

Mon, 07 Oct 2024 10:00:00 -0000

AI tends to make things up. That’s unappealing to just about anyone who uses it on a regular basis, but especially to businesses, for which fallacious results could hurt the bottom line. Half of workers responding to a recent survey from Salesforce say they worry answers from their company’s generative AI-powered systems are inaccurate

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Spill, the Black-owned Twitter alternative, scores investment from Kerry Washington

Fri, 04 Oct 2024 20:00:00 -0000

As the second anniversary of Spill rolls around, Spill has something else to celebrate: Emmy-winning actress Kerry Washington has made an investment in his app.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pallet uses AI to bring logistics into the 21st century

Fri, 04 Oct 2024 10:15:00 -0000

Transportation and warehousing are multi-trillion-dollar industries, but the technologies that power them are often outdated, inefficient and siloed. Pallet, which is announcing an $18 million Series A funding round led by Bain Capital Ventures today, has built an all-in-one transportation and warehouse management system that uses AI to help these businesses streamline their operations

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Numa raises $32M to bring AI and automation to car dealerships

Thu, 03 Oct 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Numa, a startup developing AI-powered automation tech for car dealerships, has raised fresh capital in a Series B round.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Eon emerges from stealth with $127M to bring a fresh approach to back up cloud infrastructure

Thu, 03 Oct 2024 10:00:00 -0000

A team of founders who sold their last company to Amazon to build a new business within AWS is setting out to reinvent the tricky business of backing up an organization’s cloud infrastructure. Today, Eon — as their new startup is called — is coming out of stealth with a product, a set of customers, and more.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Beta Technologies unveils first passenger carrying electric aircraft

Wed, 02 Oct 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Beta Technologies unveiled Monday the next electric aircraft in its lineup — a passenger-carrying version of its ALIA vertical takeoff and landing and fixed-wing vehicles. Electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicles don’t rely on a runway, whereas fixed-wing aircraft do.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

.Airship wants to build better sales tools for HVAC contractors

Wed, 02 Oct 2024 10:00:00 -0000

The HVAC industry is going through a transformation. The old guard of tradespeople are on the cusp of retiring while private equity firms are consolidating the industry. Airship is building a software solution for HVAC’s next chapter.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Podcasting startup Podeo gets $5.4M to go beyond the Arab world

Tue, 01 Oct 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Podcast listeners crossed half a billion people at the end of last year as listenership maintained steady growth. With countries in the Arab world having some of the most engaged listeners, a podcasting startup out of Dubai is doubling down on the opportunity

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HungryPanda, a food ordering app for the Asian diaspora, picks up $55M

Tue, 01 Oct 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Apps catering to the Chinese and wider Asian diaspora, especially urban consumers focused on food, can be big business. Now, HungryPanda, one of the trailblazing startups in that market is announcing more funding. The food ordering and delivery app, founded in London and aimed squarely at Chinese and other Asian consumers living outside their home.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why Index Ventures is bulking up its investment team in NYC

Mon, 30 Sep 2024 20:00:00 -0000

While online discourse would make it seem that venture has retreated to the Bay Area, with San Francisco being the most important place to build a startup, Index Ventures is looking to bulk up its New York-based investing team.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Indian game streaming startup Loco sells majority stake to Redwood

Mon, 30 Sep 2024 10:00:00 -0000

UAE-based Redwood has acquired a majority stake in the game streaming platform Loco as the Indian firm looks to expand focus to international markets, TechCrunch has learned and confirmed. Redwood, a newly-formed investment firm, has signed a $65 million deal with Loco, an investment that also gives full exit to all existing Loco backers

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Prepared, which wants to ‘revolutionize’ emergency 911 calls, raises $27M

Fri, 27 Sep 2024 20:00:00 -0000

A company that claims its tech can “revolutionize” emergency calls has raised $27 million in a Series B round led by Andreessen Horowitz. The company, Prepared, enables 911 dispatchers to get a caller’s real-time GPS location if their phone supports it.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dinii, a cloud-based restaurant management platform, raises $45M Series B

Fri, 27 Sep 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Japan has always been a strong market for bringing technology into the experience of consuming food, and now one of the startups leading on this idea is attracting investors from across the ocean.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WhatFix raises a whopping $125M for its in-app user guides

Thu, 26 Sep 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Digital transformation — upgrading a company’s legacy apps and processes with new tech — has long been a buzzy and lucrative business. But the pandemic supercharged the market. Covid pandemic lockdowns and the widespread move to work-from-home spurred brands relying on old technology to modernize their organizations.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Radian Aerospace completes ground tests of prototype space plane

Thu, 26 Sep 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Radian Aerospace has moved one step closer to achieving the “holy grail” of spaceflight: a reusable space plane that can take-off from an airfield and land on a runway like a conventional airplane. The startup just announced completion of a series of ground tests in Abu Dhabi earlier this summer.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fintech Mesa promises 1% cash back on mortgages, up to 3x on other home needs

Wed, 25 Sep 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Mortgage fintech Mesa has emerged from stealth on Tuesday with $9.2 million in seed capital and a novel idea for homeowners. It’s offering cash back and rewards on all spending done on the home, including the mortgage itself.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Torq, which automates cybersecurity workflows, raises $70M in new capital

Wed, 25 Sep 2024 10:00:00 -0000

As the volume of cyberattacks grows, there’s increasing interest from the corporate sector in tech to help automate responses to breaches. Per a 2023 survey from analytics firm Devo, 80% of security leaders expected expanded investments in security automation technology this year; most cited the tech’s potential to support cyber threat mitigation.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jump raises $12M to help freelancers get benefits just like employees

Tue, 24 Sep 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Jump offers full-time contracts to freelancers looking for some stability and the benefits involved with a full-time job.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

David Energy is going up against Goliath energy incumbents

Tue, 24 Sep 2024 10:00:00 -0000

James McGinniss has been obsessed with decarbonization and the energy grid since he was a high schooler over a decade ago. Now, his startup David Energy has a lofty goal: getting the energy grid to run entirely on clean energy in the next 10 years.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

FTC report on predatory social media data hoarding hints at future regulations

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 20:00:00 -0000

A new FTC report on how social media and streaming sites collect and monetize their hoards of user data doesn’t really feature a lot of surprises for anyone who’s followed the space

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Health insurance startup Alan reaches $4.5B valuation with new $193M funding round

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Belfius is leading Alan’s Series F funding round of €173 million (around $193 million at current exchange rates).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tidal Metals sees seawater as the solution to a critical mineral shortage

Fri, 20 Sep 2024 20:00:00 -0000

The startup, previously known as GreenBlu, was working on desalination when it realized there was more value in the minerals that were left behind.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Brightband sees a bright (and open-source) future for AI-powered weather forecasting

Fri, 20 Sep 2024 10:00:00 -0000

With an explosion of weather and climate data that the last generation of tools can’t handle, is AI the future of forecasting? Research certainly suggests so, and a newly funded startup called Brightband is taking a shot at turning machine learning forecast models into both a business and open source standard.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nurture wants to teach kids important life skills through interactive gameplay and entertainment

Thu, 19 Sep 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Parents understand the challenge of keeping young kids engaged in online learning. Nurture is a new app designed for children aged 4 to 7 that features interactive content and games to capture their interest. The company’s mission is to equip children with critical life skills such as socializing, basic financial understanding, mindfulness, fitness, nutrition,

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Neuralink’s ‘breakthrough device’ clearance from FDA does not mean they have cured blindness

Thu, 19 Sep 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Neuralink, the Elon Musk-owned brain-computer interface company, has received “breakthrough device” clearance from the FDA. But this does not mean they have developed a cure for blindness, whatever Musk might say.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Quick-commerce startup Flink raises another $150M at a valuation of nearly $1B

Wed, 18 Sep 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Flink, a quick-commerce startup out of Berlin that was an acquisition target of Gorillas, Getir, Amazon, and Gopuff, is spelling out how it plans to go forth on its own. TechCrunch has exclusively learned that the company has raised $150 million, which it will use to double down on business in Germany and the Netherlands

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Greenlite, founded by an ex-Gopuff exec, automates construction permitting

Wed, 18 Sep 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Construction permitting often involves drafting lengthy applications, leading to unpredictable timelines for developers and businesses. There are tens of thousands of jurisdictions — each with their own different forms and application processes for building permits. Ben Allen knows a thing or two about permitting.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AI coding assistant Supermaven raises cash from OpenAI and Perplexity co-founders

Tue, 17 Sep 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Supermaven, an AI coding assistant, has raised $12 million in a funding round that had participation from OpenAI and Perplexity co-founders.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Life360’s Tile introduces its first new Bluetooth trackers since its acquisition

Tue, 17 Sep 2024 10:00:00 -0000

It’s been three years since Life360’s $205 million acquisition of AirTag competitor Tile. The company announced Monday its new lineup of lost-item Bluetooth trackers, featuring a sleeker redesign in new colors—aqua blue, green, navy blue, and pink

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

OffDeal wants to help small businesses find big exits with AI agents

Mon, 16 Sep 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Small businesses are the unsung heroes of the American economy, employing nearly half of America’s workforce and making up 44% of the country’s GDP.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Humanz brings its influencer marketing platform to the U.S.

Mon, 16 Sep 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Humanz, a marketing platform for content creators and brands, has entered the U.S. market, the company announced on Thursday. Having launched in Israel in 2017, Humanz has gained strong traction in global markets, including Europe, Latin America, South Africa, and the Middle East.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nuro pivots to license self-driving tech to carmakers, mobility companies

Fri, 13 Sep 2024 20:00:00 -0000

After multiple rounds of layoffs in 2022 and 2023, Nuro is pivoting its business strategy to focus more on the startup’s core autonomous driving technology instead of owning and operating a fleet of low-speed, on-road delivery bots

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tune.FM wants to take on Spotify by using crypto to pay artists up to 100x more per stream

Fri, 13 Sep 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Tune.FM is a decentralized music streaming service where users pay for each song they stream using Tune.FM's crypto token JAM.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Paymob, started by three college friends, lands another $22 million and is profitable in Egypt

Thu, 12 Sep 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Paymob has evolved into an omnichannel gateway offering over 50 methods for offline and online payments to more than 350,000+ merchants.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Atomico backs Tem to help businesses buy renewable energy directly from sources

Thu, 12 Sep 2024 10:25:00 -0000

Tem wants to do for utilities what neobanks have done for the financial sector: disrupt an industry using tech, streamline it, and cut out the middlemen.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Qualifyze swallows $54M to improve pharmaceutical supply chains

Wed, 11 Sep 2024 20:00:00 -0000

In the world of pharmaceuticals, companies aim to operate under GMP guidelines — a set of production and manufacturing measures to assure standards for medicinal products. But too often, the reality is anything but that. “Officially, GMP stands for ‘Good Manufacturing Practices,’” said Dr. David Schneider, the founder and CEO of Qualifyze.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Neurode wants to treat and track ADHD symptoms through a wearable headband

Wed, 11 Sep 2024 10:40:00 -0000

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects more than 366 million adults globally, according to a 2020 study, but beyond medicating with stimulants like Adderall and Ritalin, there are few alternatives for people who suffer from the disorder. Therapy, education, and lifestyle changes are usually also advised, but those avenues can prove difficult as well.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sunamp’s thermal battery uses a chemical found in salt-and-vinegar potato chips

Tue, 10 Sep 2024 20:00:00 -0000

The startup has devised a durable way to store solar power as heat that can then be used for household heating or hot water.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The coolest startup in the Bay Area is a baseball team called the Oakland Ballers

Tue, 10 Sep 2024 10:00:00 -0000

This year, the B’s made their debut in the Pioneer League, a professional baseball organization that’s partnered with the MLB, but unlike the minor leagues, it’s not tied to any existing MLB teams.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

All Hands AI raises $5M to build open source agents for developers

Mon, 09 Sep 2024 20:00:00 -0000

As with many open source startups, All Hands AI expects to monetize its service by offering paid, closed-source enterprise features.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Driverless car-sharing startup Vay steers toward B2B services

Mon, 09 Sep 2024 09:50:00 -0000

The new business-to-business division is a bet on what co-founder and CEO Thomas von der Ohe thinks is the future of mobility.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Reonic raises €13 million to help small installers of green tech like heat pumps and solar panels

Fri, 06 Sep 2024 20:00:00 -0000

European regulators are pushing hard for greener energy. The REPowerEU plan calls for 10 million additional heat pumps to be added by 2027, and solar panels are also on the rise. But most installations are done by small businesses that could be more productive with better work processes.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As remote working keeps rolling, Oyster raises $59M Series D at $1.2B valuation

Fri, 06 Sep 2024 10:00:00 -0000

No one is putting the remote working genie back in the bottle. Which is good news for Oyster, a payroll and HR platform that specializes in distributed workforces – or “global employment” as its marketing paints it

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dutch clean energy investor SET Ventures lands new €200 million fund, which will go toward digital tech

Thu, 05 Sep 2024 20:00:00 -0000

New climate tech VC firms have emerged in recent years, but existing ones are also raising larger funds. Founded in 2007, Dutch firm SET Ventures is one of the latter.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You.com ‘refocuses’ from AI search to deeper productivity agents with new $50M round

Thu, 05 Sep 2024 20:00:00 -0000

If you build an AI search product, you compete with Google. But Google has a lot easier time answering queries with a single, simple answer, such as “how many is a dozen?” than it does answering complex questions like “what influence did Thomas Paine’s ‘Common Sense’ have on Enlightenment ideals?”x

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

‘Hospital at home’ startup Doccla raises $46 million for its European expansion

Wed, 04 Sep 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Hospitals around the world regularly face bed shortages — an issue that can get exacerbated to breaking point when a health scare or other large-scale disaster occurs. A startup called Doccla is bringing technology to bear address the issue: it’s building “virtual bed” tech to help doctors remotely manage patients who have either been discharged or not.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Laptop-leasing startup Fleet wants to become the IT companion for small companies

Wed, 04 Sep 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Fleet is launching several software services on top of its hardware-as-a-service proposition, from device management to cybersecurity and insurance.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Generative AI coding startup Magic lands $320M investment from Eric Schmidt, Atlassian and others

Tue, 03 Sep 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Magic, an AI startup developing models to generate code and automate a range of software development tasks, says that it’s raised a large tranche of cash from investors including ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt. In a blog post this morning,

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

‘Emotion AI’ may be the next trend for business software, and that could be problematic

Tue, 03 Sep 2024 10:00:00 -0000

As businesses experiment with embedding AI everywhere, one area starting to gain more attention is Emotion AI.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Atlassian acquires Rewatch as it gets into AI meeting bots

Mon, 02 Sep 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Atlassian plans to integrate Rewatch into its recently launched Rovo AI platform so that transcripts become searchable within the overall business context.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The guy who sued NAR over real estate fees has co-founded a startup

Mon, 02 Sep 2024 10:00:00 -0000

One of the people who successfully sued the National Association of Realtors (NAR) to change real estate commissions has co-founded a new real estate startup. It all began in 2017 when Josh Sitzer and his wife listed their home for sale in Kansas City.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bluesky adds ‘anti-toxicity’ tools and aims to integrate ‘a Community Notes-like’ feature in the future

Fri, 30 Aug 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Bluesky on Wednesday introduced the ability to hide replies, as well as a way to detach your original post from someone's quote post.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fluid Truck’s board ousted its sibling co-founders amid allegations of mismanaging funds

Fri, 30 Aug 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Fluid Truck, a startup that was founded to disrupt the commercial vehicle rental industry, has ousted its sibling co-founders – CEO James Eberhard and chief legal counsel Jenifer Snyder – according to sources familiar with the matter.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Planera raises $13.5M to help solve the gnarly problem of scheduling for construction contractors

Thu, 29 Aug 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Planera, scheduling and planning software for commercial construction projects, has raised $13.5 million to expand its reach and help general contractors with more features.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Supio brings generative AI to personal injury cases

Thu, 29 Aug 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Supio uses generative AI to automate bulk data collection and aggregation for legal teams. It emerged from stealth Tuesday with a $25 million investment.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Food delivery is seeing more consolidation: GrubMarket snaps up FreshGoGo

Wed, 28 Aug 2024 20:00:00 -0000

GrubMarket, the $3.6 billion food delivery and supply chain startup backed by Tiger Global, BlackRock and nearly 100 other investors, has snapped up another food delivery startup on its consolidation march: It is acquiring FreshGoGo, a New York-based, B2C platform selling Asian groceries and ready-made dishes.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Piramidal’s foundation model for brainwaves could supercharge EEGs

Wed, 28 Aug 2024 10:00:00 -0000

AI models are being applied to every dataset under the sun, but are inconsistent in their outcomes. This is as true in the medical world as anywhere else, but a startup called Piramidal believes it has a sure thing with a foundational model for analyzing brain scan data.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The founder building a wealth-management product her grandmother would have loved

Tue, 27 Aug 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Mical Jeanlys-White built WealthMore out of frustration. She spent years on Wall Street, building products at American Express and serving as a managing director at JPMorgan Chase. She realized the finance industry still had a long way to go when it came to helping consumers build and understand wealth.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Travly lets travelers submit videos for a chance to earn a 5% commission from hotel bookings

Tue, 27 Aug 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Travly is a new social-first discovery and hotel booking platform designed to cater to the growing number of travelers who rely on short-form video content for trip ideas.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tingit is building a marketplace for ‘zero-effort’ repairs, starting with fashion

Mon, 26 Aug 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Tingit, a startup out of Lithuania, wants to help people restore their used clothing to their former glory with its newly launched repairs marketplace.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Openmart wants to make it easier for enterprises to sell to local businesses

Fri, 23 Aug 2024 20:00:00 -0000

In 2020, Kathryn Wu launched a side hustle while she was working as a product engineer at Pinterest. Wu started a milk tea company, Ohtea, with the hopes of connecting with local grocery stores and gift shops to get them to carry the tea.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dropbox acquires Index Ventures-backed AI scheduling tool Reclaim.ai

Fri, 23 Aug 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Dropbox has acquired AI-powered scheduling tool Reclaim.ai, which counts Calendly and Index Ventures among its backers. The development was revealed in a blog post on Reclaim.ai’s website Tuesday. Dropbox hasn’t disclosed the terms of the deal.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Rounds scoops up $24M to bring its ‘household restocking’ delivery service to more markets

Thu, 22 Aug 2024 20:00:00 -0000

The Rounds, the startup that delivers recurring grocery and household essentials in reusable packaging, announced on Monday its $24 million Series B funding round. The new capital will go toward product development, hiring, and expanding the service to additional markets. Alongside the funding announcement, The Rounds introduced new features for customers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SleekFlow snaps up $7M to tap the conversational AI opportunity across Asia

Thu, 22 Aug 2024 10:00:00 -0000

SleekFlow, a Singapore- and Hong Kong-headquartered social commerce platform that has built a conversational AI suite for customer engagement targeted to Asian markets, said Wednesday it had secured a further $7 million in funding. The money will be used to continue developing its AI, as well as penetrate deeper into Southeast Asia.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Beyond Math’s ‘digital wind tunnel’ puts a physics-based AI simulation to work on F1 cars

Wed, 21 Aug 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Simulating the real world is a tremendously complex problem if you want to do it at any useful level of fidelity. Traditional techniques are holding back design teams at vehicle and aerospace companies, but Beyond Math is putting AI on the task with a new way of simulating the world that could save them days.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Defcon AI closes $44M seed round to solve a problem of ‘maximum complexity’: Military logistics

Wed, 21 Aug 2024 10:00:00 -0000

The U.S. Department of Defense is a mammoth organization. It not only employs millions of service members and hundreds of thousands of civilian employees, but also has the world’s largest military budget that’s used to buy and maintain more equipment than can likely fit into a single paragraph.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Procreate takes a stand against generative AI, vows to never incorporate the tech into its products

Tue, 20 Aug 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Popular iPad design app Procreate is coming out against generative AI, and has vowed never to introduce generative AI features into its products. The company said on its website that although machine learning is a “compelling technology with a lot of merit,” the current path that generative AI is on is wrong for its platform.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Keychain aims to unlock a new approach to manufacturing consumer goods

Tue, 20 Aug 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Brands can use Keychain to look up different products and see who actually manufactures them.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Keychain aims to unlock a new approach to manufacturing consumer goods

Mon, 19 Aug 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Brands can use Keychain to look up different products and see who actually manufactures them.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AI social media vetting startup Ferretly secures $2.5M, launches election personnel screening tool

Mon, 19 Aug 2024 10:00:00 -0000

An AI social media vetting startup Ferretly has raised $2.5 million in seed funding and is launching a new platform designed to screen election personnel. Founded in 2019, Ferretly leverages AI to scan social media and publicly available online data to uncover potential risks and behaviors that traditional background checks may overlook.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stoke Space’s initial launch plans at Cape Canaveral take shape

Fri, 16 Aug 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Stoke Space is nothing if not ambitious. The five-year-old launch startup has generated a lot of hype due to its bold plans to develop the first fully reusable rocket, with both the booster and second stage vertically returning to Earth.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

CodeRabbit raises $16M to bring AI to code reviews

Fri, 16 Aug 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Code reviews — peer reviews of code that help devs improve code quality — are time-consuming. According to one source, 50% of companies spend two to five hours a week on them. Without enough people, code reviews can be overwhelming and take devs away from other important work.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Move over SEO, Profound is helping brands with AI search optimization

Thu, 15 Aug 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Search engine optimization (SEO) has been top of mind for brands for more than a decade to ensure their websites and products capture as many eyeballs as possible by ranking high up on search results pages. But search is changing, and as consumers increasingly turn to AI chatbots like ChatGPT or Claude

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

EliseAI lands $75M for chatbots that help property managers deal with renters

Thu, 15 Aug 2024 10:00:00 -0000

EliseAI employs an army of chatbots to text with, email, and respond to calls from renters about things such as apartment tours, maintenance requests, lease renewals and delinquencies.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

.ArborXR secures $12M to boost its management platform for AR and VR devices

Wed, 14 Aug 2024 20:00:00 -0000

ArborXR, a startup that helps companies remotely manage AR and VR devices, believed that enterprise customers would be the primary targets for AR and VR devices. Now, that bet is paying off.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

PayZen secures $23M Series B, $200M debt facility to grow its “care now, pay later” product

Wed, 14 Aug 2024 10:00:00 -0000

PayZen aims to make healthcare more affordable by enabling patients to pay their bills in interest and fee-free instalments over time.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ex-Clubhouse employees take another swing at a social networking startup

Tue, 13 Aug 2024 20:00:00 -0000

The ex-Clubhouse, Netflix employees raised $1.65M for an app that combines social media, networking, and dating.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bandana lands new investment to help hourly wage workers find good jobs

Tue, 13 Aug 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Most startups are looking to solve a problem inside a business, but Bandana, a New York City-based startup has a different goal. It wants to help people at the lower end of the wage scale find better jobs with higher wages and good benefits, all while being closer to home to reduce commuting time

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Humidity sucks. Transaera has a new way to deal with it

Mon, 12 Aug 2024 20:00:00 -0000

The startup's core technology is a proprietary material that absorbs moisture from the air, allowing air conditioning to cool buildings more efficiently.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Archer to set up air taxi network in LA by 2026 ahead of World Cup

Mon, 12 Aug 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Los Angeles is notorious for its back-to-back traffic. Three events that promise to bring in millions of spectators from around the world — the 2026 World Cup, the Super Bowl in 2027, and the 2028 Olympics — have LA officials searching for a range of new mobility solutions to address its congestion problems.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cocoon is transforming steel production runoff into a greener cement alternative

Fri, 09 Aug 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Slag is the molten runoff created while producing steel in a traditional blast furnace. The material has been prized as greener cement alternative for creating concrete, the Earth’s most abundant human-made material. The runoff is facing supply chain issues, however, as the steel industry looks to greener methods of production.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Anduril raises $1.5B at a $14B valuation

Fri, 09 Aug 2024 10:00:00 -0000

The Palmer Luckey-founded defense startup wants to become a serious rival to longstanding kingpins, and has been clocking some big wins.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fintech Payoneer is buying 5-year-old global payroll startup Skuad for $61M in cash

Thu, 08 Aug 2024 20:00:00 -0000

New York-based fintech Payoneer has acquired Skuad, a Singapore-based global HR and payroll startup, for $61 million in cash, the company exclusively told TechCrunch. Payoneer said it could also pay up to another $10 million, contingent on if Skuad meets various performance goals within the first 18 months of the acquisition.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Database startup Neon nabs a Microsoft investment

Thu, 08 Aug 2024 10:00:00 -0000

In a sign that big tech companies are ready and willing to shell out cash for database tech, Neon, a startup building an open source alternative to AWS Aurora Postgres, on Wednesday announced that Microsoft’s venture arm M12 led a $25 million strategic investment in its business.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

H3X scales up its electric aerospace ambitions with $20M in new funding

Wed, 07 Aug 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Many industries that rely on legacy energy sources are aiming to electrify or at least streamline their operations, but for countless use cases the tech just isn’t there. H3X is changing the game with electric motors so compact and efficient that the aerospace and marine world — not to mention investors — are taking notice.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Placer.ai boosts valuation to $1.5B after quietly raising another $75M

Wed, 07 Aug 2024 10:00:00 -0000

A startup developing AI market research based on location data, and backed by a who's who, has quietly raised, TechCrunch has learned.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From golf to hunting, a new crop of startups want to make these experiences even better

Tue, 06 Aug 2024 20:00:00 -0000

COVID-19 pushed people to take up outdoor activities. Now, startups are helping companies and consumers keep up with demand.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Trade My Spin is building a business around used Peloton equipment

Tue, 06 Aug 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Trade My Spin has pieced together a logistics network capable of offering same or next day delivery in most major cities in the continental U.S.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Google Cloud now has a dedicated cluster of Nvidia GPUs for Y Combinator startups

Mon, 05 Aug 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Google Cloud is giving Y Combinator startups access to a dedicated, subsidized cluster of Nvidia graphics processing units and Google tensor processing units to build AI models. It’s part of Google Cloud’s effort to cozy up with promising early-stage AI startups, in hopes some of them will evolve into massive, compute-hungry business.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Self-driving truck startup Aurora Innovation to sell up to $420M in shares ahead of commercial launch

Mon, 05 Aug 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Self-driving technology company Aurora Innovation is looking to raise hundreds of millions in additional capital as it races towards a driverless commercial launch by the end of 2024. Aurora, which went public in 2021 through a special purpose acquisition merger, is pursuing a driver-as-a-service model, wherein carriers purchase trucks with the Aurora Driver tech on

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Indian startups Ola Electric, FirstCry gut valuations ahead of IPOs

Fri, 02 Aug 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Two large Indian startups, Ola Electric and FirstCry, are set to test investor appetite with their public listings this month, but both have had to price their shares below their previous valuations as they come to terms with new market realities.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sybill raises $11M for its AI assistant that helps salespeople reduce administrative burden

Fri, 02 Aug 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Sybill, a startup that has built an AI assistant specifically for sales reps, has raised $11 million in a Series A round led by Greycroft.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Date Like Goblins, a new dating platform, allows users to virtually date and play video games

Thu, 01 Aug 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Date Like Goblins is geared toward the gaming community and allows users to connect through voice chat while playing video games.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Applied Carbon’s farm robot turns plant waste into biochar to capture CO2

Thu, 01 Aug 2024 10:00:00 -0000

The startup has raised $21.5 million to build more of its machines and deploy them throughout the U.S.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lime is piloting two new e-bikes to attract more women and older riders

Wed, 31 Jul 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Shared micromobility giant Lime is piloting two new vehicles designed to appeal to women and older folks who might appreciate a lower step-through frame, smaller wheels and an upgrade from pedal-assist. Lime has experimented with several new form factors over the years, something it can do because it designs and engineers its vehicles in-house.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Autonomous delivery startup Nuro is gearing up for a comeback

Wed, 31 Jul 2024 10:00:00 -0000

The California Department of Motor Vehicles this week granted Nuro approval to test its third-generation R3 autonomous delivery vehicle in four Bay Area cities, giving the AV startup a positive boost after facing some setbacks and financial struggles.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alphabet X spinoff Skip partners with Arc’teryx to bring ‘everyday’ exoskeleton to market

Tue, 30 Jul 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Skip exited stealth this week to announce a partnership with outdoor clothing specialist Arc’teryx. The deal is the first to bring Skip’s MO/GO technology to market: “powered pants” that utilize a soft exoskeleton technology, developed in-house at Alphabet’s X Labs moonshot factory. MO/GO, short for “mountain goat,” is a hybrid soft/rigid exoskeleton system.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stripe acquires payment processing startup Lemon Squeezy

Mon, 29 Jul 2024 20:15:00 -0000

Payments giant Stripe has acquired a four-year-old competitor, Lemon Squeezy, the latter company announced Friday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. As a self-proclaimed “merchant of record,” Lemon Squeezy calculates and pays global sales tax for digital products, handling legal processing and fees in every country. It primarily serves SaaS and software businesses.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Energy tech startup Greenely grabs €8M to reach more households and support Europe’s energy transition

Mon, 29 Jul 2024 10:00:00 -0000

The energy transition is a marathon, not a sprint. But opportunities for acceleration are growing. Swedish startup Greenely* has just spotted one. It’s closing an €8 million Series A funding round to expand its energy management platform into neighbouring Nordic countries (so around $8.7M at current exchange rates).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Intron Health gets backing for its speech recognition tool that recognizes African accents

Fri, 26 Jul 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Voice recognition is getting integrated in nearly all facets of modern living, but there remains a big gap: speakers of minority languages, and those with thick accents or speech disorders like stuttering are typically less able to use speech recognition tools that control applications, transcribe or automate tasks, among other functions.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kodiak Robotics is taking self-driving trucks off road to reach profitability faster

Fri, 26 Jul 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Don Burnette, CEO and co-founder of self-driving truck startup Kodiak Robotics, had an “a-ha” moment when the company started working with the U.S. Department of Defense. Kodiak’s mission has always been to pursue long-haul autonomous trucking, but two years ago, the startup won a $50 million contract from the DoD to help the Army automate

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Micropep taps tiny proteins to make pesticides safer

Thu, 25 Jul 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Farmers have got to do something about pests. But nobody really likes the idea of using more chemical pesticides. Thomas Laurent’s company, Micropep, thinks the answer might already be in the plants themselves. Micropep is exploring how naturally occurring compounds, known as micropeptides, might work as an entirely new class of pesticides.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

QA Wolf secures $36M to grow its app QA-testing suite

Thu, 25 Jul 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Quality assurance in the app development world is a necessary, but often resource-draining, undertaking. According to Statista, 23% of companies’ annual IT budgets are allocated to in-house or third-party contracted QA and testing. The stakes are high. In a survey by QA software-testing company QualiTest Group, 88% of app users said that they’d abandon apps.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Linx emerges from stealth with $33M to lock down the new security perimeter: Identity

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Identity management is one of the most common fulcrums around which security breaches have pivoted in the last several years. One of the main reasons it has become the gift that keeps on giving to malicious hackers is that it’s a nightmare for organizations to track. A security startup founded in Tel Aviv called Linx

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Farmblox puts the control into farmers’ hands with its AI-powered sensor-reading platform

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Nathan Rosenberg, the founder of farm automation platform Farmblox, said if there is one thing to know about trying to sell technology to farmers, it’s that you can’t tell them what to do.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Without this company’s technology, future fusion power plants might never light up

Tue, 23 Jul 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Marathon Fusion emerges from stealth with a plan to help fusion power plants extract tritium, a necessary fuel.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Unpacking how Alphabet’s rumored Wiz acquisition could affect VC

Tue, 23 Jul 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, is in advanced talks to acquire cybersecurity startup Wiz for $23 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. TechCrunch’s sources heard similar and added that deal discussions could last into next week. If this deal does end up getting done, it would be Alphabet’s largest acquisition yet.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

PE firm PartnerOne paid $28M for HeadSpin, a fraction of its $1.1B valuation set by ICONIQ and Dell Technologies Capital

Mon, 22 Jul 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Canadian private equity firm PartnerOne paid $28.2 million for HeadSpin, a mobile app testing startup whose founder has been sentenced for fraud earlier this year, according to documents viewed by TechCrunch. The fire sale was reported by TechCrunch last week.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fintech startup Coast lands $40M just 4 months after its last $25M raise

Mon, 22 Jul 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Coast, a startup that describes itself as “a financial services platform for the future of transportation,” has raised $40 million in Series B funding — just four months after announcing a $25 million round, the startup has told TechCrunch exclusively. Back-to-back fundraises were common prior to and during the wild investment days of 2021.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WHAM! Nuclear fusion experiment hits new record for magnet strength

Fri, 19 Jul 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Strong magnets are essential for the type of fusion power being pursued by Commonwealth Fusion Systems and a number of other startups.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Deel acquires Hofy to build its own IT device management service

Fri, 19 Jul 2024 16:00:00 -0000

Both of Hofy's co-founders, Sami Bouremoum and Michael Ginzo, along with the rest of the startup's leadership team and 120 employees, are joining Deel to build Deel IT.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A company building Wordle for chess raises money from a16z Speedrun, Mark Pincus and Eric Wu

Fri, 19 Jul 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Echo Chunk, a company that is building Wordle-styled daily chess puzzle game Echo Chess, has raised $1.4 million in pre-seed from a16z Speedrun (Andreessen Horowitz’s early stage games accelerator), founder of Zyanga Mark Pincus, South Park Commons (SPC), Opendoor founder and CEO Eric Wu and Stef Corazza, the Head of Generative AI at Roblox

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kandji raises another $100M for Apple device management as valuation rises to $850M

Thu, 18 Jul 2024 20:00:00 -0000

At a time when many startups have struggled to raise money and keep their heads above water, Kandji, an Apple device management platform, has been an exception.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Astor’s ‘community’ approach to financial advice aims to help women feel more confident about investing

Thu, 18 Jul 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Astor is a free personal finance platform for women that merges community and investing in an approachable way, came to be.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Toddle wants to ‘change how we build software’ with a collaborative visual web app builder

Wed, 17 Jul 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Danish startup Toddle has launched a no-code web app builder that's designed as a full-featured alternative to Javascript frameworks.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Adaptive builds automation tools to speed up construction payments

Wed, 17 Jul 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Adaptive is a platform that provides tools designed to simplify payments and accounting for general construction contractors.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How VanMoof’s new owners plan to win over its old customers

Tue, 16 Jul 2024 20:00:00 -0000

When VanMoof declared bankruptcy last year, it left around 5,000 customers who had pre-ordered e-bikes in the lurch. Now VanMoof is up and running under new management, and the company’s current owners are courting those same customers by offering them a €1,000 discount off a new bike.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why Commonwealth Fusion Systems’ superconducting magnet sale is more than it seems

Tue, 16 Jul 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Fusion power may still be a few years away, but one startup is laying the groundwork for what it hopes will become a bustling sector of the economy.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A startup set out to fight climate change — it did it by helping plumbers

Mon, 15 Jul 2024 10:00:00 -0000

The founders of HERO Software didn’t start out to help small tradespeople in construction with a platform. They started out to fight the climate crisis. But in doing so, they stumbled on a way to help the whole business. Now, the company has closed a €40 million Series B financing round, and plans to expand.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Beeble AI raises $4.75M to launch a virtual production platform for indie filmmakers

Fri, 12 Jul 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Visual effects have emerged as essential in filmmaking and have transformed storytelling and creativity in the film industry with its diverse digital techniques. However, the high cost of VFX tools often leaves independent filmmakers and content creators working with modest budgets struggling to compete with larger productions

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Joby Aviation is betting on hydrogen-electric aircraft for regional flight

Fri, 12 Jul 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Joby Aviation is still a year away from commercially launching its electric air taxi designed for urban environments, but the startup is already looking towards its next chapter: Intercity flight, powered by hydrogen. To get the conversation started with regulators and demonstrate hydrogen’s capabilities, Joby told TechCrunch that it completed a 523-mile test flight.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Iceland is dodging the VC doldrums as Frumtak Ventures lands $87 million for its fourth fund

Thu, 11 Jul 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Iceland’s startup scene is punching above its weight. That’s perhaps in part because it kept the 2021 hype in check, but mostly because its tech ecosystem is coming of age. Iceland attracted the most venture capital per capita of all Nordic countries in 2023, but that stat is somewhat skewed by its relatively small population.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Deep tech startups with very technical CEOs raise larger rounds, research finds

Thu, 11 Jul 2024 10:00:00 -0000

SaaS founders trying to figure out what it takes to raise their next round can refer to Point Nine’s famous yearly SaaS Funding Napkin. (The term refers to “back of the napkin” plans or calculations.) Now, European hardware deep tech teams have a similar resource from First Momentum, a pre-seed fund investing in technical B2B

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nala to use $40M Series A to build B2B payments platform, scale remittance services

Wed, 10 Jul 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Nala, a remittance startup that is now widening its portfolio through a new B2B payments platform, has raised $40 million equity in a rare deal that becomes one of the largest Series A transactions in Africa.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Byway is using AI to help travelers slow down and take the scenic route

Wed, 10 Jul 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Solo founder Cat Jones took the plunge on setting up a travel business right around the time the pandemic was hitting Europe in March 2020. Fast forward to summer 2024 and her curated package tour business, Byway, is announcing close of an oversubscribed £5.4 million Series A round (around $6.9M at current exchange rates).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Investors chase wealthtech startups in India as affluent class grows

Tue, 09 Jul 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Investors are betting on Indian wealthtech startups as a growing middle class turns to diversify investments and startups challenge traditional financial advisors for high-net-worth clients. Premji Invest is in advanced stages of talks to lead a funding round of $30 million to $40 million in Dezerv, an app offering a suite of investment solutions

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Quantum Rise grabs $15M seed for its AI-driven ‘Consulting 2.0’ startup

Tue, 09 Jul 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Quantum Rise, a Chicago-based startup which does AI-driven automation for companies like dunnhumby (a retail analytics platform for the the grocery industry), has raised a $15 million seed round from Erie Street Growth Partners. Its approach is somewhat akin to UIPath’s, a company famous for bringing robotic process automation to the enterprise.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Amazon hires founders away from AI startup Adept

Mon, 08 Jul 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Adept, a startup developing AI-powered “agents” to complete various software-based tasks, has agreed to license its tech to Amazon as the startup’s co-founders and portions of its team join the ecommerce giant. Geekwire’s Taylor Soper first reported the news

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Husband-and-wife former Olympians target $50M for new fund to invest in influencer-led consumer brands

Mon, 08 Jul 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Samyr Laine and Ayanna Alexander-Laine now put their grit and determination to work for founders wanting to launch and scale consumer brands.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

News outlets are accusing Perplexity of plagiarism and unethical web scraping

Fri, 05 Jul 2024 20:30:00 -0000

In the age of generative AI, when chatbots can provide detailed answers to questions based on content pulled from the internet, the line between fair use and plagiarism, and between routine web scraping and unethical summarization, is a thin one.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

CoinDCX acquires BitOasis in international expansion push

Fri, 05 Jul 2024 10:00:00 -0000

CoinDCX, India’s leading cryptocurrency exchange, is expanding internationally through the acquisition of BitOasis, a digital asset platform in the Middle East and North Africa, the companies said Wednesday. The Bengaluru-based startup said BitOasis’s team is joining CoinDCX, with the original leadership continuing to manage the exchange, which offers trading in more than 60 tokens.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Indian edtech Unacademy cuts another 250 jobs

Thu, 04 Jul 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Indian edtech giant Unacademy is laying off about 250 employees, the latest in a series of layoffs since the reopening of schools across the country after the pandemic. The Bengaluru-headquartered startup, valued at $3.4 billion in its last funding in 2021, is cutting 100 jobs in core roles (marketing, business and product) ,

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Altrove uses AI models and lab automation to create new materials

Thu, 04 Jul 2024 12:00:00 -0000

For the past couple of years, innovation has been accelerating in new materials development. And a new French startup called Altrove plans to play a role in this innovation cycle. The deep tech startup has already raised €3.7 million (around $4 million at current exchange rates).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the AI boom gobbles up power, Phaidra is helping companies manage datacenter power more efficiently

Wed, 03 Jul 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Electricity demand is booming on account of AI. In a May 2024 report, Goldman Sachs predicted that data centers will use 8% of the U.S.’s total power supply by 2030, up from 3% in 2022, as cloud service providers expand to meet the demand for AI infrastructure.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sensorita uses digital twins to help waste management companies streamline construction waste

Wed, 03 Jul 2024 10:00:00 -0000

The amount of waste produced by the construction industry adds up to more than a third of the overall waste produced each year in the European Union. And it’s no better in the U.S. Stateside, the construction industry produces more than double the waste that households do each year.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Illumex is using GenAI to ease pain of getting good data into LLMs

Tue, 02 Jul 2024 20:00:00 -0000

By now we know how crucial it is to have quality data for use by large language models (LLMs), but getting data ready for the models has been an early challenge for companies, an opening that represents an opportunity for an enterprising entrepreneur.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cold shipping might be the next industry that batteries disrupt

Tue, 02 Jul 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Artyc has raised $14 million to date and has a product on the market, Medstow Micro, that helps ship temperature-sensitive specimens.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rondo Energy funding shows a new way across the climate startup ‘valley of death’

Mon, 01 Jul 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Climate tech startups especially those building hardware, face a particular challenge when trying to move beyond the prototype or pilot phase and start selling finished products to customers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Austin-based Ironspring Ventures raised $100m to invest in industrial revolution

Mon, 01 Jul 2024 10:00:00 -0000

When Ironspring Ventures launched in 2020 to back startups in industrial sectors like construction and manufacturing, it was one of very few early-stage venture firms paying attention to those capital-intensive sectors. Now, the firm is doubling down. The Austin, Texas-based firm raised $100 million for its second fund to focus on industrial startups.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sensi.AI grabs $31M Series B from Insight, Zeev to monitor seniors 24/7

Sat, 29 Jun 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Older adults increasingly want to age in their homes rather than nursing facilities. A study by the American Association of Retired People (AARP) found that nearly 90% of people over 65 want to stay in their homes as they grow older.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Etched is building an AI chip that only runs one type of model

Fri, 28 Jun 2024 20:00:00 -0000

As generative AI touches a growing number of industries, the companies producing chips to run the models are benefitting enormously. Nvidia in particular, which commands an estimated 70% to 95% of the market for AI chips, wields massive influence. Cloud providers from Meta to Microsoft are spending billions of dollars on Nvidia GPUs

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rainforest lands $20M to challenge Stripe with embedded payments for SaaS providers

Fri, 28 Jun 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Rainforest, a startup that embeds payment processing into other software platforms, has raised $20 million in Series A funding — less than a year after announcing the close of its seed financing. Raising back-to-back rounds was more common in 2021 but we don’t see it happening as often in this new environment.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Boeing’s Wisk Aero buys Verocel to boost software safety for self-flying eVTOL

Thu, 27 Jun 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Wisk Aero, a subsidiary of Boeing, has acquired Verocel, a software verification and validation company with 25 years of experience in the aerospace industry. Wisk has an autonomous-first approach to eVTOL. The company’s Generation 6 aircraft, which is slated to begin airborne tests this year, is designed to be supervised by humans, but not physically

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rocketlane snags $24M to bring AI-led experiences for professional services teams

Thu, 27 Jun 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Rocketlane initially aimed to support customer onboarding. However, it has broadened its scope and doubled down on addressing the needs of professional services teams.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Emergence thinks it can crack the AI agent code

Wed, 26 Jun 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Yet another generative AI venture has raised a bundle of money. And, like the others before it, it’s promising the moon. Emergence, whose co-founders include Satya Nitta, the former head of global AI solutions at IBM’s research division, today emerged from stealth with $97.2 million in funding from Learn Capital plus credit lines totaling more

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Silicon Valley leaders are once again declaring ‘DEI’ bad and ‘meritocracy’ good — but they’re wrong

Wed, 26 Jun 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Scale AI founder Alexandr Wang set off another debate with an anti-DEI post. It revealed a lot about the current state of DEI in tech.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How 2 high school teens raised a $500K seed round for their API startup (yes, it’s AI)

Tue, 25 Jun 2024 20:00:00 -0000

18-year-olds Christopher Fitzgerald and Nicholas Van Landschoot have founded APIGen, a platform to build custom APIs from natural language prompts.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

‘Lawyer-in-the-loop’ startup Wordsmith wants to bring AI paralegals to all employees

Tue, 25 Jun 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Wordsmith, a fledgling Scottish legal tech startup, has somehow managed to attract the backing of two well-known venture capital firms. The startup targets in-house legal teams and law firms with an AI platform that they can configure to help other workers in the company.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ex-HubSpot exec builds an AI-powered CRM that learns for you, with $4M seed led by Sequoia

Mon, 24 Jun 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Christopher O’Donnell has hobbies. He likes music and playing guitar, but above all, he loves building software. Which is why three years after leaving HubSpot, he built Day.ai, a CRM for the age AI. Unlike modern CRMs, which are essentially giant spreadsheets that somebody needs to populate and keep updated, Day learns everything

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Language learning app Speak nets $20M, doubles valuation

Mon, 24 Jun 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Speak, the AI-powered language learning app, has raised new money from investors at double its previous valuation.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Société Générale to sell its freelancer challenger bank Shine to Ageras

Fri, 21 Jun 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Four years after acquiring Shine, a French fintech startup that offers bank accounts to freelancers and very small companies, Société Générale has announced plans to sell Shine to Ageras.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Daydream rakes in $50M seed funding to build an AI-powered search engine suited for e-commerce

Fri, 21 Jun 2024 10:00:00 -0000

For retailers, e-commerce is a bit of a puzzle at the moment. Online shopping trends are expected to stay strong this year, so companies can’t afford to curtail their e-commerce budgets, but at the same time, e-commerce is more fragmented than ever before.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Seen is a new app for friends to record reactions to TikToks and other content

Thu, 20 Jun 2024 20:00:00 -0000

We all know the feeling when we send a funny TikTok video, anticipating a response from a friend, only to receive a basic laughing emoji or, worse, no reaction at all.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bitsening raises $25M for its high-resolution radar in autonomous driving

Thu, 20 Jun 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Self-driving vehicles rely on many sensors to detect objects and the world around them. The conventional approach is to work with cameras and lidars.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kilimo helps farmers save water and get paid for it

Wed, 19 Jun 2024 20:50:00 -0000

Cheap irrigation has transformed many regions around the world into breadbaskets, but it also means that there can be little left for other uses.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

EV startup Fisker files for bankruptcy

Wed, 19 Jun 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Check out TechCrunch.com for more news.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Loop Golf looks to take the stress out of booking a tee time

Tue, 18 Jun 2024 20:05:00 -0000

Golf has exploded in popularity in recent years thanks to the pandemic and the popularity of Netflix’s Full Swing documentary series. More than 531 million rounds of golf were played in the U.S. in 2023 alone, according to the National Golf Foundation.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What StepStone’s $3.3B venture secondaries fund tells us about LPs’ current appetite for venture

Mon, 17 Jun 2024 20:00:00 -0000

StepStone raised the largest fund dedicated to investing in venture secondaries ever, the firm announced last week.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GPTZero’s founders, still in their 20s, have a profitable AI detection startup, millions in the bank and a new $10M Series A

Mon, 17 Jun 2024 10:00:00 -0000

GPTZero's growth and financials made it one of the AI startups ruthlessly pursued by VCs. And Footwork's Nikhil Basu Trivedi won the deal.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Friends & Family Capital, a fund founded by ex-Palantir CFO and son of IVP’s founder, unveils third $118M fund

Fri, 14 Jun 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Small VC firms require deep trust, mutual support, and long-term commitment among the partners —a kinship that, in many ways, resembles a family dynamic.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AccountsIQ takes in $65M to boost its bookkeeping tools with AI

Fri, 14 Jun 2024 10:00:00 -0000

AccountsIQ, a Dublin-founded accounting technology company, has raised $65 million to build “the finance function of the future” for mid-sized companies.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Let there be Light! Danish startup exits stealth with $13M seed funding to bring AI to general ledgers

Thu, 13 Jun 2024 20:00:00 -0000

It’s not the sexiest of subject matters, but someone needs to talk about it: The CFO tech stack — software used by the chief financial officers of the world — is ripe for disruption.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Civic Renewables is rolling up residential solar installers to improve quality and grow the market

Thu, 13 Jun 2024 10:00:00 -0000

With most residential solar panels installed by smaller companies, customer experience can be a mixed bag.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kelvin wants to help save the planet by applying AI to home energy audits

Wed, 12 Jun 2024 20:00:00 -0000

French startup Kelvin, which uses computer vision and machine learning to make it easier to audit homes for energy efficiency, has raised $5.1M.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Raspberry Pi is now a public company as its shares pop after IPO pricing

Wed, 12 Jun 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Who would have thought that Raspberry Pi, the maker of cheap, single-board computers, would become a public company?

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Anterior grabs $20M from NEA to expedite health insurance approvals with AI

Tue, 11 Jun 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Anterior, a company that uses AI to expedite health insurance approval for medical procedures

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Autonomy’s Mike Lynch acquitted after US fraud trial brought by HP

Tue, 11 Jun 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Former Autonomy chief executive Mike Lynch issued a statement Thursday following his acquittal of criminal charges, ending a 13-year legal battle with Hewlett-Packard that became one of Silicon Valley’s biggest fraud cases.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Novel battery manufacturer EnerVenue is raising $515M, per filing

Mon, 10 Jun 2024 20:00:00 -0000

The company is in the process of building a gigawatt-scale factory in Kentucky to produce its nickel-hydrogen batteries.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Carta’s valuation to be cut by billions in an upcoming secondary sale

Mon, 10 Jun 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Carta, a once-high-flying Silicon Valley startup that loudly backed away from one of its businesses earlier this year, is working on a secondary sale that would value the company at $2 billion

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Eyebot raised $6M for AI-powered kiosks that provide 90-second eye exams without optometrist

Fri, 07 Jun 2024 20:00:00 -0000

"Over half of Americans wear corrective glasses or contact lenses. While there isn’t a shortage of low-cost and luxury frames available online or in stores, consumers can only buy them with a current eyeglass prescription. That means that they first need an eye exam from an optometrist to receive that prescription. But, due to a […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Whizz wants to own the delivery e-bike subscription space, starting with NYC

Fri, 07 Jun 2024 10:00:00 -0000

New York City, home to over 60,000 gig delivery workers, has been cracking down on cheap, uncertified e-bikes that have resulted in battery fires across the city.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Insurance provider Understory gets into renewable energy following $15M Series A

Thu, 06 Jun 2024 20:00:00 -0000

After growing 500% year-over-year in the past year, Understory is now launching a product focused on the renewable energy sector.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Eko Health scores $41M to detect heart disease earlier and more accurately

Thu, 06 Jun 2024 10:00:00 -0000

In 1816, French physician René Laennec invented an instrument that allowed doctors to listen to human hearts and lungs. That device — a stethoscope — eventually evolved from a simple wooden tube to a lightweight two-earpiece version most doctors today wear on their necks.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

‘Star Wars’ lasers and waterfalls of molten salt: How Xcimer plans to make fusion power happen

Wed, 05 Jun 2024 20:00:00 -0000

The startup has been pursuing a ground-up redesign of a well-understood technology.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Raspberry Pi partners with Hailo for its AI extension kit

Wed, 05 Jun 2024 10:00:00 -0000

The Raspberry Pi 5, the small-but-mighty computer that has become quite popular with tech hobbyists and industrial companies, is now also an AI computer.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Iyris makes fresh produce easier to grow in difficult climates, raises $16M

Tue, 04 Jun 2024 20:00:00 -0000

2023 was the hottest year on record, it doesn’t look like we’re cooling down anytime soon. Rising temperatures have made farming increasingly difficult in areas that were once prime agricultural resources where heat and drought have severely impacted crops.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ashby injects recruiting with a dose of AI

Tue, 04 Jun 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Ashby consolidates existing talent acquisition tools and leans heavily on AI to automate the more repetitive steps in the recruitment pipeline.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Former teen model co-created app Frich to help Gen Z be more realistic about finances

Mon, 03 Jun 2024 20:00:00 -0000

As a teen model, Katrin Kaurov became financially independent at a young age.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

YoLa Fresh, a GrubMarket for Morocco, digs up $7M to connect farmers with food sellers

Mon, 03 Jun 2024 10:00:00 -0000

YoLa Fresh works with over a thousand retailers across Morocco and records up to $1 million in gross merchandise volume.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

OneScreen.ai brings startup ads to billboards and NYC’s subway

Sat, 01 Jun 2024 13:00:00 -0000

When Alex Ewing was a kid growing up in Purcell, Oklahoma, he knew how close he was to home based on which billboards he could see out the car window.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Exactly.ai secures $4M to help artists use AI to scale up their output

Fri, 31 May 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Exactly.ai says it uses generative AI to help artists retain legal ownership of their art while being able to reproduce their designs faster and at scale.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tech startup Odyssey goes on journey to help states implement school choice programs

Thu, 30 May 2024 20:00:00 -0000

The company's public fund disbursement and e-commerce platform makes accepting school tuition and enabling educational enrichment more accessible.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kinnect’s new app aims to help families record and store generational memories

Thu, 30 May 2024 10:00:00 -0000

A new startup called Kinnect aims to help people privately save generational memories, traditions, recipes, and more.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ledger starts shipping its high-end hardware crypto wallet

Wed, 29 May 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Ledger, a French startup mostly known for its secure crypto hardware wallets, has started shipping new wallets nearly 18 months after announcing the latest Ledger Stax devices.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cloover wants to speed solar adoption by helping installers finance new sales

Wed, 29 May 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Small operations can lose customers by not offering financing, something the Berlin-based startup wants to change.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Doly lets you generate 3D product videos from your iPhone

Tue, 28 May 2024 20:00:00 -0000

AniML, the French startup behind a new 3D capture app called Doly, wants to create the PhotoRoom of product videos, sort of.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Indian EV startup Zypp Electric secures ENEOS backing to fund expansion to Southeast Asia

Tue, 28 May 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Indian startup Zypp Electric plans to use fresh investment from Japanese oil and energy conglomerate ENEOS to take its EV rental service into Southeast Asia early next year, TechCrunch has exclusively learned.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Auggie’s new app helps parents find community and shop

Mon, 27 May 2024 20:00:00 -0000

A new startup called Auggie is aiming to give parents a single platform where they can shop for products and connect with each other.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bugcrowd, the crowdsourced white-hat hacker platform, acquires Informer to ramp up its security chops

Mon, 27 May 2024 10:00:00 -0000

On the heels of raising $102 million earlier this year, Bugcrowd is making good on its promise to use some of that funding to make acquisitions to strengthen its security chops.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Autonomous shipping startup Orca AI tops up with $23M led by OCV Partners and MizMaa Ventures

Fri, 24 May 2024 20:00:00 -0000

If you thought autonomous driving was just for cars, think again.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Unify helps developers find the best LLM for the job

Fri, 24 May 2024 10:00:00 -0000

When developers have a particular job that AI can solve, it’s not typically as simple as just pointing an LLM at the data.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hydrolix seeks to make storing log data faster and cheaper

Thu, 23 May 2024 20:00:00 -0000

In 2008, Marty Kagan, who’d previously worked at Cisco and Akamai, co-founded Cedexis, a (now-Cisco-owned) firm developing observability tech for content delivery networks.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Patronus AI is off to a magical start as LLM governance tool gains traction

Thu, 23 May 2024 10:00:00 -0000

These days every company is trying to figure out if their large language models are compliant with whatever rules they deem important, and with legal or regulatory requirements

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rollup wants to be the hardware engineer’s workhorse

Wed, 22 May 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Hard tech startups generate a lot of buzz, but there’s a growing cohort of companies building digital tools squarely focused on making hard tech development faster, more efficient, and — well, a whole lot more like software development.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Zen Educate raises $37M and acquires Aquinas Education as it tries to address the teacher shortage

Wed, 22 May 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Zen Educate, an online marketplace that connects schools with teachers, has raised $37 million in a Series B round of funding.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

CyberArk snaps up Venafi for $1.54B to ramp up in machine-to-machine security

Tue, 21 May 2024 20:00:00 -0000

CyberArk — one of the army of larger security companies founded out of Israel — is acquiring Venafi, a specialist in machine identity, for $1.54 billion.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Agora raises $34B Series B to keep building the Carta for real estate

Tue, 21 May 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Since he was very young, Bar Mor knew that he would inevitably do something with real estate.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thoma Bravo’s LogRhythm merges with Exabeam in more cybersecurity consolidation

Mon, 20 May 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Private equity giant Thoma Bravo has announced that its security information and event management (SIEM) company LogRhythm will be merging with Exabeam, a rival cybersecurity company backed by the likes of Cisco and Lightspeed Venture Partners.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Spoor uses AI to save birds from wind turbines

Mon, 20 May 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Wind is the largest source of renewable energy in the U.S., according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, but wind farms come with an environmental cost as wind turbines can wreak havoc on bird populations.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Embedded accounting startup Layer secures $2.3M toward goal of replacing Quickbooks

Fri, 17 May 2024 10:00:00 -0000

So did investors laugh them out of the room when they explained how they wanted to replace Quickbooks? Kind of.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Meet PayHOA, a profitable and once-bootstrapped SaaS startup that just landed a $27.5M Series A

Thu, 16 May 2024 20:00:00 -0000

PayHOA, a previously bootstrapped Kentucky-based startup that offers software for self-managed homeowner associations is an example of how real-world problems can translate into opportunity.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Orange Charger thinks a $750 outlet will solve EV charging for apartment dwellers

Thu, 16 May 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Charging has long been the Achilles’ heel of electric vehicles. One startup thinks it has a better way for apartment dwelling EV drivers to charge overnight.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Aplazo is using buy-now-pay-later as a stepping stone to financial ubiquity in Mexico

Wed, 15 May 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Four-year-old Mexican BNPL startup Aplazo facilitates fractionated payments to offline and online merchants even when the buyer doesn't have a credit card.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sona, a frontline workforce management platform, raises $27.5M with eyes on US expansion

Wed, 15 May 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Sona, a workforce management platform for frontline employees, has raised $27.5 million in a Series A round of funding.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Retell AI lets companies build ‘voice agents’ to answer phone calls

Tue, 14 May 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Call centers are embracing automation. There’s debate as to whether that’s a good thing, but it’s happening — and quite possibly accelerating.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bluesky now lets you personalize its main Discover feed using new controls

Tue, 14 May 2024 10:00:00 -0000

The social network has announced an updated version of its app that lets you offer feedback about its algorithmic feed so you can better customize it.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Blackboard founder transforms Zoom add-on designed for teachers into business tool

Mon, 13 May 2024 20:00:00 -0000

When Class founder Michael Chasen was in college, he and a buddy came up with the idea for Blackboard, an online classroom organizational tool. His original company was acquired for $1.64 billion in 2011.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Triomics raises $15M Series A to automate cancer clinical trials matching

Mon, 13 May 2024 10:30:00 -0000

For cancer patients, medicines administered in clinical trials can help save or extend lives.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lucid Bots secures $9M for drones to clean more than your windows

Sat, 11 May 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Cleaning the outside of buildings is a dirty job, and it’s also dangerous

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Checkfirst raises $1.5M pre-seed to apply AI to remote inspections and audits

Fri, 10 May 2024 20:00:00 -0000

We’ve all seen them. The inspector with a clipboard, walking around a building, ticking off the last time the fire extinguishers were checked, or if all the lights are working.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Meati Foods bites into another $100M amid growth to 7,000 retail locations

Fri, 10 May 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Meati Foods is adding 2,000 retail locations within Kroger’s family of stores by April. Three products will be available, including the Classic cutlet as well as Classic and Carne Asada steaks.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After a $20M Series A funding, Germany’s Insempra plans eco-friendly lipid production

Thu, 09 May 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Insempra plans to turn oil yeast in lipids on an industrial scale using yeast fermentation factories.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Samsung Medison to acquire French AI ultrasound startup Sonio for $92.7M

Thu, 09 May 2024 10:16:00 -0000

The French startup's AI assistant is aimed at helping obstetricians and gynecologists with the evaluation and documentation of ultrasound exams.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

DocuSign acquires AI-powered contract management firm Lexion

Wed, 08 May 2024 20:00:00 -0000

As DocuSign reportedly explores a sale to private equity, it’s acquiring a company itself.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Honeycomb Insurance grabs $36M Series B from solo VC-led Zeev Ventures

Wed, 08 May 2024 09:00:00 -0000

When Itai Ben-Zaken’s first startup failed in 2018, the former BCG consultant and Wharton MBA spent months trying to understand what he could have done differently during the five years he ran the company.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dropbox, Figma CEOs back Lamini, a startup building a generative AI platform for enterprises

Tue, 07 May 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Lamini, a new startup with funding from Andrew Ng, has emerged from stealth with a generative AI platform aimed at enterprises.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Iconiq raises $5.15B toward seventh flagship fund

Tue, 07 May 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Iconiq Capital has raised $5.15 billion across two funds associated with the seventh growth fund family, according to SEC filings.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hubble Network makes Bluetooth connection with a satellite for the first time

Mon, 06 May 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Hubble Network has become the first company in history to establish a Bluetooth connection directly to a satellite — a critical technology validation for the company, potentially opening the door to connecting millions more devices anywhere in the world.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Freshworks acquires Device42 for $230M, appoints Dennis Woodside new CEO

Mon, 06 May 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Freshworks, the publicly listed SaaS firm, is acquiring U.S.-based startup Device42 for $230 million, the company disclosed in an SEC filing.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Digital fraud detection startup BioCatch hits $1.3B valuation as Permira buys majority stake

Fri, 03 May 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Digital fraud detection company BioCatch has a new majority shareholder in the form of U.K private equity firm Permira.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

ButcherBox acquires ‘Shark Tank’-featured startup Truffle Shuffle

Fri, 03 May 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Butcherbox is known for grinding its way forward, bootstrapping to more than $600,000 worth of revenue.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Midi is building a digital platform for an oft-overlooked area of women’s health

Thu, 02 May 2024 20:00:00 -0000

When Joanna Strober was around 47 she stopped sleeping. While losing sleep is a common symptom of perimenopause, she first had to go to multiple providers, including driving 45 minutes out of San Francisco to pay $750 out of pocket, to get that diagnosis and proper treatment.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chicago-based Hyde Park Venture Partners closes $98M Fund IV with two investments made so far

Thu, 02 May 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Hyde Park Venture Partners is known for having visibility into more than 90% of mid-continent startups and being early backers of companies like ShipBob, FourKites, G2, LogicGate and Dentologie.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

neuroClues wants to put high speed eye tracking tech in the doctor’s office

Wed, 01 May 2024 20:00:00 -0000

The eyes aren’t just a window into the soul; tracking saccades can help doctors pick up a range of brain health issues.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Carbonfact is a carbon management platform designed specifically for the fashion industry

Wed, 01 May 2024 10:00:00 -0000

French startup Carbonfact believes that the best carbon accounting solutions will focus on one vertical.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ex-NSA hacker and ex-Apple researcher launch startup to protect Apple devices

Tue, 30 Apr 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Two veteran security experts are launching a startup that aims to help other makers of cybersecurity products to up their game in protecting Apple devices.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ethiopian plastic upcycling startup Kubik gets fresh funding, plans to license out its tech

Tue, 30 Apr 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Kubik, a plastic upcycling startup, has raised a $1.9 million seed extension, months after announcing initial equity investment.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Zomato’s quick commerce unit Blinkit eclipses core food business in value, says Goldman Sachs

Mon, 29 Apr 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Goldman Sachs said in a report late Thursday that Indian food delivery giant Zomato’s quick commerce arm Blinkit is now more valuable than its core food delivery business, as per the bank’s sum-of-the-parts analysis.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The FTC’s ban on noncompete clauses could be good for startups. But it also might be struck down.

Mon, 29 Apr 2024 10:00:00 -0000

The Federal Trade Commission voted 3-2 to ban the use of most noncompete agreements on Tuesday.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Playruo lets you try game demos from your web browser

Fri, 26 Apr 2024 20:00:00 -0000

It’s still unclear whether cloud gaming will ever become the next big thing.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Edonia grabs €2M to turn microalgae into less bitter-tasting ground meat alternative

Fri, 26 Apr 2024 10:00:00 -0000

The company produces plant-based ingredients from raw microalgae biomass, generated from spirulina or chlorella, that it claims is more nutritious than meat.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Madica, a program by Flourish Ventures, steps up pre-seed investing in Africa

Thu, 25 Apr 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Madica, an investment program launched by US-based investor Flourish Ventures to back pre-seed startups in Africa, plans to invest in up to 10 ventures by the end of the year, ramping up its funding efforts after closing three initial three deals.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Parloa, a conversational AI platform for customer service, raises $66M

Thu, 25 Apr 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Conversational AI platform Parloa has nabbed $66 million in a Series B round of funding, a year after the German startup raised $21 million from a swathe of European investors to propel its international growth.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Campus, a community college startup, receives $23M Series A extension led by Founders Fund

Wed, 24 Apr 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Although many students in the United States enter community colleges intending to transfer to four-year universities, only 16% of those students receive bachelor’s degrees within six years

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Two widow founders launch DayNew, a social platform for people dealing with grief and trauma

Wed, 24 Apr 2024 10:00:00 -0000

After losing their husbands in devastating and unexpected ways, Karine Nissim and Eloise Bune D’Agostino discovered there were no suitable places where people could go to face all the challenges that surface during the grieving process

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Webflow acquires Intellimize to add AI-powered webpage personalization

Tue, 23 Apr 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Webflow, a web design and hosting platform that’s raised over $330 million at a $4 billion valuation, is expanding into a new sector: marketing optimization.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ecosia launches a cross-platform browser, starts an affiliate link program

Tue, 23 Apr 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Tree planting search engine Ecosia launched a new cross-platform browser today to increase its online footprint.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Langdock raises $3M with General Catalyst to help companies avoid vendor lock-in with LLMs

Mon, 22 Apr 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Plenty of large corporations want to join the AI revolution, but many feel it’s too early to be locked into one foundational model.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Magnus Metal wants to revamp the 4,000-year-old way metal parts are made

Mon, 22 Apr 2024 10:00:00 -0000

The startup is developing a technology it claims is as fast and energy efficient as 3D printing at a cost that can compete with sand casting.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fintech startup Mercury, which is under regulatory scrutiny, expands into consumer banking

Fri, 19 Apr 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Business banking startup Mercury, founded in 2020, is now launching a consumer banking product.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dark Space is building a rocket-powered boxing glove to push debris out of orbit

Fri, 19 Apr 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Paris-based Dark Space is taking on the dual problems of debris and conflict in orbit with their mobile platform designed to launch, attach to, and ultimately deorbit uncooperative objects in space.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vorlon is trying to stop the next big API breach

Thu, 18 Apr 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Application programming interfaces, or APIs as they’re commonly known, are the bedrock of everything we do online.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GovDash aims to help businesses use AI to land government contracts

Thu, 18 Apr 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Tim Goltser and Curtis Mason have been building things together since high school, when the two were the co-captains of their school’s robotics team.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Finmid raises $24.7M to help SMBs access loans through platforms like Wolt

Wed, 17 Apr 2024 20:00:00 -0000

finmid is building an embedded finance product that targets that relationship between marketplaces and sellers, and raised a Series A round to further build out its product and enter new markets.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Quilt rides heat pump heat wave with hefty $33M Series A

Wed, 17 Apr 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Quilt promises its heat pump will be a sleeker design that can be installed in more places around a room than competitors’ offerings.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lawhive raises $12M to expand its legaltech AI platform for small firms

Tue, 16 Apr 2024 20:00:00 -0000

UK-based legaltech company Lawhive, which offers an AI-based in-house ‘lawyer’ through a software-as-a-service platform targeted at small law firms, has raised £9.5 million ($11.9M) in a seed round to expand the reach of AI-driven services for ‘main street’ law firms.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Paraform raises $3.6M seed round to connect startups with recruiter networks

Tue, 16 Apr 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Layoffs usually drive attention and sympathy towards affected employees, but rarely does anyone talk about what happens to the recruiters who are sometimes also asked to leave when companies decide to cut headcount.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

India’s Exponent Energy brings 15-minute charging to passenger three-wheelers

Mon, 15 Apr 2024 20:00:00 -0000

India is getting an electric three-wheeler passenger vehicle that charges from 0 to 100% in 15 minutes.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

CleanFiber wants to turn millions of tons of cardboard boxes into insulation

Mon, 15 Apr 2024 10:00:00 -0000

The startup has raised $28 million to help fund a nationwide expansion of its cardboard-based cellulose building insulation.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Simbian brings AI to existing security tools

Fri, 12 Apr 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Simbian is a cybersecurity platform that effectively controls other cybersecurity platforms as well as security apps and tooling.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Voltpost wants to bring curbside charging to a lamppost near you

Fri, 12 Apr 2024 10:00:00 -0000

The New York City-based startup has been working on a product that retrofits existing street lampposts to enable EV charging.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cambium is building a recycled wood supply chain

Thu, 11 Apr 2024 20:00:00 -0000

The global demand for wood could grow by 54% between 2010 and 2050, according to a study by the World Resources Institute.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Guesty snaps up $130M at $900M valuation to help property managers list on Airbnb and beyond

Thu, 11 Apr 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Travel and tourism are very much back on the map for consumers and the business world.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Multiverse, the apprenticeship unicorn, acquires Searchlight to put a focus on AI

Wed, 10 Apr 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Multiverse, the U.K. unicorn that builds apprenticeship programs for people to learn technology skills while on the job, has made an acquisition as it aims to skill up itself.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sprinto raises $20M to bring automation to security compliance management

Wed, 10 Apr 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Sprinto, a startup offering a security compliance and risk platform, has raised $20 million in new investment led by Accel.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Coalesce raises more cash to transform data for Snowflake customers

Tue, 09 Apr 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Coalesce offers a platform that standardizes data while automating the more repetitive, mundane data transformation processes.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

DataStax acquires the startup behind low-code AI builder Langflow

Tue, 09 Apr 2024 10:00:00 -0000

DataStax made a name for itself by commercializing the open source Apache Cassandra NoSQL database, but these days, the company’s focus is squarely on using its database chops to build a “one-stop GenAI stack.”

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Belgian computer vision startup Robovision eyes U.S. expansion to address labor shortages

Mon, 08 Apr 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Robovision has raised $42M to industrialize deep learning tools and make them more accessible to businesses that are not tech companies at their core.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Varda Space’s orbital drug factory success fuels $90M in new funding

Mon, 08 Apr 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Varda Space Industries has closed a massive tranche of funding just weeks after its first drug manufacturing capsule returned from orbit.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Retro, an actually good photo-sharing app for BFFs, launches collaborative journals

Sat, 06 Apr 2024 10:00:00 -0000

As big social apps are optimizing for maximum engagement using algorithmic feeds and personalized content recommendations, Retro wants to go in the opposite direction.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jobs for the Future’s new $50M fund looks to invest in underrepresented founders

Fri, 05 Apr 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Two years ago, Jobs for the Future, a non-profit dedicated to helping low-wage workers attain upward mobility, established a venture arm, JFFVentures, to back innovative employment tech.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hailo lands $120 million to keep battling Nvidia as most AI chip startups struggle

Thu, 04 Apr 2024 20:00:00 -0000

The funding climate for AI chip startups, once as sunny as a mid-July day, is beginning to cloud over as Nvidia asserts its dominance.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Full Glass Wine raises $14M to continue acquiring DTC wine marketplaces, buys Bright Cellars

Thu, 04 Apr 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Full Glass Wine, a brand acquisition management startup that specializes in acquiring wine marketplaces, has raised $14 million in a Series A round.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Modal raises $25M to train corporate workers on data and AI

Wed, 03 Apr 2024 20:00:00 -0000

A few years ago, Darren Shimkus, ex-president of Udemy, had a conversation with Dennis Yang about skills building.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Quadratic is reimagining the spreadsheet with a focus on data

Wed, 03 Apr 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Using Quadratic, users can bring in hundreds of thousands of rows of data, write analyses in their preferred programming language and share the results with outside stakeholders.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Skyflow raises $30M more as AI spikes demand for its privacy business

Tue, 02 Apr 2024 20:00:00 -0000

This morning Skyflow announced that it has raised a $30 million Series B extension led by Khosla Ventures.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This startup believes mobile apps for businesses should work more like consumer apps

Tue, 02 Apr 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Have you noticed the massive gap between consumer and business apps on your phone? While consumer apps are both beautifully designed and easy to use, business apps are simply painful to use.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kids’ clothing and gear is more expensive than ever. Kidsy has a sustainable solution for discounts

Mon, 01 Apr 2024 20:00:00 -0000

All parents know that raising kids is expensive.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Skyflow raises $30M more as AI spikes demand for its privacy business

Mon, 01 Apr 2024 10:00:00 -0000

This morning Skyflow announced that it has raised a $30 million Series B extension led by Khosla Ventures. The deal is interesting on a number of fronts including the round’s structure and how Skyflow has been impacted by growth of AI.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Climate tech VC Satgana closes first fund that targets early-stage startups in Africa, Europe

Fri, 29 Mar 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Climate-tech VC Satgana has reached a final close of its first fund, which targets to back up to 30 early-stage startups in Africa and Europe.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

StealthMole raises $7M Series A for its AI-powered dark web intelligence platform

Fri, 29 Mar 2024 10:00:00 -0000

StealthMole, an AI-powered dark web intelligence startup that specializes in monitoring cyber threats and detecting cybercrime, announced Thursday that it has raised a $7 million Series A funding round.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Marissa Mayer’s startup just rolled out apps for group photo sharing and event planning, and the internet isn’t sure what to think

Thu, 28 Mar 2024 20:00:00 -0000

When Marissa Mayer co-founded a startup six years ago in Palo Alto, Ca., expectations were sky high for the former Yahoo CEO and early Google employee. When that startup, Sunshine, revealed that its first app centered around subscription software for contact management, people wondered if something more ambitious might be around the corner.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wase zaps microbes to squeeze more biogas from wastewater sludge

Thu, 28 Mar 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Harvesting methane from organic waste and using it to produce electricity or heat is nothing new, but the startup isn't building another anaerobic digester.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

900.care sells waterless personal care products and lets you add tap water at home

Wed, 27 Mar 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Here’s the harsh truth behind personal care products: you’re mostly buying water and plastics.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Liquid Death is just one of many VC-backed beverage startups ready to disrupt Coke and Pepsi

Wed, 27 Mar 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Some of the new venture-backed beverage startups are hoping to upend the industry by creating new drink categories.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Meet Uzbekistan’s first unicorn: e-commerce startup Uzum

Tue, 26 Mar 2024 21:00:00 -0000

Uzum, an e-commerce startup offering online shopping, fintech and food deliveries to millions of customers in Uzbekistan, has raised $114 million in funding.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Farm to Feed is cutting food loss and creating data platform to better farm outcomes

Tue, 26 Mar 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Globally, a third of the food produced is lost or wasted, and in Kenya, that figure stands at between 20% to 40%.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

World Fund closes first €300M ClimateTech fund, seeking to follow-on and backing hardware

Mon, 25 Mar 2024 20:00:00 -0000

World Fund closes first €300M ClimateTech fund, seeking to follow-on and backing hardware

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

US cyber investors pledge spyware is off limits — with a catch

Mon, 25 Mar 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Biden administration announced that six new countries had joined an international coalition to fight the proliferation of commercial spyware, sold by companies such as NSO Group or Intellexa.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Budgeting app Copilot is booming now that Mint is dead, leading to $6M Series A

Fri, 22 Mar 2024 20:00:00 -0000

The company reached profitability in 2023, however, more customers began asking for web and Android capabilities so they could share Copilot with family and friends.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Silence is an early stage climate tech VC fund with $35 million; Greenly lands $52M to help smaller companies track CO2 emissions

Fri, 22 Mar 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Silence wants to shake things up when it comes to climate tech investment; The carbon accounting startup targets SMBs to help them assess the carbon footprint of their operations and products.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pocket FM bags $103M in funding as it eyes global expansion

Thu, 21 Mar 2024 20:00:00 -0000

India-based audio platform Pocket FM has secured $103 million in Series D funding led by Lightspeed Ventures with participation from Stepstone Group.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

PocketHealth eases doctor-patient communications with easy image exchange

Thu, 21 Mar 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Have you ever needed a copy of your medical imaging to take to your doctor or another healthcare provider and received the images on a CD?

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Telegram raises $330 million fresh capital through bond sales

Wed, 20 Mar 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov said on his channel today that the company secured $330 million in investment through bond sales last week.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Poseidona is removing invasive algae from oceans and turning it into food

Wed, 20 Mar 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Poseidona is a Barcelona-based developer of sustainable food technology. It takes invasive seaweed and algal side-streams to make proteins. In this case, it's a soy protein alternative.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Apple acquires AI startup specializing in overlooking manufacturing components

Tue, 19 Mar 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Apple has added another AI startup to its acquisition list with Canada-based DarwinAI, which specializes in vision-based tech to observe components during manufacturing to improve efficiency.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

ShopMy lands $18.5M to help influencers earn more money from promoting products

Tue, 19 Mar 2024 10:00:00 -0000

ShopMy, a marketing platform for content creators to connect with brands and monetize their content, announced today that it raised $18.5 million.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Aethero wants to become the space industry’s Intel or Nvidia

Mon, 18 Mar 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Satellite sensors collect an incredible amount of raw data, but on-orbit compute limitations mean that operators have little way to process this data in space.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WarpStream is building a cheaper, cloud-native data streaming service

Mon, 18 Mar 2024 10:00:00 -0000

When the open source streaming service Apache Kafka was created in 2011 at LinkedIn, it was a different world. Most companies were still on prem.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AliExpress is first online marketplace to face DSA investigation by EU

Fri, 15 Mar 2024 20:00:00 -0000

The European Union has opened its third formal investigation of a very large platform under the Digital Services Act (DSA), with China’s AliExpress earning itself the dubious honor of being the first online marketplace to face formal probe by the Commission.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Luminary Cloud’s simulator taps GPUs to help speed up product design

Fri, 15 Mar 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Simulations are an essential step in physical product engineering.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kolet makes travel eSIM cards easier to navigate

Thu, 14 Mar 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Kolet is a new French startup created by four experienced co-founders in the French tech ecosystem that wants to make it easier to stay connected when you travel.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pint-size pickup startup Telo Trucks finds unexpected niche in fleet customers

Thu, 14 Mar 2024 11:00:00 -0000

The young automotive company raised $5.4 million and added a Tesla co-founder to its board.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Generative AI video startup Tavus raises $18M to bring face and voice cloning to any app

Wed, 13 Mar 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Tavus, a four-year-old generative AI startup that helps companies create digital “replicas” of individuals for automated personalized video campaigns, has confirmed a fresh $18 million in funding.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Backed by Leonardo DiCaprio, YC alum SolarMente wants to help democratize solar power in Spain

Wed, 13 Mar 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Barcelona-based cleantech startup SolarMente recently added Leonardo DiCaprio to its cap table, hence becoming the actor's and activist's first investment in the country.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Profitable car rental service Turo is still ready for an IPO, but its growth cratered in 2023

Tue, 12 Mar 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Turo, the venture-backed, peer-to-peer car rental service reported its fourth-quarter and full-year financial performance this week in an updated IPO filing.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AI fraud detection software maker Inscribe.ai lays off 40% of staff

Tue, 12 Mar 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Yet another AI-powered fraud detection software provider is laying off staff.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Baron values Swiggy at $12.16B, above prior private market valuation

Mon, 11 Mar 2024 20:00:00 -0000

Baron Capital, an investor in Indian food delivery startup Swiggy, has increased the value of its stake in the Indian firm, implying a valuation of $12.16 billion

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lensrentals acquires BorrowLenses

Mon, 11 Mar 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Lensrentals, a titan in the online rental service for photo, video, audio and lighting equipment, has announced its acquisition of BorrowLenses.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Babylon Micro-Farms is bringing vertical farming to K-12 classes

Fri, 08 Mar 2024 21:00:00 -0000

In an e-mail exchange, Babylon Micro-Farms CEO Alexander Oleson tells me “we’ll have these in every school and apartment one day.”

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Satellite servicing tech startup, led by former head of Ukraine’s space agency, lands $4M

Fri, 08 Mar 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Kurs Orbital, a startup founded by Ukrainian space industry veterans, has closed a new tranche of funding to accelerate the commercialization of its satellite servicing technology.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

New geospatial data startup streamlines satellite imagery visualization

Thu, 07 Mar 2024 21:00:00 -0000

These days we have a ton of geospatial data coming off the increasing numbers of satellites circling in our atmosphere, but it takes some serious processing power and engineering prowess to turn that data into something useful.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Harness Wealth wants to bring sophisticated tax planning to the masses

Thu, 07 Mar 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Harness Wealth, which started in 2018 primarily offering financial advice to startup founders and employees, has expanded into the tax advisory space and raised a $17 million extension to its Series A round.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

LLMs are poised to make lumbering business intelligence tools easier and faster to use

Wed, 06 Mar 2024 21:00:00 -0000

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Backed by $10M Series A, TravelJoy is riding the post-COVID demand for expert travel planning

Wed, 06 Mar 2024 11:00:00 -0000

A travel-focused startup that the COVID pandemic could have killed has instead thrived.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AI chip startup Groq forms new business unit, acquires Definitive Intelligence

Tue, 05 Mar 2024 21:00:00 -0000

Groq, a startup developing chips to run GenAI models faster than conventional hardware, has an eye toward the enterprise — and public sector.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

MyHeritage launches OldNews.com, a website with access to millions of historical newspaper pages

Tue, 05 Mar 2024 11:00:00 -0000

MyHeritage announced today that it’s launching OldNews.com, a new website that offers access to thousands of historical newspapers, mainly from the 1800s and 1900s.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Syrenna’s WaterDrone is the ocean-monitoring ‘underwater weather station’ of the future

Mon, 04 Mar 2024 21:00:00 -0000

As crucial as the ocean is to countless industries, we lack the kind of systematic knowledge of it that we have of the surface.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rec emerges from stealth to modernize Parks & Rec management and booking

Mon, 04 Mar 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Park and recreation organizations help communities thrive.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

OpenCTI maker Filigran raises $16 million for its cybersecurity threat management suite

Fri, 01 Mar 2024 21:00:00 -0000

Paris-based cybersecurity startup Filigran is capitalizing on the success of OpenCTI to build a suite of open-source threat management products.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Inspired Capital secures $330M fund to take venture capital ‘back to the studs’

Fri, 01 Mar 2024 11:00:00 -0000

As part of the new fund, Inspired Capital wrote a manifesto that highlights how the venture capital firm thinks, what it believes in and what it is looking for.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Black Tech Nation Ventures’ diversity thesis undeterred by growing DEI backlash

Thu, 29 Feb 2024 21:23:00 -0000

Black Tech Nation Ventures launched in 2021 to address the funding gap for Black founders amid a wave of venture diversity initiatives after the murder of George Floyd in 2020.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Microsoft made a $16 million investment in Mistral AI

Thu, 29 Feb 2024 11:00:00 -0000

The latest Tech News from TechCrunch

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Writer’s latest models can generate text from images including charts and graphs

Wed, 28 Feb 2024 21:00:00 -0000

As generative AI continues to dominate the headlines, it’s hard sometimes to find actual working business use cases among the hype.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Glean wants to beat ChatGPT at its own game — in the enterprise

Wed, 28 Feb 2024 11:00:00 -0000

GenAI has its issues. But if there’s one thing it excels at, it’s surfacing answers from vast pools of data.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Shadowfax speeds ahead with $100M funding as instant delivery boom fuels growth

Tue, 27 Feb 2024 21:15:00 -0000

Shadowfax, one of the largest logistics service providers to hyper-local and on-demand delivery businesses in India, has raised $100 million in a new funding round as it clocks an yearly growth of over 35%.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Consolidation continues in micromobility as Cooltra snaps up Cityscoot

Tue, 27 Feb 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Paris’ commercial court has accepted Cooltra’s offer to acquire Cityscoot. These two companies provide shared electric mopeds that you can unlock and ride to go from one place to another.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Uber to explore travel ticketing with India’s open commerce network

Mon, 26 Feb 2024 21:00:00 -0000

Uber has signed a memorandum of understanding with an Indian government-backed firm that aims to make mobility and commerce more accessible across the South Asian nation.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Antler’s founder on its vertical AI bet in Southeast Asia

Mon, 26 Feb 2024 11:00:00 -0000

A growing roster of vertical AI startups is emerging in Southeast Asia to serve sectors ranging from seafood to finance. Singapore-based venture capital firm Antler recently made a bet on 37 of them, investing $5.1 million in total for pre-seed deals.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Locker organizes your shopping links into virtual wish lists and collages

Fri, 23 Feb 2024 21:00:00 -0000

After years of copying and pasting shopping links into spreadsheets and taking screenshots of products to share with her friends and family,

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Singapore-based fintech Xalts acquires digital trade platform Contour Network

Fri, 23 Feb 2024 11:00:00 -0000

In a role reversal, Xalts, a Singapore fintech startup founded 18 months ago, has acquired Contour Network, a digital trade platform set up by eight major banks.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Planity raises $48 million because even hair salons need their own SaaS product

Thu, 22 Feb 2024 21:00:00 -0000

If you’ve ever traveled in rural areas in France, you may have realized a French peculiarity.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sproxxy is making it easier to measure conference spending ROI

Thu, 22 Feb 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Whenever you go to a conference, whether as a sales and marketing exercise, or an executive is speaking, there is a cost associated with that.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

1Password expands its endpoint security offerings with Kolide acquisition

Wed, 21 Feb 2024 22:00:00 -0000

1Password, the AgileBits-owned password management software developer, today announced that it has acquired Kolide, an endpoint security platform, for an undisclosed amount.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Miruku grabs more capital as its plant-based dairy tech reaches proof of concept

Wed, 21 Feb 2024 11:00:00 -0000

The company made advancements in its proprietary dairy seed system to leverage interactions between recombinant dairy casein and native plant proteins, with or without improved fatty acid profiles.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dutch startup Monumental is using robots to lay bricks

Tue, 20 Feb 2024 21:00:00 -0000

Few categories are as ripe for automation-fueled disruption as construction.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Anthropic takes steps to prevent election misinformation

Mon, 19 Feb 2024 21:00:00 -0000

Ahead of the 2024 U.S. presidential election, Anthropic, the well-funded AI startup, is testing a technology to detect when users of its GenAI chatbot ask about political topics and redirect those users to “authoritative” sources of voting information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pacifico Biolabs emerges from stealth with fermentation process for alternative seafood

Mon, 19 Feb 2024 11:00:00 -0000

The company's fermentation process involves the cultivation of multiple microorganisms, including mycelium, to provide nutrition, flavor and texture.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Celadyne coats membranes with nanoparticles to make hydrogen fuel cells more efficient

Fri, 16 Feb 2024 21:00:00 -0000

The material could drastically improve the durability of existing fuel cell designs while also improving the efficiency of hydrogen production by 15%-20%.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

.406 Ventures secures $265M for fifth fund

Fri, 16 Feb 2024 11:00:00 -0000

When looking at startups within healthcare, data and AI and cybersecurity, the firm considers a number of factors like the plan for infrastructure, especially now that AI is everywhere.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Spacegoods shakes up functional beverage industry with mushroom-based powders

Thu, 15 Feb 2024 21:00:00 -0000

The London-based wellness brand is tapping into functional mushrooms and nootropics to create a line of powder blends that it touts enhances energy, relaxation, mood and general well-being.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Travel startup Layla acquires AI itinerary building bot Roam Around

Thu, 15 Feb 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Travel startup Layla — backed by firstminute capital, M13, Booking.com co-founder Andy Phillips, Skyscanner co-founder Barry Smith, and Paris Hilton — said today that it has acquired AI-powered itinerary building bot Roam Around.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bob W, a European short-stay apartment rental marketplace, raises $43M

Wed, 14 Feb 2024 21:25:00 -0000

Bob W, a marketplace for premium short-term apartment rentals, has raised €40 million ($43 million) in a Series B round of funding.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Crux is building GenAI-powered business intelligence tools

Tue, 13 Feb 2024 10:30:00 -0000

GenAI might be one of the most exciting technologies today. But it’s also one of the fastest-moving — posing a challenge for enterprises keen to deploy it.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Upstash’s serverless data platform hits ARR of $1M just two years after seed funding

Mon, 12 Feb 2024 21:00:00 -0000

Upstash announced a $1.9 million seed round almost exactly two years ago, and an idea for building a serverless data platform for data-intensive applications built with Redis and Kafka.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Glass supercharges smartphone cameras with AI — minus the hallucinations

Mon, 12 Feb 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Your phone’s camera is as much software as it is hardware, and Glass is hoping to improve both.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Podcasters can now upload their RSS feed to YouTube

Sat, 10 Feb 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Podcast creators can now submit their RSS feed to YouTube and YouTube Music, the company revealed in a video uploaded to its Creator Insider channel.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Attentive.ai snags $7M to boost automation in landscaping, construction services

Fri, 09 Feb 2024 21:00:00 -0000

Attentive.ai, a startup building vertical software for landscaping and construction services in the U.S., has raised $7 million in a new funding round as it looks to enhance its AI-led offerings and expand them to more businesses.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Brita snaps up smart water bottle startup, Larq

Fri, 09 Feb 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Smart water bottle-maker Larq this week announced that it has been acquired by filtration giant, Brita.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

UK AI startup Greyparrot bags strategic tie-up with recycling giant Bollegraaf

Thu, 08 Feb 2024 21:00:00 -0000

In another sign of the scramble to accelerate the uptake and transformative potential of artificial intelligence, Dutch recycling giant Bollegraaf Group is making a strategic investment in UK AI startup Greyparrot

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Guided Energy helps EV fleet managers optimize battery charging

Thu, 08 Feb 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Imagine you work for a car rental agency or a package delivery company and you’re in charge of a fleet of vehicles.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Synthetaic claims synthetic data is as good as the real thing when it comes to AI

Wed, 07 Feb 2024 21:00:00 -0000

Remember the Chinese “spy” balloon from 2023? If not, here’s a refresher: about a year ago, a high-altitude balloon originating from China flew across American airspace largely undetected.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

EV startup Arrival looks to sell off assets, intellectual property of UK division

Wed, 07 Feb 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Commercial EV startup Arrival’s business continues to unravel. Arrival announced Monday in a regulatory filing that its UK division is entering administration, the country’s version of bankruptcy.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stellar Sleep app gets initial funding to awaken root cause of chronic insomnia in users

Tue, 06 Feb 2024 21:10:00 -0000

Stellar Sleep’s mobile app taps into psychological methods to help users break the cycle of those frequent nights awake.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Naboo provides an Airbnb-like experience for company seminars

Tue, 06 Feb 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Naboo, a French company that was created just a couple of years ago, is trying to create a modern online experience for company seminar planning.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Secretive moon startup led by ex-Blue Origin leaders raises new tranche of funding

Mon, 05 Feb 2024 21:30:00 -0000

A stealth startup led by ex-Blue Origin leaders, focused on harvesting resources from the moon, has quietly closed a sizable new tranche of funding, according to regulatory documents

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Niremia Collective closes inaugural fund with $22.5M focused on well-being technology

Mon, 05 Feb 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Niremia Collective intends to provide capital and management resources to high-growth well-being startups as well as incubate new businesses.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Probabl is a new AI company built around popular library scikit-learn

Sat, 03 Feb 2024 14:00:00 -0000

Probabl isn’t your average AI startup as this new French company is an Inria spin-off company that revolves around an open-source data science library called scikit-learn

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

CARPL guides healthcare providers through the growing market of radiology AI apps

Fri, 02 Feb 2024 21:00:00 -0000

There’s an acute shortage of radiologists around the world, which means it is harder for medical teams to get imaging studies done.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Planet A Foods whips up more capital to take its cocoa-free chocolate global

Fri, 02 Feb 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Planet A Foods uses fermentation technology to turn all-natural, locally-sourced ingredients, for example, oats and sunflower seeds, into its cocoa-free chocolate brand, ChoViva.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Accel eyes new India fashion e-commerce bet with Newme

Thu, 01 Feb 2024 21:00:00 -0000

Accel, an early investor in Indian e-commerce giants Flipkart and Myntra, is preparing a new fashion e-commerce bet in India even as competition intensifies with the recent expansion of Mukesh Ambani’s Ajio platform.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Speedinvest closes fourth fund at $380 million to back early-stage startups in Europe

Thu, 01 Feb 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Vienna-based early-stage VC Speedinvest has closed its fourth early-stage fund, Speedinvest 4, at €350 million (around $380 million at today’s exchange rate), surpassing the initial goal of €300 million ($325 million).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fidelity cuts Meta-backed Meesho valuation to $3.5 billion

Wed, 31 Jan 2024 21:00:00 -0000

Fidelity has cut the value of its holding in Meesho by 33.6% since the original investment, giving the Indian social commerce startup a valuation of $3.5 billion, adjusted for outstanding shares.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

BlueLayer is building the operating system for carbon project developers

Wed, 31 Jan 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Meet BlueLayer, a new European startup that is building a software platform specifically designed for carbon project developers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Byju’s seeks to raise $200 million in rights issue

Tue, 30 Jan 2024 21:00:00 -0000

Byju’s, the world’s most valuable edtech startup, launched a rights issue on Monday, seeking to raise $200 million as the Indian firm works to address its working capital issues.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Yume’s platform helps manufacturers turn potential food waste into money

Tue, 30 Jan 2024 11:00:00 -0000

While running a bar in Melbourne, Katy Barfield was taken aback by the large amount of ingredients thrown out at the end of each day.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Delivery startup Veho makes corporate job cuts

Mon, 29 Jan 2024 21:00:00 -0000

The company said the layoffs are part of a "reorganization of our corporate team to improve efficiencies and accelerate our path to profitability."

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ola founder’s AI startup becomes unicorn in $50M funding

Mon, 29 Jan 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Krutrim, an AI startup founded by Ola founder Bhavish Aggarwal, said it has raised a funding round that values it at $1 billion.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Elo Life Systems grabs another $20.5M to get its monk fruit sweetener to market

Fri, 26 Jan 2024 21:00:00 -0000

Elo Life is focused on a number of technologies from developing plant-based sweeteners to crop protection.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Prompt Security wants to make GenAI safe for the enterprise

Fri, 26 Jan 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Businesses are moving faster than ever to use generative AI and bring it to both their employees and users.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

General Catalyst leads $200M investment into Bilt Rewards, doubling its valuation to $3.1B

Thu, 25 Jan 2024 21:00:00 -0000

Bilt Rewards, whose platform aims to allow consumers to earn rewards on rent and daily neighborhood spend, has raised $200 million at a $3.1 valuation, the company announced today.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kittl raises another $36 million for its browser-based design tool

Thu, 25 Jan 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Just a year after raising $11.6 million, Kittl raised another $36 million in a Series B round led by IVP with some existing investors participating once again.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Byju’s seeks new funding at less than $2 billion valuation, a 90% drop

Wed, 24 Jan 2024 21:00:00 -0000

Byju’s, once valued at $22 billion, is willing to cut its valuation to below $2 billion as it hunts for new funding, a person familiar with the matter told TechCrunch.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Plural, the VC led by founders, pulls together a new $432M fund to back European startups

Wed, 24 Jan 2024 11:00:00 -0000

European VC Plural has carved out a reputation for itself as being one of the few VCs in the region started and led by entrepreneurs who grew their own startups.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Day One gets more social with a new collaborative ‘Shared Journals’ feature

Tue, 23 Jan 2024 22:00:00 -0000

Journal app Day One is introducing Shared Journals, a new social feature that lets you share stories and memories with your friends and family.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kenyan agtech Shamba Pride raises $3.7M to grow its merchant network

Tue, 23 Jan 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Shamba Pride has since 2016 worked to enhance last-mile distribution for farm inputs and tackle price exploitation and quality issues for farmers through its merchant network dubbed digishops.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Plex confirms plan to launch TV and movie rentals next month

Mon, 22 Jan 2024 22:00:00 -0000

Media streamer Plex’s long-delayed plans to launch a marketplace for TV and movie rentals are finally being realized after multiple false starts.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Farm-ng makes modular robots for a broad range of agricultural work

Mon, 22 Jan 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Agriculture is poised to be one of the next great robotics categories. Everyone needs to eat, and much of what we eat in this part of the world comes from large farms.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What happened to Artifact?

Sat, 20 Jan 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Last week, Artifact, a buzzy news app from Instagram’s co-founders, announced it was shutting down after failing to gain critical mass.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

International Battery Company powers up with $35M funding to bridge EV gap in India

Fri, 19 Jan 2024 21:00:00 -0000

International Battery Company, a startup developing lithium-ion battery cells for electric vehicles, has raised $35 million as it plans to bridge the demand-supply gap in the growing EV market in India.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Astroscale takes the wraps off its $25M orbital refueling craft for Space Force

Fri, 19 Jan 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Orbital operations company Astroscale has revealed new details about its approach to refueling satellites in space, as part of a $25.5 million project exploring the concept with the Space Force.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Goodnotes acquires a AI-powered video summary startup as it looks beyond education

Thu, 18 Jan 2024 21:00:00 -0000

London-based notetaking startup Goodnotes said today it is acquiring South Korean startup Dropthebit, which operates a meeting and video summary tool called Traw.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Build a Rocket Boy, a game studio from former Grand Theft Auto developer, raises $110M

Thu, 18 Jan 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Build a Rocket Boy, a Scotland-headquartered game development company founded by one of the former lead developers behind the Grand Theft Auto franchise,announced it has raised $110 million in a Series D round of funding.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pomelo stacks $40M to scale its payments infra business in LatAm

Wed, 17 Jan 2024 21:00:00 -0000

Argentinian payments infrastructure startup Pomelo has raised $40 million in a Series B round of funding.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Singapore’s Locofy launches its one-click design-to-code tool

Wed, 17 Jan 2024 11:00:00 -0000

After using Figma to create user interfaces and experiences, developers are left with the hefty task of coding the designs in order to create functional websites or apps.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

FlutterFlow attracts cash for its low-code mobile app dev platform

Tue, 16 Jan 2024 21:00:00 -0000

Low-code dev platforms have gained momentum in recent years, in large part because they promise to shorten what’s otherwise typically a lengthy app development cycle.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Anthropic researchers find that AI models can be trained to deceive

Tue, 16 Jan 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Most humans learn the skill of deceiving other humans. So can AI models learn the same? Yes, the answer seems — and terrifyingly, they’re exceptionally good at it.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Airbnb or hotel? Overmoon’s vacation rental model aims to combine the best of both

Mon, 15 Jan 2024 21:00:00 -0000

Historically, vacation rental companies have managed homes for homeowners. While this model has proven popular, it also has its drawbacks.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This startup is trying to bring T9-like text input to your TV

Fri, 12 Jan 2024 21:00:00 -0000

Some technologies make so much sense that they just won’t disappear. T9 — the old text input from our trusty Nokia phones from the 1990s — is one of those throwbacks.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Micromobility startups Tier and Dott plan to merge to find a path to profitability

Fri, 12 Jan 2024 11:00:00 -0000

After years of exploding growth and massive funding rounds, it’s time for consolidation in the micromobility industry. Tier and Dott, two leading European companies in the space, have announced that they plan to merge.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Seedstars Africa Ventures gets $30M backing from EIB Global to invest in early-stage startups

Thu, 11 Jan 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Seedstars Africa Ventures has received a $30 million capital commitment from EIB Global, an arm of the European Investment Bank, which becomes the first major institutional investment for its first Pan-African venture capital fund.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sony’s new ‘digital birth certificate’ for imaging tech smells a lot like NFTs

Wed, 10 Jan 2024 21:30:00 -0000

Sony is breaking new ground in the ongoing NFTs and content authenticity saga.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Will.i.am’s new startup Sound Drive wants you to reboot the music industry in your car

Wed, 10 Jan 2024 11:00:00 -0000

You can spend all day long curating custom playlists for every mood, picking tracks based on tempo or intensity, but whether you’re corner-carving or just commuting you’ll never perfectly match the cadence and energy of every drive.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Anecdotes lands $25M to expand its governance, risk management and compliance business

Tue, 09 Jan 2024 21:30:00 -0000

Governance, risk management and compliance — GRC for short — remains one of the most active startup areas in terms of VC investments.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nabla raises another $24 million for its AI assistant for doctors

Tue, 09 Jan 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Paris-based startup Nabla just announced that it has raised a $24 million Series B funding round led by Cathay Innovation, with participation from ZEBOX Ventures — the corporate VC fund of CMA CGM.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This app lets cafes and coffee shops charge to use the bathroom

Mon, 08 Jan 2024 21:00:00 -0000

Thanks to bans on pay toilets dating back to the 1970s, folks in the U.S. have become accustomed to enjoying free public restroom access pretty much anywhere their travels take them.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Peak XV-backed MobiKwik seeks to raise $84 million in India IPO

Sat, 06 Jan 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Indian financial services startup MobiKwik seeks to raise about $84.2 million through issue of new shares in an initial public offering in the home market.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

EV startup Fisker struggling to meet internal sales goals, documents show

Fri, 05 Jan 2024 21:00:00 -0000

Fisker remains far from meeting CEO and founder Henrik Fisker’s publicly-stated goal of delivering 300 electric SUVs per day globally

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AI-powered search engine Perplexity AI, now valued at $520M, raises $70M

Fri, 05 Jan 2024 11:00:00 -0000

As search engine incumbents — namely Google — amp up their platforms with gen AI tech, startups are looking to reinvent AI-powered search from the ground up. It might seem like a Sisyphean task, going up against competitors with billions upon billions of users.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Intel spins out a new enterprise-focused gen AI software company

Thu, 04 Jan 2024 21:30:00 -0000

Intel, intent on making bigger moves in the market for AI-powered enterprise software, is spinning out a new platform company with the backing of Boca Raton, Florida-based asset manager and investor DigitalBridge.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Short-term rental provider Frontdesk lays off entire staff, on the verge of shutting down

Thu, 04 Jan 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Another proptech startup has run into trouble.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Former Anthemis partner soft-launches new fintech-focused venture firm

Wed, 03 Jan 2024 21:30:00 -0000

Ruth Foxe Blader has left her role as partner at Anthemis Group after nearly seven years to start her own venture firm, Foxe Capital, TechCrunch learned exclusively today.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tesla’s cheapest cars helped it notch another record year

Wed, 03 Jan 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Tesla shipped a record number of electric vehicles in the fourth quarter to help it edge out its targets for the year.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rivian deliveries slip 10% in Q4, raising demand questions

Tue, 02 Jan 2024 21:30:00 -0000

Rivian reported Tuesday it produced 17,541 vehicles at its Normal, Illinois factory and delivered 13,972 to customers in the fourth quarter, mixed results that left investors wary and sent shares down in pre-market trading.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Shield AI expands massive Series F with another $300M in equity, debt, scaling valuation to $2.8B

Mon, 01 Jan 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Defense tech startup Shield AI has expanded its latest funding round with another $300 million in equity and debt, bringing its total Series F to $500 million, TechCrunch has exclusively learned. This total amount reflects $200 million in equity closed in November, $100 million in new equity raised at the Series F price, and $200 […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Giga ML wants to help companies deploy LLMs offline

Fri, 29 Dec 2023 23:06:54 -0000

AI is all the rage — particularly text-generating AI, also known as large language models (think models along the lines of ChatGPT). In one recent survey of ~1,000 enterprise organizations, 67.2% say that they see adopting large language models (LLMs) as a top priority by early 2024. But barriers stand in the way.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SoftBank-backed FirstCry seeks to raise nearly $220 million in India IPO

Fri, 29 Dec 2023 11:00:00 -0000

E-commerce startup FirstCry is seeking to raise $218 million through issue of fresh shares in its initial public offering, the 13-year-old startup said in a draft prospectus filed with the market regulator Thursday, becoming the latest Indian startup to explore the public markets. FirstCry earlier sought to raise as much as $700 million in its […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Propelled by ‘science for humanity,’ this Chinese AI startup sets sight on US

Thu, 28 Dec 2023 23:16:55 -0000

Amid rising geopolitical tensions, many Chinese tech companies find themselves recalibrating their overseas pursuits, often sidestepping any reference to their origin. One bold startup called DP Technology stands out from the crowd. Working to apply artificial intelligence to molecular simulations, DP, short for “Deep Potential,” believes that the unifying power of “scientific research for humanity” […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

BotBuilt wants to lower the cost of homebuilding with robots

Thu, 28 Dec 2023 11:00:00 -0000

Homes aren’t getting cheaper — or necessarily easier to secure. This year, the median household income for home buyers jumped to $107,000 from $88,000 last year, according to the National Association of Realtors. The volume of homes for sale in the U.S. reached record a low, meanwhile — and shows no sign of recovery. Now, […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nonprofit Code.org sues Byju’s unit WhiteHat Jr over payment dues

Wed, 27 Dec 2023 22:27:25 -0000

Code.org, the US educational non-profit, has filed a lawsuit in a California district court alleging that Byju’s subsidiary WhiteHat Jr breached a licensing contract by failing to pay fees while continuing to use Code.org’s platform. WhiteHat Jr, which sold to Byju’s for $300 million in 2020, partnered with Code.org last year and agreed to pay […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

ShareChat faces large valuation cut in new funding

Wed, 27 Dec 2023 11:00:00 -0000

"ShareChat is in final stages of deliberations to secure about $50 million in new funding that trims the startup’s valuation to below $1.5 billion, according to two sources familiar with the matter. Existing backers including Temasek and Tencent are among the investors in advanced stages of talks to invest in the new round, the sources […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Y Combinator-backed Intrinsic is building infrastructure for trust and safety teams

Fri, 22 Dec 2023 23:50:00 -0000

"A few years ago, Karine Mellata and Michael Lin met while working at Apple’s fraud engineering and algorithmic risk team. Both engineers, Mellata and Lin were involved with helping to address online abuse problems including spam, botting, account security and developer fraud for Apple’s growing customer base. Despite their efforts to develop new models to […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vestwell raises $125M to help businesses power workplace savings programs

Fri, 22 Dec 2023 11:00:00 -0000

Vestwell, which provides the infrastructure for employers to power workplace savings programs, has raised $125 million in what the company describes as a “preempted” round of funding.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Medallion, a platform for artists to connect directly with fans, raises $13.7M

Thu, 21 Dec 2023 21:15:00 -0000

Medallion is a platform for artists to have a dedicated digital hub for promoting album releases, tour dates and merch drops, as well as selling digital collectibles and sharing exclusive content to foster deeper connections with fans.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Claim, a social network that lets users earn and trade rewards with friends, raises $4M

Thu, 21 Dec 2023 11:00:00 -0000

Claim, a platform that is both a rewards app and a social network, has raised $4 million in a seed funding round led by Sequoia Capital.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SimSpace raises $45M to simulate tech stacks for cyber training

Wed, 20 Dec 2023 21:00:00 -0000

SimSpace, a startup that creates digital replicas of organizations’ tech and networking stacks for cybersecurity training, has raised $45 million in a funding round led by L2 Point Management.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Salesforce acquires automated commission management platform Spiff

Tue, 19 Dec 2023 21:00:00 -0000

Salesforce has announced plans to acquire Spiff, a platform that automates commission management for sales teams.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

IBM to acquire StreamSets and WebMethods from Software AG for $2.3B

Tue, 19 Dec 2023 11:00:00 -0000

IBM is doling out €2.13 billion ($2.3 billion) to acquire a duo of data integration assets from Germany-based enterprise software company Software AG.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the fight against methane, a key GHG, Valley investors have hit upon an unusual target: Cow burps

Mon, 18 Dec 2023 21:00:00 -0000

What do iconic Valley investors Zachary Bogue and Chris Sacca have in common?

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Linktree acquires link-in-bio platform Koji in its second investment of the year

Mon, 18 Dec 2023 11:00:00 -0000

Australia-based link-in-bio platform Linktree announced today that it has acquired competitor Koji from its parent company GoMeta for an undisclosed amount.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

India’s Udaan scores $340 million in new funding

Mon, 18 Dec 2023 11:00:00 -0000

The investment arm of the UK retail bank M&G has led a funding of $340 million into Udaan, a business-to-business e-commerce startup,

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Distributional wants to develop software to reduce AI risk

Fri, 15 Dec 2023 21:00:00 -0000

Companies are increasingly curious about AI and the ways in which it can be used to (potentially) boost productivity.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Startup studio Hexa wants to partner with startups growing too slowly

Fri, 15 Dec 2023 11:00:00 -0000

Just a couple of weeks after announcing $22 million in fundraising, Paris-based startup studio Hexa is expanding beyond its studio model to partner with later stage companies that have already found product-market fit.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Metafuels lands $8 million bet on greener skies ahead

Thu, 14 Dec 2023 11:00:00 -0000

Metafuels sets out to change the landscape of sustainable jet fuel, and has just picked up an $8 million suitcase from baggage carousel 3 at its local ZRH. Ahh, Zurich.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Procurement software startup Pivot raises $21.6 million just a few months after its creation

Wed, 13 Dec 2023 21:25:00 -0000

French startup Pivot is an interesting startup story as it is scaling at a rapid pace even though startup investments are down in Europe.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tribe Capital eyes leading $75M-plus funding in India’s Shiprocket

Wed, 13 Dec 2023 11:00:00 -0000

Tribe Capital is in talks to lead a $75 million to $100 million funding into the logistics aggregator Shiprocket, according to a person familiar with the matter, a notable financing deliberation at a time when Indian startups are struggling to raise capital.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Docker acquires AtomicJar, a testing startup that raised $25M in January

Tue, 12 Dec 2023 21:00:00 -0000

AtomicJar was seemingly a high flying early stage startup with a hefty (by today’s standards) $25 million Series A last January.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mistral AI, a Paris-based OpenAI rival, closed its $415 million funding round

Tue, 12 Dec 2023 11:00:00 -0000

French startup Mistral AI has officially closed its much anticipated Series A funding round.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Is the Texas boom town of Austin losing its luster?

Mon, 11 Dec 2023 21:00:00 -0000

Texas has been historically known for its oil booms. Today the state is perhaps better known as a magnet for tech companies and tech talent, especially in its capital city of Austin.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Simply Homes nabs $22M, leverages AI to tackle affordable housing crisis

Mon, 11 Dec 2023 11:00:00 -0000

The United States has long had an affordable housing crisis, but it’s been exacerbated as of late by a surge in mortgage interest rates and low inventory.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mammoth, an X and Threads competitor, embraces news, curation, and more in latest release

Fri, 08 Dec 2023 21:15:00 -0000

Mammoth, an app from the Mozilla-backed startup focused on building a more consumer-friendly entry point to the world of decentralized social media, is out today with its next big upgrade: Mammoth 2.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pimento turns creative briefs into visual mood boards using generative AI

Fri, 08 Dec 2023 11:00:00 -0000

Pimento is a new French startup that is using generative AI in an interesting way as the company focuses on the first step of creative processes — ideation, brainstorming and moodboarding.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

OurSky lands $9.5M seed to build out developer platform for space data

Thu, 07 Dec 2023 21:00:00 -0000

A developer platform for the…sky? That’s the vision of OurSky, a startup founded last year that’s aiming to make space observational data more accessible via a software platform and global telescope network.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Discord reimagines its mobile app to showcase its best social features

Thu, 07 Dec 2023 11:00:00 -0000

Discord launched a major refresh of its mobile app on Tuesday, putting messaging front-and-center while making a host of small improvements that users have been asking for.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Twitch to shut down in Korea over ‘prohibitively expensive’ network fees

Wed, 06 Dec 2023 21:00:00 -0000

Twitch plans to shut down its business in South Korea on February 27, it said, after finding that operating in one of the world’s largest esports markets is “prohibitively expensive.”

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

EnCharge raises $22.6M to commercialize its AI-accerating chips

Wed, 06 Dec 2023 11:00:00 -0000

Around a year ago, TechCrunch wrote about a little-known company developing AI-accelerating chips to face off against hardware from titans of industry.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Carbon Maps, a carbon accounting startup for the food industry, gets new backers

Tue, 05 Dec 2023 21:00:00 -0000

Carbon Maps is a relatively new entrant in the carbon accounting space as it is less than one year old.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

India’s MoveinSync eyes $50–60M in fresh funding

Tue, 05 Dec 2023 11:00:00 -0000

MoveinSync, an Indian startup offering mobility solutions to blue-chip companies for workplace commute, is engaging with investors to raise a growth round, according to people familiar with the deliberations.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gravel gets funding from NEA to support Indonesia’s booming construction industry

Mon, 04 Dec 2023 21:15:00 -0000

Indonesia’s construction industry is growing quickly, driven by residential and industrial building, alongside infrastructure development plans by the government.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Clayful, a startup that helps students connect to mental health experts within 60 seconds, raises $7M

Mon, 04 Dec 2023 11:00:00 -0000

Clayful is a platform that enables students aged eight to 18 to connect with a mental health expert within 60 seconds when they need it.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Yieldstreet to acquire real estate investment platform Cadre

Fri, 01 Dec 2023 21:00:00 -0000

Alternative investment platform Yieldstreet announced today that it has agreed to acquire Cadre, an online real-estate-focused investment platform aimed at institutional and high net worth investors.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

DuploCloud lands $32M infusion to make provisioning cloud apps easier

Fri, 01 Dec 2023 11:00:00 -0000

It’s only appropriate that, during AWS’ biggest week of the year, a cloud-based software-as-a-service startup closed a sizeable funding round.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kognitos raises $35M to help businesses automate back-office processes

Thu, 30 Nov 2023 11:00:00 -0000

Businesses will never not (forgive the double negative) push to improve efficiency. It’s their commercial imperative. Sometimes, that takes the form of budget cuts.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Layla taps into AI and creator content to build a travel recommendation app

Wed, 29 Nov 2023 21:05:00 -0000

Many companies are trying to use AI chatbots (beyond ChatGPT) in different industries

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Inflow connects small fashion brands with manufacturers in Vietnam

Wed, 29 Nov 2023 11:00:00 -0000

Textiles and garments contribute 16% of Vietnam’s total GPD, but it’s challenging for small garment brands to take advantage of the country’s manufacturing prowess.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cradle’s AI-powered protein programming platform levels up with $24M in new funding

Tue, 28 Nov 2023 21:00:00 -0000

Biotech and AI startup Cradle is finding success with its generative approach to protein design, landing big customers and a hefty $24 million of new investment.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stability AI gets into the video generating game

Tue, 28 Nov 2023 11:00:00 -0000

AI startups that aren’t OpenAI are plugging away this week, it’d seem — sticking to their product roadmaps even as coverage of the chaos at OpenAI dominates the airwaves.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

US chip export ban is hurting China’s AI startups, not so much the giants yet

Mon, 27 Nov 2023 21:45:00 -0000

Well before Washington banned Nvidia’s exports of high-performance graphic processing units to China, the country’s tech giants had been hoarding them in anticipation of an escalating tech war between the two nations.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Birdseye’s AI-powered chief marketing officer drives personalized email campaigns for retailers

Thu, 23 Nov 2023 11:00:00 -0000

The company offers hyper-personalization email and SMS campaigns and retail transaction data insights from one dashboard.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lightspeed finalizing leading $80M-plus funding in Pocket FM

Wed, 22 Nov 2023 22:06:48 -0000

Audio series platform Pocket FM has topped $160 million in annual recurring revenue and is inching closer to raising over $80 million in a new funding round, three sources familiar with the matter told TechCrunch. Lightspeed, an existing investor in Pocket FM, is in advanced stages of talks to lead the funding round into the […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vendelux grabs new capital for B2B event marketing amid in-person resurgence

Wed, 22 Nov 2023 11:00:00 -0000

Vendelux offers 65 million data points on over 160,000 global events, tradeshows and conferences so event marketers can make better decisions about what to attend or sponsor.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Generative AI startup AI21 Labs raises cash in the midst of OpenAI chaos

Tue, 21 Nov 2023 22:17:53 -0000

One AI startup’s undoing is another’s opportunity. Case in point: today, AI21 Labs, a company developing generative AI products along the lines of OpenAI’s GPT-4 and ChatGPT, closed a $53 million extension to its previously-announced Series C funding round.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SEVA, a new growth equity fund, secures $85M for debut fund in four months

Tue, 21 Nov 2023 11:00:00 -0000

SEVA intends to invest in New York-based customer-centric founders of fast-growing, bootstrapped companies to scale via profitable growth.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

LucidLink lands $75M for its on-demand file streaming tech

Mon, 20 Nov 2023 21:00:00 -0000

LucidLink, a startup offering a platform that enables teams to work on files without having to download or sync them, today announced that it raised $75 million in a Series C round led by Brighton Park Capital

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Toku’s AI platform predicts heart conditions by scanning inside your eye

Mon, 20 Nov 2023 11:00:00 -0000

Ehsan Vaghefi, CEO and co-founder of Toku, grew up with a blind father who lost eyesight at the age of four due to congenital glaucoma.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Candela’s electric hydrofoiling ferry takes flight

Fri, 17 Nov 2023 21:00:00 -0000

The future is going to be electric, but in the air and on the water that transition is proving more difficult than on land.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ida uses AI to prevent grocery food waste

Fri, 17 Nov 2023 11:00:00 -0000

Ida is a relatively new French startup that wants to work with supermarkets and grocery stores to optimize new orders of fresh products, such as fruits, vegetables, meat, poultry and fish.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Refilled wants to save 100 million plastic bottles from the landfill

Thu, 16 Nov 2023 21:30:00 -0000

The Australian government recently set new packaging regulations after an official review found just 18% of plastic packaging is recycled, falling far short of a 70% target by 2025.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Remote connects talent and employers with a new job board

Thu, 16 Nov 2023 11:00:00 -0000

Remote, the HR tech company that allows companies to hire, manage and pay remote workers, is launching a remote job marketplace called Remote

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

3D generative AI platform Atlas emerges from stealth with $6M to accelerate virtual worldbuilding

Wed, 15 Nov 2023 21:00:00 -0000

Atlas, a 3D generative AI platform, is launching today after two years in stealth with $6 million in seed funding.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Interplay secures $45M for third fund focused on B2B marketplaces, vertical software

Wed, 15 Nov 2023 11:00:00 -0000

Mark Peter Davis, Interplay founder and managing partner, says the firm stands out with its outsized value proposition relative to its check size.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Etaily is a “one stop solution” for consumer brands that want to enter Southeast Asia

Tue, 14 Nov 2023 21:00:00 -0000

E-commerce in Southeast Asia grew rapidly during the pandemic, and that momentum is continuing.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Upciti helps cities level up their data strategy

Tue, 14 Nov 2023 11:00:00 -0000

Upciti is a French startup that has been working on a hardware sensor for city centers that is easy to install and maintain.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Picsart launches a suite of AI-powered tools that let you generate videos, backgrounds, GIFs and more

Mon, 13 Nov 2023 21:00:00 -0000

Picsart, a photo-editing startup backed by SoftBank, is launching a new suite of AI-powered tools for businesses and individuals.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chptr, a memorialization app for gathering and sharing memories of loved ones, raises $1.5M

Mon, 13 Nov 2023 11:00:00 -0000

Chptr, an app for sharing and holding onto memories of lost loved ones, has raised $1.5 million in seed funding.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ozone raises $7.1M to scale its AI-powered collaborative video editor in the cloud

Fri, 10 Nov 2023 21:00:00 -0000

Ozone, the maker of an AI-powered collaborative video editor in the cloud, has raised $7.1 million in seed funding and is launching in open beta.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

mogul club raises $3.6M toward its effort to make real estate investing more accessible

Fri, 10 Nov 2023 11:00:00 -0000

While the idea of owning rental properties is appealing to many Americans, the ability to vet and afford such investments in single-family homes is out of reach for a large part of the population.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vanguard slashes Ola valuation by 60%-plus; NB reduces Pharmeasy’s by over 90%

Thu, 09 Nov 2023 11:00:00 -0000

Written by Manish Singh - The U.S. index fund pioneer Vanguard has cut the worth of its holding in the Indian ride-hailing startup Ola by nearly two thirds since original investment.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Meta taps Hugging Face for startup accelerator to spur adoption of open source AI models

Wed, 08 Nov 2023 21:00:00 -0000

Written by Pete Sawers - Facebook parent Meta is teaming up with Hugging Face and European cloud infrastructure company Scaleway to launch a new AI-focused startup program at the Station F startup megacampus in Paris.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lidl owner and Bosch Ventures co-lead $500M Series B into German AI startup Aleph Alpha

Wed, 08 Nov 2023 11:00:00 -0000

German AI startup Aleph Alpha has raised a Series B funding round of $500 million from a consortium of seven new investors, as well as existing investors from previous rounds.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Enable, a platform for managing B2B rebates, is now worth $1B

Tue, 07 Nov 2023 21:00:00 -0000

There’s a new unicorn in town, and its name is Enable.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Appetite wants to help you and your friends discover, plan and book a meal out

Tue, 07 Nov 2023 05:00:00 -0000

Appetite, an app for discovering and booking restaurants, is aiming to streamline the process of planning nights out with friends and family.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Revel ends moped sharing, focuses on EV charging and ride-hail

Mon, 06 Nov 2023 21:00:00 -0000

Electric mobility startup Revel is officially shutting down its shared moped business in New York City and San Francisco, according to a company-wide email that CEO and co-founder Frank Reig sent Friday.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Blackbird invests in Carepatron’s “radically accessible” healthcare management platform

Mon, 06 Nov 2023 11:00:00 -0000

When TechCrunch covered Carepatron’s pre-seed last year, it was focused on serving solo practitioners and small health practices.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Flavrs, a shoppable video app for foodies, launches a new takeout feature and AI-powered recommendations

Fri, 03 Nov 2023 20:00:00 -0000

Flavrs, an iOS app that lets foodies discover recipes and and then shop for ingredients, is introducing a new takeout feature and AI-powered recommendation systems thanks to a custom integration with OpenAI.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Flexport acquires technology of former digital freight unicorn Convoy

Fri, 03 Nov 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Supply chain logistics platform Flexport is acquiring the assets of shuttered digital freight network Convoy, according to a memo Flexport CEO Ryan Peterson sent to staff Wednesday.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

EarlyBird raises $4.5M, partially from its users, to scale its investment gifting platform for families

Thu, 02 Nov 2023 20:00:00 -0000

EarlyBird, an app that lets families and friends gift investments to children, has raised $4.5 million in a seed extension round that was partially funded by its user base.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Grant Assistant wants to apply generative AI to grant proposals

Thu, 02 Nov 2023 10:00:00 -0000

By Kyle Wiggers. Grants are the lifeblood of many organizations. But procuring them often turns out to be a time-consuming, labor-intensive process.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Charlie’s senior-focused banking puts new funding toward stopping fraud

Wed, 01 Nov 2023 20:00:00 -0000

By Mary Ann Azevedo. Less than six months after launching to the public and announcing a $7.5 million seed raise, a startup providing banking services to Americans over the age of 62 has raised additional funding.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Guidde’s AI automatically generates software documentation videos

Wed, 01 Nov 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Organizations today rely on a growing number of apps to get work done.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Yuzu wants to make health plans cheaper by letting insurers mix and match benefits

Tue, 31 Oct 2023 20:00:00 -0000

In the U.S., figuring out ways to pay for health insurance is a perennial problem — not just for individuals, but for the businesses employing them.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stealthy social commerce startup taps into Meta roots to create AI-first brand messaging

Tue, 31 Oct 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Nectar AI will help brands find new ways to personally engage and convert consumers where they spend the most time.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Soundboks is scaling high-volume, high-energy speakers across borders and cultures

Mon, 30 Oct 2023 20:00:00 -0000

Norway-based Soundboks just released its latest $1,000 Bluetooth speaker.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Outset is using GPT-4 to make user surveys better

Mon, 30 Oct 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Getting answers to tough, qualitative questions about products from users can be costly, both in terms of time and money.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

India’s bike taxi startup Rapido is getting into the cab business

Fri, 27 Oct 2023 20:00:00 -0000

Rapido, the eight-year-old Indian bike taxi startup, is expanding into the cab market in the South Asian nation, where Uber and its homegrown competitor Ola dominate.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Blackbird backs Heidi Health’s AI platform for overworked doctors

Fri, 27 Oct 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Many doctors are overwhelmed by paperwork, leaving them stretched thin, with less time to see patients.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Temasek and SBI pour $384 million into India’s Ola Electric

Thu, 26 Oct 2023 20:00:00 -0000

Ola Electric said on Thursday that it has raised $384.43 million in a funding round.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Triple-A gets funding from Peak XV to help more businesses use crypto

Thu, 26 Oct 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Created by the founder of Thunes, global digital currency payments institution Triple-A wants to close the gap between traditional finance and blockchain-based payments with its white-label solutions for businesses.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lab-grown leather scales up as Gozen raises $3.3M from Happiness Capital, SoSV and others

Wed, 25 Oct 2023 20:00:00 -0000

Whether we like it or not, the leather industry significantly contributes to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and global waste generation.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Oxolo bags €13M for Gen AI-driven video platform which can optimise engagement on the fly

Wed, 25 Oct 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Much has been made of AI-powered videos which can either make a real person speak different words or other languages, or generate a synthetic person which can speak on-demand.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Smart upcycling machine dissects batteries to save them

Tue, 24 Oct 2023 20:00:00 -0000

Circu Li-ion cofounder and CEO Antoine Welter says his startup’s upcycling machine can diagnose batteries in seconds.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ternary, a cloud spend management startup, raises $12M

Tue, 24 Oct 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Ternary, a platform that helps companies manage how much they’re spending on cloud resources across multiple public cloud providers, today announced that it raised $12 million in a Series A funding round.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

‘Household restocking’ startup The Rounds uses tech and AI to make sustainable e-commerce profitable

Mon, 23 Oct 2023 20:00:00 -0000

The Rounds, a sustainable “household restocking” service, wants to prove that last-mile logistics can be done both efficiently and profitably.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Citi inks deal with fintech Navan, says ‘not having to file an expense report is like nirvana’

Mon, 23 Oct 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Expense management startup Navan has inked an exclusive deal with Citi that executives say will open its addressable market significantly.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Warmly pivots from Zoom tool to directing warm leads to sales

Fri, 20 Oct 2023 20:00:00 -0000

When Warmly started a couple of years ago, people were meeting regularly in Zoom and the company provided a custom background and information about the participants.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Statement, a cash flow management platform for enterprises, raises $12M

Fri, 20 Oct 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Statement, a startup developing a platform for enterprise cash flow management, today announced that it raised $12 million in seed funding.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Passwordless authentication startup SecureW2 raises $80M from Insight Partners

Thu, 19 Oct 2023 20:00:00 -0000

Passwordless authentication offers a host of advantages over traditional pins, passphrases and passcodes.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stack Overflow cuts 28% of its staff

Thu, 19 Oct 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Developer community site Stack Overflow has laid off 28% of its staff, the Prosus-owned company announced Monday.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Flanks grabs additional capital to automate wealth services in Europe

Wed, 18 Oct 2023 20:00:00 -0000

Flanks gathers global wealth data under one API so that clients can have a complete view of their investment portfolio in real time and make more intelligent investment decisions.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AI-generating music app Riffusion turns viral success into $4M in funding

Wed, 18 Oct 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Nearly a year ago, developers Seth Forsgren and Hayk Martiros released a hobby project called Riffusion that could generate music using not audio but images of audio.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Reality Defender raises $15M to detect text, video and image deepfakes

Tue, 17 Oct 2023 20:00:00 -0000

Reality Defender, one of several startups developing tools to attempt to detect deepfakes and other AI-generated content, today announced that it raised $15 million in a Series A funding round led by DCVC.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Accessercise’s app makes it easier for people with disabilities to exercise

Tue, 17 Oct 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Accessercise, which developed a fitness app for people who want to exercise despite their disabilities, was one of the Startup Battlefield 200 finalists at TechCrunch Disrupt 2023.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Creative Force, now with $8.9M, gives e-commerce workflows an AI treatment

Mon, 16 Oct 2023 20:00:00 -0000

Creative Force helps retailers and brands create content at scale for marketing campaigns and online merchandising.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lanch, which creates food delivery brands for influencers, gobbles up $6.9M

Mon, 16 Oct 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Two of the biggest drivers of growth on social and e-commerce platforms have been food and influencers, so it should come as no surprise that startups are now getting in on the act in trying to combine how these two work together.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Israeli biotech startup mana.bio launches AI-fueled programmable drug therapy

Fri, 13 Oct 2023 20:00:00 -0000

Israeli biotech startup Mana.bio has been planning to launch its programmable drug treatment solution for months, and decided to forge ahead in spite of the attacks that happened this past weekend in the country.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

KIT Plugins, an audio software startup that help producers and musicians enhance their sound, raises $1 million

Fri, 13 Oct 2023 10:00:00 -0000

KIT Plugins, a music software development startup, has raised $1 million in Series A funding led by Copycat Holdings.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

10 Minute School aims to democratize education for Bangladeshi students

Thu, 12 Oct 2023 20:00:00 -0000

Access to education in Bangladesh is filled with inequalities, say the founders of edtech 10 Minute School.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AI revolutionizing MRI scans — A Munich startup banked $32M to scan eggs, and says humans are next

Thu, 12 Oct 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Germany, France, and Italy are among the countries which last year enacted laws to stop the practice of culling male day-old chicks, because, as they do not lay eggs, are considered surplus to requirements.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Zest Equity, a UAE-based startup digitizing private market deals, raises $3.8M seed funding

Wed, 11 Oct 2023 20:15:00 -0000

UAE-based Zest Equity, a startup digitizing private market dealings, has raised $3.8 million seed funding to build more tools for enabling fast and transparent transactions by ecosystem players while increasing their liquidity through secondary deals.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Orus offers business insurance products to restaurant owners and other small companies

Wed, 11 Oct 2023 10:00:00 -0000

French startup Orus has raised an $11.6 million Series A funding round (€11 million).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Heura adds ‘York ham style slices’ to its 100%-plant-based vegan mix

Tue, 10 Oct 2023 20:00:00 -0000

Barcelona-based Heura, a disrupter in the plant-based protein space since 2017, has a product hitting shelves shortly in Spain and France that it reckons will have the most committed meat eaters sitting up in disbelief.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wanda Fish navigates VC waters to catch $7M for production of cultivated bluefin tuna

Tue, 10 Oct 2023 10:00:00 -0000

The company aims to create whole-cut cultivated fish filets, starting with bluefin tuna, using muscle and fat cells.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Singapore’s tech subscription service Circular wants to keep devices out of the landfill

Mon, 09 Oct 2023 20:00:00 -0000

Circular, backed by Y Combinator, is a service that offers consumers in Singapore and Australia subscriptions to high-end electronics, like iPhones, Samsung Galaxy, iPad Pros and MacBook Pros.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Consumer brand accelerator SuperOrdinary gets $58M Series B at $800M valuation

Mon, 09 Oct 2023 10:00:00 -0000

The average shopper probably hasn’t heard of SuperOrdinary, but if they are a beauty or skincare fan, they’ve definitely heard of some of the brands the startup works with.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ohm’s Quest is an electronic puzzle console inspired by escape rooms

Fri, 06 Oct 2023 20:00:00 -0000

Ohm’s Quest is a steampunk-inspired cubical device that acts as a sort of escape game console.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Amazon shutters its live radio app Amp

Fri, 06 Oct 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Amazon has shut down its Clubhouse competitor’s live radio app Amp almost 18 months after its launch. The app allowed users to play DJ and provide commentary alongside playing tracks.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

CoPilot, a training app that matches users with remote fitness coaches, raises $6.3M

Thu, 05 Oct 2023 20:00:00 -0000

CoPilot, a digital training app that matches users with one-on-one remote fitness coaches, has raised $6.3M in Series A-1 funding led by Jackson Square Ventures.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sam Altman backs teens’ AI startup automating browser-native workflows

Thu, 05 Oct 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Sam Altman, Peak XV, and Daniel Gross and Nat Friedman’s AI grant are among backers of an AI startup, founded by two teenagers, that’s aiming to assist businesses in automating numerous workflows in previously unexplored ways.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Science lab automation and robotics startup Automata raises $40M

Wed, 04 Oct 2023 20:00:00 -0000

Automata, a company that combines software and hardware to automate science labs around the globe, has raised $40 million in an equity-based round of funding.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ten Key Labs wants to simplify managing equity for startups

Wed, 04 Oct 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Amar Varma, a three-time entrepreneur and VC, experienced firsthand the challenge of dealing with administering equity stakes within a startup.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Greener for Business launches to help Australian SMBs move to net zero

Tue, 03 Oct 2023 20:00:00 -0000

Greener, the Australian cleantech startup that creates custom action plans to help its customers become more environmentally sustainable, is launching Greener for Business today.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Being is an app that wants to help users map out and address mental health concerns

Tue, 03 Oct 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Being is an app that wants to help users map out and address mental health concerns

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nextdata is building data meshes for the enterprise

Mon, 02 Oct 2023 20:15:00 -0000

The concept of a data mesh has been around for a few years.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transfr, a VR platform for workforce training, raises $40M

Mon, 02 Oct 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Transfr, a startup creating VR tools for training and career development, today announced that it raised $40 million in a Series C round.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Publisher-focused Twitter alternative Post comes to Android, adds newsletter support

Fri, 29 Sep 2023 20:15:00 -0000

Post, a publisher-focused Twitter/X alternative backed by a16z, is bringing its social news-sharing app to Android today along with new tools that will make it easier for creators to share their newsletter content on the platform.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cybersecurity firm Lumu raises $30M to detect network intrusions

Fri, 29 Sep 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Lumu, a startup that helps enterprises identify and isolate security compromises, today announced that it raised $30 million in a Series B round led by Forgepoint Capital, $6 million of which is debt.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Senser launches its AI-enhanced observability platform, raises $9.5M

Thu, 28 Sep 2023 20:00:00 -0000

Senser describes itself as an AIOps platform that uses machine learning to help developers and ops teams more easily get to the root causes of outages and service degradations.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rayon is a collaborative design tool for architects and designers

Thu, 28 Sep 2023 10:00:00 -0000

When you think about collaborative design tools, chances are you immediately start thinking about Figma, the popular design tool that Adobe wants to acquire for $20 billion.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Photo-sharing app Lapse hits top of the App Store by forcing you to invite your friends

Wed, 27 Sep 2023 20:00:00 -0000

Forget invite-only social apps, Lapse is testing a new technique to acquire its users: it forces you to invite your friends in order to get in.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sequoia backs PartyKit to power real-time multiplayer collaboration for any app

Wed, 27 Sep 2023 10:00:00 -0000

If a company wants to offer in-app messaging or voice calls, they don’t have to develop the infrastructure themselves when there’s something like Twilio at their disposal.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AI chip company Kneron raises $49M to scale up its commercial efforts

Tue, 26 Sep 2023 20:00:00 -0000

Kneron, which is developing AI chips to power self-driving cars, among other autonomous machines, today announced that it raised $49 million in an extension to its Series B round.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TeachMe.To lands $2M to connect beginner athletes with local coaches

Tue, 26 Sep 2023 10:00:00 -0000

TeachMe.To, a sports coaching platform for beginner athletes, secured $2 million in seed funding, the company exclusively told TechCrunch.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Amazon to invest up to $4 billion in AI startup Anthropic

Mon, 25 Sep 2023 20:00:00 -0000

Amazon said Monday it has agreed to invest up to $4 billion in AI startup Anthropic.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Frontier Space Technologies is developing an on-orbit autonomous lab to make space science easy

Mon, 25 Sep 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Astronauts have been conducting experiments on the International Space Station for as long as the station has been in orbit, but astronaut labor is expensive: crew time costs $130,000 per hour, and companies are capped at 25 hours per year.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mesh, which helps people manage their digital assets, raises $22M

Fri, 22 Sep 2023 20:30:00 -0000

Mesh (formerly Front Finance), a startup developing a service to help customers transfer and manage digital assets like crypto, has raised $22 million in a Series A funding round.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Somani’s Offline secures $2M to build community for top Indian startup founders

Fri, 22 Sep 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Utsav Somani, who helped AngelList launch in India and oversaw its local operations for five years, is gearing up to find more ways to help founders.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Google-backed Indian audio platform Kuku FM raises $25 million

Thu, 21 Sep 2023 20:10:00 -0000

Google-backed audio content platform Kuku FM has raised $25 million in a new funding round as it looks to make deeper inroads with its audiobook offerings in the South Asian market.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Legit Security lands $40M to lock down apps and dev environments

Thu, 21 Sep 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Legit Security, a cybersecurity company developing a platform to identify app vulnerabilities from code, has raised $40 million in a Series B funding round led by CRV with participation from Cyberstarts, Bessemer Venture Partners and TCV.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Database startup MotherDuck lands $52.5M to grow its DuckDB-based platform

Wed, 20 Sep 2023 20:25:00 -0000

A few weeks ago, it was reported that MotherDuck, the company commercializing the lightweight database platform DuckDB, was in talks to raise new capital from VC firm Felicis.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

European cyber insurance startup Stoïk raises $10.7 million and expands to Germany

Wed, 20 Sep 2023 10:00:00 -0000

French startup Stoïk offers a cyber insurance product to small and medium companies — a bit like Coalition in the U.S. And things have been working well in France.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Babbel acquires language learning browser extension Toucan

Tue, 19 Sep 2023 20:00:00 -0000

Babbel, the popular subscription-based language learning service, today announced that it has acquired Toucan, the well-funded language learning browser extension.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dragos raises $74M to secure industrial control systems from threats

Tue, 19 Sep 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Dragos, a company building software to secure the control systems for manufacturing and industrial equipment, has raised $74 million in a Series D round extension led by WestCap.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Roam unveils new EV bus model to tap Kenya’s mass transit sector

Mon, 18 Sep 2023 20:00:00 -0000

Kenya-based EV startup Roam has unveiled a new shuttle bus model dubbed Move, coming as the East African country continues to push for the adoption of electric vehicles.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pixis, an AI-powered full-stack marketing platform, raises $85M

Mon, 18 Sep 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Pixis, an AI-powered platform for brands to monitor and orchestrate their marketing campaigns, today announced that it raised $85 million in a Series C1 round.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Databricks raises $500M more, boosting valuation to $43B despite late-stage gloom

Fri, 15 Sep 2023 20:00:00 -0000

Data analytics and AI software maker Databricks has raised a Series I round worth more than $500 million, earning a valuation of $43 billion.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Access code: Evidence brings open source BI to technical data teams

Fri, 15 Sep 2023 10:00:00 -0000

From Tableau and Looker, to PowerBI and beyond, there are no shortage of business intelligence (BI) tools designed to help companies unlock insights from their vast swathes of data.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mecho Autotech raises $2.4M, ventures into wholesale spare parts distribution

Thu, 14 Sep 2023 20:00:00 -0000

Mecho Autotech, a startup offering automotive spare parts, vehicle repairs and maintenance services, has raised a $2.4 million pre-Series A round.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mighty Buildings raises $52M to build 3D-printed prefab homes

Thu, 14 Sep 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Mighty Buildings, a startup building tech for prefabricated, ostensibly environmentally-friendly homes, today announced that it raised $52 million in a funding round co-led by Waed Ventures and Bold Capital with participation by Khosla Ventures.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kolors acquires Urbvan to transform corporate bus travel in Mexico

Wed, 13 Sep 2023 20:00:00 -0000

Kolors, a Mexico City-based startup that connects intercity bus riders with bus drivers, is acquiring B2B van pooling provider Urbvan for $12 million cash.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Taiwan-based lifestyle app FunNow merges with Eatigo to broaden its Southeast Asia reach

Wed, 13 Sep 2023 10:00:00 -0000

FunNow, the Taiwan-based app that lets users book activities on-demand in five Asian countries, is growing its reach in Southeast Asia through a merger with restaurant booking app Eatigo.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ascento’s robots aid overstretched security guards

Tue, 12 Sep 2023 20:50:00 -0000

Like in many industries, there’s an acute shortage of security guards. This means guards still on the job have to pull extra hours and are more likely to make mistakes because of fatigue.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Scala Biodesign makes it easy to re-engineer proteins one molecule at a time – or 50

Tue, 12 Sep 2023 10:00:00 -0000

There’s a gold rush on in biotech as AI and other tools are used to find new drugs and treatments. With $5.5 million in new funding,

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Perfios raises $229 million for its real-time credit underwriting solutions

Mon, 11 Sep 2023 20:00:00 -0000

Perfios, an Indian fintech that provides real-time credit underwriting solutions to banks and non-banking financial institutions, has raised $229 million in a new funding round as it looks deepen its expansion into North America and Europe.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Low-code platform Retool makes it easier to bring AI smarts to business apps

Mon, 11 Sep 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Retool started out as a platform for building line-of-business apps, but over the last few years, the well-funded startup added a number of backend services as well, including, most recently, a workflow automation service.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Compliance and risk management startup Certa raises $35M

Fri, 08 Sep 2023 21:00:00 -0000

Certa, a compliance, governance and risk management platform for enterprises, today announced that it raised $35 million in a Series B round.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SimpleClosure raises $1.5M in less than 24 hours to help companies shut down faster and cheaper

Fri, 08 Sep 2023 10:00:00 -0000

It’s easy to start a startup. But it’s far more difficult to shut one down.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

U.K. rejoins Europe’s Horizon R&D program after prolonged Brexit stalemate

Thu, 07 Sep 2023 20:00:00 -0000

The U .K. is set to rejoin the European Union’s (EU) preeminent science R&D funding program, after a three-year hiatus resulting from a Brexit fallout.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Josys, a SaaS management platform, raises $93M

Thu, 07 Sep 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Josys, a startup offering a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform to automate corporate IT software application management, has raised a $93 million Series B round.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kotani gets $2M pre-seed to help African workers send money home via crypto — without the internet

Wed, 06 Sep 2023 20:00:00 -0000

Of the many lofty promises of cryptocurrency, one of the most commendable ones is its potential to bring financial inclusion to underserved users.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Butternut Box wolfs down $354M for subscription canine cuisine

Wed, 06 Sep 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Butternut Box, a U.K.-based startup that prepares and ships healthy food and supplements for dogs, is raising £280 million ($354 million) in a round of funding from General Atlantic and L Catterton.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Atomicwork connects workers and their companies

Tue, 05 Sep 2023 20:00:00 -0000

Sometimes the work of having a job takes time away from work.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

OpenAI-backed language learning app Speak raises $16M to expand to the U.S.

Mon, 04 Sep 2023 20:00:00 -0000

Speak, an English language learning platform backed by OpenAI’s startup investment fund, the OpenAI Startup Fund, announced that it raised $16 million in a Series B-2 funding round led by angel investor Lachy Groom.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Teale, your mental health companion at work, raises $11 million

Mon, 04 Sep 2023 10:00:00 -0000

French startup Teale has secured a funding round of $11 million earlier this summer.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hyperproof, a compliance and risk management startup, raises $40M

Fri, 01 Sep 2023 20:00:00 -0000

Hyperproof, a software-as-a-service risk and compliance management company, today announced that it raised $40 million in a funding round led by Riverwood Capital with participation from Toba Capital, an early-stage VC firm.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

MFast get backing from Wavemaker Partners to increase financial services access in Vietnam

Fri, 01 Sep 2023 10:00:00 -0000

The majority of Vietnam’s population live in rural areas and often lack access to financial services because banks and other institutions open most of their physical locations in cities.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Martian Lawyers Club raises $2.2M for AI-based game personalization tech

Thu, 31 Aug 2023 20:35:00 -0000

The Martian Lawyers Club (MLC) wants to take game personalization to the next level with the help of generative AI.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Allseated, a virtual venue tour and event planning platform, raises $20M

Wed, 30 Aug 2023 20:20:00 -0000

Allseated, a platform that helps event organizers plan and showcase venues virtually, has raised $20 million in an equity round of funding.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lightspeed backs Markato, a marketplace that helps independent brands break into Asia

Wed, 30 Aug 2023 10:00:00 -0000

During the pandemic, almost all retailers in Asia established an e-commerce presence and adopted digital payments.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Subletting app Kiki raises $6M by using dating app concepts to match listings and renters

Tue, 29 Aug 2023 20:37:00 -0000

Kiki (formerly EasyRent), a subletting startup that matches listers with people looking to rent for up to six months, recently closed a $6 million seed round, its co-founder Toby Thomas-Smith exclusively told TechCrunch.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Devolut leverages e-commerce growth in Latin America to develop reverse logistics tool

Tue, 29 Aug 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Devolut enables merchants a returns option that doesn’t require boxes or labels. It also provides a network of “city points” where consumers can go to return merchandise.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Moxie raises $15.7M to make opening medspas easier

Mon, 28 Aug 2023 20:37:00 -0000

Treatments like botox are becoming more ubiquitous, spurring growth in the number of medspas, or centers that offer botox, IV hydration and laser treatments from certified providers like registered nurses.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Zepto becomes India’s first 2023 unicorn with $200 million fresh funding

Mon, 28 Aug 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Instant grocery delivery startup Zepto has raised $200 million in a new funding round at a valuation of $1.4 billion.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Weekday puts the spotlight on job references

Sat, 26 Aug 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Job references are an important part of hiring the right person, especially for remote positions.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hustle Fund doubles down on its mission to build the ‘YC of angel investing’

Fri, 25 Aug 2023 10:00:00 -0000

What do a chef in Turkey, a pilot in Australia, a physical therapist in Oregon, a submarine operator in the military and a DJ in the Bay Area all have in common?

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cypago, which aims to automate compliance and governance for companies, raises $13M

Thu, 24 Aug 2023 20:37:00 -0000

There’s a growing number of cybersecurity regulations designed to keep business and customer data protected.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

IBM sells The Weather Company assets to Francisco Partners

Thu, 24 Aug 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Following rumors that it was exploring the sale of its weather business as part of a move to streamline operations, IBM says that it’s found a buyer for The Weather Company.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Meet Relume, the bootstrapped AI web builder that wants to supercharge Figma and Webflow

Wed, 23 Aug 2023 20:25:00 -0000

Despite the abundant venture capital available for startups in the current wave of generative AI breakthroughs, Relume has turned down investments and instead relied on bootstrapping since its launch.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dipp uses AI to fix bottlenecks between marketing and design teams

Wed, 23 Aug 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Before founding dipp, Jennifer Chen and Mikhail Abramov spent 15 years working as art directors in New York City.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Teeny EV startup Arcimoto hooks up with defense contractor

Tue, 22 Aug 2023 20:00:00 -0000

What happens when a maker of tiny electric vehicles dips its wheels into the military industrial complex?

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

B2B inventory marketplace Ghost reappears with $30M Series B to expand outside US

Tue, 22 Aug 2023 10:00:00 -0000

In the past year, the company grew its membership base to over 1,000 brands and retailers and saw its year over year gross merchandise value run rate grow over 10 times.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Twiga lays off 33% of its staff, disbands in-house delivery and introduces logistics marketplace

Mon, 21 Aug 2023 20:36:00 -0000

Twiga will conduct another round of layoffs to keep its business afloat amid macroeconomic headwinds that have made capital harder to raise, and forced venture-backed companies to scale down their operations.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wonder Brands’ pivot to acquiring e-commerce infrastructure pays off

Mon, 21 Aug 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Wonder Brands has since launched over 15 brands in the past 12 months and over 2,000 SKUs in the categories of home and garden, sports and fitness and beauty and personal care categories.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

True Anomaly gets regulatory greenlight for first spacecraft reconnaissance mission

Fri, 18 Aug 2023 20:16:00 -0000

Defense-focused space technology startup True Anomaly has received key permits from regulators that will allow it to demonstrate imaging and rendezvous capabilities on-orbit for the first time.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Highlight, now flush with $18M, helps CPG brands automate product testing

Fri, 18 Aug 2023 10:00:00 -0000

The company brings the entire product testing process under one umbrella and automates it so customers can set up their testing and get the product results they need quickly.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

DynamoFL raises $15.1m to help enterprises adopt ‘compliant’ LLMs

Thu, 17 Aug 2023 20:00:00 -0000

DynamoFL, which offers software to bring large language models (LLMs) to enterprises and fine-tune those models on sensitive data, today announced that it raised $15.1 million in a Series A funding round co-led by Canapi Ventures and Nexus Venture Partners.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Voiceflow, a platform for building conversational AI experiences, raises $15M

Thu, 17 Aug 2023 10:00:00 -0000

The demand for conversational AI — mostly chatbots — has arguably never been higher, riding the publicity wave of systems like OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Browse AI help companies build bots to scrape website data and put it to work

Wed, 16 Aug 2023 20:15:00 -0000

Traditionally, companies looking to extract data from websites have had to create custom code to get at the data, an expensive and time-consuming process that is often out of reach of smaller businesses.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Brex expands into group events while Mesh Payments moves into travel

Wed, 16 Aug 2023 10:00:00 -0000

As the spend management space continues to get more competitive, the various players seem to be constantly iterating to add new features to their products.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mixlab adds to veterinary pharmacy footprint following $10M Series A extension

Tue, 15 Aug 2023 20:15:00 -0000

The new investment, an extension of a previous Series A round, enabled the company to open a third location in the Miami area.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

11xAI closes $2 million pre-seed to create autonomous AI workers

Tue, 15 Aug 2023 10:00:00 -0000

The company builds automated digital workers that can be used in lieu of human employees.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s official: Better.com is going public

Mon, 14 Aug 2023 20:00:00 -0000

We didn’t think we’d see the day. Digital mortgage lender Better.com’s proposal to combine with Aurora Acquisition Corp. via a SPAC.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Data visualization startup Virtualitics lands $37M investment

Mon, 14 Aug 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Many companies grapple with data challenges. In a 2019 survey, Deloitte reports that 67% of executives aren’t comfortable accessing or using the data at their organizations.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Osano, a data privacy management platform, nabs $25M

Fri, 11 Aug 2023 20:00:00 -0000

Osano, an Austin, Texas-based startup developing a platform to help companies manage their data privacy, today announced that it raised $25 million in a Series B funding round.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SAEKI’s “microfactories” help large manufacturing scale up

Fri, 11 Aug 2023 10:00:00 -0000

The architecture, engineering and construction industries involve giant concrete molds that are expensive, slow to manufacture and often only used a few times before being disposed.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matter filters out microplastics, one washer at at time — and raises $10M to go industrial

Thu, 10 Aug 2023 20:10:00 -0000

Microplastics are everywhere — quite literall.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Symmetry raises $18M to bolster organizations’ data security programs

Thu, 10 Aug 2023 10:30:00 -0000

As organizations embrace cloud services — and are forced to confront changing regulations and data use standards — their ability to maintain control of data security frequently becomes strained.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Atmosfy, an app that helps you discover local businesses through short-from video, raises $12M

Wed, 09 Aug 2023 20:40:44 -0000

Atmosfy, an app that helps you discover restaurants and local businesses through short-form videos, has raised $12 million in seed funding led by Redpoint Ventures.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Meatable sinks its teeth into $35M to accelerate launch of its cultivated pork products

Wed, 09 Aug 2023 10:00:00 -0000

The new funding will help Meatable scale its processes and accelerate the launch of its first products — sausages and pork dumplings — in Singapore starting in 2024.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Zoom launches an asynchronous video tool for the meeting-averse

Tue, 08 Aug 2023 20:45:00 -0000

In its continued attempt to diversify its product offerings, Zoom today launched a new asynchronous video tool, Zoom Clips, that lets users record, edit and share video clips without having to hop on a meeting.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One Model lands $41M to bring data science-powered insights to HR

Tue, 08 Aug 2023 10:00:00 -0000

One Model, a platform that uses AI to help employers make decisions about recruiting, hiring, promotions, layoffs and general workplace planning, today announced that it’s raised $41 million in a funding round led by Riverwood Capital.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AI chip startup Tenstorrent lands $100M investment from Hyundai and Samsung

Mon, 07 Aug 2023 20:50:00 -0000

The appetite for hardware to train AI models is voracious. AI chips are forecast to account for up to 20% of the $450 billion total semiconductor market by 2025, according to McKinsey.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Haus, which helps companies measure marketing ROI, raises $17M

Mon, 07 Aug 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Several years ago, Zach Epstein was leading marketing measurement initiatives at Google, helping large corporate customers to build out measurement infrastructure.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Datasaur lets you build a model automatically from a set of labels

Fri, 04 Aug 2023 20:22:28 -0000

Long before people were talking about ChatGPT and generative AI, companies like Datasaur were dealing with the nuts and bolts of building machine learning models, helping label things to train the model.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cohart’s art marketplace makes buying and selling accessible for any kind of art lover

Fri, 04 Aug 2023 10:00:00 -0000

The platform offers tools and infrastructure so that visual artists can be discovered and sell their art.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lightup wants to shine a light on data quality with $9M Series A

Thu, 03 Aug 2023 20:00:00 -0000

We all know how important data quality is.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ramp expands into procurement, lands Shopify as a customer

Thu, 03 Aug 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Ramp continues to ramp up its business.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nile, which offers enterprise networks as a service, raises $175M

Wed, 02 Aug 2023 20:00:00 -0000

If you ask Pankaj Patel, there’s too much complexity in networks today — particularly enterprise networks.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vanguard cuts Indian ride-hailing giant Ola’s valuation by 52%

Wed, 02 Aug 2023 10:00:00 -0000

The U.S. index fund pioneer Vanguard has cut the worth of its holding in the Indian ride-hailing startup Ola by more than half since original investment.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Topline Pro grabs $12M in new capital to help home service businesses get discovered

Tue, 01 Aug 2023 20:20:00 -0000

The company added a social media hub for automated posts and ads as well as an AI-enabled “Super Assistant” to help with navigating through the application and digitizing customer interactions.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pollen is a professional development platform for tech workers, by tech workers

Tue, 01 Aug 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Meet Pollen, a new French startup that wants to provide a better way to learn new skills.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HerMD opening new women’s health clinics following $18M extension

Mon, 31 Jul 2023 20:00:00 -0000

The company offers comprehensive women’s healthcare, either in-person or virtual, and one of its differentiators is that the average appointment is between 20 and 60 minutes.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pet telehealth company Airvet closes on $18.2M to embark on enterprise focus

Mon, 31 Jul 2023 10:00:00 -0000

The company has built up a base of employer clients, including Adobe, Ceridian and Rexford Industrial, eager to offer an employer-sponsored benefit for employees with pets.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AutogenAI, a generative AI tool for writing bids and pitches, secures $22.3M

Fri, 28 Jul 2023 20:00:00 -0000

Business is regularly won and lost on the strength of a proposal.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Helpful secures $7.5M to launch family caregiver app

Fri, 28 Jul 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Helpful's app brings insurance benefits, medical records and caregiving resources into one place.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bloom Money raises £1M to digitize microcredit finance for ethnic communities

Thu, 27 Jul 2023 20:10:00 -0000

The company seeks to digitize the rotating savings and credit association (ROSCA) financial technique often used by ethnic communities.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dioxycle raises $17 million for its electrolyzer that turns CO2 into ethylene

Thu, 27 Jul 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Dioxycle is a carbon transformation startup that is working on a new process to produce ethylene at scale using recycled carbon emissions.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dial-up a therapist like an Uber? Wangie aims at Gen-Zs and the time-poor

Wed, 26 Jul 2023 20:15:00 -0000

It would be fair to say there’s no global solution for instant 24/7 access to mental health support.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Prosus questions Byju’s governance, says Indian edtech ‘regularly disregarded advice’

Wed, 26 Jul 2023 10:00:00 -0000

A key Byju’s investor has gone on record to express its disappointment in the edtech giant’s governance issue, just weeks after all the independent members quit the startup’s board.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bunq, the Dutch neobank, has raised $111M at a flat $1.8B valuation to break into the US

Tue, 25 Jul 2023 19:59:30 -0000

Remote working and digital nomads became two very prominent aspects of the world of work during the pandemic, shedding a light on the millions of people who live in one country but earn money in another.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Whop, an online marketplace for digital goods, raises $17M

Tue, 25 Jul 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Amazon might have the monopoly on physical goods sold online.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cruise starts initial robotaxi testing in Miami

Mon, 24 Jul 2023 20:00:00 -0000

Cruise, the self-driving arm of General Motors, has begun initial testing and data collection in Miami, the company said in a tweet Wednesday.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Collectly wants to make paying healthcare bills easier so medical providers don’t lose $200B

Mon, 24 Jul 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Collectly customers have, on average, been able to increase patient collections for medical group partners by 75% and reduce the “days sales outstanding” to 12 days from between 60 and 90 days.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

InDrive brings its ‘bid-based’ ride-hail app to the US

Fri, 21 Jul 2023 20:08:00 -0000

InDrive (formerly inDriver) is bringing a new type of ride-hailing app to South Florida. The startup operates a “bid-based” platform wherein passengers can name their own fare for a ride, and nearby drivers can accept, decline or counter the offer.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gushwork.ai raises $2M, led by Lightspeed, to outsource business tasks to workforces trained in AI

Fri, 21 Jul 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Gushwork.ai, a global platform that aims to advance business process outsourcing (BPO) using AI and human expertise, has raised $2.1 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Lightspeed.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With $37M seed round, Maka Motors begins EV pilot on Indonesia’s streets

Thu, 20 Jul 2023 20:25:00 -0000

A recent report said that Indonesia’s electric vehicle (EV) market is projected to reach $20 billion by 2029, up from $533 million in 2022.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

VanMoof, the e-bike startup, officially declared bankrupt in The Netherlands

Thu, 20 Jul 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Another grim stage for VanMoof, the e-bike startup backed by venture capitalists to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wing Cloud is building an open source, unified cloud programming language

Wed, 19 Jul 2023 20:00:00 -0000

Running a multi-cloud strategy where you use different cloud vendors for different workloads, helps companies avoid vendor lock-in and lets them use the best-of-breed tools across different platforms.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Polar Analytics raises $9M to scale Shopify brands

Wed, 19 Jul 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Polar Analytics gives each brand a so-called “knowledge worker,” that aggregates all of the different data sources so that users can then pose questions about the data.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Herself Health, providing primary care to women 65 and over, raises $26M

Tue, 18 Jul 2023 20:35:00 -0000

Six months after raising a $7 million seed round, Herself Health is back with some additional venture capital to expand its clinic footprint.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Inngest helps developers build their backend workflows, raises $3M

Tue, 18 Jul 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Inngest, an open-source startup that helps developers build and manage serverless queues, background jobs and workflows.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Spline, a no-code design tool for creating 3D assets, raises $15M

Mon, 17 Jul 2023 20:20:00 -0000

Spline, a no-code design tool for creating 3D assets, today announced that it raised $15 million in a seed round led by Gradient Ventures.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

QED leads $7M round into startup that offers financing to SaaS businesses across US-South Asia corridor

Mon, 17 Jul 2023 10:00:00 -0000

There are a number of companies in the U.S. that offer revenue-based financing to SaaS companies including Capchase, Pipe, Founderpath and Arc.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Secure Code Warrior lands $50M to educate developers on best cyber practices

Fri, 14 Jul 2023 21:20:00 -0000

In 2015, Pieter Danhieux and Matias Madou, both cybersecurity analysts, came to the realization that they wanted to provide a way to make software more secure by empowering developers with the skills and tools to enhance their speed of delivery.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Infant formula company Bobbie takes in $70M to acquire Nature’s One

Fri, 14 Jul 2023 10:00:00 -0000

With the Nature’s One acquisition, Bobbie becomes the third-largest fully integrated brand in the U.S. and will grow to a 15% non-WIC market share.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pearpop’s new ‘Boost Mode’ feature allows brands to turn content from creators into paid ads

Thu, 13 Jul 2023 20:25:00 -0000

Pearpop, a marketplace for social collaborations, announced today that it’s launching a new product called “Boost Mode.”

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cyber insurance startup Coalition acquires privacy assistant Jumbo

Thu, 13 Jul 2023 10:00:00 -0000

San Francisco-based cybersecurity startup Coalition is acquiring Jumbo, a mobile app that lets you control your privacy on the web.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Savvy, a platform to secure SaaS apps, launches out of stealth with $30M

Wed, 12 Jul 2023 20:00:00 -0000

Software-as-a-service (SaaS) apps are an essential part of how many companies do business. But when the number of apps grows beyond a certain threshold, it can be difficult to secure them.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Raft closes $30M Series B led by Eight Roads VC

Wed, 12 Jul 2023 10:00:00 -0000

During the pandemic, the digitisation of the freight industry took off like a rocket, and stayed that way.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pylon wants to make it easier to manage B2B conversations in Slack

Tue, 11 Jul 2023 20:00:00 -0000

As email has becomes an increasingly clogged communication mechanism, businesses looking for more direct ways to communicate with their customers in a B2B context have been turning to Slack, Microsoft Teams, Discord and other channels.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SpeedyBrand uses generative AI to create SEO-optimized content

Tue, 11 Jul 2023 10:00:00 -0000

While working at Vetan, a startup helping small- and medium-sized (SMBs) businesses manage employee payroll, Jatin Mehta realized that SMBs often lack the tools to thrive online with organic sales.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Google’s Gradient Ventures backs Weflow to bring greater hygiene to Salesforce data

Mon, 10 Jul 2023 20:36:00 -0000

Google’s venture capital arm Gradient Ventures has made another foray into Europe, investing as part of a $3.2 million seed round in two-year-old German startup Weflow.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

CADDi raises $89M Series C to scale its B2B supply chain marketplace for manufacturing parts

Mon, 10 Jul 2023 10:00:00 -0000

The pandemic has damaged the entire manufacturing supply chain, which is not likely to return to normal until at least 2024 due to a few challenges, including the ongoing U.S.-China tech battle.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Brinc launches new program for climate tech startups

Fri, 07 Jul 2023 20:25:00 -0000

Brinc, the Hong Kong-based accelerator backed by investors like Animoca Brands, is launching a new program for fledgling climate tech startups.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

DigitalOcean acquires cloud computing startup Paperspace for $111M in cash

Fri, 07 Jul 2023 10:00:00 -0000

DigitalOcean, the cloud hosting business, today announced that it’s agreed to acquire Paperspace, a New York-based cloud computing and AI development startup, for $111 million in cash.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thrive Capital doubles down on Clair, a fintech helping frontline workers get paid instantly

Thu, 06 Jul 2023 21:10:22 -0000

New offerings include an on-demand pay solution where users can withdraw funds immediately for the money they've earned, but not yet received, and a lending program for employers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After bootstrapping for 8 years, accounting startup Dougs raises $27 million

Thu, 06 Jul 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Dougs, a French accounting startup, has been around since 2015. It already generates $16.4 million (€15 million) in annual recurring revenue. And it’s a bootstrapped company, meaning that it hasn’t opened its capital and raised any funding from VC firms.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

PharmEasy seeks funding via rights issue at 90% valuation cut, report says

Wed, 05 Jul 2023 20:00:00 -0000

Indian online pharmacy startup PharmEasy has informed its existing investors that it plans to raise a new round of funding via rights issue at a 90% markdown from the previous valuation, Indian newspaper Economic Times reported.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Google’s Gradient backs YC alum Infisical to solve secret sprawl

Wed, 05 Jul 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Secret sprawl, where companies store authentication credentials and similar sensitive data across multiple locations, is a real and growing problem for any company wanting to avert a security breach.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Level wants to back your fund — and your portfolio companies too

Mon, 03 Jul 2023 20:00:00 -0000

In 2023, funds of funds (FoFs) are on track to raise the smallest amount of money this year in more than a decade.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After aperitif ambitions sour, Haus is back on virtual shelves via The Naked Market

Mon, 03 Jul 2023 10:00:00 -0000

The Naked Market is relaunching Haus favorites, including Citrus Flower, Pomegranate Rosemary and Grapefruit Jalapeño.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

B Garage raises $20M for its warehouse inventory drones

Fri, 30 Jun 2023 20:00:00 -0000

B Garage, a San Jose-based startup building autonomous drones along with software to track warehouse inventory, said that it has picked up $20 million in a Series A round of funding.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

India startup funding slides 68% after Tiger and SoftBank make virtually no deals

Fri, 30 Jun 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Indian startups experienced a significant contraction in funding in the first half of 2023, revealing the knock-on effect of broader public market instability on young ventures in emerging regions.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Workflow automation startup Parabola raises $24M

Thu, 29 Jun 2023 20:00:00 -0000

Parabola, a San Francisco-based startup that uses AI to help expedite back-office processes, particularly in the logistics and ecommerce sectors, today announced that it raised $24 million in a Series B funding round.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Astrix Security, which uses ML to secure app integrations, raises $25M

Thu, 29 Jun 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Astrix Security, a platform that helps companies manage and secure third-party app integrations, today announced that it closed a $25 million Series A funding round led by CRV with participation from Bessemer Venture Partners and F2 Venture Capital.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AWS launches $100M program to fund generative AI initiatives

Wed, 28 Jun 2023 21:12:00 -0000

Amazon, keen to avoid being left behind in the hyper-competitive AI race, is launching a new program to invest in startups and organizations focused on generative AI.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

BentoML scores $9M funding to expedite AI app development

Wed, 28 Jun 2023 10:00:00 -0000

The success of large language models like GPT has sparked a frenzy of developers eager to make AI-powered applications.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

ThoughtSpot acquires Mode Analytics, a BI platform, for $200M in cash and stock

Tue, 27 Jun 2023 20:10:00 -0000

ThoughtSpot, an AI-powered analytics platform last valued at $4.5 billion, today announced that it’s entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Mode Analytics, a business intelligence startup, for $200 million in cash and stock.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

French VC firm Frst reaches $80 million first close for its new seed fund

Mon, 26 Jun 2023 20:30:00 -0000

Frst, the Paris-based VC firm with no vowel in its name, is in the process of raising its second fund.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Plastic upcycling startup Kubik closes $3.34M seed to scale production in Ethiopia

Thu, 22 Jun 2023 21:31:48 -0000

The amount of plastic waste produced globally is on track to triple to over 1,000 million tonnes by 2060. The OECD report predicts that developed countries will continue to produce the most plastic waste per person, although emerging regions like Africa and Asia are expected to experience the fastest growth owing to rapid population growth.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Supercritical, a carbon removal marketplace aimed at tech firms, raises $13M Series A led by Lightspeed

Thu, 22 Jun 2023 21:26:14 -0000

Supercritical, the carbon removal marketplace aimed (at the moment) mainly at tech companies that want to hit ‘net zero’, has raised a $13 million Series A funding round, led by Lightspeed Venture Partners. The round includes funding from RTP Global, Greencode Ventures, MMC Ventures and others.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Notarize launches Proof to ensure safe online transactions

Wed, 21 Jun 2023 19:30:00 -0000

Notarize, the world’s largest online notary network, is launching Proof, a new company and platform for digital identity verifications. Beginning in August, Notarize’s business tools will be rebranded to Proof, and it is also changing its company name to Proof. Notarize will continue serving its online notary network, which is used by companies like Adobe.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

BetterBrand’s new dough raises company’s valuation to over $170M

Wed, 21 Jun 2023 19:30:00 -0000

In late 2022, BetterBrand found success on Whole Foods Market shelves, driving over $1 million in gross sales in the first five months.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Seedstars, Fondation Botnar launch new fund to back African startups focused on youth wellbeing

Tue, 20 Jun 2023 22:57:44 -0000

Seedstars Capital and Swiss philanthropic foundation Fondation Botnar have launched Seedstars Youth Wellbeing Ventures, a $20 million investment mandate targeting early-stage startups in Africa that are focused on improving the wellbeing of people below 30 years in low-and-middle-income countries.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gladia turns any audio into text in near real time

Tue, 20 Jun 2023 22:55:18 -0000

Meet Gladia, a French AI startup that wants to change how companies interact with audio data. The company develops an audio transcription application programming interface (API) that you can integrate with other products and is supposed to work much better than what’s available out there. And this tech foundation unlocks new use cases around audio.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Luminoah’s quest to reinvent tube feeding attracts new funding

Tue, 20 Jun 2023 12:00:00 -0000

Luminoah has reinvented a tube feeding device that’s more portable, discreet, and easy to use, and it has raised $6 million dollars.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Glystn enables creators to mass reply to multiple followers across social media platforms

Mon, 19 Jun 2023 20:00:00 -0000

Glystn is a tool for content creators that allows them to engage with followers and read/answer comments from multiple social media platforms all in one place.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wargraphs, a gaming startup with only one employee and no outside funding, sells for $54M

Mon, 19 Jun 2023 12:00:00 -0000

Competition appears to be alive and well in another (smaller) area of gaming: modding and analytics.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

European startups still have a long way to go to achieve gender parity

Fri, 16 Jun 2023 21:30:00 -0000

According to a new study from Sista and the Boston Consulting Group, women are still underrepresented in the European tech ecosystem.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

ChrysCapital invests $100 million in India’s Lenskart

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 21:39:01 -0000

ChrysCapital has invested $100 million in Lenskart, the two said Thursday, pushing the Asian eyewear startup’s raise to $850 million in the past year. The Indian venture firm is buying shares worth $100 million into the Bengaluru-headquartered startup through both primary and secondary transactions, the two said. The new investment follows Abu Dhabi Investment AuthoritY.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Deepchecks snags $14M seed to continuously validate ML models

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 21:37:40 -0000

As companies increasingly rely on machine learning models, it’s imperative that they continuously check the models to make sure they are working as intended and that the data is valid, unbiased and not corrupted in any way. Deepchecks, an Israeli startup has come up with a solution to continuously test models from development through production.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kaya Founders backs Philippines startups from “Day 0”

Wed, 14 Jun 2023 20:30:00 -0000

The Philippines’ startup ecosystem is poised for strong growth, thanks to the country’s rising GDP, fast adoption of online services and a new generation of founders. Launched by tech and investment veterans, Kaya Founders wants to back the most promising startups from the very beginning. The venture firm announced today that it has closed $12.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Finfra lets Indonesian businesses add embedded finance to their platforms

Wed, 14 Jun 2023 20:30:00 -0000

Finfra, an Indonesian startup that provides the tech infrastructure for online businesses that want to offer embedded finance products, has raised $1 million in new funding. The round included participation from DSX Ventures, Seedstars International Ventures, Cento Ventures, Fintech Nation, FirstPick, BADideas Fund and Hustle Fund. The startup’s new funding will be used on product.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Oova grabs another $10.3M, unveils membership model for at-home fertility testing

Wed, 14 Jun 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Oova's new membership offering is priced at $99 and includes The Oova Kit, personalized support from healthcare professionals and access to a community of peers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nordic VC Voima Ventures launches €90M fund for deep tech startups

Tue, 13 Jun 2023 20:19:49 -0000

Nordic VC firm Voima Ventures today announced its third fund with an initial closing of €90 million fund and a final target of €120 million, focusing on early-stage “deep tech” startups from across the science realm.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Navan takes a swipe at expense management startups with new Mastercard and Visa partnerships

Tue, 13 Jun 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Want more fintech news in your inbox? Sign up here. In recent years, a number of startups have made a business out of providing corporate credit cards to companies.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HSBC rebrands, expands its SVB UK buy as HSBC Innovation Banking

Mon, 12 Jun 2023 20:17:00 -0000

Acquired by HSBC in an emergency sale for just £1 in March as SVB was melting down, SVB UK is now getting a rebrand and expansion under its new owner.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cultured meat startup Higher Steaks nabs $30M and rebrands as Uncommon

Mon, 12 Jun 2023 10:00:00 -0000

U.K.-based cultivated meat startup Higher Steaks has raised $30 million in a Series A round of funding and revealed that it’s changing its name to Uncommon.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Green Coffee Co. percolates on $25M to expand in Colombia, launch alcoholic beverages

Fri, 09 Jun 2023 20:55:00 -0000

Green Coffee is a consolidated arabica coffee farming company, headquartered in the U.S., with operations in Colombia that span 9,000 acres across 14 farms.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Insify raises another $10.7 million for its business insurance startup

Fri, 09 Jun 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Amsterdam-based insurtech startup Insify has completed its Series A funding round with another €10 million ($10.7 million at today’s exchange rate).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Contextual AI launches from stealth to build enterprise-focused language models

Thu, 08 Jun 2023 20:40:00 -0000

Large language models (LLMs) like OpenAI’s GPT-4 are powerful, paradigm-shifting tools that promise to upend industries.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Positive Ventures’ new impact fund will be triple its flagship fund

Thu, 08 Jun 2023 10:00:00 -0000

With the new fund, Positive Ventures intends to invest in between 20 and 25 companies at the pre-seed and seed levels.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

BOND brings inspirational-driven approach to livestream shopping, raises $2M

Wed, 07 Jun 2023 20:00:00 -0000

BOND's founders say their approach to livestream shopping is creator and content first so that the “creator in the driver's seat and at the forefront of the experience.”

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

OurX adds tech spin to Black hair care regimen

Wed, 07 Jun 2023 10:00:00 -0000

OurX has seven products currently for tightly textured hair, and the average regimen of products offered is between $115 and $130.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Escape dynamically scans APIs to find security flaws

Tue, 06 Jun 2023 21:30:00 -0000

French startup Escape has raised a $3.9 million (€3.6 million) funding round shortly after ending Y Combinator’s winter 2023 cohort.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ariga is helping developers define database schema as code

Tue, 06 Jun 2023 10:00:00 -0000

As companies look to update their databases, especially in a cloud native context, with so many different databases out there, it’s a huge challenge for developers when migrating from one environment to another.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NestAway, once valued at over $225 million, sells for $11 million

Mon, 05 Jun 2023 20:00:00 -0000

PropTech firm Aurum is acquiring NestAway, a once high-flying Indian startup operating in the same space, for up to $10.9 million, in a deal that marks a near complete erosion in value for the startup’s investors.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fintech giant Stripe is getting into the credit game

Mon, 05 Jun 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Stripe wants to make it easier for businesses to access credit.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

8Flow.ai raises $6.6M to automate customer support workflows

Fri, 02 Jun 2023 20:00:00 -0000

Working in customer support often means navigating disjointed tools to find data and solve issues. However, many of these actions are routine and repeatable, making them ideal candidates for automation.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Measurabl, an ESG platform for real estate, raises $93M

Fri, 02 Jun 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Measurabl, a startup developing a platform for environmental, social and governance (ESG) data in the real estate space, today announced that it raised $93 million in a Series D funding tranche co-led by Energy Impact Partners and Sway Ventures.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Olé Life wants to make buying life insurance for Latin Americans easier

Thu, 01 Jun 2023 20:13:29 -0000

The full-stack insurance carrier is targeting Latin America’s growing middle class that may have previously been unable to obtain financial protection.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Taxfix, the $1B German accounting startup, slashes 120 jobs amid funding crunch

Thu, 01 Jun 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Taxfix leaped to a $1 billion valuation in 2022 on the back of a popular mobile app used by consumers help with tax returns.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Strive Health grabs $166M to provide end-to-end kidney care

Wed, 31 May 2023 20:14:53 -0000

Strive Health works with local providers to form an integrated care delivery system that follows a patient from chronic kidney disease to end-stage kidney disease.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wellplaece wants to put a smile on dentists’ face with new supply procurement marketplace

Wed, 31 May 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Wellplaece’s takes in a client’s ordering data and then enables the customer to make those specific purchasing behaviors across a large network of suppliers via one shopping cart.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

OMERS Growth Equity leads Carrum Health’s $45M Series C to expand cancer care

Tue, 30 May 2023 21:03:13 -0000

Carrum Health CEO Sach Jain noted that 2022 “was a big year for us” that included nearly doubling its book of business.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WireMock lands $6.5M to help developers build and test on mock APIs

Tue, 30 May 2023 10:00:00 -0000

As developers work with an increasing number of third-party APIs, they need a tool that mocks those APIs for testing purposes without actually firing the API gateway.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Celebrity investors pile into consumer savings startup Checkmate

Mon, 29 May 2023 20:15:00 -0000

We’ve all been there. Shopping online and desperately searching for a promo code so that you can save some money on a purchase. Well, at least I’ve been there. Enter Checkmate.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nymbus lands $70M to help banks digitally transform

Mon, 29 May 2023 11:45:00 -0000

Nymbus, a startup that partners with banks to migrate their legacy stack and launch neobanks to attract new customers, today announced that it raised $70 million in a Series D round led by Insight Partners.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kapital gets more of its own capital to help LatAm businesses monitor cash flow

Fri, 26 May 2023 20:00:00 -0000

Kapital's platform gives small and medium-sized businesses across Latin America a way to see their finances in one place.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Arc launches HireAI to make finding software developers easier

Fri, 26 May 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Arc, the jobs platform created especially for software developers looking for remote positions, wants to make recruitment easier with the launch of HireAI.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Generation Prime launches to make fertility services more accessible in Asia

Thu, 25 May 2023 20:00:00 -0000

Generation Prime, a startup that wants to make IVF and other fertility services more accessible to patients in Asia, is launching its first two clinics in Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Daylight, the LGBTQ+ neobank, calls it quits

Thu, 25 May 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Daylight, an LGBTQ+ banking platform, is shutting down. Its operations will cease on June 30, according to embattled co-founder and CEO Rob Curtis.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episode Six raises $48M to streamline payment processes

Wed, 24 May 2023 20:26:00 -0000

Episode Six, a global payments and banking infrastructure provider, today announced that it raised $48 million in a Series C funding round led by Avenir with participation from Anthos Capital.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Modular app-building platform Buildier.ai raises $250 million Series D funding

Wed, 24 May 2023 10:00:00 -0000

It was only recently that we reported Buildier.ai had signed a strategic collaboration with and undisclosed investment from Microsoft.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Restaurant365 gobbles up $135M to supersize its software for the food service industry

Tue, 23 May 2023 10:00:00 -0000

The price of food continues to go up and up, but surprisingly that hasn’t (yet?) played out as pressure on the wider restaurant industry.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With government backing, Ireland’s Elkstone closes first VC fund at $108M for early-stage startups

Mon, 22 May 2023 20:30:00 -0000

Yet another early-stage VC fund has closed in Europe this week, as Elkstone finalized a €100 million ($108 million) pot aimed at Irish startups.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SoftBank rebrands Opportunity Fund, will invest $150 million in Black and Latino-led startups

Mon, 22 May 2023 10:00:00 -0000

The new fund hopes to deploy the $150 million within three years, and has appointed Paul Judge as its managing partner.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stability AI open sources its AI-powered design studio

Fri, 19 May 2023 20:00:00 -0000

Stability AI, the AI startup behind the text-to-image model Stable Diffusion, this week announced the release of StableStudio, an open source version of DreamStudio, Stability AI’s commercial AI-powered design suite.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Union AI raises $19.1M Series A to simplify AI and data workflows with Flyte

Fri, 19 May 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Union AI, a Bellevue, Washington–based open source startup that helps businesses build and orchestrate their AI and data workflows with the help of a cloud-native automation platform, today announced that it has raised a $19.1 million Series A round from NEA and Nava Ventures.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Swiggy’s food delivery business reaches profitability

Thu, 18 May 2023 20:05:00 -0000

India’s Swiggy said on Thursday that its food delivery business has become profitable, eclipsing its publicly-listed rival Zomato on another key metric a day before the firm is set to report its quarterly earnings.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wefox secures new funding at $4.5 billion valuation as it aims for profitability

Thu, 18 May 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Wefox, the German insurtech startup, has closed a new funding round from existing investors.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Insurtech bolttech gets $196M at $1.6B valuation from investors like MetLife

Wed, 17 May 2023 20:00:00 -0000

Embedded insurtech is still hot, as the $196 million in funding landed by bolttech proves.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This UK startup plans to radically shake-up the antiquated word of COPD measurement

Wed, 17 May 2023 10:00:00 -0000

In 1846, London surgeon John Hutchinson invented the spirometer, a thing you blow hard into, to measure the volume of air inspired and expired by the lungs.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jenfi raises more funding for its “growth capital as a service” platform

Tue, 16 May 2023 20:15:00 -0000

Jenfi, a “growth-capital-as-a-service” platform, can provide online businesses with revenue-based financing in a little as a day.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Everseen raises over $70M for AI tech to spot potential retail theft

Tue, 16 May 2023 10:00:00 -0000

In 2007, Alan O’Herlihy, who previously worked with large SAP installations as well as retail, set out to find a way to help retailers minimize “shrinkage,” or where a store has fewer items in stock than in its recorded inventory.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pale Blue Dot continues investing in its climate vision, with a second, $100M fund

Mon, 15 May 2023 20:05:00 -0000

Sweden-based VC fund Pale Blue Dot bounced onto the scene in 2020 with a €53 million fund to help climate-focused startups.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AMP Robotics attracts investment from Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund

Mon, 15 May 2023 10:00:00 -0000

AMP Robotics, a Denver, Colorado-based startup creating robotic systems that can automatically sort recyclable material, today announced that it extended its Series C round to $99 million, thanks to an investment from Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SLAIT pivots from translating sign language to AI-powered interactive lessons

Fri, 12 May 2023 20:10:00 -0000

Millions of people use sign language, but methods of teaching this complex and subtle skill haven’t evolved as quickly those for written and spoken languages.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AudiencePlus wants to help every company run its own media platform

Fri, 12 May 2023 10:00:00 -0000

It used to be that having a corporate blog and some paid content was the gist of your marketing department’s content efforts, and that was enough.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cable wants to help banks cut financial crime through automated assurance

Thu, 11 May 2023 20:20:00 -0000

Cable enables banks and fintechs to monitor all of their accounts — not just a fraction as before — to know, in real time, if failure controls are working as expected to combat breaches.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Prewave pulls in $20M as supply chain tech investments remain on VC radars

Thu, 11 May 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Despite the investor caution narrative permeating the startup world throughout the economic downturn, certain startup-types have been a little more impervious to market conditions.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ascend raises $25 million for pre-seed AI startups in the Pacific Northwest

Wed, 10 May 2023 20:40:00 -0000

Investing in artificial intelligence (AI) startups is the latest bandwagon VCs are piling onto.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Invesco cuts Indian food delivery giant Swiggy’s valuation to $5.5 billion

Wed, 10 May 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Invesco, which led Swiggy’s previous round, has marked down the Indian food delivery giant’s valuation in its holding to about $5.5 billion, according to a filing.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

PermitFlow advances construction permitting automation with $5.5M in new capital

Tue, 09 May 2023 20:04:04 -0000

PermitFlow has software for developers and general contractors to streamline the construction permit application and management processes.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Antimetal is putting AI to work to root out cloud cost inefficiencies

Tue, 09 May 2023 10:00:00 -0000

One constant theme we’ve been hearing from the big cloud infrastructure vendors this year is helping customers increase the efficiency of their cloud spend.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Go1 snaps up speed reading app Blinkist to expand in enterprise learning

Mon, 08 May 2023 20:00:00 -0000

After raising $100 million at a valuation of over $2 billion last year, the Australian ed-tech startup Go1 is making an acquisition and getting some investment to expand its reach and technology to serve the market of corporate online learning.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Slash aims to corner the Gen Z market with business-focused banking features

Mon, 08 May 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Around two years ago, Victor Cardenas and Kevin Bai built a fintech platform called Slash that lets users create shareable virtual cards to split recurring expenses.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AI-powered supply chain startup Pando lands $30M investment

Fri, 05 May 2023 20:30:00 -0000

Signaling that investments in the supply chain sector remain robust, Pando, a startup developing fulfillment management technologies, today announced that it raised $30 million in a Series B round, bringing its total raised to $45 million.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Green-Got is a neobank for climate-conscious customers

Fri, 05 May 2023 10:00:00 -0000

French startup Green-Got is building an alternative to your traditional bank account with a focus on climate change.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mercu meets deskless workers where they are

Thu, 04 May 2023 20:05:00 -0000

Many employee engagement and retention tools were created with the assumption that workers spent most of their time at desks.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fiverr Enterprise aims to streamline managing large groups of freelancers

Thu, 04 May 2023 10:00:00 -0000

In 2021, gig marketplace Fiverr acquired Stoke Talent, a startup developing freelance management tools for employers, for $95 million.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hackajob matches technical talent with companies looking to hire

Wed, 03 May 2023 20:15:00 -0000

Even today with all of the layoffs we have seen in the tech industry over the last year, there is still a shortage of technical talent.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Citymapper lowers the paywall for premium features but keeps monthly subscription for removing ads

Wed, 03 May 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Citymapper is lowering the paywall around its premium features and introducing a new subscription plan purely for removing ads.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Simpplr raises $70M for its AI-powered intranet platform

Tue, 02 May 2023 20:05:00 -0000

Several years ago, entrepreneur Dhiraj Sharma’s first company, a software consultancy, was hired by an HR tech firm to develop an app to improve the employee onboarding experience.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AI platform to analyze creative advertising raises $5.1M from investors, including a16z

Tue, 02 May 2023 10:00:00 -0000

In this increasingly AI-driven era, creative and media teams will probably need to employ the technology to up their game on analyzing their creative assets and A/B testing — or someone else will simply beat them to the punch.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Once-hot photo-sharing social app Poparazzi is shutting down

Mon, 01 May 2023 20:05:00 -0000

Poparazzi, the once-hot photo-sharing app that hit the top of the App Store in 2021, is shutting down.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chunk Foods close to opening factory to produce ‘millions’ of plant-based steaks

Mon, 01 May 2023 10:00:00 -0000

The company develops whole cuts of alternative proteins using fermentation technology and food-grade microorganisms.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Clubhouse needs to fix things, and today it cut more than half of staff

Fri, 28 Apr 2023 20:15:00 -0000

Clubhouse, a once skyrocketing social audio app built by Paul Davison and Rohan Seth, has laid off more than half of its staff.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bastion is an all-in-one cybersecurity solution for small businesses

Fri, 28 Apr 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Meet Bastion, a French startup that was created in October 2022 to help small companies tackle cybersecurity risks without too many complexities.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Operant is changing the way you secure cloud native applications

Thu, 27 Apr 2023 20:50:00 -0000

Containers and micro services may not be a new concept at this point, but lots of companies are struggling with the transition to cloud native applications, and the impact of that approach on their security.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Luup raises $30M ahead of Japan’s new micromobility rules

Thu, 27 Apr 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Japanese shared micromobility startup Luup has raised $30 million in a Series D financing round, which consists of 3.8 billion yen in equity and 700 million yen in debt.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

UniSieve’s filters use special crystals to reduce industrial emissions

Wed, 26 Apr 2023 20:35:00 -0000

The energy-intensive process of separating and purifying chemicals and gases is a big reason why industries like plastic manufacturing cause so much pollution.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

ZEBOX, an incubator for supply chain startups, launches its Asia hub in Singapore

Wed, 26 Apr 2023 10:00:00 -0000

ZEBOX, an international accelerator network founded by shipping conglomerate CMA CGM to introduce more tech innovation into the supply chain industry, announced today the launch of its APAC headquarters.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Greywing’s new SeaGPT solves email overwhelm for maritime crew managers

Tue, 25 Apr 2023 20:10:00 -0000

Every time a member of their crew changes, maritime crew managers need to handle immigration regulations, COVID requirements and travel plans for each person.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Constrafor, a construction procurement company, goes ‘SAFE’ route with new capital

Tue, 25 Apr 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Constrafor provides embedded financing and software to keep payments flowing between contractors and their subcontractors.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Super.com targets $85M equity, debt raise into new savings super app

Mon, 24 Apr 2023 20:10:28 -0000

Super.com's super app is focused on helping “everyday Americans” find deals and savings across multiple categories, including travel and shopping.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Home energy assessment startup Enter raises €19.4M Series A to expand in Germany and beyond

Mon, 24 Apr 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Largely because of their age, houses in Europe can be notoriously hard to heat. Most were built for an era when the knowledge about energy consumption just wasn’t available in the way it is today.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Betterdata uses synthetic data to keep real data safe

Fri, 21 Apr 2023 20:00:00 -0000

Betterdata, a Singapore-based startup that uses programmable synthetic data to keep real data secure, announced today it has raised $1.55 million.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kate raises $7.6 million for its electric micro-cars

Fri, 21 Apr 2023 10:00:00 -0000

French startup Kate has raised a $7.6 million (€7 million) funding round from a bunch of business angels.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Primo is the IT tool for companies that are too small for an IT manager

Thu, 20 Apr 2023 20:00:00 -0000

Primo, a French startup that recently raised a $3.4 million funding round to build a software-as-a-service product that handles the IT needs of small and medium companies.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cortical Labs raises $10M for its Pong-playing stem cells which eventually could power AI

Thu, 20 Apr 2023 10:00:00 -0000

While Generative AI is buzzy right now, what OpenAI, Microsoft and Google are doing may be only part of the story.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rally bags $12M to build the future of e-commerce checkout

Wed, 19 Apr 2023 20:06:48 -0000

Rally provides one-click checkout and post-purchase offers that allow the merchant to inject offers after the checkout.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Remote working means this startup can use brains in emerging markets to disrupt management consultants

Wed, 19 Apr 2023 10:00:00 -0000

The global management consulting industry is worth billions of dollars but to this day it’s been tough to disrupt with technology.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

B Capital leads Odeko’s $53M Series D to help small coffee shops scale

Tue, 18 Apr 2023 20:00:00 -0000

Odeko has operations software for coffee shops to manage inventory, get data insights and order equipment and supplies from over 400 vendors.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

LLMs come to workplace morale monitoring, as Loopin raises $1.9M for its platform

Tue, 18 Apr 2023 10:00:00 -0000

There have been several startup attempts to measure staff morale, some more halting that others. We reported on Plasticity Labs back in 2014, though their web site seems no longer functioning.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Device-as-a-service startup Fleet expands beyond laptop leasing

Mon, 17 Apr 2023 20:06:22 -0000

French startup Fleet has been growing nicely over the past four years as the company has deployed nearly 10,000 devices with long-term leasing contracts.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stability AI’s new model is slightly better at generating hands

Mon, 17 Apr 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Stability AI, the startup funding a range of generative AI experiments, has released a new version of Stable Diffusion, the text-to-image AI system that was among the first to rival OpenAI’s DALL-E 2.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Zoom acquires Ireland-based employee communications platform Workvivo

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 20:03:55 -0000

Zoom today announced that it has acquired Workvivo, a six-year-old Irish startup focused on improving companies’ internal communications and culture. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thynk wants to upgrade hotel stays with a vertical software platform

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Meet Thynk, a new company that wants to build the definite enterprise software solution for the hospitality industry.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Otterize raises $11.5M to help developers securely connect software services

Thu, 13 Apr 2023 19:57:53 -0000

Tomer Greenwald, Uri Sarid and Ori Shoshan, software developers by trade, found themselves building and configuring software authentication and authorization mechanisms repeatedly — each time with a different tech stack.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

General Atlantic invests another $100 million in PhonePe

Thu, 13 Apr 2023 10:00:00 -0000

General Atlantic has poured another $100 million in PhonePe, three months after leading a $350 million investment in the Indian fintech startup that has so far raised $750 million in an ongoing financing round.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fintech startup Clear Street raises $270M at a $2B valuation

Wed, 12 Apr 2023 20:32:39 -0000

Clear Street, which says it is building “modern infrastructure” for capital markets, has raised $270 million in the second tranche of a Series B funding round at a $2 billion valuation.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Graneet raises $8.7 million for its vertical SaaS for construction companies

Wed, 12 Apr 2023 10:30:00 -0000

French startup Graneet is building an all-in-one software-as-a-service product focused on small construction companies.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In edtech, history matters: Reach Capital just closed its largest fund to date

Tue, 11 Apr 2023 21:04:36 -0000

Reach Capital, one of the first venture firms to focus exclusively on edtech, closed its last investment vehicle during an unprecedented boom within tech.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gradient Ventures backs Axle’s ‘Plaid for insurance’ approach to data verification

Tue, 11 Apr 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Axle allows users to connect their insurance account to trusted companies in seconds and then automates insurance verification.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Honeycomb scores $50M investment as observability platform thrives

Mon, 10 Apr 2023 20:21:10 -0000

Honeycomb was founded in 2016 by two former Facebook engineers to create a new way of looking at application monitoring based on the internal tooling they had seen at Facebook.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Anthropic’s $5B, 4-year plan to take on OpenAI

Mon, 10 Apr 2023 11:02:58 -0000

AI research startup Anthropic aims to raise as much as $5 billion over the next two years to take on rival OpenAI and enter over a dozen major industries, according to company documents obtained by TechCrunch.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alternative seafood startup Aqua Cultured Foods reels in $5.5M

Fri, 07 Apr 2023 20:05:07 -0000

Aqua Cultured Foods is using proprietary mycoprotein (fungi) fermentation processes to create whole cuts of calamari, shrimp, scallops and filets of tuna and whitefish.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SetSail adds ChatGPT questioning capabilities on top of sales data

Fri, 07 Apr 2023 10:00:00 -0000

SetSail set out to build a new way to compensate sales people, where based on the data, companies could pay salespeople on where they were in the pipeline, not in just one big chunk when they landed the sale.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alga Biosciences wants to help climate change, one bovine burp at a time

Thu, 06 Apr 2023 20:11:10 -0000

Cows are a significant source of methane emissions, primarily due to their unique digestive system. Milk and beef cows are ruminants, which means they have a specialized stomach chamber (called the rumen), which houses billions of microbes that facilitate the breakdown of fibrous plant material.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ensemble raises $100M debut fund to bet on startup teams — but not in the way you think

Thu, 06 Apr 2023 10:00:00 -0000

The firm uses an in-house data algorithm it hopes will help it find startups that have teams designed to scale — beyond just the founders.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

New funding helps CarmaCare accelerate its ‘healthcare-for-your-car’ service

Wed, 05 Apr 2023 20:08:19 -0000

CarmaCare take over where traditional car insurance leaves off to provide an easier way to buy extended warranties for car repairs.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AirTree backs generative AI content creation and management platform Narrato

Wed, 05 Apr 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Generative AI is hot among venture capital firms now, with $4.5 billion invested in 2022. Narrato, a AI content creation and collaboration platform, announced today it has joined the ranks of other generative AI startups with VC funding.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Amazon wants to boost ten generative AI startups around the globe

Tue, 04 Apr 2023 20:18:20 -0000

Amazon’s first foray into the world of accelerator programs, designed to help early-stage startups build and launch, was focused on conversational AI back in 2016.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tencent backs Singapore’s Horizon Quantum Computing in $18M round

Tue, 04 Apr 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Quantum computers have the potential to carry out highly complicated calculations in minutes that would have taken classical computers thousands of years to work out.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Artie sidesteps the app stores by putting high-quality games in your browser

Mon, 03 Apr 2023 20:53:16 -0000

When you play a game, how do you play it? Monopoly or Settlers of Catan around the dining table? Mario Kart on your Nintendo Switch? Assassin’s Creed on your Xbox? Among Us on your phone?

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

DataDome, which uses AI to protect against bot-based attacks, raises $42M

Mon, 03 Apr 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Online businesses are at risk of bad bot activity, certainly more now than they used to be.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Qualcomm-backed Aravita wants to help Brazilian supermarkets control food waste

Fri, 31 Mar 2023 20:00:00 -0000

Aravita's AI-powered solution for supermarkets looks at variables, including climate, seasonality and consumer behavior, to manage the purchasing of fresh food.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Crypto wallet company Ledger raises another $108 million

Fri, 31 Mar 2023 10:00:00 -0000

French startup Ledger has added more money to its Series C funding round. The company designs and manufactures so-called hardware wallets to secure crypto assets.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Green Labs secures $38.4M in debt financing

Thu, 30 Mar 2023 20:14:20 -0000

Green Labs, a Seoul-based agritech startup, has secured $38.4 million (50 billion won) in debt financing from existing investors BRV Capital Management and Skylake Incuvest.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Krisp expands from noise canceling to on-device transcription

Thu, 30 Mar 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Krisp got its start as an AI-powered noise cancellation service, but now the startup is moving beyond that with instant on-device transcription of all your calls and meetings — and of course it integrates ChatGPT now for quick summaries as well.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Amazon-backed Acko nears $120 million in new funding

Wed, 29 Mar 2023 20:00:00 -0000

Indian insurtech Acko is in late-stage discussions to secure $120 million in a funding round at a time when weak global market conditions have subdued large financing deliberations in the South Asian market.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Isar Aerospace raises $165 million to bring more sovereign launch to Europe

Wed, 29 Mar 2023 10:00:00 -0000

German launch startup Isar Aerospace has scored $165 million (€155 million) in new funding as it races toward the inaugural flight of its Spectrum small rocket later this year.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Neubility plans to roll out 400 lidar-free delivery and security robots by year-end

Tue, 28 Mar 2023 20:14:55 -0000

Last-mile robotics startup Neubility — which makes autonomous delivery robots that work without lidar — says that it plans bump its fleet up to 400 by the end of this year, up from the 50 it currently has in circulation.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

OpenAI connects ChatGPT to the internet

Tue, 28 Mar 2023 11:00:00 -0000

OpenAI’s viral AI-powered chatbot, ChatGPT, can now browse the internet — in certain cases.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Snap quietly acquired 3D scanning startup Th3rd last year

Mon, 27 Mar 2023 16:12:16 -0000

Snap quietly acquired Amsterdam-based 3D scanning studio Th3rd in the second quarter of last year, at a time when the company was looking to bolster its AR-powered commerce ambitions.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Workera double downs on AI for upskilling with $23.5M infusion

Mon, 27 Mar 2023 08:05:19 -0000

Workera, an upskilling platform geared toward enterprise customers, today announced that it raised $23.5 million in a Series B round led by Jump Capital with participation from existing investors NEA, Owl Ventures, the AI Fund and Sozo Ventures.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Former Stripe engineer raises $4M for Beam, a fintech startup out to help contractors get paid faster

Fri, 24 Mar 2023 16:15:21 -0000

Beam, a five-month-old startup out to more easily help general contractors pay subcontractors and get paid themselves, has raised $4 million in a seed funding round led by Accel.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Britive, which helps secure public clouds, lands $20.5M investment

Fri, 24 Mar 2023 08:05:20 -0000

Proving that there’s still plenty of venture money in cybersecurity, cloud identity security platform Britive today announced that it raised $20.5 million in a Series B funding round.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Reselling marketplace Kream’s valuation rises to $742M with $168M Series C

Thu, 23 Mar 2023 16:15:21 -0000

The startup funding environment is more challenging right now, but some companies and industries still draw investors’ attention and money.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Clerk is simplifying identity for front-end web developers

Thu, 23 Mar 2023 08:05:20 -0000

Developers building front-end Jamstack web applications often struggle to build identity with traditional API tools.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cultivated meat is closer to our plate now that Good Meat also gets FDA blessing

Wed, 22 Mar 2023 16:15:19 -0000

This means that Good Meat’s cultivated chicken was accepted as a product safe for humans to eat.Â

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Duolingo is working on a music app

Wed, 22 Mar 2023 08:05:20 -0000

Duolingo, a language learning app with over 500 million users, is working on a music app, TechCrunch has learned. The Pittsburgh-based tech company currently has a small team working on a music product and is hiring a learning scientist who is an “expert in music education who combines both theoretical knowledge of relevant learning science […]
Duolingo is working on a music app by Natasha Mascarenhas originally published on TechCrunch

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pickle launches its truck unloading robot arm

Tue, 21 Mar 2023 16:15:23 -0000

Somewhere along the way, ProMat turned into a robotics show.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Consumer electronics reseller Reebelo adds to Series A as it lays down roots in US

Tue, 21 Mar 2023 08:05:21 -0000

Reebelo has added embedded financial services, including a buyback program and device upgrade options, while its warranty program, ReebeloCare, grew 330% year over year.
Consumer electronics reseller Reebelo adds to Series A as it lays down roots in US by Christine Hall originally published on TechCrunch

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pull Systems launches out of Up.Labs-Porsche partnership to tackle EV performance

Mon, 20 Mar 2023 16:15:19 -0000

When Porsche partnered with venture studio Up.Labs, the mission was to create six startups over three years all designed to solve the German automaker’s biggest problems and be compelling enough as a standalone business it that can attract other customers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cast AI raises $20M to help companies reduce cloud spend

Mon, 20 Mar 2023 08:05:22 -0000

Cloud costs remain a top concern for organizations. According to a recent Anodot survey, 50% of businesses are struggling to control them, in part because they lack visibility into their cloud usage.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Anonymous app Sidechat picks up rival Yik Yak…and users aren’t happy

Fri, 17 Mar 2023 16:15:18 -0000

Sidechat, the anonymous posting platform that began blowing up last year on college campuses, appears to have acquired a rival anonymous social platform, Yik Yak.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Zed raises $10M for a code editor built for collaboration

Fri, 17 Mar 2023 08:05:22 -0000

Code editors are complex and demanding pieces of software, but from a business standpoint, they’re notoriously difficult to monetize.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

ADIA invests $500 million in Lenskart

Thu, 16 Mar 2023 16:15:20 -0000

Lenskart has signed a definitive agreement to raise $500 million from the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, they said Wednesday, at the height of the market slump as the Indian eyewear retailer bulks up its offerings and scales to international markets.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

LexxPluss expands into US with its warehouse robots

Thu, 16 Mar 2023 08:05:21 -0000

When Masaya Aso worked on autonomous driving technology at Bosch in Japan and Germany, he realized that “many tasks were still manual as over 85% of warehouses have almost no automation at all.”Â

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Medwing, a recruitment marketplace for Europe’s healthcare workforce, raises $47M

Wed, 15 Mar 2023 16:15:18 -0000

Medwing, a European startup building a recruitment marketplace for healthcare workers, has raised €44 million ($47 million) in a Series C round of funding.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AG5 throws a lifeline to a manufacturing industry drowning in spreadsheets

Wed, 15 Mar 2023 08:05:20 -0000

You’d think that an industry like manufacturing had its own software stack, but in a lot of cases, a huge amount of getting-things-made is managed through Excel spreadsheets.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cloud security vendor Mitiga lands $45M, valuing the company at over $100M

Tue, 14 Mar 2023 16:15:21 -0000

Companies moved en masse to the cloud during the pandemic, under pressure to digitally transform. According to a 2021 survey from O’Reilly, cloud adoption steadily rose across industries, with 90% of organizations using cloud computing compared to 88% in 2020.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Deel makes over $120M of its own cash available to support customers affected by SVB crisis

Tue, 14 Mar 2023 08:05:22 -0000

Global payroll provider Deel plans to provide $120 million of its own cash off its balance sheet to support startups’ payroll operations in the wake of Silicon Valley Bank shutting down.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After SVB failure, regulators close crypto-friendly bank Signature Bank

Mon, 13 Mar 2023 16:15:19 -0000

Signature Bank is the second casualty of the ongoing banking crisis in the U.S. The New York-based financial institution stopped operating abruptly on Sunday — customers will be made whole.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bach, an app for planning bachelorette trips and group travel experiences, raises $9M

Mon, 13 Mar 2023 08:05:20 -0000

Bach, an app for planning bachelorette trips and group travel experiences, has announced $9 million in Series A funding led by Pritzker Group Venture Capital.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Synctera raises $15M to help companies launch embedded banking products in Canada

Fri, 10 Mar 2023 16:15:21 -0000

Synctera, a banking-as-a-service startup, has raised an additional $15 million as it expands into Canada. NAventures, the corporate venture arm of National Bank of Canada, led the financing, which brings Synctera’s total raised to $60 million since its June 2020 inception.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

MentorcliQ raises over $80 million to grow its employee mentoring software and services

Fri, 10 Mar 2023 08:05:20 -0000

For years, Phil George was the executive sponsor of a mentoring program at McMaster-Carr, an industrial hardware supplier, where he spent weeks trying to match program participants with only scant information about them to go on.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

E-bike maker Cowboy raises new funding round and launches AdaptivePower

Thu, 09 Mar 2023 16:15:19 -0000

Brussels-based startup Cowboy has been in the news lately for its cash burn rate. But the company wants to control its narrative again with some product and business news.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Threecolts raises $90M to build out its toolkit for third parties selling on marketplaces like Amazon

Thu, 09 Mar 2023 08:05:20 -0000

Amazon rules the roost when it comes to e-commerce, with its marketplace outpacing everyone else when it comes to gross merchandise value, reach and market capitalization.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Consensus raises $110M to inject automation into SaaS product demos

Wed, 08 Mar 2023 16:15:22 -0000

Garin Hess, a tech entrepreneur based in Utah, experienced what he calls the “demo bottleneck” at a previous software-as-a-service (SaaS) startup while pitching to potential customers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Growfin’s AI-based cash collection SaaS expands further to US and Asia

Wed, 08 Mar 2023 08:05:19 -0000

Cash management — tracking who needs to pay an invoice and whether it’s been done — can make or break a business.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Assured Allies secures $42.5M Series B to help Americans ‘successfully age’

Tue, 07 Mar 2023 16:15:21 -0000

The company uses machine learning and predictive analytics along with science-of-aging and essential human support to offer retirement products and programs.Â

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Behavioral marketing platform Wunderkind nabs $76M

Tue, 07 Mar 2023 08:05:20 -0000

Wunderkind, a platform that enables brands to target web visitors through emails, texts and other digital advertising formats, today announced that it raised $76 million in a Series C round led by Neuberger Berman.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Attio raises $23.5M to build a next-gen CRM platform

Mon, 06 Mar 2023 16:15:21 -0000

While a partner at a VC firm, Nicolas Sharp took on the project of finding customer relationship management (CRM) software for the firm.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Japan’s Geniee acquires AdPushup-operator Zelto for $70 million

Mon, 06 Mar 2023 08:05:21 -0000

Japanese marketing tech firm Geniee, part of the SoftBank Group, has paid about $70 million in cash to acquire the revenue optimization platform Zelto.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SpotDraft shows that contract lifecycle management remains profitable, raises $26M

Fri, 03 Mar 2023 16:15:21 -0000

VCs see a rich opportunity in tools to manage the contract lifecycle.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hexa raises $20.5M to turn images into 3D objects for VR, AR and more

Fri, 03 Mar 2023 08:05:19 -0000

Hexa, a 3D asset visualization and management platform, today announced that it closed a $20.5 million Series A round from Point72 Ventures, Samurai Incubate, Sarona Partners and HTC.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

8VC raises $880M in new fund that aims “to fix a broken world”

Thu, 02 Mar 2023 16:15:19 -0000

Austin-based venture firm 8VC, led by controversial Palantir founder Jon Lonsdale, has raised $880 million in its fifth fund.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

StudentFinance nabs $41M to help Europeans upskill for in-demand jobs

Thu, 02 Mar 2023 08:05:21 -0000

StudentFinance, a European fintech that funds educational programs for individuals through so-called income share agreements, has raised €39 million ($41 million) in a Series A round of funding.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

E-commerce aggregator Una Brands lands $30M just five months after its Series B

Wed, 01 Mar 2023 16:15:21 -0000

Una Brands, a Singapore-based e-commerce aggregator, has raised $30 million in pre-Series C financing just five months after announcing its $30 million Series B fundingÂ that was raised in September of last year.Â

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cycle is a new product management hub that centralizes all customer feedback

Wed, 01 Mar 2023 08:05:20 -0000

Meet Cycle, a French startup that is building a collaboration tool for product managers where they can collect data from various tools, work on the next product iterations and close the feedback loop with the most engaged customers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pagos raises $34M as the demand for ‘payment intelligence’ rises

Tue, 28 Feb 2023 16:15:21 -0000

With global digital payments revenue expected to reach $14.79 trillion by 2027, payment infrastructure has arguably never been more critical.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Born of drone tech, InsureTech Flock raises $38M Series B to nudge commercial drivers towards safety

Tue, 28 Feb 2023 08:05:20 -0000

It’s only human nature. If you tell a driver their insurance premium will go down if they drive more safely, then – it turns out – they will probably drive more safely.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Earthly wants to reinvent continuous integration to make it faster and cheaper

Mon, 27 Feb 2023 16:15:21 -0000

Continuous integration and continuous delivery, aka CI/CD, is a modern development concept where code is being constantly updated and delivered to a central repository, rather than waiting for a set of features to be completed and releasing it all at once. It’s a fairly recent construct, but Earthly Technologies, an early stage startup, believes that […]
Earthly wants to reinvent continuous integration to make it faster and cheaper by Ron Miller originally published on TechCrunch

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Source.ag raises $23M to raise the bar on raising crops with AI

Mon, 27 Feb 2023 08:05:24 -0000

Based in the Netherlands, blossoming agtech startup Source.ag has announced a $23 million Series A funding round to help grow its business, less than a year after its previous, $10 million round.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rebuy is out to change the customer buying experience, one personalization at a time

Fri, 24 Feb 2023 16:15:18 -0000

Merchants can use Rebuy to create personalized shopping experiences for their customers through upsells, cross-sells and post-purchase follow-ups.
Rebuy is out to change the customer buying experience, one personalization at a time by Christine Hall originally published on TechCrunch

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Trust & Will secures $15M after doubling revenue

Fri, 24 Feb 2023 08:05:19 -0000

Drafting a will and planning for what happens to your estate once you pass away is well, not exactly fun.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Byju’s has discussed shutting down coding platform WhiteHat Jr

Thu, 23 Feb 2023 16:15:21 -0000

Byju’s is weighing whether to wind down WhiteHat Jr, a coding platform that it acquired over two years ago at an enterprise value of $300 million, as the edtech group looks to cut expenses and eliminate a business unit that has drawn considerable criticism to the firm.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Scoot lands $12M to inject customization into videoconferencing

Thu, 23 Feb 2023 08:05:23 -0000

While much of the white-collar workforce has adjusted to the new norm of videoconferencing from home, that doesn’t mean that they — or their bosses — necessarily like it.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Finch lands $40M to connect disparate HR systems with a single API

Wed, 22 Feb 2023 16:15:19 -0000

Finch, a platform that helps companies connect to various HR apps, services and systems, today announced that it raised $40 million in a Series B round co-led by General Catalyst and Menlo Ventures with participation from QED Investors, Altman Capital and PruVen Capital.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Strive gets backing from Y Combinator to show kids that coding is fun

Wed, 22 Feb 2023 08:05:20 -0000

Strive is an online learning platform that teaches kids to code, but it wants to do more than just that.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Accel, Square Peg back Chronicle’s tool for presentations that won’t put you to sleep

Tue, 21 Feb 2023 16:15:19 -0000

You would expect the co-founder of a startup that improves on traditional slide presentations to hate tools like PowerPoint.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The entire fintech industry is not in distress – here’s who is hiring

Tue, 21 Feb 2023 08:05:19 -0000

With so many fintechs laying off staff, it can be easy to assume that the entire industry is in distress. But that’s not the case. In fact, some companies are finding opportunity in the masses of layoffs.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Carbon Maps helps the food industry reduce their climate impact

Mon, 20 Feb 2023 16:15:19 -0000

Meet Carbon Maps, a new French startup that raised $4.3 million (€4 million) just a few weeks after its inception.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Planetarians grabs $6M to get its plant-based protein into foodservice orbit

Mon, 20 Feb 2023 08:05:20 -0000

Planetarians' plant-based whole cuts of protein have a umami-like flavor and are made with two ingredients: the oil cakes and brewer's yeast.
Planetarians grabs $6M to get its plant-based protein into foodservice orbit by Christine Hall originally published on TechCrunch

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Singapore-based Transcelestial uses lasers to build affordable internet networks

Fri, 17 Feb 2023 16:15:21 -0000

Transcelestial is on a mission to make the internet more accessible by building a network of shoebox-sized devices that send lasers to one another, creating a fiber-like network.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lightspeed backs CommandK’s mission to become the go-to enterprise security command center

Fri, 17 Feb 2023 08:05:18 -0000

CommandK, a startup offering a dedicated platform to manage enterprise security, has raised $3 million in a seed round led by Lightspeed.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wefunder’s equity crowdfunding platform has officially expanded to the EU

Thu, 16 Feb 2023 16:15:20 -0000

After two years of seeking regulatory approval, Wefunder has officially received the green light to operate its investment crowdfunding services within the European Union.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Korea’s Portlogics makes international shipping easier for merchants with its software tool

Thu, 16 Feb 2023 08:05:21 -0000

Most merchants in South Korea keep track of their international shipping logistics via email until their cargo safely gets to its destination.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Battery recycling startup Cylib recharges its coffers to go faster

Wed, 15 Feb 2023 16:15:20 -0000

In 2024, a number of new EU regulations are expected to come into force, which will tighten the obligation of electric vehicle manufacturers and resellers to recycle batteries at the end of their natural lifespan.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Crew aims to build the ‘HubSpot for recruiting’

Wed, 15 Feb 2023 08:05:22 -0000

Amine Skalli recruited teams for ten years, including four as a tech professional recruiter. In her last startup, he relied exclusively on outbound recruiting — in other words, proactively searching for and contacting potential candidates for open positions.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Singapore-based neobank Aspire raises $100M from Lightspeed and Sequoia SEA

Tue, 14 Feb 2023 16:15:21 -0000

Aspire, the Singapore-based neobank that wants to become the financial operating system for SMEs, has raised an oversubscribed $100 million Series C round.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cleantech Qotto embarks on growth plan backed by $8M funding

Tue, 14 Feb 2023 08:05:21 -0000

Qotto, a solar kits provider with operations in Burkina Faso and Benin, has raised $8 million in a Series A equity-debt round led by the IBL group, a billion-dollar conglomerate headquartered in Mauritius with business interests in a number of sectors including energy, financial services, logistics, distribution, and engineering.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Strava searches for new CEO with cofounder Michael Horvath departing for a second time

Mon, 13 Feb 2023 16:15:18 -0000

Strava is on the hunt for a new CEO, after Michael Horvath revealed that he’s stepping down from the role for a second time.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Replo gives businesses a low-code option for creating Shopify landing pages

Mon, 13 Feb 2023 08:05:25 -0000

Prior to starting Replo, the co-founders launched and sold Berkeleytime.com, a platform that digitized University of California, Berkeley’s course scheduling system.Â
Replo gives businesses a low-code option for creating Shopify landing pages by Christine Hall originally published on TechCrunch

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wikifarmer uses its agricultural knowledge base to bring people to its marketplace

Fri, 10 Feb 2023 16:15:20 -0000

Meet Wikifarmer, an agriculture-focused startup based in Athens that has an interesting two-sided strategy.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Macro raises $9.3 to layer intelligence on top of digital documents

Fri, 10 Feb 2023 08:05:18 -0000

Jacob Beckerman, a former investment logic engineer at Bridgewater Associates, grew frustrated using standard document apps like Acrobat and Microsoft Office to print out and mark up documents.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Atlantic Money launches its cheap foreign exchange service across Europe

Thu, 09 Feb 2023 16:15:19 -0000

Fintech startup Atlantic Money is rolling out its international money transfer service to more markets and more platforms.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

EV startup Zypp Electric nabs $25M to hit 30 Indian cities by 2025

Thu, 09 Feb 2023 08:05:21 -0000

Zypp Electric, an Indian startup that offers an EV-as-a-service platform catering to e-commerce companies and gig workers, has received a $25 million investment led by Taiwan’s battery-swapping giant Gogoro.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Data observability platform Acceldata raises $50M

Wed, 08 Feb 2023 16:15:20 -0000

Acceldata, the company behind a data observability platform used by multinational enterprises including Oracle and Verisk, today announced it has raised $50 million in a Series C round of funding.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dotfile is a one-stop identity verification API for compliance purposes

Wed, 08 Feb 2023 08:05:20 -0000

Meet Dotfile, a new startup backed by eFounders that just raised a $2.7 million funding round (€2.5 million) to help companies verify users and other companies with a single application programming interface (API).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gameball raises $3M to scale its CRM platform for consumer brands

Tue, 07 Feb 2023 16:15:20 -0000

The uptake of customer relationship management (CRM) tools has grown immensely over the last few years such that the market size is expected to experience a 12.5% compound annual growth rate, and to be worth $145.79 billion in the next six years.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Breef raises $16M to match brands with marketing agencies

Tue, 07 Feb 2023 08:05:23 -0000

Breef, a platform that allows brands to manage and service marketing agency projects, today announced that it raised $16 million in a Series A round (an undisclosed portion of which was debt) led by Greycroft with participation from BDMI, UTA.VC, Afterpay’s Touch Ventures and UC Berkeley’s The House Fund.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Labor marketplace ShiftMed secures $200M to solve nursing shortage

Mon, 06 Feb 2023 16:15:18 -0000

ShiftMed, a Virginia-based W-2 healthcare workforce management marketplace that focuses on nurses and aides, closed on $200 million in new funding.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Plant-based Rebellyous is raising millions to ‘rethink the nugget’

Mon, 06 Feb 2023 12:17:24 -0000

Rebellyous, a startup that’s striving to build “a better chicken,” has raised at least $20 million in fresh funding,

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Triple Whale raises $25M for its Shopify data platform

Fri, 03 Feb 2023 16:15:20 -0000

Shopify powers a massive number of e-commerce sites, so it’s also no surprise that there is a vast ecosystem of tools around it that help these merchants manage all aspects of running their stores.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lavender lands $13.2M for its AI-powered email marketing engine

Fri, 03 Feb 2023 10:59:38 -0000

Years ago, Will Allred and William Ballance were developing a tech platform, Sorter, to apply personality and communication psychology to marketing campaigns.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

New School Foods’ filet looks and tastes like salmon, but it’s actually plants

Thu, 02 Feb 2023 16:15:17 -0000

New School Foods created a proprietary muscle fiber and scaffolding platform for making whole-cut salmon alternatives with the same colors, flavors, fats, texture and mouthfeel of traditional fish.Â

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Energy X secures $20M at $120M valuation to slash building sector emissions

Thu, 02 Feb 2023 08:05:21 -0000

Countries worldwide have pledged to reduce their energy usage and reach net-zero energy targets by 2050.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

ValueBase, backed by Sam Altman’s Hydrazine, raises $1.6 million seed round

Wed, 01 Feb 2023 16:15:18 -0000

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman believes AI can help usher in “unbelievable abundance,” but he says he wants to ensure that such abundance is shared.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Finley closes $17M to turn 100-page debt capital agreements into software-managed code

Wed, 01 Feb 2023 08:05:20 -0000

Finley helps companies taking out debt capital understand their loan agreements and better comply with terms and reporting requirements.
Finley closes $17M to turn 100-page debt capital agreements into software-managed code by Christine Hall originally published on TechCrunch

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Entocycle grabs $5 million for its insect breeding technology

Tue, 31 Jan 2023 16:15:19 -0000

Even if insects don’t sound appealing to you, black soldier flies could play an essential role in the food chain in the coming years. In particular, these flies’ larvae can become an important source of proteins for livestock and fish. That’s why Entocycle is raising another $5 million in a Series A funding round led […]
Entocycle grabs $5 million for its insect breeding technology by Romain Dillet originally published on TechCrunch

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Crypto security startup Hypernative raises $9M to help prevent web3 cyber attacks

Tue, 31 Jan 2023 08:05:20 -0000

Hypernative, a crypto security-focused startup, has raised $9 million in seed funding as it emerges from stealth, co-founder and CEO Gal Sagie exclusively told TechCrunch.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Twitter co-founder Biz Stone joins board of audiovisual startup Chroma

Mon, 30 Jan 2023 16:15:20 -0000

Chroma, a startup working to build a new type of audiovisual entertainment specifically for mobile devices, is now adding a Twitter co-founder to its board.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Supernormal raises $10M to automatically transcribe and summarize meetings

Mon, 30 Jan 2023 08:05:22 -0000

Generative AI is the tech industry’s buzzword of the moment.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Spatial Labs, a web3 infrastructure and hardware company, closes $10M seed round

Fri, 27 Jan 2023 16:15:21 -0000

Spatial Labs, a web3 infrastructure and hardware company, closes $10M seed round by Dominic-Madori Davis originally published on TechCrunch

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

European smart thermostat startup Tado raises $46.9M after IPO plans falter

Fri, 27 Jan 2023 08:05:20 -0000

Smart home energy startup Tado has raised €43 million ($46.9 million) in a round of funding led by Trill Impact Ventures, as the company pursues plans to become profitable in 2023.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mushroom protein company Meati Foods opens ‘mega’ facility; closes $22M in new funding

Thu, 26 Jan 2023 16:15:20 -0000

Mega Ranch enables Meati Foods to grow, harvest and process its mycelium and then produce its products under one roof.
Mushroom protein company Meati Foods opens ‘mega’ facility; closes $22M in new funding by Christine Hall originally published on TechCrunch

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sequoia, Marc Andreessen back early-stage fund Kearny Jackson

Thu, 26 Jan 2023 08:05:22 -0000

Sequoia Capital and Bain Ventures are among the high-profile investors that have backed the venture firm Kearny Jackson’s second fund, the early-stage focused firm said Wednesday as it gears up to invest in more startups.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Japan’s Terra Drone gets $14M lift from Saudi investors

Wed, 25 Jan 2023 16:15:19 -0000

Terra Drone said today it has raised $14 million in Series C funding from Wa’ed Ventures, the venture capital arm of Saudi Aramco, marking the VC firm’s first investment in Asia.Â

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lightyear stops production on €250,000 solar-powered EV

Wed, 25 Jan 2023 08:05:19 -0000

Solar-powered electric vehicle maker Lightyear said it’s halting production on its flagship Lightyear 0, its premium EV with a sticker price of €250,000.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Scythe raises $42 million for its electric robotic mower

Tue, 24 Jan 2023 16:15:18 -0000

Scythe first hit our radar when it emerged from stealth in 2021 with a $13.8 million Series B.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With a focus on patients with chronic illness, Nourish hopes to help Americans eat better

Tue, 24 Jan 2023 08:05:18 -0000

Nourish connects users with a registered dietitian (RD) via telehealth and helps them get their consultations covered by health insurance.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Area 120, Google’s in-house incubator, severely impacted by Alphabet mass layoffs

Mon, 23 Jan 2023 16:15:21 -0000

Area 120, the Google in-house incubator responsible for products such as Checks, Tables, Stack and ThreadBite, has been significantly affected by broader layoffs at Google parent company Alphabet.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GoodOnes raises to help make sense of your mess of a camera roll

Mon, 23 Jan 2023 08:05:19 -0000

You know what it’s like — you’ve been on vacation and you’ve taken 28 million photos, and you just want to select the best 12 so you can make a calendar.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Indian food delivery giant Swiggy to cut 380 jobs

Fri, 20 Jan 2023 16:15:21 -0000

Swiggy plans to lay off 380 jobs as the Prosus Venture and SoftBank-backed Indian food delivery giant looks to navigate the market downturn that has forced firms to become leaner and more disciplined. In an email to employees on Friday, Swiggy co-founder and chief executive Sriharsha Majety said the startup has advanced its plans for […]
Indian food delivery giant Swiggy to cut 380 jobs by Manish Singh originally published on TechCrunch

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

German teens went crazy for this ‘compliments’ app, and now VCs are backing its next phase

Fri, 20 Jan 2023 08:05:19 -0000

The teenage market for apps is a tough nut to crack and stay relevant in. Just ask Snapchat.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kate is a new car maker focused on micro-cars for everyday use

Thu, 19 Jan 2023 16:15:21 -0000

Meet Kate, a French company that wants to create a tiny car that you can use for your daily commute and various errands.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

P2P lending platform PeopleFund raises $20M Series C extension led by Bain Capital

Thu, 19 Jan 2023 08:05:21 -0000

PeopleFund, a South Korean marketplace that connects borrowers and investors to enable lending, has recently added $20 million to its $63.4 million Series C.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Good Meat approved to sell serum-free cultivated meat in Singapore

Wed, 18 Jan 2023 16:15:18 -0000

Good Meat announced today it has received regulatory approval from the Singapore Food Agency to use serum-free media for the production of its cultivated meat.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Luxury fashion meets blockchain on Syky, the Seven Seven Six-backed web3 platform

Wed, 18 Jan 2023 08:05:21 -0000

Syky will serve as an incubator, marketplace and social community for the next generation of fashion designers and consumers.
Luxury fashion meets blockchain on Syky, the Seven Seven Six-backed web3 platform by Christine Hall originally published on TechCrunch

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

CloseFactor raises $15.2M to automate repetitive sales processes

Tue, 17 Jan 2023 16:15:19 -0000

Several years ago, co-founders Leena Joshi, Ben Cheung and Erik Buchanan experienced frustration with the amount of manual work they were putting into collecting information about sales and marketing accounts.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nucleus aims to simplify the process of managing microservices

Tue, 17 Jan 2023 08:05:20 -0000

An increasing number of organizations are adopting microservices, the loosely-coupled, independently-deployable services that together make up an app.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Google-backed ShareChat cuts 20% workforce to ‘sustain through headwinds’

Mon, 16 Jan 2023 16:15:19 -0000

ShareChat, the Indian social media startup backed by Twitter, Google, Tiger Global and Temasek, has laid off 20% of its workforce — or over 400 employees — just a month after eliminating more than 100 roles.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As it shifts focus from DIY computer kits, Kano spins out its creative software suite as a standalone business

Mon, 16 Jan 2023 08:05:18 -0000

Kano Computing (“Kano”),Â the venture-backed company best known for its DIY computer kits and software for teaching coding and STEM skills to kids, is spinning out its creative software suite and online community platform as an independent business.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sam Bankman-Fried launches Substack: ‘I didn’t steal funds, and I certainly didn’t stash billions away’

Fri, 13 Jan 2023 16:15:19 -0000

FTX founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried launched his own Substack newsletter today, in a very unusual move for someone who was recently arrested and is facing eight counts of U.S. criminal charges.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Coho AI, which uses AI to help B2B SaaS companies boost revenue, raises $8.5M

Fri, 13 Jan 2023 08:05:18 -0000

Teams dedicated to boosting customer acquisition, retention and sales don’t necessarily have the time or tools to use data insights effectively.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stripe’s internal valuation gets cut to $63 billion

Thu, 12 Jan 2023 16:15:21 -0000

Stripe, a richly-valued payments startup, has cut its internal valuation yet again, according to sources familiar with the manner.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Project Eaden’s fiber technology poised to spin threads into whole cuts of ‘meat’

Thu, 12 Jan 2023 08:05:19 -0000

Project Eaden produces edible plant-based protein fibers, similar to those already being used to create textiles, that mimic the texture and appearance of animal-based meats.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Data observability startup Metaplane lands investment from YC, others

Wed, 11 Jan 2023 16:15:18 -0000

The need for data observability, or the ability to understand, diagnose and orchestrate data health across various IT tools, continues to grow as organizations adopt more apps and services.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Qarnot creates green data centers by putting servers in central heating boilers

Wed, 11 Jan 2023 08:05:19 -0000

Running a data center means that you have to find innovative ways to manage heat from the servers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Korean handmade goods marketplace Backpackr gears up to expand into Southeast Asia

Tue, 10 Jan 2023 16:15:19 -0000

About a decade ago, Donghwan Kim helped his cousin, a ceramist, look for sales channels, like flea markets, to sell his ceramics.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nigerian agritech Releaf gets more capital as it launches new tech for food processing

Tue, 10 Jan 2023 08:05:19 -0000

Releaf, a Nigerian agritech startup that supplies ingredients (starting with the oil palm) to consumer goods manufacturers and their food factories, has received $3.3 million in an oversubscribed pre-Series A round.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Superscript, a bespoke insurance provider for SMEs, raises $54 million

Mon, 09 Jan 2023 17:34:44 -0000

Superscript, an insurance broker and tech platform targeting SMEs and “high-growth” tech firms, has raised £45 million ($54 million) in a Series B round of funding.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Microsoft partners with India space agency to work with startups

Mon, 09 Jan 2023 08:05:22 -0000

Microsoft plans to collaborate with the Indian space agency to give Indian space tech startups free access to cloud tools, the two said Thursday, the latest in the U.S. tech giant’s attempts to deepen its ties with young firms in the South Asian market.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Indian fintech KreditBee nears $700 million valuation in new funding

Fri, 06 Jan 2023 16:15:19 -0000

Indian fintech Kreditbee has raised an additional $100 million in a funding round, it said, as the lender looks to scale its business in the South Asian market.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

OneRoof grabs funding to help apartment dwellers cozy up to their neighbors

Fri, 06 Jan 2023 08:05:18 -0000

In the past year, OneRoof has transformed from a chat room app into a platform offering in-person events, a neighbor directory and a “grow” feature to help people create their own communities.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

MeetKai launches new room-scanning tech and metaverse builder

Thu, 05 Jan 2023 16:15:20 -0000

Not everyone believes that the metaverse — social, VR-centric worlds — has staying power. But MeetKai is among the steadfast optimists.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SurrealDB raises $6M for its database-as-a-service offering

Thu, 05 Jan 2023 08:05:19 -0000

There’s plenty of vendors in the managed database services market — and plenty that are well-financed.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Singapore-based AlterPacks turns food waste into food containers

Wed, 04 Jan 2023 16:15:19 -0000

Food waste and food packaging take up a significant portion of the world’s landfills. AlterPacks is tackling both issues with technology that turns food waste into takeout boxes and other containers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This startup brings Southeast Asia’s vacant hospital rooms into the sharing economy

Wed, 04 Jan 2023 08:05:19 -0000

Uber and Airbnb have long been the poster children for the sharing economy. In other realms of society, entrepreneurs are also trying to match demand with untapped assets and services.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Startups set to go to space for the first time on SpaceX’s Transporter-6 mission

Tue, 03 Jan 2023 16:15:19 -0000

SpaceX is poised to launch 114 payloads to orbit on a Falcon 9 tomorrow morning, the sixth mission of its smallsat rideshare program.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

South Korean financial super app Toss closes $405M Series G as valuation rises 7%

Tue, 03 Jan 2023 08:05:19 -0000

Viva Republica, an operator of South Korean finance super appÂ Toss, has finalized a $405 million Series G funding and it says it is now valued at 9.1 trillion won ( $7 billion), up from 8.5 trillion won in June 2021.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Meta acquires Luxexcel, a smart eyewear company

Mon, 02 Jan 2023 16:15:20 -0000

As Meta faces antitrust scrutiny over its acquisition of VR fitness developers Within, the tech giant is making another acquisition. Meta confirmed to TechCrunch that it is purchasing Luxexcel, a smart eyewear company headquartered in the Netherlands.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fintech Vint hopes to turn wine and spirits into a mainstream asset class

Mon, 02 Jan 2023 08:05:20 -0000

Fintech startup Vint thinks everyone should invest in wine and spirits and is hoping to facilitate such investments with the help of fresh seed funding.
Fintech Vint hopes to turn wine and spirits into a mainstream asset class by Anna Heim originally published on TechCrunch

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Helm.ai snags $31M to scale its ‘unsupervised’ autonomous driving software

Fri, 30 Dec 2022 16:15:19 -0000

A few bright spots remain in the autonomous vehicle industry even amid macroeconomic headwinds that have nearly shut off the spigot of venture capital and led to further consolidation.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bitcoin miner Argo to avoid bankruptcy with $100M deal from Galaxy Digital

Fri, 30 Dec 2022 08:05:21 -0000

Galaxy plans to acquire Argo’s bitcoin mining facility Helios for $65 million and provide a $35 million loan amid the miner’s restructuring.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Recall.ai helps companies make the most of virtual meeting data

Thu, 29 Dec 2022 16:15:20 -0000

For organizations that do a good chunk of their work through virtual meetings, simply hitting record or taking notes isn’t enough to capture everything that’s said.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Y Combinator-backed Poly uses AI to generate art assets

Wed, 28 Dec 2022 16:15:20 -0000

As generative AI like ChatGPT and DALL-E 2 attract investor attention, startup entrepreneurs are looking to cash in with new business models built around them. One of the more interesting ventures to emerge from the space recently is Poly, which lets designers create video game and other virtual assets, including textures for 3D models, using […]
Y Combinator-backed Poly uses AI to generate art assets by Kyle Wiggers originally published on TechCrunch

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jakarta-based fintech Akulaku raises $200M from Japan’s largest bank

Wed, 28 Dec 2022 08:05:20 -0000

Jakarta-based fintech Akulaku has raised $200 million from Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), the largest bank in Japan.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TechCrunch Early Stage focuses on fledgling founders

Tue, 27 Dec 2022 16:15:19 -0000

Whether you’re singing “Take This Job and Shove It” while workin’ “9 to 5”Â or you’re a fledgling startup founder, TechCrunch Early Stage 2023 is the bootstrapping bootcamp designed just for you. The daylong founder-focused summit — on April 20 in Boston, Massachusetts — covers the essential building blocks you need to build a solid foundation […]
TechCrunch Early Stage focuses on fledgling founders by Lauren Simonds originally published on TechCrunch

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Indian fintech Money View valued at $900 million in new funding

Tue, 27 Dec 2022 08:05:22 -0000

Indian fintech Money View said on Monday it has raised $75 million in a new funding round, its second this year, despite the market slump as it looks to scale its core credit business and build more products in the South Asian market.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vianova builds a location data platform for shared mobility companies and cities

Mon, 26 Dec 2022 08:05:19 -0000

Meet Vianova, a French startup that is building a data platform for shared mobility companies as well as local governments.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Reliance buys 23.3% stake in US-based AI firm Exyn

Fri, 23 Dec 2022 16:15:22 -0000

Reliance has backed Philadelphia-based AI and robotics startup Exyn, the Indian conglomerate disclosed in a stock exchange filing on Thursday, making further inroads in startups globally.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gynger launches out of stealth to loan companies cash for software

Fri, 23 Dec 2022 08:05:21 -0000

Software spend is becoming a prime target for cuts as it grows into a larger line item in enterprises’ budgets.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

South Park creators’ deepfake video startup Deep Voodoo conjures $20M in new funding

Thu, 22 Dec 2022 16:15:18 -0000

Trey Parker and Matt Stone, creators of South Park and various other media over the years, have raised $20 million to continue work on their professional deepfake studio for creators, Deep Voodoo.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

ImagenAI, which uses AI to personalize photo editing styles, lands $30M

Thu, 22 Dec 2022 08:05:18 -0000

ImagenAI, a startup using AI to help professional photographers edit photos and automate post-production work, today announced that it raised $30 million in an all-equity growth investment from Summit Partners.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Early-stage Mexico fintech Aviva is making loans as easy as a video call

Wed, 21 Dec 2022 16:15:20 -0000

Aviva uses AI and natural language processing to match customers’ spoken words with fields of a loan application. Within minutes, customers can qualify for up to $1,000.
Early-stage Mexico fintech Aviva is making loans as easy as a video call by Christine Hall originally published on TechCrunch

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Revel raises $7.8M to become the Instagram and Robinhood of NFT platforms

Wed, 21 Dec 2022 08:05:19 -0000

Social collectibles platform Revel describes itself as 'a cross between Instagram and Robinhood, wrapped in social game economics.'

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Salon software Mangomint raises $13M as it booms in post-COVID labor shortage

Tue, 20 Dec 2022 16:15:20 -0000

Ever needed to read your credit card information on the phone to make a massage appointment?

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Solo GP Nichole Wischoff raises $20M fund backed by Peter Thiel to invest in ‘unsexy businesses’

Tue, 20 Dec 2022 08:05:20 -0000

Wischoff Ventures closed a second fund of $20 million that will be 'leaning in heavily on B2B.'

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dropbox buys form management platform FormSwift for $95M in cash

Mon, 19 Dec 2022 16:15:21 -0000

Dropbox today announced that it’s acquired FormSwift, a cloud-based platform designed to help businesses build, edit, approve, share and print custom personalized and documents.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Protect AI lands a $13.5M investment to harden AI projects from attack

Mon, 19 Dec 2022 08:05:20 -0000

Seeking to bring greater security to AI systems, Protect AI today raised $13.5 million in a seed-funding round co-led by Acrew Capital and Boldstart Ventures with participation from Knollwood Capital, Pelion Ventures and Aviso Ventures.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With Bling, the fintech startup revolution spreads even to pocket money

Fri, 16 Dec 2022 16:15:17 -0000

Today, banks and fintech startups tend not to provide productsÂ dedicated to families, specifically, and this has appeared as something of a gap in the market.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sweep, a no-code config tool for Salesforce software, raises $28M

Fri, 16 Dec 2022 08:05:19 -0000

Businesses often encounter challenges in configuring their customer relationship management (CRM) platforms, whether because of requirements specific to their organization or industry or a lack of institutional technical knowledge.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Taiwanese startup WritePath’s AI tech speeds up financial disclosure translation

Thu, 15 Dec 2022 16:15:20 -0000

In countries where English is not a main language, listed companies not only have to deal with financial disclosure regulations, but make sure their investor materials are available in English for global backers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vic.ai raises $52M, shows that automating accounting processes can be profitable

Thu, 15 Dec 2022 08:05:18 -0000

AI is an imperfect technology, but one task at which it excels is identifying patterns in vast amounts of data.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bondaval raises $15M Series A for its alternative to traditional bank guarantees

Wed, 14 Dec 2022 16:15:23 -0000

Bondaval, the London-based B2B insurtech that gives credit teams assurance that customers will fulfill their financial obligations, has raised $15 million in Series A funding led by Talis Capital.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TheyDo fires the starting gun on the race to own the customer journey

Wed, 14 Dec 2022 08:05:20 -0000

It doesn’t matter what kind of web site it is, the ‘customer journey’ has always been important, otherwise you lose that engagement and the end result can hit the bottom line.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has been arrested in The Bahamas

Tue, 13 Dec 2022 16:15:19 -0000

Sam Bankman-Fried has been arrested by The Royal Bahamas Police Force following reports that the United States had filed criminal charges against the founder and former CEO of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, and is likely to request his extradition.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Akros Technologies, an AI-powered asset management platform, raises funding from Z Holdings

Tue, 13 Dec 2022 08:05:17 -0000

Artificial intelligence is taking over almost every industry.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Avarni is building a comprehensive dataset to analyze supply chain emissions

Mon, 12 Dec 2022 16:15:18 -0000

For companies aiming toward net zero, tracking scope 3 carbon emissions is a key challenge.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Computer vision technology startup Brodmann17 has shut down

Mon, 12 Dec 2022 08:05:18 -0000

Brodmann17, an Israeli computer vision technology startup that developed a novel approach to take on a marketplace dominated by Mobileye, shut down this week.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Instant grocery app Getir acquires its competitor Gorillas

Fri, 09 Dec 2022 16:15:20 -0000

After weeks of rumors, Getir has announced that it is acquiring Gorillas. This is a major consolidation deal for the instant grocery delivery space. The Financial Times first reported that Getir has closed the acquisition of its competitor.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WeWalk raises cash to bring computer vision to smart cane for visually-impaired people

Fri, 09 Dec 2022 08:05:20 -0000

WeWalk, a U.K.-based startup developing a “smart cane” for visually-impaired people, today announced it has raised £2 million ($2.4 million) in venture funding from several notable institutional and angel investors — this includes Manchester City and German international footballer Ä°lkay GündoÄŸan.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

India’s Uolo raises $22.5M to bring edtech to the masses

Thu, 08 Dec 2022 16:15:18 -0000

Uolo, an Indian edtech platform that works with private K-12 schools to offer online learning programs to middle and low-income families, has raised $22.5 million in a funding round led by UAE-headquartered VC fund Winter Capital.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bosch shuts down its app store for AI-powered, internet-connected cameras

Thu, 08 Dec 2022 08:05:23 -0000

In 2018, appliance conglomerate Bosch created a startup, Security and Safety Things (or “SAST” for short), whose stated mission was to develop a platform to help developers create software for AI-equipped cameras.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Autonomous and electric truck company Einride raises $500M in equity and debt

Wed, 07 Dec 2022 16:15:20 -0000

Einride today announced a $500 million tranche of financing as it looks to expand its autonomous and electric trucks into new markets globally.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rezonate raises $8.7M and launches its cloud identity protection platform out of stealth

Wed, 07 Dec 2022 08:05:20 -0000

Rezonate, a Boston- and Tel Aviv-based startup that offers an agent-less cloud identity protection platform that aims to help DevOps teams minimize attackers’ opportunities to breach cloud identity and access, is coming out of stealth today and announcing an $8.7 million seed funding round.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With $3M new funding, Egyptian startup OneOrder sets out on growth drive

Tue, 06 Dec 2022 08:05:20 -0000

OneOrder, Egypt’s supply chain solutions provider for restaurants, has raised $3 million seed funding led by Nclude with participation from A15, and Delivery Hero Ventures.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Looks like sextech startup Lora DiCarlo is done for

Mon, 05 Dec 2022 16:15:19 -0000

Lora DiCarlo, a sextech startup that made headlines in 2019 after being blacklisted from the Consumer Electronics Show, seems to have shut down. The company’s website is offline and reportedly orders have gone unfulfilled for months. TechCrunch has reached out to the eponymous founder for confirmation, but it sure looks like the end of the […]
Looks like sextech startup Lora DiCarlo is done for by Devin Coldewey originally published on TechCrunch

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kenya’s Uncover raises $1M to expand skincare product enterprise across Africa

Mon, 05 Dec 2022 08:05:20 -0000

Africa’s beauty and personal care market is growing accelerated by its growing young and fashion conscious population, increasing spending power, and urbanization.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mozilla acquires Active Replica to build on its metaverse vision

Fri, 02 Dec 2022 16:15:20 -0000

An automated status updater for Slack isn’t the only thing Mozilla acquired this week.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Spend management platform Teampay expands partnership with Mastercard, raises $47M

Fri, 02 Dec 2022 08:05:20 -0000

In 2016, Andrew Hoag, formerly a senior manager at Verisign and a web project lead at NASA’s Ames Research Center, founded Teampay, a platform that attempts to automate the software purchasing process for companies.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Shield, a communication compliance platform for financial institutions, raises $20M

Thu, 01 Dec 2022 16:15:19 -0000

Two months ago, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said it had fined 16 Wall Street firms more than $1.1 billion for “widespread recordkeeping failures” regarding maintaining electronic communications, contravening federal securities laws.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Airbnb is helping finds renters an apartment so they can Airbnb it

Thu, 01 Dec 2022 08:05:20 -0000

Airbnb really wants you to Airbnb an apartment. So its latest step is to find renters a place, which they can also list on the travel booking platform.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Natives Rising wins backing to help Native Americans into tech and startups

Wed, 30 Nov 2022 16:15:20 -0000

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, Black, Latina, and Native American women represent approximately 16 percent of the total US population, but make up only 4 percent of students obtaining bachelor’s degrees in computing.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Southeast Asia insurtech Igloo increases its Series B to $46M

Wed, 30 Nov 2022 08:05:20 -0000

Igloo, a Singapore-based insurtech focused on underserved communities in Southeast Asia, announced it has raised a Series B extension of $27 million, bringing the round’s total to $46 million.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

CRED acquires CreditVidya

Tue, 29 Nov 2022 16:15:22 -0000

CRED is acquiring CreditVidya, a SaaS startup that helps firms underwrite first-time borrowers, in the latest of a series of investments from the Bengaluru-headquartered fintech as it broadens its offerings. The firms did not disclose the terms of the deal. The 10-year-old CreditVidya — headquartered in Hyderabad and backed by Navroz Udwadia, Kalaari Capital and […]
CRED acquires CreditVidya by Manish Singh originally published on TechCrunch

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Female Invest acquires sustainability-focused investment platform Gaia Investments

Tue, 29 Nov 2022 08:05:20 -0000

When Female Invest launched in 2019, it did so with the goal of creating a community where women who wanted to invest in the stock market, but weren’t sure where to start, could gain the knowledge and confidence to take the plunge.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Deepomatic wants to build the AI-based computer vision companion for field workers

Mon, 28 Nov 2022 16:15:19 -0000

French startup Deepomatic has raised a $10.5 million (€10 million) Series B funding round. While the founding round is relatively small, the startup has managed to convince some large-scale clients to use its visual automation platform.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Google Cloud partners with Indian startup SuperGaming to offer gaming engine to developers

Mon, 28 Nov 2022 08:05:19 -0000

Google Cloud has partnered with SuperGaming to offer the Indian gaming startup’s proprietary gaming engine, SuperPlatform, to developers worldwide, the latest in a series of recent steps from the Android-maker to expand focus into the gaming industry.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dat Bike gets another $8M to put more e-bikes on Vietnam’s roads

Fri, 25 Nov 2022 16:15:17 -0000

Dat Bike is on a mission to put more electric bikes on Vietnam’s roads. The startup said today it has raised $8 million led by returning investor Singapore-based firm Jungle Ventures, just seven months after its first round of funding was announced.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As employees shift from office, Cloudbrink provides a strong, secure internet connection

Thu, 24 Nov 2022 08:05:20 -0000

Most companies have worked hard over the years to produce strong and secure internet connections in the office, but over the last several years in particular, as more employees have been working away from the office, it’s been difficult for IT pros to reproduce that speed and safety.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sequoia India’s Surge backs healthtech startup RedBrick AI in $4.6M funding

Wed, 23 Nov 2022 16:15:20 -0000

Healthtech startup RedBrick AI has raised $4.6 million in a funding round led by Sequoia India and Southeast Asia’s Surge as it plans to expand the market for its medical imagery annotations solution.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

‘Stranger Things’ actor wants to spread the wealth around tbh, his vegan Nutella alternative

Wed, 23 Nov 2022 08:05:21 -0000

Actor Noah Schnapp, who plays Will on Netflix’s hit original series Stranger Things, is passionate about tbh, a company he co-founded which aims to “reinvent” hazelnut cocoa spread Nutella.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bitpanda obtains German crypto license as crypto platforms want to prove they are legit

Tue, 22 Nov 2022 16:15:20 -0000

All eyes are currently on the collapse of FTX in the crypto industry. That’s why today’s news from Bitpanda is an important signal for the Austrian unicorn company. Bitpanda has received a crypto license from Germany’s financial regulator (BaFin).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SponsorUnited secures $35M investment to build out its database of brand sponsorships

Tue, 22 Nov 2022 08:05:20 -0000

Sponsorships are a multibillion-dollar industry. But data on sponsorships, like who’s sponsoring who, can be tough to come by because of the various forms they take — and channels on which those sponsorships take place (think not only websites and social media posts but also physical signage and even sports team jerseys).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Flipkart chief warns startups of turmoil and funding crunch for another 12 to 18 months

Mon, 21 Nov 2022 16:15:19 -0000

The funding winter for the startup ecosystem may continue for another 12 to 18 months and the industry might have to grapple with a “lot of turmoil and volatility,” e-commerce giant Flipkart chief executive Kalyan Krishnamurthy has warned executives.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

ReadySpaces, which offers co-warehousing spaces to corporate customers, secures $20M in debt

Mon, 21 Nov 2022 08:05:20 -0000

Jon Zimmerman — the co-founder of ReadySpaces, a warehouse storage provider for small businesses — was working in the self-storage market when he had the idea for a product with the flexibility of self-storage but the capabilities of a traditional warehouse, aimed primarily at enterprise customers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With $8.6M in seed funding, Nx wants to take monorepos mainstream

Fri, 18 Nov 2022 16:15:18 -0000

Narwhal, the company behind the popular monorepo-focused open source Nx build system for JavaScript code, today announced that it has raised an $8.6 million seed funding round co-led by Nexus Venture Partners and Andreesen Horowitz.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Elephantech wants to create circuit boards that are kinder to the environment

Fri, 18 Nov 2022 08:05:19 -0000

Printed circuit boards (PCB), which perform essential functions in electronic devices, including displays and sensors, need a lot of energy to create.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Summer International uses social media data to launch new beauty brands

Thu, 17 Nov 2022 16:15:20 -0000

If you follow #beautytok, #beautytube or any beauty content on social media platforms, you know that popular product trends are hard to keep up with.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Zest wants to make buying and sending gifts online ‘delightful’

Thu, 17 Nov 2022 08:05:20 -0000

While e-commerce was on the rise before the pandemic, the massive shift to digital supercharged the online shopping industry — bringing entirely new categories of products (and shoppers) to the web.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thailand’s Beam simplifies checkout for social commerce

Wed, 16 Nov 2022 16:15:17 -0000

The social commerce market is already worth more than $13 billion in Southeast Asia, but the checkout process is filled with friction.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Silkhaus gets $7.75M to digitize short-term rentals across emerging markets

Wed, 16 Nov 2022 08:05:19 -0000

Silkhaus, a Dubai-based platform for short-term rentals coming out of stealth, has raised $7.75 million in seed funding, money it plans to use for expansion across South Asia, Southeast Asia and the MENA region.Â

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Induction cooking heats up with a $20M cash injection for Impulse

Tue, 15 Nov 2022 16:15:20 -0000

All electric, everywhere, all of the time; that’s one of the many climate mantras.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Directus wants to democratize data across the enterprise

Tue, 15 Nov 2022 08:05:19 -0000

A startup that wants to democratize data in the enterprise?

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pet insurance startups chase the market as pet ownership booms among Gen Z and Millennials

Mon, 14 Nov 2022 16:15:22 -0000

Walk through any public park these days and you will see a hell of a lot more dogs than you might have done three years ago.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Airly fights air pollution with a network of affordable sensors

Mon, 14 Nov 2022 08:05:19 -0000

Cleantech startup Airly wants to help communities around the world improve air quality with affordable sensors and software that provides actionable insights.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Perfekto bags $1.1M to find homes for imperfect produce in Mexico

Fri, 11 Nov 2022 16:15:19 -0000

Perfekto's customers can personalize their subscription box of imperfect produce, of which the company says 1 million pounds have been rescued from landfills since 2021.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With new capital, Adapty is betting it can help app devs make more money

Fri, 11 Nov 2022 08:05:19 -0000

Adapty hopes to help developers earn more from their apps. So far, it has been doing this mostly by powering A/B testing for paywalls, but it has a broader road map.
With new capital, Adapty is betting it can help app devs make more money by Anna Heim originally published on TechCrunch

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Equals secures $15M investment to supercharge spreadsheets

Thu, 10 Nov 2022 16:15:18 -0000

Equals, a New York-based startup ambitiously aiming to challenge Excel’s dominance with a supercharged spreadsheet, today announced that it raised $16 million in a Series A funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), with participation from Craft Ventures, Box Group, Worklife and Combine.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kuda takes digital banking play to the U.K. with its remittance product

Thu, 10 Nov 2022 08:05:19 -0000

Kuda, the London-based and Nigerian-operating startup taking on incumbents in the country with a mobile-first and personalized set of banking services, is expanding to the U.K. by offering a remittance product to Nigerians in the diaspora.Â

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Beekeeper, which helps companies engage with their ‘deskless’ frontline workforce, raises $50M

Wed, 09 Nov 2022 16:15:20 -0000

Beekeeper, a platform for businesses to engage with frontline workers, has raised $50 million in a Series C round of funding.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Eliyan raises $40M from Intel and Micron to build chiplet interconnects

Wed, 09 Nov 2022 08:05:22 -0000

Increasingly, as Moore’s law rears its ugly head, computer chip developers are adopting “chiplet” architectures to scale their hardware’s processing power.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Security automation startup Veriti launches out of stealth with $18.5M

Tue, 08 Nov 2022 16:15:19 -0000

Veriti, a platform for unifying cybersecurity infrastructure, today emerged from stealth with $18.5 million in funding, a combination of $12 million from Insight Partners and a $6.5 million round led by NFX and Amiti.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Twitter said to delay verification check mark rollout until after US midterm elections

Tue, 08 Nov 2022 08:05:20 -0000

Twitter is reportedly delaying the rollout of verification check marks to subscribers as the social network attempts to steer clear of possible impact to Tuesday’s midterm elections.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After 40 million app downloads, PhotoRoom raises $19 million

Mon, 07 Nov 2022 16:15:18 -0000

French startup PhotoRoom has raised a $19 million Series A funding round.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sacca’s Lowercarbon doubles down on startup bringing solar modules to Indian rooftops

Mon, 07 Nov 2022 08:05:18 -0000

Chris Sacca’s Lowercarbon is doubling down on a startup that is racing to bring solar modules to rooftops in India.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Spend management startup Pleo lays off 15% of its workforce

Fri, 04 Nov 2022 16:15:18 -0000

Danish startup Pleo has announced that it plans to lay off around 15% of the company’s workforce.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dropit picks up $25M to digitize brick-and-mortar stores and unify inventories

Fri, 04 Nov 2022 08:05:20 -0000

Dropit, a retail technology platform that bridges the digital divide by unifying merchants’ online and in-store inventories, has raised $25 million in a Series C round of funding.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bump builds a central hub for all your APIs

Thu, 03 Nov 2022 16:15:20 -0000

Meet Bump, a French software-as-a-service startup that wants to help you maintain and use APIs across your organization.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Former Yext CEO launches Roam to provide a virtual HQ for distributed teams

Thu, 03 Nov 2022 08:05:19 -0000

Roam, which bills itself as a “cloud HQ” for distributed, remote companies, today emerged from stealth with $30 million in Series A funding led by IVP with participation from undisclosed angel investors.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Microsoft backs web3 game developer Wemade

Wed, 02 Nov 2022 16:15:19 -0000

Microsoft has backed Wemade, a popular video game developer that has made aggressive bets on blockchain in recent years, the latest sign of tech giants’ showing growing interest in web3.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Digital card and gifting platform Givingli nabs $10M

Wed, 02 Nov 2022 08:05:22 -0000

Three years ago, Ben and Nicole Green were planning their wedding and decided to go digital with registries to save on money and materials.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HR employee benefits platform Fringe raises $17M to offer customizable perks

Tue, 01 Nov 2022 16:15:19 -0000

Fringe, an HR tech startup enabling companies to offer customizable perks and benefits to employees, today announced that it raised $17 million in a funding round led by Origin Ventures and Felton Group.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Navina secures $22M to process and summarize medical data for clinicians

Tue, 01 Nov 2022 08:05:19 -0000

Navina, a company developing AI-powered assistant software for physicians, today announced that it raised $22 million in Series B funding led by ALIVE with participation from Grove Ventures, Vertex Ventures Israel and Schusterman Family Investments.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Twitter will be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange on November 8

Mon, 31 Oct 2022 16:15:18 -0000

Twitter’s stock will be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange and become a private company on November 8, according to a new filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Integration platform Cinchy lands fresh cash to connect data sources

Mon, 31 Oct 2022 08:05:19 -0000

Cinchy, a startup that provides a data management service for enterprise customers, today announced that it raised $14.5 million in Series B funding led by Forgepoint Capital with participation from IVP, SUV, Techstars and Mars.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Uber alum rakes in $9.7M to curb finance-related fights between co-parents

Fri, 28 Oct 2022 16:15:17 -0000

The daughter of divorced parents herself, Uber alum Jacklyn Rome founded Onward to help co-parents more easily manage their shared expenses.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Needl wants to become the search engine for your accounts

Fri, 28 Oct 2022 08:05:20 -0000

Google, DuckDuckGo, and other search engines help you find information from the web. But it’s hard to find documents, messages, meetings, and emails from your own accounts. You need to go to different applications to find things that might be related to one project.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Valence Security raises fresh capital to secure the SaaS app supply chain

Thu, 27 Oct 2022 16:15:19 -0000

Valence Security, a company securing business app infrastructure, today announced that it raised $25 million in a Series A round led by M12, Microsoft’s corporate venture arm, with participation from YL Ventures, Porsche Ventures, Akamai Technologies, Alumni Ventures and former Symantec CEO Michael Fey.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Duolingo’s owl will now shout fractions at you

Thu, 27 Oct 2022 08:05:17 -0000

Duolingo is launching its math app to the public, and months after a beta version joined the app store.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WATI, a CRM tool built for WhatsApp, raises $23M led by Tiger Global

Wed, 26 Oct 2022 16:15:19 -0000

WhatsApp is used by more than two billion around the world, and is an important tool for many small businesses.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AI chip startup Axelera lands $27M in capital to commercialize its hardware

Wed, 26 Oct 2022 08:05:18 -0000

Several years ago, Fabrizio Del Maffeo and a core team from Imec, a Belgium-based nanotechnology lab, teamed up with Evangelos Eleftheriou and a group of researchers at IBM Zurich Lab to develop a computer chip.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pantheon Design alleviates supply chain uncertainty with factory-grade 3D printing

Tue, 25 Oct 2022 08:05:18 -0000

In the midst of the pandemic, Pantheon Design, a maker of industrial 3D printers from Vancouver, BC, suddenly found itself getting orders from factories in the Midwest, the center of heavy industries.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Maro’s new app looks to help schools screen kids for depression and anxiety

Mon, 24 Oct 2022 16:15:18 -0000

Maro has developed a platform that helps families and schools navigate tough conversations about mental health.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sensat raises $20.5M to build digital twins for infrastructure companies

Mon, 24 Oct 2022 08:05:22 -0000

Sensat, a platform that helps physical infrastructure companies map and visualize all their data, has raised $20.5 million in a Series B round of funding.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Handoff is creating a more equitable workforce through job sharing

Fri, 21 Oct 2022 16:15:17 -0000

Many qualified workers are failed by the current model of work in the United States, where jobs are either part-time or full-time.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Banyan raises $43M to grow its network of item-level purchase data

Fri, 21 Oct 2022 08:05:21 -0000

Banyan, a platform for product purchase data that allows customers such as banks, fintechs, hotels and merchants to automate expense management and more, today announced that it raised $43 million in a Series A funding round.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

N26 adds crypto trading with new Bitpanda integration

Thu, 20 Oct 2022 16:15:19 -0000

Challenger bank N26 is launching a new trading feature in its app — N26 Crypto. Users will be able to easily trade crypto assets using money in their N26 account.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Makersite lands $18M to help companies manage product supply chains

Thu, 20 Oct 2022 08:05:19 -0000

In 2018, Neil D’Souza, a software engineer by trade and previously the VP of product development at Thinkstep, came to the realization that his ten-plus-year effort to solve enterprise product challenges in the areas of sustainability, compliance and risk were having little impact.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

DigestAI’s 19-year-old founder wants to make education addictive

Wed, 19 Oct 2022 16:15:17 -0000

When Quddus Pativada was 14, he wished that he had an app that could summarize his textbooks for him.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Streaming data processing platform RisingWave lands $36M to launch a cloud service

Wed, 19 Oct 2022 08:05:21 -0000

RisingWave Labs, a company developing a platform for data stream processing, today announced that it raised $36 million in a Series A funding round led by Yunqi Partners.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Drivetrain is the “Google Maps for business growth”

Tue, 18 Oct 2022 16:15:18 -0000

Businesses usually plot their growth strategies on spreadsheets, but Drivetrain wants to provide a faster alternative for financial planning and decision making.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Andreessen Horowitz backs Synonym’s bio-manufacturing facilities

Tue, 18 Oct 2022 08:05:20 -0000

Synonym is developing designs and underwriting for its fermentation farms so that companies can more easily utilize them for bioproduct production.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Beyond Meat to cut 19% of its workforce amid sales slump

Mon, 17 Oct 2022 16:15:17 -0000

Beyond Meat expects the job cuts to be completed by the end of the year.Â
Beyond Meat to cut 19% of its workforce amid sales slump by Christine Hall originally published on TechCrunch

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Getaway launches a way for you to enjoy, and own, vacation homes

Mon, 17 Oct 2022 08:05:18 -0000

Being in the business of convincing people that they deserve a vacation is hard.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Waste4Change is building a circular economy in Indonesia

Fri, 14 Oct 2022 16:15:20 -0000

Even the largest landfills in Indonesia are at (or nearing) capacity, and the government has set an ambitious target of 30% waste reduction by 2025.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pillow wants to make crypto saving and investing easy for new users

Fri, 14 Oct 2022 08:05:17 -0000

Pillow aspires to be an all-in-one platform that helps even newbie users save, spend and invest in crypto currency.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Analytics operating system Redbird makes data more accessible to non-technical users

Thu, 13 Oct 2022 16:15:18 -0000

Data engineers have a big problem.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Noom lays off more employees amid CFO departure

Thu, 13 Oct 2022 08:05:18 -0000

Noom, a health coaching platform valued at $3.7 billion last year, is laying off a portion of staff for the second time in a matter of months, TechCrunch has learned from sources.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Homa raises another $100 million for its data-driven mobile gaming tools

Wed, 12 Oct 2022 16:15:20 -0000

French startup Homa has raised a $100 million Series B funding round. Quadrille Capital and Headline are leading the round.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Insite AI raises $19M to help consumer brands figure out their in-store strategies

Wed, 12 Oct 2022 08:05:21 -0000

Insite AI, a platform for consumer packaged goods companies that uses AI to provide recommendations on how to price, distribute and promote their products in physical stores, today launched out of stealth with $19 million in Series A capital from NewRoad Capital and M12, Microsoft’s corporate venture arm.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Singapore-based staffing platform Workmate acquired by Persol Asia Pacific

Tue, 11 Oct 2022 16:15:19 -0000

Workmate, a Singapore-based on-demand staffing platform, has been acquired by Persol Asia Pacific, one of the region’s largest HR service providers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Trendsi secures $25M to help sellers and manufacturers predict demand

Tue, 11 Oct 2022 08:05:19 -0000

In the traditional business-to-business world, sellers often don’t know how much of a product they should order.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Real estate investing app Fintor raises $6.2M at $80M valuation

Mon, 10 Oct 2022 16:15:17 -0000

Fintor, a fintech startup making it easier for non-accredited investors to invest in real estate properties, has just launched its mobile app for both iOS and Android.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jiko wants to help companies park their cash in T-Bills as everyone yield hunts

Mon, 10 Oct 2022 08:05:18 -0000

Jiko started its life as a mobile bank for consumers. But over time, the fintech startup has evolved its model – mostly fueled by demand – and is now making a push into corporate money storage.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SaaS platform klikit saves restaurant kitchens from “tablet hell”

Fri, 07 Oct 2022 16:15:20 -0000

The proliferation of delivery services give customers many options, but means chaos for busy restaurants that need to manage orders across multiple apps and channels.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Identity security platform Oort bags new cash to grow its product

Fri, 07 Oct 2022 08:05:22 -0000

Oort, an identity threat detection and response platform, today announced that it raised $11.5 million in a Series A round co-led by .406 Ventures and Energy Impact Partners with participation from Cisco Investments.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Techstars unveils sustainability-focused acceleration program in Paris

Thu, 06 Oct 2022 16:15:19 -0000

Techstars, a network of startup accelerators and an investment company, is launching a new accelerator in Paris called Techstars Sustainability Paris.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gourmey grabs $48 million to keep working on lab-grown foie gras

Thu, 06 Oct 2022 08:05:20 -0000

French startup Gourmey just raised a Series A funding round led by Earlybird Venture Capital. In total, the company banked $48 million (€48 million).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

IriusRisk lands $29M to automate threat modeling for apps

Wed, 05 Oct 2022 16:15:19 -0000

IriusRisk, a threat modeling platform, today announced that it raised $29 million in a Series B funding round led by Paladin Capital Group with participation from BrightPixel Capital, SwanLab Venture Factory, 360 Capital and Inveready.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Humaans raises $15M to simplify HR tasks like onboarding

Wed, 05 Oct 2022 08:05:21 -0000

The role of HR professionals grew in scope during the pandemic as companies were forced to navigate major workplace changes, like working from home. Unsurprisingly, those professionals have had some of the highest burnout rates over the past two years, particularly as HR departments remain under-resourced. According to an August survey from Workvivo, an employee […]
Humaans raises $15M to simplify HR tasks like onboarding by Kyle Wiggers originally published on TechCrunch

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vodafone confirms merger talks with Three UK in a “no cash” deal to scale up in 5G

Tue, 04 Oct 2022 16:15:20 -0000

Another major piece of mobile M&A appears to be in the works in the UK. Today, Vodafone confirmed that it was in merger discussions with Three UK, a carrier owned by CK Hutchison, to accelerate their 5G rollout.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Web3 banking platform Juno raises $18 million, launches tokenized loyalty program

Tue, 04 Oct 2022 08:05:20 -0000

Juno, a startup that provides checking accounts to crypto enthusiasts and allows them to take their paychecks in digital tokens, has raised a new funding round as it expands its offerings to include a tokenized loyalty program.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With $17M in funding, Immerok launches cloud service for real-time streaming data

Mon, 03 Oct 2022 16:15:17 -0000

In 2011, the Apache Software Foundation released Flink, a high-throughput, low-latency engine for streaming various data types.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TestGrid is a “one-stop shop” for testing apps at scale

Mon, 03 Oct 2022 08:05:20 -0000

Created by developer who needed to test apps at scale, TestGrid is an on-demand platform that lets users run tests on websites and apps across browsers, operating systems.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Arcade scores $7.5M seed to make it simple to build a product demo

Fri, 30 Sep 2022 16:15:19 -0000

Software product marketers typically are charged with creating demos for potential customers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lunio raises $15M to combat click fraud with algorithms

Fri, 30 Sep 2022 08:05:21 -0000

The digital ads market is robust, with Statista predicting that worldwide spend will reach nearly $900 billion by 2026.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pigment raises another $65M to build the modern business planning platform

Thu, 29 Sep 2022 16:15:20 -0000

French startup Pigment has raised a new round of funding less than a year after raising a $73 million Series B round.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Firehawk’s rocket engines and 3D-printed fuel hit testing milestones ahead of first launch

Thu, 29 Sep 2022 08:05:22 -0000

Although today’s rocket engines are advanced and powerful, they tend to rely on traditional — and naturally volatile — fuels like hydrazine or liquid oxygen and kerosene.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stockly raises another $12 million to sell out-of-stock items via other retailers

Wed, 28 Sep 2022 16:15:19 -0000

French startup Stockly is raising a $12 million Series A round (€12 million) from Eurazeo, Daphni and several business angels.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AmazeVR wants to scale its virtual concert platform with $17M funding

Wed, 28 Sep 2022 08:05:18 -0000

AmazeVR, a Los Angeles-based virtual concert platform, said Tuesday it has raised a $17 million funding round to create immersive music experiences through virtual reality (VR) concerts.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Livin Farms’ investors are betting $5.8M on powdered fly larvae

Tue, 27 Sep 2022 16:15:18 -0000

In a world of climate change-fueled food shortages, insect-based proteins are being viewed as an increasingly valuable potential alternative food service.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A Strava co-founder races into a lucrative market – lending against life insurance

Tue, 27 Sep 2022 08:05:18 -0000

Mark Shaw likes running around. The serial entrepreneur joined activity and fitness tracking platform Strava as a co-founder in 2009 to lead engineering as CTO. He spent eight years there, and as of its most recent raise in 2020,

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Checkmate captures all of your shopping deals so you don’t have to

Mon, 26 Sep 2022 16:15:20 -0000

Checkmate's shopping tool gathers all the online discount codes, gift cards and personalized deals from your inbox and automatically applies them at checkout.
Checkmate captures all of your shopping deals so you don’t have to by Christine Hall originally published on TechCrunch

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Steadybit wants developers involved in chaos engineering before production

Mon, 26 Sep 2022 08:05:24 -0000

Chaos engineering was originally developed at large companies to help them pressure test systems in production.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cloud kitchen startup CloudEats raises more capital to ramp up Southeast Asian expansion

Fri, 23 Sep 2022 16:15:19 -0000

A cloud kitchen — also known as a ghost kitchen or a shared kitchen — offers restaurant owners and food entrepreneurs a commercial kitchen space at a reduced cost for food delivery and takeout.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Crypto tax reporting app Binocs helps users navigate regulations

Fri, 23 Sep 2022 08:05:19 -0000

Keeping up with tax compliance for cryptocurrency can be tricky, especially since many laws are new (or haven’t been written yet).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

EV charging operator Bump unlocks $180 million

Thu, 22 Sep 2022 16:15:20 -0000

French startup Bump has signed a multi-year financing partnership with DIF Capital Partners in order to roll out more charging stations for electric vehicles and double down on growth in general.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Razor’s Edge Ventures closes $340M fund as it looks to invest in defense startups

Thu, 22 Sep 2022 08:05:21 -0000

In a sign that national security tech is a safe bet even during troubled economic times, defense- and security-focused VC firm Razor’s Edge Ventures today announced the closing of its third startup investment fund at just under $340 million.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Leoparda Electric is bringing battery swapping for two-wheelers to LatAm

Wed, 21 Sep 2022 16:15:19 -0000

Leoparda Electric, a São Paolo–based startup, wants to be the Gogoro of Latin America. In other words, it’s looking to build out a network of battery swapping stations that should help spread adoption of electric two-wheelers in the region.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Zopper raises $75 million to solve India’s insurance problem

Wed, 21 Sep 2022 08:05:18 -0000

For more than half a decade, Zopper built a platform for small and medium-sized businesses, helping merchants with invoicing and payments through its point-of-sale platform.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Meta alumni’s startup TrueFoundry raises $2.3 million to accelerate ML deployments

Tue, 20 Sep 2022 16:15:18 -0000

A group of former Meta engineers is building a platform to help enterprises deploy machine learning models at the speed of big tech companies.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This robot crossed a line it shouldn’t have because humans told it to

Tue, 20 Sep 2022 08:05:20 -0000

Video of a sidewalk delivery robot crossing yellow caution tape and rolling through a crime scene in Los Angeles went viral this week, amassing more than 650,000 views on Twitter and sparking debate about whether the technology is ready for prime time.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Launch House holds private town hall, says investigation is underway

Mon, 19 Sep 2022 16:15:17 -0000

In a town hall to some members of their community, Launch House addressed the harassment and assault allegations surfaced by a Vox Investigation earlier this week.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Virtual Internships matches students with top companies around the world

Mon, 19 Sep 2022 08:05:20 -0000

Remote work struck down barriers for many employees, and now Virtual Internships is doing the same for university students around the world by partnering with over 12,000 companies from 100 countries.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Polywork lands $28 million more to add hyphens to your job title

Fri, 16 Sep 2022 16:15:18 -0000

Stop trying to make Polywork happen. It’s already happening. You may even be polyworking as you read this.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Denim, a fintech platform for freight brokers, raises $126M in equity and debt

Fri, 16 Sep 2022 08:05:20 -0000

Denim, the fintech platform for freight and logistics formerly known as Axle Payments, today announced that it raised $126 million in a Series B funding round led by Pelion Venture Partners.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

MVP Match, a tech-talent marketplace, raises $5M from Stage 2 Capital

Thu, 15 Sep 2022 16:15:19 -0000

Tech-talent marketplace MVP Match has raised €5 million ($5 million) seed funding from Stage 2 Capital to double down its strategy for pairing companies with talent from across the globe.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

CoverSelf’s customizable platform simplifies the healthcare claims system

Thu, 15 Sep 2022 08:05:19 -0000

The U.S healthcare system is infamously labyrinthine, with a lengthy claims process that results in frequent errors and high administrative costs.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cultured meat startup Prolific Machines unveils its ‘Henry Ford approach’ to cell growth

Wed, 14 Sep 2022 16:15:18 -0000

Its technology is a way to grow and control cells without the need for any of those expensive recombinant proteins for cell production.
Cultured meat startup Prolific Machines unveils its ‘Henry Ford approach’ to cell growth by Christine Hall originally published on TechCrunch

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How WhiteLab Genomics is using AI to aid gene and cell therapy development

Wed, 14 Sep 2022 08:05:19 -0000

French biotech company WhiteLab Genomics has raised $10 million in funding for an AI platform designed to aid the discovery and development of genomic therapies.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Industrial IoT startup Litmus Automation bags new cash to grow its product

Tue, 13 Sep 2022 16:15:19 -0000

In recent years, a cottage industry has sprung up around the industrial internet of things (IoT) landscape — and the data generated by it.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kenya’s HotelOnline acquires hospitality software company HotelPlus

Tue, 13 Sep 2022 08:05:23 -0000

HotelOnline, a Kenyan-based travel technology scale-up that fashions itself as an e-commerce and digital marketing enabler in the hospitality industry, has acquired HotelPlus, a software provider with clients in 22 countries.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Diveplane lands $25M to grow its MLOps platform

Mon, 12 Sep 2022 16:15:18 -0000

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

Mon, 12 Sep 2022 08:05:20 -0000

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

Fri, 09 Sep 2022 16:15:18 -0000

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

Fri, 09 Sep 2022 08:05:20 -0000

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

Thu, 08 Sep 2022 16:15:20 -0000

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

Thu, 08 Sep 2022 08:05:19 -0000

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

Wed, 07 Sep 2022 16:15:17 -0000

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

Wed, 07 Sep 2022 08:05:21 -0000

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

Tue, 06 Sep 2022 16:15:18 -0000

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

Tue, 06 Sep 2022 08:05:21 -0000

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

Mon, 05 Sep 2022 08:05:17 -0000

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

Fri, 02 Sep 2022 16:15:20 -0000

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

Fri, 02 Sep 2022 08:05:18 -0000

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

Thu, 01 Sep 2022 16:15:18 -0000

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

Thu, 01 Sep 2022 08:05:23 -0000

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

Wed, 31 Aug 2022 16:15:18 -0000

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

Wed, 31 Aug 2022 08:05:17 -0000

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.Â

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Singapore-based Propseller uses data to take the hassle out of real estate transactions

Tue, 30 Aug 2022 16:15:18 -0000

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

Tue, 30 Aug 2022 08:05:18 -0000

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

Mon, 29 Aug 2022 16:15:18 -0000

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

Mon, 29 Aug 2022 08:05:19 -0000

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

Fri, 26 Aug 2022 16:15:20 -0000

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

Fri, 26 Aug 2022 08:05:22 -0000

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”

Thu, 25 Aug 2022 16:15:19 -0000

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

Wed, 24 Aug 2022 16:15:21 -0000

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

Wed, 24 Aug 2022 09:52:46 -0000

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

Tue, 23 Aug 2022 16:15:19 -0000

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

Tue, 23 Aug 2022 08:05:18 -0000

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

Mon, 22 Aug 2022 16:15:21 -0000

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

Mon, 22 Aug 2022 08:05:17 -0000

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

Fri, 19 Aug 2022 16:15:17 -0000

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

Fri, 19 Aug 2022 08:05:19 -0000

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

Thu, 18 Aug 2022 16:15:16 -0000

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

Thu, 18 Aug 2022 08:05:19 -0000

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

Wed, 17 Aug 2022 16:15:18 -0000

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

Wed, 17 Aug 2022 08:05:19 -0000

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

Tue, 16 Aug 2022 16:15:18 -0000

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

Tue, 16 Aug 2022 08:05:19 -0000

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

Mon, 15 Aug 2022 16:15:18 -0000

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

Mon, 15 Aug 2022 08:05:20 -0000

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

Fri, 12 Aug 2022 16:15:19 -0000

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

Fri, 12 Aug 2022 08:05:21 -0000

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

Thu, 11 Aug 2022 16:15:19 -0000

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

Thu, 11 Aug 2022 08:05:18 -0000

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

Wed, 10 Aug 2022 16:15:18 -0000

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

Wed, 10 Aug 2022 08:05:19 -0000

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

Tue, 09 Aug 2022 16:15:19 -0000

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

Tue, 09 Aug 2022 08:05:18 -0000

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

Mon, 08 Aug 2022 16:15:19 -0000

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

Mon, 08 Aug 2022 08:05:20 -0000

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

Digital marketplace Clutch closes $1.2M pre-seed round led by Precursor Ventures

Fri, 05 Aug 2022 16:15:17 -0000

The duo aims to democratize the tools needed for everyone to become a content creator.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Employee benefits platform Ben raises $16M to cut HR admin

Fri, 05 Aug 2022 08:05:22 -0000

Employee benefits platform Ben today announced it has raised $16 million in a series A round of funding led by European VC giant Atomico. While salary is undoubtedly the main draw in a company’s compensation offer, additional “perks” can help sweeten the deal for current or would-be employees — this could be anything from gym […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This startup just raised $320M to make long-term care inside hospitals obsolete

Thu, 04 Aug 2022 16:15:18 -0000

Cera, a U.K. provider of healthcare inside people’s homes augmented by a platform that allows carers to monitor a patient’s health and potentially flag problems, has raised $320 million (£260 million) in an equity and debt financing round, split roughly 50/50.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Braxia buys KetaMD to get into remote-delivered ketamine treatments

Thu, 04 Aug 2022 08:05:20 -0000

Braxia Scientific is a Toronto-based company that focuses on depression, suicidality and related mental health conditions. T

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sprig raises $30M to help companies gauge users’ reactions to products

Wed, 03 Aug 2022 16:15:17 -0000

Sprig, a startup offering tools for user and software product research, today announced that it raised $30 million in a funding round from Andreessen Horowitz, Accel, First Round Capital, Elad Gil and Figma Ventures.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Emitrr raises $4 million to expand its automation offering for local businesses

Wed, 03 Aug 2022 08:05:17 -0000

Large-scale and mid-sized enterprises and businesses are increasingly adopting — and offering — software-as-a-service platforms as they seek to increase their revenue and parlay their growth into greater efficiency.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Innoviz lidar will be on all VW vehicles with automated driving capabilities

Tue, 02 Aug 2022 16:15:19 -0000

Israeli lidar startup Innoviz will supply its lidar sensors and perception software to all vehicles with automated driving capabilities within Volkswagen group brands, the company said Tuesday.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bolt Mobility has vanished, leaving e-bikes, unanswered calls behind in several US cities

Tue, 02 Aug 2022 08:05:17 -0000

Bolt Mobility, the Miami-based micromobility startup co-founded by Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt, appears to have vanished without a trace from several of its U.S. markets.Â

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hyundai Motor eyes acquisition of Korean lidar-free self-driving startup 42dot

Mon, 01 Aug 2022 16:15:18 -0000

Hyundai Motor is considering increasing its stake in, or fully acquiring, the South Korea-based lidar-free autonomous mobility platform 42dot, the latest signal of its growing interest in the fast-growing space.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sports community platform Stadium Live raises $10M to expand its digital world for Gen Z

Mon, 01 Aug 2022 08:05:20 -0000

Today, digital world maker Stadium Live Studios, Inc. announced its $10 million Series A funding round to continue its mission of bringing fantasy sports to a younger generation.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Leapfin pulls together financial info across data siloes to simplify reporting

Fri, 29 Jul 2022 16:15:18 -0000

When Leapfin founder and CEO Ray Lau was managing financial operations at the game company Zynga a decade ago, he saw just how hard it was for his team to get answers about the financial health of the company quickly.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pony.ai forms autonomous truck JV with Sany Heavy Truck in China

Fri, 29 Jul 2022 08:05:18 -0000

Autonomous vehicle company Pony.ai is forming a strategic joint venture with Sany Heavy Truck, a subsidiary of Chinese heavy equipment manufacturer Sany Heavy Industry, to create an autonomous truck brand.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Switchboard creates virtual rooms to foster better collaboration

Thu, 28 Jul 2022 16:15:17 -0000

Switchboard, a collaboration app that combines features of videoconferencing and digital whiteboarding, today announced that it raised $25 million in a Series A round that values the company at $200 million post-money.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cordial, which personalizes and automates cross-channel messaging campaigns, raises $50M

Thu, 28 Jul 2022 08:05:19 -0000

Cordial, a cross-channel marketing and data management platform, today announced that it closed a $50 million Series C funding round led by NewSpring.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

RPA Supervisor lands cash to help companies manage their various RPA platforms

Wed, 27 Jul 2022 16:15:18 -0000

Proving that there’s room in the robotic process automation (RPA) market for another vendor, RPA Supervisor today announced that it raised $20 million in a Series A round led by Dawn Capital with participation from S16vc and existing investor MMC Ventures.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Can a baby’s cry identify neurological disorders? Ubenwa says ‘yes’

Wed, 27 Jul 2022 08:05:19 -0000

When Charles Onu’ cousin was both born with birth asphyxia and later developed a hearing condition, the seed for Ubenwa, an audio biometric company geared at identifying neurological disorders in infants, was also planted.Â Onu, CEO and co-founder, said he hopes Ubenwa will change the way physicians provide care to infants.Â

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Insightly helps engineering teams increase productivity and reduce burnout

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 16:15:19 -0000

Insightly Analytics helps engineering teams stop problems before they happen, like slow release cycles, bottlenecks and uneven workload distribution that can lead to employee burnout.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

World Fund joins $128M bet that quantum can deliver climate breakthroughs

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 08:05:17 -0000

World Fund, a newcomer in climate-VC land, is taking the lead in a $128 million round for IQM, with hopes the Finnish quantum computing company will one day deliver carbon cuts by the megatonne.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TomoCredit raises $22M at a $222M valuation toward its goal of making credit scores ‘obselete’

Mon, 25 Jul 2022 16:15:18 -0000

When Kristy KimÂ started TomoCredit in early 2019, she was on a mission to help international students more easily obtain credit.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fairbanc provides BNPL for micro-merchants in Indonesia

Mon, 25 Jul 2022 08:05:20 -0000

“Buy now, pay later” (BNPL) startups have gained traction by targeting consumers, but BNPLs for businesses are also starting to take off.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Agility’s next Digit robot will have a face and hands

Fri, 22 Jul 2022 16:15:19 -0000

Digit, the bipedal robot developed by Agility Robotics, will continue to evolve and improve, including the addition of a head and some digits of its very own.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Observability startup Better Stack lands $18.86M in new cash

Fri, 22 Jul 2022 08:05:20 -0000

In the software industry, observability tools provide businesses insights on the health of their production apps. At best, observability tools can flag when apps are performing under par and help identify the root causes of issues. But rarely is it this simple.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

15Five, a pioneer in talent management HR tech, raises $52M to boost its own performance

Thu, 21 Jul 2022 16:15:18 -0000

15Five — an early mover in the world of building technology to help motivate teams, and to improve performance management for execs overseeing those teams — has raised $52 million in a round of growth funding that it will be using to expand its own performance.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Casavo, an Opendoor-style proptech from Italy, raises $410M to expand its instant buyer platform across Europe

Thu, 21 Jul 2022 08:05:17 -0000

Opendoor opened the door, so to speak, to the idea of applying technology to the concept of house flipping to both scale the opportunity and make it considerably more efficient.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Charles raises $20M to bring conversational commerce to WhatsApp in Europe

Wed, 20 Jul 2022 16:15:20 -0000

Conversational commerce isn’t exactly a new phenomenon, with countless companies using live chats, messaging apps, chatbots, voice assistants and more to encourage consumers to part with their cash.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Japanese e-commerce enabler AnyMind raises funding in equity, debt for acquisitions

Wed, 20 Jul 2022 08:05:19 -0000

The pandemic has triggered more demand for online shopping and fueled many smaller retailers to establish their own online offerings.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

X1’s income-based credit card is finally available to the public

Tue, 19 Jul 2022 16:15:20 -0000

The credit card market has become increasingly crowded, with consumer fintech startups like locked in a fierce competition to differentiate their offerings through branding, rewards programs and even crypto compatibility.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This niche cryptographic technique could transform privacy in web3

Tue, 19 Jul 2022 08:05:19 -0000

Privacy is a core concern in crypto. Once you know a crypto wallet address corresponds to a certain individual, you can track all the transactions that individual has made through their wallet on any public blockchain, including Bitcoin and Ethereum. Some cryptographers think the solution to crypto’s privacy concerns lies in zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs), a […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Canvas Medical, ‘the Tesla of EMRs,’ raises a $24 million Series B round

Mon, 18 Jul 2022 08:05:17 -0000

When Andrew Hines started Canvas Medical in 2015 he couldn’t have predicted that telehealth would go from niche to norm or that a pandemic would inspire entrepreneurs to launch a new fleet of digital health startups that needed fresh infrastructure.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Medusa’s open source e-commerce tool for JavaScript developers aims to take on Shopify

Fri, 15 Jul 2022 16:15:19 -0000

Medusa aims to offer APIs beyond the standard marketplaces ones for merchants to build more advanced features like fulfillment, subscriptions or a wholesale channel.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Meet the all-electric RV startup steered by Tesla alumni

Fri, 15 Jul 2022 08:05:20 -0000

What started as a pet project to electrify food trucks in the San Francisco Bay area — an enterprise inspired by the cacophony of generators that greeted Ben Parker every day during his lunch break at Tesla — has evolved into a much larger, complex and potentially more lucrative undertaking.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kindly Health makes hormonal health care more approachable

Thu, 14 Jul 2022 16:15:18 -0000

Hormonal healthcare can be intimidating, since it touches on the most intimate parts of our lives. Kindly Health wants to make it accessible to more people, with a combination of at-home diagnostic tests (including semen tests and tests for polycystic ovary syndrome), telehealth consultations and supplements.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Deci lands $25M for tech that makes AI models more efficient

Thu, 14 Jul 2022 08:05:19 -0000

Deci, a startup company with 50 employees who are developing a platform to build and optimize AI-powered systems, today announced that it closed a $25 million Series B financing round led by Insight Partners.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

DeltaStream secures cash to build real-time streaming databases

Wed, 13 Jul 2022 16:15:16 -0000

DeltaStream, which is developing a streaming database platform geared toward enterprise customers, today announced that it raised $10 million in a seed round led by New Enterprise Associates.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Uprise banks $1.4M to be a ‘family office’ for Gen Z

Wed, 13 Jul 2022 08:05:19 -0000

Uprise takes in a user’s full financial picture, including overlooked aspects like employer benefits, and offers recommendations on where to funnel money.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Scale Computing secures $55M to help companies manage edge infrastructure

Tue, 12 Jul 2022 16:15:18 -0000

Edge computing is seeing an explosion of interest as enterprises process more data at the edge of their networks.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Despite layoffs, there’s still a talent crunch in Southeast Asia

Tue, 12 Jul 2022 08:05:18 -0000

Tech layoffs have hit almost every region in the world, and Southeast Asia is no exception, with companies like Sea, Crypto.com and JD.ID among those affected. In particular, fintech startups—BNPL, credit and lending, and inventory-holding businesses—are vulnerable, like in other parts of the world.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For businesses seeking low-code fintech infrastructure options, there’s a Quiltt for that

Mon, 11 Jul 2022 16:15:19 -0000

Company founders pivoted when customers wanted their fintech data engine over their budgeting app.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Casper king Philip Krim is getting into the insurance business

Mon, 11 Jul 2022 08:05:21 -0000

Since departing his role as Casper CEO in 2021, Philip Krim has spent the majority of his time investing and incubating companies via Montauk Ventures. The latest is an insurance company called Ranger, which aims to elevate the agents in the insurance industry, rather than replace them. Most of the new-wave insurance platforms out there […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Six reasons to apply to the Startup Battlefield 200 at TechCrunch Disrupt

Fri, 08 Jul 2022 16:15:16 -0000

If you haven’t heard yet, there’s a new and awesome opportunity available for early-stage startup founders at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco on October 18-20. It’s called the Startup Battlefield 200, and it’s packed with perks and possibility. Here’s the thing — it’s a time-sensitive application process, and you only have until July 31 to […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Crypto gaming firm Cauldron raises $6.6M to build ‘Pixar of web3’

Fri, 08 Jul 2022 08:05:17 -0000

A number of crypto gaming firms have ramped up production in the past year with hopes of revolutionizing the growing industry. Adding to the list is London-based gaming firm Cauldron, which plans on becoming the “Pixar of web3” through a key element: storytelling. The company just closed a $6.6 million seed round and plans to […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wonderbelly is taking on Tums

Thu, 07 Jul 2022 16:15:17 -0000

Deep tech and D2C have very little in common, except Noah Kraft. The Doppler Labs founder, who first came into the spotlight in 2014 with the launch of a wireless earbuds company, is teaming up with his brother to start something brand new. Well, for clarity’s sake, the brother duo are actually disrupting something relatively […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Finli puts service-based business payment management in the palm of your hand

Thu, 07 Jul 2022 08:05:17 -0000

Finli’s platform was developed so owners could send invoices, look up customer information and check on payment status in between gigs.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

IBM acquires Databand to bolster its data observability stack

Wed, 06 Jul 2022 16:15:18 -0000

IBM today announced that it acquired Databand, a startup developing an observability platform for data and machine learning pipelines. Details of the deal weren’t disclosed, but Tel Aviv-based Databand had raised $14.5 million prior to the acquisition. Databand employees will join IBM’s data and AI division, with the purchase expected to close on June 27. […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Maolac pours new funding into superfood mimicking breast milk health benefits

Wed, 06 Jul 2022 08:05:18 -0000

The company identifies and extracts functional proteins from bovine colostrum and uses them to make milk protein mixtures that could be used for different immune-boosting applications.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AI-powered photo stock startup Wirestock lands partnership with Getty Images

Tue, 05 Jul 2022 16:15:18 -0000

As a stock photographer, taking great photos is often only just a tiny part of the job. To run a successful business, keywording, categorizing, captioning, and all the other admin that goes with it can take up almost as much time. That’s the problem Wirestock is solving, and the company just landed an important deal […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Black Swan analyzes social media to predict which products will be successful

Tue, 05 Jul 2022 08:05:17 -0000

Consumer packaged goods companies — think PepsiCo or Nabisco — face steep challenges from the rising cost of living and distribution. As inflation continues unabated, consumers’ disposable income isn’t going as far as it used to while products are becoming more expensive to ship. The pressure is on businesses to place their bets on the […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Short video app Triller confidentially files to go public

Mon, 04 Jul 2022 16:15:20 -0000

TikTok rival Triller has confidentially submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission paperwork for an initial public offering of its Class A common stock. The announcement comes as the company ended its $5 billion merger with video-tech company SeaChange International two weeks ago. Similar to TikTok, Triller allows users to create and share short-form […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Visby Medical tests positive for a Series E extension at $1B+ valuation

Mon, 04 Jul 2022 08:05:18 -0000

Medical diagnostics company Visby Medical raised $100 million in a Series E round earlier this year.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Promoted grabs more funding to help e-commerce marketplaces achieve profitability

Fri, 01 Jul 2022 16:15:20 -0000

For many marketplaces, those search, recommendation and ad functions are typically siloed, but Promoted has them all under one umbrella.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

April taps AI to help personalize and autofill tax filings

Fri, 01 Jul 2022 08:05:18 -0000

Most Americans dread doing their taxes. Surveys show as much. But as many as 40% rely on money from tax refunds to satisfy some financial obligation.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Marketing automation startup Rocket Reach nabs $24M for expansion

Thu, 30 Jun 2022 16:15:17 -0000

Retail Rocket, a retention management platform for brands, today announced that it raised $24 million in a Series A round led by Cyprus-based private equity fund Flintera.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nautical Commerce sails away with new funding to bring marketplace tech to the masses

Thu, 30 Jun 2022 08:05:18 -0000

The company is boiling down the time it takes for businesses to create an e-commerce marketplace from two to three years to about 90 days.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Walmart is acquiring Memomi, an AR startup powering virtual try-on for eyewear

Wed, 29 Jun 2022 16:15:19 -0000

Walmart is expanding its array of virtual try-on services for shoppers with today’s news that it’s planning to acquire Memomi, an AR optical tech company and current Walmart partner offering virtual try-on experience for eyewear.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sharebite bags $39M to expand its corporate food ordering program

Wed, 29 Jun 2022 08:05:17 -0000

Sharebite, a startup that partners with restaurants to deliver food to corporate clients, today announced that it raised $39 million in a Series B round led by Prosus with participation from Fiserv, Contour Venture Partners, Reign Ventures, London Technology Club and Not Boring Fund.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Degreed’s co-founder is back at the company he left…with the startup he built

Tue, 28 Jun 2022 16:15:17 -0000

Edtech up-skilling platform Degreed has acquired Learn In, which creates talent resource hubs for employers to better spin up education services for their teams.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

ConductorOne is bringing automation to identity and access management with $15M investment

Tue, 28 Jun 2022 08:05:18 -0000

The founders of ConductorOne, an identity and access control startup, both came from Okta, which is itself a single sign-on vendor based on the zero trust model.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Zomato acquires Blinkit for $568 million in instant-grocery delivery push

Mon, 27 Jun 2022 16:15:17 -0000

Zomato has acquired Blinkit, a struggling 10-minute grocery delivery startup, in a $568.1 million all-stock deal as the loss-making food delivery firm looks to broaden its offerings at a time when its shares are trading far below last year’s debut price.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cryptoys banks a16z funding to build NFTs for kids

Mon, 27 Jun 2022 08:05:18 -0000

The past several months haven’t been entirely kind to the NFT market — while transaction volume hasn’t stuttered too significantly, the dollar amount invested in the space has been in free fall as cryptocurrency prices have taken a historic dive.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Epsilon3’s space industry OS powers more than launches as it brings in $15M in new funding

Fri, 24 Jun 2022 16:15:19 -0000

The space industry is evolving, as are the tools it uses; Epsilon3 is a startup trying to make launches, satellite design, rocket manufacturing, and other complex processes easier and more collaborative.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tiger Global backs SaaS omnichannel social commerce platform SleekFlow in $8M funding

Fri, 24 Jun 2022 08:05:18 -0000

Social commerce — the process of buying and selling products or services directly through social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok — is becoming the most natural way for consumers to make purchases since people use social media and messaging apps almost every day.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Starburst acquires data lake analytics accelerator Varada to challenge Snowflake

Thu, 23 Jun 2022 16:15:17 -0000

Starburst, the well-funded data warehouse analytics service and data query engine based on the open-source Trino project, today announced that it has acquired Varada, a Tel Aviv-based startup that focuses on data lake analytics.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fermyon wants to reinvent the way programmers develop microservices

Thu, 23 Jun 2022 08:05:19 -0000

When Fermyon’s founders were working at Microsoft, they helped build a lot of cloud native technologies.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vietnam-based Anfin makes stock investing accessible

Wed, 22 Jun 2022 16:15:18 -0000

Based in Vietnam, Anfin wants to turn more people into stock investors with features like fractional trading and in-app communities.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Platform.sh secures $140M for web app development tools

Wed, 22 Jun 2022 08:05:19 -0000

The growing complexity of web infrastructure is a challenge that many organizations face today. When building and deploying web apps, IT teams must grapple with an array of choices, from selecting which backend system to use to deciding which framework to code in.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Redwood Materials partners with Toyota to recycle batteries in US

Tue, 21 Jun 2022 16:15:18 -0000

Redwood Materials, the lithium-ion battery recycling startup founded by former Tesla CTO JB Straubel, is partnering with Toyota to collect, refurbish and recycle batteries and battery materials that can be sent to the Japanese automaker’s upcoming North Carolina battery plant.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mono aims to be ‘first bankingless bank’ for Latin America’s small businesses

Tue, 21 Jun 2022 08:05:18 -0000

Mono is building a fully digital bank with accounts that can be opened in around 15 minutes versus an average of two weeks at an incumbent bank.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Marc Lore’s food delivery startup Wonder raises $350M at a $3.5B valuation

Mon, 20 Jun 2022 16:15:18 -0000

New York-based Wonder, a mobile restaurant delivery service led by Marc Lore, has raised $350 million in Series B funding. The company is now worth about $3.5 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Brain data startup Rune Labs gets FDA clearance for Apple Watch-based Parkinson’s tracker

Mon, 20 Jun 2022 08:05:17 -0000

Rune Labs, a precision neurology company in San Francisco, announced that its StrivePD software ecosystem for Parkinson’s disease has been granted 510(k) clearance by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to begin using the Apple Watch to collect and measure data from Parkinson’s patients.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Indian esports fantasy startup FanClash raises $40 million

Fri, 17 Jun 2022 16:15:16 -0000

Millions of Indians each year assemble virtual sports teams, placing their hopes on the players they pick to perform exceedingly well in real-world matches.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Zoovu lands $169M to drive online product discovery experiences

Fri, 17 Jun 2022 08:05:18 -0000

The competition in ecommerce has become fiercer as the pandemic drives shoppers online. At the same time, customers have grown to expect better experiences. According to helpdesk software vendor HiverHQ, 32% of consumers want customer service to be both more responsive and empathetic.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tabnine raises $15.5M for AI that autocompletes code

Thu, 16 Jun 2022 16:15:19 -0000

Tabnine, a startup creating an “AI-powered assistant” for software developers, today closed a $15.5 million funding round co-led by Qualcomm Ventures, OurCrowd, and Samsung NEXT Ventures with participation from existing backers Khosla Ventures and Headline Ventures.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Edtech company Pok Pok raises $3M to expand its digital play experiences for kids

Thu, 16 Jun 2022 08:05:19 -0000

Pok Pok, a Toronto-based edtech company, has announced that it raised $3 million in seed funding to expand its play-based learning experiences for kids.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cube, which wants to help finance teams plan better and faster, lands $30M after seeing 400% ARR growth

Wed, 15 Jun 2022 16:15:17 -0000

Cube, a startup that wants to help companies “plan their financial future,” has raised $30 million in a Series B funding round led by Battery Ventures.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Onymos raises $12M to provide plug-in features for apps

Wed, 15 Jun 2022 08:05:18 -0000

Onymos, a “feature-as-a-service” platform for app development, today announced that it closed a $12 million Series A round led by Great Point Ventures with participation from Benhamou Global Ventures, Engineering Capital, and Industry Ventures.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

EV SPAC Faraday Future now has the attention of the DOJ

Tue, 14 Jun 2022 16:15:18 -0000

Amid an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission into inaccurate statements to investors, Faraday Future has received a preliminary request for information from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Boulder Care takes in funding as its opioid telehealth program yields industry-leading retention rates

Tue, 14 Jun 2022 08:05:19 -0000

The company is serving several thousand patients and growing its footprint as a value-add employee benefit.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Charm Therapeutics applies AI to complex protein interactions, locking down $50M A round

Mon, 13 Jun 2022 16:15:17 -0000

The world of AI-powered drug discovery keeps expanding as the capabilities of machine learning grow. One approach that seemed unthinkable just a few years ago is simulating the complicated interplays of two interlocking molecules.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Maze raises $40M to help facilitate software product research

Mon, 13 Jun 2022 08:05:20 -0000

Product research generally involves determining whether an idea for a new product might be successful and how to best develop and sell that product. It’s a straightforward process, in theory, but the basic definition belies the barriers that can crop up.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Luminai (formerly DigitalBrain) gets $16M investment for customer support RPA-like tool

Fri, 10 Jun 2022 16:15:19 -0000

The founders of DigitalBrain have quite a back story, a pair of immigrants living in a hacker house in San Francisco, the two paid bills for a time by competing at hackathons and winning.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HYCU locks down additional funding to grow its cloud data protection business

Fri, 10 Jun 2022 08:05:21 -0000

Hybrid Cloud Up Time (HYCU), a self-described “backup-as-a-service” company for customers managing hybrid and multi-cloud environments, today announced that it raised $53 million in a “majority equity” Series B round led by Acrew Capital with participation from Bain Capital Ventures, Atlassian Ventures, and Cisco Investments.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TestBox nabs $10M seed to expand platform for software purchase testing

Thu, 09 Jun 2022 16:15:17 -0000

TestBox, an early stage startup, has a goal of making it easier to test software you want to purchase in your own environment. What’s more, it comes pre-populated with synthetic data that is similar to yours.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Proper raises $4.3M seed round to help other fintechs wrangle data

Thu, 09 Jun 2022 08:05:22 -0000

What’s one of the hottest areas within fintech today? Funny enough, it’s fintech for fintechs (say that a few times fast). Fintech startups have absolutely proliferated in the past few years.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Former Better.com exec alleges company misled investors ahead of SPAC

Wed, 08 Jun 2022 16:15:17 -0000

One of Better.com’s former executives has filed a lawsuit against the online mortgage lender, alleging that the company and its CEO Vishal Garg misled investors when it attempted to go public via a SPAC, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Magical makes $35M appear to move data between webpages

Wed, 08 Jun 2022 08:05:18 -0000

It’s the belief of some analysts that the market for robotic process automation, which leverages AI to automate certain software tasks, is headed toward consolidation.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Child care startup Kinside raises $12M Series A in a round led by mothers

Tue, 07 Jun 2022 16:15:18 -0000

Finding and affording child care is one of the biggest challenges parents face. Kinside makes the process easier by not only providing a marketplace of verified carers, but also helping parents tap into their flexible spending accounts (FSA) and other benefits to afford care.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Opal secures $10M for dynamic access management

Tue, 07 Jun 2022 08:05:18 -0000

Opal, a platform that decentralizes access management for enterprise customers, today announced that it raised $10 million in a Series A funding round led by Greylock.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Agtech robotics firm FarmWise just raised another $45 million

Mon, 06 Jun 2022 16:15:16 -0000

The rest of the startup universe may be struggling to bring in funds, but it’s still a good time to get a robotic raise.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Temasek’s Pavilion Capital backs South Korean AI chip maker Rebellions with $50M investment

Mon, 06 Jun 2022 08:05:16 -0000

Global venture capital firms are pouring money into the semiconductor startups developing the next generation of chips.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mexico City’s Kolors wants to disrupt intercity busing in Latin America

Fri, 03 Jun 2022 16:15:17 -0000

Kolors, a Mexico City-based startup, says its platform that connects intercity bus riders with bus drivers is like “if Uber and Southwest Airlines had a baby.”

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sanlo, a startup that offers app and game developers access to financial tools and capital, raises $10M

Fri, 03 Jun 2022 08:05:17 -0000

Sanlo, a San Francisco-based fintech startup that offers small to medium-sized game and app companies access to tools to manage their finances and capital to fuel their growth, has raised $10 million in Series A funding led by Konvoy.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chainguard raises $50M to guard supply chains

Thu, 02 Jun 2022 16:15:17 -0000

Chainguard, a startup that focuses on securing software supply chains, announced today that it has raised a $50 million Series A funding round led by Sequoia Capital.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chick-fil-A taps Refraction AI for autonomous delivery pilot

Thu, 02 Jun 2022 08:05:19 -0000

When Refraction AI was founded in 2019, its goal was to use robotics to bring down the cost of last-mile delivery.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Car-sharing startup Turo expands to New York and France

Wed, 01 Jun 2022 16:15:17 -0000

Peer-to-peer car sharing company Turo is expanding to New York State and France in June, the company said on Wednesday.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One AI raises $8M to curate business-specific NLP models

Wed, 01 Jun 2022 08:05:15 -0000

Whether to power translation to document summarization, enterprises are increasing their investments in natural language processing (NLP) technologies.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Strong Compute raises $7.8M seed round to speed up ML training pipelines

Tue, 31 May 2022 16:15:17 -0000

Strong Compute, a Sydney, Australia-based startup that helps developers remove the bottlenecks in their machine learning training pipelines, today announced that it has raised a $7.8 million seed round.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Meta and Google’s Gradient back LatAm startup OlaClick

Tue, 31 May 2022 14:15:13 -0000

More than 80% of food delivery orders in Latin America are still made over phone calls and settled with cash.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mintlify taps AI to automatically generate documentation from code

Tue, 31 May 2022 14:15:12 -0000

Mintlify, a startup developing software to automate software documentation tasks, today announced that it raised $2.8 million in a seed round led by by Bain Capital Ventures with participation from TwentyTwo Ventures and Quinn Slack, Sourcegraph’s co-founder.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Betastore gets $2.5M to solve stock-outs, financing challenges for informal retailers in West and Central Africa

Tue, 31 May 2022 14:15:12 -0000

About 80% of household retail in sub-Saharan Africa is delivered through informal channels, which perennially face several challenges like stockouts, leading to an instability in earnings, and a lack of attractiveness to financiers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Foursquare founder banks funding for mystery 3D social network startup

Fri, 27 May 2022 16:15:19 -0000

The excitement around web3 and the metaverse have pulled plenty of entrepreneurs who defined the first generation of native mobile apps to begin questioning what’s next.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SoftBank leads $150M round for Firework’s shoppable video

Fri, 27 May 2022 11:24:09 -0000

Firework provides tools for retailers and consumer brands to tap into their own customer data to build engaging video experiences across their own digital properties and social channels.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hugging Face collaborates with Microsoft for new AI-powered Azure service

Fri, 27 May 2022 11:24:09 -0000

Fresh off a $100 million funding round, Hugging Face, which provides hosted AI services and a community-driven portal for AI tools and data sets, today announced a new product in collaboration with Microsoft.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Astroforge raises $13M seed round for asteroid mining ambitions

Fri, 27 May 2022 11:24:07 -0000

Although we’ve long understood that asteroids are not simply the rubble of the universe, but potentially profitable stores of precious minerals, humanity has never been able to unlock this value.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bowery opens a new vertical farm in Pennsylvania

Fri, 27 May 2022 11:24:07 -0000

When I wrote my big TC1 on Bowery Farming late last year, there was a lot of talk of the company’s third commercial farming site in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

MainStreet’s valuation could fall 60% to $200 million amid investor recapitalization pursuit

Wed, 25 May 2022 08:05:17 -0000

Weeks after laying off about 30% of its staff, MainStreet is said to be raising another round of funding at a $200 million valuation, sources tell TechCrunch.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Klarna lays off 10% of its workforce

Tue, 24 May 2022 16:15:18 -0000

Swedish payment giant Klarna is going to cut hundreds of jobs in the coming days. Today’s news comes a few days after the Wall Street Journal reported that the company was going to cut its valuation in order to raise fresh capital.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Carbon capture is headed for the high seas

Mon, 23 May 2022 17:02:22 -0000

Unless you live near a port, you probably don’t think much of the tens of thousands of container ships tearing through the seas, hauling some 1.8 billion metric tons of stuff each year.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

FloorFound grabs more capital to grow its oversized recommerce business

Mon, 23 May 2022 08:05:17 -0000

What makes FloorFound stand out from its competitors is its approach to putting retailers, which often struggle with how to effectively do returns, at the center of recommerce.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dig emerges from stealth to help organizations secure their data in public clouds

Fri, 20 May 2022 16:15:17 -0000

Dig, a Tel Aviv-based cloud data security startup, has emerged from stealth with an $11 million investment to help organizations protect data stored in public cloud environments.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

ChargeLab’s software layer to power ABB’s EV chargers in North America

Fri, 20 May 2022 08:05:20 -0000

ChargeLab, a Toronto-based startup that builds software to operate and optimize electric vehicle charging equipment for fleets and commercial customers, has raised a $15 million Series A round.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Joby Aviation acquires Avionyx to accelerate aerospace software certification

Thu, 19 May 2022 16:15:18 -0000

Joby Aviation, a California-based company developing electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles (eVTOL) for commercial passenger service, announced the acquisition of Avionyx, an aerospace software engineering firm, on the TechCrunch Sessions: Mobility stage on Wednesday.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jungle Ventures closes a $600M fund, bringing its total assets under management to over $1B

Thu, 19 May 2022 08:05:19 -0000

Singapore-based venture firm Jungle Ventures is digging deeper into Southeast Asia and India with the close of its fourth fund.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Palette sells a sales commission tool for modern sales teams

Wed, 18 May 2022 16:15:16 -0000

Meet Palette, a software-as-a-service startup that is going to be particularly interesting if you’re also running a software-as-a-service startup.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fashinza, a B2B supply chain marketplace for fashion brands, raises $100M

Wed, 18 May 2022 08:05:26 -0000

The pandemic has majorly affected the global supply chain, with 60% of U.S. adults in an August 2021 Gallup survey saying that they’ve been unable to get a product they wanted in the past two months because of shortages.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A.Team emerges from stealth with a gig marketplace for product specialists

Tue, 17 May 2022 16:15:17 -0000

The gig economy has, to use a well-worn word, disrupted industries from ride-hailing to quick-service restaurants. Contract work has its downsides, namely on the pay and benefits side of the equation.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Uber Eats pilots autonomous delivery with Serve Robotics, Motional

Tue, 17 May 2022 08:05:20 -0000

Uber Eats is launching two autonomous delivery pilots in Los Angeles on Monday with Serve Robotics, a robotic sidewalk delivery startup, and Motional, an autonomous vehicle technology company.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Classiq raises additional funding for its quantum algorithm design tools

Mon, 16 May 2022 16:15:18 -0000

Tel Aviv-based Classiq, a startup that wants to make it easier for developers to build quantum algorithms and applications, today announced that it has raised additional funding for its service by adding HSBC, NTT Finance, and Intesa Sanpaolo as new investors.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bubbles aims to supercharge chats with async video messaging

Mon, 16 May 2022 08:05:19 -0000

Bubbles, a startup that pitches its platform as the “anti-Zoom” for video messaging, today announced that it closed a $8.5 million funding round led by Khosla Ventures, Craft Ventures, Streamlined Ventures, 468 Ventures, and Bain Capital.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gusto raises an extension round, following Faire as unicorns react to a changing market

Fri, 13 May 2022 16:15:16 -0000

Gusto, an HR technology unicorn worth nearly $10 billion, has raised an extension to its 2021-era Series E funding round.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Leland breaks into the coaching space with a focus on careers, not classes

Fri, 13 May 2022 08:05:18 -0000

The coaching world is crowded. There’s BetterUp, a re-skilling platform that wants to bring executive coaching to employees, and Sounding Board, which mixes SaaS and coaching services.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Singapore-based Good Startup raises $34M fund to invest in alternative protein companies

Thu, 12 May 2022 16:15:16 -0000

Good Startup, a Singapore-based venture capital firm focused on alternative protein, has closed its latest fund.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Berlin’s GetHenry breaks into last-mile delivery e-bike scene with $17.4M seed

Thu, 12 May 2022 08:05:19 -0000

Berlin-based GetHenry, a startup that provides electric last-mile delivery bikes to couriers and logistics companies, has raised a $17.4 million (€16.5 million) seed round to expand its business across Europe.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

EV startup Canoo sues major investor over sketchy share sales

Wed, 11 May 2022 16:15:18 -0000

Electric vehicle startup Canoo has filed suit against one of its largest shareholders, demanding that the firm pay back more than $61 million in “short-swing profits.”

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Blueland takes its ‘don’t ship water’ model to body wash

Wed, 11 May 2022 08:05:18 -0000

To date, Blueland, fresh off its $20 million fundraise back in February, has mostly been focusing on home cleaning products.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fertility startup Hannah Life Technologies gets $5.15M Pre-Series A

Tue, 10 May 2022 16:15:16 -0000

Hannah Life Technologies, a startup for couples trying to conceive, announced today it has raised $5.15 million in pre-Series A funding led by Monk’s Hill Ventures.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

South Korea’s OHouse lands $128M to add AR to home improvement app

Tue, 10 May 2022 08:05:17 -0000

During the worst days of the pandemic, when people were stuck at home and starving for some form of entertainment beyond streaming yet another TV series, many turned to DIY home improvement projects.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Daniel Ek pumps $50 million into Spotify: ‘I believe our best days are ahead’

Mon, 09 May 2022 16:15:16 -0000

Spotify cofounder Daniel Ek said on Friday that he’s pouring $50 million into the music streaming service, driving its stock price up by more than 3% to a high of $108.98 per share during regular trading hours.Â

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lucid is raising prices on its luxury Air EV by as much as 13%

Mon, 09 May 2022 08:05:22 -0000

Lucid Group is the latest automaker to up the price of its electric vehicles. The company announced Thursday alongside its first-quarter earnings report that it was raising prices of the variants of its luxury Air sedan, beginning June 1.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tomorrow Farms wants to revamp the pantry

Fri, 06 May 2022 16:15:15 -0000

Tomorrow Farms is turning the concept of pantry and refrigerator staples on its head to create foods that are better for us.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Shopify acquires shipping logistics startup Deliverr for $2.1B

Fri, 06 May 2022 08:05:18 -0000

Shopify today announced that it will acquire Deliverr, a San Francisco, California-based ecommerce fulfillment startup, for $2.1 billion.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As supply chain issues mount, Fictiv helps companies get from prototype to manufacturing

Thu, 05 May 2022 16:15:17 -0000

It used to be getting from prototyping to manufacturing meant long, expensive trips to places like Shenzhen and a whole lot of trial and error. Fictiv was founded back in 2013 to address some of the biggest pain points of bringing products to market.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fundid’s injects first funding into providing capital, credit for small businesses

Thu, 05 May 2022 08:05:18 -0000

Fundid has a three-pronged approach to simplifying access to capital for small businesses with fewer than 10 employees.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Getlife wants to democratize life insurance in Europe

Wed, 04 May 2022 16:15:19 -0000

Meet Getlife, a Madrid-based startup that just raised $6.3 million (€6 million) in seed funding. The company wants to make it easier to access life insurance products in Europe. For instance, there’s no medical exams needed to subscribe to Getlife.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Backed by Tiger Global and Sequoia India, Toplyne helps product-led growth teams tackle user conversion

Wed, 04 May 2022 08:05:20 -0000

For product-led growth companies (PLG), the perennial question is: how do we get non-paying customers to subscribe?

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

LottieFiles raises Series B to make the animation format even more ubiquitous

Tue, 03 May 2022 16:15:16 -0000

Lottie animations are everywhere. The JSON-based file format, first introduced as an open-source library by Airbnb engineers, can now be seen in the top 500 iOS and Android apps, said LottieFiles co-founder Kshitij Minglani.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Anthropic’s quest for better, more explainable AI attracts $580M

Tue, 03 May 2022 08:05:20 -0000

Less than a year ago, Anthropic was founded by former OpenAI VP of research Dario Amodei, intending to perform research in the public interest on making AI more reliable and explainable. Its $124 million in funding was surprising then, but nothing could have prepared us for the company raising $580 million less than a year.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vyoma is the latest player seeking to prevent satellite collisions with space junk

Mon, 02 May 2022 16:15:18 -0000

As you might’ve heard, it’s getting a little crowded in space, between thousand-satellite constellations à la SpaceX’s Starlink and the millions of pieces of space junk accumulated from decades of launches.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Glorang scores $10M Series A to expand its edtech marketplace across Asia

Mon, 02 May 2022 08:05:18 -0000

Glorang, a Seoul-based edtech startup that offers after-school classes and extracurricular activities via online for students between the ages of 3 and 18, said Friday it has raised a $10 million Series A funding co-led by Korea Investment Partners and Murex Partners, along with Japan’s Pksha Capital.Â

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HackerOne buys YC-backed PullRequest to add code review to bug-squashing platform

Fri, 29 Apr 2022 16:15:17 -0000

PullRequest, a five year old startup that came out of Y Combinator in 2017, helps software developers by providing an external code review team.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Madison Reed, which made DTC hair color a thing, is now going after larger retail footprint

Fri, 29 Apr 2022 08:05:16 -0000

Buoyed by a new $33 million investment, plans are in the works to add another 20 hair color bar locations and hire 850 new colorists by the end of the year.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Deepset raises $14M to help companies build NLP apps

Thu, 28 Apr 2022 16:15:18 -0000

Natural language processing (NLP), the field of AI that involves parsing text for tasks including summarization and generation, is a fast-growing technology.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Zippedi is using robots to digitize inventory for last-mile delivery

Thu, 28 Apr 2022 08:05:17 -0000

Luis Vera believes the third time is the charm. The self-proclaimed serial entrepreneur admits that his vision for digitizing retail was a decade or two early when he started his journey in the 90s.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Umaro is turning ocean-farmed seaweed into imitation bacon

Wed, 27 Apr 2022 16:15:16 -0000

Don’t call it a pivot, exactly — but it’s a fascinating journey, nonetheless. Umaro Foods, which is set to release a seaweed-based bacon replacement, entered the world as Trophic.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Qualified raises $95M to help Salesforce users with sales pipeline generation

Wed, 27 Apr 2022 08:05:16 -0000

Lead generation is a critical cornerstone in the world of sales — in a seemingly infinite sea of potential customers, you need to know who wants to buy, or who might buy.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lengow acquires e-commerce intelligence startup Netrivals

Tue, 26 Apr 2022 16:15:18 -0000

A bit more than a year after private equity firm Marlin Equity Partners acquired a majority stake in Lengow, the company is expanding its product offering with the acquisition of Netrivals.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As it brings its bipedal robots to market, Agility announces a $150M round

Tue, 26 Apr 2022 08:05:16 -0000

Yesterday, Amazon announced that Agility Robotics is one of the five initial startups benefitting from the company’s $1 billion innovation fund.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Manila-based MadEats is more than a ghost kitchen startup

Mon, 25 Apr 2022 16:15:15 -0000

MadEats, Y Combinator alum, claims to be the first “‘full-stack’ delivery-only startup in the Philippines,” with their own virtual storefront, ghost kitchens and fleet of drivers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Skyflow and Plaid partner in effort to bolster fintech data security

Mon, 25 Apr 2022 08:05:18 -0000

Skyflow, which sells data privacy tools for corporate customers, this morning announced a partnership with Plaid, a unicorn that helps pass fintech data between parties through an API.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Construct Capital’s $300M fund targets critical infrastructure automation

Fri, 22 Apr 2022 16:15:16 -0000

The firm invests in the manufacturing, transportation and logistics sectors, which, they say “represent over half our country’s GDP and have not been tech-enabled.”

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Meet Morado, a two-month old Colombian marketplace for the beauty industry that just raised $5M

Fri, 22 Apr 2022 08:05:18 -0000

Morado, a two-month-old Colombian startup aiming to digitize beauty salons in Latin America, has raised $5 million in a pre-seed round from a bevy of global investors.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Singapore-based healthcare startup Ordinary Folk gets $5M to fight stigma

Thu, 21 Apr 2022 16:15:18 -0000

Ordinary Folk, a Singapore-based telehealth startup dedicated to men and women’s health issues, has raised $5 million in pre-seed funding from Monk’s Hill Ventures.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SaaS demo platform Demostack raises $34M to expand to new markets

Thu, 21 Apr 2022 08:05:18 -0000

Demostack, a San Francisco, California-based startup creating a “demo experience” platform for software-as-a-service (SaaS) sales teams, today announced that it raised $34 million in a Series B round led by Tiger Global Management.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Everstage raises $13M Series A to make sales commissions more transparent

Wed, 20 Apr 2022 16:15:15 -0000

For sales reps, commission plans are often complicated and lack transparency, leading to accounting errors and frustration. Everstage, a sales commission platform, solves that, letting sales rep see exactly how much they earned.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Planetary wants to help food startups brew up more fake meat

Wed, 20 Apr 2022 08:05:20 -0000

Planetary aims to bring all of the alternative protein production planets into orbit with its scaling technology.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chipotle launches $50M venture fund in bid to foster new restaurant tech

Tue, 19 Apr 2022 16:15:18 -0000

In a bid to position its brand as more tech-forward — and, in the process, foster new culinary innovations — Chipotle today announced the launch of Cultivate Next, a venture fund run by Curt Garner, the restaurant chain’s chief technology officer.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nowadays puts its spin on plant-based nuggets

Tue, 19 Apr 2022 08:05:18 -0000

Its first product is a crispy, plant-based riff on chicken nuggets that is made with just seven ingredients.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sika lets patients ‘hack’ their health savings accounts to buy wellness products tax-free

Mon, 18 Apr 2022 16:12:29 -0000

What if you could buy a Peloton with pre-tax dollars? How about vitamins and supplements? Skincare products? Or even mattresses and massages?

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Speckle snags $5.5M seed to build open source platform for 3D drawings

Mon, 18 Apr 2022 08:05:17 -0000

The founders of Speckle, an early-stage startup based in London, are both trained architects and engineers, probably a rare combination. It enabled them to see and understand firsthand the issues associated with exchanging large proprietary 3D files from vendors like Autodesk and Trimble.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Itilite secures $29M to automate corporate expensing workflows

Fri, 15 Apr 2022 16:02:18 -0000

For the bulk of the past two years, the pandemic has put the kibosh on corporate travel of nearly any kind.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tokyo-based Luup to more than double shared e-scooters, e-bikes

Fri, 15 Apr 2022 08:05:16 -0000

Shared micromobility company Luup has raised $8 million (1 billion yen) in debt and asset financing to meet the growing demands of Japan’s micromobility market, which according to a recent report, is projected to reach $11.6 billion in 2030.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Shipium gives e-commerce retailers Amazon-like supply chain tech

Thu, 14 Apr 2022 16:02:18 -0000

E-commerce retailers of all sizes can have that supply chain coordination layer that enables them to provide fast and cheaper shipping, too.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Snap debuts its fifth cohort of Yellow accelerator startups

Thu, 14 Apr 2022 08:05:19 -0000

Snap’s in-house Yellow accelerator program, which invests in startups, has debuted its fifth batch of investments.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hookdeck snares $2.4M seed to help developers manage webhooks

Wed, 13 Apr 2022 16:02:17 -0000

Hookdeck founders Alexandre Bouchard and Eric Tran were working on a product to help manage webhooks in 2020 when they became discouraged and decided to step away to gain some perspective.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Montonio is building the payment and checkout solution to rule them all

Wed, 13 Apr 2022 08:05:18 -0000

Meet Montonio, an e-commerce checkout solution created by a small startup based in Tallinn, Estonia. The company just raised a $12 million Series A funding round (€11 million) led by Index Ventures.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bosch picks up Five.ai after the self-driving startup pivoted to B2B and then put itself up for sale

Tue, 12 Apr 2022 16:02:15 -0000

Consolidation is moving ahead in the world of autonomous driving, with the latest development coming out of Europe.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

ProtonMail buys email alias startup SimpleLogin

Tue, 12 Apr 2022 08:05:17 -0000

Proton, the Geneva, Switzerland-based startup behind the eponymous E2E encrypted webmail service ProtonMail, has acquired French startup SimpleLogin, which offers a freemium, open source service for creating email aliases to let people shield their actual email address when they sign up for digital services.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Windmill wants to drag window AC units, kicking and screaming, into 2022

Mon, 11 Apr 2022 16:02:18 -0000

It’s hard to think of a product category that is less sexy than window air conditioning units. Windmill begs to differ, bringing a breath of fresh air to an industry that’s been steadfastly clunking away in the corner.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lilt raises $55M to bolster its business-focused AI translation platform

Mon, 11 Apr 2022 08:05:18 -0000

Lilt, a provider of AI-powered business translation software, today announced that it raised $55 million in a Series C round led by Four Rivers, joined by new investors Sorenson Capital, CLEAR Ventures and Wipro Ventures.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Airbyte acquires data synchronization service Grouparoo

Fri, 08 Apr 2022 16:02:16 -0000

Airbyte, the well-funded open-source data integration platform, today announced that it has acquired Grouparoo, an open-source startup that focuses on helping businesses sync data between their data warehouses and cloud-based tools.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Parentinc raises $22M led by East Ventures for its parenting community and D2C brand

Fri, 08 Apr 2022 08:05:19 -0000

The Parentinc, a Singapore-based startup that runs a parenting community and direct-to-consumer product line, announced today it has raised $22 million.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fanatics raises $1.5B at a $27B valuation as it evolves into a ‘digital sports platform’

Thu, 07 Apr 2022 16:02:17 -0000

Fanatics’ latest raise shows there is tremendous value in appealing to sports fans.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Affirm is giving job offers to the ‘vast majority’ of Fast engineers

Thu, 07 Apr 2022 08:05:16 -0000

Fast, a one-click speedy checkout platform, is shutting down today. In conjunction with that decision, Fast is giving a “vast majority” of its engineers the chance to join Affirm, a public fintech company in the buy now, pay later space, according to Affirm.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lightning Labs raises funding to enable stablecoin transfers through Bitcoin network

Wed, 06 Apr 2022 16:02:18 -0000

Lightning Labs is building infrastructure that would enable users to send money across the world almost instantaneously and at a low cost through the Bitcoin network.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sweep helps corporations live up to their lofty carbon promises

Wed, 06 Apr 2022 08:05:17 -0000

There’s coming hard out of the gates with a new company, and then there’s Sweep. The company was founded in 2020, then raised a $22 million Series A round a few months ago, following by a $73 million Series B round announced today.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Crowdcube brings its equity crowdfunding platform to France

Tue, 05 Apr 2022 16:02:17 -0000

If you live in the U.K. or the U.S., you may already be quite familiar with equity crowdfunding.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Craving ‘wild’ foods? Foraged’s marketplace uncovers all that and more

Tue, 05 Apr 2022 08:05:19 -0000

The community marketplace for wild and specialty foods provides foragers with a place to sell food items they dig up.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As Docker gains momentum, it hauls in $105M Series C on $2B valuation

Mon, 04 Apr 2022 16:02:17 -0000

It wasn’t that long ago that Docker looked like it was on the ropes. In 2019, it sold its enterprise business and decided to focus strictly on a developer audience with a set of commercial and open source tools.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Yelp expands restaurant health ratings in partnership with food tech startup Hazel Analytics

Mon, 04 Apr 2022 08:05:18 -0000

Yelp is broadening its partnership with Seattle-based food tech startup Hazel Analytics to expand health ratings on its platform, the company announced on Thursday.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Womens leadership network Chief surges to unicorn status

Fri, 01 Apr 2022 16:02:17 -0000

As Ariana Grande would say, god is a woman. So it should come as no surprise that Chief, the network designed to develop the leadership skills of women, has hit a $1.1 billion valuation in a matter of three years.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Quantum Machines acquires QDevil to build out its full-stack quantum orchestration platform

Fri, 01 Apr 2022 08:05:18 -0000

Quantum Machines, the well-funded Israeli startup that specializes in building control systems for quantum computers, today announced that it has acquired QDevil, a well-known Danish company that specializes in building control hardware for quantum systems.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Flux Marine revs up its electric outboard business with $15M A round

Thu, 31 Mar 2022 16:02:18 -0000

The race is certainly on in the electrification of boating… even if everyone is jockeying for position before the market materializes.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wing Security launches its end-to-end SaaS security platform, raises $26M

Thu, 31 Mar 2022 08:05:20 -0000

As businesses increasingly rely on an ever-growing number of SaaS products, it has become imperative for security teams to get a better understanding of which applications a company’s employees are actually using and the risks associated with those.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cyberpion raises $27M Series A for its external attack surface management platform

Wed, 30 Mar 2022 16:07:39 -0000

It’s no secret that digital supply chains are increasingly under attack as hackers look to use this vector to get access to company networks and confidential information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Smart electric panel company Span gets a $90M jolt of cash

Wed, 30 Mar 2022 08:05:17 -0000

The lowly breaker panel has been around for a century without getting much love, and along comes Span.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Singapore-based esports startup Ampverse lands $12M

Tue, 29 Mar 2022 16:02:16 -0000

Singapore-headquartered esports startup Ampverse has raised $12 million in Series A funding led by Falcon Capital.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Australian fintech Zepto raises $25M Series A to enhance payment infrastructure

Tue, 29 Mar 2022 08:05:18 -0000

Zepto, an Australian real-time account-to-account (A2A) merchant payments platform, said Monday it has raised a $25 million Series A co-led by AirTree Ventures and Decade Partners.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Freelancer marketplace Malt acquires consulting marketplace Comatch

Mon, 28 Mar 2022 16:02:17 -0000

It’s consolidation time in the freelancer marketplace industry. French startup Malt is acquiring Comatch, a competing marketplace focused on consultants and industry experts.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Oslo-based Unleash nabs $14M Series A to build open source feature management tool

Mon, 28 Mar 2022 08:05:19 -0000

As developers build new features into software, they have to be sure that the new functionality doesn’t break what’s already there. So they often will roll it out slowly and see what happens using a technique of placing feature flags in the code.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rental car delivery startup Kyte is growing its fleet to 10,000 vehicles

Fri, 25 Mar 2022 16:02:15 -0000

Kyte, the startup that delivers rental cars to customers’ doors, has raised $200 million in asset-backed credit financing from Goldman Sachs and Ares Global Management, money the company will use to pay for new vehicles that will fuel its expansion.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rugged’s construction layout robots land $9.4M

Fri, 25 Mar 2022 08:05:16 -0000

It’s been a little less than a year since we first noted Rugged Robotics. The Houston-based startup developed a robot that prints building layouts on the floor of construction sites, so workers know where — and where not — to build.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Skyline scores $6.5M to wash windows with robot arms

Thu, 24 Mar 2022 16:02:17 -0000

I would put window washing fairly high (so to speak) on the list of jobs it makes sense to automate.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

ShopThing raises $10M to scale its live video shopping marketplace

Thu, 24 Mar 2022 08:05:17 -0000

ShopThing, a live shopping marketplace focused on luxury brands, has raised $10 million in Series A funding led by Origin Ventures, with participation from Pritzker Group and Interplay.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Datagen raises $50 million Series B to empower computer vision teams

Wed, 23 Mar 2022 16:24:23 -0000

With its self-serve platform, Datagen now has a much more scalable way to help clients themselves generate the visual data that they need to train their computer vision applications.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wealth poised to make estate planning accessible to all

Wed, 23 Mar 2022 08:05:18 -0000

Wealth gives you a one-stop shop where your entire financial portfolio can live and accumulate in real-time.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With $9.3M in fresh funding, Zestworld plans a newsletter service for creator-owned comics

Tue, 22 Mar 2022 16:02:18 -0000

The comics world has seemingly been waiting for a digital revolution since the birth of the internet. Launched in 2007, ComiXology has come the closest to delivering such a play to the medium, so naturally, Amazon went and purchased the service and messed it up.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kenya-based agritech Apollo raises $40 million in Softbank-led round, joined by Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, CDC

Tue, 22 Mar 2022 08:05:17 -0000

Kenya-based agritech Apollo Agriculture, which helps farmers access high-quality farm inputs, financing and markets, plans to double the number of farmers it is serving by the end 2022 and to introduce other products that deliver more value per acre of land.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Upstash snags $1.9M seed to build serverless data platform for Redis and Kafka

Mon, 21 Mar 2022 16:02:16 -0000

When it comes to data-intensive applications, setting up the infrastructure is expensive and time-consuming. You’re often paying for resources you aren’t using, even in the cloud.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Expert jumps into home goods e-commerce

Mon, 21 Mar 2022 08:05:16 -0000

The Expert, which provides video consultations with top designers, expands into e-commerce to become what co-founder Leo Seigal referred to as “Farfetch for home.”

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hence secures $1.8M seed to grow its legal services sourcing technology

Fri, 18 Mar 2022 16:02:16 -0000

Hence Technologies, a Kigali and London based startup that uses data and AI technologies to match companies with external legal service providers is set to scale its precision matching engine after raising $1.8million in seed funding from various institutions and angel investors.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SentinelOne scoops up Attivo Networks for $617M

Fri, 18 Mar 2022 08:05:17 -0000

Security companies typically start by focusing on one particular problem, but the biggest ones like Palo Alto Networks, FireEye and Symantec have shifted to a horizontal approach typically gaining functionality over time through acquisition.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Arcol aims to do for building design what Figma did for UI design

Thu, 17 Mar 2022 16:02:16 -0000

The company is building web-based tools that can turn a 2D sketch into a 3D representation so that someone can design anything from a small building to a skyscraper.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TruEra raises $35M for its AI analytics and monitoring platform

Thu, 17 Mar 2022 08:05:18 -0000

TruEra, a startup that offers an AI quality management solution to optimize, explain and monitor machine learning models, today announced that it has raised a $25 million Series B round led by Menlo Ventures.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Plantish fishes for restaurant partners to try plant-based salmon filets

Wed, 16 Mar 2022 17:09:08 -0000

Plantish aims to get its salmon product into the first five restaurants by December 2023.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Motto to launch a new electric bike subscription service in Paris

Wed, 16 Mar 2022 08:05:14 -0000

Meet Motto, a new French startup that plans to offer electric bikes in Paris.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

inFeedo gets $12M to help employers find out how their workforce really feels

Tue, 15 Mar 2022 16:02:14 -0000

Employee sentiment can be hard to gauge, even at smaller businesses. This can lead to burnout and attrition, when managers least expect it.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pareto thinks it shouldn’t be so hard to collect lead-generation data

Tue, 15 Mar 2022 08:05:15 -0000

Pareto’s team of data experts offer actionable insights on everything from TikTok influencers to qualifying B2B sales leads.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fleet thinks companies should rent laptops instead of buying them

Mon, 14 Mar 2022 16:02:14 -0000

French startup Fleet wants to become your IT department’s best friend by managing hardware as a service. Fleet clients can rent computers and smartphones for a flat monthly fee. If there’s a hardware issue, the startup handles returns and repairs.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Zeta Surgical comes out of stealth with a $5.2M raise for image-guided surgery

Mon, 14 Mar 2022 08:05:15 -0000

Boston-based Zeta Surgical comes out of stealth this week, with the announcement of a $5.2 million seed round. The funding, led by Innospark Ventures, follows a $250,000 pre-seed featuring Y Combinator and Plug and Play Ventures.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stilt secures $114M in debt & equity to help fintechs and neobanks launch credit offerings with its API

Fri, 11 Mar 2022 16:02:14 -0000

Stilt, which started its life as a provider of financial services for immigrants, has raised $14 million in Series A funding led by Link Ventures as it expands its focus to include a B2B offering.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Zaya Care partners with payers to bring the European model of maternal care to the States

Fri, 11 Mar 2022 08:05:15 -0000

Despite the fact that we spend more on healthcare per capita, the U.S. leads the wealthy world in maternal mortality. And health inequity plays a big part.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Blink looks to simplify cloud operations management with $26M investment

Thu, 10 Mar 2022 16:02:15 -0000

Blink’s co-founders have been working in security and automation for a number of years, and they observed that there was a strong overlap between developer operations (DevOps) and security operations (SecOps) when it came to managing cloud infrastructure.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kodiak Robotics is moving autonomous freight for Ceva Logistics

Thu, 10 Mar 2022 08:05:14 -0000

Autonomous trucking startup Kodiak Robotics has partnered with Ceva Logistics to deliver freight autonomously between Dallas-Forth Worth and Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth and Oklahoma City, the company said on Wednesday, marking its first publicly announced customer.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sneaker e-commerce platform Kicks Crew raises $6M Series A

Wed, 09 Mar 2022 16:02:17 -0000

The global thirst for an up-charged pair of Yeezy’s or limited edition Jordan’s combined with a growth in a digital ecosystem is creating new opportunities, particularly in the sneaker resale market, for companies like Kicks Crew, a Los Angeles- and Hong Kong-based sneaker and apparel platform.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fundrise invests $128M into expansion of Saltbox’s warehouse, co-working spaces for entrepreneurs

Wed, 09 Mar 2022 08:05:16 -0000

Fundrise will acquire warehouses ranging in size from 50,000 to 150,000 square feet that will house the new Saltbox locations.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Better.com plans to lay off about 4,000 people this week, sources say

Tue, 08 Mar 2022 16:15:49 -0000

Online mortgage lender Better.com is poised to lay off roughly 50% of its staff of about 8,000 this week, according to sources familiar with internal happenings at the company.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Infrastructure is broken, Gecko is using robotics to help fix it

Tue, 08 Mar 2022 08:05:19 -0000

Gecko Robotics’ mission statement is “To protect today’s critical infrastructure, and give form to tomorrow’s.”

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Environmental, social and governance tracking gets easier with ESGgo

Mon, 07 Mar 2022 16:02:16 -0000

You can’t swing an ethically sourced, locally produced, sustainably raised dead fish these days without hitting a set of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) goals in a company’s board meetings or annual reports.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Volocopter raises $170M, now valued at $1.87B, to fuel the first commercial launches of its flying taxi fleet

Mon, 07 Mar 2022 08:05:18 -0000

Volocopter, the startup out of southern Germany (Bruchsal) that has been developing electric VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) aircraft and a business model for operating them in taxi-style fleets in urban areas, has picked up another big round of funding as it inches closer to its first commercial launches.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

YC-backed Blocknom wants to become the “Coinbase Earn of Southeast Asia”

Fri, 04 Mar 2022 16:02:16 -0000

Blocknom, a crypto-earning platform in Y Combinator’s current batch, has aspirations to become the “Coinbase Earn for Southeast Asia.” Today the company announced it has raised $500,000 in pre-seed funding from Y Combinator, Number Capital and Magic Fund.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Shares raises $40 million for its social investment app

Fri, 04 Mar 2022 08:05:17 -0000

Shares has closed a $40 million Series A funding round led by Valar Ventures. The company has been working on a mobile app that lets you easily buy and sell shares, but with a social twist.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Microsoft partners with VCs, accelerators to back 10,000 startups in Africa

Thu, 03 Mar 2022 16:02:16 -0000

Microsoft has today announced plans to support 10,000 startups in Africa over the next five years through a series of initiatives including partnerships with accelerators and incubators across the continent.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After raising $4 million, Emtech supports central banks across Africa, the Caribbean to deploy regulatory sandboxes

Thu, 03 Mar 2022 08:05:19 -0000

For fintechs to thrive in such a way that they remain meaningful to economies, a synergy between them and regulatory bodies is inevitable.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Enterpret launches with $4.4M, NLP technology to decipher customer feedback

Wed, 02 Mar 2022 17:04:40 -0000

Enterpret is building and deploying customer-specific models, based on customer feedback, for product development teams.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Live near an ocean? Kin Insurance’s data aims to more accurately predict home risk

Wed, 02 Mar 2022 08:05:17 -0000

By using data and technology to accurately price the risk, Kin Insurance is able to remove some of the costs of traditional insurance firms, like agents.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Payhawk becomes a unicorn as it extends its Series B

Tue, 01 Mar 2022 16:02:18 -0000

European spend management startup Payhawk has added $100 million to its Series B round that I already covered back in November.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Flashfood raises $12.3M to scale its grocery app that helps tackle retail food waste

Tue, 01 Mar 2022 08:05:17 -0000

Toronto-based Flashfood, a mobile marketplace that provides customers with access to discounted food nearing its best-by date, has raised $12.3 million in Series A funding led by S2G Ventures.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Better Dairy slices into new funding for animal-free cheeses

Mon, 28 Feb 2022 16:02:16 -0000

Better Dairy is using precision fermentation to produce cheeses that are molecularly identical to traditional dairy.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Singapore-based micromobility startup Beam secures $93M Series B, enters new markets

Mon, 28 Feb 2022 08:05:15 -0000

Beam, a Singaporean shared micromobility operator, announced today that it has raised $93 million in a Series B round to accelerate growth into new countries in Asia.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cococart sweetens the process for e-commerce companies to take orders immediately

Fri, 25 Feb 2022 17:12:11 -0000

Cococart's tools enable merchants to set up an online store in minutes with no code, no design and no app downloads.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AnyRoad helps brands measure customer experiences

Fri, 25 Feb 2022 08:05:15 -0000

Brands don’t often know everyone who is attending their big events, which leads to limited return on investment and actionable insights. AnyRoad provides that insight.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With mission to modernize data streaming, Redpanda snares $50M Series B

Thu, 24 Feb 2022 16:02:15 -0000

When Redpanda launched in 2019, company founder and CEO Alexander Gallego thought a startup devoted to modernizing streaming data should have an appropriately nerdy name.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vendr acquires Blissfully, combining its SaaS buying services with management tools

Thu, 24 Feb 2022 08:05:17 -0000

Vendr, a startup that aims to help its customers buy software products faster and at a lower cost, announced this morning it has acquired Blissfully, a startup that builds SaaS management tooling.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

thatDot launches Quine, a streaming graph engine

Wed, 23 Feb 2022 17:37:40 -0000

ThatDot, a Portland, Oregon-based startup that focuses on streaming event processing, today announced the launch of Quine, a new MIT-licensed open-source project for data engineers that combines event streaming with graph data to create what the company calls a ‘streaming graph.’

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Last mile delivery e-bike supplier Zoomo tacks on $20M to Series B

Wed, 23 Feb 2022 08:05:15 -0000

Zoomo, an Australian startup that builds utility e-bikes for delivery workers, has raised an additional $20 million in equity to close out its Series B round. In November, the company raised $60 million in equity and debt for its Series B, which it used to fund further software development and more vehicles to expand.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Agility Robotics and Playground Global join TechCrunch Live to speak on fundraising robotic delivery

Tue, 22 Feb 2022 16:02:14 -0000

Delivery has become one of the fastest growing verticals for robotics investments amid pandemic-related shutdowns. There’s been plenty of interest in the category over the years, but Covid-19 has accelerated interest on all sides of the equation.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sweden’s Volta raises $260M at a $490M valuation to get its all-electric trucks into production by the end of this year

Tue, 22 Feb 2022 08:05:16 -0000

Volta Trucks — the Swedish electric vehicle startup that believes it can build better urban delivery vehicles and other trucks that are safer and take up a smaller carbon footprint than their gas-guzzling, more clumsy, existing counterparts.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Voltron Data grabs $110M to build startup based on Apache Arrow project

Mon, 21 Feb 2022 16:02:16 -0000

Voltron Data was launched last year by former employees from NVidia, Ursa Computing, BlazingSQL and the co-founder of Apache Arrow.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

ICON raises $185M in Tiger-led round to build more homes with its 3D printing tech, now approaching $2B valuation

Mon, 21 Feb 2022 08:05:15 -0000

ICON, which creates homes using 3D printing, has raised an additional $185 million in a round led by Tiger Global Management, TechCrunch has learned exclusively.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ibex Investors’ newest fund is betting on a mobility revolution

Fri, 18 Feb 2022 17:26:11 -0000

When Ibex Investors founder and CEO Justin Borus looks at the transportation industry — and the technological changes that are coming — he sees one of the biggest opportunities in a lifetime. And with a fresh $113 million fund focused on early stage mobility companies, his firm is tapping into it. “There will be more […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Actual, which renders company ESG data in a SimCity-like platform, raises $5M seed

Fri, 18 Feb 2022 08:07:11 -0000

Trying to deal with the huge amount of data associated with how companies are going to transition to a “net zero” economy is an uphill task.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dutch raises $20M to scale its telemedicine platform for pets

Thu, 17 Feb 2022 16:02:17 -0000

Virtual veterinarian care platform Dutch has raised $20 million in Series A funding led by Forerunner Ventures and Eclipse Ventures.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Genesis raises $200M in Tiger-led round to grow its finance-focused low-code application platform

Thu, 17 Feb 2022 08:05:16 -0000

Genesis, which has built a low-code/no-code application platform specifically for the financial markets, announced today it has landed a $200 million investment led by Tiger Global Management.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Employment Hero raises $181M AUD at $1.25B AUD valuation, acquires KeyPay

Wed, 16 Feb 2022 16:02:16 -0000

Human resources platform Employment Hero announced today it has raised $181 million AUD (or about $129 million USD), putting it at unicorn valuation in Australian dollars of $1.25 billion.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Scrona has big manufacturing plans for its tiny 3D printing

Wed, 16 Feb 2022 08:05:14 -0000

Scrona AG caused a minor splash all the way back in 2015 when it snagged a Guinness World Record for the “smallest inkjet-printed color image.”

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tropic takes in more capital as demand for software procurement savings continues

Tue, 15 Feb 2022 16:02:15 -0000

Tropic’s technology brings a click-and-approve approach to buying and managing all of that software.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Insify is modernizing insurance, but this time for SMEs

Tue, 15 Feb 2022 08:05:16 -0000

Meet Insify, an insurtech startup that raised a $17 million (€15 million) Series A round led by Accel. The company wants to modernize the insurance market.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lung-health startup Respira Labs inhales $2.8M to help respiration patients breathe easier

Mon, 14 Feb 2022 16:02:16 -0000

Respira Labs, a medical technology company specializing in respiratory care, which first unveiled its product to the world last year, successfully raised $1 million in funding and an additional $1.8 million in grants to continue building its acoustic resonance technology to assess lung function and changes therein.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

RedRoute wants answering customer service calls to be as easy as using ‘Alexa’

Mon, 14 Feb 2022 08:05:14 -0000

It takes as little as 30 minutes to get RedRoute set up, and customers can try the software with zero upfront costs.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Remote work and events startup twine acquires YC-backed Glimpse to launch on Zoom

Fri, 11 Feb 2022 16:02:15 -0000

Twine, a company that provides networking tools for virtual events and remote teams, will soon bring its services to Zoom thanks to its just-closed acquisition of the Y Combinator-backed startup, Glimpse, which had developed a “speech matching” platform designed for virtual events.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Neo.tax raises $10M to help startups access R&D tax credits

Fri, 11 Feb 2022 08:05:15 -0000

For most people, mention of the word “taxes” conjures up unpleasant things like tedious processes, mountains of paperwork and shelling out a lot of money to the government.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Republic’s metaverse real estate arm spins off, rebrands as Everyrealm

Thu, 10 Feb 2022 16:02:18 -0000

Over $500 million worth of real estate was sold on the top four metaverse platforms in 2021, data shows.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Shift5 raises $50M to defend transport networks from cyberattacks

Thu, 10 Feb 2022 08:05:14 -0000

You might not think much about the train or the airplane that gets you from one place to another, but behind any transportation link is a vast sprawling network of electronics, devices, and data that keep trains on the tracks and planes in the sky.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cooks Venture, the chicken company with big dreams, eats up $50M

Wed, 09 Feb 2022 16:02:17 -0000

Chicken is the most consumed meat in the United States and the world. And yet, the system in place to breed and feed and raise all this chicken is incredibly detrimental to our overall wellbeing.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Silvr wants to bring revenue-based financing to Europe

Wed, 09 Feb 2022 08:05:17 -0000

French startup Silvr has raised a $20.6 million (€18 million) Series A funding round and has opened a $128 million (€112 million) debt line for its activities.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Endgame grabs another cash infusion as product-led growth momentum builds

Tue, 08 Feb 2022 16:02:15 -0000

Endgame connects the dots between product usage and sales opportunities to put employees in the driver's seat of the software they like to use instead of a top-down approach.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bumble makes its first acquisition with deal for French Gen Z dating app, Fruitz

Tue, 08 Feb 2022 08:05:14 -0000

Dating app company Bumble, Inc. is making its first acquisition with today’s news that it’s adding the fast-growing French dating app Fruitz to its family of applications.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GM Ventures invests in startup building fast charge-capable battery tech

Mon, 07 Feb 2022 16:02:15 -0000

Soelect, a battery technology startup based in North Carolina, has closed an $11 million Series A round. It plans to use the fresh capital to scale its fast charge-capable anode technologies that might enable the next generation of batteries for electric vehicles.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Over 500 mobile apps are now using the term ‘metaverse’ to attract new users

Mon, 07 Feb 2022 08:05:14 -0000

A true “metaverse” may not yet exist, but that hasn’t stopped marketers from adopting the buzzword to promote their apps and games on mobile app stores.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

No plastic clamshells here: Zero Grocery aims to eliminate unnecessary plastic in grocery delivery

Fri, 04 Feb 2022 16:02:15 -0000

Even small changes made by individuals to reduce plastic waste can add up to a big positive impact on the environment, founder and CEO Zuleyka Strasner said.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Scale AI gets into the synthetic data game

Fri, 04 Feb 2022 08:07:46 -0000

Scale AI’s path to becoming a $7.3 billion company was paved in real data from images, text, voice and video.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Waldo raises $15 million for its automated mobile testing service

Thu, 03 Feb 2022 16:02:16 -0000

Waldo has raised $15 million for its ‘no code’ automated testing tool. Mobile development teams using Waldo can set up tests without writing a line of scripting code.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Whose Your Landlord raises $2.1M for its rental review and data service

Thu, 03 Feb 2022 08:05:16 -0000

Whose Your Landlord,1 or WYL, announced a $2.1 million seed round today led by Black Operator Ventures, better known as BlackOps Ventures.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Framework looks to expand repairability beyond the laptop

Wed, 02 Feb 2022 16:02:16 -0000

Last November, Apple announced the launch of Self Service Repair — a surprising addition for a company that has notoriously lacked such capabilities. Those changes didn’t happen in a vacuum, of course. The president and Congress have both been pushing to open the so-called right to repair.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jellyfish aims to ‘do for engineering what Salesforce did for sales’

Wed, 02 Feb 2022 08:05:19 -0000

Jellyfish essentially pioneered the term “engineering management” to provide a software tool for insight into engineering organizations, including what they are working on and how they operate.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

VendorPM raises $6M to scale its marketplace for property managers and service vendors

Tue, 01 Feb 2022 16:02:14 -0000

VendorPM, a Toronto-based marketplace that connects property managers with reputable vendors, has raised $6 million in seed funding led by Bessemer Venture Partners.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dashworks is a search engine for your company’s sprawling internal knowledge

Tue, 01 Feb 2022 08:05:14 -0000

As a company grows, the amount of important information employees need to keep track of inevitably grows right along with it. And, as your tech stack gets more complicated, that information ends up split up across more places.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rise is a new calendar app with a scheduling engine for teams

Mon, 31 Jan 2022 16:02:15 -0000

Meet Rise, a new startup working on a calendar app that is specifically designed for team work.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

bloss, which connects expectant parents with experts, raises £1M pre-seed led by Antler

Mon, 31 Jan 2022 08:05:16 -0000

bloss is a UK startup that connects would-be or existing parents to pre-vetted parenting experts.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After QuizUp and Trivia Royale, Thor Fridriksson’s next act is a mobile MMO

Fri, 28 Jan 2022 16:02:15 -0000

QuizUp founder Thor Fridriksson is at it again. The Icelandic serial entrepreneur is two-for-two in creating viral mobile games, but has thus far struck out in turning those into viable businesses.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Singapore-based edtech Cialfo gets $40M led by Square Peg and SEEK

Fri, 28 Jan 2022 08:05:16 -0000

Applying to colleges is one of the hardest parts of high school, especially for students who want to study abroad. Cialfo wants to make the process easier.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Identity verification provider Veriff raises $100M Series C co-led by Tiger Global and Alkeon

Thu, 27 Jan 2022 16:02:16 -0000

Identity verification provider Veriff, has raised a $100 million Series C round co-led by Tiger Global and Alkeon. They were joined by existing investors IVP and Accel, bringing Veriff’s total funding to date to $200 million.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Atrium grabs fresh capital to help sales teams meet their quota

Thu, 27 Jan 2022 08:05:15 -0000

Is sales management having a “Money Ball moment?”

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Electric Sheep raises $21.5M to make off-the-shelf lawnmowers autonomous

Wed, 26 Jan 2022 16:02:15 -0000

IRobot announced Terra three years ago this week. After making some tough internal decisions to delay launch back in 2020, the robot mower is still MIA.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wandelbots raises another $84 million to teach robots without code

Wed, 26 Jan 2022 08:05:16 -0000

Dresden, Germany-based Wandelbots has raised a healthy sum in the years since it appeared on our Disrupt Berlin stage, way back in 2017.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mark Cuban on his online pharmacy: ‘Our KPI is how much we can reduce the stress of our patients’

Tue, 25 Jan 2022 16:02:15 -0000

Mark Cuban’s announcement over the weekend of an online pharmacy selling over a hundred generic drugs at near cost was totally unexpected but will likely be welcomed by millions who struggle to afford medication.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cana Technology raises glass to new capital as it readies beverage printer for market

Tue, 25 Jan 2022 08:05:15 -0000

Cana focused on identifying the basic set of ingredients, basically deconstructing beverages to figure out what makes it taste like a certain drink.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AccuWeather acquires air pollution startup Plume Labs

Mon, 24 Jan 2022 16:02:14 -0000

Weather forecast company AccuWeather is acquiring French startup Plume Labs —Â terms of the deal are undisclosed. Originally founded in 2014, Plume Labs has gradually expanded its product offering to offer three different products focused on air pollution data.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Metalenz PolarEyes upgrades digital sensing with polarized light

Mon, 24 Jan 2022 08:05:14 -0000

Tech sees differently, and can fuse multiple types of data we can’t even perceive: lidar, IR, ultrasonic, and so on. Metalenz, maker of highly compact “2D” cameras for advanced sensing, hopes to bring polarized light into the mix for security and safety.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Weavit’s new app wants to be a ‘Shazam for your thoughts’

Fri, 21 Jan 2022 22:11:45 -0000

A new app called Weavit wants to be a “Shazam for your thoughts” — that is, it wants to offer people a different way to quickly capture their thoughts in a note-taking tool with a press of a button.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tom Brady’s buzzy celebrity NFT startup Autograph banks $170M from Silicon Valley’s top crypto investors

Fri, 21 Jan 2022 08:05:14 -0000

Autograph, an NFT agency co-founded by athlete Tom Brady with a particularly deep bench of star power, has banked new funding from crypto investors who hope the platform can bring a new generation of celebrities and their fans into the fold of crypto collectibles.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nowsta takes in fresh capital to show some tech love for hourly workforces

Thu, 20 Jan 2022 16:02:14 -0000

Nowsta’s web and mobile app rolls workforce management tools into an all-in-one resource that includes an on-demand labor marketplace connecting employers with a skilled pool of workers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ancient8 secures $4M in seed to democratize social and financial access in the metaverse

Thu, 20 Jan 2022 08:05:16 -0000

Ancient8, Vietnam’s blockchain gaming guild, develops a community and software platform to enable everyone to play P2E (play-to-earn) games and build the metaverse while earning rewards.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

First EV mass transit bus by Swedish-Kenyan startup Opibus begins operation amidst plans for regional launch by 2023

Wed, 19 Jan 2022 16:02:14 -0000

The first electric bus by Swedish-Kenyan EV startup, Opibus, has hit Kenya’s roads marking the beginning of the company’s venture into the mass transit industry. Opibus first announced plans to roll out electric public transport buses last year when it raised $7.5 million in a pre-Series A round.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Space startup Wyvern raises $4.5M and joins YC’s latest cohort

Wed, 19 Jan 2022 08:05:14 -0000

A Canadian startup working at the cutting edge of satellite imaging has raised $4.5 million across a combination of a $2.25 million seed round, and $2.25 million from a combined pre-seed and government funding.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Spendesk is the fifth French startup to reach unicorn status this month

Tue, 18 Jan 2022 16:02:16 -0000

Fintech startup Spendesk is announcing that it has raised an extension to its Series C round. Tiger Global is investing $114 million (€100 million) in the startup.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Warehouse robotics system Exotec raises $335 million

Tue, 18 Jan 2022 08:05:16 -0000

French startup Exotec has raised a $335 million Series D round in a new round of funding led by Goldman Sachs’ Growth Equity business. Following today’s investment, the company has reached a valuation of $2 billion.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Juro draws $23M into its browser-based contract automation platform

Mon, 17 Jan 2022 16:02:15 -0000

London-based legaltech startup Juro has grabbed $23 million in Series B funding for its browser-based contract automation platform.Â In total the startup has raised $31.5M since being founded back in 2016.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Payment orchestration platform Gr4vy pulls in another $15M in a Series A extension

Mon, 17 Jan 2022 08:05:14 -0000

Retailers often build their own “orchestration” platforms for payment processing and routing, but these can be complex to maintain.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Meet Paysail, the startup making B2B payments faster using crypto

Fri, 14 Jan 2022 16:02:15 -0000

Companies use invoices to pay for many of their major costs, ranging from materials to contract work.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tiger Global backs Accrue Savings’ ‘save now, pay later’ approach to consumer purchases

Fri, 14 Jan 2022 08:05:15 -0000

When the consumer opens an account and hits savings milestones for products they want to buy from their favorite brands, they can receive cash contributions from the brands.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Shield bags $15M Series A to address surging demand for its AI-powered communication compliance platform

Thu, 13 Jan 2022 16:02:13 -0000

Over the past two years, since the pandemic hit, there has been a sharp rise in financial crime compliance costs, nearing $50 billion in 2021, up 58% compared to 2019, in the U.S. and Canada.Â Â

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Assemble scores $5M seed to bring order and equity to compensation

Thu, 13 Jan 2022 08:05:16 -0000

Every company has to decide what to pay their employees and track that compensation in some way, often in spreadsheets and across disparate payroll, finance and HR systems.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Headspace Health acquires AI-powered mental health and wellness company Sayana

Wed, 12 Jan 2022 16:02:14 -0000

Headspace Health has acquired Sayana, an AI-powered mental health and wellness company, for an undisclosed amount. Headspace Health says the acquisition of the San Francisco-based company will expand its ability to provide personalized self-care to its users.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Flush with new capital, Foxtrot’s ‘convenience store of the future’ is coming to a location near you

Wed, 12 Jan 2022 08:05:14 -0000

Foxtrot is reimagining the convenience store experience by seeking out the best food items by local artisans along with its core offerings of coffee, ready-to-eat cafe meals and wine.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Arcade launches ‘try before you buy’ demo capabilities with $2.5M in new capital

Tue, 11 Jan 2022 16:02:16 -0000

The company's technology makes it easier for companies to create demonstration videos, called “arcades,” that walk people through how their tools work.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Career Karma lands $40M to evolve into an edtech employee benefit

Tue, 11 Jan 2022 08:05:15 -0000

Career Karma raised its first millions off of a pitch that resonates with anyone who has ever googled coding bootcamps: a navigation tool for aspiring students and working professionals.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Parrot, a tool for digitizing Mexico’s restaurants, takes in $9.5M

Mon, 10 Jan 2022 16:02:16 -0000

ParrotConnect is a point-of-sale software for restaurants enabling them to digitize and take advantage of the home delivery boom to accelerate growth.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

FanDuel founder and Sequoia bet on Spanish-language fantasy sports app Draftea

Mon, 10 Jan 2022 08:05:16 -0000

Founder Alán Jaime Misrahi grew up devoted to soccer, eventually playing in Mexico’s third division. While he didn’t necessarily make it to the “big leagues” playing the sport, his new company Draftea aims to win over the 350 million sports fans in Latin America.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Startups at CES showed that age-tech can help everyone

Fri, 07 Jan 2022 16:05:46 -0000

Age-tech startups at this year’s CES demonstrated the potential breadth of the sector. If tech can help an older person live more comfortably, it can also help out a lot of other people.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Zuddl raises $13M for its simple but powerful virtual events platform

Fri, 07 Jan 2022 08:05:15 -0000

Will the world ever go back to big in-person events? Of course. Eventually. CES already moved in that direction this year, for better or worse.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Doosan announces $33.7M raise, as it introduces a robotic camera system at CES

Thu, 06 Jan 2022 16:02:17 -0000

Doosan Robotics this week announced $33.7 million in funding, led Praxis Capital Partners and Korea Investment Partners. The fundraising news arrives as the Seoul-based company shows off its wares at CES in Las Vegas.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

New pet tech at CES treats dogs and cats like the complex beings they are

Thu, 06 Jan 2022 08:05:17 -0000

There’s always fun tech for pet owners at CES, and 2022 is no different.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

DriveU.auto to power remote piloting of EasyMile’s autonomous shuttles, Coco’s sidewalk robots

Wed, 05 Jan 2022 16:02:14 -0000

Autonomous shuttle company EasyMile and sidewalk robot delivery startup Coco are integrating DriveU.auto’s teleoperation and connectivity platform into their operations, DriveU.auto, an Israeli startup that came out of stealth last year, they announced at CES.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Refinery Ventures’ second fund aimed at getting startups to Series A

Wed, 05 Jan 2022 08:05:13 -0000

Refinery focuses on “early scale” companies, a term the firm uses to describe companies that secured a seed, but need that “oomph” to get it to Series A.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Smart contact lens startup Mojo Vision partners with Adidas and other sports brands

Tue, 04 Jan 2022 16:02:15 -0000

For the past few years, Mojo Vision has had a small presence at CES, offering up glimpses into the potential of its augmented reality contact lenses. Every year, the picture seems a little closer, if still far away.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Smarter Health gets $5.15M SGD to reduce healthcare costs in Southeast Asia

Tue, 04 Jan 2022 08:05:14 -0000

Organizing information from providers, insurers and patients not only takes a lot of time, but increases private healthcare costs.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AIMMO bags $12M Series A to advance data labeling technology

Mon, 03 Jan 2022 16:02:14 -0000

Most artificial intelligence models are trained through supervised learning, meaning that humans must label raw data. Data labeling is a critical part of automating artificial intelligence and machine learning model, but at the same time, it can be time-consuming and tedious work.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Southeast Asian startups to watch in 2022

Mon, 03 Jan 2022 08:07:36 -0000

As someone who covers Southeast Asia startups and funding stories, the best word I can think of to describe 2021 is “whoa!”

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Voyant raises $15M to scale production of its tiny, inexpensive lidar tech

Fri, 31 Dec 2021 08:05:15 -0000

The future of lidar is uncertain unless, as Voyant hopes to do, its price and size are reduced to fractions of their current values.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tech-led biofuel startup Koko Networks launches new consumer goods business in Kenya

Thu, 30 Dec 2021 16:02:14 -0000

Koko Networks, a Kenya-based bio-fuel technology enterprise has extended its business to cover other fast-moving consumer goods, through a new tech platform that will capitalize on its established distribution networks in low-income neighborhoods.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TuSimple completes its first driverless autonomous truck run on public roads

Thu, 30 Dec 2021 08:05:14 -0000

Autonomous trucking startup TuSimple has completed its first autonomous truck run on open public roads without a human in the vehicle, according to the company.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

India’s GlobalBees joins unicorn club for its Thrasio-like house of brands

Wed, 29 Dec 2021 16:02:14 -0000

GlobalBees, which raised one of the largest Series A financing rounds in India earlier this year, has entered the unicorn club as the New Delhi-headquartered firm scales its Thrasio-like house of brands.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nigerian edtech startup Teesas secures $1.6 million in pre-seed round, to launch tutor marketplace, expand in East, Southern, Francophone Africa in 2022

Wed, 29 Dec 2021 08:05:15 -0000

After seven years in the production of electronic gadgets, under his company Imose Technologies, Osayi Izedonmwen took leave to explore an idea that he had toyed with for some time.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Indian neobank Jupiter raises $86 million to launch lending and wealth management services

Tue, 28 Dec 2021 16:02:16 -0000

Industry veteran Jitendra Gupta’s consumer-focused neobankÂ Jupiter has raised about $86 million in a new financing round as the Bangalore-based startup gears up to offer its customers lending and wealth management services.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Automation Anywhere expands into process discovery with FortressIQ acquisition

Mon, 27 Dec 2021 16:02:16 -0000

Automation Anywhere, which is best known for its robotic process automation (RPA) software, plans to expand the platform. This morning, the company announced that it intends to acquire process discovery startup FortressIQ.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Skio raises $3.7M to help brands on Shopify sell subscriptions

Mon, 27 Dec 2021 08:05:14 -0000

Skio, a startup that aims to take the pain out of selling subscriptions for brands on Shopify, has raised $3.7 million in a seed funding round. Kennan Davison, an engineer who previously worked at Hulu and Pinterest, founded the startup in April.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With $36 million Series C, Brazil’s Ambar hopes to make civil construction more efficient

Fri, 24 Dec 2021 08:05:15 -0000

Brazilian construction tech startup Ambar announced it has raised a large Series C round of R$204 million, approximately $36 million, to boost the digitization arm of its business.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TikTok rival Triller to go public via merger with SeaChange International

Thu, 23 Dec 2021 08:05:15 -0000

Short video app Triller is set to go public via a reverse merger with video-tech company SeaChange International, the two companies announced on Wednesday. The combined entity will be valued at approximately $5 billion.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ampla raises $40M Series A for its business of providing credit to commerce brands

Wed, 22 Dec 2021 16:02:14 -0000

Ampla Technologies, a startup which provides financing to small-to-medium sized consumer-facing businesses, announced today it has raised $40 million in a Series A round of funding co-led by VMG Partners and Forerunner Ventures.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Airtable acqui-hires Walrus.ai’s founding team

Wed, 22 Dec 2021 08:05:14 -0000

Airtable today announced that it quietly acquired Walrus.ai, a no-code software testing platform, earlier this year. ‘Acquired’ may be overstating things a bit, though.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rocket Companies buys Truebill for $1.275B

Tue, 21 Dec 2021 16:02:17 -0000

Rocket Companies announced this morning that it will purchase Truebill for $1.275 billion in cash. Rocket Companies is best known for its Rocket Mortgage product, while Truebill is a consumer-facing app that helps consumers manage subscriptions, automate savings and budget.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Melbourne-based edtech startup Vivi raises $20M to accelerate overseas expansion in race to reach 1M classrooms

Tue, 21 Dec 2021 08:05:15 -0000

Australian edtech start-up Vivi has raised $20 million from education investor Quad Partners, funds that it intends to use to improve its platform, upgrade its operational infrastructure, and hire more sales and marketing teams in the Americas, Europe, and Asia.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GDevelop wants to make game development accessible

Mon, 20 Dec 2021 16:02:15 -0000

GDevelop is a game engine that lets you develop a video game without any specific development experience. While the ‘no-code’ trend has been quite popular this year, GDevelop has been around for a few years already.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tiger Global backs fintech CreditBook in first Pakistan investment

Mon, 20 Dec 2021 08:05:17 -0000

Two years ago, a group of entrepreneurs in Pakistan began surveying the market to understand why financial services weren’t reaching the majority of merchants in the world’s fifth most populous nation.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Z Fellows wants to give you $10K to launch a crypto startup

Fri, 17 Dec 2021 16:02:14 -0000

Capital may help someone take the jump into entrepreneurship, but what about the activation energy to let them think that big in the first place?

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gopuff, the instant grocery startup, is raising $1.5B in a convertible note at up to a $40B valuation, ahead of going public as soon as mid-2022

Fri, 17 Dec 2021 08:05:16 -0000

Instant grocery — where urban-dwelling consumers buy food and other essentials and can get them delivered in 15 minutes or less — continues to be a big business.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Taxdoo raises $64M to expand from tax compliance to a wider set of financial tools for e-commerce companies

Thu, 16 Dec 2021 16:02:14 -0000

With e-commerce becoming increasingly globalized, a company called Taxdoo, which builds API-based tools to help e-commerce companies with tax compliance and other accounting needs, is announcing a round of funding.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Quo.com raises $7.2M seed round led by SignalFire to broaden access to mortgages

Thu, 16 Dec 2021 08:05:15 -0000

Almost three million Americans a year are denied a mortgage. Most don’t even know where to start or understand what would qualify them. The system has become complex and confusing, causing people to never make it onto the housing ladder at all.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Crypto company Anchorage raises $350 million at $3 billion valuation

Wed, 15 Dec 2021 16:02:15 -0000

Less than a year after raising an $80 million Series C round, Anchorage is announcing that it has raised a $350 million Series D round. With today’s funding round, the company has reached a valuation of more than $3 billion.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pair Eyewear focuses on adult glasses as it takes in $60M

Wed, 15 Dec 2021 08:05:16 -0000

If Pair’s announcement is any indication, the direct-to-consumer eyewear market is doing quite well.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Weather-focused IBISA raises seed round to back its microinsurance solutions for low-income small farmers

Tue, 14 Dec 2021 16:02:15 -0000

Agricultural microinsurance startup IBISA raised a seed round of approximately $1.70 million led by London-based Insurtech Gateway, with participation from Rockstart’s AgriFood fund and others.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Brand incubator Harry’s Labs makes acquisition of D2C deodorant brand LumÄ“

Tue, 14 Dec 2021 08:05:15 -0000

Prior to agreeing to acquire LumÄ“, Harry’s had looked at over 100 companies for possible M&A opportunities.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

LiveKit co-founder believes the metaverse needs open infrastructure

Mon, 13 Dec 2021 16:02:14 -0000

The company is developing a free, open source infrastructure for building and scaling real-time audio and video experiences in applications.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Anakin’s pricing tool gives e-commerce companies jump on competitors

Mon, 13 Dec 2021 08:05:14 -0000

The company launched its tool in March that help e-commerce stores and brands increase their revenue using pricing, products and trends data from other companies.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

First Resonance brings its space-scale manufacturing OS to hardware makers with $14M A round

Fri, 10 Dec 2021 16:15:07 -0000

First Resonance makes software for making hardware. The company’s Ion platform provides an all-in-one option for anyone who has to manage manufacturing lines, supply chains, engineering and design, among other things.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Deed raises $10M for its workplace giving platform

Fri, 10 Dec 2021 08:05:15 -0000

As I wrote earlier this year, Deed‘s mission is a clearcut one: take the employee giving/charity/volunteer program that many big companies have, and make it better.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Petra emerges from stealth with $30M raised for tunnel-boring robot, Swifty

Thu, 09 Dec 2021 16:02:16 -0000

Petra emerged from stealth this week, announcing a $30 million Series A.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Black Ops Ventures launches to invest in Black founders

Thu, 09 Dec 2021 08:05:14 -0000

The venture capital market is on a tear, pumping capital into a host of startups around the world. It’s generally considered a great time to raise capital and build a technology-centered, disruptive business. For some, that is.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lydia grabs another $100 million for its European financial super app

Wed, 08 Dec 2021 16:02:14 -0000

Just a few weeks after announcing stock and crypto trading, French fintech startup Lydia is announcing that it has raised a $100 million Series C round. With this funding round, the startup has reached a unicorn valuation, which means that it is currently valued at more than $1 billion.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ursa Major raises $85M to disrupt the vertically-integrated launch sector

Wed, 08 Dec 2021 08:05:14 -0000

The launch sector is getting crowded. Many of the biggest players are building their own rocket engines, but space startup Ursa Major is betting that many new launch providers would rather outsource the engine than build it in-house.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Supplier, grocer connector Clubbi secures $4.5M to expand in Brazil

Tue, 07 Dec 2021 16:02:13 -0000

Clubbi launched in October 2020 with 24-hour delivery, no minimum order quantity and flexible payment terms. It is currently working with 1,000 grocery stores in Rio de Janeiro.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Berlin’s Everphone raises $200M in debt and Series C equity

Tue, 07 Dec 2021 08:05:14 -0000

Berlin-based smartphone-as-a-service provider Everphone has topped up with $65 million in a Series C equity raise in addition to taking $135 million in debt financing — for a total raise of $200 million.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TamatemGames raises $11M Series B led by PUBG maker Krafton

Mon, 06 Dec 2021 16:02:14 -0000

Jordan-based mobile game publisher TamatemGamesÂ announced today it has raised $11 million in a Series B led byÂ KRAFTON, a South Korean game developer behind PUBG, marking its first investment in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Umamicart bags $6M to deliver traditional Asian ingredients right to your home

Mon, 06 Dec 2021 08:05:15 -0000

Umamicart aims to be a one-stop shop for home cooks, offering staple products and pantry essentials, recipe inspirations and occasion-specific kits.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Judging by the future, not the past, Stride takes steps to turn student finance upside down

Fri, 03 Dec 2021 16:02:14 -0000

If you’re trying to get a mortgage or an auto loan, banks will put on their judging glasses and look into your past. Makes sense; it’s a reasonably reliable indicator as to whether you’ll be able to repay your loans or not.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Social app IRL makes its first acquisition with deal for digital nutrition company AaBeZe Labs

Fri, 03 Dec 2021 08:05:16 -0000

IRL, the SoftBank-backed social app and recent unicorn, is today announcing its first acquisition.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Toronto-based VFX startup MARZ raises $5.3M to develop AI technology solutions

Thu, 02 Dec 2021 16:02:17 -0000

Technology and visual effects startup Monsters Aliens Robots Zombies (MARZ) has raised $5.3 million in Series A funding. The investment was led by Round13 Captial with participation from Rhino Ventures and Harlo Equity Partners.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Better.com gets $1B cash infusion in new agreement with its SPAC backers

Thu, 02 Dec 2021 08:05:15 -0000

Digital mortgage lender Better.com, which announced in March that it was going public via a SPAC, is getting a cash infusion from its backers sooner than expected.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bitly makes first acquisition with QR code leader Egoditor

Wed, 01 Dec 2021 16:02:14 -0000

The acquisition is in line with Bitly’s goal of becoming a global SaaS company that enables organizations to engage with customers and for people to connect with digital experiences.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Partech raises $750 million growth fund

Tue, 30 Nov 2021 16:02:14 -0000

Paris-based VC firm Partech has announced the closing of the fundraising of its new growth fund. Partech Growth II is the firm’s second growth fund. And the team managed to raise $750 million.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Quick-commerce startup YallaMarket eyes Saudi Arabia and Qatar next year after U.A.E expansion

Tue, 30 Nov 2021 08:05:16 -0000

YallaMarket, a Dubai-based quick-commerce startup, is planning to expand within the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E), and to enter Saudi Arabia and Qatar next year, to tap the appetite for speedy and convenient grocery shopping.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pyxo wants to build the biggest network of reusable food containers

Mon, 29 Nov 2021 16:02:14 -0000

Meet Pyxo, a French startup that has been thinking a lot about single-use plastic food packaging for the past three years.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jefa raises $2 million for its challenger bank for women in LATAM

Mon, 29 Nov 2021 08:05:16 -0000

Fintech startup Jefa has raised a $2 million seed round to build a challenger bank with a product specifically designed for women living in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TabTrader raises $5.8M for a mobile app that aggregates crypto exchange data

Fri, 26 Nov 2021 16:02:17 -0000

As many of the top cryptocurrencies seem to temporarily stabilize near all-time highs, users looking to speculate on tokens that are a bit more volatile are searching across exchanges to find deals.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Attio wants to build the CRM for the Airtable generation

Wed, 24 Nov 2021 16:02:14 -0000

Meet Attio, a new CRM for people who are familiar with modern collaboration tools, such as Airtable, Notion and Zapier.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Arc hooks another $30M in investment as EV interest spills over into electric boats

Wed, 24 Nov 2021 08:05:16 -0000

Arc is not even a year old and the electric boat startup has attracted investment from top VC firm Andreessen Horowitz, entertainment industry big wigs and now a $30 million raise led by an early Tesla executive who led the automaker’s early manufacturing efforts.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Payhawk raises $112M to better compete in the heated corporate card race

Tue, 23 Nov 2021 16:02:16 -0000

If you’ve followed corporate card and spend management startups in the U.S., you might be familiar with Brex and Ramp. Payhawk is also offering an all-in-one financial management solution for businesses, but with a focus on European customers. And the company just raised a $112 million Series B round at a $570 million valuation.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wave brings some science and sanity to the business of mental health

Tue, 23 Nov 2021 08:05:16 -0000

The kids aren’t alright. According to the founders of Wave, 75% of Gen Z is struggling with their emotional well-being.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Deliverr bags another giant round as it works to move inventory closer to customers

Mon, 22 Nov 2021 16:02:16 -0000

E-commerce fulfillment is certainly having a moment.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Food tech company Amara gobbles up $12M for its nutrient-dense infant products

Mon, 22 Nov 2021 08:05:18 -0000

This year, Amara produced its Yogurt Smoothie Melts, which CEO Jessica Sturzenegger touts as “the only melt-in-mouth snacks for babies and toddlers without any added sugar.”

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Workday to acquire external workforce management startup VNDLY for $510M

Fri, 19 Nov 2021 16:02:14 -0000

Workday announced this afternoon that it intends to acquire VNDLY, a Mason, OH startup that helps companies manage external workforce personnel for $510 million.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Eatron, which makes ‘intelligentautomotive software’, raises $11M Series A led by MMC

Fri, 19 Nov 2021 08:05:15 -0000

An electric vehicle is, essentially, just ‘software on wheels’, and requires lots of moving parts, not physical but, of course, virtual. That software needs to continually optimize the performance, efficiency, and safety of the EV it’s running.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kandji pulls in $100M Series C on $800M valuation, up 10x since last year

Thu, 18 Nov 2021 16:02:17 -0000

Kandji, the startup building an Apple device management business, has been doing pretty well for itself with rapidly growing revenue, a fat valuation and lots of investment capital rolling in.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Practice Ignition lands $50M to scale globally

Thu, 18 Nov 2021 08:05:15 -0000

Practice ignition, an Australia-based client engagement and commerce platform for professional service businesses, has raised $50 million (65 million AUD) in a Series C round to accelerate its growth and expand globally. It brings the startup’s total raised to $75 million, said Guy Pearson, CEO and founder of Practice Ignition.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

LiveOak Venture Partners takes in $210M aimed at Texas entrepreneurs

Wed, 17 Nov 2021 16:02:17 -0000

The firm touts this fund as “the largest institutional Texas-focused, early-stage venture fund in the past decade” at a time when funding to companies within the state is at an all-time high.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Credit-focused company Upgrade raises $280 million at $6 billion valuation

Wed, 17 Nov 2021 08:05:15 -0000

Fintech company Upgrade has raised a Series F round just four months after raising its previous round. Today, the company is announcing $280 million in new funding at a $6 billion pre-money valuation. In August, the company announced its Series E round — $105 million at a $3.325 billion valuation.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Real estate marketing software provider Luxury Presence raises $25.9M in a Bessemer-led Series B

Tue, 16 Nov 2021 16:02:14 -0000

Luxury Presence, a startup selling marketing software to real estate brokerages, announced today it has raised $25.9 million for its Series B round. Bessemer Venture Partners led the round alongside fellow existing investors Toba Capital and Switch Ventures.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lifen raises $58 million to digitize the healthcare industry

Tue, 16 Nov 2021 08:05:17 -0000

French startup Lifen has raised a $58 million (€50 million) funding round. The startup has been working on digital infrastructure for the healthcare industry, starting with medical reports. 600 healthcare facilities are using the product to send and receive medical documents.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Doola raises $3M to help global founders launch an LLC in the US

Mon, 15 Nov 2021 16:02:16 -0000

Doola, a startup that aims to help global entrepreneurs form a U.S. business, has raised $3 million in seed funding. Doola actually started its life in 2020 as StartPack as a pivot from another startup called Standups.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Foody cooks up marketplace for culinary creators

Mon, 15 Nov 2021 08:05:19 -0000

Husband-and-wife co-founders Daniel and Brenna Stitzel have developed a way for foodies to monetize their culinary creations.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Weflow pours pre-seed funding into tool that makes updating Salesforce faster

Fri, 12 Nov 2021 16:02:17 -0000

Salesforce users tend to have a similar complaint in the amount of time it takes to update records, but Weflow aims to conquer this form of “Salesforce fatigue.”

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Collectible card trading platform Alt raises $75M as it eyes other asset categories and preps its mobile launch

Fri, 12 Nov 2021 08:05:17 -0000

When we last checked in with Alt back in March, it had just raised $31 millionÂ for its alternative asset platform — a platform, thus far, used primarily by those looking to research, trade, and securely store high-value sports cards.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

E-commerce logistics startup Hive buzzes following $34M investment

Thu, 11 Nov 2021 16:02:15 -0000

Hive levels the logistics playing field by streamlining fulfillment so that DTC companies get the same inventory management, cost structure and customer notifications that big brands use.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Subscription carbon offsetting platform Ecologi hits $8M total raised, includes General Catalyst

Thu, 11 Nov 2021 08:05:15 -0000

People subscribe to music so why wouldn’t they subscribe to carbon offsetting to alleviate their conscience about the climate crisis?

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

igniteXL Ventures closes debut fund to target ‘$5T oversight’ in beauty, wellness

Wed, 10 Nov 2021 16:02:15 -0000

General Partner Claire Chang’s plan is to deploy capital into 30 new investments and keep some back for follow-on investments.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Health tech startup Color raises $100M at a $4.6B valuation

Wed, 10 Nov 2021 08:05:18 -0000

Health tech startup Color has raised $100 million in Series E funding, bringing the company’s valuation to $4.6 billion.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Point One Navigation raises $10M to bring its precise location tech to all vehicles

Tue, 09 Nov 2021 16:02:18 -0000

Drivers who spend any time commuting in a new car or truck have likely experienced ping ponging — a phenomenon when a vehicle equipped with an advanced driver assistance system has trouble centering itself in a lane and bops back and forth until it finds that sweet spot.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HawkEye 360 raises $145M to scale space-based radio frequency data and analytics

Tue, 09 Nov 2021 08:05:18 -0000

The biggest players in the Earth observation industry use imaging satellites to deliver intelligence and analytics, but startup HawkEye 360 is taking a different tack.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fidelity, Visa and Kingsway back South African fintech JUMO in $120M round

Mon, 08 Nov 2021 16:02:15 -0000

JUMO, a South Africa- and London-based company that offers financial services to entrepreneurs and businesses in emerging markets, has raised $120 million in a new round of funding led by Fidelity Management & Research Company.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Guardian’s Collective wants to make parenting easier, or at least less alone

Mon, 08 Nov 2021 08:05:16 -0000

While few would argue over the need for a tech-enabled solution to make parenting easier, the demand is more obvious than the execution. Parenting is hard and requires support for a whole range of moments, from when your kid accidentally eats a button to early signs of depression during the remote school day.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

MilkRun lands new capital to deliver farm-fresh groceries

Fri, 05 Nov 2021 16:02:18 -0000

The company offers a recurring subscription, and 50% of every dollar spent goes back to farmers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gwoop raises $1.8M for its esports training platform as it starts working with high school gaming leagues

Fri, 05 Nov 2021 08:05:17 -0000

Earlier this year I wrote about Gwoop, a team out of Minnesota building a collection of browser-based games meant to help you get better at video games overall.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Housing startup QuintoAndar to open first technology hub outside Brazil in Portugal

Thu, 04 Nov 2021 16:02:17 -0000

The new office will serve as its first in Europe and will be operational in March, initially staffing up to 50 by the end of next year.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Spartan Radar raises a total of $25M to help radar compete with lidar tech

Thu, 04 Nov 2021 08:05:16 -0000

Take a dollop of machine learning, a handful of radar sensors and a market that is clamoring for autonomous cars not mowing down hordes of pedestrians, and you’ve got yourself a particularly frothy fundraising environment.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

BrainCheck brings in another $10M to detect, manage cognitive impairment

Wed, 03 Nov 2021 16:02:17 -0000

BrainCheck has several new initiatives in the works to close the loop with the patient journey that will be brought to market soon.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Walmart acquires design tool Botmock as its invests in shopping by voice and text

Wed, 03 Nov 2021 08:05:16 -0000

Walmart is further investing in technology that will enable shopping via voice and chat with its latest acquisition.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Music wearable Mictic raises $2.5M to get you shredding, scratching and strumming

Tue, 02 Nov 2021 16:02:14 -0000

Switzerland-based Mictic has created a pair of wearables that turns thin air into your concert hall. Imagine a theremin without the theremin, hooked up to a clever loop station, and you’ve got the right idea.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

OctoML raises $85M for it for its machine learning acceleration platform

Tue, 02 Nov 2021 08:05:18 -0000

OctoML, a Seattle-based startup that helps enterprises optimize and deploy their machine learning models, today announced that it has raised a $85 million Series C round led by Tiger Global Management.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Zeit secures $2M in seed funding for its stroke-detecting wearable

Mon, 01 Nov 2021 16:02:17 -0000

Zeit Medical, which makes an early warning system for strokes during sleep, has raised $2M in a seed round just after leaving Y Combinator’s Summer 2021 cohort.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Will Smith, Kevin Durant and Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs invest in electric boat startup Arc

Mon, 01 Nov 2021 08:05:16 -0000

Arc, a startup that launched 10 months ago with ambitions to electrify everything on the water, starting with a limited-edition $300,000 boat, has captured the attention and capital of some of the entertainment industry’s biggest stars.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Social Chat launches with $6M to bring brands closer to their customers

Fri, 29 Oct 2021 16:02:18 -0000

Social Chat was founded on the premise that social commerce should be the standard for every store, and it may very well be soon.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Atlys raises $4.25M to make visa applications faster and easier

Fri, 29 Oct 2021 08:05:17 -0000

International travel is slowly opening up again, but that also means business and leisure travelers alike will once again have to think about visa restrictions as they take to the air. Nobody has ever enjoyed the process of applying for a visa, but Atlys promises to take the hassle out of the process.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gamma brings in $7M to bring the slide deck into the 21st century

Thu, 28 Oct 2021 16:02:16 -0000

Co-founder and CEO Grant Lee refers to building content in Gamma like “choosing your own adventure.”

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Daring Foods bites into third round in 12 months as plant-based chicken product enters Walmart

Thu, 28 Oct 2021 08:05:15 -0000

The company saw 900% growth over the past 12 months and will be using the new funding to support that growth and new innovation.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Truepill’s latest funding boosts valuation to $1.6B as it works on B2B side of healthcare

Wed, 27 Oct 2021 16:02:17 -0000

The new funding represents a “hyper growth moment” for the company, which is in position to bring in some $300 million in revenue this year.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Speechmatics pushes forward recognition of accented English

Wed, 27 Oct 2021 08:07:31 -0000

Speech recognition has gone from convenient to crucial over the last few years as smart speakers and driving assist modes have taken off — but not everyone’s voice is recognized equally well.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Market demand for cybersecurity products helps Devo raise $250M at unicorn valuation

Tue, 26 Oct 2021 16:02:13 -0000

Devo, a Boston-area startup focused on log management and cybersecurity, announced this morning that it has closed a $250 million round of funding.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Heart to Heart raises $750K to bring sweet, sweet flirtation to your ear-holes

Tue, 26 Oct 2021 08:05:14 -0000

Radio has long been described as the most intimate of media. Quips about putting radio on the internet aside, the persistent popularity of podcasting and the cockamamie climb of Clubhouse shows that audio-based platforms will continue to echo around the upper echelons of the ecosystem for a while yet.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Routine is a new productivity app that combines task management and notes

Mon, 25 Oct 2021 16:02:17 -0000

Meet Routine, a new startup working on a productivity tool that should help you manage your work day more efficiently. It’s a brand new take on to-do lists as it combines both tasks, non-actionable notes and a daily planner.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Citcon raises $30M to make paying with mobile wallets ‘as easy as paying with a credit card’

Mon, 25 Oct 2021 08:06:36 -0000

Citcon, a mobile wallet payment provider, has closed on $30 million in funding in a Series C round co-led by Norwest Venture Partners and Cota Capital.Â

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Audit Sight takes on new capital to eliminate all of the back and forth between auditors, companies

Fri, 22 Oct 2021 16:02:18 -0000

The company intends to build out several SaaS applications and is poised to roll out its first two modules for revenue and accounts receivables by the end of the year.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AirGarage, a full-stack parking operator, raises $12.5M in round led by a16z

Fri, 22 Oct 2021 08:05:13 -0000

Parking can often feel almost laughably old-fashioned, with some lots still hiring an attendant to collect fees and check for valid tickets.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Customer engagement platform Batch raises $23 million after years of bootstrapping

Thu, 21 Oct 2021 16:02:16 -0000

If you’ve been working in the French tech ecosystem, you may remember a startup called AppGratis. The app discovery and promotion startup basically had to stop operating overnight following a long and nasty fight with Apple.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SoftBank-backed Flock Freight is the freight industry’s newest unicorn

Thu, 21 Oct 2021 08:05:14 -0000

The global shipping and freight industry has never been more in the spotlight, as the pandemic and other disruptions have led to enormous supply chain bottlenecks.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Credo AI launches out of stealth with $5.5 million to help companies with “ethical AI”

Wed, 20 Oct 2021 16:02:13 -0000

There are many in the world of AI who worry about its implications.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vertical Oceans aims to grow sustainable shrimp in huge ‘aqua towers’ inside cities

Wed, 20 Oct 2021 08:07:10 -0000

John Diener, the CEO of an aquaculture nutrition and genetics company, would visit hundreds of shrimp farms as part of his job. But gradually he became frustrated by some of the environmentally unsustainable practices used in many locations.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Frozen coffee startup Cometeer raises $35M Series B and launches its product in earnest

Tue, 19 Oct 2021 16:02:14 -0000

Gloucester, Massachusetts-based Cometeer has been around for nine years. In that time, the company has built up a mad scientist’s lair worth of coffee scientists, equipment and processes to jolt some fresh life into the industry.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dance Church raises $4.7M to get your bootie back on the (virtual) dance floor

Tue, 19 Oct 2021 08:05:16 -0000

Our DJ, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy dancefloor come, thy steps be done, on earth, as it is at Dance Church.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

VC Lab introduces free fund formation documents to make startup investing cheaper and easier

Mon, 18 Oct 2021 16:02:16 -0000

There may be plenty of funding for some startups these days. But plenty of companies will tell you otherwise. VC Lab, an accelerator for venture capital firms, wants to create investors who will back the rest of the world.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Founded by ex-Braintree and PayPal execs, Pagos raises $10M to offer API-driven payment intelligence

Mon, 18 Oct 2021 08:05:15 -0000

Pagos, a payment intelligence infrastructure startup founded by former Braintree and PayPal execs, has raised $10 million in seed funding. Started earlier this year, the remote-first Pagos is building a data “platform” and API-driven micro-services that it says can integrate with any payment stack.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Space Perspective raises $40M Series A for stratospheric balloon rides

Fri, 15 Oct 2021 16:02:17 -0000

The successful commercial launches of Blue Origin, SpaceX and Virgin Galactic have officially ushered in a new era of space tourism.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Reliable Robotics lifts $100M to take autonomous cargo planes where none have gone before

Fri, 15 Oct 2021 08:05:14 -0000

When flying cargo from one part of the world to another, you typically need a pilot for two parts: The take-off and the landing.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cannabis commerce company Dutchie doubles valuation following new funding round

Thu, 14 Oct 2021 16:02:14 -0000

The industry will continue to see adoption across all areas, especially as more people are educated on finding the right product and modality and more states legalize cannabis.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

ScienceIO leaves stealth with millions to structure health data

Thu, 14 Oct 2021 08:05:17 -0000

Years before he co-launched a stealthy business to fix the messy world of health data, Gaurav Kaushik was slowly connecting the dots on how better visualization could impact health outcomes.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jow raises $20 million for its meal and grocery planning service

Wed, 13 Oct 2021 16:02:14 -0000

French startup Jow has raised a $20 million funding round led by Eurazeo. Jow wants to make it easier to cook at home by taking care of menu ideas and helping you manage your online orders of groceries.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

VanMoof teases new high-speed electric bike

Wed, 13 Oct 2021 08:05:16 -0000

E-bike manufacturer VanMoof recently raised a $128 million funding round. And the company is already using some of that cash to develop a brand new product — the VanMoof V. This is a new product in the VanMoof lineup, a high-speed bike.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

ThoughtFull gets $1.1M seed to make mental health support more accessible in Southeast Asia

Tue, 12 Oct 2021 16:02:17 -0000

Depression and anxiety were taking a serious toll on peoples’ well-being even before COVID-19, and the pandemic prompted more interest (and venture capital) in mental health startups.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Varda Space Industries will send its first space factory to orbit on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket

Tue, 12 Oct 2021 08:05:15 -0000

Varda Space Industries, a startup that wants to build in-space manufacturing facilities, will be sending its first spacecraft to orbit aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in 2023. The actual spacecraft — the startup’s first to go to orbit.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mobile gaming startup Homa Games raises $50 million

Mon, 11 Oct 2021 16:02:16 -0000

Just days after Voodoo acquired Beach Bum, another French mobile gaming company has news to share. Homa Games is raising a $50 million Series A round led by Northzone. The company partners with indie game studios and acts as a publisher.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alpha Paw brings in $5.2M to carve out its niche in the pet wellness space

Mon, 11 Oct 2021 08:05:16 -0000

Alpha Paw offers pet products for dogs and cats like food and supplements that are customized with pet breed in mind.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tiger Global in talks to lead over $100M investment in India’s Slice

Fri, 08 Oct 2021 16:02:16 -0000

A number of high-profile investors are chasing to invest in Slice, a fintech startup that is attempting to expand the market for credit cards in India. Tiger Global is in advanced stages of talks to lead a round of over $100 million in the Bangalore-based startup, sources familiar with the matter told me.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Microsoft acquires Ally.io, OKR startup that raised $76 million

Fri, 08 Oct 2021 08:05:15 -0000

Microsoft announced today that it has acquired Ally.io, a software service that helps companies measure their progress against OKRs or objectives and key results, a common way the management measures both individual and company progress. The two firms did not share the purchase price.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

MindLabs gets $3.5M seed to make mental wellness engaging

Thu, 07 Oct 2021 16:02:16 -0000

Making sure mental wellness is part of your routine can be difficult, especially if you are already busy and stressed. MindLabs wants to make it easier with a combination of on-demand or live video classes and community features.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

BeeHero’s precision pollination platform wings its way to $19M in new funding

Thu, 07 Oct 2021 08:05:17 -0000

Move over, precision agriculture — precision apiculture is what’s on the minds of all future-focused farmers. BeeHero has been growing fast since its debut and seed round last year.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Goldman Sachs spinoff Juven to back African high-growth companies with large checks

Wed, 06 Oct 2021 16:02:19 -0000

Mauritius and U.K.-based investment company Juven went live today with plans to fund growth-stage technology and consumer companies in Africa. The one-year-old firm is looking to invest large checks in companies “that have proven business models, strong revenue traction and large addressable markets,” it said in a statement.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Podcastle raises $7M for its all-in-one platform for podcast production and publishing

Wed, 06 Oct 2021 08:05:18 -0000

Both Anchor and Descript have made their names as being among the most significant Podcast creation platforms of recent times, but hoving into the rear-view mirror recently has been Podcastle, an all-in-one platform that can cover off recording, production and publishing, all on the one platform.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

YC grad Wasp land $1.5M seed to help developers build web apps faster

Tue, 05 Oct 2021 16:02:18 -0000

It seems that a lot of startups are trying to help developers reduce the complexity involved in coding an app. Last week we covered the seed round for RunX, a company that helps developers code back-end cloud resources more quickly. Today, Y Combinator Winter 2021 graduate Wasp announced a $1.5 million seed round to help […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ladder raises $100M on a $900M valuation for a platform selling flexible term life insurance

Tue, 05 Oct 2021 08:05:15 -0000

Life insurance has had a new lease on life in the era of insuretech, and today one of the companies building a business out of rethinking everything.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Komunidad, a Philippines-based environmental intelligence platform, lands seed round

Mon, 04 Oct 2021 16:02:18 -0000

The Philippines is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world, with geography that makes it vulnerable to typhoons, floods, volcanos, earthquakes and droughts. While working in IT, Felix Ayque began compiling cyclone reports and sending them as email alerts to communities.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

ProductWind raises $1.67M to connect your brand with hundreds of influencers

Mon, 04 Oct 2021 08:05:17 -0000

Brands wanting to get into influencer marketing can use ProductWind's platform to set up campaigns with hundreds of influencers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Climate volatility helps agtech platform Semios raise $100M round led by Morningside

Fri, 01 Oct 2021 16:02:18 -0000

One of the greatest challenges for farmers today is the increasing volatility in the climate, leading to unpredictable weather patterns, making growing conditions challenging. If farmers can’t grow crops, then our food security is as risk. Gradually, the field of agtech is attempting to address this issue. There are increasing numbers of FaaS (farming as […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mobile gaming company Voodoo acquires Beach Bum

Fri, 01 Oct 2021 08:05:17 -0000

French startup Voodoo has made a significant acquisition in the casual mobile gaming market. The company is acquiring Beach Bum, a game studio based in Israel and specialized in tabletop and card games.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Spudsy bags $3.3M to turn ‘ugly’ sweet potatoes into snacks

Thu, 30 Sep 2021 16:02:14 -0000

Spudsy is on track to save 1 million of these so-called flawed sweet potatoes by the end of 2021.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Starfish Space raises $7M for in-orbit servicing space tug

Thu, 30 Sep 2021 08:05:16 -0000

Satellite servicing company Starfish Space has closed $7 million in funding to accelerate the development of a space tug vehicle that can extend the life of spacecraft and get rid of orbital debris. Servicing satellites used to be nigh impossible, due to the extreme costs associated with going to orbit.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tonic.ai raises $35M Series B to help engineers create synthetic data sets

Wed, 29 Sep 2021 16:02:17 -0000

When engineers are building software, they often run into issues around testing it without using actual customer data. Creating a meaningful test set can be time-consuming and challenging. Tonic.ai, a startup that helps engineers create synthetic data sets is trying to fix that, and today the company announced a $35 million Series B. Insight Partners […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Federated Genomic data startup Lifebit raises $60M round led by Tiger Global

Wed, 29 Sep 2021 08:05:16 -0000

Genomic data is considered to be the key to unlocking so-called “precision medicine”. Some estimates suggest that by 2025, 500 million human genomes will have been sequenced, but only a fraction of it is being utilized for drug discovery and precision medicine.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Indonesian ID and data verification startup Verihubs gets $2.8M led by Insignia Venture Partners

Tue, 28 Sep 2021 16:02:15 -0000

For many financial institutions in Southeast Asia, verifying new customers takes a week or two, said the founders of Verihubs. The startup cuts that time down to as little as five seconds, using AI-based identity authentication technology and APIs that let companies continue verifying returning customers through SMS, WhatsApp or flash calls. Verihubs announced it […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

YC-backed Malloc wants to take the sting out of mobile spyware

Tue, 28 Sep 2021 08:05:20 -0000

Mobile spyware is one of the most invasive and targeted kinds of unregulated surveillance, since it can be used to track where you go, who you see and what you talk about. And because of its stealthy nature, mobile spyware can be nearly impossible to detect.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Singapore-based logistics startup Ninja Van secures $578M Series E

Mon, 27 Sep 2021 16:02:17 -0000

Ninja Van, a Singapore-based logistics startup, has closed a $578 million Series E round to support its operations infrastructure and technology systems growth.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Robotic farming firm Iron Ox raises $53M

Mon, 27 Sep 2021 08:05:17 -0000

Bay Area-based autonomous farming startup Iron Ox this week announced a $53 million round. The Series C, led by Breakthrough Energy Venture, brings the firm’s total funding up to $98 million.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Loyal raises $27M, aims to give dog owners more time with their pets

Fri, 24 Sep 2021 16:02:15 -0000

Loyal is building an animal pharmaceutical company that is developing therapeutics aimed at extending both lifespan and healthspan for dogs.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nosh uses AI to help people and businesses cut down on their food waste

Fri, 24 Sep 2021 08:05:17 -0000

When founder Somdip Dey was a computer science masters student at the University of Manchester, his parents got in a terrible car accident. He sent all of his money back to his parents in India to help with their medical bills, but then he faced a problem familiar to too many.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Crypto asset management platform Cobo bags $40M Series B

Thu, 23 Sep 2021 16:02:16 -0000

Cobo, a Singapore-based crypto asset management platform, raised a $40 million Series B to accelerate the development of decentralized finance as a service (DFaaS). The round was co-led by DST Global, A&T Capital and IMO Ventures. The company will use its proceeds for the development of DeFi as a service (DFaaS) infrastructure and its existing […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sunday raises $100 million for its fast restaurant checkout flow

Thu, 23 Sep 2021 08:05:14 -0000

Sunday, a startup that didn’t exist just a few months ago, has raised a $100 million Series A funding round. Today’s funding round is led by Coatue with participation from partners of DST Global. Investors in the restaurant, hospitality and tech industries are also participating.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tatum lets you interact with blockchains using API calls

Wed, 22 Sep 2021 16:02:16 -0000

Meet Tatum, a blockchain infrastructure startup that wants to make it much easier to develop your own blockchain-based product. The company operates a platform-as-a-service product so that you don’t have to manage your own nodes and learn how to interact with each client. Tatum is participating in TechCrunch’s Startup Battlefield at TechCrunch Disrupt. While blockchain […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alan acquires Jour and launches mental health service Alan Mind

Wed, 22 Sep 2021 08:05:17 -0000

French startup Alan is better known for its health insurance products — they now insure 200,000 people. But it has been slowly building a superapp for your health and expanding with new services. Today, the company announced its first acquisition ever with the acquisition of Jour for $20 million. This is going to be the […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Near Space Labs closes $13M Series A to send more Earth imaging robots to the stratosphere

Tue, 21 Sep 2021 16:02:16 -0000

The decreasing cost of launch and a slew of other tech innovations have brought about a renaissance in geospatial intelligence, with multiple startups aiming to capture higher-quality and more frequent images of Earth than have ever before been available. Most of these startups, however, are focused on using satellites to collect data. Not so for […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fivetran hauls in $565M on $5.6B valuation, acquires competitor HVR for $700M

Tue, 21 Sep 2021 08:05:18 -0000

Fivetran, the data connectivity startup, had a big day today. For starters it announced a $565 million investment on $5.6 billion valuation, but it didn’t stop there. It also announced its second acquisition this year, snagging HVR, a data integration competitor that had raised over $50M, for $700 million in cash and stock.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Flippa raises $11M to match online asset and business buyers, sellers

Mon, 20 Sep 2021 16:02:15 -0000

Flippa uses a proprietary business valuation tool and algorithm to match online business owners to qualified buyers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ketch raises another $20M as demand grows for its privacy data control platform

Mon, 20 Sep 2021 08:05:16 -0000

Ketch's OTC enables developers to embed security and governance into a piece of data as they build software.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Defy Partners leads $3M round into sales intelligence platform Aircover

Fri, 17 Sep 2021 16:02:17 -0000

Aircover’s conversational AI software integrates with Zoom and automates parts of the sales process to lead to more effective conversations.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fiberplane nabs € 7.5M seed to bring Google Docs-like collaboration to incident response

Fri, 17 Sep 2021 08:05:17 -0000

Fiberplane, an Amsterdam-based early stage startup that is building collaborative notebooks for SREs (site reliability engineers)Â to collaborate around an incident in a similar manner to group editing in a Google Doc, announced a â€‹â€‹€ 7.5M (approximately $8.8 million USD) seed round today. The round was co-led by Crane Venture Partners and Notion Capital with […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AI startup Sorcero secures $10M for language intelligence platform

Thu, 16 Sep 2021 16:02:14 -0000

Its natural language processing platform aids subject-matter experts in finding answers to their questions.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Relyance AI scores $25M Series A to ensure privacy compliance at the code level

Thu, 16 Sep 2021 08:05:17 -0000

Relyance AI, an early stage startup that is helping companies stay in compliance with privacy laws at the code level, announced a $25 million Series A today. At the same time, they revealed a previously unannounced $5 million seed round.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Folk helps you share contacts with your team

Wed, 15 Sep 2021 16:02:18 -0000

Folk is a new productivity tool started by European startup studio eFounders. And the startup just raised a $3.3 million seed funding round led by Accel with a big group of business angels. When you think about managing contacts and relationships in a professional environment, you might think that companies have solved this already.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tonal adds live classes to its strength training workouts

Wed, 15 Sep 2021 08:05:16 -0000

Wall-mounted fitness startup Tonal this morning announced that it’s bringing live courses to it portfolio of strength training workouts. The company did a soft launch of the live offering back in December of last year, though at the time, it wasn’t live, so much as prerecorded — “live, on tape,” to steal a line from […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Logistics robotics startup Ambi raises $26M

Tue, 14 Sep 2021 16:02:15 -0000

Five months ago, Ambi Robotics emerged from stealth with a $6 million raise. Today the Bay Area-based firm is back with several times that, announcing a $26 million Series A, led by Tiger Global. The new round also features participation from existing investors, including Bow Capital, Vertex Ventures US and The House Fund.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

JumpCloud raises $159M on $2.56B valuation for cloud directory tool

Tue, 14 Sep 2021 08:05:16 -0000

JumpCloud, the late-stage startup that is modernizing the notion of corporate directories in a cloud context, announced a $159 million Series F investment on a healthy $2.56 billion valuation today. Sapphire Ventures led the round with new investors participating including Owl Rock, Whale Rock Capital, Sands Capital and Endeavor Catalyst along with existing investors General […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

MarginEdge, a restaurant management software company, raises $18M

Mon, 13 Sep 2021 16:02:15 -0000

MarginEdge’s tool is a restaurant management app that works with a business’ point of sale to streamline inventory, cost-tracking, ordering and recipes to eliminate the paperwork.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Quizlet plans for IPO over a year after hitting unicorn status

Mon, 13 Sep 2021 08:05:15 -0000

Quizlet, a flashcard tool turned artificial intelligence-powered tutoring platform, is planning an initial public offering nearly a year after it was valued at $1 billion. According to people familiar with the matter, Quizlet is considerably far along in the process to go public. A recent job filing shows that it is hiring for senior roles […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Snyk snags another $530M as valuation rises to $8.4B

Fri, 10 Sep 2021 16:02:16 -0000

Snyk, the Boston-based late-stage startup that is trying to help developers deliver more secure code, announced another mega-round today. This one was for $530 million, with $300 million in new money and $230 million in secondary funding, the latter of which is to help employees and early investors cash in some of their stock options. […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Affinity, a relationship intelligence company, raises $80M to help close deals

Fri, 10 Sep 2021 08:05:16 -0000

Affinity is focused on industries like investment banking and venture capital, where there aren’t CRMs or networking platforms that cater to the specific needs of the long-term relationship.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Digital therapeutics startup Neuroglee raises $10M to help people with neurodegenerative conditions

Thu, 09 Sep 2021 16:02:17 -0000

Neuroglee Therapeutics, a startup developing digital therapeutics for people with neurodegenerative diseases, has raised a $10 million Series A led by Openspace Ventures and EDBI. The funding will be used to launch virtual neurology clinics and to support Neuroglee’s move to Boston. Other participants included Ramen Singh, the former chief executive officer of Mundipharma; Biofourmis […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Indonesia-focused Intudo Ventures closes $115M third fund

Thu, 09 Sep 2021 08:05:17 -0000

Intudo Ventures, the “Indonesia-only” investment firm, announced today it has closed its third fund, totaling $115 million. Called Intudo Ventures Fund III, it was raised in less than three months and oversubscribed. Fund III’s limited partners include Black Kite Investments, the family office of Singaporean businessman Koh Bon Hwee; Wasson Enterprises, the family office of […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

E-commerce aggregator Rainforest raises $20M just months after its last funding

Wed, 08 Sep 2021 16:02:16 -0000

Four months after its last funding announcement, Singapore-based e-commerce aggregator Rainforest has closed a $20 million pre-Series A round led by Monk’s Hill Ventures. Other participants included January Capital, Crossbeam Venture Partners, Amasia and Lo & Behold Group, along with returning investors Nordstar and Insignia Venture Partners. Rainforest announced in May that it had raised […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

DigitalOcean enhances serverless capabilities with Nimbella acquisition

Wed, 08 Sep 2021 08:05:18 -0000

As developers look for ways to simplify how they create software, serverless solutions, which enable them to write code without worrying about the underlying infrastructure required to run their applications, is becoming increasingly popular. DigitalOcean announced today that it is enhancing its existing offering in this area with the acquisition of serverless startup Nimbella. The […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Playbyte’s new app aims to become the ‘TikTok for games’

Tue, 07 Sep 2021 16:40:30 -0000

A startup called Playbyte wants to become the TikTok for games. The company’s newly launched iOS app offers tools that allow users to make and share simple games on their phone, as well as a vertically scrollable, fullscreen feed where you can play the games created by others. Also like TikTok, the feed becomes more […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Barbershop technology startup theCut sharpens its platform with new $4.5M round

Tue, 07 Sep 2021 08:05:15 -0000

The mobile app that provides information and reviews on barbers for potential customers while also managing appointments, mobile payments and pricing on the back end for barbers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Customer experience startup Clootrack raises $4M, helps brands see through their customers’ eyes

Mon, 06 Sep 2021 16:59:57 -0000

Clootrack is a real-time customer experience analytics platform that helps brands understand why customers stay or churn

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Challenger bank Bunq rolls out Spanish IBANs

Mon, 06 Sep 2021 08:05:16 -0000

Amsterdam-based challenger bank Bunq is updating its service with a handful of new features. In addition to Dutch, German and French bank account numbers, existing and new users in Spain can now get a Spanish IBAN. European IBANs are supposed to work across Europe.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

VanMoof raises $128 million to become the world’s leading e-bike brand

Fri, 03 Sep 2021 16:01:16 -0000

Amsterdam-based startup VanMoof has raised a $128 million Series C funding round. The company designs and sells electric bikes that are quite popular in some markets. It now wants to become the world’s leading e-bike brand by iterating at a faster pace. Asia-based private equity firm Hillhouse Investment is leading the round, with Gillian Tans, […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pancake aims to make customers flip for its virtual home design platform

Fri, 03 Sep 2021 08:05:16 -0000

Pancake is democratizing interior design services to make it accessible to everyone.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pixalate tunes into $18.1M for fraud prevention in television, mobile advertising

Thu, 02 Sep 2021 17:13:47 -0000

Pixalate provides fraud protection, privacy and compliance analytics for connected television and mobile advertising.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tribe and Arkam back Jar app to help millions in India start their savings journey

Thu, 02 Sep 2021 08:05:16 -0000

Even as hundreds of millions of people in India have a bank account, only a tiny fraction of this population invests in any financial instrument. Fewer than 30 million people invest in mutual funds or stocks, for instance.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cheeterz Club wants to make reading glasses hip

Wed, 01 Sep 2021 16:47:29 -0000

Can reading glasses actually be cool? A new eyewear company called Cheeterz Club thinks so. The startup is working to change the perception of reading glasses from being just cheap, disposable items you pick up from a rotating display rack at your local drug store to being something you’d actually be proud to wear.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dance launches its e-bike subscription service in Berlin

Wed, 01 Sep 2021 08:05:17 -0000

German startup Dance is launching its subscription service in its hometown Berlin. For a flat monthly fee of €79 (around $93 at today’s exchange rate), users will get a custom-designed electric bike as well as access to an on-demand repair and maintenance service. Founded by the former founders of SoundCloud and Jimdo, the company managed […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As 5G demand grows, Sitenna helps telcos find more cell tower locations, faster

Tue, 31 Aug 2021 08:05:15 -0000

The buildout of 5G networks continues apace, with wide-scale deployments across much of the developed world. Yet, one of the largest challenges with closing the gaps in coverage maps are constraints on 5G transmissions.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stipop offers developers and creators instant access to a huge global sticker library

Mon, 30 Aug 2021 16:01:14 -0000

With more than 270,000 stickers, Stipop’s library of colorful, character-driven expressions has a little something for everyone. The company offers keyboard and social app stickers through ad-supported mobile apps on iOS and Android, but it’s recently focused more on providing stickers to developers, creators and other online businesses. “We were able to gather so many […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Accounting platform Synder raises $2M to automate e-commerce bookkeeping

Mon, 30 Aug 2021 08:05:16 -0000

The company bills itself as an easy accounting platform for e-commerce businesses.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Job offer management platform Compa emerges from stealth with $3.9M

Fri, 27 Aug 2021 16:38:13 -0000

The offer management platform provides “deal desk” software for recruiters to easily manage compensation strategies.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Celebrity chef Michael Chernow whips up new lifestyle brand, Kreatures of Habit, raises $2.2M

Fri, 27 Aug 2021 08:05:16 -0000

Michael Chernow is already known as a restaurateur, chef, television host and entrepreneur, but now he can also add lifestyle and wellness guru to that list.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Shares is a new stock trading app with a focus on social features

Thu, 26 Aug 2021 16:01:16 -0000

Meet Shares, a new European startup that wants to add a social twist to financial investment —Â in that case, the company means ‘social’ as in ‘social network’. The startup has been developing its product under the radar for a few months already. It is also moving at a fast pace.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Forward Kitchens cooks up $2.5M to transform existing kitchens into digital storefronts

Thu, 26 Aug 2021 08:05:13 -0000

Forward Kitchens provides a turnkey tool for restaurants to set up an online presence.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

testRigor scores $4M seed to turn a list of actions into a QA testing script

Wed, 25 Aug 2021 16:01:12 -0000

Imagine typing out of a series of steps in plain English that would reflect a list of actions a human QA tester would undertake to test an app, then turning that list into an automated testing script. That’s exactly what testRigor, a member of the Y Combinator Summer 2021 cohort has done.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NoRedInk raises $50 million Series B to help students become better writers

Wed, 25 Aug 2021 08:05:16 -0000

“In order to become a better writer, read your written words out loud.” That’s one of the first, and best, writing tips I ever received. I always found the advice ironic because it required me to change the medium of my writing to become a better writer. Still, all these years later, it’s true: vocalizing […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Elastic acquires build.security for security policy definition and enforcement

Tue, 24 Aug 2021 16:14:00 -0000

Less than a year after raising its $6 million seed funding round, Tel Aviv and Sunnyvale-based startup Build.security is being acquired by Elastic. Financial terms of the deal are not being publicly disclosed at this time. The deal is expected to close in Elastic’s Q2 FY22, ending Oct. 31, 2021.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Givz raises $3M in seed funding to make donations a marketing tool for businesses

Tue, 24 Aug 2021 08:05:18 -0000

Givz, which has developed an API-powered platform that gives brands a way to convert discounts into donations, has raised $3 million in seed funding. Eniac and Accomplice co-led the financing for the New York-based startup. Additional investors include Supernode Ventures, Claude Wasserstein of Fine Day, Phoenix Club and Dylan Whitman. Givz was founded in 2017 […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Y Combinator-backed Adra wants to turn all dentists into cavity-finding ‘super dentists’

Mon, 23 Aug 2021 16:01:17 -0000

Adra is bringing AI into the dentist's day-to-day workflow so they can spend less time finding cavities and more time with patients.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rutter comes out of stealth with $1.5M in funding for its e-commerce API

Mon, 23 Aug 2021 08:05:15 -0000

Rutter is developing a unified e-commerce API that enables companies to connect with data across any platform.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Diamond Age raises $8M to speed up home construction with 3D printing and robot arms

Fri, 20 Aug 2021 16:01:17 -0000

Bay Area-based Diamond Age this week announced that it has raised $8 million. The seed round is led by Prime Movers Lab and Alpaca VC and features a slew of additional firms, including Dolby Family Ventures, Calm Ventures, Gaingels, Towerview Ventures, GFA Venture Partners and Suffolk Construction. The startup looks to put a slew of […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Split.io announces $50M Series D to continue growing feature flag platform

Fri, 20 Aug 2021 08:05:19 -0000

As developers build applications, they often want to test new functionality on a limited set of users to blunt any possible negative impact or to gauge user reaction to the change before rolling it out more broadly. They use a technique called a feature flag, and Split.io, a startup that has built a platform to […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

FloodMapp wants to predict where water goes before it washes away your home

Thu, 19 Aug 2021 16:01:15 -0000

Floods are devastating. They rip asunder communities, wipe out neighborhoods, force the evacuation of thousands of people every year, and recovering them can take years — assuming recovery is possible at all. The U.S. government estimates that floods in recent decades (exclusive of hurricanes and tropical storms) have caused an estimated $160 billion in damage […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mealworm farming company Beta Hatch raises $10M

Thu, 19 Aug 2021 08:05:19 -0000

Last time I was in Hong Kong, a startup gave me a jar of mealworms as a snack. They were crunchy and a bit odd looking (as one might expect from a jar full of baked larvae). They really didn’t offer much in the way of flavor, though, so maybe supply your own seasoning.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Food conglomerate Forward Foods becomes Starday, raises $4M

Wed, 18 Aug 2021 16:01:15 -0000

Forward Foods, creating healthy and sustainable food products, changed its name to Starday and raised $4 million in seed funding to take on “big food” incumbents.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Apple’s sustainability-focused Impact Accelerator invites first 15 Black- and brown-owned companies

Wed, 18 Aug 2021 08:05:15 -0000

Among Apple’s more recent social good initiatives is the Impact Accelerator, an effort launched about a year ago intended to find and elevate minority-owned small businesses taking on sustainability and climate change. The program now has its first 15 participants, gathered from all over the country for a three-month program and a shot at an […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tropic picks up $25M to streamline software procurement experiences

Tue, 17 Aug 2021 16:01:16 -0000

The pandemic was a catalyst for showing companies looking to cut costs, just how much they were spending on their software tools.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Shopistry bags $2M to provide ‘headless commerce without the headaches’

Tue, 17 Aug 2021 08:05:15 -0000

Shopistry enables customers to create personalized commerce experiences accessible to all.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

ThirdAI raises $6M to democratize AI to any hardware

Mon, 16 Aug 2021 16:01:17 -0000

ThirdAI is building tools to speed up deep learning technology without the need for hardware like graphics processing units.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kiddom grabs early revenue amid $35M Series C funding

Mon, 16 Aug 2021 08:05:15 -0000

Kiddom, a platform that offers a digital curriculum that fits the core standards required by states, announced today that it has raised a $35 million Series C round led by Altos Ventures, with participation from Owl Ventures, Khosla Ventures and Outcomes Collective. The financing came nearly three years after Kiddom’s Series B, a $15 million […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Talkdesk’s valuation jumps to $10B with Series D for smart contact centers

Fri, 13 Aug 2021 16:01:14 -0000

Talkdesk uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve customer service for mid-market and enterprise businesses.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Motivo raises $12.5M Series A to speed up chip design with AI

Fri, 13 Aug 2021 08:05:15 -0000

Chip design is a long slog of trial and error, taking years to bring a design to market. Motivo, a five year old startup from a chip industry veteran is creating software to speed up chip design from years to months using AI. Today the company announced a $12.5 million Series A.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Consumer goods software company Aforza bags $22M to open US headquarters

Thu, 12 Aug 2021 16:01:14 -0000

Built on Salesforce and Google Cloud platforms, consumer goods companies can use Aforza to digitally transform product distribution and customer engagement.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Space manufacturing startup Varda inks deal with Rocket Lab for three spacecraft

Thu, 12 Aug 2021 08:05:15 -0000

Orbital manufacturing startup Varda Space Industries is moving fast. Only a few weeks after announcing a $42 million Series A, Varda has signed a deal with launch company Rocket Lab for three Photon spacecraft to support the startup’s initial missions. The first spacecraft will be delivered in the first quarter of 2023, with the second […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bite Ninja scoops up pre-seed funding to reimagine restaurant working environments

Wed, 11 Aug 2021 16:01:16 -0000

The company's remote hiring technology enable restaurants to fill last-minute drive-thru or cashier shifts.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The art of startup storytelling with Julian Shapiro

Wed, 11 Aug 2021 08:05:18 -0000

"Signal is more important than frequency in an era where we're overloaded with content."

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WoodSpoon’s food delivery service cooks up support for home chefs with $14M round

Tue, 10 Aug 2021 16:14:17 -0000

The co-founders reached out to local home chefs and gathered them together in a marketplace where they could share their culture and passion of food with others.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Canopy raises $15M Series A after posting 4.5x customer growth in H1 2021

Tue, 10 Aug 2021 08:05:15 -0000

Canopy's leaders expect focused fintech products to win out over large bundles of services.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

CommandBar raises $4.8M to make web-based apps searchable

Mon, 09 Aug 2021 16:15:27 -0000

James Evans and his co-founders at CommandBar were working on a different software product when they hit a wall while trying to find certain functionalities within the software.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The first Zambian startup to get into YC is developing Africa’s first card-issuing API

Mon, 09 Aug 2021 08:05:16 -0000

More than 40 African startups from a handful of countries have gone through YC over the past decade. Zambia joins that list today, and its entrant, Union54, is a worthy first entry. Union54 (54 is a nod to the number of African countries) is a fintech company founded by Perseus Mlambo and Alessandra Martini. The […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Micromobility startup Voi raises $45 million to end sidewalk riding, improve safety

Fri, 06 Aug 2021 16:01:16 -0000

Micromobility startup Voi has raised $45 million, funds it says will be used to research and develop technology that will improve safety, keep users from riding on sidewalks and ensure scooters are properly parked.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

3 invaluable founder lessons I learned on my immigration journey

Fri, 06 Aug 2021 08:05:15 -0000

In my journey to the U.S., I became good at three things: accepting uncertainty, building resilience and maintaining a positive mental attitude. I needed them all to get my startup off the ground.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bluecore lands $125M Series E on $1B valuation as e-commerce personalization grows

Thu, 05 Aug 2021 16:01:17 -0000

During the pandemic, especially when we were in lock down, just about every retailer had to build its online presence and do it quickly. As people move to shop online in larger numbers, being able to personalize that experience has become more crucial.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Robinhood is now a stonk

Thu, 05 Aug 2021 08:05:14 -0000

The wild swing in the price of Robinhood today appears from our vantage point to be another stonk moment.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Buildots raises $30M to put eyes on construction sites

Wed, 04 Aug 2021 16:01:17 -0000

Buildots' technology automatically validates images captured by hardhat-mounted 360-degree cameras, detecting any gaps between the original design and what's actually happening on construction sites.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why Draper Esprit doubled down on its status as a publicly listed VC

Wed, 04 Aug 2021 08:05:15 -0000

Draper Esprit, another British venture capital firm, moved from the AIM to the LSE proper, with a secondary listing on Euronext Dublin.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wireless charging firm Aira raises $12M

Tue, 03 Aug 2021 16:01:14 -0000

Founded in 2017, Arizona-based Aira didn’t waste any time proving out its technology. We’ve written about the company’s wireless charging a few times over the years, including the “FreePower” technology it has baked into Nomad’s charging pads, which brings a more streamlined version of the Apple’s abandoned AirPower. The tech allows for users to charge […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Planted raises another $18M to expand its growing plant-based meat empire (and add schnitzel)

Tue, 03 Aug 2021 08:05:16 -0000

Swiss alternative protein company Planted has raised its second CHF 17M (about $18.5M at present) round of the year, a “pre-B” fundraise that will help it continue its growth and debut new products. A U.S. launch is in the cards eventually but for now Planted’s exclusively European customers will be able to give its new […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Platform-as-a-service startup Porter aims to become go-to platform for deploying, managing cloud-based apps

Mon, 02 Aug 2021 16:01:15 -0000

Any DevOps team can use Porter to manage applications in the cloud, delivering the full flexibility of Kubernetes through a Heroku-like experience.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Catch takes hold of $12M to provide benefits that aren’t tied to employers

Mon, 02 Aug 2021 08:05:14 -0000

Catch is working to make sure that every gig worker has the health and retirement benefits they need.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Japanese sneaker platform SODA raises $56.4M, accquires rival Monokabu

Fri, 30 Jul 2021 16:01:16 -0000

Just half a year after leading SODA’s Series B, SoftBank Ventures Asia is raising its bet on the Tokyo-based sneaker resell platform. The early-stage venture capital arm of SoftBank Group announced today it has returned to lead SODA’s Series C, which currently totals $56.4 million.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

ConverseNow is targeting restaurant drive-thrus with new $15M round

Fri, 30 Jul 2021 08:05:18 -0000

One year after voice-based AI technology company ConverseNow raised a $3.3 million seed round, the company is back with a cash infusion of $15 million in Series A funding.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Student labor marketplace Pangea closes $2M seed round

Thu, 29 Jul 2021 16:01:14 -0000

The startup runs a marketplace that links college-age talent to companies in need of their services. Social media and web developer work are popular on the Pangea platform.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Egyptian ride-sharing company Swvl plans to go public in a $1.5B SPAC merger

Thu, 29 Jul 2021 08:05:15 -0000

Queen's Gambit Growth Capital, the women-led SPAC in charge of the deal, called Swvl 'a disruptive platform that solves complex challenges and empowers underserved populations.'

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

MedRhythms raises $25M to get patients back in tune after a stroke

Wed, 28 Jul 2021 16:01:14 -0000

The company's digital therapy platform works to measure and improve someone’s ability to walk after they have experienced a neurologic injury or disease.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Blameless raises $30M to guide companies through their software lifecycle

Wed, 28 Jul 2021 08:05:17 -0000

Blameless’ platform provides the context, guardrails and automated workflows so engineering teams are unified in the way they communicate and interact while building their software systems.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SoftBank-backed Embark Veterinary valued at $700M after $75M Series B

Tue, 27 Jul 2021 17:59:07 -0000

Now that you have that COVID dog, Embark Veterinary wants to help him or her be in your life for a long time by offering DNA testing with the goal of increasing their lifespan.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

iRocket to begin rocket engine testing at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center

Tue, 27 Jul 2021 08:05:16 -0000

Reusable rocket startup iRocket has entered into a new partnership with NASA in its quest to reach commercialization in just two years. The partnership will give iRocket access to testing facilities and engineering support, chiefly at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The company is hoping that it will conduct its first […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sproutl is an online marketplace for gardeners founded by former Farfetch executives

Mon, 26 Jul 2021 16:01:17 -0000

Meet Sproutl, a marketplace for gardeners living in the U.K. The startup founded by former Farfetch executives has raised a $9 million seed round. It wants to make gardening more accessible by providing a curated list of items, relevant advice as well as inspiration.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Serverless Stack raises $1M for open-source application framework

Mon, 26 Jul 2021 08:05:17 -0000

Open-source framework startup Serverless Stack announced Friday that it raised $1 million in seed funding from a group of investors that includes Greylock Partners, SV Angel and Y Combinator. The company was founded in 2017 by Jay V and Frank Wang in San Francisco, and they were part of Y Combinator’s 2021 winter batch. Serverless […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

i80 Group has quietly committed $1B in credit to the fintech and proptech worlds

Fri, 23 Jul 2021 16:01:15 -0000

Not every startup wants to raise venture capital. And then there are those that do want to raise VC money but don’t want to use it for specific things. In recent years, a number of firms have emerged looking to meet the credit needs of such venture-backed and growth startups: i80 Group is one of […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mural raises $50M Series C after tripling its ARR in the last year

Fri, 23 Jul 2021 08:05:18 -0000

This morning Mural, a startup that builds digital collaboration software with a focus on visual presentation, announced that it has closed a $50 million Series C. The new capital, co-led by prior investors Insight Partners and Tiger Global, values the startup at more than $2 billion.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Spendesk raises $118 million for its corporate spend management service

Thu, 22 Jul 2021 16:01:14 -0000

French startup Spendesk has announced earlier today that it has raised a $118 million funding round (€100 million) led by General Atlantic. Overall, the company has raised $189 million (€160 million) since its inception. Existing investors Index Ventures and Eight Road Ventures participated once again in today’s funding round.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Okendo raises $5.3M to help D2C brands ween themselves off of Big Tech customer data

Thu, 22 Jul 2021 08:05:16 -0000

While direct-to-consumer growth has exploded in the past year, some brands are finding there’s still plenty of room to forge ahead in building a more direct relationships with their customers. Sydney-based Okendo has made a splash in this world by building out a popular customer reviews systems for Shopify sellers, but it’s aiming to expand […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Little Spoon scoops up $44M to grow its children’s nutrition delivery service

Wed, 21 Jul 2021 16:01:17 -0000

The quest to disrupt the traditional baby food aisle continues as more of today’s parents seek out nutritional food for their children.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Metal 3D printing company Fabric8Labs raises $19M

Wed, 21 Jul 2021 08:13:38 -0000

Fabric8Labs this morning announced that it has raised $19.3 million. The Series A was led by Intel Capital and features Lam Capital, TDK Ventures, SE Ventures, imec.xpand, Stanley Ventures and Mark Cuban. It follows $4 million in seed funding raised in mid-2018. The San Diego-based startup specializes in metal 3D printing.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

CityRow raises $12M for connected rowing machines and studios

Tue, 20 Jul 2021 16:01:16 -0000

Founded in 2014 as an in-person rowing studio, CityRow was relatively early to adopt the at-home connected model. The New York-based company launched a digital platform in 2018, two years before the pandemic completely transformed the way many of us work out. Of course, things have been trending that way a while, but 2020 accelerated […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

LeagueApps raises $15M to be the ‘operating system’ for youth sports organizations

Tue, 20 Jul 2021 08:05:13 -0000

Youth sports are an integral part of our communities, bringing families together and helping kids all over gain confidence and skills. Most of us don’t think about all the work that goes into setting up, growing and maintaining these leagues. It’s a lot. Today, LeagueApps, which aims to be the operating system for youth sports […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rise Gardens grows with $9M Series A to help anyone be an indoor farmer

Mon, 19 Jul 2021 16:01:15 -0000

As more consumers embrace plant-based diets and sustainable food practices, Rise Gardens is giving anyone the ability to have a green thumb from the comfort of their own home.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Taste intelligence startup Halla closes $4.5M Series A1 to predict which grocery items shoppers will buy

Mon, 19 Jul 2021 08:05:17 -0000

Halla wants to answer the question of how people decide what to eat and now has $4.5 million in fresh Series A1 capital from Food Retail Ventures to do it.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lightyear nabs $13M Series A as online network procurement takes shape

Fri, 16 Jul 2021 16:01:18 -0000

It seems like everything is being pushed online now, but network procurement stubbornly has remained an in-person or phone-based negotiation. Lightyear, an early stage New York City startup decided to change that last year, and the company announced a $13.1 million Series A today. The round was led by Ridge Ventures with participation from Zigg […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Shopmonkey raises $75M Series C to help auto repair shops streamline their business

Fri, 16 Jul 2021 08:05:14 -0000

Walking into an auto repair shop can sometimes feel like taking a step into the past. The handwritten notes and receipts, the clunky point-of-sales system and scheduling tools — if those are even there — can make customers feel like they’re in the 1990s, not the 21st century. Shopmonkey is trying to change that.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gourmey is a cell-based poultry startup working on lab-grown foie gras

Thu, 15 Jul 2021 16:01:16 -0000

Meet Gourmey, a new French startup that recently raised a $10 million founding round in equity and debt. The startup is working on meat grown in laboratories from animal cells. In particular, the company is focusing on poultry and aims to convince chefs that they should use the company’s products in their restaurants. “We’ve been […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cadoo gets $1.5M to gamify fitness with betting challenges

Thu, 15 Jul 2021 08:05:16 -0000

Cadoo, a US-startup that’s gamifying fitness by turning it into a betting opportunity, using the prospect of winning (or losing) cold hard cash to motivate people to get off the couch, has collected $1.5 million in seed funds from Sam & Max Altman’s Apollo VC and the student-focused Dorm Room Fund.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Looking Glass launches second-gen holographic displays

Wed, 14 Jul 2021 16:01:16 -0000

Brooklyn-based Looking glass today announced the release of a pair of second-gen holographic displays. Following up on late-last year’s release of the entry-level Portrait, the startup is offering new versions of the Looking Glass 4K and 8K systems, which sport 15.6- and 32-inch displays, respectively.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sourcegraph raises $125M Series D on $2.6B valuation for universal code search tool

Wed, 14 Jul 2021 08:05:13 -0000

Sourcegraph, a late stage startup that wants to bring the power of search to code, announced a $125 million Series D investment today on a $2.625 billion valuation, a 3x growth from its previous valuation in December 2020, according to the company.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mighty Buildings lands $22M to create ‘sustainable and affordable’ 3D-printed homes

Tue, 13 Jul 2021 16:01:16 -0000

Oakland-based Mighty Buildings, which is on a quest to build homes using 3D printing, robotics and automation, has raised a $22 million extension to its Series B round of funding.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

VU raises $12M to remove cybersecurity friction from digital experiences

Tue, 13 Jul 2021 08:05:16 -0000

Pretty soon, people won’t have to provide a fingerprint or a driver’s license to prove their identity — if VU has its way.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dovetail, the venture studio that has worked with startups like Afterpay, is raising a new fund

Tue, 13 Jul 2021 07:24:46 -0000

Based in Sydney and Auckland, Dovetail is a full-service venture studio that works closely with founders who have a great idea, but may lack technical backgrounds.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cloud security platform Netskope boosts valuation to $7.5B following $300M raise

Mon, 12 Jul 2021 08:05:14 -0000

Netskope, focused on Secure Access Service Edge architecture, announced Friday a $300 million investment round on a post-money valuation of $7.5 billion.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

r2c raises $27M to scale its security-focused code analysis service

Fri, 09 Jul 2021 16:01:16 -0000

This morning r2c, a startup building a SaaS service around the Semgrep open-source project, announced that it has closed a $27 million Series B. Felicis led the round, which the company said was a pre-emptive deal.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rootly nabs $3.2M seed to build SRE incident management solution inside Slack

Fri, 09 Jul 2021 08:05:16 -0000

As companies look for ways to respond to incidents in their complex micro services-driven software stacks, SREs or site reliability engineers are left to deal with the issues involved in making everything work and keeping the application up and running.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Younited Credit raises $170 million for its data-driven credit offering

Thu, 08 Jul 2021 16:01:14 -0000

French startup Younited Credit has raised a $170 million funding round. Goldman Sachs is leading the round with existing investors Eurazeo, Bpifrance and AG2R La Mondiale also participating. The company offers several credit products to European consumers. It also has a diversified distribution strategy.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WellSaid attracts $10M A round for higher quality synthetic speech

Thu, 08 Jul 2021 08:05:17 -0000

WellSaid Labs, whose tools create synthetic speech that could be mistaken for the real thing, has raised a $10M Series A to grow the business. The company’s home-baked text-to-speech engine works faster than real time and produces natural-sounding clips of pretty much any length, from quick snippets to hours-long readings.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lacuna raises $16 million in Series A to help cities manage mobility via digital twin

Wed, 07 Jul 2021 16:01:13 -0000

Lacuna Technologies, a startup that helps cities create and enforce transportation policies by building and managing open-source digital tools, has raised $16 million in a Series A round, bringing the company’s total investment to $33.5 million.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Satellite operator Planet to go public in $2.8B SPAC merger

Wed, 07 Jul 2021 08:05:17 -0000

Planet, which operates a network of around 200 satellites that provides Earth imaging, as well as analytics of the data derived from that observation, is going public in a merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) dMY Technology Group IV.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Didi app pulled from app stores in China after suspension order

Tue, 06 Jul 2021 16:01:15 -0000

China has ordered app-store operators to remove the app of Didi from their stores, the latest as tension escalates between the nation’s largest ride-hailing giant and local regulators.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

E-commerce logistics startup Locad gets $4.5M seed round led by Sequoia Capital India

Tue, 06 Jul 2021 08:05:16 -0000

E-commerce is booming in Southeast Asia, but in many markets, the fragmented logistics industry is struggling to catch up. This means sellers run into roadblocks when shipping to buyers, especially outside of major metropolitan areas, and managing their supply chains.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tinybird turns raw data into realtime API at scale

Mon, 05 Jul 2021 16:01:16 -0000

Meet Tinybird, a new startup that helps developers build data products at scale without having to worry about infrastructure, query time and all those annoying issues that come up once you deal with huge data sets. The company ingests data at scale, lets you transform it using SQL and then exposes that data through API […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Edtech startup Microverse raises $12.5M to bring income share agreements to the developing world

Mon, 05 Jul 2021 08:05:17 -0000

Edtech startup Microverse has tapped new venture funding in its quest to help train students across the globe to code through its online school which requires zero upfront cost, instead relying on an income-share agreement which kicks in when students find a job.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Singularity 6 raises $30M to fund upcoming fantasy ‘community simulation’ MMO

Fri, 02 Jul 2021 16:01:14 -0000

LA-based game studio Singularity 6 has banked more funding as it scales itself up and readies for the launch of its debut title. The startup tells TechCrunch, they’ve raised $30 million in a Series B bout of funding led by FunPlus Ventures.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Demand Curve: Email marketing tactics that convert subscribers into customers

Fri, 02 Jul 2021 08:05:18 -0000

Email has the highest return on investment than any other marketing channel because you have a captive audience who has opted-in to you communicating with them.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Codat raises $40M from Tiger for its SMB-focused API service

Thu, 01 Jul 2021 16:01:16 -0000

This morning Codat, a startup that provides APIs to link small-business fintech data to external services, announced that it has closed a $40 million round led by Tiger Global.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rocket startup Gilmour Space raises $46M Series C to take small launch vehicle to orbit

Thu, 01 Jul 2021 08:05:17 -0000

Australian rocket launch startup Gilmour Space Technologies is betting that bigger isn’t always better. The company has developed a small launch vehicle it calls Eris, a 25 meter (82 foot) rocket that can deliver payload of up to 215 kilograms (474 lbs) to sun synchronous orbit. Now, it’s raised a $61 million AUD ($46 million […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Relativity Space will open a 1 million square foot factory to scale Terran R production

Wed, 30 Jun 2021 16:01:16 -0000

Fresh off the heels of a $650 million Series E funding round, 3D printed rocket startup Relativity Space is now preparing to increase production capacity by a factor of ten, with the opening of a 1 million square-foot factory headquarters in Long Beach, California.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Zoom to acquire German startup to bring real-time translation to meetings

Wed, 30 Jun 2021 08:05:14 -0000

As companies expand worldwide, and meet online in tools like Zoom, the language barrier can be a real impediment to getting work done. Zoom announced that it intends to acquire German startup Karlsruhe Information Technology Solutions or Kites for short, to bring real-time machine learning-based translation to the platform. The companies did not share the […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Foursquare founder Dennis Crowley steps back from the company

Tue, 29 Jun 2021 16:01:12 -0000

Foursquare co-founder Dennis Crowley has announced that he is stepping back of his full-time role at the company. During the first seven years of the company, he was the startup’s Chief Executive Officer. In 2016, Crowley moved to an executive chairman position. He’s also been running the Foursquare Labs R&D group since then.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Real estate tech startup Side raises $50M more at a $2B valuation as it preps for an IPO

Tue, 29 Jun 2021 08:05:16 -0000

Side, a real estate technology company that works to turn agents and independent brokerages into boutique brands and businesses, has raised “$50 million-plus” in a funding round that doubles its valuation to $2 billion. The latest financing comes just three months after the San Francisco-based startup raised $150 million in a Series D funding round […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

PayMaya owner Voyager Innovation raises $167M from KKR, Tencent and IFC, to launch digital bank in the Philippines

Mon, 28 Jun 2021 16:01:14 -0000

Voyager Innovations, the Manila-based owner of PayMaya, one of the Philippines’ most popular payment and financial services apps, announced today it has raised $167 million in new funding to launch more financial services, including a digital bank. The raise includes $121 million in new funding, and $46 million from previously committed funds. Voyager announced in […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mercuryo raises $7.5M for crypto-focused cross-border payments after crossing $50M in ARR

Mon, 28 Jun 2021 08:05:16 -0000

Mercuryo, a startup that has built a cross-border payments network, has raised $7.5 million in a Series A round of funding. The London-based company describes itself as “a crypto infrastructure company” that aims to make blockchain useful for businesses via its “digital asset payment gateway.” Specifically, it aggregates various payment solutions and provides fiat and […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Circle wants to help companies access DeFi lending markets with new API

Fri, 25 Jun 2021 16:01:15 -0000

Cryptocurrency company Circle has announced that it plans to launch a new API for companies using Circle accounts to manage crypto assets — and in particular USDC stablecoins. The new API will let companies access decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols starting with Compound lending pools. Circle is better known as one of the founding members of […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Env0 lands $17M Series A as infrastrucure as code control plane gains traction

Fri, 25 Jun 2021 08:05:15 -0000

As companies deliver code ever faster, they need tooling to provide some semblance of control and governance over the cloud resources being used to deliver it. Env0, a startup that is helping companies do just that, announced a $17 million Series A today. M12, Microsoft’s Venture Fund, led the round with participation from previous investors […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Revolut revenue grew by 57% in 2020

Thu, 24 Jun 2021 16:01:16 -0000

Fintech startup Revolut has filed some financial results and is sharing details with the press. In 2020, the company reported $361 million in revenue (£261 million) — that’s a 57% increase compared to 2019 revenue of $229 million (£166 million). Interestingly, those revenue figures have been adjusted to include fair value gains on cryptocurrency assets […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Autonomous trucking startup Embark to go public in $5.2B SPAC deal

Thu, 24 Jun 2021 08:05:14 -0000

Five-year old self-driving truck startup Embark Trucks Inc. said Wednesday it would merge with special purpose acquisition company Northern Genesis Acquisition Corp. II in a deal valued at $5.2 billion. Embark takes a different approach to autonomous trucking: As opposed to manufacturing and operating a fleet of trucks themselves, which is the route rival TuSimple […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

These Forge cofounders just raised $5 million to work on a new, still-stealth investing startup

Wed, 23 Jun 2021 16:01:15 -0000

Sohail Prasad and Samvit Ramadurgam are cofounders who met during Y Combinator’s 2012 summer batch and went on to cofound Forge, which helps accredited investors and institutions buy and sell private company shares and which most recently raised $150 million in new funding in May.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vantage raises $4M to help businesses understand their AWS costs

Wed, 23 Jun 2021 08:05:13 -0000

Vantage, a service that helps businesses analyze and reduce their AWS costs, today announced that it has raised a $4 million seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz. A number of angel investors, including Brianne Kimmel, Julia Lipton, Stephanie Friedman, Calvin French Owen, Ben and Moisey Uretsky, Mitch Wainer and Justin Gage, also participated in this […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fintech veteran Jitendra Gupta is ready for his new inning — now he is going after banks in India

Tue, 22 Jun 2021 16:01:15 -0000

For most people in India, having to engage with banks doesn’t instill a sense of joy. Banks in the South Asian market are notorious for making unannounced spam calls to upsell customers loans and credit cards, even when they have been explicitly asked not to do so. Moreover, when a customer does reach out to […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Uber to become the sole owner of grocery delivery startup Cornershop

Tue, 22 Jun 2021 08:05:14 -0000

Uber has reached a deal to become the sole owner of Latin American delivery startup Cornershop, just one year after acquiring a majority stake in the company. The ride-hailing giant said in a regulatory filing Monday that it will purchase the remaining 47% interest in Cornershop in exchange for 29 million shares.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vietnamese financial services app MFast gets $1.5M pre-Series A led by Do Ventures

Mon, 21 Jun 2021 16:01:14 -0000

MFast, a mobile app that lets Vietnamese users in remote areas access financial services, announced it has raised a $1.5 million pre-Series A today. The round was led by Do Ventures, with participation from JAFCO Asia.Â Launched in 2019 by fintech company Digipay, MFast says it has been used by 600,000 people to date. It […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mediflash is a freelancer marketplace for health professionals

Mon, 21 Jun 2021 08:05:15 -0000

Meet Mediflash, a new French startup that wants to improve temp staffing in healthcare facilities, such as nursing homes, clinics and mental health facilities. The company positions itself as an alternative to traditional temp staffing agencies. They claim to offer better terms for both caregivers and institutions.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Neo4j raises Neo$325m as graph-based data analysis takes hold in enterprise

Fri, 18 Jun 2021 16:01:14 -0000

Databases run the world, but database products are often some of the most mature and venerable software in the modern tech stack. Designers will pixel push, frontend engineers will add clicks to make it more difficult to drop out of a soporific Zoom call, but few companies are ever willing to rip out their database.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Twine raises $3.3M to add networking features to virtual events

Fri, 18 Jun 2021 08:05:17 -0000

Twine, a video chat startup that launched amid the pandemic as a sort of “Zoom for meeting new people,” shifted its focus to online events and, as a result, has now closed on $3.3 million in seed funding. To date, twine’s events customers have included names like Microsoft, Amazon, Forrester, and others.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Construction robotics firm Dusty raises $16.5M

Thu, 17 Jun 2021 17:06:27 -0000

It certainly follows then that some leading construction robotics companies are able to strike while the iron is hot with some healthy raises. Today, Bay Area-based Dusty Robotics announced a $16.5 million Series A.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Messaging social network IRL hits unicorn status with SoftBank-led $170M Series C

Thu, 17 Jun 2021 08:05:16 -0000

Social calendar app IRL has been busy building a messaging-based social network, or what founder and CEO Abraham Shafi calls a “WeChat of the West.” Following its pandemic-fueled growth and further push into the social networking space with group chat and other features, IRL is today announcing a sizable $170 million Series C growth round, […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Europe’s tech leaders define a strategy to create tech giants

Wed, 16 Jun 2021 16:01:17 -0000

A group of 200 startup founders, investors, associations and government members are backing a manifesto and a set of recommendations in order to create the next wave of tech giants in Europe. Today, French President Emmanuel Macron is hosting an event in Paris with some of the members of this group called Scale-Up Europe.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

BookClub checks out a shiny new $20 million Series A

Wed, 16 Jun 2021 08:05:15 -0000

Serial edtech entrepreneur David Blake, who co-founded Degreed and launched LearnIn, is living the dream of any book worm. He reads at least one book a week, talks to the authors behind it and unpacks his biggest questions around the subtlest of passages. And it’s all thanks to his latest startup, BookClub, which first launched […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Klaxoon introduces whiteboard-focused conference room for hybrid work

Tue, 15 Jun 2021 16:01:15 -0000

French startup Klaxoon is announcing a product update for its whiteboard collaboration platform as well as a new hardware product. With Hybridity, the company is going to sell ready-to-use conference rooms that optimize hybrid meetings between people currently in the office and people on the go. Let’s start with the software update.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fraud protection startup nSure AI raises $6.8M in seed funding

Tue, 15 Jun 2021 08:05:16 -0000

The round will help the company bolster the predictive AI and machine learning algorithms that power nSure AI’s “first of its kind” fraud protection platform.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Anrok raises $4.3M to solve sales tax for SaaS companies

Mon, 14 Jun 2021 16:01:16 -0000

It’s easier than ever to build a product and sell it around the United States, or the world. But if you want to do so without incurring the wrath of any particular state, or nation-state, you’d best have your tax matters in order.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lydia partners with Cashbee to add savings accounts

Mon, 14 Jun 2021 08:12:02 -0000

French startup Lydia is better known as the dominant app for peer-to-peer payments. But the company has been adding more features, such as a debit card, account aggregation, donations, money pots and more. This week, the company is adding savings accounts thanks to a partnership with French fintech startup Cashbee.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Money Minx aims to build a ‘Personal Finance’ OS for the everyday investor

Fri, 11 Jun 2021 16:01:17 -0000

New regulations are making it easier to invest in alternative assets via crowdfunding, and the recent explosion of crypto and NFTs means that investors are more diversified than ever.Â Keeping up with such a variety of investments may prove difficult to those who want to handle managing their investment portfolios on their own. Money Minx, […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Slintel scores $20M Series A as buyer intelligence tool gains traction

Fri, 11 Jun 2021 08:05:13 -0000

One clear outcome of the pandemic was pushing more people to do their shopping online, and that was as true for B2B as it was for B2C. Knowing which of your B2B customers are most likely to convert puts any sales team ahead of the game. Slintel, a startup providing that kind of data, announced […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Recorded Future launches its new $20M Intelligence Fund for early-stage startups

Thu, 10 Jun 2021 16:01:15 -0000

Threat intelligence company Recorded Future is launching a $20 million fund for early-stage startupsÂ developing novel data intelligence tools.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stacey Abrams co-founded fintech company Now raises $9.5M

Thu, 10 Jun 2021 08:05:15 -0000

After co-founding Insomnia Consulting, Stacey Abrams and Lara O’Connor Hodgson started Nourish to address a personal problem. “We were at a meeting, I think for one of my campaigns,” explains Abrams, the Georgia-based lawyer and politician whose voting rights work became a focal point for the country in 2020.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pennylane raises $18.3 million for its accounting service

Wed, 09 Jun 2021 16:01:15 -0000

French startup Pennylane has raised a new $18.3 million funding round (€15 million). Interestingly, this is Sequoia Capital’s first investment in France after they announced ambitious expansion plans in Europe. If you’re not familiar with Pennylane, the startup has been developing an accounting platform that improves accounting for both clients and their accountants.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kafene raises $14M to offer buy now, pay later to the subprime consumer

Wed, 09 Jun 2021 08:05:14 -0000

The buy now, pay later frenzy isn’t going anywhere as more consumers seek alternatives to credit cards to fund purchases. And those purchases aren’t exclusive to luxuries such as Pelotons (ahem, Affirm) or jewelry someone might be treating themselves to online.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nuggs creator Simulate raises $50M

Tue, 08 Jun 2021 16:01:17 -0000

New York-based Simulate today announced a $50 million fundraise. Led by Alexis Ohanian’s 776, the Series B brings the meat alternative’s total funding to north of $60 million and values it at $260 million.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Astra to acquire electric in-space propulsion company Apollo Fusion

Tue, 08 Jun 2021 08:05:17 -0000

Astra, the space launch startup with plans to go public via a SPAC merger, will acquire electric propulsion maker Apollo Fusion, the company said Monday.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rebranded Toyota Ventures invests $300 million in emerging tech and carbon neutrality

Mon, 07 Jun 2021 16:01:14 -0000

Toyota AI Ventures, Toyota’s standalone venture capital fund, has dropped the “AI” and is reborn as, simply, Toyota Ventures. The fund is commemorating its new identity by investing an additional $300 million in emerging technologies and carbon neutrality via two early-stage funds: the Toyota Ventures Frontier Fund and the Toyota Ventures Climate Fund.Â

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Indonesian healthcare startup Prixa raises $3M led by MDI and TPTF

Mon, 07 Jun 2021 08:05:14 -0000

Indonesian healthcare startup Prixa has raised $3 million led by MDI Ventures and the Trans-Pacific Technology Fund (TPTF), with participation from returning investors including Siloam Hospitals Group. This brings Prixa’s total raised to $4.5 million since it launched in 2019. Co-founder and chief executive officer James Roring M.D., told TechCrunch in an email that the […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gong going gangbusters, grabs $250M Series E on $7.25B valuation

Fri, 04 Jun 2021 16:01:16 -0000

Gong, the revenue intelligence startup, has been raising capital at a rapid pace, and today the company announced another $250 million on a $7.25 billion valuation, a number that triples its previous valuation from last summer.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One Concern raises $45M from SOMPO to scale its disaster resilience platform across Japan

Fri, 04 Jun 2021 08:05:14 -0000

Climate change is intensifying across the globe, and one of the most challenging cases is Japan. In addition to lying on a major fault, the archipelago is increasingly inundated from rising sea levels that make the country more prone to disasters.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lightyear is a new stock trading app from early Wise employees

Thu, 03 Jun 2021 16:01:16 -0000

Meet Lightyear, a new London-based startup coming out of stealth today. The company is building a stock trading app with a focus on creating a truly commission-free app. In addition to waving account fees and trading fees, Lightyear doesn’t charge foreign exchange fees either — up to a certain point.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stemma launches with $4.8M seed to build managed data catalogue

Thu, 03 Jun 2021 08:05:16 -0000

As companies increasingly rely on data to run their businesses, having accurate sources of data becomes paramount. Stemma, a new early stage startup, has come up with a solution, a managed data catalogue that acts as an organization’s source of truth.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kabuto releases a larger version of its smart suitcase

Wed, 02 Jun 2021 16:01:15 -0000

Kabuto, the French startup that designs and sells smart suitcases, is releasing a new suitcase today. Called the Kabuto Trunk, this is the company’s biggest suitcase to date. Unlike smart suitcases from other brands, this isn’t just a suitcase with a battery in it.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ditto raises $1.5 million to help teams collaborate on copy

Wed, 02 Jun 2021 08:05:16 -0000

Even as remote software uptake has boomed during the pandemic, certain workflows have gotten prioritized for specialized toolsets while other team members have been left piecemealing their productivity.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Singapore-based D2C dental brand Zenyum raises $40M Series B from L Catterton, Sequoia India and other investors

Tue, 01 Jun 2021 16:01:13 -0000

Zenyum, a startup that wants to make cosmetic dentistry more affordable, announced today it has raised a $40 million Series B. This includes $25 million from L Catterton, a private equity firm focused on consumer brands.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

June makes product analytics more accessible

Tue, 01 Jun 2021 08:05:15 -0000

Meet June, a new startup that wants to make it easier to create analytics dashboards and generate reports even if you’re not a product analytics expert. June is built on top of your Segment data. Like many no-code startups, it uses templates and a graphical interface so that non-technical profiles can start using it.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

By working with home entrepreneurs, Jakarta-based DishServe is creating an even more asset-light version of cloud kitchens

Mon, 31 May 2021 16:01:15 -0000

Cloud kitchens are already meant to reduce the burden of infrastructure on food and beverage brands by providing them with centralized facilities to prepare meals for delivery.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Anthropic is the new AI research outfit from OpenAI’s Dario Amodei, and it has $124M to burn

Mon, 31 May 2021 08:05:14 -0000

As AI has grown from a menagerie of research projects to include a handful of titanic, industry-powering models like GPT-3, there is a need for the sector to evolve — or so thinks Dario Amodei, former VP of research at OpenAI, who struck out on his own to create a new company a few months […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Café helps hybrid organizations schedule in-office time

Fri, 28 May 2021 16:01:13 -0000

Meet Café, a new French startup founded by two brothers that wants to help companies switch to a hybrid remote-and-office workplace model. Café isn’t a traditional desk-booking tool. Instead, the company helps you see when people in your team are coming to the office so that you can plan when you should go to the […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Engine Biosciences expands its digital drug discovery pipeline with $43M round

Fri, 28 May 2021 08:36:19 -0000

Drug discovery is a large and growing field, encompassing both ambitious startups and billion-dollar Big Pharma incumbents. Engine Biosciences is one of the former, a Singaporean outfit with an expert founding crew and a different approach to the business of finding new therapeutics, and it just raised $43 million to keep growing. Digital drug discovery […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Parametrix Insurance raises $17.5 million to offer cloud downtime insurance

Thu, 27 May 2021 16:01:13 -0000

Insurtech is picking up steam in a big way, but startup Parametrix thinks there is still plenty of room left to innovate. The company, which today announced the close of a $17.5 million funding round, offers insurance policies for companies who rely on third-party cloud providers, ecommerce services, payment gateways and CRM systems. In essence, […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tractive raises $35M as it expands GPS pet tracking to the US

Thu, 27 May 2021 08:05:16 -0000

Another sizable raise for a pet (cats and dogs) tracking company this morning. Austria-based Tractive has announced a $35 million Series A, led by Guidepost Growth Equity. The round is the company’s first since 2013, when its GPS-based tracker first hit the market. Along with the funding round, the company is also announcing its official […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Aurora Solar aims to power the growing solar industry with a $250M round C

Wed, 26 May 2021 16:01:16 -0000

Aurora Solar had one of those pitches that seemed obvious in retrospect. Instead of going to a house and measuring its roof manually for a solar panel installation, why not use aerial scans and imagery of the whole region?

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Call it a comeback: Turntable.fm raises $7.5M

Wed, 26 May 2021 08:16:24 -0000

Earlier this year, Turntable.fm’s founder Billy Chasen dusted off the old site and resurrected it for the pandemic age. I know I wasn’t the only one feeling a wistful pang of nostalgia for the service during the long, dull days of sheltering in place. And while March 2020 would have been the best time for […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Indoor farming company Bowery raises $300M

Tue, 25 May 2021 16:01:13 -0000

New York City-based vertical farming startup Bowery Farming this week has announced a $300 million Series C. The round, which brings its total funding north of $472 million, values the company at $2.3 billion. Fidelity Management & Research Company led the beefy round, with participation from existing investors GV (formerly Google Ventures), General Catalyst, GGV […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In a YC “power” play, Gridware girds $5.3M to save humanity from weather

Tue, 25 May 2021 08:05:12 -0000

You might have thought that with more than 300 companies joining this year’s winter batch of Y Combinator, the investor interest might have thinned. Well, it’s 2021 and investors are hopping around like crazy to invest in ideas that push the boundaries in fields far flung from enterprise SaaS. Case in point today: Gridware. It’s […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fireflies.ai raises $14M for its meeting transcription and automation service

Mon, 24 May 2021 16:01:15 -0000

The Fireflies.ai project is a good reminder that not every startup project goes from idea to unicorn-status in 48 minutes.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mio, a social commerce startup focused on smaller cities and rural areas in Vietnam, raises $1M seed

Mon, 24 May 2021 08:05:13 -0000

Vietnam has one of the fastest-growing e-commerce markets in Southeast Asia, but many major platforms still focus on large cities. This means people in smaller cities or rural areas need to deal with longer wait times for deliveries.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ex-Square execs launch Found to help the self-employed, raise $12.75M from Sequoia

Fri, 21 May 2021 16:01:15 -0000

If you’ve ever been self-employed you know what a pain it is to keep up with the hassles of running a business. From bookkeeping to invoicing to paying taxes — it’s one big headache.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Don’t tweet about $ASS

Fri, 21 May 2021 08:05:16 -0000

I am not a smart man. Earlier today I tweeted about $ASS, a cryptocurrency named after a dog. In this case, Australian Shepherds. And after doing that obviously stupid thing, my Twitter feed became chock-full of ass-related imagery, memes, and $ASS coin stans breathing on me. It’s all very annoying as I run Tweetdeck on […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Upstream, a Miami-based professional networking platform, raises a $2.75M seed round

Thu, 20 May 2021 16:01:13 -0000

If you’re reading this, there’s a pretty good chance you have a LinkedIn profile with your digital resume and hundreds — if not thousands — of professional connections. But how many of those people do you actually know well, and, more importantly, do you ever connect with them and meet others from their networks?

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Startup studio eFounders reaches portfolio valuation of $2 billion

Thu, 20 May 2021 08:26:30 -0000

European startup studio eFounders has now been around for 10 years. And because a birthday sounds like a good opportunity to share some metrics, the portfolio companies have reached a valuation of $2 billion together —Â only 18 months after reaching $1 billion. eFounders says it is focused on building the future of work.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Beta Technologies adds $368 million in Series A funding for its electric aviation ecosystem

Wed, 19 May 2021 16:01:16 -0000

Electric aviation startup Beta Technologies closed a $368 million Series A funding round on Tuesday, with investments from Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund. The new capital is the second round of funding announced by the company this year, after the company raised $143 million in private capital in March.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Finary wants to create the wealth management dashboard for the next generation

Wed, 19 May 2021 08:05:13 -0000

Meet Finary, a new French startup that wants to change how you manage your savings, investments, mortgage, real estate assets and cryptocurrencies. The company lets you aggregate all your accounts across various banks and financial institutions so that you can track your wealth comprehensively over time.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cortex snags $2.25M seed to build services catalog for development teams

Tue, 18 May 2021 16:01:15 -0000

One thing is clear in the cloud native world. Developers use a lot of services to create applications, and while service meshes define how these services work together, just getting a grip on the services a team uses is usually tracked manually in spreadsheets. That’s where Cortex, a new startup, comes in.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fresh out of YC, Houm raises $8M to improve the home rental and sales market in LatAm

Tue, 18 May 2021 08:05:17 -0000

As a longtime real estate developer based in Chile, Benjamin Labra was able to spot gaps in the buying and renting markets in Latin America. To meet demands, he started Houm, an all-in-one platform that helps homeowners rent and sell their properties in the region.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cisco strikes again grabbing threat assessment tool Kenna Security as third acquisition this week

Mon, 17 May 2021 16:01:15 -0000

Cisco has been busy on the acquisition front this week, and today the company announced it was buying threat assessment platform Kenna Security, the third company it has purchased this week. The two companies did not disclose the purchase price. With Kenna, Cisco gets a startup that uses machine learning to sort through the massive […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SpecTrust raises millions to fight cybercrime with its no-code platform

Mon, 17 May 2021 08:12:31 -0000

Risk defense startup SpecTrust is emerging from stealth today with a $4.3 million seed raise and a public launch. Cyber Mentor Fund led the round, which also included participation from Rally Ventures, SignalFire, Dreamit Ventures and Legion Capital. SpecTrust aims to “fix the economics of fighting fraud” with a no-code platform that it says cuts […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alba Orbital’s mission to image the Earth every 15 minutes brings in $3.4M seed round

Fri, 14 May 2021 16:01:29 -0000

Orbital imagery is in demand, and if you think having daily images of everywhere on Earth is going to be enough in a few years, you need a lesson in ambition. Alba Orbital is here to provide it with its intention to provide Earth observation at intervals of 15 minutes rather than hours or days […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

BluBracket nabs $12M Series A to expand source code security platform

Fri, 14 May 2021 08:05:31 -0000

BluBracket, an early stage startup that focuses on keeping source code repositories secure, even in distributed environments, announced a $12 million Series A today. Evolution Equity Partners led the round with help from existing investors Unusual Ventures, Point72 Ventures, SignalFire and Firebolt Ventures.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Legionfarm, pairing pro gamers with amateurs, raises $6 million Series A

Thu, 13 May 2021 16:01:28 -0000

Legionfarm, the gaming platform that lets gamers play with pro players in their favorite games, has today announced the close of a $6 million Series A round. Investors in the round include SVB, Y Combinator, Scrum VC, Kevin Lin, Altair Capital, Ankur Nagpal and more. Legionfarm launched out of Y Combinator at the beginning of […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jamf snags zero trust security startup Wandera for $400M

Thu, 13 May 2021 08:05:32 -0000

Jamf, the enterprise Apple device management company, announced that it was acquiring Wandera, a zero trust security startup, for $400 million at the market close today. Today’s purchase is the largest in the company’s history.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Amplitude acquires Iteratively

Wed, 12 May 2021 16:01:26 -0000

Amplitude, the well-funded product intelligence startup that helps businesses use their data to predict which features will drive the best business outcomes for them, today announced that it has acquired Iteratively, a startup that helps businesses build trustworthy data pipelines.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

DataRobot expands platform and announces Zepl acquisition

Wed, 12 May 2021 08:05:32 -0000

DataRobot, the Boston-based automated machine learning startup, had a bushel of announcements this morning as it expanded its platform to give technical and non-technical users alike something new. It also announced it has acquired Zepl, giving it an advanced development environment where data scientists can bring their own code to DataRobot. The two companies did […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Indy VC firm Sixty8 Capital launches $20M fund aimed at underrepresented founders

Tue, 11 May 2021 16:01:28 -0000

It is clear that Black, women, Latinx and LGBTQ+ startup founders face an uphill battle when it comes to getting a share of the VC investment pie in Silicon Valley. Perhaps that’s why Sixty8 Capital, a firm based in Indianapolis, Indiana, smack dab in the middle of the country, has chosen to launch a new […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Serial fiction app Radish acquired by Kakao Entertainment for $440M

Tue, 11 May 2021 08:05:30 -0000

Serialized fiction app Radish has been acquired by Kakao Entertainment in a transaction valued at $440 million. Kakao Entertainment is owned by Kakao, the South Korean internet giant whose services include its eponymous messaging platform. Radish founder Seungyoon Lee will hold onto his role as its chief executive officer, while also becoming Kakao Entertainment’s global […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tiger Global is betting that more schools are going to share future student earnings

Mon, 10 May 2021 16:01:31 -0000

Income-share agreements, or ISAs, are a way to bring flexibility to the often steep financial costs of higher education. The financial model allows a student to learn at zero upfront cost, and then pay any costs through a percentage of future income over time.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

BigBrain aims to bring live mobile trivia back to glory

Mon, 10 May 2021 08:05:33 -0000

If you ask Nik Bonaddio why he wanted to build a new mobile trivia app, his answer is simple. “In my life, I’ve got very few true passions: I love trivia and I love sports,” Bonaddio told me. “I’ve already started a sports company, so I’ve got to start a trivia company.” He isn’t kidding […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Metafy adds $5.5M to its seed round as the market for games coaching grows

Fri, 07 May 2021 08:05:29 -0000

This morning Metafy, a distributed startup building a marketplace to match gamers with instructors, announced that it has closed an additional $5.5 million to its $3.15 million seed round. Call it a seed-2, seed-extension or merely a baby Series A; Forerunner Ventures, DCM and Seven Seven Six led the round as a trio. Metafy’s model […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How 4 New Jersey pools turned into a startup that just raised $10M

Thu, 06 May 2021 08:05:28 -0000

As the oldest of 12 children, Bunim Laskin spent much of his teen years looking for ways to help keep his siblings entertained. Noticing that a neighbor’s pool was often empty, Laskin reached out to ask if his family could use her pool.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Timescale grabs $40M Series B as it goes all in on cloud version of time series database

Wed, 05 May 2021 16:01:29 -0000

Timescale, makers of the open source TimescaleDB time series database, announced a $40 million Series B financing round today. The investment comes just over two years after it got a $15 million Series A. Redpoint Ventures led today’s round with help from existing investors Benchmark, New Enterprise Associates, Icon Ventures and Two Sigma Ventures. The […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fitness ring maker Oura raises $100M

Wed, 05 May 2021 08:22:35 -0000

It’s been a wild couple of years for Oura. Last year, in particular, proved to be a major driver for the wearable fitness manufacturer. With the pandemic bringing professional sports to a screeching halt in 2020, a number of major leagues have adopted the ring, including the NBA, WNBA, UFC and NASCAR.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

alt.bank, Brazil’s latest fintech targeting the unbanked, raises $5.5M

Tue, 04 May 2021 16:01:33 -0000

It looks like everyone and their mother is trying to reinvent the Brazilian banking system. Earlier this year we wrote about Nubank’s $400 million Series G, last month there was the PicPay IPO filingÂ and today, alt.bank, a Brazilian neobank, announced a $5.5 million Series A led by Union Square Ventures (USV).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hangry, an Indonesian cloud kitchen startup with plans to become a global F&B company, closes $13M Series A

Tue, 04 May 2021 08:00:30 -0000

Hangry, an Indonesian cloud kitchen startup that wants to become a global food and beverage company, has raised a $13 million Series A. The round was led by returning investor Alpha JWC Ventures, and included participation from Atlas Pacific Capital, Salt Ventures and Heyokha Brothers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Y Combinator-backed Uiflow wants to accelerate no-code enterprise app creation

Mon, 03 May 2021 16:01:27 -0000

TechCrunch recently caught up with recent Y Combinator graduate Uiflow, a startup that is building a no-code enterprise app creation service. If you are thinkingÂ wait, don’t a number of companies already do that?, the answer is yes.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cloud gaming service Shadow taken over by OVHcloud founder

Mon, 03 May 2021 08:00:27 -0000

Blade, the French startup behind cloud gaming service Shadow, has been acquired by Octave Klaba’s fund following a commercial court order. Klaba is better known as the founder of OVHcloud, a French cloud hosting company.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Firstbase raises $13M to make remote work suck less

Fri, 30 Apr 2021 16:01:26 -0000

The chance that I am ever willing to commute on a regular basis again in the future is zero. It’s too inefficient. And while workers and employers are somewhat split on where they stand on the question of remote toil, the COVID-19 pandemic has permanently shaken up the working world; we’re not going back to […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Splitwise raises $20M Series A to help everyone in the world divvy expenses

Thu, 29 Apr 2021 16:01:23 -0000

This morning Splitwise, a Providence, Rhode Island-based startup announced that it has closed a $20 million Series A. The company builds consumer fintech software that helps users split expenses. But Splitwise isn’t a Venmo or Paytm clone.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Botpress nabs $15M Series A to help developers build conversational apps

Thu, 29 Apr 2021 08:00:25 -0000

Botpress, a Montreal-based early stage startup, wants to make it easier for developers to build conversational-based apps, meaning humans interact with the app by speaking instead of typing, clicking or tapping. Today it announced an $15 million Series A from Decibel and Inovia Capital.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ivorian startup Afrikrea partners with DHL and Visa to launch SaaS e-commerce platform ANKA

Wed, 28 Apr 2021 16:01:25 -0000

In 2016, Ivorian e-commerce startup Afrikrea started as a marketplace for African-based and inspired clothing, accessories, arts, and crafts. Over the past five years, Afrikrea has served more than 7,000 sellers from 47 African countries and buyers from 170 countries.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Canada’s newest unicorn: Clio raises $110M at a $1.6B valuation for legal tech

Wed, 28 Apr 2021 08:00:26 -0000

Clio, a software company that helps law practices run more efficiently with its cloud-based technology, announced Tuesday it has raised a $110 million Series E round co-led by T. Rowe Price Associates Inc. and OMERS Growth Equity. The round propels the Vancouver, British Columbia-based company to unicorn status, valuing it at $1.6 billion. Clio last […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tellius announces $8M Series A to build ML-fueled business data query tool

Tue, 27 Apr 2021 16:01:28 -0000

Getting actionable business information into the hands of users who need it has always been a challenge. If you have to wait for experts to help you find the answers, chances are you’re going to be too late.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dating app S’More bets on celebrity content with S’More TV

Tue, 27 Apr 2021 08:00:31 -0000

Dating startup S’More has launched a new feature called S’More TV, which CEO Adam Cohen-Aslatei said could give users new ways to talk to each other. It also bringing the startup closer to his goal of becoming not just a dating app, but “a lifestyle brand.” The videos on S’More TV may be familiar to […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mighty Networks raises $50M to build a creator economy for the masses

Mon, 26 Apr 2021 16:01:25 -0000

Mighty Networks, a platform designed to give creators and brands a dedicated place to start and grow communities, has closed on $50 million in a Series B funding round led by Owl Ventures.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Introvoke raises $2.7M to power online events that can be embedded anywhere

Mon, 26 Apr 2021 08:00:27 -0000

While there’s been plenty of attention and money lavished on virtual event platforms over the past year, Introvoke co-founder and CEO Oana Manolache predicted that we’re only at the beginning of a “third wave of digital transformation.” In her framing, the first wave came at the beginning of the pandemic, when everyone was using video […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hyundai invests in teleoperations startup Ottopia as part of $9M round

Fri, 23 Apr 2021 16:01:24 -0000

After spending much of his career in mission-critical environments, including the Israeli Air Force, Israeli Intelligence and leading development of a cybersecurity product at Microsoft, Amit Rosenzweig turned his attention to autonomous vehicles.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Queenly raises $2.3M for its dress marketplace

Fri, 23 Apr 2021 08:00:30 -0000

One of our favorite companies from the most recently Y Combinator batch has closed a seed round. This morning Quenly announced that it has closed a $2.262 million round, following its $800,000 pre-seed raise. TechCrunch covered the company in February, noting that the company was building something akin to the StockX for women’s formal wear. […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

MasterClass co-founder’s Outlier.org raises $30M for affordable, virtual college courses

Thu, 22 Apr 2021 16:01:23 -0000

Outlier.org — a startup offering intro-level college courses online and at a relatively affordable price — is announcing that it has raised $30 million in Series B funding.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Figma introduces a whiteboard tool called FigJam

Thu, 22 Apr 2021 08:00:28 -0000

Figma spent years in stealth before launching its web-based collaborative design tool. Since coming into the light, the company has been iterating quickly. Today, Figma launches its biggest product update to date. Meet FigJam, Figma’s new whiteboarding tool.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tom Brady and Salesforce Ventures pour millions into Class, a Zoom-friendly edtech startup

Wed, 21 Apr 2021 16:01:27 -0000

Class, an edtech startup that integrates exclusively with Zoom to make remote teaching more elegant, has raised $12.25 million in new financing. The round brings Salesforce Ventures, Sound Ventures and Super Bowl champion Tom Brady onto its capital table.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Druva raises $147M at a valuation north of $2B as the cloud rush continues

Wed, 21 Apr 2021 08:00:27 -0000

Druva, a software company that sells cloud data backup services, announced today that it has closed a $147 million round of capital. Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), a group that manages Quebec’s pension fund, led the round, which also saw participation from Neuberger Berman.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After a decade of bootstrapping, Octopus Deploy raises $172.5M from Insight Partners

Tue, 20 Apr 2021 16:01:25 -0000

Founded almost a decade ago, Octopus Deploy has grown to serve 25,000 organizations, including Microsoft, NASA, Xero, Disney and Stack Overflow, through bootstrapping. Today the company announced its first outside investment.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Zoom launches $100M Zoom Apps investment fund

Tue, 20 Apr 2021 08:00:23 -0000

When Zoom launched Zoom Apps and the Marketplace as a place to sell them last year, it was a big signal that the company wanted to be more than just a popular video conferencing application. It wanted to be a platform, which developers could use to build applications on top of Zoom.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Squarespace files for a direct listing on the NYSE

Mon, 19 Apr 2021 16:01:24 -0000

Today Squarespace, a well-known software-and-hosting provider for SMB websites, released its S-1 filing. The company is pursuing a direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange, or NYSE. It will trade under the ticker symbol “SQSP.”

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Level raises $27M from Khosla, Lightspeed ‘to rebuild insurance from the ground up’

Mon, 19 Apr 2021 08:00:25 -0000

Level, a startup that aims to give companies a more flexible way to offer benefits to employees, has raised $27 million in a Series A funding round led by Khosla Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners. Operator Collective and leading angels also participated in the financing, along with previous backers First Round Capital and Homebrew. The […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sunday raises $24 million seed round to build a fast restaurant checkout flow

Fri, 16 Apr 2021 16:01:24 -0000

Meet Sunday, a new startup that is going to attract some headlines as it has raised a $24 million seed round at a $140 million post-money valuation. That’s a lot of money for a company that started just a few months ago but that’s because Sunday wants to move quickly.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Feels is a new dating app with profiles that look more personal

Fri, 16 Apr 2021 08:00:26 -0000

Meet Feels, a new French startup that wants to change how dating apps work. According to the company, scrolling through photos and reading descriptions tend to be a boring experience. Feels want to improve profiles so that navigating the app feels more like watching TikTok videos or browsing stories.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Challenger bank N26 to offer insurance products

Thu, 15 Apr 2021 16:01:26 -0000

Fintech startup N26 is launching N26 Insurance as it plans to offer insurance products that you can access from the company’s mobile app and website. The first insurance product is a smartphone insurance plan for German customers. But the startup doesn’t plan to stop there.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Zeta in talks with SoftBank to raise at over $1 billion valuation

Thu, 15 Apr 2021 08:00:27 -0000

Banking tech startup Zeta is inching closer to the much sought-after unicorn status as it talks to investors to finalize a new round,Â sources familiar with the matter told TechCrunch. SoftBank Vision Fund 2 is in talks to lead a ~$250 million Series D round in the five-year-old startup, the sources said.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

PlexTrac raises $10M Series A round for its collaboration-centric security platform

Wed, 14 Apr 2021 16:01:26 -0000

PlexTrac, a Boise, ID-based security service that aims to provide a unified workflow automation platform for red and blue teams, today announced that it has raised a $10 million Series A funding round led by Noro-Moseley Partners and Madrona Venture Group. StageDot0 ventures also participated in this round, which the company plans to use to […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Willo launches its tooth-brushing robot for kids

Wed, 14 Apr 2021 08:00:26 -0000

Are you 100% sure that your children are brushing their teeth properly? A New York-based startup called Willo has been working for several years on a device that should transform the tooth-brushing experience for children. Willo isn’t a new toothbrush — electric or not.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bloomscape’s Justin Mast explains how he built a thriving garden startup in Detroit

Tue, 13 Apr 2021 16:01:26 -0000

Justin Mast has a simple reason for starting his plant retail startup Bloomscape in Detroit. “This is home,” he told me. “This is where I have a really strong network and I knew I’d be able to find a lot of support.” =

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When wildfires rage close, Perimeter wants to tell you where to go

Tue, 13 Apr 2021 08:00:24 -0000

Out the window, a fire is raging — and it’s moving ever closer. Confusion. Fear. A run for the car. Roads open and then suddenly closed by authorities. Traffic jams. A fire break that stalls the flames and then suddenly the flames jump, changing direction.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wonder Dynamics raises $2.5M seed to equip indie filmmakers with AI-powered VFX

Mon, 12 Apr 2021 16:01:25 -0000

Practically every film production these days needs some kind of visual effects work, but independent creators often lack the cash or expertise to get that top-shelf CG.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Elior acquires food delivery startup Nestor

Mon, 12 Apr 2021 08:00:27 -0000

Corporate catering company Elior has acquired French startup Nestor for an undisclosed amount. Nestor originally started with a simple idea to differentiate itself from food delivery giants, such as Deliveroo, Uber Eats and others. Every day, the startup offered a single menu for lunch.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vybe raises $2.9 million for its challenger bank for teens

Fri, 09 Apr 2021 16:01:25 -0000

French startup Vybe has raised a $2.9 million funding round (€2.4 million) to build a challenger bank for teens. The company is currently testing its product with a soft launch. Users get a Mastercard payment card paired with an e-wallet.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Realworld raises $3.4M to help Gen Z navigate adulthood

Fri, 09 Apr 2021 08:51:18 -0000

Realworld has a big vision — founder and CEO Genevieve Ryan Bellaire told me her goal is “simplifying adulthood.” And the New York startup has raised $3.4 million in seed funding to make it happen. Apparently that’s something Ballaire struggled with herself in her early twenties. Despite being a lawyer with an MBA, she said […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Spend management startup Ramp confirms $115M raise at a $1.6B valuation

Thu, 08 Apr 2021 16:01:26 -0000

This morning, Ramp, which provides corporate cards and spend management software, announced that it has closed $115 million across two investments, the latter of which valued the company at $1.6 billion. The Information first reported that Ramp was raising new capital.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Authentic Artists is building virtual, AI-powered musicians

Thu, 08 Apr 2021 08:00:24 -0000

Chris McGarry, who previously led music integration at Facebook’s Oculus, is taking a new approach to bringing music into the virtual world with his startup Authentic Artists. McGarry pointed to virtual celebrities like Lil Miquela and virtual concerts like Travis Scott’s giant event in Fortnite as setting the stage for Authentic Artists. In a sense, […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Plaid raises $425M Series D from Altimeter as it charts a post-Visa future

Wed, 07 Apr 2021 16:01:20 -0000

Plaid, a unicorn that helps connect consumers’ bank accounts to financial applications, has raised a $425 million Series D, it announced this morning. TechCrunch understands that the new capital infusion, led by Altimeter Capital, values the company at around $13.4 billion.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Aporia raises $5M for its AI observability platform

Wed, 07 Apr 2021 08:07:03 -0000

Machine learning (ML) models are only as good as the data you feed them. That’s true during training, but also once a model is put in production.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hipmunk’s founders launch Flight Penguin to bring back Hipmunk-style flight search

Tue, 06 Apr 2021 17:22:35 -0000

Hipmunk’s founders are building a successor to their now-defunct flight search service. The startup was acquired by SAP-owned travel and expense platform Concur in 2016, and its CEO Adam Goldstein departed in 2018.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

ConductorOne raises $5M in seed round led by Accel to automate your access requests

Tue, 06 Apr 2021 08:00:26 -0000

Over the course of their careers, Alex Bovee and Paul Querna realized that while the use of SaaS apps and cloud infrastructure was exploding, the process to give employees permission to use them was not keeping up. The pair led Zero Trust strategies and products at Okta, and could see the problem firsthand. For the […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Want to take a road trip with Kevin Costner? Investors are betting you might

Mon, 05 Apr 2021 17:07:10 -0000

Woody Sears has long been interested in storytelling. After spending several years in sales after nabbing an MBA from Pepperdine — and following the debut in 2007 of the first iPhone — he founded a storytelling app called Zuuka that built up a library of narrated and illustrated kids’ books for the iPhone and iPad.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Uruguayan payments startup dLocal quadruples valuation to $5B with $150M raise

Mon, 05 Apr 2021 11:03:38 -0000

Cross-border payments startup dLocal has raised $150 million at a $5 billion valuation, less than seven months after securing $200 million at a $1.2 billion valuation. This means that the five-year-old Uruguayan company has effectively quadrupled its valuation in a matter of months.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Compass CEO hails IPO as a fundraising event amid ‘challenging’ market

Fri, 02 Apr 2021 16:01:26 -0000

While several tech companies are opting to delay their IPOsÂ in the face of less-than-enthusiastic market demand for their shares, real estate tech company Compass forged ahead and went public today.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

mmhmm introduces usage-based enterprise accounts and a beta for Windows

Fri, 02 Apr 2021 08:00:27 -0000

mmhmm, the software that allows folks to personalize their appearance on video chat, has today announced that its introducing usage-based enterprise accounts. In a conversation with TechCrunch, founder and CEO Phil Libin said this is a natural evolution, remarking that mmhmm has had hundreds of registrations from users all at the same company. “It was […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Leeway is a contract workflow service for your legal team

Thu, 01 Apr 2021 16:01:32 -0000

Meet Leeway, a French startup that is building an end-to-end software-as-a-service solution for your contracts. Leeway lets you centralize all your contracts in a single repository, go through multiple negotiation steps and trigger a DocuSign event for the signature.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hex lands $5.5M seed to help data scientists share data across the company

Thu, 01 Apr 2021 08:00:29 -0000

As companies embrace the use of data, hiring more data scientists, a roadblock persists around sharing that data. It requires too much copying and pasting and manual work. Hex, a new startup, wants to change that by providing a way to dispense data across the company in a streamlined and elegant way.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Otrium raises $120 million for its end-of-season fashion marketplace

Wed, 31 Mar 2021 16:01:25 -0000

Otrium has raised a $120 million round just a year after raising its $26 million Series B round. BOND and returning investor Index Ventures are leading the round. Existing investor Eight Roads Ventures is also participating. The concept behind Otrium is quite simple.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jeff Bezos’ investment fund is backing a startup hoping to be the AWS for SMB accounting

Wed, 31 Mar 2021 08:10:53 -0000

One of the biggest pain points for startups and small businesses is keeping up with back office tasks such as bookkeeping and managing taxes. QuickBooks, it seems, just doesn’t always cut it.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Knock is the latest proptech said to be eyeing the public markets

Tue, 30 Mar 2021 16:01:20 -0000

Another proptech is considering raising capital through the public arena. Knock confirmed Monday that it is considering going public, although CEO Sean Black did not specify whether the company would do so via a traditional IPO, SPAC merger or direct listing.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bunch adds $1M to its seed round to flesh out its leadership learning app

Tue, 30 Mar 2021 08:00:27 -0000

This morning Bunch announced that it has closed a total of $4.4 million in seed capital, including a new $1 million infusion this week.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Singular is a new Paris-based VC firm with $265 million

Mon, 29 Mar 2021 16:01:24 -0000

Meet Singular, a new VC firm based in Paris that just finished raising its initial fund. The firm was founded by two former Alven partners — Raffi Kamber and Jérémy Uzan. They have some ambitious goals and an interesting investment model that could help them remain involved even during late-stage rounds.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Headless commerce startup Swell raises $3.4M

Mon, 29 Mar 2021 08:00:24 -0000

While new headless commerce platforms are emerging all the time, Swell CEO Eric Ingram told me that it remains “really hard to do something new in e-commerce.” Specifically, he told me that most headless platforms (which offer back-end infrastructure separate from the front-end shopping experience) allow businesses to build a faster shopping experience.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

R/GA Ventures announces its new Coalition Venture Studios to support Black founders

Fri, 26 Mar 2021 16:01:26 -0000

Design and marketing consultancy R/GA is expanding its Venture Studios program with the launch of a new Coalition Venture Studio focused specifically on supporting Black-led and Black-owned startups. The initiative is led by R/GA Entrepreneur in Residence Davyeon Ross, a Black entrepreneur who founded sports analytics company ShotTracker.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

CoScreen launches its screen-sharing product, announces $4.6M in fundraising

Fri, 26 Mar 2021 08:18:22 -0000

This morning CoScreen, a startup that helps teams share screens and collaborate in real-time, formally launched its product to market. It also disclosed that it has raised $4.6 million to date. Unusual Ventures led its Seed round. Till Pieper, CoScreen’s co-founder and CEO told TechCrunch in an interview that it raised the bulk of its […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pie Insurance raises $118M for data-driven workers’ comp coverage

Thu, 25 Mar 2021 16:01:25 -0000

Pie Insurance, a startup offering workers’ compensation insurance to small businesses, announced this morning that it has closed on $118 million in a Series C round of funding. Allianz X — investment arm of German financial services giant Allianz — and Acrew Capital co-led the round.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bevy raises $40M Series C with 20% coming from Black investors

Thu, 25 Mar 2021 08:00:27 -0000

You might expect that a startup that makes community building software would be thriving during a pandemic when it’s so difficult for us to be together.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Neighbor raises $53M for self-storage marketplace after 5x YoY revenue growth

Wed, 24 Mar 2021 16:01:23 -0000

Neighbor, which operates a self-storage marketplace, announced Wednesday that it has raised $53 million in a Series B round of funding. Fifth Wall led the financing, which notably also included participation from returning backer Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and new investors DoorDash CEO Tony Xu and StockX CEO Scott Cutler.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Y Combinator’s new batch features its largest group of Indian startups

Wed, 24 Mar 2021 08:00:21 -0000

Y Combinator’s latest batch — W21 — features 350 startups from 41 nations. 50% of the firms, the highest percentage to date, in the new batch are based outside of the United States. India is the second largest demographic represented in the new batch.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Social shopping-focused Chums announces $3.5M raise ahead of YC Demo Day

Tue, 23 Mar 2021 16:01:30 -0000

With Y Combinator Demo Day kicking off tomorrow morning, startups in the current batch are hurrying to make a little news before they show off their recent growth to investors. The list includes Runway, Mono, Pangea and Flux. Add Chums to the mix.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Do we need so many virtual HQ platforms?

Tue, 23 Mar 2021 08:00:26 -0000

Teamflow, founded by ex-Uber manager Flo Crivello, has raised an $11 million Series A just three months after raising a $3.9 million seed for its virtual HQ platform. The latest round in the startup was led by Battery Ventures, with Menlo Ventures leading its previous financing event.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Camunda snares $98M Series B as process automation continues to flourish

Mon, 22 Mar 2021 16:01:25 -0000

It’s clear that automated workflow tooling has become increasingly important for companies. Perhaps that explains why Camunda, a Berlin startup that makes open source process automation software, announced an €82 million Series B today. That translates into approximately $98 million U.S. Insight Partners led the round with help from A round investor Highland Europe.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vega raises $5M to give anyone the ability to launch a derivatives market

Mon, 22 Mar 2021 08:00:26 -0000

Vega, a startup that is building a decentralized protocol for creating and trading on derivatives markets, has raised $5 million in funding. Arrington Capital and Cumberland DRW co-led the round, which also included participation from Coinbase Ventures, ParaFi Capital, Signum Capital, CMT Digital, CMS Holdings, Three Commas and a slew of others.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Backed by YC, Vendease is building Amazon Prime for restaurants in Africa

Fri, 19 Mar 2021 16:01:23 -0000

For small and mid-sized restaurants in Nigeria and most of Africa, food procurement can be a complex process to manage. The system is such that a business can easily run out of money or have considerable savings. Most restaurants don’t have access to deal directly with farms to get better deals because they lack the […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cohere raises $3.1 million for its remote control solution for web apps

Fri, 19 Mar 2021 08:00:29 -0000

Existing remote desktop solutions like LogMeIn and TeamViewer can be complicated to set up and use, and can feel dated. A new startup called Cohere, now backed by $3.1 million in seed funding, aims to improve on the remote desktop and screen-sharing experience.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This new startup is weeding out the weed-out classes, instead of students

Thu, 18 Mar 2021 16:01:23 -0000

Five years ago, entrepreneur Dan Sommer bet big on the adult learning space when he was building out Trilogy Education, an online and in-person bootcamp in collaboration with universities to train workforces on the latest tech skills.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Oso announces $8.2M Series A to simplify authorization for developers

Thu, 18 Mar 2021 08:00:27 -0000

When we think about getting access to an application, we tend to focus on the authentication side — granting or denying people (or devices) entry. But there is another piece to this, and that’s authorization.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Docker nabs $23M Series B as as new developer focus takes shape

Wed, 17 Mar 2021 16:01:24 -0000

It was easy to wonder what would become of Docker after it sold its enterprise business in 2019, but it regrouped last year as a cloud native container company focused on developers, and the new approach appears to be bearing fruit. Today, the company announced a $23 million Series B investment.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Noogata raises $12M seed round for its no-code enterprise AI platform

Wed, 17 Mar 2021 08:00:31 -0000

Noogata, a startup that offers a no-code AI solution for enterprises, today announced that it has raised a $12 million seed round led by Team8, with participation from Skylake Capital.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mexican challenger bank Fondeadora adds $14 million to its Series B

Tue, 16 Mar 2021 16:01:24 -0000

Fondeadora, a fintech startup based in Mexico City and building a challenger bank, has extended its Series A funding round. I covered the company’s original round back in August 2020.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Swell launches its app for asynchronous voice conversations

Tue, 16 Mar 2021 08:15:20 -0000

You might think that Clubhouse is the final word on audio-centric social networks, but a San Francisco startup called Swell is launching its own iOS and Android app focused on voice conversations. The big difference: While conversations on Clubhouse all happen in real-time — meaning that you’ve got to listen live or miss it all […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Disruptel raises $1.1M to make smart TVs smarter

Mon, 15 Mar 2021 16:01:25 -0000

St. Louis-based voice assistant startup Disruptel is announcing that it has raised $1.1 million in seed funding. The money comes from an impressive group of investors who seem well-aligned with what the startup is aiming to do — namely, build a voice assistant that can provide detailed information about what’s happening on your TV screen. […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Arist adds $2M to its seed round to grow its SMS-based training service

Mon, 15 Mar 2021 08:00:31 -0000

This morning Arist, a startup that sells software allowing other organizations to offer SMS-based training to staff, announced that it has extended its seed round to $3.9 million after adding $2 million to its prior raise.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Regenerative agriculture is the next great ally in fight against climate change

Fri, 12 Mar 2021 16:01:26 -0000

Backed by innovations in science, big data, financing and farmer networking, investing in regenerative agriculture promises to slash farming’s carbon footprint while rewarding farmers for their stewardship.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tackle nabs $35M Series B to help companies navigate cloud marketplaces

Fri, 12 Mar 2021 08:00:27 -0000

Each of the big three cloud vendors — Amazon, Microsoft and Google — has a marketplace where software vendors can sell their wares. It seems like an easy enough proposition to throw your software up there and be done with it, but it turns out that it’s not quite that simple.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

M1 Finance raises another rapid-fire round after scaling its AUM to more than $3.5B

Thu, 11 Mar 2021 16:01:25 -0000

Months after raising a Series C worth $45 million, Chicago-based M1 Finance announced a new round of capital today. A Series D, the new $75 million investment was led by Coatue, with two prior investors — Left Lane Capital and Clocktower Technology Ventures — also taking part. The new financing comes after M1 raised twice […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chatbot startup Heyday raises $5.1M

Thu, 11 Mar 2021 08:00:26 -0000

Montreal-based Heyday announced today that it has raised $6.5 million Canadian ($5.1 million in US dollars) in additional seed funding.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fleex lets you allocate a monthly budget for work from home equipment

Wed, 10 Mar 2021 16:01:23 -0000

Meet Fleex, a French startup that was formally named Flexlab. The company wants to make it easier to give some cash to your employees so that they can spend it on a desk, an external monitor, some computer peripherals, a nice chair, etc. Essentially, Fleex wants to make it easier to turn remote work into […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cube raises $10M more to help companies plan their financial future

Wed, 10 Mar 2021 08:00:25 -0000

This morning Cube, a startup that builds FP&A software for the mid-market, announced that it has raised a $10 million Series A. The company previously raised a $5 million seed round that TechCrunch covered last August. Mayfield led its Series A, which saw participation from Operator Collective and Bonfire Ventures. FP&A is probably not an […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Eye surgery robotics startup ForSight raises $10M

Tue, 09 Mar 2021 16:01:29 -0000

Israel-based ForSight Robotics announced today that it has raised $10 million for what it has deemed a “mega-seed round.” Led by Eclipse Ventures and Mithril Capital, the round will go toward expanding the company’s headcount and global reach, as it looks to bring its offerings to international markets.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vendr raises huge $60M Series A as its SaaS-purchasing service scales

Tue, 09 Mar 2021 08:00:22 -0000

This morning Vendr announced a $60 million Series A round, a huge funding event led by Tiger Global, with participation from Y Combinator, Sound Ventures, Craft Ventures, F-Prime Capital, and Garage Capital.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Swiss maker of meat alternatives Planted will expand and diversify with $18M Series A

Mon, 08 Mar 2021 17:53:01 -0000

Planted, a startup pursuing a unique method of creating a vegetarian chicken alternative, has raised an $18M (CHF 17M) Series A to expand its product offerings and international footprint. With new kebabs and pulled-style faux meats available and steak-like cuts in the (literal) pipeline, Planted has begun to set its sights outside central Europe. The […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dan Siroker’s new startup Scribe automates Zoom note-taking

Mon, 08 Mar 2021 08:00:26 -0000

Optimizely co-founder Dan Siroker said the idea for his new startup Scribe goes back to a couple of personal experiences — and although Scribe’s first product is focused on Zoom, those experiences weren’t Zoom-related at all.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Revolut lets customers switch to Revolut Bank in 10 additional countries

Fri, 05 Mar 2021 16:01:19 -0000

Fintech startup Revolut has its own banking license in the European Union since late 2018. It lets the company offer some additional financial services without partnering with third-party companies. And the company is going to let customers switch to Revolut Bank in 10 additional countries.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Deliverr scores $170M to bring fast delivery to every e-commerce vendor

Fri, 05 Mar 2021 08:00:23 -0000

At a time when e-commerce is exploding due in large part to the pandemic, a business that helps any online merchant ship goods to a consumer in one or two days is going to be in demand. Deliverr is a startup that fits that bill, and today the company announced a $170 million financing round. […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hopin confirms $400M raise at $5.65B valuation

Thu, 04 Mar 2021 16:01:25 -0000

This morning Hopin, a virtual events platform and video-focused software service, announced that it has closed a $400 million Series C. The new capital values Hopin at $5.65 billion. Both numbers match prior TechCrunch reporting that the company was targeting a $400 million raise at a valuation of between $5 billion and $6 billion. Andreessen […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Yugabyte announces $48M Series C as cloud native database makes enterprise push

Thu, 04 Mar 2021 08:00:24 -0000

As demand for cloud native applications is growing, Yugabyte, makers of the cloud native, open source YugabyteDB database are seeing a corresponding rise in demand for their products, especially with large enterprise customers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Indonesian supply chain startup Advotics raises $2.75M led by East Ventures

Wed, 03 Mar 2021 16:01:24 -0000

The rapid growth of e-commerce in Indonesia, especially during the pandemic, is placing increasing demands on its supply chain infrastructure. But the country’s logistics industry is highly fragmented, with companies usually relying on multiple providers for one shipment, and many warehouses are still concentrated around major cities.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cornea eyes in on fighting wildfires using better data

Wed, 03 Mar 2021 08:00:27 -0000

It’s not yet fire season thankfully, which affords some breathing room for firefighters and emergency responders to begin planning out how to confront the increasingly complex and unwieldy task of preventing and responding to fires in the American West.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Coupang may raise up to $3.6 billion in its IPO, at a potential valuation of $51 billion

Tue, 02 Mar 2021 16:01:22 -0000

According to an amended S-1 filing, South Korean e-commerce leader Coupang expects to price its initial public offering between $27 to $30 per share, potentially raising up to $3.6 billion.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Murmur, still in private beta, wants to help startups make private work agreements public

Tue, 02 Mar 2021 08:00:30 -0000

As building in public continues to gain popularity with early-stage startup founders, Murmur, coming out of stealth today, wants to leverage that natural transparency to a louder frequency. Founded by Aaron Dignan, Murmur helps startups create work agreements based on the policies of other startups.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rocket Lab debuts plans for a new, larger, reusable rocket for launching satellite constellations

Mon, 01 Mar 2021 16:01:24 -0000

Because news of its SPAC-fueled public market debut wasn’t enough, Rocket Lab also unveiled a new class of rocket it has in development on Monday.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Atlassian is acquiring Chartio to bring data visualization to the platform

Mon, 01 Mar 2021 08:00:29 -0000

The Atlassian platform is chock full of data about how a company operates and communicates. Atlassian launched a machine learning layer, which relies on data on the platform with the addition of Atlassian Smarts last fall.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Aquarium scores $2.6M seed to refine machine learning model data

Fri, 26 Feb 2021 16:01:24 -0000

Aquarium, a startup from two former Cruise employees, wants to help companies refine their machine learning model data more easily and move the models into production faster. Today the company announced a $2.6 million seed led by Sequoia with participation from Y Combinator and a bunch of angel investors including Cruise co-founders Kyle Vogt and Dan Kan.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

MealMe raises $900,000 for its food search engine

Fri, 26 Feb 2021 08:00:31 -0000

This morning MealMe.ai, a food search engine, announced that it has closed a $900,000 pre-seed round. Palm Drive Capital led the round, with participation from Slow Ventures and CP Ventures. TechCrunch first became familiar with MealMe when it presented as part of the Techstars Atlanta demo day last October, mentioning it in a roundup of […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Maze raises another $15 million for its user testing platform

Thu, 25 Feb 2021 16:01:23 -0000

Maze has closed a $15 million Series A funding round led by Emergence Capital. The company lets you run user tests at scale so that you can get feedback before rolling out a design update or test copy. When you have a lot of users, you don’t want to roll out some changes before testing […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gamified emergency prep startup Harbor inks ADT partnership

Thu, 25 Feb 2021 08:00:21 -0000

Harbor, an app that gamifies emergency preparedness, has today announced the launch of a premium tier that includes features like an emergency button called HarborHELP that it has built in partnership with home-security company ADT. The premium subscription also includes a family plan, which lets paying users add up to 12 other users to the […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The current narrative explaining why tech stocks are getting hammered

Wed, 24 Feb 2021 16:01:23 -0000

This morning the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index is off 2.34% after falling yesterday. Shares of Tesla are off more than 6% today, now mired in a bear-market correction after reaching new all-time highs earlier this year. Apple stock is worth $122.02 per share, down from over its recent highs of more than $145. After a […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Archer Aviation aims to launch network of urban air taxis in Los Angeles by 2024

Wed, 24 Feb 2021 08:00:24 -0000

Archer Aviation, the electric aircraft startup that recently announced a deal to go public via a merger with a blank-check company, plans to launch a network of its urban air taxis in Los Angeles by 2024. The announcement comes two months after the formation of the Urban Air Mobility Partnership, a one-year initiative between Los […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

ErudiFi raises $5 million Series A to give students in Southeast Asia more education financing options

Tue, 23 Feb 2021 16:01:29 -0000

Based in Singapore, ErudiFi wants to help more students in Southeast Asia stay in school by giving them affordable financing options. The startup announced today it has raised a $5 million Series A, co-led by Monk’s Hill Ventures and Qualgro. ErudiFi currently works with more than 50 universities and vocational schools in Indonesia and the […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Creatio raises $68M as the low-code space keeps attracting huge checks

Tue, 23 Feb 2021 08:00:23 -0000

This morning Creatio, a Boston-based software company, announced that it has raised $68 million. Volition Capital, a growth-equity fund, led the round. The deal was a minority investment in the startup. The deal is notable not merely thanks to its sheer size, but because up until today Creatio had bootstrapped. That’s according to founder and […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Indonesian investment platform FUNDtastic lands $7.7 million Series A

Mon, 22 Feb 2021 16:01:22 -0000

Despite the market impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, retail investing is increasing in Indonesia, especially among people aged 18 to 30. Today, investment platform FUNDtastic announced it has raised a $7.7 million Series A to tap into that demand, with plans to launch new products for retail investors, reports DealStreetAsia. The round was led by […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AccountsIQ scores €5.8M for its financial management software for multi-entity SMEs

Mon, 22 Feb 2021 08:00:27 -0000

AccountsIQ, a financial management software (FMS) startup founded by a team of chartered accountants (when accountants want to be entrepreneurs, you know startups are a thing), has raised €5.8 million in funding. Backing the Dublin-based company, which targets mid-sized businesses that operate multi-entities, is Finch Capital, the fintech focussed VC that recently outed its third […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Torii announces $10M Series A to automate SaaS management

Fri, 19 Feb 2021 16:21:46 -0000

Today, that software is offered as a cloud service should be pretty much considered a given. Certainly any modern tooling is going to be SaaS, and as companies and employees add services, it becomes a management nightmare. Enter Torii, an early stage startup that wants to make it easier to manage SaaS bloat. Today, the […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Robinhood goes to Congress

Fri, 19 Feb 2021 08:05:29 -0000

Update: There’s an entire second session of this? My lord. Today the House Financial Services Committee dragged the CEO of Reddit, a Cato wonk, social media icon DeepFuckingValue, the CEO of Citadel Kenneth Griffin, a hedgefund bro who got whomped by DeepFuckingValue, and the CEO of Robinhood Vlad Tenev, who got womped when individual investors […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Locus Robotics has raised a $150M Series E

Thu, 18 Feb 2021 16:01:26 -0000

Massachusetts-based Locus Robotics today announced a $150 million Series E. The round, led by Tiger Global Management and Bond, brings the firm’s total to around $250 to date, and values the robotics company at $1 billion. Locus is notable for a more modular and flexible solution for automating warehouses than many of its competitors (see: […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ally.io rasies $50M Series C as the OKR software market stays explosive

Thu, 18 Feb 2021 08:00:28 -0000

This morning Ally.io, a software startup with a focus on the OKR (objectives and key results, in case you’ve somehow avoided being exposed) goal-setting technique, announced that it has closed $50 million in new capital. The Series C round was led by Green Oaks Capital, Madrona Capital, and its Series B lead, Tiger Global. Ally […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jet co-founder Nate Faust is building a more sustainable e-commerce experience with Olive

Wed, 17 Feb 2021 16:01:26 -0000

Nate Faust has spent years in the e-commerce business — he was a vice president at Quidsi (which ran Diapers.com and Soap.com), co-founder and COO at Jet (acquired by Walmart for $3.3 billion) and then a vice president at Walmart. Over time, he said it slowly dawned on him that it’s “crazy” that 25 years […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bitcoin briefly breaks the $50,000 barrier as Coinbase’s direct listing looms

Wed, 17 Feb 2021 08:00:26 -0000

The hodl-crew are having quite the moment as bitcoin passed the $50,000 mark earlier today for the first time. Data pegs the peak at just over $50,500. The price of bitcoin, the world’s best-known cryptocurrency, has historically proven a reasonable proxy for consumer interest in the cryptocurrency space, and for trading activity amongst blockchain-based assets. […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After pausing the business, Fronted finally launches to offer loans to cover rent deposits

Tue, 16 Feb 2021 16:01:30 -0000

Fronted, the London-based fintech aiming to make life easier for renters, including lending the cash needed for a deposit, has finally launched. In March, its founders took the decision to “hibernate” the nascent business after the first lockdown and with the pandemic taking hold. But, now with regulatory approval from the FCA and rents falling […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Delivery company goPuff is in talks to acquire the UK’s Fancy

Tue, 16 Feb 2021 08:00:28 -0000

GoPuff, the U.S.-based startup that operates its own “microfulfillment” network and promises to deliver items such as over-the-counter medicine, baby food and alcohol in 30 minutes or less, is in talks to acquire the U.K.’s Fancy Delivery, TechCrunch has learned. According to sources, terms of the acquisition are still being fleshed out, and the deal […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Online workspace startup Notion hit by outage, citing DNS issues

Mon, 15 Feb 2021 16:01:23 -0000

Notion, the online workspace startup that was last year valued at over $2 billion, is currently offline after a DNS outage knocked the site off the internet. The collaborative online office and document service was not loading as of around 9am ET on Friday, preventing anyone who relies on the service from accessing their cloud-stored […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Datadog to acquire application security management platform Sqreen

Mon, 15 Feb 2021 08:21:31 -0000

Cloud monitoring platform Datadog has announced that it plans to acquire Sqreen, a software-as-a-service security platform. Originally founded in France, Sqreen participated in TechCrunch’s Startup Battlefield in 2016. Sqreen is a cloud-based security product to protect your application directly. Once you install the sandboxed Sqreen agent, it analyzes your application in real time to find […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ramp secures $150M debt line from Goldman Sachs as the corporate spend market grows

Fri, 12 Feb 2021 16:01:31 -0000

This morning Ramp, a startup that competes in the corporate spend market, announced that it has secured a $150 million debt facility with Goldman Sachs. Ramp previously raised a $30 million Series B in late December 2020, after raising a $23 million Series A earlier in the same year. TechCrunch spoke with Ramp co-founder and […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

2up launches ahead of Valentines Day to help gamers find one another

Fri, 12 Feb 2021 08:00:29 -0000

People don’t often equate gaming with dating, but maybe they should. As gaming continues to grow in popularity, particularly in the wake of the pandemic, a new startup called 2up is launching to help gamers connect both on and off screen. The app was founded by sibling duo Stephanie and Lincoln Smith, who have been […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Monzo, the British challenger bank nearing 5 million customers, has recruited a new U.S. CEO

Thu, 11 Feb 2021 16:01:24 -0000

Monzo, the U.K. challenger bank with just shy of 5 million customers, has recruited a new U.S CEO to head up its efforts states-side, TechCrunch has learned. Carol Nelson, who previously spent ten years as CEO of Cascade Bank and prior to that was a long time senior vice president of Bank of America, will […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Powder raises $14 million for its social app for game clips

Thu, 11 Feb 2021 08:00:29 -0000

Meet Powder, a French startup that helps you share video clips of your favorite games, follow people with the same interests and interact with them. The company has raised a $14 million Series A round led by Serena. Powder wants to build the video infrastructure for social gaming. While many communities of gamers already share […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Klarna launches bank accounts in Germany

Wed, 10 Feb 2021 16:01:26 -0000

Fintech startup Klarna is turning its mobile app into a banking app in Germany. Customers living there can now open a consumer bank account and get a Visa debit card. For now, Klarna is launching bank accounts for a limited number of users. The company expects to roll it out more broadly in the coming […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Encrypted data handling startup DataFleets acquired by LiveRamp for over $68M

Wed, 10 Feb 2021 10:56:34 -0000

LiveRamp has acquired DataFleets, a fresh young startup that made it possible to take advantage of large volumes of encrypted data without the risk or fuss of decrypting or transferring it. LiveRamp, an enterprise data connectivity platform itself, paid more than $68M for the company, a huge multiple on DataFleet’s $4.5M seed announced just last […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Monte Carlo raises $25M for its data observability service

Tue, 09 Feb 2021 16:01:22 -0000

This morning Monte Carlo, a startup focused on helping other companies better monitor their data inflows, announced that it has closed a $25 million Series B. The round, which was co-led by GGV and Redpoint, comes mere months after its September Series A that was worth $15 million. Accel led the company’s Series A and […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

InEvent raises $2M for its virtual conference platform

Tue, 09 Feb 2021 08:00:29 -0000

InEvent, a startup powering virtual and hybrid events, is announcing that it has raised $2 million in seed funding from Storm Ventures. That’s just tiny fraction of the $125 million that online events platform Hopin raised last fall — in fact, a recent Equity episode suggested that Hopin might be the fastest growth story of […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Harry Stebbings is leaving Stride, the VC firm he founded with Fred Destin

Mon, 08 Feb 2021 16:01:24 -0000

Harry Stebbings, the podcaster-turned-VC, is stepping down as a partner of Stride, the London-based venture capital firm he co-founded with Fred Destin, formerly of Accel. In a series of tweets, Destin said that Stebbings won’t be involved in Stride’s second fund (though he’ll remain a partner in fund one), and will instead be focusing on […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lightspeed and Max Levchin bet on Balance to bring B2B payments into the digital world

Mon, 08 Feb 2021 08:00:25 -0000

Consumer payments is by no means a solved problem (I’ll trigger one hundred blockchain people if I say otherwise), but it sure as heck a pretty improved one. Checkout is a breeze with modern tools ranging from Stripe and PayPal to Fast and Rapyd to Apple and Google Pay. If you happen to need financing, […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Health tech startup Bold raises $7 million in seed funding for senior-focused fitness programs

Fri, 05 Feb 2021 16:01:28 -0000

Virtual health and wellness platforms have grown increasingly popular throughout the pandemic, but a new startup wants to focus that effort exclusively on senior citizens. Bold, a digital health and wellness service, plans to prevent chronic health problems in older adults through free and personalized exercise programs. Co-founded by Amanda Rees and her partner Hari […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HubSpot acquires media startup The Hustle

Fri, 05 Feb 2021 08:00:25 -0000

Marketing software company HubSpot is acquiring The Hustle, the business and tech media startup behind the popular newsletter of the same name Axios broke the news of the deal and reported that it values the startup at around $27 million. HubSpot declined to comment on the deal price, and while tweeting about the acquisition, The […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cajoo promises grocery deliveries in 15 minutes

Thu, 04 Feb 2021 16:01:23 -0000

Meet Cajoo, a new French startup that has raised a $7.3 million (€6 million) funding round. The company wants to make it easier to order groceries from your phone and receive them 15 minutes later. It is launching in Paris today. “I left Bolt around mid-August and I’m launching a company with two co-founders focused […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Beam raises $9.5 million to build a web browser that collects ideas

Thu, 04 Feb 2021 08:00:24 -0000

Beam has raised a $9.5 million Series A round. The company is working on a new web browser that completely rethinks the way you start a web session and browse the web. The startup is founded by Dom Leca and Sébastien Métrot. Dom Leca previously worked on Sparrow, an email app with an opinionated design. […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Commuting platform startup Hip lands $12 million to help companies bring employees back to the office

Wed, 03 Feb 2021 16:01:22 -0000

Nearly a year ago, the spread of COVID-19 ended the daily commute for millions of Americans, an abrupt change that sent the ridesharing industry into a free fall. Hip, which connected commuters with third-party bus and shuttle operators via an app, was just one of the many mobility-as-a-service startups that watched its clientele and revenue […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alloy raises $4M to build out its e-commerce automation service

Wed, 03 Feb 2021 08:00:25 -0000

Alloy Automation, a startup that was part of the Y Combinator Winter 2020 cohort, announced today that it has closed $5 million across two rounds, the most recent of which brought $4 million to the company in October of 2020. The new funds were raised at a $16 million pre-money, $20 million post-money valuation, Alloy […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Robinhood’s long weekend brings a total of $3.4 billion to its balance sheet

Tue, 02 Feb 2021 16:01:25 -0000

Popular, highly-scrutinized trading app Robinhood has raised $2.4 billion to its balance sheet from shareholders, as first reported by the Wall Street Journal and then confirmed by the company. The private startup raised $1 billion on Friday, meaning that it has raised $3.4 billion in a handful of days as it seeks to support a […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Databricks raises $1B at $28B valuation as it reaches $425M ARR

Tue, 02 Feb 2021 08:00:27 -0000

Another hour, another billion-dollar round. That’s how February is kicking off. This time it’s Databricks, which just raised $1 billion Series G at a whopping $28 billion post-money valuation. Databricks is a data-and-AI focused company that interacts with corporate information stored in the public cloud. News of the new round began leaking last week. Franklin […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chefclub raises $17 million to expand its food media brand beyond social networks

Mon, 01 Feb 2021 16:01:22 -0000

French startup Chefclub announced earlier this week that it has raised a $17 million funding round led by First Bridge Ventures. SEB Alliance, the venture arm of kitchen appliance maker Groupe SEB, Korelya Capital and Algaé Ventures are also participating. Chefclub has been building a major media brand on social media platforms. It has attracted […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stock trading app Trade Republic expands to France

Mon, 01 Feb 2021 08:00:24 -0000

German startup Trade Republic is rolling out its app and service in France this week. This is a significant expansion move as Trade Republic has only been available in Germany and Austria so far. Trade Republic lets you buy and sell shares or exchange-traded funds (ETFs) from your phone with low, transparent fees. The company […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Storetasker revamps its Shopify developer marketplace

Fri, 29 Jan 2021 16:01:22 -0000

Storetasker is an online marketplace focused on connecting Shopify merchants with developers and other experts who can help grow their business. The product is now owned by the startup previously known as Lorem. Co-founder and COO Charlie Fogarty explained that while Lorem originally had a broader mission of connecting small businesses and developers, “We realized […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Qualtrics prices IPO at $30 per share, above its upgraded target range

Fri, 29 Jan 2021 08:00:25 -0000

Last night, Qualtrics priced its IPO at $30 per share, selling 50.4 million shares in the process. Notably, the company’s IPO price was harder to chase down than usual, with a formal press release in scarce supply. SEC filings indicate that the company “anticipate[s]” a price of $30 per share, and reports from media and […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Squarespace files privately to go public

Thu, 28 Jan 2021 16:01:24 -0000

Squarespace announced this afternoon that it is going public.Â The online website creation and hosting service is a venture-backed entity, having raised Series A and B rounds in 2010 and 2014, respectively. Those deals were worth a combined $78.5 million, according to Crunchbase data. But Squarespace is perhaps best known for its epic 2017-era $200 million […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SAP is buying Berlin business process automation startup Signavio

Thu, 28 Jan 2021 08:00:26 -0000

Rumors have been flying this week that SAP was going to buy Berlin business process automation startup Signavio, and sure enough the company made it official today. The companies did not reveal the purchase price, but Bloomberg reported earlier this week that the deal could be worth $1.2 billion. With Signavio SAP gets a cloud […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SaaS startup studio eFounders launches a fintech startup studio

Wed, 27 Jan 2021 16:01:23 -0000

eFounders is expanding its focus by creating a second startup studio called Logic Founders. This time, Logic Founders is going to focus on fintech startups exclusively. Camille Tyan (pictured above) is going to lead the new studio. Over the past ten years, eFounders has launched dozens of software-as-a-service companies trying to improve the way we […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stacker raises $1.7M to help nocoders build apps from spreadsheets

Wed, 27 Jan 2021 08:00:31 -0000

Stacker, a company that helps non-developers create software from spreadsheets, announced that it has raised $1.7 million in a seed round. Stacker fits inside the growing no-code, and low-code niche that TechCrunch has explored at length over the last year. But its approach to the topic is worth examining, as is its new funding round. […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Clubhouse announces plans for creator payments and raises new funding led by Andreessen Horowitz

Tue, 26 Jan 2021 16:01:23 -0000

Buzzy live voice chat app Clubhouse has confirmed that it has raised new funding – without revealing how much – in a Series B round led by Andreessen Horowitz through the firm’s partner Andrew Chen. The app was reported to be raising at a $1 billion valuation in a report from The Information that landed […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Taboola is going public via SPAC

Tue, 26 Jan 2021 08:00:26 -0000

Taboola is the latest company seeking to go public via special purpose acquisition corporation — more commonly known as a SPAC. To achieve this, it will merge with ION Acquisition Corp, which went public in 2020 with the aim of funding an Israeli tech acquisition (Haaretz reported last month that Taboola was in talks with […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alma raises $59.4 million for its Klarna-like payment option

Mon, 25 Jan 2021 16:01:26 -0000

French startup Alma is raising a $59.4 million Series B funding round (€49 million). The company has been building a new payment option for expensive good. You can choose to pay over three or four installments. This product sounds familiar if you’ve used Klarna in the past. But Klarna isn’t available in France. Cathay Innovation, […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sounding Board raises cash as startups wake up to executive coaching

Mon, 25 Jan 2021 08:00:28 -0000

In an unprecedented work environment defined by distributed teams and virtual-only communication, two co-founders think their 2018 bet reigns truer than ever: mentors need mentorship, too. Christine Tao and Lori Mazan, the brains behind Sounding Board, want to train any leader within an organization to be a better leader. The San Francisco startup connects anyone […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Soci raises $80M for its localized marketing platform

Fri, 22 Jan 2021 16:01:21 -0000

Soci, a startup focused on what it calls “localized marketing,” is announcing that it has raised $80 million in Series D funding. National and global companies like Ace Hardware, Anytime Fitness, The Hertz Corporation and Nekter Juice Bar use Soci (pronounced soh-shee) to coordinate individual stores as they promote themselves through search, social media, review […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bodyguard is a mobile app that hides toxic content on social platforms

Fri, 22 Jan 2021 08:00:27 -0000

If you’re somewhat famous on various social networks, chances are you are exposed to hate speech in your replies or in your comments. French startup Bodyguard recently launched its app and service in English so that it can hide toxic content from your eyes. It has been available in French for a few years and […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Accounting automation startup Geroges raises $42.4 million and rebrands to Indy

Thu, 21 Jan 2021 16:01:23 -0000

French startup Georges — or Georges.tech — is raising a new round of funding of $42.4 million (€35 million). The company is also getting a new name and will be called Indy going forward. The startup has been building an accounting automation application for freelancers and small companies. Singular is leading today’s funding round. You […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Monzo founder Tom Blomfield is departing the challenger bank and says he’s ‘struggled’ during the pandemic

Thu, 21 Jan 2021 08:00:27 -0000

Monzo founder Tom Blomfield is departing the U.K. challenger bank entirely at the end of the month, staff were informed earlier today. Blomfield held the role of CEO until May last year when he assumed the newly created title of president and resigned from the Monzo board. However, having been given the time and space […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Drone-focused construction startup TraceAir raises $3.5M

Wed, 20 Jan 2021 16:01:22 -0000

Bay Area-based construction startup TraceAir today announced a $3.5 million Series A. Led by London-based XTX Ventures, this round brings the company’s total funding up to $7 million. The raise includes existing investor Metropolis VC, along with new additions Liquid 2 Ventures, GEM Capital, GPS Ventures and Andrew Filev. We first noted the company back […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

StackPulse announces $28M investment to help developers manage outages

Wed, 20 Jan 2021 08:00:26 -0000

When a system outage happens, chaos can ensue as the team tries to figure out what’s happening and how to fix it. StackPulse, a new startup that wants to help developers manage these crisis situations more efficiently, emerged from stealth today with a $28 million investment. The round actually breaks down to a previously unannounced […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Health insurance startup Alan launches free medical app Alan Baby

Tue, 19 Jan 2021 16:01:24 -0000

French startup Alan is generating 100% of its revenue from health insurance products — and that isn’t going to change. But the company wants to start a conversation with a bigger use base. Alan is going to launch multiple mobile apps that let you learn more about health topics, contact a doctor and chat with […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Goama lets developers integrate a social gaming platform into their apps

Tue, 19 Jan 2021 10:09:26 -0000

Goama (also known as Go Games) lets developers quickly integrate social games into their apps. Some of Goama’s clients have used it for promotional campaigns, while others rely on the platform, which introduces new games every week, to add a full-fledged gaming function to their app. The startup, which recently took part in SOSV’s accelerator […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Startups at CES showed how tech can help elderly people and their caregivers

Mon, 18 Jan 2021 16:01:23 -0000

The COVID-19 pandemic shined a harsh spotlight on the challenges many elderly people face. Older adults are among the highest-risk groups for developing cases that need hospitalization and nursing homes were especially vulnerable to outbreaks. While dealing with COVID-19, the elderly have also faced many other problems, including the difficulty of accessing medical care for […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GitLab raises $195M in secondary funding on $6B valuation

Mon, 18 Jan 2021 08:00:29 -0000

GitLab has confirmed with TechCrunch that it raised a $195 million secondary round on a $6 billion valuation. CNBC broke the story earlier today. The company’s impressive valuation comes after its most recent 2019 Series E in which it raised $268 million on a 2.75 billion valuation, an increase of $3.25 billion in under 18 […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Medium acquires social book reading app Glose

Fri, 15 Jan 2021 16:01:25 -0000

Medium is acquiring Paris-based startup Glose for an undisclosed amount. Glose has been building an iOS, Android and web app that lets you buy, download and read books on your devices. The company has turned reading into a multiplayer experience as you can build a bookshelf, share notes with your followers and start conversations in […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

X1 Card raises $12 million for its credit card with limits based on your income

Fri, 15 Jan 2021 08:00:22 -0000

X1 Card is raising a $12 million funding round. The company is building a credit card that sets limits based on your current and future income, not your credit score. Spark Capital is leading the round with Jared Leto, Aaron Levie, Jeremy Stoppelman, Max Levchin and Ali Rowghani also participating. American Express veteran Ash Gupta […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gemini is launching a credit card with bitcoin rewards

Thu, 14 Jan 2021 16:01:25 -0000

Cryptocurrency exchange company Gemini is acquiring Blockrize and announcing a new product today based on Blockrize’s work. Later this year, the company is launching a credit card that works like a regular credit card — but you earn bitcoin rewards based on your purchases. The credit card will work on the Visa network and will […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Iziwork raises $43 million for its temporary work platform

Thu, 14 Jan 2021 08:00:24 -0000

French startup Iziwork has raised a $43 million funding round. Cathay Innovation and Bpifrance’s Large Venture fund are participating in this funding round. The company has been building a platform focused on improving temporary employment. While it’s a relatively large funding round, the startup is quite young. It was founded in September 2018 and it […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Equal access to capital and entrepreneurship is the final civil rights movement

Wed, 13 Jan 2021 16:01:23 -0000

Joseph Heller Contributor Joseph Heller is a small businesses expert and the CEO of Supplied, a wholesale platform for small businesses and brands that makes it easier for boutique owners to access high-quality, affordable items. Context is always important. In the grand scheme of things, I have privilege: I was born a male, in the […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cockroach Labs scores $160M Series E on $2B valuation

Wed, 13 Jan 2021 08:00:26 -0000

Cockroach Labs, makers of CockroachDB, have been on a fundraising roll for the last couple of years. Today the company announced a $160 million Series E on a fat $2 billion valuation. The round comes just eight months after the startup raised an $86.6 million Series D. The latest investment was led by Altimeter Capital […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Zipmex, which aspires to build the Asia Pacific region’s largest digital assets exchange, raises $6 million led by Jump Capital

Tue, 12 Jan 2021 16:01:25 -0000

Zipmex, a digital assets exchange headquartered in Singapore, announced today it has raised $6 million in funding led by Jump Capital. The startup, which plans to become a digital assets bank, says the round exceeded its initial target of $4 million. Along with earlier funding, it brings the total Zipmex has raised so far to […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Revolut applies for UK banking license

Tue, 12 Jan 2021 08:00:24 -0000

It’s hard to believe that fintech startup Revolut doesn’t have a proper banking license in its home country. But this is about to change as the company has applied for a banking license in the U.K. Up next, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) are going to look at the […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chris Krebs and Alex Stamos have started a cyber consulting firm

Mon, 11 Jan 2021 16:01:24 -0000

Former U.S. cybersecurity official Chris Krebs and former Facebook chief security officer Alex Stamos have founded a new cybersecurity consultancy firm, which already has its first client: SolarWinds . The two have been hired as consultants to help the Texas-based software maker recover from a devastating breach by suspected Russian hackers, which used the company’s […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Roku acquires Quibi’s content

Mon, 11 Jan 2021 08:00:21 -0000

Quibi is dead, but its shows will live on. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Roku was in talks to acquire the short-form video service’s content. And this morning, Roku announced that it has indeed reached a deal for the exclusive distribution rights to all of Quibi’s programs. Financial terms of the acquisition […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Text marketing startup Voxie raises $6.7M

Fri, 08 Jan 2021 16:01:23 -0000

Like many startups, Atlanta-basedÂ Voxie was created to solve a problem that founder and CEO Bogdan Constantin faced himself. In Constantin’s case, this was at his previous tuxedo rental startup Menguin (ultimately acquired by Generation Tux), where he said he had to market a product with a six-to-nine month sales cycle, as customers were usually weighing […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lacework lands $525M investment as revenue grows 300%

Fri, 08 Jan 2021 08:00:24 -0000

As the pandemic took hold in 2020, companies accelerated their move to cloud services. Lacework, the cloud security startup, was in the right place at the right time as customers looked for ways to secure their cloud native workloads. The company reported that revenue grew 300% year over year for the second straight year. It […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Too Good To Go raises $31 million to fight food waste

Thu, 07 Jan 2021 16:01:24 -0000

Too Good To Go, the startup that lets you buy food right before it goes to waste, is raising a $31.1 million round. blisce/ is leading the round and investing $15.4 million as part of today’s round. Existing investors and employees are also participating. While the company has been around for a while, this is […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Virgin Orbit targets launch window opening January 10 for next orbital flight attempt

Thu, 07 Jan 2021 08:00:23 -0000

Virgin Orbit is wasting no time in 2021 getting back to active flight testing: The company has a window for its next orbital demonstration launch attempt that opens on Sunday, January 10, and that continues throughout the rest of the month. This follows an attempt last year made in May, which ended before the LauncherOne […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sources: Hinge Health has raised $310M Series D at a $3B valuation

Wed, 06 Jan 2021 16:01:22 -0000

Hinge Health, the San Francisco-based company that offers a digital solution to treat chronic musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions — such as back and joint pain — has closed a $310 million in Series D funding, according to sources. The round is led by Coatue and Tiger Global, and values 2015-founded Hinge at $3 billion post-money, people […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kyte raises $9 million to deliver rental cars to your doorstep

Wed, 06 Jan 2021 08:00:24 -0000

More than two years ago, Ludwig Schoenack, Nikolaus Volk and Francesco Wiedemann looked at the bevy of scooter services, ride-hailing apps, public transit and car-sharing options available in most urban centers in the United States and saw a gap in the mobility market. Consumers who didn’t want to own a car, but needed one for […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Divvy raises $165M as the spend management space stays red-hot

Tue, 05 Jan 2021 16:01:21 -0000

Today Divvy, a Utah-based startup that focuses on corporate spend management, announced that it has closed a $165 million round at a $1.6 billion valuation. The company said that the new capital was raised from Hanaco, Schonfeld, PayPal Ventures, and Whale Rock, along with a cadre of prior investors. The new investment is not Divvy’s […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s not just you, Slack is struggling this morning

Mon, 04 Jan 2021 16:01:28 -0000

Slack did its best to ease the working world back into their jobs this morning by breaking, ensuring that everyone’s return to the grind would be as chaotic and unproductive as possible. Precisely when the downtime began is not clear, though problems amongst the TechCrunch staff began a little after ten o’clock in the morning. […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Union Square Ventures and Learn Capital file paperwork indicating new funds

Fri, 01 Jan 2021 16:01:23 -0000

As 2020 comes to a long-awaited end, a series of filings indicate that venture capitalists are ending the year with fresh money. According to SEC paperwork, Learn Capital and USV have filed paperwork that shows the firms have raised new, multimillion-dollar funds. If you’ve been paying attention to news this past year, it’s clear that […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

CommonGround raises $19M to rethink online communication

Wed, 30 Dec 2020 16:01:23 -0000

CommonGround, a startup developing technology for what its founders describe as “4D collaboration,” is announcing that it has raised $19 million in funding. This isn’t the first time Amir Bassan-Eskenazi and Ran Oz have launched a startup together — they also founded video networking company BigBand Networks, which won two technology-related Emmy Awards, went public […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Skyroot successfully test fires India’s first privately-made solid rocket stage

Wed, 30 Dec 2020 08:00:24 -0000

Rocket launch startup Skyroot is closing out 2020 with a key milestone in the development program for their Vikram-I launch vehicle: A successful test firing of a solid rocket propulsion stage that serves as a demonstrator of the same tech to be used in the production Vikram. This is the first time that a private […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Estonian proptech Rendin raises €1.2M seed for its long-term rental platform

Tue, 29 Dec 2020 16:01:25 -0000

Rendin, an Estonian proptech startup that wants to improve the home rental experience, including offering a no-deposit feature, has raised €1.2 million in seed funding. Backing the round is Tera Ventures, Iron Wolf Capital, Truesight Ventures, Atomico’s Angel Programme, and Startup Wise Guys. Launched in Estonia in March this year and currently expanding to Poland, […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chinese online education app Zuoyebang raises $1.6 billion from investors including Alibaba

Mon, 28 Dec 2020 16:01:28 -0000

The rivalry between China’s top online learning apps has become even more intense this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The latest company to score a significant funding round is Zuoyebang, which announced today (link in Chinese) that it has raised a $1.6 billion Series E+ from investors including Alibaba Group. Other participants included returning […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bandit ML helps e-commerce businesses present the most effective offer to each shopper

Mon, 28 Dec 2020 08:00:28 -0000

Bandit MLÂ aims to optimize and automate the process of presenting the right offer to the right customer. The startup was part of the summer 2020 class at accelerator Y Combinator . It also raised a $1.32 million seed round in September from YC, Haystack Fund, Webb Investment Network, Liquid 2 Ventures, Jigsaw Ventures, Basecamp Fund, […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Remembering the startups we lost in 2020

Thu, 24 Dec 2020 16:01:22 -0000

Even in a non-hell year, running a successful startup is a tremendous lift. After the events of 2020, however, no doubt many already lean businesses are hanging on by the skin of their teeth. For every company that saw increased interest in their offerings during the pandemic, there were several that simply couldn’t make it […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fluent Forever raises $4.9M for its language learning system

Thu, 24 Dec 2020 08:00:29 -0000

Fluent Forever, a startup that uses a novel learning system to help its users master a new language faster, has raised a $4.9 million funding round led by Denver-based Stout Street Capital. Other investors in this round include The Syndicate, LAUNCH, Mana Ventures, Noveus VC, Flight.VC, Insta VC, UpVentures, Firebrand Ventures, Cultivation Capital, Spero Ventures […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

StepZen snares $8M seed to build data integration API

Wed, 23 Dec 2020 16:01:23 -0000

StepZen, a new startup from the crew who gave you Apigee (which was sold to Google in 2016 for $625 million) had a different vision for their latest company. They are building a single API that pulls data from disparate sources to help developers deliver more complex customer experiences online. Today, the startup emerged from […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bolt adds $75M to its Series C, as the battle to rule online checkout continues

Wed, 23 Dec 2020 08:00:20 -0000

Bolt, a startup that offers online checkout technology to retailers, announced this morning that it has added $75 million to its Series C round, bringing the financing to a total of $125 million. WestCap and General Atlantic led the new tranche, which Bolt CEO Ryan Breslow told TechCrunch was raised at around twice its Series […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

OneTrust nabs $300M Series C on $5.1B valuation to expand privacy platform

Tue, 22 Dec 2020 16:01:27 -0000

OneTrust, the 4-year old privacy platform startup from the folks who brought you AirWatch (which was acquired by VMWare for $1.5B in 2014), announced a $300 million Series C on an impressive $5.1 billion valuation today. The company has attracted considerable attention from investors in a remarkably short time. It came out of the box […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Silicon Valley should reward zebras, not unicorns

Tue, 22 Dec 2020 08:00:23 -0000

Unlike unicorn companies, zebras are lean, efficient and consistent.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tap Network raises $4M for its customizable rewards program

Mon, 21 Dec 2020 16:01:23 -0000

Tap Network is providing a new approach to loyalty rewards programs that it describes as “rewards as a service.” You may recognize the Tap Network name, as well as its co-founder and CEO Lin Dai, from Hooch, a startup that offered a drink-a-day subscription service before shifting focus to a broader rewards program. Dai told […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

BigID keeps rolling with $70M Series D on $1B valuation

Mon, 21 Dec 2020 08:00:25 -0000

BigID has been on the investment fast track, raising $94 million over three rounds that started in January 2018. Today, that investment train kept rolling as the company announced a $70 million Series D on a valuation of $1 billion. Salesforce Ventures and Tiger Global co-led the round with participation from existing investors Bessemer Venture […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Social gaming platform Rec Room scores $20 million Series C

Fri, 18 Dec 2020 16:01:23 -0000

Against Gravity, the startup behind the social gaming platform Rec Room, has scored some new funding as it brings its once VR-centric platform to every major gaming platform out there. The startup has closed a $20 million Series C led by Madrona Venture Group . Existing investors including First Round Capital, Index, Sequoia and DAG […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ramp raises $30M as the battle to own corporate spend heats up

Fri, 18 Dec 2020 08:00:21 -0000

Corporate spend management startup Ramp has raised $30 million more in a new round, it announced today. TechCrunch covered Ramp’s launch earlier this year, when it also detailed that it had raised around $23 million up to that point. The startup raised its latest round in August of 2020, with conversations about the deal kicking […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lydia raises another $86 million to build European financial super app

Thu, 17 Dec 2020 16:01:22 -0000

French fintech startup Lydia has extended its Series B round. Accel is leading the extension with all major existing shareholders also participating. Lydia first raised $45 million in January 2020 — Tencent led that investment. The startup is now raising another $86 million, which means that Lydia has raised $131 million in total as part […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The team behind Jumpcut and SnappyTV is building a new collaborative video tool

Thu, 17 Dec 2020 08:00:24 -0000

Mike Folgner has had his share of success building video editing tools, having sold Jumpcut.com to Yahoo and SnappyTV to Twitter. But as he explained in a new Medium post, he still sees “unfinished business” in the video industry. “Today, most major productivity software categories have made the leap from desktop software to the web,” […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Revolut launches mid-tier subscription plan

Wed, 16 Dec 2020 16:01:24 -0000

Fintech startup Revolut is tweaking its subscription plans with a new mid-tier offering called Revolut — it costs £2.99 per month. Like N26 Smart and Monzo Plus, the new plan is a pandemic-proof package that doesn’t focus as much on travel. For the past couple of years, challenger banks and alternatives to traditional bank accounts […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Social stock trading services Public raises $65M Series C

Wed, 16 Dec 2020 08:00:26 -0000

Less than a year after it raised a $15 million Series B, Public, a social-focused free stock trading service, has raised a $65 million Series C. The startup is not the only company to raise successive rounds this year. Welcome has managed the feat, along with Skyflow and others. Public’s Series C, therefore, fits into […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dott to expand beyond e-scooters with bike-sharing service

Tue, 15 Dec 2020 16:01:24 -0000

Dott is better known for its electric scooter service that is available in a few cities across Europe. But the company is working on electric bikes and wants to launch a bike-sharing service in London and Paris in March 2021. Dott currently doesn’t operate in London. So it looks like it’ll be the company’s 16th […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

iCIMS acquires video recruiting startup Altru for $60M

Tue, 15 Dec 2020 08:00:27 -0000

Enterprise recruiting company iCIMS is announcing that it has acquired Altru. iCIMS declined to comment on the terms of the deal, but a source with knowledge of the companies told us that the price is a combination of cash and stock, totaling around $60 million. Founded in 2000, iCIMS offers a “talent cloud” used by […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Reddit acquires Dubsmash

Mon, 14 Dec 2020 16:01:23 -0000

Reddit announced that it has acquired short video platform Dubsmash. The deal’s terms were undisclosed. Dubsmash will retain its own platform and brand, and Reddit will integrate its video creation tools. Its co-founders, Suchit Dash, Jonas Drüppel and Tim Specht, will join Reddit. According to Crunchbase data, the app has raised $20.2 million from investors […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In&motion raises $12 million for its wearable airbag systems

Mon, 14 Dec 2020 08:00:22 -0000

French startup In&motion has raised a $12 million (€10 million) funding round led by Upfront Ventures with 360 Capital also participating. The company has been working on wearable airbag systems for motorbikes. Integrated in a vest, the airbag is completely autonomous and can detect crashes in 60 milliseconds. The company has worked on a device […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fairmarkit lands $30M Series B to modernize procurement

Fri, 11 Dec 2020 16:01:26 -0000

As the pandemic has raged on, it has shined a spotlight on the importance of procurement, especially in certain sectors. Fairmarkit, a Boston startup, is working to bring a modern digital procurement system to the enterprise. Today, the company announced a $30 million Series B. GGV Capital and Insight Partners led the round with help […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Boast.ai raises $23M to help businesses get their R&D tax credits

Fri, 11 Dec 2020 08:00:25 -0000

Nobody likes dealing with taxes — until the system works in your favor. In many countries, startups can receive tax credits for their R&D work and related employee cost, but as with all things bureaucracy, that’s often a slow and onerous task. Boast.ai aims to make this process far easier, by using a mix of […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Candu raises $5M to help software companies onboard users intelligently

Thu, 10 Dec 2020 16:01:22 -0000

This morning Candu, a software startup that provides no-code web tools for SaaS apps, announced a $5 million funding round. TechCrunch caught up with founder Jonathan Anderson and lead investor Villi Iltchev, a partner at Two Sigma Ventures, to chat about the deal. First thing: This round, a bit like Scotch, has aged. It’s from […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lemonade launches its renters insurance in France

Thu, 10 Dec 2020 08:00:21 -0000

Lemonade is launching its renters insurance in France. This is the company’s third European launch after the Netherlands and Germany. Originally from the U.S., Lemonade is now a public company with a current market capitalization close to $4 billion. Lemonade will compete directly with a local competitor called Luko. Both companies share a lot of […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Former Salesforce chief scientist announces new search engine to take on Google

Wed, 09 Dec 2020 16:01:25 -0000

Richard Socher, former chief scientist at Salesforce, who helped build the Einstein artificial intelligence platform, is taking on a new challenge — and it’s a doozy. Socher wants to fix consumer search and today he announced you.com, a new search engine to take on the mighty Google. “We are building you.com. You can already go […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Can AI help you binge books? BingeBooks is a new service to do … exactly that

Wed, 09 Dec 2020 08:00:25 -0000

The pandemic has been terrible for many industries, but the book industry has gotten a rare reprieve in an otherwise dismal past decade. Locked in homes and forced to socially distance from others, us humans have more time on our hands and more need to connect to characters than ever before. That surge in interest […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Getsafe, the European digital-first insurance startup, scores $30M Series B

Tue, 08 Dec 2020 16:01:23 -0000

Getsafe, the digital-first insurance startup that initially launched with an app for home contents insurance, has closed $30 million in Series B funding. Swiss Re, the reinsurer giant, led the round. Existing investors, including Earlybird and CommerzVentures, also participated. Getsafe has raised a total of $53 million to date since being founded in May 2015. […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jeli.io announces $4M seed to build incident analysis platform

Tue, 08 Dec 2020 08:00:27 -0000

When one of AWS’s east coast data centers went down at the end of last month, it had an impact on countless companies relying on its services including Roku, Adobe and Shipt. When the incident was resolved, the company had to analyze what happened. For most companies, that involves manually pulling together information from various […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Zephr raises $8M to help news publishers grow subscription revenue

Mon, 07 Dec 2020 16:01:21 -0000

Zephr has raised $8 million in a new funding round led by Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments (owned by media giant Bertelsmann). The London-headquarted startup’s customers already include publishers like McClatchy, News Corp Australia, Dennis Publishing and PEI Media. CEO James Henderson told me via email that rather than creating “a monolithic product that tries to […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stripe announces embedded business banking service Stripe Treasury

Mon, 07 Dec 2020 08:00:27 -0000

Fintech startup Stripe has announced an ambitious new product today called Stripe Treasury. The company is partnering with banks to offer a banking-as-a-service API. In other words, Stripe clients will be able to provide bank accounts to their customers — the service is invite-only for now. This is part of a bigger trend called embedded […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fantasy startup Esports One raises $4M more

Fri, 04 Dec 2020 16:01:23 -0000

Esports One, a startup bringing the fantasy approach to esports, is announcing that it has raised an additional $4 million in funding. When I first wrote about Esports One in April, co-founder and COO Sharon Winter described it as the first “all-in-one fantasy platform” in the esports world, allowing you to research players, create fantasy […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

YC-backed Heru raises $1.7M to build software services for Latin American gig workers

Fri, 04 Dec 2020 08:00:26 -0000

Given the attention that TechCrunch pays to Y Combinator’s Demo Days, we also try to keep tabs on the same startups as they scale and raise more capital. Yesterday we covered YC Winter 2020 participant BuildBuddy, for example. Today we’re taking a look at Heru, a startup based in Mexico City that is announcing a […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wellory raises $4.5M for its ‘anti-diet’ nutrition app

Thu, 03 Dec 2020 16:01:25 -0000

Wellory, a startup that bills itself as taking an “anti-diet approach” to nutrition and wellness, is announcing that it has raised $4.2 million in funding. The round was led by Story Ventures, with participation from Harlem Capital, Tinder co-founders Sean Rad and Justin Mateen, Ground Up Ventures, NBA Player Wayne Ellington, Hannah Bronfman and others. […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Eat Just to sell lab-grown meat in Singapore after gaining “world first” regulatory approval

Wed, 02 Dec 2020 16:01:22 -0000

Eat Just will start offering lab-grown chicken meat in Singapore after gaining regulatory approval from the Singapore Food Agency (SFA). The cell-cultured chicken will eventually be produced under Eat Just’s new GOOD Meat brand through partnerships with local manufacturers and go on sale to restaurants before it is available to consumers. No chickens were killed […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Loop Team wants to give remote workers an in-office feel

Wed, 02 Dec 2020 08:00:21 -0000

As we’ve moved to work from home during the pandemic, it’s been challenging for remote workers to feel connected. Loop Team, a new entrant into the enterprise communications space, thinks the way we are communicating needs improvement. That’s why the startup is releasing Loop Team today, a tool that is trying to use software to […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Salut raises $1.25M for its virtual fitness service

Tue, 01 Dec 2020 16:01:24 -0000

This morning Salut, an app-based service that allows fitness trainers to host classes virtually, announced that it has raised $1.25 million in a new financing event. The round was led by Charles Hudson, an investor at Precursor Ventures. Founder Matthew DiPietro, formerly of Twitch, told TechCrunch that Salut soft-launched in mid-September, with a wider release […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vista acquires Gainsight for $1.1B, adding to its growing enterprise arsenal

Tue, 01 Dec 2020 09:05:58 -0000

Vista Equity Partners hasn’t been shy about scooping up enterprise companies over the years, and today it added to a growing portfolio with its purchase of Gainsight.Â The company’s software helps clients with customer success, meaning it helps create a positive customer experience when they interact with your brand, making them more likely to come […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Materialize scores $40 million investment for SQL streaming database

Mon, 30 Nov 2020 16:01:21 -0000

Materialize, the SQL streaming database startup built on top of the open source Timely Dataflow project, announced a $32 million Series B investment today led by Kleiner Perkins with participation from Lightspeed Ventures. While it was at it, the company also announced a previously unannounced $8 million Series A from last year that had been […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There’s no ‘hacker house’ geared toward undergraduate women, so they created one of their own

Mon, 30 Nov 2020 08:00:25 -0000

Hacker houses are making a comeback for entrepreneurs as remote work drags on. While founders are adapting to quarantine in style, a group of college women in their 20s aren’t waiting until they are done with undergraduate to plunge into the lifestyle themselves. Started by college juniors Coco Sack and Kendall Titus, Womxn Ignite is […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cast.ai nabs $7.7M seed to remove barriers between public clouds

Fri, 27 Nov 2020 09:12:48 -0000

When you launch an application in the public cloud, you usually put everything on one provider, but what if you could choose the components based on cost and technology and have your database one place and your storage another? That’s what Cast.ai says that it can provide, and today it announced a healthy $7.7 million […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WeGift, the ‘incentive marketing’ platform, collects $8M in new funding

Thu, 26 Nov 2020 16:01:24 -0000

WeGift, the London-based startup that has built an “incentive marketing” platform that lets businesses easily issue e-gift cards and other digital rewards to customers, has raised $8 million in new funding. Dubbed a Series A extension, the round is led by AlbionVC. Existing investors including Stride.vc, SAP.iO fund and Unilever Ventures also followed on. Following […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Coinbase disables margin trading following guidance from Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Wed, 25 Nov 2020 16:01:25 -0000

Just a few months after launching margin trading on Coinbase Pro, the company is disabling the feature. Margin trading lets you trade on leverage. But it works both ways — margin trading lets you multiply your gains and your losses. Starting on November 25, 2pm PT, users won’t be able to place new margin trades. […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dija, a new delivery startup from former Deliveroo employees, is closing in on a $20M round led by Blossom

Wed, 25 Nov 2020 08:00:22 -0000

Dija, a new U.K. based startup founded by senior former Deliveroo employees, is closing in on $20 million funding, TechCrunch has learned. According to multiple sources, the round, which has yet to close, is being led by Blossom Capital, the early stage venture capital firm founded by ex-Index and LocalGlobe VC Ophelia Brown. It’s not […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

N26 launches mid-tier subscription plan for €4.90 per month

Tue, 24 Nov 2020 16:01:25 -0000

Challenger bank N26 is adding a third subscription product called N26 Smart. N26 Smart is designed to be a mid-tier subscription plan with advanced banking features but without a travel insurance package. In Europe, in addition to the free plan, N26 already provides two subscription tiers called N26 You and N26 Metal. N26 You costs […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Serenade snags $2.1M seed round to turn speech into code

Tue, 24 Nov 2020 08:00:27 -0000

Several years ago Serenade co-founder Matt Wiethoff was a developer at Quora when he was diagnosed with a severe repetitive stress injury to his hand and couldn’t code. He and co-founder Tommy MacWilliam decided to use AI to create a tool that let him speak the code instead and Serenade was born. Today, the company […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Onit acquires legal startup McCarthyFinch to inject AI into legal workflows

Mon, 23 Nov 2020 16:01:20 -0000

Onit, a workflow software company based in Houston with a legal component, announced this week that it has acquired 2018 TechCrunch Disrupt Battlefield alum McCarthyFinch.Â Onit intends to use the startup’s AI skills to beef up its legal workflow software offerings. The companies did not share the purchase price. After evaluating a number of companies […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wish files to go public with 100M monthly actives, $1.75B in 2020 revenue thus far

Mon, 23 Nov 2020 08:00:24 -0000

This morning Wish, a well-known mobile ecommerce startup, filed to go public. It joins Affirm, Airbnb, and Roblox in filing this week as many well-known and valuable private companies look to debut before the year ends and the holidays start. Wish’s S-1 (which is filed under its corporate name ContextLogic) is of particular interest given […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

FireEye acquires Respond Software for $186M, announces $400M investment

Fri, 20 Nov 2020 16:01:25 -0000

The security sector is ever frothy and acquisitive. Just last week Palo Alto Networks grabbed Expanse for $800 million. Today it was FireEye’s turn snagging Respond Software, a company that helps customers investigate and understand security incidents, while reducing the need for highly trained and scarce security analysts. The deal has closed, according to the […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lime touts a 2020 turnaround and 2021 profitability

Fri, 20 Nov 2020 08:00:28 -0000

Micromobility company Lime says it has moved beyond the financial hardship caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching a milestone that seemed unthinkable earlier this year. In short, the company is now largely profitable. Lime said it was both operating cash flow positive and free cash flow positive in the third quarter — a first — […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

ZenBusiness snags $55M Series B for its incorporation and growth platform for micro businesses

Thu, 19 Nov 2020 16:01:22 -0000

Starting a small company used to be simple. Get some space on Main Street, put out a shingle, and begin plying your trade. Then the regulatory state came, and so did the internet. Now, entrepreneurs have to apply for licenses — sometimes multiple licenses in multiple states — and also handle all the intricacies of […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bella is a new challenger bank with a text-based interface

Thu, 19 Nov 2020 08:00:26 -0000

Meet Bella, a new challenger bank launching on November 30th. The company is trying to differentiate itself with two distinctive features. First, you can interact with the app using keywords and text commands. Second, Bella is trying to build a community that helps each other to differentiate its product from soulless monolithic banking services. Let’s […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why are telehealth companies treating healthcare like the gig economy?

Wed, 18 Nov 2020 16:01:20 -0000

If we are to realize telehealth’s full potential, we must first reckon with the fact that there are serious flaws in the predominant way it is delivered today — flaws that endanger patients themselves.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Airbnb files to go public

Wed, 18 Nov 2020 08:00:28 -0000

Airbnb filed to go public today, bringing the well-known unicorn one step closer to being a public company. The financial results show a company on the rebound, but smaller than it was. Its more granular financial results also make clear how hard the pandemic was on the travel-reliant unicorn. Regarding Airbnb’s worth, investors will have […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cooper raises $2M to build a professional network centered on introductions

Tue, 17 Nov 2020 16:01:26 -0000

In a period of social distancing, making new professional connections feels harder than ever. So Amsterdam-based Cooper is building a network that’s all about making and receiving introductions. “Everything that happens in the network is based on on the foundation of introductions,” CEO Robert Gaal told me. “You should never get an unwanted message, and […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Deep Vision announces its low-latency AI processor for the edge

Tue, 17 Nov 2020 08:00:25 -0000

Deep Vision, a new AI startup that is building an AI inferencing chip for edge computing solutions, is coming out of stealth today. The six-year-old company’s new ARA-1 processors promise to strike the right balance between low latency, energy efficiency and compute power for use in anything from sensors to cameras and full-fledged edge servers. […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

DoorDash files to go public

Mon, 16 Nov 2020 16:01:23 -0000

After filing earlier this year, DoorDash dropped its public S-1 filing this morning, bringing clarity to its numbers and moving it closer to a public debut that should happen before the end of the year. The company is one of several startups that we expect to see IPOs from before the year ends, despite some […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Getaround tops up $25M debt financing to its $140M Series E

Mon, 16 Nov 2020 08:00:29 -0000

Silicon Valley peer-to-peer car rental startup Getaround has secured a $25 million loan from Horizon Technology Finance Corporation. The financing announcement comes one month after Getaround raised $140 million from investors, including SoftBank Vision Fund, Menlo Ventures, Reid Hoffman and Mark Pincus’ Reinvent Capital. Getaround’s raise signals that the company is looking for new ways […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

JumpCloud raises $75M Series E as cloud directory service thrives during pandemic

Fri, 13 Nov 2020 08:00:21 -0000

JumpCloud, the cloud directory service that debuted at TechCrunch Disrupt Battlefield in 2013, announced a $75 million Series E today. The round was led by BlackRock with participation from existing investor General Atlantic. The company wasn’t willing to discuss the current valuation, but has now raised over $166 million, according to Crunchbase data. Changes in […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bootstrapped Clearfind wants to cut your software spend, for a small fee

Thu, 12 Nov 2020 16:01:24 -0000

Software is eating the world, and that grub can be costly. As the market for enterprise tools and software continues to balloon, organizations are spending more and more on that software across an increasingly complicated and rapidly evolving landscape. That’s where Clearfind comes in. Clearfind was founded (and bootstrapped) by James Layfield and Jocelyn Simon. […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mozart Data lands $4M seed to provide out-of-the-box data stack

Thu, 12 Nov 2020 08:00:22 -0000

Mozart Data founders Peter Fishman and Dan Silberman have been friends for over 20 years, working at various startups, and even launching a hot sauce company together along the way. As technologists, they saw companies building a data stack over and over. They decided to provide one for them and Mozart Data was born. The […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Molotov launches free ad-supported streaming service Mango

Wed, 11 Nov 2020 16:01:21 -0000

French startup Molotov provides a TV streaming service in France that replaces the traditional set-top box. You can access live TV, subscribe to premium channels, watch content after they air and record content in the cloud. Today, the company is launching a different service, its own ad-supported on-demand streaming service — or AVOD service for […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With $29M in funding, Isovalent launches its cloud-native networking and security platform

Wed, 11 Nov 2020 08:00:22 -0000

Isovalent, a startup that aims to bring networking into the cloud-native era, today announced that it has raised a $29 million Series A round led by Andreesen Horowitz and Google. In addition, the company today officially launched its Cilium platform (which was in stealth until now) to help enterprises connect, observe and secure their applications. […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

E-scooter startup Tier raises $250 million round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2

Tue, 10 Nov 2020 16:01:25 -0000

Berlin-based micro-mobility startup Tier has raised a significant Series C round of $250 million. SoftBank Vision Fund 2 is leading the round, which proves that the Vision Fund team is still focused on high-risk, high-potential bets. As a reminder, SoftBank has invested in many late-stage funding rounds through its Vision Fund team. Portfolio companies include […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Indian logistics startup Xpressbees raises $110 million

Tue, 10 Nov 2020 08:00:27 -0000

Xpressbees, an Indian logistics firm that works with several e-commerce firms in the country, said on Monday it has raised $110 million in a new financing round as online shopping booms in the world’s second largest internet market. The Pune-headquartered startup’s Series E financing round was led by private equity firms Investcorp, Norwest Venture Partners […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Positive vaccine news punishes pandemic-boosted companies like Zoom, Peloton, Etsy

Mon, 09 Nov 2020 16:01:22 -0000

Stock markets worldwide are soaring on news that a vaccine candidate is 90% effective at preventing COVID-19, and could start coming to market in a matter of months. This is upending the stock market, sending futures shares shooting higher in pre-market trading. But while the euphoria is helping sectors that have taken punishment during COVID-19, […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

French startups can apply to the Next40 and French Tech 120

Mon, 09 Nov 2020 08:00:23 -0000

Last year, the French government and the government-backed initiative La French Tech unveiled an index of French startups so that it would be easier to identify them. The 40 top-performing startups get the label Next40, and the top 120 startups are grouped into the French Tech 120 — it’s a play on words with the […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Challenger bank Starling is out raising a new £200M funding round

Fri, 06 Nov 2020 16:01:22 -0000

Starling founder Anne Boden recently told TechCrunch that the U.K. challenger bank is on track to be profitable by Christmas, but this doesn’t mean it isn’t out raising additional capital already. According to well-placed sources, Starling has hired Rothschild with the aim of raising a new £200 million round. The draw is its expected profitability, […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rocket Lab will try to recover the booster of its Electron rocket for the first time on its next launch

Fri, 06 Nov 2020 08:00:26 -0000

Rocket Lab is set to complete a crucial test for its rocket reusability program during its next mission, which is currently set to take place sometime in mid-November, with a launch widow that opens on November 16. This is a bit of a surprise, because the launch company said that it would be doing this […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Singapore-based digital business assistant Osome raises $3 million

Thu, 05 Nov 2020 16:01:22 -0000

Osome, a Singapore-headquartered business assistant app that digitizes accounting and compliance tasks, has raised $3 million. An extension of Osome’s seed round, the new funding was led by XA Network and AltaIR Capital. The startup currently has about 4,500 SME clients across Singapore, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom, founder and chief executive officer Victor […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Email creation startup Stensul raises $16M

Thu, 05 Nov 2020 08:00:22 -0000

Stensul, a startup aiming to streamline the process of building marketing emails, has raised $16 million in Series B funding. When the companyÂ raised its $7 million Series A two years ago, founder and CEO Noah Dinkin told me about how it spun out of his previous startup, FanBridge. And while there are many products focused […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Leena AI nabs $8M Series as it expands from chatbots to HR service platform

Wed, 04 Nov 2020 16:01:21 -0000

When we covered Leena AI as a member of the Y Combinator Summer 2018 cohort, the young startup was firmly focused on building HR chatbots, but in the intervening years it has expanded the vision to a broader HR policy platform. Today, the company announced an $8 million Series A led by Greycroft with help […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Indonesian logistics platform Logisly raises $6 million Series A to digitize truck shipments

Wed, 04 Nov 2020 08:00:23 -0000

Indonesia’s logistics industry is very fragmented, with several large providers operating alongside thousands of smaller companies. This means shippers often have to work with a variety of carriers, driving up costs and making supply chains harder to manage. Logisly, a Jakarta-based startup that describes itself as a “B2B tech-enabled logistics platform,” announced today it has […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TVision raises $16M to measure viewer attention on connected TVs

Tue, 03 Nov 2020 16:01:24 -0000

TVision is building what its team hopes will become the standard for measuring streaming viewership — and to accelerate those efforts, it’s raised $16 million in new funding. The New York City startup started out by measuring traditional TV viewing, using webcams to determine whether viewers were actually paying attention to the ads. More recently, […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NerdWallet acquires small business loan marketplace Fundera

Tue, 03 Nov 2020 08:00:25 -0000

Financial guidance company NerdWallet announced at the end of last week that it has acquired Fundera. New York City-based Fundera was co-founded in 2013 by Jared Hecht, who previously co-founded GroupMe. It created a marketplace where small businesses could find loans, subsequently expanding into other areas like legal services, while also (like NerdWallet) offering free […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Warren gets $1.4 million to help local cloud infrastructure providers compete against the giants

Mon, 02 Nov 2020 16:01:24 -0000

Started as a side project by its founders, Warren is now helping regional cloud infrastructure service providers compete against Amazon, Microsoft, IBM, Google and other tech giants. Based in Tallinn, Estonia, Warren’s self-service distributed cloud platform is gaining traction in Southeast Asia, one of the world’s fastest-growing cloud service markets, and Europe. It recently closed […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Daimler invests in lidar company Luminar in push to bring autonomous trucks to highways

Mon, 02 Nov 2020 08:00:22 -0000

Daimler’s trucks division has invested in lidar developer Luminar as part of a broader partnership to produce autonomous trucks capable of navigating highways without a human driver behind the wheel. The deal, which comes just days after Daimler and Waymo announced plans to work together to build an autonomous version of the Freightliner Cascadia truck, […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One-click housing startup Atmos raises another $4M from Khosla, real estate strategics, and TikTok star Josh Richards

Fri, 30 Oct 2020 16:01:24 -0000

Atmos wants to make designing a house as simple as a single click. Well, that vision is now getting a double click from VCs. The company, which we profiled back in July, announced today that it raised another $4 million, this time from Evan Moore at Khosla Ventures, real estate strategic investors like David Gerster […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One-click housing startup Atmos raises another $4M from Khosla, real estate strategics, and TikTok star Josh Richards

Fri, 30 Oct 2020 16:01:24 -0000

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Donut launches Watercooler, an easy way to socialize online with coworkers

Fri, 30 Oct 2020 09:03:20 -0000

If you miss hanging out with your coworkers but don’t want to spend a single second more on Zoom, the latest product fromÂ Donut might be the answer. The startup is launching its new Watercooler product today while also announcing that it has raised $12 million in total funding, led by Accel and with participation from […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Upgrade adds rewards program to its credit card

Thu, 29 Oct 2020 16:01:22 -0000

Fintech startup Upgrade has been quite successful with its two flagship products —Â a low-cost credit card and personal loans. The company is making its credit card more attractive by adding rewards. Upgrade Card consumers will earn 1.5% cash back on all purchases made with the card — there’s no specific category, no partner retailer, no […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Anima’s latest update draws on the popularity of design and no-code tools

Thu, 29 Oct 2020 08:00:26 -0000

Anima, the company that turns design prototypes into code, has today announced the launch of Anima 4.0, which will allow designers to create prototypes in Figma that are translated into components in React with the click of a button. The company was founded by Or Arbel (cofounder of Yo!), Avishay Cohen (who led R&D at […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rockset announces $40M Series B as data analytics solution gains momentum

Wed, 28 Oct 2020 16:01:21 -0000

Rockset, a cloud-native analytics company, announced a $40 million Series B investment today led by Sequoia with help from Greylock, the same two firms that financed its Series A. The startup has now raised a total of $61.5 million, according to the company. As co-founder and CEO Venkat Venkataramani told me at the time of […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Let’s move beyond 2020 and start thinking about the 2020s

Wed, 28 Oct 2020 08:00:26 -0000

Seasonality is critical for the media. End-of-year wrap-ups, best books for the summer, things to do this weekend — they’re all methods to note not only the passage of time, but also to begin to set the tone for what is about to come. Everyone covered the end of the 2010s with aplomb, a decade […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ant Group could raise as much as $34.5B in IPO in what would be world’s largest IPO

Tue, 27 Oct 2020 16:01:26 -0000

The long-anticipated IPO of Alibaba-affiliated Chinese fintech giant Ant Group could raise tens of billions of dollars in a dual-listing on both the Shanghai and Hong Kong exchanges. Shares for the company formerly known as Ant Financial are expected to price at around HK$80, or roughly 68 to 69 Chinese Yuan. The company is selling […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This startup wants to fix the broken structure of internships

Tue, 27 Oct 2020 08:00:23 -0000

Internships are an opportunity for students to experiment with new career paths and land a full-time offer ahead of graduation. For companies, the weeks-long programs help recruit and train job-ready hires. While the stakes are high, the coronavirus-spurred office closures and market volatility made a number of tech companies slim down or cancel their internship […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Linktree raises $10.7M for its lightweight, link-centric user profiles

Mon, 26 Oct 2020 16:01:21 -0000

Simple, link-centric user profiles might seem might not seem like a particularly ambitious idea, but it’s been big enough for Linktree. The Melbourne startup says that 8 million users — whether they’re celebrities like Selena Gomez and Dua Lipa or brands like HBO and Red Bull — have created profiles on the platform, with those […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nordic challenger bank Lunar raises €40M Series C, plans to enter the ‘buy now, pay later’ space

Mon, 26 Oct 2020 08:00:23 -0000

Lunar, the Nordic challenger bank that started out life as a personal finance manager app (PFM) but acquired a full banking license in 2019, has raised €40 million in Series C funding from existing investors. The injection of capital follows a €20 million Series B disclosed in April this year and comes on the back […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

RepTrak partners with Onclusive to combine reputation and PR data

Fri, 23 Oct 2020 16:01:24 -0000

RepTrak and Onclusive are announcing a partnership that Onclusive CEO Dan Beltramo said will combine corporate reputation tracking and PR analytics for the first time. RepTrak, founded in 2004, helps businesses measure their reputations (and their competitors’ reputations) through a database of more than 1 million company ratings collected every year. Meanwhile, Onclusive (formerly known […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Respect the hustle, not the stupidity

Fri, 23 Oct 2020 08:00:26 -0000

Yes, the media f’ing gorged on the Quibi story yesterday. We did, they did, everyone did. And really, truly, how could anyone not? Nearly $2 billion came in (with $350 million heading back), a star-studded lineup of executives and production teams, an absolutely massive advertising campaign, and a PR strategy that all but begged the […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Freelancer banking startup Lili raises $15M

Thu, 22 Oct 2020 16:01:21 -0000

It’s only been a few months since Lili announced its $10 million seed round, and it’s already raised more funding — namely, a $15 million Series A. The startup, founded by CEO Lilac Bar David and CTO Liran Zelkha, is creating a bank account and associated products designed for freelancers, with features like early access […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This serial founder is taking on Carta with cap table management software she says is better for founders

Thu, 22 Oct 2020 08:00:29 -0000

Yin Wu has cofounded several companies since graduating from Stanford in 2011, including a computer vision company called Double Labs that sold to Microsoft, where she stayed on for a couple of years as a software engineer. In fact, it was only after that sale she she says she “actually understood all of the nuances […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Index nabs $2.6M seed to create BI dashboards without coding

Wed, 21 Oct 2020 16:01:24 -0000

Index founders, Xavier Pladevall and Eduardo Portet, have been friends since they were small children in the Dominican Republic. Both came to college in the U.S., and last year the two decided to launch a startup to help non-technical users build business intelligence dashboards without coding. Today they get to keep building on that dream […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Beam is building a web browser that gathers knowledge from your web activity

Wed, 21 Oct 2020 08:00:26 -0000

Remember Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer? Those applications from the 1990s used emphatic metaphors in their names to talk about a simple task — browsing the web. Today, nobody would say that Google Chrome is a web explorer. Browsing the web has become an effortless — and often mindless —Â task. You grab your phone or […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Trilo lets merchants offer rewards to customers choosing bank-to-bank payments

Tue, 20 Oct 2020 16:01:20 -0000

Open banking enables bank-to-bank payments, meaning that (in theory) merchants should be able to accept payments without having to hand over fees to Visa or Mastercard or other payment providers, such as Stripe. The challenge, however, isn’t just implementing open-banking based payments as a checkout option — there are are already a host of open […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

PearPop lets TikTok celebrities monetize by sharing shoutouts and screentime with fans

Tue, 20 Oct 2020 08:00:23 -0000

PearPop a new Los Angeles-based company, is on its way to racking up nearly 25,000 users in less than a month, and has already landed seed funding from the firm Rocket One Capital. The company’s premise is simple. Allow fans to bid for shared screen time with their favorite TikTok celebrities, and it’s one that’s […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Singapore tech-based real estate agency Propseller raises $1.2 million seed round

Mon, 19 Oct 2020 16:01:24 -0000

Propseller, a Singapore-based real estate agency that combines a tech platform with in-house agents to close transactions more quickly, announced today it has raised $1.2 million in seed funding. The round included investment from Iterative; Hustle Fund; XA Network; Rapzo Capital; Lazada co-founder Stein Jakabo; and Dot Property founder Ben Neve. Propseller also said “three […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Datto sets initial IPO price range, indicating a valuation of around $4B

Mon, 19 Oct 2020 08:00:24 -0000

It was just a few weeks ago that Datto, what TechCrunch called a “backup and disaster recovery firm,” filed to go public. This week the firm set an initial range for its debut. The Vista Equity Partners -backed company was picked up by the private equity firm back in 2017. Vista is back in the […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vivun announces $18M Series A to keep growing pre-sales platform

Fri, 16 Oct 2020 16:01:22 -0000

Vivun’s co-founder and CEO, Matt Darrow used to run pre-sales at Zuora and he saw that pre-sales team members had a lot of insight into customers. He believed if he could capture that insight, it would turn into valuable data to be shared across the company. He launched Vivun to build upon that idea in […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Small business payments and marketing startup Fivestars raises $52.5M

Fri, 16 Oct 2020 09:23:54 -0000

It’s a difficult time for small businesses — to put it mildly. AndÂ Fivestars CEO Victor Ho said that many of the big digital platforms aren’t really helping. Ho argued that those platforms — whether they offerÂ delivery services, user reviews or marketing tools — all have the same underlying model:Â “They seek to take over a small […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WizVille Local Monitor helps small shops track Google Maps ratings of competitors

Thu, 15 Oct 2020 16:01:22 -0000

French startup WizVille is launching a new product called Local Monitor to help restaurant owners, haircut places, bakeries and all kinds of small shops track their Google Maps ratings and the ratings of their competitors. While there are plenty of ratings services to compare places around you, such as Foursquare, Yelp and Tripadvisor, Google Maps […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

M1 Finance closes $45M Series C mere months after it raised its $33M Series B

Thu, 15 Oct 2020 08:00:25 -0000

Just months after it announced a $33 million Series B, Chicago-based M1 Finance today disclosed a $45 Series C. The new financing event was led by Left Lane Capital, the same investor that led M1’s Series B. Bear in mind that so-called inside rounds are now aÂ bullish sign in 2020, as opposed to in prior […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Caliber, with $2.2 million in seed funding, launches a fitness coaching platform

Wed, 14 Oct 2020 16:01:22 -0000

The coronavirus pandemic has thrown the fitness space for a loop. Caliber, a startup that focuses on one-to-one personal training, is today launching a brand new digital coaching platform on the heels of a $2.2 million seed round led by Trinity Ventures. Caliber launched in 2018 with a content model, offering an email newsletter and […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Spendesk raises another $18 million for its corporate card and expense service

Wed, 14 Oct 2020 08:00:23 -0000

French startup Spendesk has added $18 million to its Series B round. The company already raised $38.4 million as part of its Series B last year, which means that it raised $56.4 million as part of this round. Eight Roads Ventures is investing in today’s extension round. Spendesk, as the name suggests, focuses on all […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Malaysian on-demand work platform GoGet lands $2 million Series A

Tue, 13 Oct 2020 16:01:22 -0000

GoGet, a Malaysian on-demand work platform, announced today that it has raised a $2 million Series A led by Monk’s Hill Ventures. The platform currently has 20,000 gig workers, who are called “GoGetters,” and has onboarded 5,000 businesses, including Lazada Malaysia, IKEA Malaysia, Foodpanda and flower delivery service BloomThis. While Malaysia has other on-demand work […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Quince launches out of beta with new ‘manufacturer-to-customer’ model

Tue, 13 Oct 2020 08:00:19 -0000

The retail landscape is shifting rapidly. While D2C brands have changed the way we shop, Quince is looking to change retail even more dramatically. The brand, which raised $8.5 million in seed funding last year (and only revealed as much today), is looking to rethink the supply chain with its own line of 700 items […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Twilio is buying customer data startup Segment for between $3B and $4B

Mon, 12 Oct 2020 16:01:22 -0000

Sources have told TechCrunch that Twilio intends to acquire customer data startup Segment for between $3 and $4 billion. Forbes broke the story on Friday night, reporting a price tag of $3.2 billion. We have heard from a couple of industry sources that the deal is in the works and could be announced as early […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

YC grad DigitalBrain snags $3.4M seed to streamline customer service tasks

Mon, 12 Oct 2020 08:00:24 -0000

Most startup founders have a tough road to their first round of funding, but the founders of Digital Brain had it a bit tougher than most. The two young founders survived by entering and winning hackathons to pay their rent and put on food on the table. One of the ideas they came up with […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Grid AI raises $18.6M Series A to help AI researchers and engineers bring their models to production

Fri, 09 Oct 2020 16:01:20 -0000

Grid AI, a startup founded by the inventor of the popular open-source PyTorch Lightning project, William Falcon, that aims to help machine learning engineers more efficiently, today announced that it has raised an $18.6 million Series A funding round, which closed earlier this summer. The round was led by Index Ventures, with participation from Bain […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Revolut lets you track your subscriptions, adds savings bonus in the US

Fri, 09 Oct 2020 08:00:23 -0000

Fintech startup Revolut has rolled out a handful of additional features over the past few days. The financial app lets you track all your subscriptions that you pay with your Revolut account or your card. In the U.S., Revolut is adding a savings bonus based on your purchasing habits. Finally, business customers can now order […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lydia partners with Tink to improve open banking features

Thu, 08 Oct 2020 16:01:21 -0000

French fintech startup Lydia is going to work with financial API startup Tink for its open banking features in its app. Lydia started as a peer-to-peer payment app and now has 4 million users in Europe. Lydia’s vision has evolved to become a financial super app that lets you control your bank accounts and access […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Zira raises $3.1M for its shift-scheduling service that helps manage hourly workers

Thu, 08 Oct 2020 08:00:22 -0000

This morning Zira raised $3.1 million in a seed round. The startup provides software that helps businesses schedule their hourly workforce in a more intelligent manner. Software often fails to reach non-information workers, so it’s nice to see a startup focus on a somewhat forgotten demographic. General Catalyst and Abstract Ventures led the round, which […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nivelo nabs $2.5M seed to reduce risk in digital ACH payments

Wed, 07 Oct 2020 16:01:20 -0000

As we plunge deeper into the pandemic, online transactions have become increasingly important, and ACH transactions, the ones that help us get direct deposit of our paychecks or pay our bills are growing ever more essential. Nivelo, an early stage startup from a former JP Morgan executive wants to take the risk out of ACH […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why startups are going public now

Wed, 07 Oct 2020 08:00:25 -0000

After all those years of startups not going public, 2020 is a little bit different. It feels like more companies are filing, and more companies are seeing their debuts through. We’re even seeing direct listings and SPAC-led deals, along with a trove of traditional IPOs. Data backs up how we feel about this year’s IPO […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Faraday Future plans to go public through a SPAC deal

Tue, 06 Oct 2020 16:01:20 -0000

Faraday Future, the electric vehicle startup with a messy and complicated past, is planning to go public through a special-purchase acquisition company (SPAC) deal. The company’s chief executive Carsten Breitfeld told Reuters that the company is working on a reverse merger with a SPAC and “will be able to announce something hopefully quite soon.” Breitfeld, […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ocean Solutions Accelerator’s third wave tackles a new set of aquatic challenges

Tue, 06 Oct 2020 08:12:27 -0000

The Sustainable Ocean Alliance and its Ocean Solutions Accelerator take on the problems facing our planet’s waters, and the latest cohort of companies in the latter show a fresh slate of issues to address and resources to utilize. From reef rehabilitation to a “Fitbit for fishing boats,” they’re trying to fix things up in the […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Digging into the next wave of tech IPOs

Mon, 05 Oct 2020 16:01:25 -0000

Welcome back to The TechCrunch Exchange, a weekly startups-and-markets newsletter for your weekend enjoyment. Let’s talk money, startups and spicy IPO rumors.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Coinbase lets you withdraw funds to your debit card

Mon, 05 Oct 2020 08:00:22 -0000

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is adding a new way to withdraw funds from your Coinbase account. If you’ve added a compatible debit card to your account, you can transfer USD, EUR or GBP to your bank account nearly instantly. There are some drawbacks, and the main one is that you’ll pay a lot of fees. In […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With $18M in new funding, Braintrust says it’s creating a fairer model for freelancers

Fri, 02 Oct 2020 16:01:22 -0000

Braintrust, a network for freelance technical and design talent that launched over the summer, is announcing that it has raised $18 million in new funding. Co-founder and CEO Adam Jackson has written for TechCrunch about how tech companies need to treat independent contractors with more empathy. He told me via email that the San Francisco-based […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

eFounders unveils its next batch of enterprise SaaS startups

Fri, 02 Oct 2020 08:00:26 -0000

Since 2011, European startup studio eFounders has launched 27 companies with a focus on software-as-a-service companies trying to improve the way we work. Some of them have been quite successful, such as Front and Aircall. And the company is working on its next batch of startups. “We're particularly inspired by the new wave of productivity […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vista-owned backup and recovery company Datto files to go public

Thu, 01 Oct 2020 16:01:19 -0000

When Vista Equity Partners acquired backup and disaster recovery firm Datto in 2017, it was easy to think that was the end of the company’s story. It would be comfortably absorbed into the private equity portfolio continuing to make money for the firm, but that’s not really the way Vista works. It tends to build […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Multis is a business bank account for cryptocurrencies

Thu, 01 Oct 2020 08:00:23 -0000

Meet Multis, a French startup that is building business bank accounts, except that it lets you store, send and receive cryptocurrencies. The startup just raised a $2.2 million seed round. Investors in today’s funding round include White Star Capital, Y Combinator, Coinbase Ventures, eFounders, Greenfield One and Digital Currency Group. “It’s very complicated to manage […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Memo Bank details its offering for its business bank accounts

Wed, 30 Sep 2020 16:01:19 -0000

French startup Memo Bank has unveiled three different plans for its new customers. The company is building a business bank for small and medium companies that generate between €2 million and €50 million in annual turnover. Earlier this year, Memo Bank obtained licenses from the French regulator (ACPR) and the European Central Bank to become […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Shipt shoppers are organizing a walkout in protest of new pay model

Wed, 30 Sep 2020 08:00:23 -0000

Shipt shoppers are organizing a handful of actions in protest of Shipt’s new pay structure that began rolling out this month.Â The first action is happening from Saturday, Oct. 17 through Oct. 19, when workers are calling on their fellow Shipt shoppers to walk out and boycott the company. Organizers are asking for shoppers not […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Exotec raises $90 million for its warehouse robots

Tue, 29 Sep 2020 16:01:22 -0000

French startup Exotec has raised a $90 million Series C round led by 83North, with existing investors Iris Capital and Breega also participating. Other existing investors include 360 Capital. The company has been working on semi-automated warehouses for e-commerce clients. The system is based on tiny robots called Skypods. They roam the floor and go […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

N26 hires Adrienne Gormley as its new chief operating officer

Tue, 29 Sep 2020 08:00:25 -0000

Fintech startup N26 is announcing some changes in the leadership team with two new C-Level hires. First, Adrienne Gormley, pictured above, is joining the company as chief operating officer, replacing Martin Schilling who left the company in March 2020. Second, Diana Styles, pictured below, will become N26’s chief people officer. Gormley has spent the last […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Noyo raises $12.5M Series A to keep building its health insurance API business

Mon, 28 Sep 2020 16:01:28 -0000

This morning, Noyo, a startup that provides APIs that link players in the health insurance space, announced that it has closed a $12.5 million Series A round of funding.Â The new capital comes less than a year after the startup disclosed that it had raised around $4 million in pre-seed and seed capital, and that […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NUVIA raises $240M from Mithril to make climate-ready enterprise chips

Mon, 28 Sep 2020 08:00:25 -0000

Climate change is on everyone’s minds these days, what with the outer Bay Area on fire, orange skies above San Francisco, and a hurricane season that is bearing down on the East Coast with alacrity (and that’s just the United States in the past two weeks). A major — and growing — source of those […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

E-commerce platform Whitebox raises $18M

Fri, 25 Sep 2020 16:01:22 -0000

Whitebox, a startup that manages e-commerce logistics and fulfillment for a variety for brands, has raised $18 million in Series B funding. While discussing the new funding, CEO Marcus Startzel repeated a point he made after Whitebox raised its $5 million Series A last year — that the startup is differentiated by combining tools for […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The first rule of BookClub? No boring book clubs.

Fri, 25 Sep 2020 08:00:23 -0000

Book clubs can be magical. Bring together a group of friends, tear apart a book and all of a sudden the words have a second, paperless, life. But what if the author could join in the banter? Imagine riffing with Roxane Gay, debating with Ta-Nehisi Coates and eavesdropping on Jhumpa Lahiri. The experience would resemble […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Airship acquires SMS commerce company ReplyBuy

Thu, 24 Sep 2020 16:01:20 -0000

Airship is announcing that it has acquired mobile commerce startup ReplyBuy. The startup (which was a finalist at TechCrunch’s 1st and Future startup competition in 2016) works with customers like entertainment venues and professional and college sports teams to send messages and sell tickets to fans via SMS. It raised $4 million in funding from […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Venture capitalists have found a new home to brag and debate: PrimeTime VC

Thu, 24 Sep 2020 08:00:23 -0000

Last week, we talked a bit about how investors are seeking new techniques to bring humanity back to their deal flow and sourcing mechanisms, beyond the boring Zoom call. The newest strategy I’ve seen is PrimeTime VC, a game show that pits venture capitalists against each other to debate on topics like TikTok to Y […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Five years after creating Traefik application proxy, open source project hits 2B downloads

Wed, 23 Sep 2020 16:01:27 -0000

Five years ago, Traefik Labs founder and CEO Emile Vauge was working on a project deploying thousands of microservices and he was lacking a cloud native application proxy that could handle this kind of scale. So like any good developer, he created one himself and Traefik was born. If you go back five years, the […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mailchimp launches new AI tools as it continues its transformation to marketing platform

Wed, 23 Sep 2020 08:00:32 -0000

Mailchimp may have started out as an easy to use newsletter tool, but that was almost 20 years ago. Today’s company still does email, but at its core, it is now a marketing automation platform for small businesses that also offers a website builder, basic online stores, digital ad support and analytics to make sense […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pure Watercraft ramps up its electric outboard motors with a $23M series A

Tue, 22 Sep 2020 16:01:23 -0000

Electric power only started making sense for land vehicles about ten years ago, but now the technology is ready to make the jump into the water. Pure Watercraft hopes that its electric outboard motor can replace a normal gas one for most boating needs under 50 HP — and it just raised $23.4M to hit […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ride-hailing was hit hard by COVID-19. Grab’s Russell Cohen on how the company adapted.

Tue, 22 Sep 2020 08:00:23 -0000

Ride-hailing services around the world have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, and Grab was no exception. The company is one of the most highly-valued tech startups in Southeast Asia, where it operates in eight countries. Its transport business suffered a sharp decline in March and April, as movement restriction orders were implemented. But […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With $100M in funding, Playco is already a mobile gaming unicorn

Mon, 21 Sep 2020 16:01:23 -0000

Playco is a new mobile gaming startup created by Game Closure co-founder Michael Carter and Zynga co-founder Justin Waldron, as well as game producers Takeshi Otsuka and Teddy Cross. Although the Tokyo-headquartered company is only announcing its existence today, it’s already a unicorn — it says it’s raised $100 million in Series A funding, at […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Amid layoffs and allegations of fraud, the FBI has arrested NS8’s CEO following its $100+ million summer financing

Mon, 21 Sep 2020 08:00:23 -0000

The tagline from today’s announcement from the United States Attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York says it all: “Adam Rogas Allegedly Raised $123 Million from Investors Using Financial Statements that Showed Tens of Millions of Dollars of Revenue and Assets that Did Not Exist”. Rogas, the co-founder and former chief executive and […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ron Howard and Brian Grazer say that their accelerator can help diversify Hollywood

Fri, 18 Sep 2020 16:01:23 -0000

Impact Creative Systems (formerly Imagine Impact) is bringing a startup accelerator-style approach to finding fresh creative talent, and it announced this morning that, with funding from venture capital firm Benchmark,Â it’s spinning out from Imagine Entertainment — the production company founded by director Ron Howard and producer Brian Grazer. Right after the news broke, the accelerator’s […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

X1 Card is a credit card based on your income, not your credit score

Fri, 18 Sep 2020 08:00:23 -0000

There are many reasons why you could have a good or a bad credit score. But if you’re just entering the job market, you may end up with reliable income and a low limit on your credit card. X1 Card wants to solve that by setting limits based on your current and future income instead […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The art of pivoting with Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins and Jessica Matthews

Thu, 17 Sep 2020 16:01:23 -0000

Building and growing a startup is hard, but pivoting said startup into something new and then achieving that same growth is even harder. But it’s not impossible. Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, founder and CEO of PromisePay, and Jessica Matthews, founder and CEO of Uncharted Power, both have experiences doing this. At TechCrunch Disrupt, they shed some light […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jefa is a challenger bank for women without a bank account

Thu, 17 Sep 2020 08:45:02 -0000

Meet Jefa, a startup that is building a challenger bank specifically designed for women in Latin America. The company is building a product that focuses on solving the problems that women face when opening a bank account and managing it. It is participating in the Startup Battlefield at TechCrunch Disrupt. “There are 1.4 billion people […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Quantum startup CEO suggests we are only five years away from a quantum desktop computer

Wed, 16 Sep 2020 16:01:22 -0000

Today at TechCrunch Disrupt 2020, leaders from three quantum computing startups joined TechCrunch editor Frederic Lardinois to discuss the future of the technology. IonQ CEO and president Peter Chapman suggested we could be as little as five years away from a desktop quantum computer, but not everyone agreed on that optimistic timeline. “I think within […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Data virtualization service Varada raises $12M

Wed, 16 Sep 2020 08:00:25 -0000

Varada, a Tel Aviv-based startup that focuses on making it easier for businesses to query data across services, today announced that it has raised a $12 million Series A round led by Israeli early-stage fund MizMaa Ventures, with participation by Gefen Capital. “If you look at the storage aspect for big data, there’s always innovation, […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bank-as-a-service startup Swan helps other companies issue cards, accounts and IBANs

Tue, 15 Sep 2020 16:01:22 -0000

Meet Swan, a new French startup that wants to let other companies offer financial services by issuing cards, bank accounts and IBANs with just a few lines of codes. The company could be considered as a bank-as-a-service platform, like Treezor or solarisBank. Originally founded by startup studio eFounders, the startup just raised a $5.9M million […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

DaVinci Kitchen is building a robotic pasta-making kiosk

Tue, 15 Sep 2020 08:00:23 -0000

The robotics industry is having a major moment amid the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s true that category has been an exciting target for investments for a number of years now, but labor issues and concerns over transmission have led many sectors to take a good, long look at automation. Meal preparation is a […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Airtable raises $185M and launches new low-code and automation features

Mon, 14 Sep 2020 16:01:20 -0000

The spreadsheet-centric database and no-code platform Airtable today announced that it has raised a $185 million Series D funding round, putting the company at a $2.585 billion post-money valuation. Thrive Capital led the round, with additional funding by existing investors Benchmark, Coatue, Caffeinated Capital and CRV, as well as new investor D1 Capital. With this, […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Toucan raises $3M to teach you new languages as you browse the web

Mon, 14 Sep 2020 08:00:28 -0000

Toucan has developed a Chrome browser extension designed for anyone who wants to learn a new language but hasn’t found the motivation or the time. Once installed, the extension scans the text of any (English-language) website you’re visiting and will automatically translate some of the words into the language that you’re trying to learn. If […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Carbon Health to launch 100 pop-up COVID-19 testing clinics across the U.S.

Fri, 11 Sep 2020 16:01:21 -0000

Primary care health tech startup Carbon Health has added a new element to its “omnichannel” healthcare approach with the launch of a new pop-up clinic model that is already live in San Francisco, LA, Seattle, Brooklyn and Manhattan, with Detroit to follow soon – and that will be rolling out over the next weeks and […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Diffblue launches a free community edition of its automated Java unit testing tool

Fri, 11 Sep 2020 08:00:24 -0000

Diffblue, a spin-out from Oxford University, uses machine learning to help developers automatically create unit tests for their Java code. Since few developers enjoy writing unit tests to ensure that their code works as expected, increased automation doesn’t just help developers focus on writing the code that actually makes a difference but also lead to […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sprinklr raises $200M on $2.7B valuation three years after last investment

Thu, 10 Sep 2020 16:01:22 -0000

Sprinklr has been busy the last few years acquiring a dozen companies, then rewriting their code base and incorporating them into the company’s customer experience platform. Today, the late-stage startup went back to the fund raising well for the first time in three years, and it was a doozy, raising $200 million on a $2.7 […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Iron Ox raises $20 million for its robotic farms

Thu, 10 Sep 2020 08:00:23 -0000

Bay Area-based Iron Ox today announced a $20 million Series B. The funding, led by Pathbreaker Venture and family office firms, brings the robotics company’s total funding up to $45 million to date. A number of other investors also took part in the round, including Crosslink Capital, Amplify Partners, ENIAC Ventures, R7 Partners, Tuesday Ventures, […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Snyk bags another $200M at $2.6B valuation 9 months after last raise

Wed, 09 Sep 2020 16:01:20 -0000

When we last reported on Snyk in January, eons ago in COVID time, the company announced $150 million investment on a valuation of over $1 billion. Today, barely nine months later, it announced another $200 million and its valuation has expanded to $2.6 billion. The company is obviously drawing some serious investor attention and even […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Snowflake’s IPO could value it as high as $24B, Salesforce and Berkshire to invest

Wed, 09 Sep 2020 08:00:22 -0000

On the heels of new filings from both Sumo Logic and JFrog, Snowflake, a venture-backed unicorn looking to go public on the strength of its data-focused cloud service, set an initial price range for its IPO. The $75 to $85 per-share IPO price target values the firm at between $20.9 billion and $23.7 billion, huge […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Revolut launches its financial app in Japan

Tue, 08 Sep 2020 16:01:20 -0000

Fintech startup Revolut is expanding to Japan. After testing the service with 10,000 users, anybody can now sign up and open an account. The company originally obtained its authorization to operate from Japan’s Finance Service Agency in 2018. When you open an account, you get an electronic wallet and a Visa debit card. You can […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why a startup with $10M in annual revenue took 18 months to get VC funding

Tue, 08 Sep 2020 08:00:23 -0000

Back in 2006, Joseph Heller went to China where he spent the next decade learning about the manufacturing business. Based on that experience he eventually built a startup called The Studio. The idea was to help connect people with a small business idea to manufacturers in China in a fully digital way. By 2016 he […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lokalise raises $6 million to make it easier to localize your product

Mon, 07 Sep 2020 16:01:22 -0000

Meet Lokalise, a Latvian startup that focuses on translation and localization of apps, websites, games and more. The company provides a software-as-a-service product that helps you improve your workflow and processes when you need to update text in different languages in your product. The company just raised a $6 million funding round led by Mike […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Exhibitors at Disrupt 2020: Register now to meet accelerators next week

Mon, 07 Sep 2020 08:00:27 -0000

Disrupt 2020 is all about helping startups find and create ways to drive their business forward in these most challenging times. We partnered with cela to give exhibitors in Digital Startup Alley one sweet opportunity — networking with 13 accelerators. If you’re exhibiting — or plan to — don’t miss out on your chance to […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Optimizely acquired by content management company Episerver

Fri, 04 Sep 2020 16:01:25 -0000

Episerver is announcing that it has reached an agreement to acquire Optimizely for an undisclosed sum. Optimizely was founded in 2009 by Dan Siroker and Pete Koomen. It became synonymous with A/B testing, subsequently building a broader suite of tools for marketers to experiment with and personalize their websites and apps, with more than 1,000 […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

48 hours left on early-bird prices to TC Sessions: Mobility 2020

Fri, 04 Sep 2020 08:00:22 -0000

We’re just about a month away from launching TC Sessions: Mobility 2020, but you have only 48 hours left to save yourself $100 on the price of admission. Join the global mobility community on October 6-8 at the lowest possible price. Snag your pass before the early bird expires on September 4 at 11:59 p.m. […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Workplace management startup Legion raises $22 million

Thu, 03 Sep 2020 16:01:21 -0000

Legion, an artificial intelligence driven platform for workplace management, has raised a $22 million series B round led by Stripes with participation from Workday Ventures and others. Legion is designed to help employers better manage their hourly workforces by automating certain decisions, like how much labor to deploy to meet the needs of the company […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transposit scores $35M to build data-driven runbooks for faster disaster recovery

Thu, 03 Sep 2020 08:00:24 -0000

Transposit is a company built by engineers to help engineers, and one big way to help them is to get systems up and running faster when things go wrong — as they always will at some point. Transposit has come up with a way to build runbooks for faster disaster recovery, while using data to […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Capchase raises $4.6M to deliver fast cash to SaaS companies

Wed, 02 Sep 2020 16:01:24 -0000

As a business model, SaaS has expanded to epic size. A number of major SaaS companies filed to go public last week, and there are now thousands of SaaS startups growing all around the world. That scale makes it easier for banks and financial institutions to offer tailored solutions to this market around everything from […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fresh off $200M Series D, Gong acquires early stage startup Vayo

Wed, 02 Sep 2020 08:00:20 -0000

Gong announced a $200 million Series D investment just last month, and loaded with fresh cash, the company wasted no time taking advantage. Today, it announced it was buying early stage Isreali sales technology startup Vayo. The companies did not share terms of the deal, but Gong CEO Amit Bendov said the deal closed a […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Owl Ventures’ new pair of funds gives edtech a $585 million boost

Tue, 01 Sep 2020 16:01:24 -0000

Edtech just keeps on booming. Today, Owl Ventures, a San Francisco-based education technology fund whose portfolio includes Byju’s, Labster, Masterclass and Quizlet, announced that it has closed a pair of investment vehicles totaling $585 million. Owl Ventures IV is a $415 million investment vehicle which will be used to invest in edtech startups Series A […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Steno raises $3.5 million led by First Round to become an extension of law offices

Tue, 01 Sep 2020 08:00:21 -0000

The global legal services industry was worth $849 billion dollars in 2017 and is expected to become a trillion dollar industry by the end of next year. Little wonder that Steno, an L.A.-based startup, wants a piece. Like most legal services outfits, what it offers are ways for law practices to run more smoothly, including […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Banks aren’t as stupid as enterprise AI and fintech entrepreneurs think

Mon, 31 Aug 2020 16:01:23 -0000

The right question is almost never whether to buy software or build it internally. Instead, banks have often worked to walk the difficult but smarter path right down the middle.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Register for our last pitch-off next week on September 2

Mon, 31 Aug 2020 08:00:26 -0000

It’s time again to start warming up your pitching arm. Our next Pitchers & Pitches session takes place next week on September 2. Register today! Pitchers & Pitches sessions combine critique and competition with a focus on helping early-stage startup founders create an iron-clad, 60-second pitch. Here’s how it works. Everyone is welcome to attend, […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fondeadora is a Mexican challenger bank that just raised $14 million

Fri, 28 Aug 2020 16:01:22 -0000

Meet Fondeadora, a fintech startup based in Mexico City that wants to build a full-stack neobank. The company just raised a $14 million Series A round led by Gradient Ventures, Google’s AI-focused venture fund. Founded in 2018, the company already manages 150,000 accounts and is adding $20 million in deposits every month. Mexico represents a […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Property tech startup Habi raises $10M to drive expansion in Latin America

Fri, 28 Aug 2020 08:00:23 -0000

When Brynne McNulty Rojas moved to Bogotá, Columbia four years ago, she encountered a fragmented real estate industry that lacked a central database for consumers to find or compare homes. Rojas was struck by the magnitude of the problem; she was also inspired by the opportunity. Rojas and business partner Sebastian Noguera homed in on […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Narrative raises $8.5M as it launches a new data marketplace

Thu, 27 Aug 2020 16:01:23 -0000

Narrative has raised $8.5 million in Series A funding and is launching a new product designed to further simplify the process of buying and selling data. I’ve already written about the company’s existing marketplace and software for managing data transactions. With the new Data Streams Marketplace, the process should be simpler than ever — not […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Course Hero, a profitable edtech unicorn, raises rare cash

Thu, 27 Aug 2020 08:00:22 -0000

Like any successful founder, Andrew Grauer had bright, long-term ambitions for Course Hero from the moment he launched it in 2006. He started the business to create a place where students could ask questions and get answers similar to Chegg, which launched 15 months before Course Hero . But as he slowly built it, he […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Payments services company Finix adds $30 million to its Series B

Wed, 26 Aug 2020 16:01:21 -0000

Finix, a startup that provides payments-related services to other companies, announced it has extended its Series B financing with a $30 million investment led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and American Express Ventures. The fintech startup has now raised over $96 million in venture capital. According to CEO and co-founder Richie Serna, $90 million of that […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Eden intros SaaS tools in a bid to become a more comprehensive office management platform

Wed, 26 Aug 2020 08:00:21 -0000

Eden, the office management platform founded by Joe du Bey, is today announcing the launch of several new enterprise software features. The company, which offers a marketplace for office managers to procure services like office cleaning, repairs, etc., is looking to offer a more comprehensive platform. The software features include a COVID team safety tool […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Visual collaboration startup MURAL raises huge $118M Series B

Tue, 25 Aug 2020 16:01:22 -0000

This morning MURAL announced that it has raised $118 million in an outsized Series B. The visual collaboration startup provides a whiteboard-like digital environment that allows for users to cooperate and brainstorm. MURAL announced that it had raised $23 million earlier this year, though that investment closed in 2019. The $23 million round was a […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Conan is coming to Disrupt 2020

Tue, 25 Aug 2020 08:00:23 -0000

In 2010, TV show host Conan O’Brien was abruptly asked to give up the time slot he’d been handed just six months earlier by his longtime employer NBC. Instead, he famously gave the network the figurative finger, taking his act to the basic cable network TBS later that same year and — embraced by legions […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SugarCRM acquires Node to gain predictive customer intelligence

Mon, 24 Aug 2020 16:01:21 -0000

SugarCRM announced this morning it has acquired customer intelligence startup, Node. The companies did not reveal the purchase price, but the deal has closed. While Sugar gains a ton of AI expertise, it also adds a customer prediction element to the platform such as figuring out the customers most likely to convert or most likely […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Overlooked teams up with college newspapers to build a news-focused social network

Mon, 24 Aug 2020 08:00:22 -0000

George Sehremelis is building what he calls a “social news network,” with the aim of combatting the spread of misinformation and fake news online. “My goal has always been make an impact on the 2020 election,” Sehremelis told me — a tall order, particularly when the big social networks are struggling to solve these same […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cobalt.io grabs $29M Series B to continue building out pentesting platform

Fri, 21 Aug 2020 16:01:19 -0000

The promise of SaaS has always been about taking tedious, expensive manual tasks and finding a way to build a platform to automate them. Cobalt.io is doing that with pentesting, the process of testing an application for security vulnerabilities before it goes out the door. Today, the startup announced a $29 million Series B led […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

DoorDash expands with on-demand grocery delivery

Fri, 21 Aug 2020 08:00:25 -0000

DoorDash is announcing that customers can now order groceries through the DoorDash app from partners including Smart & Final, Meijer and Fresh Thyme. Additional stores like Hy-vee and Gristedes/D’Agnostino are supposed to be added in the next few weeks. Through these partnerships, DoorDash says it has a delivery footprint covering 75 million Americans in markets […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Airbnb has confidentially filed to go public

Thu, 20 Aug 2020 16:01:23 -0000

In a turn of fortune, Airbnb today announced that it has filed to go public, albeit confidentially. The move puts the home-sharing service on a path to a public offering sooner rather than later, and comes after reports that the company was prepping an IPO filing this month. Those same reports indicated that Airbnb could […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Finmark wants to put sophisticated financial modeling within reach of startups

Thu, 20 Aug 2020 08:00:24 -0000

Finmark, a member of Summer 2020 Y Combinator cohort, is not your typical YC startup. In fact company co-founder Rami Essaid has already built Distil, a security startup and saw it through to exit when he sold the company to Imperva last year. As he pondered what to do next, he took a quick turn […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Meet the startup that helped Microsoft build the world of Flight Simulator

Wed, 19 Aug 2020 16:01:20 -0000

Microsoft’s new Flight Simulator is a technological marvel that sets a new standard for the genre. But to recreate a world that feels real and alive and contains billions of buildings all in the right spots, Microsoft and Asobo Studios relied on the work of multiple partners. One of those is the small Austrian startup […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Movable Ink raises $30M as it expands its personalization technology beyond email marketing

Wed, 19 Aug 2020 08:00:24 -0000

Movable Ink, a company that helps businesses deliver more personalized and relevant email marketing, is announcing that it has raised $30 million in Series funding. The company will be 10 years old in October, and founder and CEO Vivek Sharma told me that it’s always been “capital efficient” — even with the new round, Movable […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Attabotics raises a $50M Series C for its warehouse fulfillment robots

Tue, 18 Aug 2020 16:01:21 -0000

The uptick in robotics funding continues this week with a big round for Calgary, Alberta’s Attabotics. The warehouse fulfillment startup announced a $50 million Series C, led — interestingly enough — by the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, Canada’s largest pension plan. It’s a pretty hot moment for robotics and automation investing, as more industries […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

India’s OneCard credit card-maker FPL Technologies lands $10 million

Tue, 18 Aug 2020 08:00:25 -0000

A 20-month-old startup in India founded by a group of banking veterans that has built a mobile-first credit card and is improving the experience users have with credit cards has secured $10 million in a new financing round. Pune-based FPL Technologies’ $10 million Series A financing round was funded by Matrix Partners India, Sequoia Capital […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AutoX launches its RoboTaxi service in Shanghai, competing with Didi’s pilot program

Mon, 17 Aug 2020 16:01:23 -0000

Autonomous vehicle startup AutoX announced the public launch of of its self-driving taxi service in Shanghai today. Called simply RoboTaxi, AutoX’s offering already faces competition from Didi, China’s largest ride-hailing platform, which launched its own robo-taxi pilot program in Shanghai at the end of June. AutoX’s RoboTaxis will first be available in Jiading District, starting […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Root AI raises $7.2M seed round to deploy its harvesting robot amid COVID-19-fueled demand

Mon, 17 Aug 2020 08:00:25 -0000

By all accounts, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of robotics and automation by months, if not years. The reasons are fairly clear — robotics don’t call in sick, nor are they disease vectors in the same manner as their human counterparts. As food production and agriculture are looking to be among the biggest […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Labster lands new cash to bring its virtual reality science lab software to Asia

Fri, 14 Aug 2020 16:01:22 -0000

You could Zoom call into your science class, or you could conduct a lab experiment in virtual reality. During the coronavirus pandemic, the latter has never felt more full of potential. The global need for learning solutions beyond Zoom is precisely why Labster, a Copenhagen-based startup that helps individuals engage in STEM lab scenarios using […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cube closes $5M Seed round to scale its financial planning software

Fri, 14 Aug 2020 08:00:26 -0000

This morning Cube announced that it has closed a Seed round worth just over $5 million. The software startup, focused on financial planning and analysis (FP&A) work, raised $3.8 million of the total recently, with remaining $1.25 million having come in an earlier Pre-Seed round. Christina Ross, Cube’s CEO and founder, told TechCrunch that she […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gong raises another $200M on $2.2B valuation

Thu, 13 Aug 2020 16:01:24 -0000

For the third time since last February, Gong has raised a significant sum. In February, the company scored $40 million. In December, it grabbed another $65 million, and today it was $200 million on a $2.2 billion valuation. That’s a total of $305 million in less than 18 months. Coatue led today’s cash infusion with […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dog food startup Sundays launches its air-dried kibble alternative

Thu, 13 Aug 2020 08:00:19 -0000

Michael Waxman, co-founder and CEO of dog food startup Sundays, acknowledged that dog owners have no shortage of options when it comes to feeding their beloved pets — but he still thinks there’s room for something new. “There’s a sort of ‘Water everywhere, but not a drop to drink’ phenomenon,” Waxman said. “There are over […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Adaptive Shield raises $4M for its SaaS security platform

Wed, 12 Aug 2020 16:01:22 -0000

Adaptive Shield, a Tel Aviv-based security startup, is coming out of stealth today and announcing its $4 million seed round led by Vertex Ventures Israel. The company’s platform helps businesses protect their SaaS applications by regularly scanning their various setting for security issues. The company’s co-founders met in the Israeli Defense Forces, where they were […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Zin Boats reinvents the electric speedboat in a bid to become the Tesla of the sea

Wed, 12 Aug 2020 08:00:21 -0000

The automotive industry is knee deep in the vast transition to electric, but one place where gas is still going strong is out on the water. Zin Boats wants to start what you might call a sea change by proving, as Tesla did before it, that an electric boat is not just better for the planet, it's better in almost every other way as well.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Parsable scores $60M Series D as pandemic forces faster digitization of industrial sector

Tue, 11 Aug 2020 16:01:20 -0000

It seems the pandemic has forced the business world to digitize faster, and the industrial sector is no different. Parsable, a San Francisco startup that is helping digitize industrial front line workers, announced a $60 million Series D today. Activate Capital and Glade Brook Capital Partners co-led the round. They got help from new investors […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

DoubleVerify says ad fraudsters are using public domain content to create fake TV apps

Tue, 11 Aug 2020 08:00:23 -0000

The team at DoubleVerify, a company that helps advertisers eliminate fraud and ensure brand safety, said that it’s recently identified a new tactic used by ad fraudsters seeking to make money on internet-connected TVs. Senior Vice President of Product Management Roy Rosenfeld said that it’s harder for those fraudsters to create a legitimate-looking TV app […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sign up for the next Pitchers & Pitches competition on 8/13

Mon, 10 Aug 2020 16:01:23 -0000

Here’s a shout out to all the early-stage founders attendingÂ Disrupt 2020. Don’t forget to register for our next Pitchers & Pitches — on August 13 — and get ready to hone your 60-second pitch to a razor’s edge. If you’re not in the know, our ongoing Pitchers and Pitches webinar series is a pitch-off-masterclass-mashup. It’s […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Clean.io raises $5M to continue its battle against malicious adtech

Mon, 10 Aug 2020 08:00:24 -0000

Clean.io, a startup that helps digital publishers protect themselves from malicious ads, recently announced that it has raised $5 million in Series A funding. The Baltimore-based company isn’t the only organization promising to fight malvertising (such as ads that force visitors to redirect to another website). But as co-founder wrote Seth Demsey told me last […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Crossbeam announces $25M Series B to keep growing partnerships platform

Sat, 08 Aug 2020 08:33:22 -0000

As sales teams partner with other companies, they go through a process called account mapping to find common customers and prospects. This is usually a highly manual activity tracked in spreadsheets. Crossbeam, a Philadelphia startup, has come up with a way to automate partnership data integration. Today the company announced a $25 million Series B […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What Q2 fundraising data tells us about the rest of 2020

Fri, 07 Aug 2020 08:00:29 -0000

If the current level of interest represents the new normal for VCs, we expect it to only increase as we enter the fall.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

PandaDoc announces second Series B extension worth $30M

Thu, 06 Aug 2020 16:01:20 -0000

PandaDoc, the startup that provides a fully digital sales document workflow from proposal to electronic signature to collecting payment, announced a $30 million Series B extension today, making it the the second such extension the company has taken since taking its original $15 million Series B in 2017. The total for the three B investments […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Krisp snags $5M A round as demand grows for its voice-isolating algorithm

Thu, 06 Aug 2020 08:00:22 -0000

Krisp’s smart noise suppression tech, which silences ambient sounds and isolates your voice for calls, arrived just in time. The company got out in front of the global shift to virtual presence, turning early niche traction has into real customers and attracting a shiny new $5 million series A funding round to expand and diversify […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

YC-backed Statiq wants to bootstrap India’s EV charging network

Wed, 05 Aug 2020 16:01:20 -0000

Electric vehicles (EVs) are spreading throughout the world. While Tesla has drawn the most attention in the United States with its luxurious and cutting-edge cars, EVs are becoming a mainstay in markets far away from the environs of California. Take India for instance. In the local mobility market, two- and three-wheel vehicles are starting to […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Intercom hires a CFO as it ramps towards an IPO

Wed, 05 Aug 2020 08:00:20 -0000

Today Intercom announced that it has hired a chief financial officer (CFO) as it ramps towards an IPO. The unicorn also promoted its COO to the CEO role earlier this year. The company’s recent CEO, Karen Peacock, told TechCrunch that her new CFO Dan Griggs was a strong candidate thanks to his experience helping take […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

EventGeek relaunches as Circa to help marketers embrace virtual events

Tue, 04 Aug 2020 08:00:22 -0000

EventGeek was a Y Combinator-backed startup that offered tools to help large enterprises manage the logistics of their events. So with the COVID-19 pandemic essentially eliminating large-scale conferences, at least in-person, it’s not exactly surprising that the company had to reinvent itself. Today, EventGeek relaunched as Circa, with a new focus on virtual events. founder […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cisco acquires Modcam to make Meraki smart camera portfolio even smarter

Mon, 03 Aug 2020 16:01:21 -0000

As the Internet of Things, proliferates, security cameras are getting smarter. Today, these devices have machine learning capability that help the camera automatically identify what it’s looking at — for instance an animal or a human intruder? Today, Cisco announced that it’s acquired Swedish startup Modcam and making it part of its Meraki smart camera […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Recruiting for diversity in VC

Mon, 03 Aug 2020 08:00:22 -0000

Dan Miller Contributor Share on Twitter Dan is a Partner at True Search where he leads the firm's Investment Professional practice, having worked with many top VC & PE firms in their senior hiring efforts. Like many industries with a high concentration of wealth — and the careers that help professionals accumulate it — investment […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Are option grants promoting gender and racial inequity?

Fri, 31 Jul 2020 16:01:22 -0000

I want to believe that companies that promise racial and gender equity in compensation make it happen, but not all do.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Point wants to provide credit card rewards with debit cards

Fri, 31 Jul 2020 08:00:24 -0000

Point, a new challenger bank in the U.S., is launching publicly today with an invite system. While Point is technically providing a bank account, the company focuses on rewards associated with a debit card. “I started Point as a solution about everything that is frustrating and complicated about credit cards. The incentives between credit card […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Singapore-based Volopay wants to be the “Brex of Southeast Asia”

Thu, 30 Jul 2020 16:01:26 -0000

Small- to medium-sized companies that do a lot of international business have to deal with two big headaches: high foreign exchange fees and corporate expense tracking. Volopay, a Singapore-based financial tech startup with offices in Bangalore, wants to help by integrating prepaid multi-currency corporate cards, expense tracking and accounting tools into one free-to-use platform. Volopay […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Explorium reels in $31M Series B as data discovery platform grows

Thu, 30 Jul 2020 08:00:28 -0000

In a world with growing amounts of data, finding the right set for a particular machine learning model can be a challenge. Explorium has created a platform to make that an easier task, and today the startup announced a $31 million Series B. The round was led by Zeev Venture with help from Dynamic Loop, […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Y Combinator Demo Day to remain virtual and will be streamed live

Wed, 29 Jul 2020 16:01:24 -0000

After feedback from the investor and founder communities, Y Combinator is making a change to how it does Demo Days in a remote world. The accelerator announced today that it will keep its two-day Demo Day virtual, but instead of offering pre-recorded pitches on-demand, the entire program will be streamed live. In an e-mail, Y […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

YC alum Paragon snags $2.5M seed for low-code app integration platform

Wed, 29 Jul 2020 08:00:25 -0000

Low-code is a hot category these days. It helps companies build workflows or simple applications without coding skills, freeing up valuable engineering resources for more important projects. Paragon, a member of the Y Combinator Winter 2020 cohort, announced a $2.5 million seed round today for its low-code application integration platform. Investors include Y Combinator, Village […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

ClimaCell raises $23M Series C for its weather intelligence platform

Tue, 28 Jul 2020 16:01:22 -0000

ClimaCell, the weather forecasting and intelligence service that is using a number of interesting new techniques to gather weather data, today announced that it has raised a $23 million Series C round co-led by new investor Pitango Growth and existing investor Square Peg Captial. With this new round, the Boston- and TelAviv-based company’s total funding […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Investments in bioproducts surge as Geltor nabs new money

Tue, 28 Jul 2020 08:00:25 -0000

The manufacturer of a vegan collagen, Geltor, has raised a new round of financing — $90 million, according to people familiar with the company. It’s another sign of the newfound viability of sustainability and cell-based, vegetarian replacements for animal products. Sustainable bio-products, whether plant-based, genetically modified or cell-cultured, are having a big year. In the […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

cargo.one gets $18.6M to take its air freight booking platform over the pond

Mon, 27 Jul 2020 17:45:09 -0000

Berlin -based cargo.one, which runs a marketplace for booking air freight, has closed an $18.6 million Series A round of funding led by Index Ventures. Next47 and prior backers Creandum, Lufthansa Cargo and Point Nine Capital also participated in the round, along with a number of angel investors — including Tom Stafford of DST Global […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Revolut extends Series D round to $580 million with $80 million in new funding

Mon, 27 Jul 2020 08:00:20 -0000

Fintech startup Revolut just announced that it has raised $80 million as part of its Series D round that it had already announced in February. The new influx of funding comes from TSG Consumer Partners. In February, Revolut raised a $500 million led by TCV at a $5.5 billion valuation. Today’s new funding extends that […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This startup reworked its privacy-friendly sensors to help battle COVID-19

Fri, 24 Jul 2020 16:01:20 -0000

One little-known home and retail automation startup might seem like an unlikely candidate to help combat the ongoing pandemic. But its founder says its technology can do just that, even if it wasn’t the company’s original plan. Butlr, a spin-out of the MIT Media Lab, uses a mix of wireless, battery-powered hardware and artificial intelligence […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

iObeya raises $17M to digitize management planning processes like Agile

Fri, 24 Jul 2020 10:26:36 -0000

As we move deeper into the pandemic, companies are looking for ways to digitize processes that previously required in-person meetings with manual approaches. Investors appear to be rewarding companies who can achieve this. iObeya, a French company that helps digitize management planning processes like lean and agile, announced a $17 million Series A today. Red […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

YC-backed Glimpse helps Airbnb hosts make money through product placement

Thu, 23 Jul 2020 16:01:24 -0000

Glimpse is giving Airbnb hosts a way to make extra money while also supplying their accommodations with new products. The startup was founded by CEO Akash Raju, COO Anuj Mehta and CPO Kushal Negi, who all recently graduated from Purdue University. It’s part of the current batch of startups at accelerator Y Combinator — where, […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Don’t let VCs be the gatekeepers of your success

Thu, 23 Jul 2020 08:00:24 -0000

I assumed most investors were jerks in pitch meetings, but my white colleagues told me the level of disrespect and dismissiveness I received was not typical.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chef Marcus Samuelsson teams up with Sage Digital to launch Project Bento fundraising platform

Wed, 22 Jul 2020 16:01:24 -0000

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the ongoing protests for racial justice, people have been looking for different ways to contribute, which in turn has led tech companies to launch new features and campaigns. Now there’s a new fundraising platform called Project Bento, created by chef and restauranteur Marcus Samuelsson (best […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rakuten will not renew its contract with WeWork, says report

Wed, 22 Jul 2020 08:00:23 -0000

Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten has decided not to renew its contract with WeWork when it expires next month, according to a report in the Japan Times. Rakuten had leased about 700 desks in Tokyo, but is now planning to move employees from its fintech division into its own new offices. Both WeWork and Rakuten declined […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How to approach your IPO stock

Tue, 21 Jul 2020 16:01:21 -0000

Part one of a three-part series that offers a framework for objectively considering post-IPO or concentrated stock holdings.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jamf ups its IPO range, now targets a valuation of up to $2.7B

Tue, 21 Jul 2020 08:00:25 -0000

Today Jamf, a software company that helps other firms manage their Apple devices, raised its IPO price range. The company had previously targeted a $17 to $19 per-share range. A new SEC filing from the firm today details a far higher $21 to $23 per-share IPO price interval. Jamf still intends to sell up to […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ready, set, network! CrunchMatch is now open for Early Stage 2020

Mon, 20 Jul 2020 16:01:23 -0000

Call it what you will — startup bootcamp, founders’ masterclass or the mother of all how-to events — we’re just days away from TC Early Stage 2020. But you don’t have to wait another minute to start making essential connections. CrunchMatch, our AI-powered networking platform, is now open for business. Wait up. You don’t have […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Federal court rules WhatsApp and Facebook’s malware exploit case against NSO Group can proceed

Mon, 20 Jul 2020 08:00:23 -0000

A U.S. federal court judge ruled on Thursday that WhatsApp and parent company Facebook’s lawsuit against Israeli mobile surveillance software company NSO Group can go forward. Phyllis Hamilton, Chief Judge of the United Stated District Court of the Northern District of California, denied most of the arguments NSO Group made when it filed a motion […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sign up next week’s Pitchers and Pitches competition on 7/23

Fri, 17 Jul 2020 16:01:22 -0000

Can one minute really make a difference in your startup success? If we’re talking about your 60-second pitch (and we are), then heck yeah!Â A crisp, concise and compelling pitch opens doors to opportunity, and we’re here to help you pump up your pitch. Join us online for the next Pitchers & Pitches competition on […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Qumulo scores $125M Series E on $1.2B valuation as storage biz accelerates

Fri, 17 Jul 2020 08:00:21 -0000

Qumulo, a Seattle storage startup helping companies store vast amounts of data, announced a $125 million Series E investment today on a $1.2 billion valuation. BlackRock led the round with help from Highland Capital Partners, Madrona Venture Group, Kleiner Perkins and new investor Amity Ventures. The company reports it has now raised $351 million. CEO […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Waldo is a ‘no code’ automated mobile testing service that anyone can use

Thu, 16 Jul 2020 16:01:23 -0000

Meet Waldo, a new product that wants to make mobile testing both faster and easier. The New York-based startup lets you record tests in your browser by interacting with your app like you’d normally do. Every time you compile a new build, Waldo runs the same tests you previously recorded on multiple software and hardware […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

UIPath reels in another $225M as valuation soars to $10.2B

Thu, 16 Jul 2020 08:00:19 -0000

Last year, Gartner found that Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is the fastest growing category in enterprise software. So perhaps it shouldn’t come as a surprise that UIPath, a leading startup in the space, announced a $225 million Series E today on an eye-popping $10.2 billion valuation. Alkeon Capital led the round with help from Accel, […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mighty Health created a wellness app with older adults top of mind

Wed, 15 Jul 2020 16:01:23 -0000

Virtual classes might make it easier to work out anywhere, anytime, but not for anyone. Mainstream fitness tech often targets the young and fit, in advertisements and cardio-heavy exercises. It effectively excludes aging adults from participating. This gap between mainstream fitness and elders is where Mighty Health, a Y Combinator graduate, comes in. Mighty Health […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

BlueOcean uses automation to deliver affordable brand audits in seven days

Wed, 15 Jul 2020 08:00:21 -0000

BlueOcean is a new startup offering companies a relatively fast and affordable way to see how their brands are performing and what they can do to improve. CEO Grant McDougall and COO/President Liza Nebel (the pair founded BLueOcean with Chief Data Scientist Matthew Gross) told me that they’ve been developing the technology for two years. […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

BigCommerce files to go public

Tue, 14 Jul 2020 16:01:20 -0000

As expected, BigCommerce has filed to go public. The Austin, Texas, based e-commerce company raised over $200 million while private. The company’s IPO filing lists a $100 million placeholder figure for its IPO raise, giving us directional indication that this IPO will be in the lower, and not upper, nine-figure range. BigCommerce, similar to public […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Robinhood raises $320M more, bringing its latest round to $600M at an $8.6B valuation

Tue, 14 Jul 2020 08:00:25 -0000

The stakes keep getting higher for American discount brokerage Robinhood, which today disclosed that it has added hundreds of millions of dollars to its previously disclosed funding round. Including the $280 million that the company had already announced, Robinhood said that it was “pleased to share” that it “raised an additional $320 million in subsequent […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rackspace preps IPO after going private in 2016 for $4.3B

Mon, 13 Jul 2020 16:01:24 -0000

After going private in 2016 after accepting a $32 per share, or $4.3 billion, price from Apollo Global Management, Rackspace is looking once again to the public markets. First going public in 2008, Rackspace is taking second aim at a public offering around 12 years after its initial debut. The company describes its business as […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

nCino sharply raises its IPO price range, boosting possible valuation to $2.6B

Mon, 13 Jul 2020 08:00:25 -0000

As expected, fintech company nCino has raised its IPO price range. The North Carolina-based banking software firm now expects to sell its shares for between $28 and $29 per share, far more than its initial price range of $22 to $24 per share. At its $28 to $29 per-share price interval, nCino is worth $2.50 […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Yamo scores €10.1M Series A to offer healthier food choices for young children

Fri, 10 Jul 2020 16:01:23 -0000

Yamo, a self-described “foodtech” startup that produces and sells healthier food for babies and young children, has raised €10.1 million in Series A funding. Backing comes from European food and agriculture tech investor Five Seasons Ventures, Swiss Entrepreneurs Fund, Ringier Digital Ventures, Müller Ventures, btov Partners, Polytech Ventures, BackBone Ventures, and Fundament. It brings total […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Creandum backs Amie, a new productivity app from ex-N26 product manager Dennis Müller

Fri, 10 Jul 2020 08:00:19 -0000

Amie, a new productivity app from ex-N26 product manager Dennis Müller, has picked up $1.3 million in pre-seed funding to “kickstart” development and hiring. Backing 23 year-old Müller is Creandum — the European VC best known for being an early investor in Spotify — along with Tiny.VC and a plethora of angels. They include Laura […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fintech startup nCino targets ~$2B valuation in impending IPO

Thu, 09 Jul 2020 16:01:19 -0000

As IPO season continues, another venture-backed tech company is moving closer toward going public. This week nCino filed an updated S-1 filing, providing an initial price range for its equity of $22 to $24 per share. Indeed, nCino, a fintech startup that provides operating software to banks, intends to sell 7.625 million shares in its […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GoHealth eyes multibillion-dollar valuation as it sets its initial IPO price range

Thu, 09 Jul 2020 08:00:23 -0000

GoHealth, a Chicago-based company that provides consumers with a digital portal to help them select insurance products, set an initial price range for its IPO today. The firm intends to price its equity between $18 to $20 per share in its debut. As the company expects to sell 39.5 million shares in the offering, its […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nayya, bringing transparency to choosing and managing healthcare plans, raises $2.7 million

Wed, 08 Jul 2020 16:01:20 -0000

Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator -backed Nayya is on a mission to simplify choosing and managing employee benefits through machine learning and data transparency. The company has raised $2.7 million in seed funding led by Social Leverage with participation from Guardian Strategic Ventures, Cameron Ventures, Soma Capital, as well as other strategic angels. The process of choosing […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

DocuSign acquires Liveoak Technologies for $38M for online notarization

Wed, 08 Jul 2020 08:00:20 -0000

Even in the best of times, finding a notary can be a challenge. In the middle of a pandemic, it’s even more difficult. DocuSign announced it has acquired Liveoak Technologies today for approximately $38 million, giving the company an online notarization option. At the same time, DocuSign announced a new product called DocuSign Notary, which […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Replenysh raises a $2 million seed round to streamline recycling for buyers and sellers

Tue, 07 Jul 2020 16:01:20 -0000

Replenysh has been kicking since 2016, but up til now, the Orange County, California startup hasn’t done much press. That changes today, as the company announces that it has raised a $2 million seed round with the fairly lofty goal of transforming recycling in the U.S. A press release outlining Replenysh’s plans offers up plenty […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

OwnBackup lands $50M as backup for Salesforce ecosystem thrives

Tue, 07 Jul 2020 08:00:20 -0000

OwnBackup has made a name for itself primarily as a backup and disaster recovery system for the Salesforce ecosystem, and today the company announced a $50 million investment. Insight Partners led the round with participation from Salesforce Ventures and Vertex Ventures. This chunk of money comes on top of a $23 million round from a […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lydia expands credit offering in partnership with Younited Credit

Mon, 06 Jul 2020 16:01:20 -0000

French startup Lydia is announcing a new partnership with Younited Credit, which lets you borrow anything between €500 and €3,000 and pay back within 6 to 36 months. The feature will be released in France at some point during the summer. This isn’t the first time Lydia is playing around with credit. The company already […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Location data startup Bluedot raises $9.1M

Mon, 06 Jul 2020 08:00:24 -0000

Bluedot, a geofencing and location data startup used by companies like Dunkin’, KFC and McDonald’s, is announcing that it has raised $9.1 million in Series B funding. The San Francisco-headquartered company claims that its technology its 20 times more accurate than competing solutions — something that CEO Emil Davityan attributed to its roots in the […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lemonade and Accolade open sharply higher as public markets rally

Fri, 03 Jul 2020 16:01:17 -0000

Despite today’s bucket of plus-and-minus economic data, stocks are heading higher in regular trading. And among the shares rising the most are today’s two venture-backed IPOs: Lemonade and Accolade. TechCrunch wrote this morning that the firms’ aggressive IPO pricing arcs boded well for the IPO market itself, that investors were willing to price growth-y shares […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Science Inc. is getting into the music business with incubator Heavy Sound Labs

Fri, 03 Jul 2020 08:00:23 -0000

Jason Geter, who previously co-founded Grand Hustle Records, told me that he’s looking to “redefine what a record label is today” with his new startup Heavy Sound Labs. Geter said he sees Heavy Sound — which is part of startup studio Science Inc. — as an extension of the work he’s been doing for decades: […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vendia raises $5.1M for its multi-cloud serverless platform

Thu, 02 Jul 2020 16:01:20 -0000

When the inventor of AWS Lambda, Tim Wagner, and the former head of blockchain at AWS, Shruthi Rao, co-found a startup, it’s probably worth paying attention. Vendia, as the new venture is called, combines the best of serverless and blockchain to help build a truly multi-cloud serverless platform for better data and code sharing. Today, […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Point launches new challenger bank with rewards on debit card purchases

Thu, 02 Jul 2020 08:00:23 -0000

Meet Point, a new challenger bank in the U.S. that has been available as a private beta for the past year. Today, the company is launching a major new version of its service and opening its doors to everyone. But you’ll have to get an invite to get in at first. Point is a consumer […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bolt launches electric bike-sharing service in Paris

Wed, 01 Jul 2020 16:01:23 -0000

Like other ride-hailing companies, Bolt has been suffering from the coronavirus-related lockdown and economic downturn around the world. But the company is trying to find another revenue stream by launching electric bikes in Paris. Bolt plans to launch a similar service in other European capitals this year. For the past couple of weeks, the only […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Oculus co-founder and games industry vets form Mountaintop Studios

Wed, 01 Jul 2020 08:00:21 -0000

Oculus co-founder Nate Mitchell is heading up a new game development house called Mountaintop Studios, joined by colleagues from around the gaming industry. The company aims to leave the crunch and toxic culture pervasive in game studios behind and make one that’s “collaborative, anti-crunch, diverse, and inclusive.” The founding team includes Mitchell’s former colleague Mark […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Personal Capital sells to Empower Retirement in deal worth up to $1B

Tue, 30 Jun 2020 16:01:23 -0000

Today Personal Capital, a fintech company that had attracted over $265 million in private funding, announced that it is selling itself to Empower Retirement, a company that provides retirement services to other companies. The deal is worth $825 million upon closing, with another $175 million in what are described as “planned growth” incentives, according to […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After losing Grubhub, Uber reportedly hails Postmates

Tue, 30 Jun 2020 09:08:57 -0000

Uber has reportedly made an offer to buy food delivery service Postmates, according to The New York Times. According to the Times, the talks are still ongoing and the deal could fall through. For those that have been paying attention to Uber, this appetite is not new, albeit consistent. A little over a month ago, […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Agora starts life as a public company by more than doubling to $50 a share

Mon, 29 Jun 2020 16:01:22 -0000

Shares of Agora, a China and U.S.-based “real-time engagement” API company, soared today after it went public. Yesterday Agora priced 17.5 million shares at $20 apiece, up from its target range of $16 to $18 per share. The firm raised $350 in its debut, or around 10 times its Q1 2020 revenue and is now […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TuSimple seeking $250 million in new funding to scale self-driving trucks

Mon, 29 Jun 2020 08:00:25 -0000

TuSimple, the self-driving truck startup backed by Sina, Nvidia, UPS and Tier 1 supplier Mando Corporation, is headed back into the marketplace in search of new capital from investors. The company has hired investment bank Morgan Stanley to help it raise $250 million, according to multiple sources familiar with the effort. Morgan Stanley has sent […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Karat launches a credit card for online creators

Fri, 26 Jun 2020 16:01:25 -0000

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Private equity firm Great Hill Partners acquires stock media service Storyblocks

Fri, 26 Jun 2020 08:00:19 -0000

Storyblocks, the subscription-based stock media service, today announced that it has been acquired by private equity firm Great Hill Partners. The firm previously backed companies like Wayfair (and then exited that specific investment in 2017) and Custom Ink. Great Hill also acquired Gizmodo Media Group in 2019. Storyblocks and Great Hill did not disclose the […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

IPOs that could happen soon, cannot happen soon enough

Thu, 25 Jun 2020 16:01:21 -0000

Earlier today we took a look at two companies that have filed to go public, nCino and GoHealth. The pair join Lemonade in a march toward the public markets. But those three firms are hardly alone. We know that DoorDash filed privately earlier this year (it also raised a pile of cash lately, so its […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Privacy assistant Jumbo raises $8 million and releases major update

Thu, 25 Jun 2020 08:00:27 -0000

A year after its initial release, Jumbo has two important pieces of news to announce. First, the company has released a major update of its app that protects your privacy on online services. Second, the company has raised an $8 million Series A funding round. If you’re not familiar with Jumbo, the app wants to […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Zopa granted full UK bank license as it gears up to launch savings account and credit card

Wed, 24 Jun 2020 16:01:23 -0000

Zopa, the 15-year-old peer-to-peer lending company, is announcing that it has been awarded its full U.K. bankâ€¯licence, as it gears up to launch a fixed-term savings account, followed by a credit card. Dubbed “Zopa Bank,” the new challenger bank will sit alongside its existing peer-to-peer lending business, under Zopa Group, creating what the veteran fintech […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Prices increase in four days for founder workshops at TC Early Stage

Wed, 24 Jun 2020 08:00:23 -0000

The countdown clock is running, and you have just four days left to score the lowest price on passes to TC Early Stage 2020, which takes place on July 21-22. We’ve packed this two-day virtual event with more than 50 workshops covering essential topics that every early-stage founder needs to master. Take advantage of the […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ampere announces latest chip with a 128 core processor

Tue, 23 Jun 2020 16:01:26 -0000

In the chip game, more is usually better and to that end, Ampere announced the next chip on its product roadmap today, the Altra Max, a 128 core processor, the company says is designed specifically to handle cloud native, containerized workloads. What’s more, the company has designed the chip, so that it will fit in […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

ServiceNow to acquire Belgian configuration management startup Sweagle

Tue, 23 Jun 2020 08:00:25 -0000

With more companies moving workers home, making sure your systems are up and running has become more important than ever. ServiceNow, which includes an IT Help Desk component in its product catalogue recognizes that help desks have been bombarded during the pandemic. To help stop configuration problems before they start, the company acquired Sweagle today, […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HashiCorp to offer managed versions of its developer tools starting with Consul

Mon, 22 Jun 2020 16:01:21 -0000

HashiCorp is well known in the developer community for offering a slew of open source tools to help build and manage modern applications. Today the company announced a new cloud platform and plans to eventually offer managed versions of those tools, starting with Consul a tool for connecting and securing services across platforms. HashiCorp CEO […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After IPO delays, DoorDash confirms $400M raise

Mon, 22 Jun 2020 08:00:23 -0000

DoorDash has confirmed that it is raising “approximately $400 million” in a Series H round of funding. Earlier today, Axios reported that the company was looking for roughly $400 million round at a post-money valuation of $16 billion. DoorDash clarified in a statement provided to TechCrunch that the valuation is slightly under the $16 billion […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Who’s writing first checks into startups?

Fri, 19 Jun 2020 16:01:22 -0000

The TechCrunch List will publish the most recommended “first check” writers across 22 different categories ranging from D2C & e-commerce brands to space, and everything in between.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Intercom announces the promotion of Karen Peacock to CEO

Fri, 19 Jun 2020 08:00:23 -0000

Three years ago almost to the day, Intercom announced that it was bringing former Intuit exec Karen Peacock on board as COO. Today, she got promoted to CEO, effective July 1st. Current CEO and company co-founder Eoghan McCabe will become Chairman. As it turns out, these moves aren’t a coincidence. McCabe had been actively thinking […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Software shares set new records as tech rallies

Thu, 18 Jun 2020 16:01:21 -0000

In another up for technology shares, software companies saw their values reach new heights today. The days trading comes after a selloff last week eased some of technology companies’ rebounds from their COVID-19 lows; stocks in tech companies have more than made up for their early-year declines in mid-2020, with the Nasdaq reaching 10,000 points […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Credit-focused fintech startup Upgrade raises $40M after reaching $100M run rate

Thu, 18 Jun 2020 08:00:21 -0000

This morning Upgrade, a credit-focused fintech startup, announced that it has raised a $40 million Series D round that the company says gives it a $1 billion valuation. The Upgrade round slots neatly into a few trends TechCrunch has noted in recent quarters, including fintech startups raising at new, higher valuations, and some startups seeing […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Exhibit for free at Disrupt 2020: Apply to TC Top Picks

Wed, 17 Jun 2020 16:01:23 -0000

Looking for a way to get your early-stage startup the massive attention it deserves? Of course, you are. One of the best ways to get in front of thousands of influencers is by exhibiting in Startup Alley during Disrupt 2020. An even better way is to exhibit for free. Take the first step and apply […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

DeepSource announce $2.6M seed round to automate static code analysis

Wed, 17 Jun 2020 08:00:26 -0000

DeepSource, a member of the Winter 2020 Y Combinator cohort, announced a $2.6 million seed investment today. The company is building a solution to help developers automate static code analysis to find certain errors before going through human code review. 645 Ventures led the round with help from Y Combinator, FundersClub, Pioneer Fund, Liquid 2 […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Reebelo, a Singapore-based site for refurbished electronics, raises $1.25 million seed round

Tue, 16 Jun 2020 16:01:24 -0000

Reebelo, a Singapore-based marketplace for refurbished electronics, announced it has raised a seed round of $1.25 million led by June Fund, with participation from Antler. The new funding will be used for hiring, especially marketing and operations positions for customer service as the company scales. Reebelo currently operates in Singapore, but plans to expand across […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Free money for startups? It’s possible with MainStreet’s platform for economic development incentives

Tue, 16 Jun 2020 08:00:20 -0000

Startups need money. State and local governments need startups and the employment growth they offer. It should be obvious that the two groups can work together and make each other happy. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. Each year, governments spend tens of billions of dollars on economic development incentives designed to attract […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

So you want to talk about race in tech with Ijeoma Oluo

Mon, 15 Jun 2020 16:01:24 -0000

“A lot of people denigrate the value of talking about race and racism in technological spaces,” said Ijeoma Oluo, author of So You Want to Talk About Race, which has surged to the top of the New York Times best sellers list in paperback nonfiction, two and a half years after its initial January 2018 […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Uber shares tumble 5% as reports indicate it will lose the Grubhub deal to European rival

Mon, 15 Jun 2020 08:00:24 -0000

Reports this morning indicate that Uber, the American ride-hailing giant with a global footprint, will lose out on its attempt to buy Grubhub, an American food ordering and delivery service. Uber competes with Grubhub domestically with its Uber Eats service; a tie-up between the two could have given Uber suffocating market share in the United […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

API platform Postman delivers $150M Series B on $2B valuation

Fri, 12 Jun 2020 16:01:20 -0000

APIs provide a way to build connections to a set of disparate applications and data sources, and can help simplify a lot of the complex integration issues companies face. Postman has built an enterprise API platform and today it got rewarded with a $150 million Series C investment on a whopping $2 billion valuation — […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This startup just raised $12 million from top VCs to offer financial planning as an employee perk

Fri, 12 Jun 2020 08:00:24 -0000

Companies increasingly recognize that one of the greatest stresses for their employees is financial wellness. Even at innovative tech startups, people typically bump up against the limits of how much they know about wealth management pretty fast. But providing financial education to a workforce, which has become increasingly common, is largely useless as most employees […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Conversa Health raises $12M Series B for its digital health platform

Thu, 11 Jun 2020 16:33:00 -0000

It’s no surprise that the coronavirus pandemic is accelerating the digital health space and so it’s also no surprise that a lot of the startups in this area are currently getting funded. Conversa Health, a Portland, Oregon-based startup that provides a virtual care and communication platform for personalized healthcare, is among these startups. The company […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vendr raises $4M from David Sacks’s Craft Ventures to reduce SaaS bills

Thu, 11 Jun 2020 08:00:21 -0000

When TechCrunch last checked in with the Y Combinator-backed Vendr in October, the company had just raised $2 million, and was crowing about its profitability. Profitable seed-stage companies aren’t super common, so the startup stood out. Today Vendr is back with more news, namely that it has raised $4 million more, this time led by […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Flatfile scores $7.6M seed investment to simplify data onboarding

Wed, 10 Jun 2020 16:01:20 -0000

One of the huge challenges companies like enterprise SaaS vendors face with new customers is getting customer data into their service. It’s a problem that Flatfile founders faced first hand in their jobs, and they decided to solve it. Today, the company announced a healthy $7.6 million seed investment to expand on that vision. The […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Yugabyte lands $30M Series B as open source database continues to flourish

Wed, 10 Jun 2020 08:00:21 -0000

It’s been a big period of positive change for Yugabyte, makers of the open source, cloud native YugabyteDB database. Just last month they brought on former Pivotal CEO Bill Cook as CEO, and today the company announced it has closed a $30 million Series B. 8VC and strategic investor WiPro led the round with participation […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Acceleprise announces 26 SaaS startups from its trio of accelerators

Tue, 09 Jun 2020 16:01:25 -0000

The TechCrunch crew has worked to keep tabs on this year’s startup accelerator classes. Conventional wisdom in startup land states that great companies are founded during more trying economic times. Well, a recession was declared yesterday by the National Bureau of Economic Research. We should, therefore, see some breakout startups in the next few years. […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Portobel turns food producers into direct-to-consumer businesses

Tue, 09 Jun 2020 08:00:23 -0000

A startup called Portobel is working to help food producers shift their businesses so that they can support direct-to-consumer deliveries. Portobel is backed by Heroic Ventures and led by Ranjith Kumaran, founder or co-founder of file-sharing company Hightail (acquired by OpenText) andÂ loyalty startup PunchTab (acquired by Walmart Labs). Kumaran told me that he and his […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

France refines its plan to support startups

Mon, 08 Jun 2020 16:01:21 -0000

A few days ago, the French government detailed different measures as part of its support plan for startups. France already announced a $4.3 billion (€4 billion) plan back in March. The new announcements are more about refining and adding some additional measures. The French government wanted to act quickly when it made its initial announcement […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Zigazoo launches to be a ‘TikTok’ for kids, surpasses 100,000 uploads and downloads

Mon, 08 Jun 2020 08:00:22 -0000

Like many parents, Zigazoo founder Zak Ringelstein worries about his children’s screen time. His worries only grew when COVID-19 led to school shutdowns and kids came home to a world of remote learning. Now, as lockdowns extend, Ringelstein is learning to embrace screen time as a way to sneak education and entertainment into his kids’ […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Searchable.ai nabs additional $4M seed to continue building AI-driven search

Fri, 05 Jun 2020 16:01:20 -0000

Searchable.ai is an early-stage startup in the alpha phase of testing its initial product, but it has an idea compelling enough to attract investment, even during a pandemic. Today the company announced an additional $4 million in seed capital to continue building its AI-driven search solution. Susquehanna International Group and Omicron Media co-led the round […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cowboy releases updated e-bike with new carbon belt

Fri, 05 Jun 2020 08:00:24 -0000

Electric-bike maker Cowboy has released a new iteration of its bike, the Cowboy 3. It’s a relatively small update that should make the experience better for newcomers. The first orders will be delivered at the end of July and the Cowboy 3 is now slightly more expensive at €2,290 or £1,990 ($2,500). The bike still […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NetApp to acquire Spot (formerly Spotinst) to gain cloud infrastructure management tools

Thu, 04 Jun 2020 16:01:21 -0000

When Spotinst rebranded to Spot in March, it seemed big changes were afoot for the startup, which originally helped companies find and manage cheap infrastructure known as spot instances (hence its original name). We had no idea how big at the time. Today, NetApp announced plans to acquire the startup. The companies did not share […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What the last 2 months of fundraising tells us about the future

Thu, 04 Jun 2020 08:00:22 -0000

There is just as much capital ready to deploy, and just as much investor interest, as there was earlier this year, but founders are still adjusting to new market conditions.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lili raises $10M for its freelancer banking app

Wed, 03 Jun 2020 16:01:21 -0000

Lili, a startup building banking products to meet the needs of freelance workers, is announcing that it has raised $10 million in seed funding. The startup takes its name from its founders, CEO Lilac Bar David and CTO Liran Zelkha, who previously foundedÂ Israeli challenger bank Pepper. Bar David told me that while many neobanks have […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Overjet raises $7.85M for its dental-focused AI tech

Wed, 03 Jun 2020 08:00:20 -0000

Overjet, a startup focused on using AI to help dentists and insurance companies understand dental scans, today announced that it has raised $7.85 million in what it describes as a seed round. According to Overjet’s CEO Wardah Inam (an MIT PhD in electrical engineering and computer science), the company raised the funds from Crosslink Capital, […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cisco to acquire internet monitoring solution ThousandEyes

Tue, 02 Jun 2020 08:00:25 -0000

When Cisco bought AppDynamics in 2017 for $3.7 billion just before the IPO, the company sent a clear signal it wanted to move beyond its pure network hardware roots into the software monitoring side of the equation. Yesterday afternoon the company announced it intends to buy another monitoring company, this time snagging internet monitoring solution […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jeremy Conrad left his own VC firm to start a company, and investors like what he’s building

Mon, 01 Jun 2020 16:01:21 -0000

When this editor first met Jeremy Conrad, it was in 2014, at the 8,000-square-foot former fish factory that was home to Lemnos, a hardware-focused venture firm that Conrad had cofounded three years earlier. Conrad —Â who as a mechanical engineering undergrad at MIT worked on self driving cars, drones and satellites — was still excited […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stackin’ raises $12.6M Series B to help millennials navigate the crowded fintech space

Mon, 01 Jun 2020 08:00:22 -0000

Fintech’s funding boom for the past decade has led to a flurry of new consumer startups tackling a wide range of money-related issues, from saving apps to investing platforms. Should you download Robinhood, Stash, Public, Acorns, or Truebill? The fintech craze creates confusion for consumers when it comes to figuring out which startup is the […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

BeeHero smartens up hives to provide ‘pollination as a service’ with $4M seed round

Fri, 29 May 2020 16:01:24 -0000

Vast monoculture farms outstripped the ability of bee populations to pollinate them naturally long ago, but the techniques that have arisen to fill that gap are neither precise nor modern. Israeli startup BeeHero aims to change that by treating hives both as living things and IoT devices, tracking health and pollination progress practically in real […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wasabi announces $30M in debt financing as cloud storage business continues to grow

Fri, 29 May 2020 14:59:19 -0000

We may be in the thick of a pandemic with all of the economic fallout that comes from that, but certain aspects of technology don’t change no matter the external factors. Storage is one of them. In fact, we are generating more digital stuff than ever, and Wasabi, a Boston-based startup that has figured out […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gogoro unveils Eeyo, its new ebike brand

Thu, 28 May 2020 16:01:23 -0000

Gogoro, the mobility company best known for its SmartScooters, revealed details about its new ebike brand Eeyo today. Eeyo will launch with two lightweight models, both powered by the SmartWheel, a self-contained hub designed by the company that integrates motors, batteries, sensors and smart connectivity technology. Eeyo is the first product that Gogoro will introduce […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Angling to be eyewear’s next big thing, Futuremood launches with mood-altering sunglasses

Thu, 28 May 2020 08:00:23 -0000

Austin Soldner and Michael Schaecher, the co-founders of the new sunglasses brand Futuremood, met at the newly formed San Francisco research and development lab created by the high end audio tech developer Bose. The two were tasked with working on Bose’s sunglasses wearable and bonded over a shared interest in sneakers and fashion. Over many […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

LeverEdge wants to get you and your friends a volume discount on student loans

Wed, 27 May 2020 16:01:23 -0000

Student loans are both a trillion-dollar debt category and also one of the most popular mini-verticals out there in fintech startup investing right now. There are dozens if not hundreds of companies in the space, and they all mostly do one of two things: either they help students think through their student loan options before […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AI is more data-hungry than ever, and DefinedCrowd raises $50M B round to feed it

Wed, 27 May 2020 08:00:28 -0000

As AI has grown from niche to mission-critical technology, the companies that enable it have multiplied and in many cases prospered. A good example of that success is DefinedCrowd, which has gone from the Disrupt stage to globe-spanning AI toolkit to the Fortune 500 in just a couple years. The company just raised a new […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Benepass raises $2.4 million to help employees get the most out of their tax-advantaged benefits

Tue, 26 May 2020 18:28:27 -0000

Tax-advantaged benefits, like flexible spending accounts, can save employees in the United States thousands of dollars annually, and reduce the amount of payroll taxes companies pay. But those benefits are often underutilized, simply because they can be confusing to navigate. Benepass wants to make the process easier with a mobile app that centralizes all of […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Work collaboration unicorn Notion is blocked in China

Mon, 25 May 2020 16:01:19 -0000

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

PathSpot sells a scanner that fact checks your handwashing efficacy

Mon, 25 May 2020 08:00:25 -0000

The novel coronavirus disease has reminded millions that handwashing is a great way to avoid preventable diseases. Christine Schindler, the CEO and co-founder of PathSpot, has been preparing for the past three months for the past three years. “I’ve been obsessed with handwashing,” Schindler said, who has a background in biomedical engineering and public health. […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Statespace, the platform that trains gamers, raises $15 million

Fri, 22 May 2020 16:01:18 -0000

Statespace has today raised a $15 million Series A financing round led by Khosla, with partner Samir Kaul joining the board. Existing investors, such as FirstMark Capital, Lux and Expa, also participated in the round, as well as newcomer June Fund. Statespace launched out of stealth in 2017 with a product called Aim Lab, which […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Algolia gets a new CEO as founder steps down

Fri, 22 May 2020 08:00:19 -0000

Search-as-a-service startup Algolia is announcing some changes at the helm of the startup. Co-founder and CEO Nicolas Dessaigne is transitioning to a non-operational role at the company. He’ll still be a board member, but Bernadette Nixon is joining the company to take on the CEO position. Algolia is building a search engine API. The company […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The future of flight can be energy-efficient

Thu, 21 May 2020 17:42:51 -0000

Can eVTOL vehicles be green? Specifically, can eVTOL vehicles be more energy-efficient than cars?

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

FireHydrant lands $8M Series A for disaster management tool

Wed, 20 May 2020 19:23:31 -0000

When I spoke to Robert Ross, CEO and co-founder at FireHydrant last week, we had a technology adventure. First the audio wasn’t working correctly on Zoom, then Google Meet. Finally we used cell phones to complete the interview. It was like a case study in what FireHydrant is designed to do — help companies manage […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Buzzy Ethereum wallet app Argent comes out of stealth

Wed, 20 May 2020 08:00:22 -0000

Argent is launching the first public version of its Ethereum wallet for iOS and Android. The company has been available as a limited beta for a few months with a few thousand users. But it has already raised a seed and a Series A round with notable investors, such as Paradigm, Index Ventures, Creandum and […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Notion drops usage limit on its personal free tier

Tue, 19 May 2020 19:06:38 -0000

Notion, a popular note-taking and wiki-creation app, revamped their personal pricing plans today stripping many of the user limitations from the free tier, bringing it on par with the functionality offered by the $5 per month paid plan of yore. The company’s previous free tier had a fairly low usage limit (1,000 “blocks,” which are […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Electric gets another $7 million in funding from 01 Advisors and the Slack Fund

Tue, 19 May 2020 08:00:22 -0000

Electric, the platform that puts the IT department in the cloud, has today announced new funding following a continuation of its Series B earlier this year. Dick Costolo and Adam Bain (01 Advisors) and the Slack Fund participated in the $7 million capital infusion. 01 Advisors put up the majority of the financing ($6 million) […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Users complain of Robinhood, Etrade outages as stocks soar

Mon, 18 May 2020 16:01:21 -0000

Users are reporting that stock trading platforms Robinhood and Etrade are not working on a day that’s seemÂ stock markets soar. Neither company acknowledged immediate outages with their platforms. Robinhood’s status page says all systems are “operational,” but its website crashed on loading, stating: “An internal error occured! [sic].” After weeks of turbulent markets largely driven […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

E-bike startup Angell partners with SEB for manufacturing and investment

Mon, 18 May 2020 08:00:25 -0000

French startup Angell has signed a wide-ranging partnership with SEB, the French industrial company behind All-Clad, Krups, Moulinex, Rowenta, Tefal and others. As part of the deal, SEB will manufacture Angell’s electric bikes in a factory in Is-sur-Tille near Dijon, France. SEB’s investment arm, SEB Alliance, is also investing in Angell . The terms of […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Atlassian acquires Halp to bring Slack integration to the forefront

Fri, 15 May 2020 16:01:23 -0000

Atlassian announced today that it was acquiring Halp, an early stage startup that enables companies to build integrated help desk ticketing and automated answers inside Slack. The companies did not disclose the purchase price. It was a big day for Halp, which also announced its second product today called Halp Answers. The new tool will […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

FortressIQ snags $30M Series B to streamline processes with AI-fueled data

Fri, 15 May 2020 08:00:24 -0000

As we move through life in the pandemic, companies are being forced to review and understand how workflows happen. How do you distribute laptops to your workforce? How do you make sure everyone has the correct tool set? FortressIQ, a startup that wants to help companies use data to understand and improve internal processes, announced […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Quizlet valued at $1 billion as it raises millions during a global pandemic

Thu, 14 May 2020 16:01:22 -0000

As millions of students and teachers shift to learn from home in response to the novel coronavirus disease, modern-day flashcard business Quizlet has raised $30 million in a Series C round led by General Atlantic. Quizlet’s chief executive officer Matthew Glotzbach said that the new funding values the business at $1 billion, up five times […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

LeoLabs launches its global satellite monitoring and collision avoidance service

Thu, 14 May 2020 08:00:23 -0000

LeoLabs has been building out its global network of space-scanning radars for the last couple years, leading up to today’s launch of its Collision Avoidance system, essentially satellite-monitoring-as-a-service. It should prove an indispensable asset to startups that don’t happen to have their own state of the art radar setup. Space is full of junk, and […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Target Global has a €1M “super seed” fund incoming to switch on laid off tech talent in Spain during COVID-19

Wed, 13 May 2020 16:01:19 -0000

Target Global is backing a €1 million support fund for tech talent in Spain laid off or furloughed as a result of the coronavirus crisis. The aim is to provide pre-seed financing to help crisis-hit tech workers switch gears and build out a startup concept over the next four to six months, covering living expenses […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

RenovAI helps retailers offer automated interior design advice to their customers

Wed, 13 May 2020 08:00:20 -0000

Alon Gilady, CEO of RenovAI, told me his startup is trying to solve the problem that many of us face when we’re moving into a new home — we aren’t interior designers, but we can’t afford to hire real designers, either. Apparently Gilady’s co-founder and vice president of products Alon Chelben had this issue himself […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Trillions are at stake in the retirement wars, and Vise nets $14.5M from Sequoia to manage it

Tue, 12 May 2020 16:01:19 -0000

The retirement wars are heating up. As millions of baby boomers leave their jobs in the coming years and transition into retirement, there is a huge competition for who will manage their savings. On one hand are traditional wealth managers, firms like Edward Jones, who either employ full-time human financial advisors or empower independent contractors […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Banjo’s CEO resigns after report details KKK ties in his past

Tue, 12 May 2020 08:00:22 -0000

After investigative reporting revealed his undisclosed involvement in shooting at a synagogue with KKK members at age 17, the CEO of Banjo will leave the company he founded. In a short blog post, the company announced a “change in leadership” and the resignation of its founder and CEO Damien Patton. The Utah-based company will transition […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Your startup can still be seen and heard: Exhibit in Digital Startup Alley

Mon, 11 May 2020 16:01:23 -0000

We’re not letting this pandemic disrupt Disrupt SF 2020. Like any determined early-stage startup founder, we’re adapting and moving forward. Can’t join us in person on September 14 – 16? No problem. Take advantage of Digital Startup Alley, a completely new way to disrupt. Place your startup in front of influential movers and shakers and […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Owkin raises $25 million as it builds a secure network for healthcare analysis and research

Mon, 11 May 2020 08:00:25 -0000

Imagine a model of collaborative research and development among hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, universities and other research institutions where no one shared any actual data. That’s the dream of the new New York-based startup Owkin, which has raised $25 million in fresh financing from investors, including Bpifrance Large Venture, Cathay Innovation and MACSF (the French Pension […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sleuth raises $3M Seed to bring order to continuous deployment

Fri, 08 May 2020 16:01:22 -0000

Sleuth, an early stage startup from three former Atlassian employees, wants to bring some much-needed order to the continuous delivery process. Today, the company announced it has raised a $3 million seed round. â€‹CRV led the round with participation from angel investors from New Relic, Atlassian and LaunchDarkly. “Sleuth is a deployment tracker built to […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As investing apps boom, Public doubles down on its social focus

Fri, 08 May 2020 08:00:21 -0000

Savings and investing apps are having a moment. While many startups are struggling in the wake of COVID-19 and its economic impacts, services that help regular folks save a bit more or invest their funds are seeing a demand boom. Coming into 2020 on the back of a huge fundraising year for the fintech cohort, […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Invisible AI uses computer vision to help (but hopefully not nag) assembly line workers

Thu, 07 May 2020 09:43:03 -0000

“Assembly” may sound like one of the simpler tests in the manufacturing process, but as anyone who’s ever put together a piece of flat-pack furniture knows, it can be surprisingly (and frustratingly) complex. Invisible AI is a startup that aims to monitor people doing assembly tasks using computer vision, helping maintain safety and efficiency — […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As Wunderlist shuts down, its founder announces a new productivity app called Superlist

Thu, 07 May 2020 08:00:24 -0000

Wunderlist is going away, but fans of the productivity app may find some consolation in founder Christian Reber’s announcement that he is launching a new startup called Superlist. “Superlist will be more than just a todo app, but never as bloated as the project management software you loathe to use,” he tweeted. “Slick, fast, and […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Goldman Sachs backs electric toothbrush startup Burst Oral Care

Wed, 06 May 2020 18:07:08 -0000

Burst Oral Care, a startup that sells an electric toothbrush boasting charcoal bristles and 33,000 sonic vibrations per minute, has raised a Series C of undisclosed size. Although we don’t know the amount of the round, the Series C was led by Goldman Sachs Growth Equity, and Burst says it more than doubled the valuation […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Treasury Prime raises $9M to bring its banking APIs to market

Wed, 06 May 2020 08:00:23 -0000

Treasury Prime, a startup that built software tooling to help banks automate and accelerate routine tasks, announced today that it has closed a $9 million Series A. The new capital was sourced from Amias Gerety of QED, Jason Lemkin of SaaStr, and Hans Morris of NYCA Partners. The capital event is yet another funding round […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cockroach Labs scores $86.6M Series D as scalable database resonates

Tue, 05 May 2020 16:01:22 -0000

Cockroach Labs, the NYC enterprise database company, announced an $86.6 million Series D funding round today. The company was in no mood to talk valuations, but was happy to have a big chunk of money to help build on its recent success and ride out the current economic malaise. Altimeter Capital and Bond co-led the […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Robinhood raises $280M, pushing its valuation to $8.3B

Tue, 05 May 2020 11:32:27 -0000

As expected, Robinhood has closed a new round of capital. The late-stage, consumer investing app announced today that it has closed a $280 million Series F funding at an $8.3 billion valuation. This closely tracks prior coverage that the firm was hunting for a nine-figure round at a valuation of around $8 billion. Robinhood raised […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tech stocks open lower ahead of another busy earnings week

Mon, 04 May 2020 16:01:20 -0000

The optimism that confounded many in April may be slipping in May, as stocks fell during Friday’s trading session and are down again this morning. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite is off 0.55% this morning, putting it 13% off its record highs set this year, but also up 29% from its 52-week lows it set directly […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Index and Credo lead a $2.75M seed in anti-fraud tech, Resistant AI

Mon, 04 May 2020 08:00:23 -0000

Prague based Resistant AI has nabbed a $2.75M seed round. The security startup’s machine learning technology is designed to be deployed on top of AI systems used for financial decision making to protect customers in markets such as financial services and ecommerce from attacks such as targeted manipulation, adversarial machine learning and advanced fraud. The […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Determined AI makes its machine learning infrastructure free and open source

Fri, 01 May 2020 16:01:23 -0000

Machine learning has quickly gone from niche field to crucial component of innumerable software stacks, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. The tools needed to create and manage it are enterprise-grade and often enterprise-only — but Determined AI aims to make them more accessible than ever by open-sourcing its entire AI infrastructure product. The company […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Early stage investor The Fund expands beyond NYC with new partners in LA and London

Fri, 01 May 2020 08:00:25 -0000

The Fund, an early-stage investment firm with a memorably straightforward name, is looking beyond New York City as it starts investing its second fund. Founders Jenny Fielding (who’s also managing director at Techstars New York) and Scott Hartley (also co-founder and partner at Two Culture Capital) told me that in the past two years, they’ve […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Biloba lets you chat with a doctor if you have questions about your children

Thu, 30 Apr 2020 16:01:24 -0000

Meet Biloba, a French startup that wants to leverage tech to make it easier to keep your children healthy. The company recently launched a new mobile app that lets you chat with a doctor whenever you want between 8 AM and 8 PM. This way, if you have questions about your kids, you can get […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Utah-based seed fund Kickstart closes fifth fund worth $110M

Thu, 30 Apr 2020 08:00:22 -0000

Continuing our week’s coverage of new venture funds, this morning let’s dig into Kickstart’s latest capital pool. Kickstart Seed Fund, based in Utah’s Salt Lake City, has raised a $110 million Fund V it announced this morning, its largest to date. The firm’sÂ rise to investing prominence has largely coincided with Utah’s own emergence as a […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Smart contact lens startup Mojo Vision raises $51M

Wed, 29 Apr 2020 16:01:22 -0000

Mojo Vision’s technology still felt early-stage when we met with them back at CES. But the demos we did see were enough to convince us that there really could be something to the California startup’s smart content lens technology. Clearly we weren’t alone in that. The company just announced that it has raised more than […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Investors, startup founders in India pool $13M to fund projects that fight coronavirus

Wed, 29 Apr 2020 08:00:24 -0000

More than 150 investors and entrepreneurs in India are funding dozens of projects in a bid to help millions better combat the COVID-19 epidemic and help the nation’s booming startup ecosystem withstand the economic devastation it has caused. The investors said they have contributed 1 billion Indian rupees — or $13 million — of their […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

OMERS Ventures announces a new $750M fund for investing in North America, Europe

Tue, 28 Apr 2020 16:01:22 -0000

OMERS Ventures, the venture capital arm of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS), has put together a new, $750 million fund to invest in both Europe and North America. The capital vehicle is larger than the group’s preceding European and North American funds combined. In 2019 OMERS Ventures announced a €300 million fund Europe-focused […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Smart ring maker Motiv acquired by ‘digital identity’ company

Tue, 28 Apr 2020 08:00:24 -0000

We weren’t alone in being impressed by Motiv. The startup helped flip the script on wearables by essentially cramming a fitness tracker’s worth of technology into a ring. This week, San Francisco ‘digital identity’ startup Proxy that it’s acquiring the company. The company’s site is littered in buzzwords, but Proxy specializes in digital key cards […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Manufacturing startup Divergent 3D reduces staff by one-third

Mon, 27 Apr 2020 18:44:39 -0000

Divergent, the Los Angeles-based startup aiming to revolutionize vehicle manufacturing, has cut about one-third of its staff amid the COVID-19 pandemic that has upended startups and major corporations alike. The company, which employed about 160 people, laid off 57 workers, according to documents filed with the California Employment Development Department. Founder and CEO Kevin Czinger […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If we let the US Postal Service die, we’ll be killing small businesses with it

Mon, 27 Apr 2020 08:00:23 -0000

If we continue to view the USPS as simply a balance sheet and optimize for profitability in a vacuum, we ultimately stand to lose far more than we gain.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Opera Event closes $5M Series A for its esports-focused influencer platform

Fri, 24 Apr 2020 16:01:19 -0000

Today Opera Event, an influencer software service, announced that it closed a $5 million Series A. The Oakland-based startup raised the capital from new lead investor Antera, with prior investors Atlas Ventures, Everblue, and Konvoy Ventures coming along. According to Crunchbase data, Opera Event had raised at least $1.2 million before this new round. Opera […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Atlanta’s SingleOps raises $6M for its outdoor-care focused software business

Fri, 24 Apr 2020 08:00:20 -0000

Today SingleOps, an Atlanta-based software startup, announced that it has raised $6 million in new capital. The startup’s service is built to support companies that deal with outdoor work like landscaping, tree care and lawn maintenance. It’s an example of the vertical SaaS trend that has come to the fore in recent years, with startups […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lambda School cuts staff and exec pay amid market uncertainty

Thu, 23 Apr 2020 16:01:20 -0000

Online coding bootcamp Lambda School is the latest startup to announce layoffs, writing in a blog post that it’s made the “difficult decision” to cut 19 staff from roles across the company. The eight members of its executive team, including CEO and founder Austen Allred, are also taking a 15% pay cut, it said. Today […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Human Capital is an engineering talent agency and a VC fund all in one

Thu, 23 Apr 2020 08:00:21 -0000

Michael Ovitz didn’t invent the idea of a talent agency, but one might argue that he perfected it. He founded the CAA in 1975, and grew it into the world’s leading talent agency, serving as chairman for 20 years. Now, Ovitz is investing in a brand new type of talent agency called Human Capital. Human […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Disruptor Beam relaunches as gaming infrastructure-maker Beamable

Wed, 22 Apr 2020 16:01:22 -0000

Disruptor Beam, the mobile gaming startup behind Star Trek Timelines, has a new name and a new business. It’s now calling itself Beamable, and it’s selling a set of tools to help game developers add commerce and social functionality to their titles. The company’s direction became clear earlier this year when it sold Timelines to […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Confluent lands another big round with $250M Series E on $4.2B valuation

Wed, 22 Apr 2020 08:00:24 -0000

The pandemic may feel all-encompassing at the moment, but Confluent announced a $250 million Series E today, showing that major investment continues in spite of the dire economic situation at the moment. Today’s round follows last year’s $125 million Series D. At that point the company was valued a mere $2.5 billion. Investors obviously see […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NextView Ventures is launching a remote accelerator for startups

Tue, 21 Apr 2020 12:29:41 -0000

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

UK gov announces ‘Future Fund’, pledging £250M match funding for startups impacted by coronavirus

Tue, 21 Apr 2020 08:00:20 -0000

After mounting pressure from the U.K. tech startup ecosystem, and much debate, the British government today unveiled plans for a new “Future Fund” designed to ensure high-growth companies — namely, startups — across the U.K. receive enough investment to remain viable during the coronavirus crisis. Initially, the U.K. government is pledging a total of £250 […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Healthcare co-op Savvy snags venture funding from Indie.vc

Mon, 20 Apr 2020 08:00:24 -0000

Savvy, a healthcare cooperative, has just raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Indie.vc. Established as a cooperative that shares profits with its users, Savvy connects patients with healthcare companies and other providers looking to better serve people through products and services. Patients can take paid gigs that include tasks like interviews, focus groups and […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Impossible Foods rolls out to nearly 1,000 new grocery stores and supermarkets

Fri, 17 Apr 2020 16:01:20 -0000

Starting tomorrow, 777 supermarkets in California, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Nevada will begin stocking the Impossible Foods plant-based meat substitute. Fueling the increased distribution and a push to expand its product suite and geographic footprint domestically and internationally is a $500 million round of funding the company closed in March. Some of that money is […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Everee raises a $10M Series A to scale its worker-friendly payroll software service

Fri, 17 Apr 2020 08:00:22 -0000

This morning Everee, a Utah-based software as a service (SaaS) startup focused on payroll, announced that it has closed a $10 million Series A. The funding event was led by Origin Ventures and Signal Peak Ventures. Previously, Everee had raised a $3.7 million Seed round in mid-2019. The company is therefore as well capitalized as […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Unicorn layoffs keep piling up as the economy gets worse

Thu, 16 Apr 2020 16:01:22 -0000

Earlier today a grip of new data presented a sharply negative picture of the American economy. And this afternoon, news broke that a trio of well-known, heavily-backed unicorns were cutting staff. With stocks down as well, we’ve received negative signals from the private market, the public market and the economy as a whole in the […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Apply to compete in Startup Battlefield at Disrupt SF 2020

Thu, 16 Apr 2020 08:00:24 -0000

Disrupt San Francisco 2020, the OG of startup tech conferences, takes place at Moscone West on Sept. 14 – 16. It’s an event you don’t want to miss, and we’re here to tell early-stage founders one of the best ways to get the most out of the Disrupt experience. Apply to compete in Startup Battlefield […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rocket Lab inks deal to carry Japanese startup Synspective’s first satellite into orbit

Wed, 15 Apr 2020 16:01:23 -0000

The well-funded Japanese space startup Synspective has tapped launch provider Rocket Lab to take its first Earth observation satellite to orbit. Launch is planned for late 2020, and the company’s StriX–Î± craft will be the sole payload. Synspective was founded in 2018 and by mid-2019 had raised about $100 million, making it one of the […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

UK tech job vacancies fall 31% in less than 4 weeks, according to job site data – so who is still hiring?

Wed, 15 Apr 2020 08:00:20 -0000

As the coronavirus crisis continues, hiring data is emerging that paints a mixed picture for U.K. tech, which, in the preceding months and years has been stuck on a growth trajectory of up and to the right. That appears to have changed almost over night. According to numbers shared exclusively with TechCrunch from job sites […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Layoffs are disproportionately impacting startup satellite offices

Tue, 14 Apr 2020 16:01:18 -0000

Layoffs have struck the startup world swiftly, hurting hospitality and travel startups, as well as recruitment and scooter companies. New data shows that some of those layoffs, brought on by COVID-19, might be disproportionately impacting satellite campuses. By nature, satellite offices are secondary to a startup’s headquarters. Opening smaller offices is a strategic move when […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Frank raises $5M more in its quest to get students max financial aid

Tue, 14 Apr 2020 08:00:22 -0000

Frank, a New York-based student-facing startup, has raised $5 million in what the company described as an “interim strategic round” led by Chegg, a public edtech company. According to Frank founder and CEO Charlie Javice, previous investors Aleph and Marc Rowan took part in the round alongside new investor GingerBread Capital. The education funding-focused startup […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pangea.app raises $400K pre-seed round to help connect student workers with businesses

Mon, 13 Apr 2020 16:01:25 -0000

Pangea.app, a Providence, Rhode Island-based startup has raised a $400,000 pre-seed round, it told TechCrunch this week. The company’s new capital, raised as a post-money SAFE, comes from PJC, a Boston-based venture capital firm and Underdog Labs. Previously, Pangea.app raised money from angel investors. The company links “remote college freelancers,” per its website, to businesses […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Instacart’s hiring spree continues as it faces unprecedented demand

Mon, 13 Apr 2020 08:00:24 -0000

Instacart is adding more support roles to help its shoppers, customers, and retail partners, as the company faces unprecedented demand for its grocery delivery services due to COVID-19 shelter in place orders. Today Instacart announced that it has doubled its Care team, from 1,200 agents to 3,000 agents. Care team employees will work on answering […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Apply today to be a TC Top Pick at Disrupt SF 2020

Fri, 10 Apr 2020 16:01:19 -0000

Opportunity’s a hot currency, and every early-stage startup founder’s on the lookout for it. Anything and everything that can help bring the dream to fruition, right? You’ll find three days packed with opportunity at TechCrunch Disrupt San Francisco 2020Â on September 14-16. Care to know how you can super-size your Disrupt opportunity? We’ll get to that […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stocks gain despite 6.6M new US unemployment claims

Fri, 10 Apr 2020 08:00:23 -0000

Domestic stocks rose today in the United States, with all major indices opening higher. TechCrunch has slowed its daily coverage of the US stock market as volatility has receded. We try to avoid covering the stock market too much, but there are days when doing so would be derelict. The value of public companies impacts […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Esports One launches its fantasy esports platform

Thu, 09 Apr 2020 16:01:24 -0000

Esports One is a startup betting that there’s a big opportunity in bringing a fantasy sports approach to the world of esports — particularly at a time when traditional pro sports are on pause. Co-founder and COO Sharon Winter told me that the company’s platform, which is leaving beta testing today, is the first “all-in-one […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mom-focused content startup Motherly raises $5.4M as it expands into commerce

Thu, 09 Apr 2020 08:00:26 -0000

Motherly CEO Jill Koziol admits that it was a tough pitch when she and her co-founder Liz Tenety first tried to get investors on-board in 2015. “We wanted to create a brand first and foremost,” Koziol told me. “We did not want to go and build a media company or a [direct-to-consumer] company or Facebook […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Move fast, make things – UK fintech’s response to the coronavirus crisis continues

Wed, 08 Apr 2020 16:01:17 -0000

The U.K.’s fintech’s response to the coronavirus pandemic so far might best be described as “move fast, [and] make things,” as multiple and sometimes impromptu teams roll out financial technology solutions to help combat the crisis.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Utah’s Podium raises $125M Series C led by YC after reaching $100M ARR

Wed, 08 Apr 2020 08:00:27 -0000

This morning, Utah-based SaaS startup Podium announced that it has closed a $125 million Series C led by Y Combinator’s Continuity fund, with participation from Sapphire Ventures. Prior investors Alkeon, IVP, GV, Summit, Accel and Recruit Co. also took part in the funding event. The new capital values Podium at around $1.5 billion, and brings […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Blossom Capital’s ‘Cultivate’ is an angel program seeking to back European unicorn alumnus

Tue, 07 Apr 2020 17:26:44 -0000

Just a few months after closing a new $185 million fund to continue backing early-stage European startups, Blossom Capital, the VC firm founded by Ophelia Brown, is announcing a new angel investment program seeking to back European unicorn alumnus. Dubbed “Cultivate,” the new program looks to create a 30-strong angel network made up of founders […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

BounceX cuts staff, reduces salaries in wake of COVID-19 economic disruptions

Tue, 07 Apr 2020 08:00:26 -0000

TechCrunch confirmed today that BounceX (the firm is rebranding this year) has executed layoffs and salary cuts in the wake of recent COVID-19-led economic disruptions. Many startups are undergoing staff cuts as the domestic and global economies slow, making individual reductions less newsworthy as the layoff tally rises. However, as BounceX is a company we’ve […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cultivating adaptability is a pandemic coping skill

Mon, 06 Apr 2020 16:01:22 -0000

It’s clear that the people who can let go of their past plans and embrace the new environment ahead will thrive.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bustle Digital Group shuts down The Outline as part of broader layoffs

Mon, 06 Apr 2020 08:00:22 -0000

Bustle Digital Group, owner of a portfolio of digital media properties including Bustle itself, says it laid off two dozen staffers today. That includes eliminating the entire staff ofÂ The Outline, a culture site that it acquired a year ago. In a statement, a BDG spokesperson said the company will continue to host The Outline’s archives, […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

IRL pivots into virtual event calendar In Remote Life

Fri, 03 Apr 2020 16:01:21 -0000

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Activity-monitoring startup Zensors repurposes its tech to help coronavirus response

Fri, 03 Apr 2020 08:00:22 -0000

Computer vision techniques used for commercial purposes are turning out to be valuable tools for monitoring people's behavior during the present pandemic. Zensors, a startup that uses machine learning to track things like restaurant occupancy, lines, and so on, is making its platform available for free to airports and other places desperate to take systematic measures against infection.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hio wants to put networking events back on your remote-only calendars

Thu, 02 Apr 2020 16:01:19 -0000

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines and the COVID-19 pandemic has surged event cancellations across the country. Tech workforces have found ways to stay productive: back-to-back Zoom calls, work-from-home happy hours and more Twitter threads than anyone asked for. But Jason Craparo, the founder of events platform Hio, wants to put organic, face-to-face networking […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Take your shot: Apply to TC Top Picks at Disrupt SF 2020

Thu, 02 Apr 2020 08:00:23 -0000

TechCrunch Disrupt San Francisco is known around the world as the place where the early-stage startup community gathers to learn and launch, connect and collaborate. We know COVID-19 has created challenges, but Disrupt SF is still on schedule (keep tabs on our updates here). Like startup founders everywhere, we quickly learn where, when and how […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dining and takeout startup Allset raises $8.25M as it adapts to life under lockdown

Wed, 01 Apr 2020 16:01:23 -0000

Even though this might seem to be the absolute worst time to try to round up funding for a restaurant-related startup, Allset is announcing that it’s raised an $8.25 million Series B. It was not, to be clear, an easy process. CEO Stas Matviyenko (who founded the company with COO Anna Polishchuk) admitted that when […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Substack offers $100K in grants for independent writers

Wed, 01 Apr 2020 08:00:19 -0000

Substack is taking several steps to support the writers and publications using its newsletter platform. After all, just as writers and newsrooms are starting to build real businesses on Substack, the COVID-19 pandemic is dealing a huge financial blow to the media industry. In response, the startup says it will donate $100,000 in grants — […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Not all entrepreneurs are 30-year-old guys

Mon, 30 Mar 2020 16:01:21 -0000

There is a serious flaw in how businesses are funded, and it's the same discussion we had twenty and thirty years ago about who was at the table in managing businesses.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jupe is a new startup aiming to address hospital room shortfalls with modular, mobile space

Mon, 30 Mar 2020 08:00:20 -0000

We’re already entering into a healthcare crisis due to the global coronavirus pandemic, and creative solutions to address shortfalls in supplies, protective equipment and more are being developed to help where possible. A new startup, with a founding team including an emergency room doctor, a crisis response expert and a public health researcher is hoping […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tech giants should let startups defer cloud payments

Fri, 27 Mar 2020 08:00:20 -0000

Google, Amazon, and Microsoft are the landlords. Amidst the Coronavirus economic crisis, startups need a break from paying rent. They’re in a cash crunch. Revenue has stopped flowing in, capital markets like venture debt are hesitant, and startups and small-to-medium sized businessesf are at risk of either having to lay off huge numbers of employees […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stripe leads $20M Series A into Fast, which is building a universal checkout service for e-commerce

Thu, 26 Mar 2020 16:01:17 -0000

Early this morning, Fast, a startup building platform-agnostic login and checkout services, announced that Stripe has led a $20 million investment into its business. Prior investors Index Ventures and Susa Ventures took part in the round. Susa previously participated in the company’s late-2019 round that Index led. Coming in late March, the new capital is […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mammoth Media launches CatchUp, an app that summarizes the latest news and trending content

Thu, 26 Mar 2020 08:00:24 -0000

A new app called CatchUp might be useful for anyone who’s struggling to keep up with the latest headlines, podcasts and Netflix shows. CatchUp is the latest offering from Mammoth Media, the startup behind chat fiction app Yarn and social polling app Wishbone. Founder and CEO Benoit Vatere told me that the product started out […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Swiss startup Creal is building display tech for the next generation of AR/VR headsets

Wed, 25 Mar 2020 16:01:22 -0000

After years of hype, the AR/VR space has certainly grown quieter as of late, but some investors are still coalescing behind a vision that the technologies could one day replace mobile if the technical kinks can be worked out. Creal is a Swiss startup that’s working on some fundamental display technologies that could make VR […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Backed by Harry’s Labs, Cat Person launches its lineup of cat care products

Wed, 25 Mar 2020 08:00:20 -0000

Cat Person is a new startup trying to change the way you think of cat people — and hoping to sell that new type of cat owner a whole range of cat products. “We know what the stereotypes are, we just don’t think they’re true,” said CEO Jimmy Wu. “They’re incredibly outdated. We want to […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ceros launches MarkUp, a design collaboration tool for live websites

Tue, 24 Mar 2020 16:01:25 -0000

When designers need to collaborate with other teams, they can currently turn to products like InVision and Zeplin. But Ceros creative director Jack Dixon said there’s a “pretty interesting gap in the market” — once you move beyond prototypes and start working with websites that are either live or in staging, the process starts to […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Streaming service fuboTV to merge with virtual entertainment technology company, FaceBank

Tue, 24 Mar 2020 08:00:26 -0000

Over-the-top live TV streaming service fuboTV announced today it plans to merge with the virtual entertainment technology company, FaceBank Group. The proposed merger would retain the name fuboTV for the combined company, consisting of fuboTV’s direct-to-consumer live TV streaming platform and FaceBank’s technology IP in sports, movies, and live performances. FaceBank is not a household […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

YC startup Felix wants to replace antibiotics with programmable viruses

Mon, 23 Mar 2020 16:01:22 -0000

Right now the world is at war. But this is no ordinary war. It’s a fight with an organism so small we can only detect it through use of a microscope — and if we don’t stop it, it could kill millions of us in the next several decades. No, I’m not talking about COVID-19, […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hospital droid Diligent Robotics raises $10M to assist nurses

Mon, 23 Mar 2020 08:00:22 -0000

28% of a nurse’s time is wasted on low-skilled tasks like fetching medical tools. We need them focused on the complex and compassionate work of treating patients, especially amid the coronavirus outbreak. Diligent Robotics wants to give them a helper droid that can run errands for them around the hospital. The startup’s bot Moxi is […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Startups rethink what it means to be high-touch during a pandemic

Fri, 20 Mar 2020 16:01:18 -0000

Glossier NYC, in normal times, is typically visited by more than 2,000 people every day, with lines of people from all over the world curling out the door. And when you enter, it’s tempting to touch, well, everything. The walls are adorned with flowers, mirrors and giant versions of the makeup company’s flagship product: Boy […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

ReMarkable’s redesigned e-paper tablet is more powerful and more papery

Thu, 19 Mar 2020 16:01:21 -0000

It's no secret I'm a fan of the reMarkable, a tablet with a paper-like display that's focused on text and sketching rather than rich media and games. The sequel to the original, announced today, looks to make a good thing even better.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why is Blue Apron’s stock skyrocketing?

Thu, 19 Mar 2020 08:00:22 -0000

Back in 2017, a formerly hot, formerly profitable company called Blue Apron went public. It didn’t go well. Today as the global stock market continues to fall, shares in the former venture darling are soaring, up more than 140% in midday trading. Before its IPO, the company had to reduce its price range from $15 […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Deepgram raises $12M for enterprise speech recognition

Wed, 18 Mar 2020 16:01:23 -0000

Deepgram, a startup focused on high-quality, real-time speech recognition, announced a $12 million Series A this morning. The startup, founded a half decade ago, according to Crunchbase data, with just a few million in raised capital, is interesting, as its success to date was founded on two consecutive experiments. The first dealing with its technology, […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Addapptation snares $1.3M seed to build a better UX for Salesforce

Wed, 18 Mar 2020 08:00:23 -0000

Addapptation, a startup that wants to build a practical design layer on top of Salesforce and other enterprise tools, announced a $1.3 million seed investment today. 2048 Ventures led the round with participation from East Coast Angles, The Millworks II Fund and additional angel investors from New Hampshire, where the firm is located Co-founder Sumner […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Monzo launches free and paid-for business bank accounts

Tue, 17 Mar 2020 16:01:20 -0000

Monzo, the U.K. challenger bank, is officially launching business bank accounts today, after an extensive trial period over the last 12 months that saw early access given to 2,500 business customers. Perhaps surprisingly, right out of the gate Monzo is offering two versions of its business bank account — which is aimed at sold traders […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Riot automatically educates your team about phishing

Tue, 17 Mar 2020 08:00:20 -0000

Meet Riot, a company participating in Y Combinator’s current batch that wants to help you fight phishing attempts. Riot runs fake phishing campaigns on your employees. For instance, your team members could receive an email saying that their Google account has been deactivated to see if they can spot real email notifications from fake ones. […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This startup got a meeting with Mark Suster by getting clever with Google ads

Mon, 16 Mar 2020 16:01:19 -0000

Startups have done some wild things to get the attention of VCs. In fact, Instacart founder Apoorva Mehta sent YC partner (at the time) Garry Tan a six-pack of beer through the service after missing the deadline for Y Combinator by two months. Yesterday, the ingenuity of startups struck again. Tadabase.io, an enterprise startup that […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Startups developing tech to combat COVID-19 urged to apply for fast-track EU funding

Mon, 16 Mar 2020 08:00:22 -0000

The European Commission put out a call Friday for startups and small businesses which are developing technologies that could help combat the COVID-19 outbreak to apply for fast-track EU funding. The push is related to a €164M pot of money that’s being made available for R&D via the European Innovation Council (EIC) — a European […]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Handle.com helps independent construction workers get paid on time

Fri, 13 Mar 2020 16:01:19 -0000

From long payment cycles to antiquated processes on how to bill workers, the hefty inefficiencies of the construction industry are long overdue for innovation. Enter startups such as the large venture-backed Katerra and recently public companies such as Procore. Still, independent contractors or workers from small family businesses often can’t afford hefty fees from SaaS platforms promising better management. Or, they don’t have a parent company behind them to foot the bill.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Heartbeat Health raises $8.2M to improve cardiovascular care

Fri, 13 Mar 2020 08:00:22 -0000

While you’ve probably spent a lot of today thinking about the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s worth remembering that other health issues aren’t going away — and that heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States. Heartbeat Health is a startup working to improve the way that cardiovascular care is delivered, and it announced today that it has raised $8.2 million in Series A funding. Dr.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cloud gaming platform Shadow brings its new plans to the US

Thu, 12 Mar 2020 16:01:21 -0000

Blade, the French startup behind Shadow, announced plans to overhaul its subscription tiers back in October. The company is now bringing the new plans to the U.S. with a new entry tier at $11.99 per month as well as more powerful options in the coming months. Shadow is a cloud computing service for gamers. For a monthly subscription fee, you can access a gaming PC in a data center near you. Compared to other cloud gaming services, Shadow provides a full Windows 10 instance.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alma is a Klarna-like payment startup that lets you buy now and pay later

Thu, 12 Mar 2020 08:00:24 -0000

Alma is a Klarna-like payment startup that lets you buy now and pay later Meet Alma, a French startup that helps you offer a new payment option for your expensive goods. Like Klarna, clients can choose to pay over 3 or 4 installments. But the comparison stops here as Klarna isn’t available in France. Alma just raised a $14.1 million (€12.5 million) funding round. Idinvest, ISAI and Picus Capital are investing in today’s funding round. Additionally, Alma has opened a $19.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Everlaw announces $62M Series C to continue modernizing legal discovery

Wed, 11 Mar 2020 16:01:21 -0000

Everlaw is bringing modern data management, visualization and machine learning to eDiscovery, the process in which legal entities review large amounts of evidence to build a case. Today, the company announced a $62 million Series C investment. CapitalG (Alphabet’s growth equity investment fund) and Menlo Ventures led the round. Existing investors Andreessen Horowitz and K9 Ventures also participated. The startup has now raised $96 million, according to the company.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Immutouch wristband buzzes to stop you touching your face

Tue, 10 Mar 2020 16:24:06 -0000

In the age of coronavirus, we all have to resist the urge to touch our faces. It’s how the virus can travel from doorknobs or other objects to your mucus membranes and get you sick. Luckily, a startup called Slightly Robot had already developed a wristband to stop another type of harmful touching — trichotillomania, a disorder that compels people to pull out their hair.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SaaS stocks drop over 8%, reaching bear-market territory

Tue, 10 Mar 2020 08:00:21 -0000

Today was an awful day for the stock market, with global and domestic equities falling sharply as the world digested a collapse in oil prices, and yet another weekend of the spread of COVID-19. All major U.S. indices were down, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq falling the least of the three, slipping a comparatively modest 7.29%, to 7,950.68 on the day.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Crypto wallet app ZenGo launches savings mode

Mon, 09 Mar 2020 16:01:22 -0000

ZenGo is expanding beyond the basic features of a cryptocurrency wallet —letting you hold, send and receive crypto assets. You can now set aside some of your crypto assets to earn interests. In other words, ZenGo now also acts like a savings account. The company has partnered with two DeFi projects for the new feature. DeFi means “decentralized finance”, and it has been a hot trend in the cryptocurrency space.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

New funding round values catering marketplace Hungry at $100M+

Mon, 09 Mar 2020 08:00:19 -0000

Hungry, a catering marketplace that connects businesses with independent chefs, announced this week that it has raised $20 million in Series B funding. Hungrytells me that the funding valued the company at more than $100 million (pre-money). The investors were also pretty impressive: The round was led by Evolution VC Partners and former Whole Foods co-CEO Walter Robb, who’s joining the startup’s board.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Spindrift, maker of fizzy drinks, has raised $29.8 million

Fri, 06 Mar 2020 16:01:18 -0000

Spindrift, maker of fizzy soda and sparkling water, has raised $29.8 million in a funding round, per an SEC filing. The Charlestown, Mass. company was founded by Bill Creelman and has raised $70 million in known venture capital funding to date, per Crunchbase data. The company did not immediately respond to request for comment. Previous investors in the fizzy drink company include Almanac Insights, KarpReilly, Prolong Ventures, VMG Partners and more.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nvidia acquires data storage and management platform SwiftStack

Fri, 06 Mar 2020 08:00:22 -0000

Nvidia today announced that it has acquired SwiftStack, a software-centric data storage and management platform that supports public cloud, on-premises and edge deployments. The company’s recent launches focused on improving its support for AI, high-performance computing and accelerated computing workloads, which is surely what Nvidia is most interested in here.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This bathroom cleaning robot is trained in VR to clean up after you

Thu, 05 Mar 2020 16:01:20 -0000

This bathroom cleaning robot is trained in VR to clean up after you You’ve no doubt heard about the three Ds of automation. Somatic’s robot handily qualifies for two. I’d say “dangerous” is probably a bit of a stretch here, but the robot is well-focused on replacing a job that’s generally regarded as both “dirty” and “dull.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

DocSend’s new pre-seed data shows how many founders you should have and how many investors you should meet

Thu, 05 Mar 2020 08:00:18 -0000

DocSend has become one of the most popular tools for sharing venture fundraise decks, not only because of the control it offers, but also because of the analytics it can provide founders on how VCs read decks and where they might get stuck as they are perusing from slide to slide. The company has been generous sharing its data with us on what times are best to fundraise and how to structure a slide deck for best performance.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WellSet is doing a limited launch in Los Angeles of its alternative medicine booking platform

Wed, 04 Mar 2020 16:01:19 -0000

WellSet is doing a limited launch in Los Angeles of its alternative medicine booking platform Alternative and holistic healthcare seekers in the Los Angeles area have a new service they can turn to in WellSet, the listing platform that launched on Tuesday.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Podium rolls out payments for its customer-focused local business SaaS service

Wed, 04 Mar 2020 08:00:27 -0000

Podium, a Utah-based SaaS company focused on small business customer interactions, added payments technology to its product suite today. The move accretes a new income stream to the company’s quickly growing annual recurring revenue (ARR).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Le Wagon raises $19 million to build a global coding bootcamp

Tue, 03 Mar 2020 16:01:24 -0000

French startup Le Wagon has raised its first round of funding after many years of bootstrapping. The company closed a $19 million funding round (€17 million) a few months ago. Cathay Capital is leading the round with AfricInvest also participating. “We’ve always bootstrapped since 2013 and we’ve always been profitable since day one,” Le Wagon co-founder and COO Romain Paillard told me.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

mParticle raises $45M to help marketers unify customer data

Tue, 03 Mar 2020 08:00:26 -0000

mParticle, which helps companies like Spotify, Paypal and Starbucks umanage their customer data, is announcing that it has raised $45 million in Series D funding.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

End Game, the startup behind Zombs Royale, raises $3M

Mon, 02 Mar 2020 16:35:25 -0000

End Game Interactive CEO Yang C. Liu has a refreshingly straightforward description of what he and his co-founder Luke Zbihlyj are up to: “We’re just building games. And to be honest, we don’t know what we’re doing.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Notivize makes it easier for non-technical teams to optimize app notifications

Mon, 02 Mar 2020 08:00:27 -0000

A new startup called Notivize aims to give product teams direct access to one of their most important tools for increasing user engagement — notifications. The company has been testing the product with select customers since last year and says it has already sent hundreds of thousands of notifications. And this week, it announced that it has raised $500,000 in seed funding led by Heroic Ventures.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Indian research firm Convergence Catalyst is ready for its second act

Fri, 28 Feb 2020 16:01:18 -0000

A 9-year-old is smashing the shuttle far and wide, and frantically pacing back and forth on the court in Bangalore, India, as her competition refuses to back down. Her rival is not a human. She is playing against a machine that is mimicking the game of badminton legend P.V. Sindhu, toned down a few notches to adjust for the age difference. By the court, her father, Jayanth Kolla, is watching the game and taking notes. Kolla is a familiar name in the tech startup and business ecosystem in India.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Salesforce grabs Vlocity for $1.33B, a startup with $1B valuation

Fri, 28 Feb 2020 08:00:21 -0000

It’s been a big news day for Salesforce . It announced that Co-CEO Keith Block would be stepping down, and that it had acquired Vlocity for $1.33 billion in an all-cash deal. It’s no coincidence that Salesforce targeted this startup.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chicago’s M1 Finance, a consumer-focused fintech platform, reaches $1B under management

Thu, 27 Feb 2020 20:22:59 -0000

Eagle-eyed readers will recall that we mentioned M1 Finance earlier today in our look at a few trends in the fintech industry. We’re back with the firm this afternoon as it has a bit of news that’s worth discussing. Chicago-based M1 Finance announced today that it has reached the $1 billion assets under management mark, or AUM. Reaching AUM thresholds provides useful milestones that we can use to track the progress of various players in the fintech and finservices worlds.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vice President Mike Pence will lead the US response to the COVID-19 outbreak

Thu, 27 Feb 2020 08:00:25 -0000

In an early-evening press conference, President Donald Trump tapped Vice President Mike Pence to lead the U.S. response to the COVID-19 outbreak that has spread through Europe, Asia and Latin America. The new coronavirus strain, which has infected about 81,000 people around the world and killed 3,000, has already wrought havoc on the global economy. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned yesterday that the U.S. will likely not be able to escape the spread of the virus.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

New York’s BounceX reaches $100M ARR, rebrands

Wed, 26 Feb 2020 15:29:18 -0000

Welcome to the $100 million ARR club, BounceX. This morning (evening, timezone depending), BounceX, a New York-based marketing technology startup, announced that it has reached the $100 million annual recurring revenue (ARR) threshold, adding its name to our running list of companies that have crossed over into nine-figure revenue while remaining private.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Startup malaise, startup ambition

Wed, 26 Feb 2020 08:00:24 -0000

Recapped. Layoffs. Slowdown. CEO transition. Budget cuts. Downsizing. In spite of a spate of massive startup exits the last few months, culminating in fintech’s shining moment yesterday with Intuit’s $7.1 billion acquisition of Credit Karma, it’s been a tough period for the startup world. Layoffs abound, centered perhaps on SoftBank’s Vision Fund portfolio but hardly exclusive to it. Startups, both infamous and unheard of, are shutting their doors.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Revolut raises $500 million at $5.5 billion valuation

Tue, 25 Feb 2020 15:29:21 -0000

Fintech startup Revolut is raising a large Series D round of funding. TCV is leading the $500 million round, valuing the company at $5.5 billion. Over the past few years, Revolut has raised $836 million in total. Some existing investors are also participating in today’s funding round, but Revolut isn’t sharing names. Previous investors include DST Global, Index Ventures, Balderton Capital and many others.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With cinnamon, fruit and mint-flavored nicotine gum, is LA’s Lucy Goods the next Juul?

Tue, 25 Feb 2020 08:00:22 -0000

With cinnamon, fruit and mint-flavored nicotine gum, is LA’s Lucy Goods the next Juul? David Renteln, the Los Angeles-based co-founder of Soylent and the co-founder and chief executive of new nicotine gum manufacturer Lucy Goods, thinks there should be a better-tasting, less-medicinal offering for people looking to quit smoking.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fintech startups raised $34B in 2019

Mon, 24 Feb 2020 15:29:20 -0000

Financial services startups raised less money in 2019 than they did in 2018 as VC firms looked to back late stage firms and focused on developing markets, a new report has revealed. According to research firm CB Insights’ annual report published this week, fintech startups across the world raised $33.9 billion* in total last year across 1,912 deals*, down from $40.8 billion they picked up by participating in 2,049 deals the year before.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tier Mobility, the European e-scooter rentals startup, adds another ~$40M to its Series B

Mon, 24 Feb 2020 08:00:24 -0000

Tier, the European e-scooter rentals startup that operates in 55 cities across 11 countries, has topped up its funding for the second time in four months. The Berlin-based company has extended its Series B round to over $100 million, up from $60 million disclosed in October. The additional capital is a mix of equity and debt financing provided by Moscow’s RTP Global, London’s Novator, and an unnamed U.S. debt fund.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A group of ex-NSA and Amazon engineers are building a ‘GitHub for data’

Fri, 21 Feb 2020 15:29:20 -0000

Six months ago or thereabouts, a group of engineers and developers with backgrounds from the National Security Agency, Google and Amazon Web Services had an idea. Data is valuable for helping developers and engineers to build new features and better innovate. But that data is often highly sensitive and out of reach, kept under lock and key by red tape and compliance, which can take weeks to get approval.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As Morgan Stanley buys ETrade, Robinhood preps social trading

Fri, 21 Feb 2020 08:00:16 -0000

Before it was worth $7.6 billion, the original idea for Robinhood was a stock trading social network. At my kitchen table in San Francisco in 2013, the founders envisioned an app for sharing hot tips to a feed complete with a leaderboard of whose predictions were most accurate. Once they had SEC approval, they pivoted towards the real money maker: letting people buy and sell stocks in the app, and pay to borrow cash to do so.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Liquid Death raises $9M to make canned water cool

Thu, 20 Feb 2020 15:29:15 -0000

It sounds like Liquid Death has won over investors with its promise to “murder your thirst” — the startup is announcing that it’s raised $9 million in Series A funding. Liquid Death sells water in a tallboy aluminum can, and it’s expanding the lineup with a sparkling water can that it plans to start shipping in March. A 12-pack of either regular or sparkling mountain water currently costs $18.99 on the Liquid Death website.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

BluBracket scores $6.5M seed to help secure code in distributed environments

Thu, 20 Feb 2020 08:00:20 -0000

BluBracket, a new security startup from the folks who brought you Vera, came out of stealth today and announced a $6.5 million seed investment. Unusual Ventures led the round with participation by Point72 Ventures, SignalFire and Firebolt Ventures. The company was launched by Ajay Aurora and Prakash Linga, who until last year were CEO and CTO respectively at Auroa, a security company that helps companies secure documents by having the security profile follow the document wherever it goes.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Twitter acquires Stories template maker Chroma Labs

Wed, 19 Feb 2020 15:29:18 -0000

Is “Twitter Stories” on the way? Or will we just get tools to send prettier tweets? Well now Twitter has the talent for both as it’s just acquihired Chroma Labs. Co-founded by Instagram Boomerang inventor John Barnett, Chroma Labs’ Chroma Stories app let you fill in stylish layout templates and frames for posting collages and more to Instagram Stories, Snapchat, and more.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Oyo’s revenue surged in FY19, but loss widened, too

Wed, 19 Feb 2020 08:00:20 -0000

Budget-lodging startup Oyo reported a loss of $335 million on $951 million revenue globally for the financial year ending March 31, 2019, and pledged to cut down on its spending as the India-headquartered startup grows more cautious about its aggressive expansion.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

PullRequest snags remote developer hiring platform Moonlight in case of startup buying startup

Tue, 18 Feb 2020 19:40:41 -0000

PullRequest, a startup that provides code review as a service, announced today that it was buying Moonlight, an early stage startup that has built an online platform for hiring remote developers. The companies did not share the terms. Lyal Avery, founder and CEO at PullRequest, says that he bought this company to expand his range of services. “Our platform is at a place where we’re very confident about our ability to identify issues.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rippling starts billboard battle with Gusto

Tue, 18 Feb 2020 08:00:24 -0000

Remember when Zenefits imploded, and kicked out CEO Parker Conrad. Well, Conrad launched a new employee onboarding startup called Rippling, and now he’s going after another HR company called Gusto with a new billboard, “Outgrowing Gusto? Presto change-o.” The problem is, Gusto got it taken down by issuing a cease & desist order to Rippling and the billboard operator Clear Channel Outdoor.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The drunken HQ Trivia finale before it shut down was insane

Mon, 17 Feb 2020 18:29:16 -0000

“Not gonna lie. This f*cking sucks. This is the last HQ ever” yelled host Matt Richards . And it just got crazier from there.The farewell game of HQ Trivia before it shut down last night was a beautiful disaster. The hosts cursed, sprayed champagne, threatened to defecate on the homes of trolls in the chat window, and begged for new jobs. Imagine Jeopardy but Trebek is blacked-out. Yesterday HQ Trivia ran out of money, laid off its 25 employees, and shut down.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HQ Trivia shuts down after acquisition falls through

Mon, 17 Feb 2020 08:00:22 -0000

HQ Trivia is dead. Today the company laid off its full staff of 25 and will cease operation of its trivia, sports, and word guessing games, a source close to the company confirmed. HQ Trivia had a deal in the works to be acquired, but they buyer pulled out yesterday and investors aren’t willing to fund it any longer, CEO and co-founder Rus Yusupov said in a statement attained by CNN Business’ Kerry Flynn.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Intuition Robotics raises $36M for its empathetic digital companion

Fri, 14 Feb 2020 15:29:18 -0000

Intuition Robotics, the company best known for its ElliQ robot, a digital home companion for the elderly, today announced that it has raised a $36 million Series B round co-led by SPARX Group and OurCrowd. Toyota AI Ventures, Sompo Holdings, iRobot, Union Tech Ventures, Happiness Capital, Samsung Next, Capital Point and Bloomberg Beta also participated in this round. This brings the total funding for the company, which was founded in 2016, to $58 million.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Google closes $2.6B Looker acquisition

Fri, 14 Feb 2020 08:00:24 -0000

When Google announced that it was acquiring data analytics startup Looker for $2.6 billion, it was a big deal on a couple of levels. It was a lot of money and it represented the first large deal under the leadership of Thomas Kurian. Today, the company announced that deal has officially closed and Looker is part of the Google Cloud Platform.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Reset Button is approaching student debt from a new angle

Thu, 13 Feb 2020 15:29:20 -0000

Student loan debt in the U.S. totals $1.5 trillion, and more than 44 million Americans have outstanding student loan debt. According to research by Jason Iuliano, Villanova law professor, a million student loan debtors have filed for bankruptcy in the past five years. However, 99.9 percent of them did not include their student loan debt in their bankruptcy filing.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ever Loved’s funeral marketplace undercuts undertakers

Thu, 13 Feb 2020 08:00:22 -0000

Fifty percent of families are scared they can’t cover the cost of a funeral. They end up overpaying because no one wants to comparison shop amidst a tragedy. That’s why ex-Googler Alison Johnston’s startup Ever Loved built a free funeral crowdfunding tool. Now it’s addressing one of the most expensive parts of saying goodbye: burial. Today Ever Loved launches its online marketplace for caskets, urns, headstones and memorial jewelry.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Impala raises $20 million to build the API of the hotel industry

Wed, 12 Feb 2020 08:00:21 -0000

Impala has raised another round of funding just a few months after raising an $11 million Series A round. This time, the startup is raising a $20 million Series B round led by Lakestar. Latitude Ventures is also participating in the round. The company is building a service that works pretty much like Plaid, but for hotel rooms. The hotel industry relies on old school “property management systems” to manage rooms, room types, pricing, extras, taxes, etc.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Carta debuts fund to invest in startups that tap into its platform

Tue, 11 Feb 2020 08:00:20 -0000

This morning Carta, a startup that helps private companies manage equity, announced it has created an investing vehicle called Carta Ventures. The well-funded unicorn wants to invest in young startups that it sees building off of its data-driven perspective into the world of private companies, helping to foster an ecosystem around its core products and services.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After $479M round on $12.4B valuation, Snowflake CEO says IPO is next step

Mon, 10 Feb 2020 15:29:18 -0000

Snowflake, the cloud-based data warehouse company, doesn’t tend to do small rounds. On Friday night word leaked out about its latest mega round. This one was for $479 million on a $12.4 billion valuation. That’s triple the company’s previous $3.9 billion valuation from October 2018, and CEO Frank Slootman suggested that the company’s next finance event is likely an IPO. Dragoneer Investment led the round along with new investor Salesforce Ventures.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our.News fights misinformation with a ‘nutrition label’ for news stories

Mon, 10 Feb 2020 08:00:21 -0000

A startup called Our.News is working to make its users smarter consumers of the news. In other words, it’s confronting some big, seemingly intractable problems. For one thing, there’s a tremendous amount of disinformation online — as Our.News founder and CEO Richard Zack put it, “Unfortunately, you have thousands of people all over the world who intentionally make it hard for people to know what’s true.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Datree announces $8M Series A as it joins Y Combinator

Fri, 07 Feb 2020 08:00:23 -0000

Datree, the early stage startup building a DevOps policy engine on GitHub, announced an $8 million Series A today. It also announced it has joined the Y Combinator Winter 20 cohort. Blumberg and TLV Partners led the round with participation from Y Combinator . The company has now raised $11 million with the $3 million seed round announced in 2018.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Deliverr lands $40M Series C to bring two-day shipping to any merchant

Thu, 06 Feb 2020 15:29:21 -0000

Deliverr doesn’t own a warehouse or a delivery truck, but the startup is helping e-commerce companies not named Amazon achieve Amazon-like two-day shipping. The startup does it with intelligent algorithms, and today it announced a $40 million Series C investment. Activant Capital led the round. Other investors in the company include 8VC, GLP and Flexport founder and CEO Ryan Peterson. The company reports it has raised a total of $70 million.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How Hoop hit #2 with its Tinder for Snapchat

Thu, 06 Feb 2020 08:00:24 -0000

Snapchat’s developer platform is blowing up as a gateway to teen social app users. Hoop is the latest Snap Kit blockbuster, rocketing to #2 on the overall App Store charts this month with its Tinder -esque swiping interface for discovering people and asking to message with them over Snapchat. Within a week of going viral, unfunded French startup Dazz saw Hoop score 2.5 million downloads.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Construction startup Scaled Robotics raises a €2M seed round

Wed, 05 Feb 2020 15:29:20 -0000

Industrial robots are expensive. But, then, so are construction mistakes. Being off by an inch here or there adds up quickly, and too often crews need to correctly costly errors. There’s a reason construction has become the next great target of the robotics and automation industries, with a number of startups vying to create solutions that can constantly monitor sites to detect mistakes before it’s too late.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Meta, a training platform for gamers, builds on Kovaak’s FPS Aim Trainer

Wed, 05 Feb 2020 08:00:21 -0000

As esports grows and creates opportunities for gamers to level up to the pro or streamer level, there is still a huge barrier in the way. There is not a wealth of training options for gamers. If you can’t get better within the environment of the game itself, then you’ve peaked.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Payments infra startup Finix closes $35M Series B led by Sequoia

Tue, 04 Feb 2020 15:29:20 -0000

This morning Finix, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) startup selling payments tech to other businesses, announced that it has raised a $35 million Series B. Sequoia led the round, which also saw participation from new investors Activant Capital and Inspired Capital. Finix did not disclose a new valuation as part of its round, and declined to share any growth metrics regarding its business. Instead, it offered a TAM figure and noted the number of countries in which it currently operates.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Utah tech magnates create new Silicon Slopes Venture Fund to boost startups in the state

Tue, 04 Feb 2020 08:00:19 -0000

Those looking outside of Silicon Valley as a potential hub for their startup might want to take a gander at Utah — at least that’s the kind of trend the new Silicon Slopes Venture Fund hopes to create. The newly formed fund, put together by Qualtrics co-founder Ryan Smith, Omniture and Domo founder Josh James and Stance co-founder turned Pelion Venture Partners’ Jeff Kearl, pledges to invest solely in Utah-based startups.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

OpsRamp raises $37.5M for its hybrid IT operations platform

Mon, 03 Feb 2020 08:00:21 -0000

OpsRamp, a service that helps IT teams discover, monitor, manage and — maybe most importantly — automate their hybrid environments, today announced that it has closed a $37.5 million funding round led by Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital, with participation from existing investor Sapphire Ventures and new investor Hewlett Packard Enterprise. OpsRamp last raised funding in 2017, when Sapphire led its $20 million Series A round.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SoftBank wants its on-demand portfolio to stop losing so much money

Fri, 31 Jan 2020 15:29:19 -0000

SoftBank wants its competing portfolio companies to stop losing so much money and, in some cases, to merge. That’s the news out from the Financial Times today, which reported that Uber and DoorDash discussed merging last year. The talks didn’t wind up in a deal. The two companies, each heavily backed by SoftBank and its formerly active Vision Fund, compete in the food delivery space at great expense.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Publisher engagement startup Insticator bets on commenting with Squawk-It acquisition

Fri, 31 Jan 2020 08:00:19 -0000

Insticator, a startup helping publishers add elements like polls, quizzes and suggested story widgets to their content, has made its first acquisition — a commenting platform called Squawk-It. Insticator CEO Zack Dugow said his platform benefits online publishers by keeping audiences engaged and bringing in new ad revenue (which is split between Insticator and the publisher).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Just released: Last round of tickets to 3rd Annual Winter Party at Galvanize

Thu, 30 Jan 2020 15:29:22 -0000

If parties came with an alert system, this post would qualify as Def Con 4. Now hear this — we just released the final batch of tickets to our3rd Annual Winter Party at Galvanize, which heats up on February 7 in San Francisco. If you want to be there with more than 1,000 of Silicon Valley’s finest, act now with all due haste. Buy your ticket right here. Hang out with your crowd and enjoy cocktails, craft beer and tempting appetizers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Perdoo adds free tier to its OKR service, adding a fresh wrinkle to an accelerating market

Thu, 30 Jan 2020 08:00:23 -0000

Perdoo, a Berlin-based OKR-focused software startup, has decided to make its basic service free, potentially shaking up its growing, and somewhat crowded, market. “Objectives and Key Results,” a planning and management technique usually shortened to “OKRs,” is a hot space for software startups, with several raising in recent months. WorkBoard and Gtmhub, for example, each raised capital for their OKR products in the last two months.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Teller raises $4M to take on Plaid in the U.S. by providing API access to bank accounts

Wed, 29 Jan 2020 15:29:20 -0000

Teller raises $4M to take on Plaid in the U.S. by providing API access to bank accounts “They’re idiots, they’re really naive,” is how Stevie Graham, the co-founder of fintech Teller, once described Open Banking Limited, the body charged with delivering open banking in the U.K. His view back in 2017 — which now looks somewhat prophetic — was that open banking wouldn’t be the competition driver it was hyped up to be.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cooks Venture raises $4 million from Golden West Food Group to ramp up distribution

Wed, 29 Jan 2020 08:00:17 -0000

Cooks Venture, the agtech company looking to revolutionize the chicken industry, has today announced the close of a $4 million funding round led by Golden West Food Group. Cooks Venture has been working in stealth for many years, but launched onto the scene in 2018 with a plan to reshape agriculture from the ground up. And the key to that strategy? Chickens.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

N26 reaches 5 million customers including 250,000 in the US

Tue, 28 Jan 2020 17:02:49 -0000

Challenger bank N26 has reached 5 million customers. In 2019 alone, N26 managed to add over 2.5 million customers. And the company’s growth rate seems to be accelerating as N26 reached 3.5 million customers in June 2019. That represents an addition of 1 million customers during the first half of 2019 and an addition of 1.5 million customers during the second half of 2019. One reason why N26 is growing at a faster pace is that the company is still expanding to new market.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bird confirms acquisition of Berlin scooter competitor Circ

Tue, 28 Jan 2020 08:00:17 -0000

If you didn’t see this coming, then clearly you didn’t have your eyes on the road. Bird, the LA-founded e-scooter giant, has confirmed that it is acquiring European competitor Circ, the micromobilty company founded by Lukasz Gadowski of Delivery Hero fame. The deal, for which terms remain undisclosed, was first reported by the FT late last week.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Memphis Meats raised $161 million from SoftBank Group, Norwest and Temasek

Mon, 27 Jan 2020 08:00:19 -0000

Memphis Meats, a developer of technologies to manufacture meat, seafood and poultry from animal cells, has raised $161 million in financing from investors including Softbank Group, Norwest and Temasek, the investment fund backed by the government of Singapore. The investment brings the company’s total financing to $180 million.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Layoffs reach 23andMe after hitting Mozilla and the Vision Fund portfolio

Fri, 24 Jan 2020 08:00:20 -0000

Layoffs in the technology and venture-backed worlds continued today, as 23andMe confirmed to CNBC that it laid off around 100 people, or about 14% of its formerly 700-person staff. The cuts would be notable by themselves, but given how many other reductions have recently been announced, they indicate that a rolling round of belt-tightening amongst well-funded private companies continues. Mozilla, for example, cut 70 staffers earlier this year.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Substack builds multi-author support into its hybrid publishing, newsletter service

Thu, 23 Jan 2020 08:00:18 -0000

Substack announced today that it has built support for multiple authors into its service. The company provides a publishing tool that blends blogs and email newsletters into a single entity, with a focus on subscription monetization. The day’s updates also include a number of publisher-friendly tools, like shared access and homepage features closer to those of traditional websites than the linear timeline style that Substack has focused on so far.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Corporate relocation startup Shyft raises $15M

Wed, 22 Jan 2020 08:00:19 -0000

Shyft is announcing that it has raised $15 million in Series A funding to make the moving process less painful — specifically in the situations where your employer is paying for the move. There other startups are looking to offer concierge-type services for regular moving — I used a service called Moved last year and liked it.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Baraja’s unique and ingenious take on lidar shines in a crowded industry

Tue, 21 Jan 2020 08:00:17 -0000

It seems like every company making lidar has a new and clever approach, but Baraja takes the cake. Its method is not only elegant and powerful, but fundamentally avoids many issues that nag other lidar technologies. But it’ll need more than smart tech to make headway in this complex and evolving industry. To understand how lidar works in general, consult my handy introduction to the topic.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As Alphabet crests the $1T mark, SaaS stocks reach all-time highs of their own

Mon, 20 Jan 2020 08:00:17 -0000

Continuing our irregular surveys of the public markets, two things happened this week that are worth our time. First, a third domestic technology company — Alphabet — passed the $1 trillion market capitalization threshold. And, second, software as a service (SaaS) stocks reached record highs on the public markets after retreating over last summer.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

VCs are just tired

Fri, 17 Jan 2020 08:00:20 -0000

I was in SF last week and met with more than a dozen VCs over the course of two days. This was post the holidays, post their visits to the ski chalets in Tahoe and the island beaches, and in the smack dab of one of the most important fundraise periods of the year — the mid-to-late January to April stretch when all the backlog of startups from Q4 initiate their fundraises for the new year.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sophie Alcorn, Rebecca Lynn, MG Siegler and Garry Tan are joining us for Early Stage SF

Thu, 16 Jan 2020 08:00:25 -0000

One of the most valuable resources in the tech startup community is mentorship. Founders, tackling brand new challenges and adapting to a rapidly changing world, can sometimes feel like no one understands what they’re going through. But alas, the Early Stage SF event in April will most certainly prove them wrong. Early Stage will bring together seasoned operators and experts across a wide variety of topics that fall under the broad umbrellas of funding, marketing and operations.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Equinix is acquiring bare metal cloud provider Packet

Wed, 15 Jan 2020 08:00:21 -0000

Equinix announced today that is acquiring bare metal cloud provider Packet. The New York City startup that had raised over $36 million on a $100 million valuation, according to Pitchbook data. Equinix has a set of data centers and co-locations facilities around the world. Companies that may want to have more control over their hardware could use their services including space, power and cooling systems, instead of running their own data centers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Meet MarsCat, a robot cat with lots of love to give and room to grow

Tue, 14 Jan 2020 08:00:25 -0000

At CES 2020, one of the more well-represented gadget categories was definitely consumer robots – but none was more adorable than MarsCat, a new robo-pet from industrial robot startup Elephant Robotics. This robot pet is a fully autonomous companion that can respond to touch, voice and even play with toys, and it’s hard not to love the thing after spending even just a brief amount of time with it.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Casper files to go public, shows you can lose money selling mattresses

Mon, 13 Jan 2020 08:00:23 -0000

E-commerce phenom and D2C bright light Casper has filed to go public. The New York-based company that raised nearly $340 million while private, according to Crunchbase data, expects to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “CSPR.” Its S-1 filing includes a $100 million placeholder figure for its possible capital raise. The company will need the money, as it loses money and burns cash. Let’s explore just how a mattress company does that.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lime is laying off about 100 people and ceasing operations in 12 markets

Fri, 10 Jan 2020 08:00:18 -0000

Lime is hoping to achieve profitability this year by laying off about 14% of its workforce and ceasing operations in 12 markets, Axios first reported. “Financial independence is our goal for 2020, and we are confident that Lime will be the first next-generation mobility company to reach profitability,” Lime CEO Brad Bao said in a statement to TechCrunch.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cloudflare acquires stealthy startup S2 Systems, announces Cloudflare for Teams

Thu, 09 Jan 2020 08:00:24 -0000

Cloudflare announced that it has acquired S2 Systems, a browser isolation startup started by former Microsoft execs. The two companies did not reveal the acquisition price. Matthew Prince, co-founder and CEO at Cloudflare, says that this acquisition is part of a new suite of products called Cloudflare for Teams, which has been designed to protect an organization from threats on the internet. S2 developed a solution specifically to help prevent browser-based code attacks.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ben Horowitz will explain how to create and sustain culture at TC Early Stage SF

Wed, 08 Jan 2020 08:00:27 -0000

The hardest challenges to tackle are usually the most nebulous. Culture, for example, is hard to define, implement, cultivate and evolve… How do you structure culture within a business or organization? Are there steps to follow? Is there a manual? Interestingly enough, there is. What You Do Is Who You Are is the latest book from legendary investor, entrepreneur and founding partner at Andreesen Horowitz Ben Horowitz.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As NIO and Tesla rally, Chinese EV company Lixiang said to file for US IPO

Tue, 07 Jan 2020 08:00:24 -0000

The recovery in value of several high-profile electric car companies could help move yet-private EV manufacturers out of the pit lane and onto the IPO track. On the heels of NIO’s shocking value appreciation after its recent earnings report, and Tesla’s own public market run, China-based Lixiang Automotive is reported to have filed privately for an IPO in the United States. Lixiang Automotive is a Beijing-based company that was founded in 2015, according to Crunchbase data.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Exhibit your startup at TC Sessions: Mobility 2020

Mon, 06 Jan 2020 08:00:24 -0000

Mobility mavericks get ready to strut your stuff at TC Sessions: Mobility 2020 on May 14. Don’t miss our second annual day-long conference devoted to technologies that move people and parcels around the world in new, exciting ways. More than 1,000 of the industry’s mightiest minds, makers, innovators and investors will converge in San Jose for a mobile mind meld. That spells opportunity for early-stage mobility startup founders.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the shadow of Amazon and Microsoft, Seattle startups are having a moment

Tue, 31 Dec 2019 08:00:23 -0000

Venture capital investment exploded across a number of geographies in 2019 despite the constant threat of an economic downturn. San Francisco, of course, remains the startup epicenter of the world, shutting out all other geographies when it comes to capital invested. Still, other regions continue to grow, raking in more capital this year than ever. In Utah, a new hotbed for startups, companies like Weave, Divvy and MX Technology raised a collective $370 million from private market investors.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TikTok’s national security scrutiny tightens as U.S. Navy reportedly bans popular social app

Thu, 26 Dec 2019 08:00:21 -0000

TikTok may be the fastest-growing social network in the history of the internet, but it is also quickly becoming the fastest-growing security threat and thorn in the side of U.S. China hawks. The latest, according to a notice published by the U.S. Navy this past week and reported on by Reuters and the South China Morning Post, is that TikTok will no longer be allowed to be installed on service members’ devices, or they may face expulsion from the military service’s intranet.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

MasterCard acquires security assessment startup, RiskRecon

Wed, 25 Dec 2019 16:29:21 -0000

MasterCard announced today that it is acquiring RiskRecon, a Salt Lake City startup that uses publicly available data to build security assessments of organizations. The companies did not share the purchase price. It’s become increasingly important for financial services companies like MasterCard to help customers navigate cyber security and RiskRecon will give customers an objective score of a company’s risk profile.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Should you pay $50K for your pitch deck? Yes, why the hell not?

Mon, 23 Dec 2019 16:29:21 -0000

Every once in a while on VC Twitter, a comment or statement seems so outlandish, so completely outrageous, that it must be — certainly has to be — false.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

F5 acquires Shape Security for $1B

Mon, 23 Dec 2019 08:00:22 -0000

F5 got an expensive holiday present today, snagging startup Shape Security for approximately $1 billion. What the networking company gets with a shiny red ribbon is a security product that helps stop automated attacks like credential stuffing. In an article earlier this year, Shape CTO Shuman Ghosemajumder explained what the company does: “We’re an enterprise-focused company that protects the majority of large U.S.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Leapfin raises $4.5M to help companies track revenue while keeping its own profitability in view

Fri, 20 Dec 2019 08:00:29 -0000

Leapfin, a startup selling corporate finance tooling, announced a $4.5 million round this morning. The funding event was led by Bowrey Capital, and included dollars from a number of former technology executives. Before its newly announced investment, the company had raised just a small seed round. The small capital amounts may seem inconsequential, but they’re more strategic than anything. According to Leapfin CEO Raymond Lau, the company is running lean and keeping an eye on profitability.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Blindlee is Chatroulette for dating with a safety screen

Thu, 19 Dec 2019 16:29:18 -0000

Make space for another dating app in your single life: Blindlee is Chatroulette for dating but with female-friendly guardrails in the form of a user-controlled video blur effect. The idea is pretty simple: Singles are matched randomly with another user who meets some basic criteria (age, location) for a three minute ‘ice breaker’ video call. The app suggests chat topics — like ‘pineapple on pizza, yay or nay’ — to get the conversation flowing.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#ANGELS founding partner raises $25M for debut fund Moxxie Ventures

Thu, 19 Dec 2019 08:24:58 -0000

Katie Jacobs Stanton, a former Twitter executive and co-founder of the #ANGELS investment collective, has raised $25 million for her debut venture capital fund Moxxie Ventures. As the sole general partner, she plans to invest between $250,000 and $500,000 in underrepresented and underestimated founders, Stanton tells TechCrunch, with a focus on “products that make life and work better.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why is WeWork 2.0 trying to go public?

Wed, 18 Dec 2019 08:00:21 -0000

In the wake of WeWork’sembarrassing IPO rout, you might imagine that startups working in similar markets would cool it for a bit. Perhaps they could work on cutting spending, improving their gross margins, and, say, shooting for profitability. Not so, at least in one case. Instead of doing those things, China-based Ucommune filed to go public in America this month. The WeWork competitor is mostly a co-working business. It’s also a marketing company.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With $4B food delivery acquisition, Korea poised to enter upper tier of startup hubs

Tue, 17 Dec 2019 16:29:23 -0000

Seoul and South Korea may well be the secret startup hub that (still) no one talks about. While often dwarfed by the scale and scope of the Chinese startup market next door, South Korea has proven over the last few years that it can — and will — enter the top-tier of startup hubs.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sleek raises $5M to help companies incorporate and operate in Singapore and Hong Kong

Tue, 17 Dec 2019 08:00:27 -0000

Sleek, a startup that is making it easier for other startups and companies to incorporate and operate in Singapore and Hong Kong, said today it has extended its seed financing round to raise $5 million. The extended seed round for the two-year-old startup was led by private investors Pierre Lorinet and Fabio Blom, and MI8, an Asia-focused European backed private investment company.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Startups Weekly: This year in startups

Mon, 16 Dec 2019 16:29:22 -0000

Welcome back to Startups Weekly, a weekend newsletter that dives into the week’s noteworthy startups and venture capital news. Before I jump into today’s topic, let’s catch up a bit. Last week, I wrote about U.S. VC activity in Europe. Before that, I noted Chinese investor activity in Africa. Remember, you can send me tips, suggestions and feedback to kate.clark@techcrunch.com or on Twitter@KateClarkTweets. If you’re new, you can subscribe to Startups Weekly here.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chicago’s Sprout Social prices IPO mid-range at $17 per share, raising $150M

Mon, 16 Dec 2019 08:00:28 -0000

On the heels of Bill.com’s debut, Chicago-based social media software company Sprout Social priced its IPO last night at $17 per share, in the middle of its proposed $16 to $18 per-share range. Selling 8.8 million shares, Sprout raised just under $150 million in its debut. Underwriters have the option to purchase an additional 1.3 million shares if they so choose.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

And the winner of Startup Battlefield at Disrupt Berlin 2019 is… Scaled Robotics

Fri, 13 Dec 2019 16:29:21 -0000

At the very beginning, there were 14 startups. After two days of incredibly fierce competition, we now have a winner. Startups participating in the Startup Battlefield have all been hand-picked to participate in our highly competitive startup competition. They all presented in front of multiple groups of VCs and tech leaders serving as judges for a chance to win $50,000 and the coveted Disrupt Cup.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Glovo’s Sacha Michaud: “I think there will be consolidation”

Fri, 13 Dec 2019 08:00:26 -0000

Many companies realized that there was a huge opportunity when it comes to on-demand delivery of food and groceries. And apparently, too many companies as Glovo co-founder Sacha Michaud expects some consolidation in the space in the near future.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gtmhub raises $9M from CRV after posting 400% ARR growth in the last year

Thu, 12 Dec 2019 16:29:17 -0000

This week Gtmhub announced a $9 million Series A led by CRV. The investment was not a large round, even for an A. But the capital found its way into one of the fastest-growing SaaS companies that we’ve spoken with recently, which made it interesting all the same. And, the firm was willing to talk about its financial performance in some detail. The combination made its Series A impossible to ignore. TechCrunch caught up with Gtmhub’s CMO Seth Elliott this morning to learn more.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Airbnb invests as Zeus corporate housing raises $55M at $205M

Thu, 12 Dec 2019 08:00:26 -0000

As Airbnb absorbs more and more of the demand for housing, it’s exploring how to monetize opportunities beyond vacation rentals. A marketplace for longer term corporate housing could be a huge business, but rather than build that itself, Airbnb is making a strategic investment in one of the market leaders called Zeus Living and will list its homes on the Airbnb site.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nodle crowdsources IoT connectivity

Wed, 11 Dec 2019 16:29:21 -0000

Nodle, which is competing in the TechCrunch Disrupt Berlin Startup Battlefield this week, is based on a simple premise: What if you could crowdsource the connectivity of smart sensors by offloading it to smartphones? For most sensors, built-in cell connectivity is simply not a realistic option, given how much power it would take. A few years of battery life is quite realistic for a sensor that uses Bluetooth Low Energy.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

xs:code launches subscription platform to monetize open source projects

Wed, 11 Dec 2019 08:00:34 -0000

Open source is a great source of free tools for developers, but as these projects proliferate, and some gain in popularity, the creators sometimes look for ways to monetize successful ones. The problem is that it’s hard to run a subscription-based, dual-license approach and most developers don’t even know where to start. Enter Israeli startup xs:code, which has created a platform to help developers solve this problem. “xs:code is a monetization platform for open source projects.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Soci raises $12M to help big brands manage local marketing

Tue, 10 Dec 2019 16:29:19 -0000

According to CEO Afif Khoury, we’re in the middle of “the third wave of social” — a shift back to local interactions. And Khoury’s startup Soci (pronounced soh-shee) has raised $12 million in Series C funding to help companies navigate that shift. Soci works with customers like Ace Hardware and Sport Clips to help them manage the online presence of hundreds or thousands of stores.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Startups Weekly: U.S. VCs eye European startups

Tue, 10 Dec 2019 08:00:22 -0000

Hello and welcome back to Startups Weekly, a weekend newsletter that dives into the week’s noteworthy startups and venture capital news. Before I jump into today’s topic, let’s catch up a bit. Last week, I wrote about Chinese investor activity in Africa. Before that, I noted Airbnb’s issues. Remember, you can send me tips, suggestions and feedback to kate.clark@techcrunch.com or on Twitter@KateClarkTweets. If you’re new, you can subscribe to Startups Weekly here.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Raising VC in Silicon Valley as a female POC

Mon, 09 Dec 2019 16:29:23 -0000

Nathan Beckord Contributor Share on Twitter Nathan Beckord is CEO of Foundersuite.com, a software platform for raising capital and managing investors that has helped entrepreneurs raise over $2 billion since 2016. He is also the host of Foundersuite’s How I Raised It podcast.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

New tweet generator mocks venture capitalists

Mon, 09 Dec 2019 08:00:29 -0000

“Airbnb’s unit economics are quite legendary — the S-1 is going to be MOST disrupted FASTEST in the next 3 YEARS? Caps for effect.” Who Tweeted that? Initialized Capital’s Garry Tan? Homebrew’s Hunter Walk? Y Combinator co-founder Paul Graham? Or perhaps one of the dozens of other venture capitalists active on Twitter . No, it was Parrot.VC, a new Twitter account and website dedicated to making light of VC Twitter.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Uberflip acquires SnapApp for smarter content targeting

Fri, 06 Dec 2019 16:29:22 -0000

Uberflip is acquiring SnapApp, bringing together two startups that promise help marketers use their content more effectively. President and Chief Marketing Officer Randy Frisch argued that Uberflip focuses on content experience, not content marketing. In other words, it’s not selling productivity and workflow tools for marketers to write blog posts and and create videos. Instead, it helps them present their existing content in a smarter and more personalized way.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Uniform Teeth raises $10 million for its teeth-straightening operations

Fri, 06 Dec 2019 08:00:25 -0000

Uniform Teeth, the teeth straightening startup that helped me figure out I needed a root canal, has just raised a $10 million round of funding led by Canaan Ventures. This brings Uniform Teeth’s total funding to $14 million. With the new funding, Uniform Teeth plans to open up two more locations, one in Seattle and one in Chicago early next year. Uniform Teeth currently operates two locations in San Francisco.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Delphia wants to turn your data into investment capital through collective action

Thu, 05 Dec 2019 16:29:23 -0000

A lot of companies talk about the value of your data, and about helping you get more control over the information you share, but Toronto-based Delphia is unique in aiming to build a viable, sustainable and scalable way to take a person’s data and turn that into real monetary gain.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Accel closes new $550M fund for India

Wed, 04 Dec 2019 16:29:18 -0000

Accel, one of the world’s most influential venture capitalist firms, is becoming more bullish on India. The Silicon Valley-headquartered firm, which largely focuses on early stage investments, said today it has closed $550 million for its sixth venture fund in India. This is a significant amount of capital for Accel’s efforts in India, where it began investing 15 years ago and has infused roughly $1 billion through all of its previous funds combined.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Postscript raises $4.5M to help Shopify shops stay connected with customers over SMS

Wed, 04 Dec 2019 08:00:25 -0000

Back in February, we wrote that Postscript “wants to be the Mailchimp for SMS.” Now they’ve raised $4.5 million to help get it done. This round was led by Accomplice, and backed by Kayak co-founder Paul English, Wufoo co-founder Kevin Hale, Klaviyo co-founder Andrew Bialecki, Drift co-founder Elias Torres, Front co-founder Mathilde Collin and Podium co-founders Eric Rea and Dennis Steele. The Postscript team is currently made up of 14 people.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Score Cyber Monday savings on TechCrunch Sessions 2020 passes

Tue, 03 Dec 2019 08:00:22 -0000

Have we got a Cyber Monday deal for you. TC Sessions: Robotics+AI (March 3) and TC Sessions: Mobility (May 14) are coming back to California in 2020 with early bird tickets starting at $275 and $250 respectively. But if you buy your pass today, you’ll save an extra 15 percent on each event. How sweet is that? Don’t delay, startuppers. Buy your pass to TC Sessions: Robotics & AI and/or TC Sessions: Mobility before this one-day deal expires promptly tonight at 11:59 pm PT.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Startups Weekly: Chinese investors double down on African startups

Mon, 02 Dec 2019 16:29:19 -0000

Hello and welcome back to Startups Weekly, a weekend newsletter that dives into the week’s noteworthy startups and venture capital news. Before I jump into today’s topic, let’s catch up a bit. Last week, I wrote about Airbnb’s issues. Before that, I noted Uber’s new “money” team. Remember, you can send me tips, suggestions and feedback to kate.clark@techcrunch.com or on Twitter@KateClarkTweets.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NYSE proposes big change to direct listings

Mon, 02 Dec 2019 08:00:28 -0000

The New York Stock Exchange filed paperwork this morning with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to allow companies to raise capital as part of a direct listing. Direct listings are a way for companies to go public by selling existing shares held by insiders, employees and investors directly to the market, rather than the traditional method of issuing new shares.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Zebra Fuel, the startup that brought fuel directly to your vehicle, is ‘no longer’ delivering in London

Fri, 29 Nov 2019 16:29:16 -0000

Zebra Fuel, the startup that brought fuel directly to your vehicle, is ‘no longer’ delivering in London Zebra Fuel, the London-based startup that delivered fuel directly to your vehicle — backed by Robin and Saul Klein’s LocalGlobe, Brent Hoberman’s Firstminute Capital and Zoopla founder Alex Chesterman — has told customers it is “no longer” delivering fuel in London.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Here’s what happens when you decide to sell your startup

Thu, 28 Nov 2019 08:00:30 -0000

Joe Procopio Contributor Share on Twitter Joe is a multi-exit, multi-failure entrepreneur. Joe is currently building Spiffy, and previously sold Automated Insights, sold ExitEvent, and built Intrepid Media. Find more about Joe at joeprocopio.com or @jproco on Twitter.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vivun snags $3M seed round to bring order to pre-sales

Wed, 27 Nov 2019 16:29:20 -0000

Vivun, a startup that wants to help companies keep better track of pre-sales data announced a $3 million seed round today led by Unusual Ventures, the venture firm run by Harness CEO Jyoti Bansal. Vivun founder and CEO Matt Darrow says that pre-sales team works more closely with the customer than anyone else, delivering demos and proof of concepts, and generally helping sales get over the finish line.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cocoon’s social app for close friends gets VC backing to chase Path’s dream

Wed, 27 Nov 2019 08:00:29 -0000

You may have heard the pitch before, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram aren’t homes for your real friends anymore because they’re too big, too commercial and too influencer-y, the result is that your most important relationships have been relegated to the lowest common denominator tool on your phones: your texting app.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Weekend Fund raises $10M for second early-stage fund

Tue, 26 Nov 2019 16:29:20 -0000

Product Hunt founder Ryan Hoover has raised another $10 million to invest in nascent upstarts viaWeekend Fund. The news represents the firm’s second fundraise after a $3 million debut angel fund that closed in 2017.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Artiphon launches a Kickstarter campaign for its new musical device Orba

Tue, 26 Nov 2019 08:00:28 -0000

Artiphon, the startup that previously raised more than $1 million on Kickstarter for a device called the Instrument 1, has launched a new campaign for its latest invention, Orba. Co-founder and CEO Mike Butera said the Instrument 1 and Orba share “the same DNA,” namely his vision to help music-making become more accessible to everyone, regardless of training or experience. “I want beginners to feel like pros, but also for pros to feel like beginners again,” Butera told me.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Max Q: NASA signs up new Moon delivery companies

Mon, 25 Nov 2019 16:30:06 -0000

Sign up here to receive Max Q weekly in your inbox, starting December 15. There were lot of highlights in the space industry this past week (even though a rocket launch that was supposed to happened is now pushed to Monday). The biggest news for commercial space might just be that NASA signed on five new companies to its list of approved vendors for lunar payload delivery services, bringing the total group to 14.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Here’s the first look inside Orbex’s Scotland rocket factory

Mon, 25 Nov 2019 08:00:32 -0000

European private launch startup Orbex is getting ready to start actually launching payloads aboard its own rockets, and it’s pulling back the curtains to give a look at the factory it’s using to build its launch vehicles. The UK-based company is building its rockets from a facility in Scotland, and this virtual tour gives an idea of what they’re doing to make the first rocket field by renewable, clean-burning fuel a reality. Orbex Prime’s Stage 2 vehicle.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Give InKind’s smarter giving platform brings in surprise $1.5 million in pre-seed funding

Fri, 22 Nov 2019 16:29:31 -0000

Helping out a friend in need online can be surprisingly difficult. While giving cash is easy enough, that’s often not what people need most — so Give InKind aims to be the platform where you can do a lot more than write a check. The idea is such a natural one that the company tripled its goal for a pre-seed round, raising $1.5 million from Seattle investors.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Splice teaches AI to sell Similar Sounds as users double

Fri, 22 Nov 2019 08:00:26 -0000

Splice is blowing up like a hit song. The audio sample marketplace has doubled revenue and user count in a year, and now reaches 3 million musicians. 70% of those visit weekly to hunt down the freshest and trendiest sounds that give their tracks that special something, and many pay $7.99 for unlimited access. But words can’t always describe music. Searching by genre and subjective tags can take forever and leave artists frustrated when the sounds they find they don’t resonate right.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bandit opens a ‘mobile-only’ coffee shop in New York

Thu, 21 Nov 2019 16:29:40 -0000

If you wander into the Bandit coffee shop in Midtown New York, you won’t be able to just walk up to the counter and order something. Instead, you’ll need to download a mobile app. I experienced it for myself yesterday afternoon, when I — along with several other customers — pulled my phone out, downloaded the Bandit app, then used the app to create a profile, order and pay. A couple minutes later, a barista called me up to the counter and handed me my (pretty good) coffee.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Brava, a smart oven maker with big names attached, just sold to an industrial equipment company

Thu, 21 Nov 2019 08:00:25 -0000

Brava had a lot of things working in its favor as startups go. It was founded in 2015 by serial executive John Pleasants, whose past stints have included as co-president of Disney Interactive Media Group, COO of Electronic Arts, and CEO of Ticketmaster.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bunch, the Discord for mobile games, raises $3.85M from Supercell, Tencent, Riot Games

Wed, 20 Nov 2019 16:30:00 -0000

Growing up, Selcuk Atli spent a good deal of his free time playing video games with his friends. And when I say with his friends, I mean actually with them. They’re called LAN parties, where everyone brings over their consoles and the group gets to play together virtually and in real life, all at the same time. Atli, a grown man now, still loves games, but misses the memories made during LAN parties. That’s how Bunch was born. Bunch is a lot like Discord, but for mobile games.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ohi raises $2.75M to power same-day delivery for brands that aren’t Amazon

Wed, 20 Nov 2019 08:00:28 -0000

The world has gotten so much faster. Amazon has made two-day shipping the standard and same- or next-day shipping commonplace. And that doesn’t even include the collection of on-demand players that can get us everything from groceries to alcohol to services like concierge storage and in-home cleaning with the press of a button.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Playbuzz becomes Ex.co and expands its content marketing platform – TechCrunch

Tue, 19 Nov 2019 08:00:32 -0000

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SmartNews raises $92M at a $1.2B valuation – TechCrunch

Mon, 18 Nov 2019 16:29:43 -0000

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nigeria’s Interswitch confirms $1B valuation after Visa investment

Mon, 18 Nov 2019 08:00:23 -0000

Nigerian digital payments firm Interswitch confirmed today it has reached unicorn status after Visa acquired a minority equity stake in the firm. “The investment makes Interswitch one of the most valuable African fintech businesses with a valuation of $1 billion,” Interswitch said in a release to TechCrunch. The Visa investment could create the first of two market distinctions for Interswitch — as it shouldn’t change the Lagos-based company’s plans to go public.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Less than 72 hours left to buy early-bird passes to Disrupt Berlin

Fri, 15 Nov 2019 16:30:03 -0000

Pull your heads out of the trenches, startup fans. You have just 72 hours to save up to €500 with early-bird pricing on passes to Disrupt Berlin 2019. When the clock strikes11:59 p.m. (CEST) on Friday, 15 November, the early bird is no more. Three days will fly by in a flash, so don’t wait. Take 10 minutes now, buy your early-bird passand save today. Disrupt Berlin offers two programming-packed days of opportunity and education.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Freshworks raises $150M Series H on $3.5B valuation

Fri, 15 Nov 2019 08:00:25 -0000

Freshworks, a company that makes a variety of business software tools, from CRM to help-desk software, announced a $150 million Series H investment today from Sequoia Capital, CapitalG (formerly Google Capital) and Accel on a hefty $3.5 billion valuation. The late-stage startup has raised almost $400 million, according to Crunchbase data.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Yodel.io is a digital receptionist for SMBs taking calls

Thu, 14 Nov 2019 16:29:57 -0000

Yodel.io, an Austria-founded startup that’s developed a “digital receptionist” to help SMBs and other small teams handle in and outbound phone-calls, has picked up $1 million in “pre-seed” funding. It brings total funding to just over $1.8 million. Backing this round is EXF Alpha, the fund of the European Super Angels Club, and various other unnamed European angel investors.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

These sneakers vibrate

Thu, 14 Nov 2019 08:00:42 -0000

Sometimes it seems like you can hear a song all the way in your toes. With these new sneakers, you actually can. Meet the new EP 01 sneakers out of DropLabs. Yes, you read that right. We’re talking about sneakers. Invented by a man named Ross Seiler, and led by former Beats by Dre CEO Susan Paley, DropLabs aims to take audio to a whole new level by syncing music, movies and other audio to shoes that vibrate the soles of your feet.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Garage is a new blockchain-focused incubator based in Paris

Wed, 13 Nov 2019 16:29:47 -0000

Meet The Garage, a new incubator in Paris that is all about blockchain projects. Co-founded by Cyril Paglino from Starchain Capital, Fabrice Le Fessant from Dune Network and Oussama Ammar from The Family, the company will support blockchain startups, help big companies launch blockchain projects and educate engineers about blockchain development. The Garage is a sort of puzzle made out of multiple pieces.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lawyers hate timekeeping — Ping raises $13M to fix it with AI

Wed, 13 Nov 2019 08:00:30 -0000

Counting billable time in six-minute increments is the most annoying part of being a lawyer. It’s a distracting waste. It leads law firms to conservatively under-bill. And it leaves lawyers stuck manually filling out timesheets after a long day when they want to go home to their families. Life is already short, as Ping CEO and co-founder Ryan Alshak knows too well. The former lawyer spent years caring for his mother as she battled a brain tumor before her passing.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

African logistics startup Lori Systems raises Series A led by Chinese investors

Tue, 12 Nov 2019 16:29:44 -0000

African on-demand trucking logistics company Lori Systems has raised a Series A round led by Chinese investors Hillhouse Capital and Crystal Stream Capital. Other participating investors included Nigeria and U.S.-based EchoVC, Flexport CEO Ryan Petersen and Nigerian founder Iyinoluwa Aboyeji. Lori Systems is not disclosing the amount of the Series A. DealStreet Asia reported the round amount at $30 million earlier Friday, but Lori Systems’ CEO Josh Sandler would not confirm that.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Andreessen Horowitz launches free crypto startup school

Tue, 12 Nov 2019 08:00:25 -0000

Last month, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) general partner Chris Dixon announced at TechCrunch Disrupt that the VC firm would run a free crypto startup school. And the company is officially launching its school today. Applications are now open and you have four weeks to apply. With this initiative, a16z wants to democratize cryptocurrencies. Dixon and the a16z has been involved in the cryptocurrency/blockchain space for 7 years, and the firm now wants to share some of its learnings with entrepreneurs.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Coda Biotherapeutics is developing a cure for pain

Mon, 11 Nov 2019 08:00:28 -0000

If the researchers, executives and investors behind Coda Biotherapeutics have their way, one day soon there really could be a cure for pain. Co-founded by researchers Joseph Glorioso, from the University of Pittsburgh’s microbiology and molecular genetics department; and Dr. Nicholas Boulis, the founder of Emory’s Gene and Cell Therapy for Neurorestoration Laboratory; Coda uses gene therapies to treat neurological diseases starting with severe pain and epilepsy.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Uber’s losses top $1 billion, trumping better than expected revenues

Fri, 08 Nov 2019 16:29:45 -0000

Better than expected revenues couldn’t divert investor attention from the fact that Uber still managed to lose more than $1 billion in the most recent quarter as the company’s stock fell in after-hours trading. There are bright spots in the latest earnings report, not least that the company managed to stanch the bleeding that had cost the company over $5 billion in the previous quarter. Revenue grew to $3.8 billion, up from $2.9 billion in the year-ago period, representing a 30% boost.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Robocorp announces $5.6M seed to bring open source option to RPA

Fri, 08 Nov 2019 08:00:28 -0000

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) has been a hot commodity in recent years as it helps automate tedious manual workflows inside large organizations. Robocorp, a San Francisco startup, wants to bring open source and RPA together. Today it announced a $5.6 million seed investment. Benchmark led the round with participation from Slow Ventures, firstminute Capital, Bret Taylor, president and chief product officer at Salesforce and Docker CEO Rob Bearden.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wardrobe picks up $1.5 million for a new fashion rental marketplace

Thu, 07 Nov 2019 08:00:27 -0000

Wardrobe, a new peer-to-peer fashion rental marketplace, has today announced the close of a $1.5 million seed round and its public launch out of beta. The funding was led by angel investor Cyan Banister and Ludlow Ventures, with participation from GroupUp Ventures, Airbnb cofounder Nate Blecharczyk and HQ Trivia founder Rus Yusupov, among others. Wardrobe was founded by Adarsh Alphons after he had an epiphany about just how many items of clothes in his own house went mostly unused.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Arweave’s Permaweb blockchain can host sites & apps forever

Wed, 06 Nov 2019 08:00:32 -0000

What if you could pay now to store something online permanently? You could preserve a website against censorship, save legal contracts, or offer an app even after your company fails. That’s the promise of Arweave‘s Permaweb. The startup has built a new type of blockchain that relies on Moore’s Law-style declining data storage costs.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gradeup raises $7M to expand its online exam preparation platform to smaller Indian cities and towns

Tue, 05 Nov 2019 16:29:54 -0000

Gradeup, an edtech startup in India that operates an exam preparation platform for undergraduate and postgraduate level courses, has raised $7 million from Times Internet as it looks to expand its business in the country. Times Internet, a conglomerate in India, invested $7 million in Series A and $3 million in Seed financing rounds of the four-year-old Noida-based startup, it said. Times Internet is the only external investor in Gradeup, they said.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

CTO.ai’s developer shortcuts eliminate coding busywork

Tue, 05 Nov 2019 08:00:27 -0000

There’s too much hype about mythical “10X developers”. Everyone’s desperate to hire these ‘ninja rockstars’. In reality, it’s smarter to find ways of deleting annoying chores for the coders you already have. That’s where CTO.ai comes in. Emerging from stealth today, CTO.ai lets developers build and borrow DevOps shortcuts. These automate long series of steps they usually have to do manually thanks to integrations with GitHub, AWS, Slack, and more. CTO.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Max Q: SpaceX and Boeing gear up for commercial crew mission tests

Mon, 04 Nov 2019 08:00:31 -0000

Welcome back to Max Q, our weekly look at what’s happening in space and space startup news. This week was a bit more quiet than usual coming off of the amazingly over-packed International Astronautical Congress, but there were still some big moves that promise a lot more action to come before they year’s over – particularly in the race to fly American astronauts to space on a rocket launched from American soil once again.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Let’s have a word about what3words with Clare Jones at Disrupt Berlin

Fri, 01 Nov 2019 16:29:57 -0000

Addresses are ambiguous, not precise enough or don’t even exist in some places. what3words wants to map the entire world and overhaul addresses three words at a time. That’s why I’m excited to announce that what3words Chief Commercial Officer Clare Jones is joining us at TechCrunch Disrupt Berlin. The startup has divided the world in 3 meter squares. Each square has been assigned three words. This way, it’s easy to read, easy to write and even easy to say.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Muy raises $15M to grow its new cloud kitchen concept

Fri, 01 Nov 2019 08:00:23 -0000

The cloud kitchen craze has reached Latin America. Food tech startup called Muy landed a fresh $15 million Series B to expand into Mexico and soon Brazil. The service is currently operative in Colombia. Muy is a “cloud kitchen meets Chipotle,” says one investor. The company describes itself as a virtual kitchen and smart chef system that uses AI to produce food based on forecasts of demand, which can help to reduce food waste.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Video news startup Brut raises $40M, officially launches in the U.S.

Thu, 31 Oct 2019 16:29:39 -0000

Digital media startup Brut is announcing that it has raised $40 million in Series B funding. The money will be used, in part, to finance its launch in the United States. CEO Guillaume Lacroix said that that he and his co-founders all come from the French TV industry, where they were all “frustrated not to be able to follow up the conversation on social.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Webiny announces $347K seed to build open source serverless CMS

Thu, 31 Oct 2019 08:00:25 -0000

Webiny, a London startup developing a serverless content management system, announced a $347,000 (£247,000) seed round today led by EU investment firm Episode 1. Webiny founder Sven Al Hamad says that Webiny is the first full-feature content management built for a serverless environment. “That means that we built Webiny from the ground up, and architected it so it works only inside serverless functions,” he said.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Quip wants to help you floss

Wed, 30 Oct 2019 08:00:27 -0000

Quip, the dental care startup that first went to market with electric toothbrushes, has launched its first product outside of brushes:a floss applicator with a refillable canister. The floss costs $20 for the metallic applicator and refills cost $5. Each string is pre-marked every 18 inches to help guide people to use that amount for each session. The floss has been in the works since before Quip officially launched its toothbrush, Quip CEO Simon Enever told TechCrunch.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Shadow announces new plans for its cloud gaming platform

Tue, 29 Oct 2019 16:29:59 -0000

Blade, the French startup behind Shadow, held a press conference this morning to announce some product news as well as some corporate changes. Shadow is a cloud computing service for gamers. For a monthly subscription fee, you can access a gaming PC in a data center near you. Compared to other cloud gaming services, Shadow provides a full Windows 10 instance. You can install anything you want, Steam, Photoshop or Word.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Less than 2 weeks left for early bird savings to Disrupt Berlin 2019

Tue, 29 Oct 2019 08:00:30 -0000

Entrepreneurs, founders, investors and all startup fans in between — take heed. The days for saving serious dough on tickets to Disrupt Berlin 2019areseriously numbered. Right now, early bird pricing starts at €445 + VAT and, depending on the type of pass you purchase, you can save up to €500. But this bird takes flight for parts unknown on 8 November at 11:59 p.m. (CEST). Get serious, beat the deadline and save. Buy your early bird pass to Disrupt Berlin.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the Jungle raises $22.3 million to make recruitment easier

Mon, 28 Oct 2019 16:29:58 -0000

French startup Welcome to the Jungle has raised a new $22.3 million funding round (€20 million). The startup is both a media company and a tech startup that wants to empower tech companies when it comes to recruitment. It doesn’t find the right candidate for you, it helps you get exposure, track application and facilitate onboarding. Gaia Capital Partners is leading the round with existing investors Bpifance, XAnge and Jean-Paul Guisset also participating.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Medium says it will compensate writers based on reading time, not claps

Fri, 25 Oct 2019 16:30:08 -0000

Medium is announcing significant changes to its Partner Program, where subscribers pay for access to exclusive content, and the revenue gets split with writers. The biggest change is that writers will now be compensated based “primarily” on reading time, rather than claps. In a post, Medium’s Emma Smith describes reading time as “a closer measure of quality and resonance with readers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Swiftmile will become the ‘gas station’ for electric bikes and scooters in Austin

Fri, 25 Oct 2019 08:00:27 -0000

Anyone who has tried to ride an electric scooter knows the likelihood of finding one with a charged battery is quite low. Swiftmile, which just landed a contract with the city of Austin, supplies cities and private operators with docks equipped to park and charge both scooters and e-bikes. What Swiftmile offers serves as a win for operators, riders and cities alike.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A bike lover’s take on the Cowboy e-bike

Thu, 24 Oct 2019 08:00:26 -0000

Electric-bike maker Cowboy recently let me spend a couple of weeks with one of their e-bikes. It’s a well-designed e-bike that makes biking effortless, even if you’re going uphill. Cowboy is a Brussels-based startup. The company raised a $3 million seed round a couple of years ago and an $11.1 million (€10 million) Series A round last year. The company designs e-bikes from scratch. Components feel more integrated than in a normal e-bike.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Databricks announces $400M round on $6.2B valuation as analytics platform continues to grow

Wed, 23 Oct 2019 08:00:28 -0000

Databricks is a SaaS business built on top of a bunch of open source tools, and apparently it’s been going pretty well on the business side of things. In fact, the company claims to be one of the fastest growing enterprise cloud companies ever. Today the company announced a massive $400 million Series F funding round on a hefty $6.2 billion valuation. Today’s funding brings the total raised to almost a $900 million.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

YellowHeart allows musicians and concert organizers to take more control of resold tickets

Tue, 22 Oct 2019 08:00:33 -0000

YellowHeart is trying to solve a problem that should be familiar to anyone who’s ever tried to buy a ticket to a popular concert: Those tickets will often get snatched up by scalpers, who then resell them at a much higher price. In fact, the startup’s CEO, Josh Katz, said he founded the company because he’s a music “megafan” himself, and he was “just tired of getting ripped off by scalpers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tilting Point acquires game monetization startup Gondola

Mon, 21 Oct 2019 08:00:25 -0000

Tilting Point announced yesterday that it has acquired Gondola, a company that aims to increase to improve game monetization by optimizing in-game offers and video ads. Tilting Point CEO Kevin Segalla described his company’s model as “progressive publishing” — usually, mobile game developers starting working with Tilting Point because they need help with user acquisition, and then develop a deeper publishing relationship over time.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Information will launch Ticker, a tech news app that costs $29 per year

Fri, 18 Oct 2019 08:00:18 -0000

Since it was founded by journalist Jessica Lessin in 2013, The Information has stood out in the tech news landscape for its focus on an ad-free, subscription-driven business model (a focus that seems increasingly prescient). Now, the upcoming launch of an app called Ticker suggests that the company is looking to expand its audience while maintaining that subscription model. The Information describes Ticker as its first consumer app.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

&Open helps businesses distribute gifts to reward customer loyalty

Thu, 17 Oct 2019 08:00:24 -0000

&Open is a startup with an unusual name, and one that fills an unusual niche in the business world. It has built a gift giving platform, so that businesses can reward loyalty with a small token of appreciation. The gift depends on the business and the circumstances, but it could be something like a book or a tea towel and a recipe.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Interior design startup Havenly raises $32 million

Wed, 16 Oct 2019 08:00:29 -0000

Interior design platform Havenly is raising $32 million in new funding to create its first private label brand as the startup aims to integrate its own products into its design recommendation engine. The Denver-based startup is an online interior design consultancy of sorts that pairs with expert designers users looking to redesign their homes or apartments. For Havenly, there have been two sides of the business, commercial partnerships with vendors and the paid design services for users.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Opendoor appoints CFO, CPO

Tue, 15 Oct 2019 08:00:31 -0000

Opendoor has named Gautam Gupta its chief financial officer and chief business offer, critical roles as the business continues to alter the way in which homes are bought and sold. Uber’s former head of finance, Gupta joined the $3.8 billion home-selling platform as its chief operating officer in 2017. The company, which has raised more than $4 billion in debt and equity funding to date, is announcing several new hires this morning.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The budding industry of cannabis tech

Mon, 14 Oct 2019 08:00:28 -0000

Brian Kateman Contributor Share on Twitter Brian Kateman is president and co-founder of the Reducetarian Foundation. More posts by this contributor Fish replacement may be the next big wave in alternative protein development From food and drink to health and wellness and beyond, there’s one plant we can’t seem to get enough of: cannabis. It seems like every consumer product nowadays is taking part in reefer madness. Home cooks are taking edibles to new heights.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

To beat Amazon Go, Standard Cognition buys cashierless DeepMagic

Fri, 11 Oct 2019 08:00:30 -0000

Valued at $535 million, autonomous retail startup Standard Cognition has emerged as a soon-to-be tech giant and the best hope for merchants to compete with Amazon Go. Cashierless checkout is poised to transform brick-and-mortar commerce, and shop owners fear having to battle Amazon’s technology alone or partner with it, exposing data it could use against them.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Get guaranteed rent for your home from new startup Doorstead

Thu, 10 Oct 2019 08:00:30 -0000

Missing out on a month’s rent because you can’t find a tenant is a huge loss. Searching for someone to fill a home takes work, while property managers are incentivized to price your place too high leading to costly vacancies. But new startup Doorstead wants to take on the risk and the work for you. It acts as a property manager for single-family homes but guarantees you rent at a specific rate starting in a certain number of days, even if it can’t fill the house or apartment.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why we’re still waiting on the Postmates S-1

Wed, 09 Oct 2019 08:00:29 -0000

In a wide-ranging conversation at TechCrunch Disrupt San Francisco last week, Postmates co-founder and chief executive officer Bastian Lehmann made light of the company’s lack of IPO documents. The San Francisco-based on-demand delivery business was expected to publicly file its IPO prospectus in September in preparation for a fall exit, sources familiar with the matter told TechCrunch this summer.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sequoia shares wisdom with Disrupt SF Battlefield competitors and Startup Alley Top Picks

Tue, 08 Oct 2019 08:00:27 -0000

Editor’s note: James Buckhouse is design partner at Sequoia. Last Tuesday, the teams competing in Startup Battlefield at Disrupt SF, as well as founders chosen as Top Picks in Startup Alley, visited Sequoia Capital’s office in San Francisco for a discussion with partners Jess Lee, Roelof Botha, Mike Vernal, Alfred Lin and James Buckhouse. The following is a partial transcript of the session, which was moderated by Buckhouse.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Greyparrot uses computer vision to improve waste management

Mon, 07 Oct 2019 08:00:33 -0000

Meet Greyparrot, a London-based startup that wants to improve waste management. The company uses computer vision to make sorting more efficient at different stages of the waste chain. And Greyparrot has been selected as a wildcard for the Startup Battlefield at TechCrunch Disrupt SF. The company has been using machine learning with images of different types of waste to train a model that detects glass, paper, cardboard, newspapers, cans and different types of plastics (black trays, PET, HDPE).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

First mover advantage: Does it matter in startup fundraising?

Fri, 04 Oct 2019 08:00:49 -0000

Russ Heddleston Contributor Share on Twitter Russ is the cofounder and CEO of DocSend. He was previously a product manager at Facebook, where he arrived via the acquisition of his startup Pursuit.com, and has held roles at Dropbox, Greystripe, and Trulia.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A startup factory? $1.2B-exit team launches $65M super{set}

Thu, 03 Oct 2019 08:00:30 -0000

Think Jack Dorsey’s jobs are tough? Well, Tom Chavez is running six startups. He thinks building businesses can be boiled down to science, so today he’s unveiling his laboratory for founding, funding and operating companies. He and his team have already proven they can do it themselves after selling their startups Rapt to Microsoft and Krux to Salesforce for a combined $1.2 billion.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Upstart banking company Dave is now worth $1 billion, as Norwest puts in $50 million

Wed, 02 Oct 2019 08:00:33 -0000

Two years after the Los Angeles-based fintech startup Dave launched with a suite of money management tools to save consumers from overdraft fees, the company is now worth $1 billion thanks to a nascent banking practice that had investors lining up.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kickstarter darling EcoFlow Delta battery generator is not what it seems

Tue, 01 Oct 2019 08:00:30 -0000

The EcoFlow Delta is a new battery generator available on Kickstarter with incredible features claimed. Most are true, some are not. Devices like the Delta offer incredible battery storage capacity. Designed for more than just recharging phones and tablets, these can run refrigerators, pumps, power tools and medical equipment. They’re great for emergencies, camping and general use where power is not available.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Startups Weekly: Alpha Medical wants to rebuild women’s healthcare

Mon, 30 Sep 2019 22:01:39 -0000

Hello and welcome back to Startups Weekly, a weekend newsletter that dives into the week’s noteworthy news pertaining to startups and venture capital. Before I jump into today’s topic, let’s catch up a bit. I’ve been on a bit of startup profile kick as of late. Last week, I wrote a little bit about Landline, a bus network backed by Upfront Ventures. Before that, I profiled an e-commerce startup called Part & Parcel.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Battlefield vets StrongSalt (formerly OverNest) announces $3M seed round

Mon, 30 Sep 2019 08:00:27 -0000

StrongSalt, then known as OverNest, appeared at the TechCrunch Disrupt NYC Battlefield in 2016, and announced product for searching encrypted code, which remains unusual to this day. Today, the company announced a $3 million seed round led by Valley Capital Partners. StrongSalt founder and CEO Ed Yu, says encryption remains a difficult proposition, and that when you look at the majority of breaches, encryption wasn’t used.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Package Free picks up $4.5 million to scale sustainable CPG products

Fri, 27 Sep 2019 08:00:23 -0000

The climate crisis continues to be just that… a crisis. And it’s spurring people across the country (and globe) to take action, particularly when it comes to their own lifestyle. Lauren Singer is one such person. After studying Environmental Science and Politics at NYU, she started a blog called Trash Is For Tossers to make a zero-waste lifestyle more accessible and comprehensible to everyone. But there’s still an issue.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Summer wants to vanquish student loans for borrowers, and now has $10M to do it

Thu, 26 Sep 2019 08:00:27 -0000

$1.5 trillion. That’s the amount of outstanding student loan debt held by American citizens according to the New York Fed. It is an astronomical sum, and has led to much hand-wringing about whether there is a coming bubble in U.S. higher education. What’s even worse than the scale of the debt load though is the fact that for millions of borrowers, they literally don’t have to pay some of those dollars. Thanks to the complexity of the loan system in the U.S.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fivetran hauls in $44M Series B as data pipeline business booms

Wed, 25 Sep 2019 08:00:33 -0000

Fivetran, a startup that helps companies move data from disparate repositories to data warehouses, announced $44 million Series B financing today, less than a year after collecting a $15 million Series A round. Andreessen Horowitz (A16Z) led the round with participation from existing investors Matrix Partners and CEAS Investments. As part of the deal, Martin Casado from A16Z will join the Fivetran board.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TechCrunch Disrupt offers plenty of options for attendees with an eye on the enterprise

Tue, 24 Sep 2019 08:00:30 -0000

We might have just completed a full-day program devoted completely to enterprise at TechCrunch Sessions: Enterprise last week, but it doesn’t mean we plan to sell that subject short at TechCrunch Disrupt next month in San Francisco. In fact, we have something for everyone from startups to established public companies and everything in between along with investors and industry luminaries to discuss all-things enterprise.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Quilt Data launches from stealth with free portal to access petabytes of public data

Mon, 23 Sep 2019 08:00:27 -0000

Quilt Data‘s founders, Kevin Moore and Aneesh Karve, have been hard at work for the last four years building a platform to search for data quickly across vast repositories on AWS S3 storage. The idea is to give data scientists a way to find data in S3 buckets, and then package that data in forms that a business can use. Today, the company launched out of stealth with a free data search portal that not only proves what they can do, but also provides valuable access to 3.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stephen Curry Brings SC30 Inc. to Disrupt SF

Fri, 20 Sep 2019 08:00:25 -0000

Startup founders are hard-pressed to find the right investors — not only to fund their businesses but to help their businesses grow. These days, investors represent a variety of backgrounds and industries — traditional venture capital, Hollywood even the NBA. When Golden State Warriors point guard and two-time MVP Stephen Curry isn’t playing basketball, he’s working with his business partner and former college basketball teammate Bryant Barr.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fieldwire just raised $33.5 million more to give PlanGrid and its new owner Autodesk a run for their money

Thu, 19 Sep 2019 08:00:30 -0000

Fieldwire just raised $33.5 million more to give PlanGrid and its new owner Autodesk a run for their money Fieldwire, which makes task management software for construction teams on commercial projects so things don’t fall through the figurative (or literal) cracks, has raised $33.5 million in Series C funding. Menlo Ventures led the round, joined by Brick & Mortar Ventures, Hilti Group and Formation 8. It isn’t a huge amount of money.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GitLab hauls in $268M Series E on 2.768B valuation

Wed, 18 Sep 2019 08:00:24 -0000

GitLab is a company that doesn’t pull any punches or try to be coy. It actually has had a page on its website for sometime stating it intends to go public on November 18, 2020. You don’t see that level of transparency from late-stage startups all that often. Today, the company announced a huge $268 million Series E on a tidy $2.768 billion valuation. Investors included Adage Capital Management, L.P, Alkeon Capital, Altimeter Capital, Blackrock, Inc.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

FOSSA scores $8.5 million Series A to help enterprise manage open source licenses

Tue, 17 Sep 2019 08:00:24 -0000

As more enterprise developers make use of open source, it becomes increasingly important for companies to make sure that they are complying with licensing requirements. They also need to ensure the open sources bits are being updated over time for security purposes. That’s where FOSSA comes in, and today the company announced an $8.5 million Series A. The round was led by Bain Capital Ventures with help from Costanoa Ventures and Norwest Venture Partners.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Another high-flying, heavily-funded AR headset startup is shutting down

Mon, 16 Sep 2019 08:00:22 -0000

While Apple and Microsoft strain to sell augmented reality as the next major computing platform, many of the startups aiming to beat them to the punch are crashing and burning. Daqri, which built enterprise-grade AR headsets, has shuttered its HQ, laid off many of its employees and is selling off assets ahead of a shutdown, former employees and sources close to the company tell TechCrunch.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hatebase catalogues the world’s hate speech in real time so you don’t have to

Thu, 12 Sep 2019 08:00:22 -0000

Policing hate speech is something nearly every online communication platform struggles with. Because to police it, you must detect it; and to detect it, you must understand it. Hatebase is a company that has made understanding hate speech its primary mission, and it provides that understanding as a service — an increasingly valuable one.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Smart grocery cart startup Caper bags $10 million

Wed, 11 Sep 2019 08:00:24 -0000

Caper wants to deliver a major update to the self checkout aisle without keeping its dreaded catchphrases, i.e. “Unknown item in the bagging area,” “Please place the item in the bag.” The New York startup is tapping some of Silicon Valley’s more recognizable VC firms to fund their dreams for a shopping cart of the future that uses computer vision and other sensors to let shoppers quickly scan items as they drop them into their carts.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Workout app Fitplan adds Alex Rodriguez as a trainer… and an investor

Tue, 10 Sep 2019 08:00:25 -0000

Former New York Yankees all star Alex Rodriguez is racking up quite an impressive batting average in his new career as an investor and has added Fitplan to his roster of portfolio companies. The Los Angeles-based workout app launched by Landon Hamilton and Cam Speck has closed on $4.5 million led by A-Rod and Corazon Capital, and has added new celebrity athlete trainers — including Rodriguez — to cover the needs of would-be sports stars and interested amateurs alike.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pagerduty’s Jennifer Tejada and Box’s Aaron Levie will talk IPOs at TC Disrupt SF

Mon, 09 Sep 2019 08:00:19 -0000

Pagerduty‘s CEO Jennifer Tejada and Box co-founder and CEO Aaron Levie both guided their companies to successful IPOs, with Box going public in 2015 and Pagerduty listing its stocks only a few months ago. Both of them will join us on the first day of TechCrunch Disrupt SF on October 2 to talk about their experiences in getting their companies to this point and managing the changes that come with being a public company. It took both companies about ten years to get to their IPOs.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Newly renamed Superside raises $3.5M for its outsourced design platform

Fri, 06 Sep 2019 08:00:24 -0000

Superside, a startup aiming to create a premium alternative to the existing crowdsourced design platforms, is announcing that it has raised $3.5 million in new funding. It’s also adding new features like the ability to work on user interfaces, interaction design and motion graphics. Co-founder and CEO Fredrik Thomassen said this allows the company to offer “a full-service design solution.” You may have heard about Superside under its old name Konsus .

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Just 3 days left: buy super early bird passes to Disrupt Berlin 2019

Thu, 05 Sep 2019 08:00:21 -0000

Hey European startup fans, Disrupt Berlin 2019 takes place on 11-12 December, but our super early-bird ticket pricing won’t last nearly that long. You have just three days left to save up to €600. Pay close attention to the deadline and buy your Disrupt passes by 11:59 p.m. (CEST) on 6 September. You’ll save even more money if you act quickly enough and combine the super early bird price with our group discounts.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is coming to Disrupt SF 2019

Wed, 04 Sep 2019 08:00:34 -0000

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is perhaps best known for his acting across films like 10 Things I Hate About You, 500 Days of Summer, and Snowden. But times weren’t always peachy for Gordon-Levitt as a creative. After leaving the movie business to go to college, he realized the limits of the industry on his potential as a creative. He decided he wanted to take his creativity into his own hands and launched a message board where he’d post films, songs, etc.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

India’s Oyo acquires Copenhagen-based data science firm Danamica for $10M

Tue, 03 Sep 2019 08:45:44 -0000

India’s Oyo said on Monday it has acquired Copenhagen-based data science firm Danamica as the fast-growing lodging startup works to expand its business in Europe. Neither of the parties disclosed financial terms of the deal, but a source familiar with the matter told TechCrunch that Oyo paid about $10 million to acquire the Danish firm.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Juul introduces new POS standards to restrict sales to minors

Mon, 02 Sep 2019 08:00:27 -0000

Juul Labs, the e-cigarette behemoth partially owned by Altria, has today announced a new POS age-verification system that it will require all Juul retailers to comply with by May 2021. The Retail Access Control Standards program, or RACS for short, raises the standard for age-restricted POS systems, automatically locking the POS each time a Juul product is scanned until a valid, adult ID is scanned.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Female founders: All Raise AMA applications @ Disrupt SF 2019 close tomorrow

Fri, 30 Aug 2019 08:00:31 -0000

The future is female and all you fierce female founders have one last shot at receiving 30 minutes of face time with some of the industry’s leading female funders. Say what now? We’re talking the All Raise “ask me anything” (AMA) sessions at Disrupt SF 2019 — and applications close tomorrow, August 30. All Raise, a startup nonprofit focused on accelerating female founder success, will host a day-long AMA event on October 3 at Disrupt SF 2019.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

VoiceOps raises $9M to help companies coach their call center reps

Thu, 29 Aug 2019 08:00:32 -0000

At a time when the industry appears to bet that AI will replace most human jobs, starting with the tens of millions currently residing in call centers, one startup is working to use the same technology to empower the jobs it is pegged to displace. VoiceOps, a San Francisco-based startup, today announced it has raised $9 million in a Series A financing round led by Bain Capital Ventures. Existing investors Accel and Y Combinator also participated in the round.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Only 24 hours left to apply to Hardware Battlefield at TC Shenzhen

Wed, 28 Aug 2019 08:00:32 -0000

This post goes out to a special group of early-stage hardware startup founders — the procrastinators, the vacillators and the last-minute decision-makers. You have just 24 hours left to submit your application to compete in the Hardware Battlefield at TC Shenzhenon November 11-12. The application window closes at precisely 11:59 p.m. (PT) on August 28. Apply right here, right now.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Style recommendation startup Stylitics raises $15M

Tue, 27 Aug 2019 08:00:28 -0000

Stylitics, a startup powering outfit-based shopping recommendations for online retailers, is announcing that it has raised $15 million in Series B funding. The company was initially known for ClosetSpace, a mobile app that provided consumers with outfit recommendations and inspiration.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

DoorDash reveals details of its new tipping model

Mon, 26 Aug 2019 08:00:24 -0000

DoorDash announced last month that it would be changing its controversial tipping model. Today it’s revealing the basics of how the new system will work.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Compete in Startup Battlefield at Disrupt Berlin 2019

Fri, 23 Aug 2019 08:00:26 -0000

Lasst die Spiele beginnen, startup founders — let the games begin! In case you haven’t heard, the application window for the Startup Battlefield at Disrupt Berlin 2019 is wide open and waiting for you. Don’t miss the chance to launch your early-stage startup on an international stage in front of some of tech’s most influential movers and shakers. Grab this opportunity and apply to compete today.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Andrew Ng’s AI companies expand to Medellin, Colombia

Thu, 22 Aug 2019 08:00:30 -0000

After his tenure as Chief Scientist at Baidu, Andrew Ng, the founder of the Google Brain project and former CEO of Coursera, set up a number of different proejcts that all focus on making AI more approachable. These include the education startup Deeplearning.ai, the AI Fund startup studio for building AI companies and Landing.ai, which helps enterprises (and especially manufacturing companies) use AI. Today, Ng announced that he has opened a second office for these projects in Medellin, Colombia.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The five technical challenges Cerebras overcame in building the first trillion transistor chip

Wed, 21 Aug 2019 16:31:32 -0000

Superlatives abound at Cerebras, the until-today stealthy next-generation silicon chip company looking to make training a deep learning model as quick as buying toothpaste from Amazon. Launching after almost three years of quiet development, Cerebras introduced its new chip today — and it is a doozy. The “Wafer Scale Engine” is 1.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

H20.ai announces $72.5M Series D led by Goldman Sachs

Wed, 21 Aug 2019 08:00:32 -0000

H20.ai‘s mission is to democratize AI by providing a set of tools that frees companies from relying on teams of data scientists. Today it got a bushel of money to help. The company announced a $72.5 million Series D round led by Goldman Sachs and Ping An Global Voyager Fund. Previous investors Wells Fargo, NVIDIA and Nexus Venture Partners also participated. Under the terms of the deal, Jade Mandel from Goldman Sachs will be joining the H2O.ai Board.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Men’s personal care startup Huron raises $1M

Tue, 20 Aug 2019 16:31:24 -0000

Huron founder and CEO Matt Mullenax is hoping to build a big business around body wash. “For us, the broader mission is A+ personal care for guys everywhere — not just guys in New York or guys in the Bay Area or guys in Los Angeles,” he said. The startup has raised $1 million in seed funding from RXBAR founders Peter Rahal and Jared Smith, CXT Investments, and Lean Luxe founder M. Paul Munford.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Twitter leads $100M round in top Indian regional social media platform ShareChat

Tue, 20 Aug 2019 08:00:32 -0000

Is there room for another social media platform? ShareChat, a four-year-old social network in India that serves tens of million of people in regional languages, just answered that question with a $100 million financing round led by global giant Twitter . Other than Twitter, TrustBridge Partners, and existing investors Shunwei Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, SAIF Capital, India Quotient and Morningside Venture Capital also participated in the Series D round of ShareChat.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Binance launches Venus, which it calls an “independent, regional version” of Facebook’s Libra

Mon, 19 Aug 2019 16:31:15 -0000

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, announced today that it will launch an open blockchain project called Venus to develop regional stablecoins pegged to fiat currencies (or traditional currencies usually issued and backed by a government). Based in Malta, Binance launched its decentralized trading service, Binance Chain, earlier this year, and since then has issued stablecoins pegged to Bitcoin and the British pound.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Flower delivery startup UrbanStems raises $12M to fund national expansion

Mon, 19 Aug 2019 08:00:28 -0000

UrbanStems is announcing that it has raised $12 million in Series B funding. CEO Seth Goldman told me the startup has already been using the money to expand nationally. He explained that UrbanStems now has two delivery models — there are bike couriers who deliver plants and flowers within two hours in New York City and Washington, D.C. (where the company is headquartered), and then there’s a third-party shipping partner who offers next-day delivery to anywhere else in the United States.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Only 24 hours left to apply to Hardware Battlefield at TC Shenzhen

Thu, 15 Aug 2019 16:31:23 -0000

Holy hardware, startup founders! You have only 24 hours left to apply to the Hardware Battlefield at TC Shenzhenon November 11-12. This hardware-only pitch competition, cousin to TechCrunch’s world-renown Startup Battlefield, is a real game-changer. Got hardware? Want to launch on a world stage? Do. Not. Delay. Apply to compete in TC Hardware Battlefield 2019 before 11:59pm on August 14th. What’s in it for you? Excellent question.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ex-NSA chief Mike Rogers and Team8 founder Nadav Zafrir will be at Disrupt SF

Thu, 15 Aug 2019 08:00:27 -0000

What happens when two former spies meet the startup world? We’re about to find out. We’re pleased to announce former National Security Agency director Adm. Mike Rogers will be at Disrupt SF on October 2-4. The former U.S. intelligence head oversaw the shadowy agency during one of its most tumultuous times in its history in the aftermath of the massive leak of classified documents by whistleblower Edward Snowden. He also oversaw the Pentagon’s cyberwar-fighting division, U.S.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Would you rent out your living room for a few hours? This startup is counting on it

Wed, 14 Aug 2019 16:31:37 -0000

Would you rent out your living room for a few hours? This startup is counting on it Recharge, a startup that tried convincing hotels to let its customers rent their rooms by the hour and even minute, has revamped and rebranded. Now Globe, the company is hoping to convince guests to sign up for short stays instead in people’s homes so that they can kick back between other commitments, and, if the host allows it, to shower and nap.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Postmates to drop IPO filing next month

Tue, 13 Aug 2019 16:31:38 -0000

Postmates plans to make its IPO paperwork public in September, TechCrunch has learned. Despite previous reports indicating the on-demand delivery company is seeking an M&A exit, sources close to the matter say Postmates is on track to go complete an initial public offering this year. With the S-1 dropping in September, San Francisco-based Postmates is expected to debut on the stock exchange by the end of the third fiscal quarter of 2019.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

BuzzFeed CTO joins men’s health startup Ro

Tue, 13 Aug 2019 08:00:31 -0000

Ro, a two-year-old startup known for its online pharmacy of men’s health products, has named BuzzFeed’s Todd Levy its chief technology officer. Levy first joined BuzzFeed in 2014 as the digital media company’s vice president of engineering; he was named CTO in 2016. Prior to BuzzFeed, Levy co-founded and led link management tool bit.ly. Levy begins his new role Wednesday, August 14. We’ve reached out to BuzzFeed for comment.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vector’s launch business in peril after ‘major change in financing’

Mon, 12 Aug 2019 16:31:16 -0000

Small satellite launch startup Vector has indefinitely shut down operations “in response a major change in financing,” the company confirmed. Co-founder and CEO Jim Cantrell has also been cut loose as part of the upset. The news comes as a surprise to the space startup community, and apparently to its employees. The company lined up $70 million in funding late last year, and recently was announced as a qualified contestant in DARPA’s Launch Challenge.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Keith Rabois, BoxGroup back New York-based Brex competitor

Mon, 12 Aug 2019 08:00:23 -0000

Considering its unparalleled success, it was only a matter of time before a Brex copycat emerged. Ramp Financial, a new startup led by Capital One-acquired Paribus founders Eric Glyman and Karim Atiyeh (pictured), has raised $7 million, TechCrunch has learned. The capital came from Keith Rabois of Founders Fund, BoxGroup’s Adam Rothenberg and Coatue Management, a hedge fund that recently launched a $700 million early-stage investment vehicle.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Statespace picks up $2.5M to help gamers train

Fri, 09 Aug 2019 16:31:11 -0000

Gaming continues to grow in popularity, with esports revenue growing 23 percent from last year to top $1 billion in 2019. But the metrics by which talent is evaluated in gaming, and the methods by which gamers can train to better hone their craft, are varied and at times non-existent. That’s where StateSpace, and specifically the company’s gaming arm Klutch, come into play. In 2017, Statespace launched out of stealth with their first product, Aim Lab.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cockroach Labs announces $55M Series C to battle industry giants

Fri, 09 Aug 2019 08:00:27 -0000

Cockroach Labs, makers of CockroachDB, sits in a tough position in the database market. On one side, it has traditional database vendors like Oracle, and on the other there’s AWS and its family of databases. It takes some good technology and serious dollars to compete with those companies. Cockroach took care of the latter with a $55 million Series C round today. The round was led by Altimeter Capital and Tiger Global along with existing investor GV.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Only 48 hours left for early-bird tickets to TC Sessions: Enterprise 2019

Thu, 08 Aug 2019 16:31:17 -0000

If enterprise software makes your entrepreneurial heart beat faster, you do not want to miss TC Sessions: Enterprise 2019 on September 5 in San Francisco. And if you really want to make your heart sing, buy an early-bird ticket and save $100. But act quickly, because that deal disappears in just 48 hours on August 9 at 11:59 p.m. (PT).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Female founders: Apply to the All Raise AMA to win a free Expo Pass to Disrupt SF

Thu, 08 Aug 2019 08:00:28 -0000

Shouting out to all the fierce female founders. Have you applied to participate in theAll Raise“ask me anything” (AMA) sessions atDisrupt SF 2019? No? Women, it’s time to act. Apply for an AMA session by the August 30 deadline and you could win a free Expo Only Pass. You heard that right. We have 30 free Expo Only passes, and we’ll give them away at random to women founders who get accepted to the All Raise program at Disrupt SF 2019.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Applications still open for Hardware Battlefield TC Shenzhen

Wed, 07 Aug 2019 16:31:18 -0000

We’re still in the hunt for innovative early-stage hardware startup founders. And by that, we mean boundary-pushers, exceptional disrupters and all-around game-changers. If that sounds like you, you still have time to apply to compete in Hardware Battlefield at TC Shenzhenon November 11-12. Don’t miss your chance to compete in our epic, hardware-focused pitch competition. Apply to TC Hardware Battlefield 2019.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cybereason raises $200 million for its enterprise security platform

Wed, 07 Aug 2019 08:00:28 -0000

Cybereason, which uses machine learning to increase the number of endpoints a single analyst can manage across a network of distributed resources, has raised $200 million in new financing from SoftBank Group and its affiliates. It’s a sign of the belief that SoftBank has in the technology, since the Japanese investment firm is basically doubling down on commitments it made to the Boston-based company four years ago.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Monzo says it wasn’t storing ‘some’ customer PINs correctly, but has now fixed the bug

Tue, 06 Aug 2019 16:31:30 -0000

Monzo says it wasn’t storing ‘some’ customer PINs correctly, but has now fixed the bug Monzo, the fast-growing challenger U.K. challenger bank that recently soft-launched in the U.S., is disclosing a potential, albeit relatively limited, security oversight that saw customer PINs stored incorrectly within the company’s internal systems.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This startup wants to democratize custom sneaker ownership

Tue, 06 Aug 2019 08:00:28 -0000

There’s nothing like having a pair of fresh, unique sneakers. Limited-release culture facilitates some of that, but The Custom Movement hopes to make originality and self-expression via sneakers more accessible to the masses. The Custom Movement, a custom sneaker startup backed by Y Combinator, enables independent artists to sell their one-of-a-kind sneaker designs to those who want highly unique Nikes, Vans, Timberlands or any other brand of shoe.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Secure your seat to Disrupt Berlin now and pay later

Mon, 05 Aug 2019 16:31:10 -0000

Secure your seat to Disrupt Berlin now and pay later Sonderangebot! That sounds like a super-cool robotics startup you’d find at Disrupt Berlin 2019, right? But it’s German for special offer — and that’s super cool, too. Our premier tech conference takes place on 11-12 December, and we want to make attending Disrupt Berlin as easy on the budget as possible.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bloomscape raises $7.5M to sell you plants of all sizes

Mon, 05 Aug 2019 08:00:29 -0000

Direct-to-consumer plant retailer Bloomscape has raised $7.5 million in Series A funding, with several high-profile D2C startup founders signing on as investors. Founder and CEO Justin Mast told me that his family has five generations of experience as greenhouse owners and operators, and that he first tried to get Bloomscape off the ground more than a decade ago. Since then, Mast has worked at other startups, but he said, “Bloomscape was the one that got away.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

UrbanClap, India’s largest home services startup, raises $75M

Fri, 02 Aug 2019 16:31:36 -0000

UrbanClap, a startup that offers home services across India and UAE, has raised $75 million to expand its business. The Series E round for the four-and-half-year-old Gurgaon-based startup was led Tiger Global. Existing investors Steadview Capital, which led the startup’s Series D round, and Vy Capital also participated in the round. The startup has raised about $185 million to date, according to Crunchbase.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Attend Disrupt SF 2019 for free as a volunteer

Fri, 02 Aug 2019 08:00:27 -0000

Forget the village, people. It takes an army to make TechCrunch Disrupt the well-oiled experience that savvy start-uppers have come to know and love. And we couldn’t do it nearly as well without our incredible volunteers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Calling all hardware startups! Apply to Hardware Battlefield @ TC Shenzhen

Thu, 01 Aug 2019 16:31:24 -0000

Got hardware? Well then, listen up, because our search continues for boundary-pushing, early-stage hardware startups to join us in Shenzhen, China for an epic opportunity; launch your startup on a global stage and compete in Hardware Battlefield at TC Shenzhenon November 11-12. Apply here to compete in TC Hardware Battlefield 2019. Why? It’s your chance to demo your product to the top investors and technologists in the world.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Prodly announces $3.5M seed to automate low code cloud deployments

Wed, 31 Jul 2019 17:43:33 -0000

Low code programming is supposed to make things easier on companies, right? Low code means you can count on trained administrators instead of more expensive software engineers to handle most tasks, but like any issue solved by technology, there are always unintended consequences. While running his former company, Steelbrick, which he sold to Salesforce in 2015 for $360 million, Max Rudman identified a persistent problem with low-code deployments.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tesseract makes spacecraft propulsion smaller, greener, stronger

Wed, 31 Jul 2019 08:00:27 -0000

Launch vehicles and their enormous rocket engines tend to receive the lion’s share of attention when it comes to space-related propulsion, but launch only takes you to the edge of space — and space is a big place. Tesseract has engineered a new rocket for spacecraft that’s not only smaller and more efficient, but uses fuel that’s safer for us down here on the surface.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NakedPoppy launches curated beauty marketplace for wellness junkies

Tue, 30 Jul 2019 16:31:22 -0000

NakedPoppy co-founders Jaleh Bisharat and Kimberly Shenk are an impressive duo. Bisharat, the startup’s chief executive officer, is a commanding presence and a bona fide marketing savant. The perfect compliment to Shenk, a reticent and data-focused chief product officer. Together they’re building a cosmetics startup, NakedPoppy, where people can purchase high-quality “clean” makeup, or sustainable, ethically-made and cruelty-free products produced without harmful chemicals.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fintech decacorn Nubank raises $400m led by TCV

Mon, 29 Jul 2019 16:31:10 -0000

Another day, another mega round for a fintech startup. And this one is mega-mega. Brazil-based Nubank, which offers a suite of banking and financial services for Brazilian consumers, announced today that it has raised a $400 million Series F round of venture capital led by Woody Marshall of TCV. The growth-stage fund is best known for its investment in Netflix but has also made fintech a high priority, with over $1.5 billion in investments in the space.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Robinhood stored passwords in plaintext, so change yours now

Fri, 26 Jul 2019 18:35:23 -0000

Investment and stock trading app Robinhood stored some user credentials, including passwords, in plaintext on internal systems, the company revealed today. This particularly dangerous security misstep could have seriously exposed its users, though it says that it has no evidence the data was accessed improperly. Better change your password now. Sensitive data like passwords and personal information are generally kept encrypted at all times.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ethyca raises $4.2M to simplify GDPR compliance

Fri, 26 Jul 2019 17:40:20 -0000

GDPR, the European data privacy regulations, have been in effect for over a year, but it’s still a challenge for companies to comply. Ethyca, a New York City startup, has created a solution from the ground up to help customers adhere to the regulations, and today it announced a $4.2 million investment led by IA Ventures and Founder Collective. Table Management, Sinai Ventures, Cheddar founder Jon Steinberg and Moat co-founder Jonah Goodhart also participated.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Andreessen Horowitz values camping business Hipcamp at $127M

Fri, 26 Jul 2019 08:00:23 -0000

Hipcamp uses technology to get people away from technology. The San Francisco-based startup provides a “people-powered platform” that unlocks access to private land for camping, glamping or just a beautiful spot to park your RV, as described by Alyssa Ravasio, founder and chief executive officer. Amid explosive growth in emerging markets, including Florida and Texas, the company has attracted a $25 million Series B investment at a valuation of $127 million.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SMB payroll startup Gusto raises $200m series D, plans R&D expansion to NYC

Thu, 25 Jul 2019 16:31:15 -0000

Every employee loves receiving their paycheck. It just so happens though that paying employees can be a royal pain, what with incredibly diverse labor laws across all 50 U.S. states. While large, Fortune 500 employers have a bevy of options, from traditional firms like ADP to newer entrants like Workday, small and medium businesses (SMBs) face the brunt of the challenge — too small to be attractive to the biggest players, but still responsible for following the complexity of U.S. labor law.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

DoorDash will change controversial tipping model

Thu, 25 Jul 2019 08:00:31 -0000

DoorDash CEO Tony Xu announced via Twitter that the company will be changing its model for compensating Dashers (a.k.a. DoorDash drivers and other delivery people). The companyfaced criticism this year its payment policies. Under the current system, a Dasher’s payment consists of a $1 base from DoorDash, the customer’s tip and — when the first two items fall below the guaranteed minimum — an additional payment boost from DoorDash.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WeWork accelerates IPO plans, plots September listing

Wed, 24 Jul 2019 16:31:52 -0000

WeWork chief executive officer Adam Neumann is already rich, but soon all of the early employees and investors of the co-working giant will be too. The business, now known as The We Company, has accelerated its plans to go public, according to a new report from The Wall Street Journal. WeWork is expected to unveil is S-1 filing next month ahead of a September initial public offering. WeWork declined to provide comment for this story.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Almost sold out! Buy a ticket to the 14th Annual TechCrunch Summer Party

Wed, 24 Jul 2019 08:00:32 -0000

Last call, startuppers! TechCrunch’s Silicon Valley summer soiree — a.k.a. the 14th Annual TechCrunch Summer Party — is nearly sold out. If you want to join the brightest members of the startup community on July 25 and celebrate your intrepid entrepreneurial spirit, you’d best buy a ticket while you can. It’s now o’clock, people! This annual event is a true startup tradition.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Meet 500 Startups’ 25th batch of startups

Tue, 23 Jul 2019 16:31:17 -0000

It’s that time of year again. When startup founders fret for weeks on end as the long-awaited Demo Day approaches. Investors pore through lists of startups participating in various accelerator programs and have their associates ping dozens of founders for coffee meetings. Demo Day season is upon us.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Serverless, Inc expands free Framework to include monitoring and security

Tue, 23 Jul 2019 08:00:27 -0000

Serverless development has largely been a lonely pursuit until recently, but Serverless, Inc has been offering a free framework for intrepid programmers since 2015. At first, that involved development, deployment and testing, but today the company announced it is expanding into monitoring and security to make it an end-to-end tool — and it’s available for free.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Deadline extended! Apply to the All Raise female founder program at Disrupt SF 2019

Mon, 22 Jul 2019 08:00:28 -0000

We’ve got great news for all the time-strapped female founders out there. Yeah, we’re looking at you, sister. We’re extending the application deadline to apply for the All Raise “ask me anything” (AMA) sessions at Disrupt SF 2019. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to meet with a leading female VC and, well, ask her anything. Apply for an AMA sessionby August 15.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hardware startups take center stage for Hardware Battlefield at TC Shenzhen

Fri, 19 Jul 2019 16:31:45 -0000

Software grabs so much attention that it even has its own catchphrase — there’s an app for that. It’s not a bad thing, but we know nothing happens without hardware. That’s why we’re hunting for the best early-stage hardware startups to take center stage at Hardware Battlefield at TC Shenzhenon November 11-12 in China. Apply here to compete in TC Hardware Battlefield 2019, our hardware-focused pitch competition.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Last chance! Apply for the All Raise female founder program at Disrupt SF 2019

Fri, 19 Jul 2019 08:00:30 -0000

Newsflash for all female founders of the early-stage startup variety. Your chance to meet with leading women VCs atDisrupt SF 2019on October 2-4 ends on July 19 at 5 p.m. (PT).Apply for an AMA sessionbefore the deadline expires. We’re serious when it comes to supporting women in tech, which is why we partnered with All Raise — a startup nonprofit dedicated to accelerating female founder success.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

3 lessons from Roblox’s growth to gaming dominance

Thu, 18 Jul 2019 16:31:48 -0000

Our recently published EC-1 on Roblox recounts the origin story and growth prospects of the company. But there’s one more piece to the story: what Roblox’s impact will be on gaming and the broader startup industry, if the company manages to multiply its current 90 million users.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AlphaSense, a search engine for analysis and business intel, raises $50M led by Innovation Endeavors

Thu, 18 Jul 2019 08:00:28 -0000

Google and its flagship search portal opened the door to the possibilities of how to build a business empire on the back of organising and navigating the world’s information, as found on the internet. Now, a startup that’s built a search engine tailored to the needs of enterprises and their own quests for information has raised a round of funding to see if it can do the same for the B2B world.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Social chat app Capture launches to take a shot at less viral success

Wed, 17 Jul 2019 16:31:09 -0000

At first glance launching a new social app may seem as sensible a startup idea as plunging headfirst into shark-infested waters. But with even infamous curtain-ripper Facebook now making grand claims about a ‘pivot to privacy’ it’s clear something is shifting in the commercial shipping channels that contain our digital chatter. Whisper it: Feeds are tiring. Follows are tedious. Attention is expiring.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Final ticket release to the 14th Annual TechCrunch Summer Party

Wed, 17 Jul 2019 08:00:27 -0000

One of Silicon Valley’s most fun and enduring traditions — the14th Annual TechCrunch Summer Party — takes place on July 25. If you don’t have a ticket yet, know this: We just released the last batch of tickets. Once they’re gone, that’s it. No party for you. Don’t miss out on a night of fun and opportunity — buy your ticket today.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

India’s budget hotel startup Oyo enters co-working business with $30 million Innov8 acquisition

Tue, 16 Jul 2019 16:31:40 -0000

India’s Oyo has expanded its hotel chain business to over 80 countries and entered co-living spaces segment in recent years. The firm, which has raised about $1 billion in the last two quarters from several big names including Airbnb, has now identified a new business to target: co-working spaces. The Gurgaon-headquartered firm on Tuesday announced Oyo Workspaces that is already operational across 10 cities in India with over 20 centres.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Brave Care, backed by Y Combinator, is an urgent care clinic just for kids

Tue, 16 Jul 2019 08:00:29 -0000

Brave Care is an urgent care facility for pediatric care that costs, on average, about 80% less than a pediatric ER visit. Darius Monsef and his co-founder came up with the idea shortly after a fateful week for the Monsef family, during which their four-year-old dove off a bike ramp and their one-year-old started having breathing problems. For both visits, he went to a pediatric urgent care facility where his kids were thoughtfully and patiently treated by Dr. Corey A. Fish.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sage Plus for Experts gives travel experts a central place to share their content

Mon, 15 Jul 2019 16:31:41 -0000

Sage is giving reviewers, chefs and other experts and publishers a central place to share all their content. To do this, the startup has created a new product called Sage Plus for Experts, which isn’t open to the public yet, but is accepting signups from those aforementioned travel experts — the kinds of experts who can share content around things to do, food, drinks, experiences and shopping.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With so much late-stage money available, why are tech companies going public now?

Mon, 15 Jul 2019 08:00:22 -0000

Ajay Chopra Contributor Ajay Chopra co-founded Pinnacle Systems in his living room and grew it to a multi-billion dollar public company before becoming a venture capitalist with Trinity Ventures.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This new autonomous startup has designed its delivery robot to conquer winter

Fri, 12 Jul 2019 16:31:37 -0000

This new autonomous startup has designed its delivery robot to conquer winter Refraction, a new autonomous delivery robot company that came out of stealth Wednesday at TC Sessions: Mobility, sees opportunity in areas most AV startups are avoiding: regions with the worst weather. The company, founded by University of Michigan professors Matthew Johnson-Roberson and Ram Vasudevan, calls its REV-1 delivery robot the “Goldilocks of autonomous vehicles.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

3 reasons startups should exhibit at Disrupt SF 2019

Fri, 12 Jul 2019 08:00:28 -0000

Early-stage startup founders, you’re searching for opportunities to take your company to greater heights, amirite? Then allow me to direct your attention to Disrupt San Francisco 2019, TechCrunch’s flagship event that takes place October 2-4. More specifically to Startup Alley, the exhibition floor where opportunity thrives. Grab that opportunity by the scruff and buy a Startup Alley Exhibitor Package.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

N26 launches its challenger bank in the U.S.

Thu, 11 Jul 2019 16:31:07 -0000

European fintech startup N26 is now accepting customers in the U.S. The company is launching a bank account with a debit card that should provide a better experience compared to traditional retail banks. If you’re familiar with N26, the product that is going live today won’t surprise you much. Customers in the U.S. can download a mobile app and create a bank account from their phone in just a few minutes. It’s a true bank account with ACH payments, routing and account numbers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bankrupt Maker Faire revives, reduced to Make Community

Thu, 11 Jul 2019 08:00:28 -0000

Maker Faire and Maker Media are getting a second chance after suddenly going bankrupt, but they’ll return in a weakened capacity. Sadly, their flagship crafting festivals remain in jeopardy, and it’s unclear how long the reformed company can survive. Maker Media suddenly laid off all 22 employees and shut down last month, as first reported by TechCrunch.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hardware startups: Pitch to the world’s top investors at Hardware Battlefield 2019

Wed, 10 Jul 2019 16:31:27 -0000

Early-stage hardware startupfounders, it’s your turn to step into the spotlight and launch your innovative inventions to the world’s top investors. We’re inviting you to apply to compete in our hardware-focused pitch competition,Hardware Battlefield at TC Shenzhenon November 11-12. You might even walk away with $25,000 and a whole new business trajectory.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fresh tickets to our 14th Annual TechCrunch Summer Party

Wed, 10 Jul 2019 08:00:29 -0000

Our 14th Annual TechCrunch Summer Party is a mere two weeks away, and we’re serving up a fresh new batch of tickets to this popular Silicon Valley tradition. Jump on this opportunity, folks, because our previous releases sold out in a flash — and these babies won’t last long, either. Buy your ticket today. Our summer soiree takes place on July 25 at Park Chalet, San Francisco’s coastal beer garden.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Glitch is bringing remix culture back to the web with a $30 million Series A round

Tue, 09 Jul 2019 16:31:16 -0000

Building apps and tools on the web shouldn’t just be for the technically inclined. In the early days of the web, it was easy to make your MySpace account, for example, unique to your personal aesthetic. Glitch is doing that for the modern era. Glitch, formerly known as Fog Greek Software, is an online community where people can upload projects and enable others to remix them. Dash likens coding on Glitch to working together inside Google Docs.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A 23-year-old B2B company has shown how keen India is for tech IPOs

Mon, 08 Jul 2019 16:31:09 -0000

Away from the limelight of the press and the frenzy of fundraising, a tech startup in India has achieved a feat that few of its peers have managed: going public. IndiaMART, the country’s largest online platform for selling products directly to businesses, raised nearly $70 million in a rare tech IPO for India this week.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Karamel is an app to find activities for your kids

Mon, 08 Jul 2019 08:00:25 -0000

Karamel is an app to find activities for your kids French startup Karamel wants to help you find things to do for your kids. The company is launching a mobile app that lets you find and book kid-friendly activities around you. The startup also just raised a $450,000 round (€400,000) from Kima Ventures, Roxanne Varza and Thibaud Elzière. Varza participates in the Atomico Angel Programme, which means that Atomico handed out $100,000 to invest in multiple early-stage companies.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why you should naturalize — now, not later

Fri, 05 Jul 2019 16:31:07 -0000

It’s no secret that America thrives on tech-savvy immigrants who put down permanent roots: Three in five of the country’s biggest tech companies —Apple, Facebook, and Google among them — were founded by first- or second-generation immigrants. Those giants combined boast a market cap of over $4 trillion and employ nearly two million workers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HQ Trivia lays off ~20% as it preps subscriptions

Fri, 05 Jul 2019 08:00:29 -0000

HQ Trivia is struggling after a mutiny failed to oust its CEO. Downloads per month are down 92% versus last June according to Sensor Tower. And now four sources confirm that HQ laid off staff members this week. One said about 20% of staff was let go, and another said six to seven employees were departing. That aligns with Digiday reporter Kerry Flynn’s tweet that 7 employees were let go bringing HQ to under 30 (shrinking from 35 to 28 staffers would be a 20% drop).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pod Foods gets VC backing to reinvent grocery distribution

Thu, 04 Jul 2019 16:31:10 -0000

Larissa Russell and Fiona Lee founded a cookie startup called Green Pea Cookie in 2014. The cookies were 100% natural, vegan and “handcrafted with love.” The company failed but not because the cookies weren’t selling. The business couldn’t keep up with the antiquated wholesale food distribution system’s steep costs. Two incumbent players, United Natural Foods Inc. and KeHE Distributors, essentially controlled its only pathway to grocery stores across the country.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fast Forward raises new war chest to fight Silicon Valley’s inequality machine

Wed, 03 Jul 2019 16:31:44 -0000

San Francisco is a city of extremes, with multi-billion dollar glass-cladded obelisks piercing the SoMa sky while thousands of the city’s long-term residents fail to find even the basic rudiments of housing and other social services. The tech industry has created the world’s greatest inequality machine, solving every one of our problems except the ones like housing affordability, education access, and healthcare availability that might lead to greater agency and equality.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TikTok is being investigated in the U.K. for how it handles children’s data and safety

Wed, 03 Jul 2019 08:00:23 -0000

TikTok is being investigated in the U.K. for how it handles children’s data and safety TikTok is being investigated in the U.K. for how it handles the safety and personal data of underage users. According to the Guardian, information commissioner Elizabeth Denham told a parliamentary committee that the probe started in February, after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission levied a $5.7 million fine against TikTok for breaking children’s privacy law.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AR headsets promise new enterprise productivity, but can the startups building them survive?

Tue, 02 Jul 2019 08:00:27 -0000

Just as the bluetooth headset ushered in an era of hands-free calling, AR startups are trying to convince manufacturing startups that AR headsets will bring new efficiencies with hands-free computing. As Magic Leap and Microsoft have dropped hundreds of millions trying to spend their way into new tech modalities for enterprise customers, smaller players are relying on less ground-breaking hardware and hoping that easy-to-use software can drive new customers into their arms.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tara.ai, which uses machine learning to spec out and manage engineering projects, nabs $10M

Mon, 01 Jul 2019 16:31:30 -0000

Artificial intelligence has become an increasingly important component of how a lot of technology works; now it’s also being applied to how technologists themselves work. Today, one of the startups building such a tool has raised some capital, Tara.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Google finance head joins Postmates board ahead of anticipated IPO

Mon, 01 Jul 2019 08:00:27 -0000

Google’s vice president of finance, has joined Postmates’ board of directors, the latest sign that the on-demand food delivery startup is prepping to take the company public. Postmates announced Friday that Kristin Reinke, vice president of Finance at Google, will join the San Francisco startup as an independent director. Reinke has been with Google since 2005. Prior to Google, Reinke was at Oracle for eight years.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

DoorDash double downs on controversial pay model

Fri, 28 Jun 2019 16:31:32 -0000

There’s seemingly no end in sight for DoorDash’s compensation model where it subsidizes driver wages with customer tips. The mildly bright side, however, is that DoorDash is now providing more transparency after each completed delivery, DoorDash CEO Tony Xu wrote in a blog post today. “With our current pay model, Dashers see a guaranteed minimum — including tips — prior to accepting a delivery,” Xu wrote.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wedding dress customizer Anomalie raises $13M as bridal stores crumble

Fri, 28 Jun 2019 08:00:27 -0000

David’s Bridal once owned 50% of the $36 billion wedding gown market before it filed for bankruptcy last year. Brides were growing sick of the lack of styles and sizes plus high prices at expensive brick & mortar shops. The industry was destined for disruption by software that would replace overhead costs and inflexibility with direct-to-consumer personalization. That’s why I profiled a new custom wedding dress startup back in 2016 called Anomalie despite little funding or traction.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Station F launches a co-living space for 600 startup people

Thu, 27 Jun 2019 16:31:41 -0000

Startup campus Station F is expanding beyond its original building in Paris with a co-living space called Flatmates. 600 people will be able to rent a room in shared apartments. Compared to traditional accommodation in Paris, it’s much easier to get a room as you don’t need a French full-time work contract, guarantors and all the stupid stuff that landlords and professionals ask you — trust me, it’s a nightmare in Paris.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

New tickets available to the 14th Annual TechCrunch Summer Party

Thu, 27 Jun 2019 08:00:30 -0000

Could you use a little summer startup fun? We’re rolling out our next round of tickets to theTechCrunch Summer Party at Park Chalet, San Francisco’s coastal beer garden. If you want to join your startup peers to eat, drink and be merry, don’t delay. These limited-release tickets will be snapped up before you can say “hold my beer.” Buy your Summer Party ticket today.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Millennials don’t want to get drunk. What do they want? Apéritifs.

Wed, 26 Jun 2019 16:31:37 -0000

Gen Z doesn’t want to get drunk. Millennials are tired of the obligatory after-work drinks. Haus, a new startup selling apéritifs online, has a solution for them. The company’s beverages have a lower alcohol content than standard hard liquors on the market, which means you can drink one, even a few, without getting wasted. Made from distilled grapes, fresh herbs and botanicals, its natural ingredients and A-plus branding are sure to appeal to the younger demographic.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dirty Lemon parent Iris Nova will fund and distribute third-party beverages

Wed, 26 Jun 2019 08:00:28 -0000

Iris Nova, the Coca-Cola-backed startup that createsDirty Lemonbeverages, is announcing plans to spend $100 million over the next three to five years to expand its offerings. Founder and CEO Zak Normandin said the money will go towards launching new beverage brands developed internally at Iris Nova, as well as investing in beverages created by other companies, which will then distributed via the Iris Nova platform.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SpaceRyde wants to make access to space more available and more affordable

Tue, 25 Jun 2019 16:31:05 -0000

Life can be tough for a small satellite operator – it may be relatively cheap and easy to build small sats (or CubeSats, as they’re sometimes called), but arranging transportation for those satellites to get to orbit is still a big challenge. That’s why SpaceRyde is pursuing a novel way of launching light payloads, that could help small sat companies skip the line, and save some cash in the process.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Trash uses AI to edit your footage into a fun, short videos

Tue, 25 Jun 2019 08:00:19 -0000

Trash is a new startup promising to make it easier for anyone to create well-edited videos. Social video is an area that CEO Hannah Donovan knows well, having previously served as general manager at Vine (the video app that Twitter acquired and eventually shut down).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

African fintech dominates Catalyst Fund’s 2019 startup cohort

Mon, 24 Jun 2019 16:31:12 -0000

African fintech has taken center stage for the Catalyst Fund, a JP Morgan Chase and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation-backed accelerator that provides mentorship and non-equity funding to emerging markets startups. The organization announced its 2019 startup cohort and three out of the four finance ventures — Chipper Cash, Salutat and Turaco — have an Africa focus (Brazil-based venture Diin, was the fourth).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GirlGaze Network looks to connect brands with female creatives

Mon, 24 Jun 2019 08:00:29 -0000

It started with a hashtag. Amande de Cadenet, photographer, author, and TV host, was spending time with her sister, a director and photographer in her own right, when an ACLU study on the lack of diversity among directors was published in the NYT Magazine, with de Cadenet’s sister an interviewee in the cover story. “It’s about damn time,” she said to her sister, launching a conversation that would re-route de Cadenet’s path forward.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Machine learning for everyone startup Intersect Labs launches platform for data analysis

Fri, 21 Jun 2019 16:31:17 -0000

Machine learning is the holy grail of data analysis, but unfortunately, that holy grail oftentimes requires a PhD in Computer Science just to get started. Despite the incredible attention that machine learning and artificial intelligence get from the press, the reality is that there is a massive gap between the needs of companies to solve business challenges and the availability of talent for building incisive models.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The boring genius of how Atrium kills legal busy work

Fri, 21 Jun 2019 08:00:29 -0000

Law firms have little incentive to build or buy software that will save their lawyers time since they often bill clients by the hour. Tasks like tracking down legal documents, extracting key information, and drawing up hiring offers or funding term sheet add up to make lawyers expensive even if they’re constantly repeating mindless busy work. That’s why legal startup Atrium is so exciting even though it’s developing tech that might seem boring on the surface.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Founders Factory is going live in Paris

Thu, 20 Jun 2019 16:31:33 -0000

After London and Johannesburg, startup accelerator and incubator Founders Factory is launching a third city — Paris. Once again, the company is partnering with a corporate backer. And this time, insurance company Aviva France is backing Founders Factory Paris. Albin Serviant is heading the team in Paris and the plan is to hire 50 people. There will be more corporate backers coming soon, which should give enough runway for the next five years.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Canada’s True North conference is not your typical tech event

Thu, 20 Jun 2019 08:00:31 -0000

From the venue and the flashy event website, Waterloo, Ontario’s True North conference (in its second year) doesn’t seem all that distinct from a laundry list of other major tech events that take place each year across North America. But from the moment its main stage programming kicked off on the first day, it was clear this wasn’t your typical gathering place for the tech industry faithful. The main stage track kicked off with Communitech CEO Iain Klugman.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Whitebox raises $5M for its e-commerce logistics platform

Wed, 19 Jun 2019 16:32:18 -0000

Whitebox, a startup that CEO Marcus Startzel said is working to “power the direct-to-consumer economy,” has raised $5 million in Series A funding. The company works with both startups and more established brands, giving them the tools they need to run direct-to-consumer e-commerce businesses. Customers includeMcCormick, Starbucks,KitchenAid, Bare Bones and Super Coffee-maker Kitu.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Focals by North Review: The future is (almost) here

Wed, 19 Jun 2019 08:00:26 -0000

The concept of an IRL heads-up display has been a part of science fiction since basically the beginning. Big players have tried their hand at it with less than stellar results — most notably Google with Glass, and more recently Intel’s Vaunt. But North may have cracked the nut on smart glasses with Focals.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Clockwise nabs $11M Series A to make your calendar smarter

Tue, 18 Jun 2019 16:31:47 -0000

Almost every organization, regardless of size, is inundated with meetings, so much so it’s often hard to find dedicated time do actual work. Clockwise wants to change that by bringing machine learning to the calendar to help employees free up time. Today, it announced an $11 million Series A investment, and made the product, which had been in Beta, generally available. The round was co-led led by Greylock and Accel .

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

More tickets available to the 14th Annual TechCrunch Summer Party

Tue, 18 Jun 2019 08:00:21 -0000

Get ready for summer in the city, TechCrunch -style. We just released a fresh batch of tickets to the 14th Annual TechCrunch Summer Party. Available on a first-come, first-served basis, tickets to our popular event sell out quickly, and they’ll be gone before you know it. Don’t wait — buy your ticket today.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Meet Hatch Baby’s portable, WiFi-enabled sleep device Rest+

Mon, 17 Jun 2019 16:31:55 -0000

Menlo Park-based Hatch Baby has prided itself on introducing “smart” nursery devices — including Grow, a changing pad with a built-in scale and Rest, a device doubling as a sound machine and night light. Now, the company is introducing an updated version of Rest with Rest+ as part of an effort to help further establish Hatch Baby in the family sleep space.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Shyp is preparing for a comeback under new management

Mon, 17 Jun 2019 10:37:21 -0000

Fifteen months after shutting down, Shyp is getting ready to launch again. The startup tweeted today that “We are back! We’re hard at work to rebuild an unparalleled shipping experience. Before we begin operations again, we’d love to hear your feedback in this quick survey. We look forward to working with you and can’t wait to change the future of shipping!” We are back! We’re hard at work to rebuild an unparalleled shipping experience.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Demo your early-stage startup at the TechCrunch Summer Party

Fri, 14 Jun 2019 16:31:34 -0000

Nothing says summer in Silicon Valley better than the TechCrunch Summer Party. In its 14th year, we’re celebrating the startup spirit and culture at the Park Chalet, San Francisco’s coastal beer garden, on July 25. Who doesn’t love ocean views? And nothing says relaxed networking in Silicon Valley more than showcasing your early-stage startup at our summer soiree.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Target Circle and TapHeaven team up in a mobile marketing merger

Fri, 14 Jun 2019 08:00:24 -0000

Target Circle andTapHeavenhave announced that they’re merging into a single company under the Target Circle brand. TapHeaven co-founder and CEO Chris Hoyt, who is becoming chief growth officer at the combined organization, said the two companies have been “trying to solve the same problem” — namely, eliminating many of the inefficiencies in the mobile advertising business.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

KKR leads $300M investment in phishing training company KnowBe4

Thu, 13 Jun 2019 16:32:06 -0000

You might not have known about KnowBe4 before, but you should now because this morning, the company announced a massive $300 million investment led by private equity firm KKR. The deal is based on a billion valuation. Existing investors Elephant and TenEleven Ventures also participated in the round. The massive influx of cash comes on top of a $50 million round in March, also led by KKR. They really, really like this company.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stride raises $2.2M from JetBlue, NFX for its guided trips marketplace

Thu, 13 Jun 2019 08:00:27 -0000

Group travel, it’s something you either love or hate, but Stride, which describes itself as a marketplace for “experiential multi-day and multi-destination packaged trips planned by experts,” wants to change this perception. The service, which was co-founded by former Starwood Hotels and Viator executive Gavin Delany, today announced that it has raised a $2.2 million seed round from JetBlue Ventures and NFX.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome’s new app will do your travel planning for you

Wed, 12 Jun 2019 16:31:59 -0000

Welcome is a new app that CEO Matthew Rosenberg said is designed for a more spontaneous approach to traveling. “What we’re going after is these millennials [and] Gen Z travelers who feel comfortable going in the moment,” Rosenberg told me. “Eighty-five percent of people aren’t even looking at activities before they arrive.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Yubo is a social network about socializing

Wed, 12 Jun 2019 08:00:28 -0000

Meet Yubo, a French startup that wants to make social networks a bit more… social. Yubo is an app designed for teenagers, and it’s all about meeting people, making new friends and belonging to a community. The app has quietly grown over the past few years and managed to attract 20 million users. There are now close to a million users who open the app every day, and the company says that it is currently growing by 10 percent month-over-month.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Infarm closes $100M Series B to scale its ‘urban farming platform’

Tue, 11 Jun 2019 16:32:25 -0000

Infarm, the Berlin-based startup that has developed vertical farming tech for grocery stores and restaurants, is disclosing $100 in in Series B investment. The round is led by London VC Atomico, and consists of mix of equity funding and debt financing. Infarm’s existing investors, including Balderton Capital, Astanor Ventures, Cherry Ventures, also participated in the round. In addition, TriplePoint Capital has invested, presumably providing a bulk if not all of the debt.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Workhorse gets $25 million needed to finish electric delivery van

Tue, 11 Jun 2019 08:00:23 -0000

Workhorse Group, the electric vehicle company that grabbed headlines last month over a proposed deal to buy General Motors’ Lordstown, Ohio factory, has raised $25 million from a group of unnamed investors. The money will not go toward the factory. Instead, it will be used for the more pressing matter of keeping the company running. Under terms of the deal, investors will receive preferred stock and warrants to buy shares. An annual dividend will be paid out in shares of Workhorse stock.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Depop, a social app targeting millennial and Gen Z shoppers, bags $62M, passes 13M users

Mon, 10 Jun 2019 16:31:54 -0000

The rising popularity of omni-channel commerce — selling to customers wherever they happen to be spending time online — has spawned an army of shopping tools and platforms that are giving legacy retail websites and marketplaces a run for their money. Now, one of the faster growing of these is announcing an impressive round of funding to stay on trend and continue building its business.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Unmortgage, the ‘part own, part rental’ housing startup, loses founder and CEO

Mon, 10 Jun 2019 08:00:31 -0000

Unmortgage founder and CEO Rayhan Rafiq-Omar (centre) has departed the companny Unmortgage, the London-based startup that wants to let people buy as little as five percent of a home and rent the rest, has lost its founder and CEO, TechCrunch has learned. According to a regulatory filing on Companies House, Unmortgage’s Rayhan Rafiq-Omar was terminated as a Director on 4th of May, and has been replaced on the board by Unmortgage co-founder and product lead Josef Wasinski.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thumbtack is raising up to $120M on a flat valuation

Fri, 07 Jun 2019 16:32:09 -0000

Thumbtack, one of the first players in what is now known as the gig economy, has hit the fundraising circuit once again. The online services marketplace that matches customers with nearby professionals is raising up to $120 million in Series H shares, according to a Delaware stock authorization filing uncovered by the Prime Unicorn Index. Thumbtack did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Ticket Fairy is tech’s best hope against Ticketmaster

Fri, 07 Jun 2019 08:00:30 -0000

Ticketmaster’s dominance has led to ridiculous service fees, scalpers galore, and exclusive contracts that exploit venues and artists. The moronic approval of venue operator and artist management giant Live Nation’s merger with Ticketmaster in 2010 produced an anti-competitive juggernaut. It pressures venues to sign ticketing contracts under veiled threat that artists would otherwise be routed to different concert halls.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

VCs bet $12M on Troops, a Slackbot for sales teams

Thu, 06 Jun 2019 16:32:13 -0000

Slack wants to be the new operating system for teams, something it has made clear on more than one occasion, including in its recent S-1 filing. To accomplish that goal, it put together an in-house $80 million venture fund in 2015 to invest in third-party developers building on top of its platform. Weeks ahead of its direct listing on The New York Stock Exchange, it continues to put that money to work. Troops is the latest to land additional capital from the enterprise giant.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AntiToxin sells safetytech to clean up poisoned platforms

Wed, 05 Jun 2019 16:32:08 -0000

The big social networks and video games have failed to prioritize user well-being over their own growth. As a result, society is losing the battle against bullying, predators, hate speech, misinformation and scammers. Typically when a whole class of tech companies have a dire problem they can’t cost-effectively solve themselves, a software-as-a-service emerges to fill the gap in web hosting, payment processing, etc.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dilution: The good, the bad and the ugly

Wed, 05 Jun 2019 08:00:28 -0000

Bernard Moon Contributor Bernard Moon is co-founder and partner at SparkLabs Group, a network of accelerators and venture capital funds.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cookware startup Great Jones launches Potline, a text service for recipes and advice

Tue, 04 Jun 2019 16:31:49 -0000

Great Jones, a startup selling pots, pans and even an oven directly to consumers, is introducing a new way to get help in the kitchen. Potline is a free text message service where anyone can ask for recipe ideas, or get advice when things are going wrong in the middle of the cooking process, or get tips on how to clean up afterwards.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fitness startup Mirror nears $300M valuation with fresh funding

Tue, 04 Jun 2019 08:00:37 -0000

Today, Peloton is a bonafide success. The company, which sells $2,245 internet-connected exercise bikes, boasts a $4 billion valuation and a cult following. That hasn’t always been the case. For years, Peloton battled for venture capital investment and struggled to attract buyers. Now that it’s proven the market for tech-enabled home exercise equipment and affiliated subscription products, a whole bunch of startups are chasing down the same customer segment.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Startups net more than capital with NBA players as investors

Mon, 03 Jun 2019 16:31:56 -0000

Mary Ann Azevedo Contributor Share on Twitter Mary Ann Azevedo covers startups and tech at Crunchbase News. More posts by this contributor It’s not so obvious that this VC firm is focused on impact With these numbers, it’s no surprise SoftBank is investing in Latin America If you’re a big basketball fan like me, you’ll be glued to the TV watching the Golden State Warriors take on the Toronto Raptors in the NBA finals.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Machine learning startup Weights & Biases raises $15M

Mon, 03 Jun 2019 08:00:29 -0000

Weights & Biases, a startup building development tools for machine learning, has raised $15 million in its second round of funding. The company was started by CrowdFlower founders Lukas Biewald and Chris van Pelt, along with former Google engineer Shawn Lewis. (Under its new name Figure Eight, CrowdFlower was acquired by Appen for up to $300 million in March.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Logz.io lands $52M to keep growing open source-based logging tools

Fri, 31 May 2019 16:31:03 -0000

Logz.io announced a $52 million Series D investment today. The round was led by General Catalyst. Other investors participating in the round included OpenView Ventures, 83North, Giza Venture Capital, Vintage Investment Partners, Greenspring Associates and Next47. Today’s investment brings the total raised to nearly $100 million, according to Crunchbase data. Logz.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Firefly raises $30M to bring more ads to Ubers, Lyfts and taxis

Fri, 31 May 2019 08:00:25 -0000

Firefly, a startup that allows ridehail drivers to make money from advertising, has raised $30 million in Series A funding. The company is about to launch in New York City, where it’s also acquiring the digital operations of advertising company Strong Outdoor. Co-founder and CEO Kaan Gunay said this will allow Firefly to start working with traditional taxis in a big way.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pillar launches with $5.5M from Kleiner Perkins and others to tackle your student loan debt

Thu, 30 May 2019 16:31:38 -0000

A new startup aims to help you get your student loans under control. Today, an app called Pillar, backed by $5.5 million in seed funding led by Kleiner Perkins, is launching a simpler way for consumers to better understand their student loan debt — and even pay it off early. To do so, the app connects with your student loan servicer and bank, then makes personalized suggestions based on your loans, your income, and your spending.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Soda Says, a curated consumer electronics retail platform, launches in the U.S.

Thu, 30 May 2019 08:00:28 -0000

Soda Says, a curated consumer electronics retail platform, launches in the U.S. Grace Gould has spent her life thinking about the intersection of retail and tech. She started out in Apple Retail, and then moved on to Index Ventures where she worked on early stage investments. She then worked at PCCH International as the VP of Global Retail Strategy, working with companies and hardware makers to develop, manufacture, package and distribute products.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

VCs give failed AR startup Meta a do-over with new CEO, corporate entity

Wed, 29 May 2019 16:32:11 -0000

AR startup Meta’s original investors might have been screwed by the company’s collapse and fire sale, but a pair of VC firms are giving the brand another shot with a new corporate entity and CEO that the new backers hope will lead to a less abysmal outcome. Meta Company is now Meta View, “a wholly new and unaffiliated entity.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Which public US universities graduate the most funded founders?

Tue, 28 May 2019 16:32:16 -0000

Joanna Glasner Contributor More posts by this contributor Big revenues, huge valuations and major losses: charting the era of the unicorn IPO Some reassuring data for those worried unicorns are wrecking the Bay Area A lot of students attend public universities to lessen the financial burden of higher education. At last tally, tuition and fees at American public colleges and universities averaged around $6,800 a year,perthe federal government.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the term ‘unicorn’ goes broke from overuse, what’s actually rare?

Tue, 28 May 2019 08:00:30 -0000

Alex Wilhelm Contributor Alex Wilhelm is the editor-in-chief of Crunchbase News and co-host of Equity, TechCrunch's venture capital-focused podcast. More posts by this contributor Equity transcribed: How to avoid an IPO How to avoid an IPO On Wednesday afew unicorns were born. You’ve already forgotten their names if you learned them at all (Tip: It was MarqetaandIvalua.) Don’t worry, I’m not cross with you.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lime’s founding CEO steps down as his co-founder takes control

Mon, 27 May 2019 08:00:28 -0000

In an all-hands meeting this afternoon, the scooter and bike-sharing phenom Lime announced co-founder and chief executive officer Toby Sun would transition out of the C-suite to focus on company culture and R&D. Brad Bao, a Lime co-founder and long-time Tencent executive, will assume chief responsibilities, Lime confirmed to TechCrunch.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Throw out your diary, Jour is a new app for guided journaling

Fri, 24 May 2019 16:31:47 -0000

Since Jour, a new app for private and portable journaling, dropped on the App Store two months ago, it’s racked up 80,000 users. No paid marketing or public announcements. Just organic interest in discovering a better way of journaling than pen to paper. “We can reinvent and redesign what we call journaling and the journal,” Jour co-founder and chief executive officer Maxime Germain told TechCrunch. “If we do it right, it will go mainstream.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Modsy scores $37M to virtually redesign your home

Fri, 24 May 2019 08:00:29 -0000

Modsy has raised some new cash as the computer vision startup looks to get physical and build more of the furniture it recommends. The startup announced that they have closed $37 million in Series C funding led by TCV. They’ve now raised north of $70 million to date. The service combines computer vision tech with human designer know how to let users design the trendy home of their dreams.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Future launches $150/mo exercise app where real coaches nag you

Thu, 23 May 2019 16:31:52 -0000

The only way to beat laziness is with guilt, and so that’s what Future sells. It assigns you an actual human trainer who builds personalized workout plans and message you throughout the day to make sure you’re doing them. It even gives you an Apple Watch to track your activity and ensure you’re not lying. Future actually got me to the gym where my coach kicked my ass remotely with a 30 minute lifting routine I’d never have stuck to by myself.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

DuckDuckGo founder Gabriel Weinberg is coming to Disrupt

Thu, 23 May 2019 08:00:39 -0000

2019 is the year Facebook announced a ‘pivot to privacy’. At the same time, Google is trying to claim that privacy means letting it exclusively store and data-mine everything you do online. So what better time to sit down at Disrupt for a chat about what privacy really means with DuckDuckGo founder and CEO Gabriel Weinberg? We’re delighted to announce that Weinberg is joining us at Disrupt SF (October 2-4).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Quadric.io raises $15M to build a plug-and-play supercomputer for autonomous systems

Wed, 22 May 2019 08:00:33 -0000

Quadric.io, a startup founded by some of the folks behind the once-secretive bitcoin mining operation “21E6,”has raised $15 million in a Series A round that will fund the development of a supercomputer designed for autonomous systems. The round was led by automotive Tier 1 supplier DENSO and its semiconductor products arm NSITEXE, which will also be one of Quadric.io’s customers for future electronic systems in all levels of autonomous driving solutions.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Identity platform Auth0 raises $103M, pushing its valuation over $1B

Tue, 21 May 2019 16:32:08 -0000

Auth0, a 2013-founded identity and authentication platform, has pushed into unicorn territory with a $1 billion valuation after raising $103 million in its latest Series E round. The round was led by Sapphire Ventures, with participation from K9 Ventures, Telstra Ventures and several others. In all, Auth0 total funding tops $210 million to date.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Robin picks up $20 million Series B to optimize the office

Tue, 21 May 2019 08:00:29 -0000

Robin Powered, a startup looking to help offices run better, has today announced the close of a $20 million Series B funding. The round was led by Tola Capital, with existing investors Accomplice and FirstMark participating in the round, along with a new strategic Allegion Ventures. Robin started as part of an agency called One Mighty Roar, where Robin Powered cofounder Sam Dunn and his two cofounders built out RFID and beacon tech for clients’ live events.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Credder offers Rotten Tomatoes-style ratings for the news

Mon, 20 May 2019 16:31:50 -0000

In an age of online misinformation and clickbait, how do you know whether a publication is trustworthy? Startup Credder is trying to solve this problem with reviews from both journalists and regular readers. These reviews are then aggregated into an overall credibility score (or rather, scores, sincethe journalist and reader ratings are calculated separately).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fastly pops in public offering showing that there’s still money for tech IPOs

Mon, 20 May 2019 08:00:25 -0000

Shares of Fastly, the service that’s used by websites to ensure that they can load faster, have popped in its first hours of trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The company, which priced its public offering at around $16 — the top of the estimated range for its public offering — have risen more than 50% since their debut on public markets to trade at $25.01.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mobile ticketing company TodayTix raises $73M in new funding

Fri, 17 May 2019 16:31:56 -0000

TodayTix, a mobile ticketing company that makes it easy and relatively affordable to go to Broadway shows and other live performances, is announcing a new $73 million round of funding led by private equity firm Great Hill Partners. The company was founded in 2013, and it served initially as the mobile equivalent of New York’s TKTS booths for discounted, last-minute theater tickets.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fiverr files to go public, reports revenue of $75.5M and a net loss of $36.1M for 2018

Fri, 17 May 2019 08:00:30 -0000

Freelance marketplace Fiverr has filed to go public on the New York Stock Exchange. The company, which is headquartered in Tel Aviv, is losing money — its net losses grew from $19.3 million in 2017 to $36.1 million in 2018. At the same time, revenue grew by nearly 45 percent, from $52.1 million to $75.5 million. “Our mission is to change how the world works together,” Fiverr says in the filing.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Xnor’s AI2GO serves up custom edge AI models with a few clicks

Thu, 16 May 2019 16:32:06 -0000

AI would be useful for tons of everyday tasks for small businesses and other operations — if people just knew how to build and deploy their own machine learning agent. Unfortunately, few do. Edge-based AI startup Xnor.ai aims to let non-experts put state of the art AI to work as easily as they might update their website.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Solo.io wants to bring order to service meshes with centralized management hub

Thu, 16 May 2019 08:00:34 -0000

As containers and microservices have proliferated, a new kind of tool called the service mesh has developed to help manage and understand interactions between services. While Kubernetes has emerged as the clear container orchestration tool of choice, there is much less certainty in the service mesh market. Solo.io announced a new open source tool called Service Mesh Hub today, designed to help companies manage multiple service meshes in a single interface.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

India’s ride-hailing firm Ola is now in the credit card business, too

Wed, 15 May 2019 16:31:31 -0000

A day after India’s largest wallet app Paytm entered the credit cards business, local ride-hailing giant is following suit. Ola has inked a deal with state-run SBI bank and Visa to issue as many as 10 million credit cards in next three and a half years, it said today. The move will help Visa and SBI bank acquire more customers in India, where most transactions are still bandied out over cash.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Voi unveils ‘longer-lasting’ e-scooters designed to withstand rentals, and launches its first e-bikes

Wed, 15 May 2019 08:00:33 -0000

Voi Technology, the “micro-mobility” startup that operates an e-scooter service on the streets of a growing number of European cities, has unveiled a range of new scooters and a first e-bike more suited to rentals. The company is also revealing plans to expand to another 150 cities and towns, having ratcheted up 2 million rides in eight months since launching.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mailchimp expands from email to full marketing platform, says it will make $700M in 2019

Tue, 14 May 2019 16:31:47 -0000

Mailchimp, a bootstrapped startup out of Atlanta, Ga., is known best as a popular tool for organizations to manage their customer-facing email activities — a profitable business that its CEO told TechCrunch has now grown to around 11 million active customers with a total audience of 4 billion (yes, 4 billion), and is on track for $700 million in revenue in 2019. (Note: Slack’s previous quarter was around $133 million, and it’s operating at a loss.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As a founder, I mistook my work for self-worth

Tue, 14 May 2019 08:00:34 -0000

Dale Stephens Contributor Share on Twitter Dale Stephens was one of the first Thiel Fellows and ran an education company for six years. These days he works an executive coach, helping entrepreneurs and executives grow as fast as their companies. These days, most days are good days. My clients are founder and executives, I set my own schedule, and I live in a city I love. As an executive coach and advisor, I work with founders and CEOs of companies who have raised more than $100M.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

India’s most popular services are becoming super apps

Mon, 13 May 2019 16:31:15 -0000

Truecaller, an app that helps users screen strangers and robocallers, will soon allow users in India, its largest market, to borrow up to a few hundred dollars in the nation. The crediting option will be the fourth feature the nine-year-old app adds to its service in the last two years. So far it has added to the service the ability to text, record phone calls and mobile payment features, some of which are only available to users in India.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Saas Management startup Intello scores $2.5 million extended seed

Mon, 13 May 2019 08:00:32 -0000

Intello, the New York City-based Saas management platform, announced a $2.5 million extended seed round today, along with some product enhancements. The round was led by Resolute Ventures . Harrison Metal and Magnetico Ventures also participated along with various individual angel investors including Zane Lackey from Signal Sciences, Chris Smoak from Atrium and Zach Sherman from Timber. Today’s investment brings the total raised to $4 million, according the company.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Razor startup Harry’s will be acquired by Edgewell Personal Care for $1.37B

Fri, 10 May 2019 16:31:36 -0000

Razor startup Harry’s will be acquired by Edgewell Personal Care for $1.37B Edgewell Personal Care, which owns brands like Schick (razors), Banana Boat (sunscreen) and Wet Ones (moist wipes), is adding Harry’s to that list in a $1.37 billion acquisition. Founded in 2013, Harry’s is part of the current wave of brands using the internet to sell products directly to consumers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Clean.io raises $2.5M to fight malicious advertising

Fri, 10 May 2019 08:00:29 -0000

Existing approaches to blocking malicious advertising aren’t working — at least according to digital ad veteran Seth Demsey. That should resonate with anyone who’s ever encountered an ad that immediately redirected them to a website filled with annoying gift card offers. And it’s the issue that the startup Demsey co-founded,clean.io, is working to address. Today, the company is unveiling the new clean.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cybersecurity insurance startup Coalition raises $40M in Series B funding

Thu, 09 May 2019 16:32:04 -0000

Coalition, a cybersecurity insurance company, has raised $40 million in its latest round of funding. Fintech investment giant Ribbit Capital led the investment with participation from Greenoaks Capital and Hillhouse Capital. Coalition’s insurance covers expenses incurred from liabilities related to third-parties, such as fines and penalties — as well as fraud, breach response, extortion and ransomware recovery, and device replacement, and more. The company also aims to give U.S.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rent the Runway just opened its largest brick-and-mortar store yet

Thu, 09 May 2019 08:00:31 -0000

Who would have thought Rent the Runway would emerge as a competitor to The Wing and all traditional brick-and-mortar retail? Its newest store, complete with co-working space, shows it’s more than just a designer gown rental service. Shortly after landing a $125 million investment at a $1 billion valuation, Rent the Runway (RTR) has replanted roots in San Francisco, opening an 8,300 square foot West Coast flagship in the city’s Union Square neighborhood.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Serverless monitoring startup Espagon expands to cover broader microservices

Wed, 08 May 2019 16:32:13 -0000

When Espagon launched last Fall, the Israeli startup had an idea to monitor serverless, architectures, specifically AWS Lambda. But the company didn’t want to confine itself to monitoring a narrow class of applications, and today it announced it is now able to monitor a broader set of microservice development approaches. CEO and co-founder Nitzan Shapira says when it launched, the startup wanted to take aim at serverless and Lambda seemed to be the prime tool for doing that.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Shape Security’s latest product protects smaller businesses from credential stuffing

Wed, 08 May 2019 08:00:28 -0000

Shape Security has been helping big companies stay safe from fraudulent activities like password reuse and bot traffic on their publicly facing websites and apps. The company now wants to help smaller companies have that same type of protection, and today it announced a new cloud service called Connect aimed at that market.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sendbird snags additional $50M for messaging API tool, as it extends Series B to $102M

Mon, 06 May 2019 16:31:43 -0000

Sendbird, a startup that enables developers to add messaging to their apps with a couple of lines of code, announced a secondary Series B investment of $50 million today. This additional funding comes on top of the $52 million, the company raised in February. The new money was led by Tiger Global Management with significant participation from the Iconiq, the firm that led the initial Series B round.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SeatGeek names former Tumblr and NYT exec Brian Murphy as CTO

Mon, 06 May 2019 08:00:27 -0000

Ticketing startup SeatGeek has a new CTO. Brian Murphy previously held the same position at Tumblr (which, like TechCrunch, is owned by Verizon Media) and has also served as vice president of engineering at The New York Times and senior director of technology at Condé Nast. “Brian is an incredible leader and team-builder who has overseen engineering teams for some remarkable companies,” said SeatGeek co-founder and CEO Jack Groetzinger in a statement.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean Parker’s Brigade/Causes acquired by govtech app Countable

Fri, 03 May 2019 16:31:42 -0000

Causes grew to a jawdropping 186 million users as one of the first ten Facebook platform apps. Started by Facebook co-founder Sean Parker, it was meant to turn a generation into activists and philanthropists. Causes acquired Votizen to augment shallow clicktivism with a way to remind friends to vote. But after Facebook went mobile and the web platform waned, Parker arranged Causes’ sale to his newer civic tech effort Brigade, for which he’d led a $9.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Unshackled Ventures has $20M to invest exclusively in immigrant founders

Fri, 03 May 2019 08:00:26 -0000

Unshackled Ventures isn’t like other venture capital funds. The firm invests in immigrant founders and helps them secure visas so they can ditch their corporate job and launch the startup of their dreams. Today, Unshackled is announcing its sophomore fund of $20 million, topping its debut effort by $15.5 million.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Plum, the money management chatbot, raises another $4.5M and lands on iOS

Thu, 02 May 2019 16:31:51 -0000

Plum, the money management chatbot, raises another $4.5M and lands on iOS Plum, the chatbot-based app that helps you manage your money, is disclosing $4.5 million in further funding. The round, which quietly closed in the summer, was led by venture firm VentureFriends and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). It brings total funding for the London and Athens-based fintech to $6.3 million.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Early-stage US VC Joyance to scout for health and wellness startups in Europe

Thu, 02 May 2019 08:00:26 -0000

Early-stage US VC Joyance to scout for health and wellness startups in Europe Good news for European startups with a health or wellness bent. Joyance Partners, a $20M US VC firm that invests in early-stage startups in the health and ‘better living’ space is launching into the European market with a dedicated European partner. The move could be seen as taking advantage of leaps in the capability of European startups, especially in the health and AI space.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Golden unveils a Wikipedia alternative focused on emerging tech and startups

Wed, 01 May 2019 16:31:38 -0000

Jude Gomila, who previously sold his mobile advertising company Heyzap to RNTS Media, is taking on a new challenge — building a “knowledge base” that can fill in Wikipedia’s blind spots, particularly when it comes to emerging technologies and startups. While Gomila is officially launching Golden today, it’s already full of content about things like the latest batch of Y Combinator startups and morphogenetic engineering.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Altice USA buys digital news network Cheddar for $200M

Wed, 01 May 2019 08:00:27 -0000

Cable television provider Altice USA has confirmed plans to pay $200 million for the millennial-focused, digitally-native news network Cheddar in all-cash, or all-cheddar, rather, deal. The price tag comes at a 25 percent premium to the media startup’s $160 million Series D valuation. Jon Steinberg, the co-founder and chief executive officer of Cheddar and former president and chief operating officer of BuzzFeed, will become president of Altice News.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Caribou Biosciences CEO, Rachel Haurwitz will talk CRISPR’s present and future applications at DisruptSF

Tue, 30 Apr 2019 16:31:48 -0000

Seven years ago, Rachel Haurwitz finished her last day as a student in the University of California laboratory where she helped conduct some of the pioneering research on the gene editing technology known as CRISPR, and became employee number one at Caribou Biosciences, a company founded to commercialize that research. In those seven years, the market for CRISPR applications has grown tremendously and Caribou Biosciences is at the forefront of the companies propelling it forward.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Some reassuring data for those worried unicorns are wrecking the Bay Area

Tue, 30 Apr 2019 08:00:20 -0000

Joanna Glasner Contributor More posts by this contributor A record $2.5B went to US insurance startup deals last year, and big insurers are in all the way Space tech rockets higher The San Francisco Bay Area is a global powerhouse at launching startups that go on to dominate their industries. For locals, this has long been a blessing and a curse. On the bright side, the tech startup machine produces well-paid tech jobs and dollars flowing into local economies.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

FutureLearn takes $65M from Seek Group for 50% stake in UK online degree platform

Mon, 29 Apr 2019 16:31:57 -0000

Edtech and recruitment continue to converge. London-based online degree platform, FutureLearn, is taking £50 million (~$64.6M) from Australian-based online job matching group, Seek, in exchange for a 50 per cent stake in the business — just days after the same group led a massive Series E in U.S. online learning giant Coursera. U.K.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Movie subscription service Sinemia is ending US operations

Mon, 29 Apr 2019 08:00:26 -0000

Over the past few months, Sinemia has gone from promising MoviePass competitor to the source of frustration for moviegoers across the country. After rumors surfaced earlier this week that it would be backing away from its troubled subscription-based movie ticket offering, it posted official word tonight that it will be shutting down operations in the U.S.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wheely raises $15 million for its luxury ride-hailing app

Fri, 26 Apr 2019 16:33:58 -0000

London-based startup Wheely has raised a $15 million Series B round led by Concentric with Oleg Tscheltzoff, Misha Sokolov and other investors also participating. The company wants to build an Uber competitor focused on the luxury market. It’s a bit ironic when you think about it as Uber started as a luxury company. But everybody knows someone with horrific Uber stories. That’s why Wheely is building a reliable and predictable ride-hailing experience.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chive Media’s out-of-home TV spinoff Atmosphere raises $10M

Fri, 26 Apr 2019 08:00:51 -0000

When Chive Media Group spun out its out-of-home TV business last year, co-founder and CEO Leo Resig said the structure should help the new company, called Atmosphere, raise venture capital. Looks like those fundraising efforts were successful, with Atmosphere announcing that it has raised $10 million in Series A funding led by S3 Ventures, with participation from Capstar Capital.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Postmates has launched in 1,000 new cities since December

Thu, 25 Apr 2019 16:31:57 -0000

Postmates is expanding like crazy ahead of an initial public offering expected later this year. The food delivery business has launched in 1,000 new cities since December, the company announced today. San Francisco-based Postmates now operates its on-demand delivery platform, powered by a network of local gig economy workers, in 3,500 cities across all 50 states. Postmates does not yet operate in any international markets aside from Mexico City.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Are women better gamers than men? This startup’s AI-driven research says yes

Thu, 25 Apr 2019 08:00:36 -0000

Are women better gamers than men? This startup’s AI-driven research says yes Last year the Gosu.ai startup, which has developed an AI assistant to help gamers play smarter and improve their skills, raised $1.9M. Using machine learning, it analyzes their matches and makes personal recommendations, and allows the gamer to be taught by a virtual assistant. Because they have this virtual assistant they can now do some interesting research.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Blueshift announces $15M Series B to expand AI-fueled cross-channel marketing tool

Wed, 24 Apr 2019 16:31:43 -0000

Blueshift is startup founded by tech industry veterans, who saw first-hand how difficult cross-channel marketing was. They decided to launch a company and build a cross-channel marketing platform from the ground up that uses AI and machine learning to make sense of the growing amount of customer data. Today, the startup announced a $15 million Series B round to keep it going. The round was led by Softbank Ventures Asia, a fund focused on AI startups like Blueshift .

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Luxury consignment e-tailer The RealReal to enter the unicorn club with new funding

Wed, 24 Apr 2019 08:00:33 -0000

The RealReal, an online retailer for authenticated luxury consignment, has authorized the sale of up to $70 million in new shares, per a Delaware stock authorization filing discovered by the Prime Unicorn Index. If the company raises the entire amount, it would reach a valuation of $1.06 billion, cementing its status as the newest e-commerce unicorn. The filing doesn’t guarantee The RealReal will sell the full amount of authorized shares.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vine reboot Byte begins beta testing

Tue, 23 Apr 2019 16:32:01 -0000

Twitter shut down Dom Hoffman’s app Vine, giving away the short-form video goldmine to China’s TikTok. Now a year and half since Hoffman announced he’d reimagine the app as V2 then scrapped that name, his follow-up to Vine called Byte has finally sent out the first 100 invites to its closed beta. Byte will let users record or upload short, looped vertical videos to what’s currently a reverse-chronological feed.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Down To Shop is a tongue-in-cheek mobile shopping network

Tue, 23 Apr 2019 08:00:37 -0000

Cyrus Summerlin and Max Hellerstin, who previously created the Push for Pizza app (which allowed users to order a pizza with the push of a button), are officially launching their new startup today,Down to Shop. The app bills itself as both a modern reinvention of QVC and “the funnest way to shop.” It allows users to watch funny videos featuring products that can be purchased directly from the app.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From lab-grown meat to fermented fungus, here’s what corporate food VCs are serving up

Mon, 22 Apr 2019 16:33:00 -0000

Joanna Glasner Contributor More posts by this contributor A record $2.5B went to US insurance startup deals last year, and big insurers are in all the way Space tech rockets higher In a foodie’s ideal world, we’d all eat healthy, minimally processed cuisine sourced from artisanal farmers, bakers and chefs. In the real world, however, most of us derive the lion’s share of calories from edibles supplied by a handful of giant food conglomerates.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Zoom, the profitable tech unicorn, prices IPO above range

Mon, 22 Apr 2019 08:00:49 -0000

Zoom, a relatively under-the-radar tech unicorn, has defied expectations with its initial public offering. The video conferencing business priced its IPO above its planned range on Wednesday, confirming plans to sell shares of its Nasdaq stock, titled “ZM,” at $36 apiece, CNBC reports.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Birth control delivery startup Nurx taps Clover Health’s Varsha Rao as CEO

Fri, 19 Apr 2019 16:31:52 -0000

Varsha Rao, Airbnb’s former head of global operations and, most recently, the chief operating officer at Clover Health, has joined Nurx as its chief executive officer. Rao replaces Hans Gangeskar, Nurx’s co-founder and CEO since 2014, who will stay on as a board member.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lyric raises $160 million Series B led by Airbnb

Fri, 19 Apr 2019 08:00:35 -0000

Lyric, a platform for folks who struggle to decide between a hotel and an Airbnb, has today announced the close of a $160 million Series B financing led by none other than Airbnb . Other investors who participated in the round include Tishman Speyer, RXR Realty, Obvious Ventures, SineWave, Dick Costolo, Adam Bain, as well as existing investors Barry Sternlicht, NEA, SignalFire, FifthWall and Tusk Ventures. Lyric is a hospitality platform for business travelers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pinterest prices IPO above range

Thu, 18 Apr 2019 16:32:27 -0000

Pinterest priced shares of its stock, “PINS,” above its anticipated range on Wednesday evening, CNBC reports. The company will sell 75 million shares of Class A common stock at $19 apiece in an offering that will attract $1.4 billion in new capital for the visual search engine. The NYSE-listed business had planned to sell its shares at between $15 to $17 and didn’t increase the size of its planned offering prior to Wednesday’s pricing. Valued at$12.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Airbase launches with $7M Series A to simplify spending control systems

Thu, 18 Apr 2019 08:00:33 -0000

Airbase is a startup with a plan to change the way you think about accounting around spending. Instead of multiple workflows, it wants to create a simpler one involving, well, Airbase. It’s a bold move for any startup to take on something as entrenched as financials, but it’s giving it a shot, and today the company launched with a $7 million Series A investment. First Round Capital was lead investor. Maynard Webb, Village Global, BoxGroup and Quiet Capital also participated.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Unicorns: A tale of two continents

Wed, 17 Apr 2019 16:34:03 -0000

Victor Basta Contributor Victor Basta is the founder of the boutique investment firm Magister Advisors. More posts by this contributor Venture investing in the US and Europe are totally different industries If you’re hoping to create a unicorn on a budget, look to the European technology sector for inspiration.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

ZenGo wants to become the crypto wallet for the masses

Wed, 17 Apr 2019 08:00:33 -0000

KZen is about to release ZenGo, a mobile app to manage your cryptocurrencies securely and more easily. There are already countless crypto wallets out there, but the startup thinks they’re all either too complicated or too insecure. If you own cryptocurrencies, chances are they’re sitting on an exchange, such as Coinbase or Binance. If somebody manages to log in to your account, nothing is stopping them from sending those assets to other wallets and stealing everything.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Airbnb officially owns HotelTonight

Tue, 16 Apr 2019 16:33:35 -0000

Airbnb has completed its acquisition of the last-minute hotel booking application, HotelTonight, the company announced on Monday. The deal is Airbnb’s largest M&A transaction yet and will accelerate the home-sharing giant’s growth as it gears up for an initial public offering. Airbnb reportedly began talks to acquire HotelTonight months ago and finally confirmed its intent to acquire the business in early March.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

YC alum Keeper raises $1.6M to help gig workers pay taxes

Tue, 16 Apr 2019 08:01:38 -0000

Every year around this time, Uber drivers, Wag dog walkers, Bird scooter chargers, social media influencers and other gig economy workers face the unsightly challenge of paying their taxes. Companies like Uber and Lyft classify their drivers as independent contractors, which means you aren’t given any benefits and the company doesn’t withhold any of your taxes.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Armis nabs $65M Series C as IoT security biz grows in leaps and bounds

Mon, 15 Apr 2019 08:01:52 -0000

Armis is helping companies protect IoT devices on the network without using an agent, and it’s apparently a problem that is resonating with the market, as the startup reports 700 percent growth in the last year. That caught the attention of investors, who awarded them with a $65 million Series C investment to help keep accelerating that growth. Sequoia Capital led the round with help from new investors Insight Venture Partners and Intermountain Ventures.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WTF is Baillie Gifford?

Fri, 12 Apr 2019 16:31:25 -0000

The SoftBank Vision Fund has been screaming from the venture headlines the last few months, driven by eye-popping rounds (and valuations!) into some of the most notable startups around the world. Yet, SoftBank isn’t the only player rapidly buying up the cap tables of top startups. Indeed, another firm, more than a century old, has been fighting for that late-stage equity crown. Baillie Gifford .

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Public health startup Cityblock raises $65M Series B

Fri, 12 Apr 2019 08:01:19 -0000

Redpoint Ventures has led a $65 million Series B in Cityblock, a healthcare company focused on providing improved care to low-income neighborhoods. The business launched roughly 18 months ago out of Alphabet’s Sidewalk Labs, an urban innovation incubator known for projects like mobility data startup Coord, which itself raised a $5 million round in October.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Online used car startup Shift adds another $40M, snags COO in road to IPO

Thu, 11 Apr 2019 08:00:30 -0000

Online used car startup Shift Technologies has tacked on another $40 million in equity funding, hired a new COO with Amazon and Enjoy roots and scaled up its engineering staff — all in the past several months — as the company aims to double its revenue this year. The recent activity, along with what executives have told TechCrunch is a diligent focus on unit economics, is all directed toward a larger objective to take the company public sometime in 2021.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Klaviyo raises $150M Series B after building company the old fashioned way

Wed, 10 Apr 2019 16:32:28 -0000

Klaviyo, a Boston-based email marketing firm founded in 2012, went about building its email marketing business the old fashioned way. First it built a profitable company, then it went looking for funding to accelerate the growth. Today, it announced a massive $150 million Series B with the entire sum coming from Summit Partners. The company had raised just $8.5 million before today’s announcement.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

New privacy assistant Jumbo fixes your Facebook & Twitter settings

Wed, 10 Apr 2019 08:00:29 -0000

Jumbo could be a nightmare for the tech giants, but a savior for the victims of their shady privacy practices. Jumbo saves you hours as well as embarrassment by automatically adjusting 30 Facebook privacy settings to give you more protection, and by deleting your old tweets after saving them to your phone. It can even erase your Google Search and Amazon Alexa history, with clean up features for Instagram and Tinder in the works.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Scaling a nonprofit, startup style

Tue, 09 Apr 2019 16:34:12 -0000

It’s been a year since All Raise emerged with the support of dozens of venture capital’s most powerful women. The 34 founding members had a lofty goal: Double the capital going to female founders in five years and double the representation of female VCs in 10 years. After a few experiments, some trial and error and the first-of-its-kind Women Who Venture Summit, All Raise cemented its reputation as a force for change in Silicon Valley.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Partnering with Visa, emerging market lender Branch International raises $170 million

Tue, 09 Apr 2019 08:00:40 -0000

The San Francisco-based startup Branch International, which makes small personal loans in emerging markets, has raised $170 million and announceda partnership with Visa to offer virtual, pre-paid debit cards to Branch client networks in Africa, South-Asia and Latin America. Branch — which has 150 employees in San Francisco, Lagos, Nairobi, Mexico City and Mumbai — makes loans starting at $2 to individuals in emerging and frontier markets.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Wing poaches Snap’s comms director

Mon, 08 Apr 2019 16:33:02 -0000

Women-focused co-working space The Wing has hired Rachel Racusen as vice president of communications. Racusen has been the director of communications at Snap, the developer of Snapchat, since late 2016. Racusen’s exit represents the latest in a series of departures at the “camera company.” Earlier this year, the company’s chief financial officer Tim Stone stepped down.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Torch take $10M to teach empathy to executives

Fri, 05 Apr 2019 16:31:38 -0000

When everyone always tells you ‘yes’, you can become a monster. Leaders especially need honest feedback to grow. “If you look at rich people like Donald Trump and you neglect them, you get more Donald Trumps” says Torch co-founder and CEO Cameron Yarbrough about our gruff president. His app wants to make executive coaching (a polite word for therapy) part of even the busiest executive’s schedule.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Clearbanc plans to disrupt venture capital with ‘The 20-Min Term Sheet’

Thu, 04 Apr 2019 16:32:55 -0000

Raising venture capital isn’t easy; for some, it’s impossible. Clearbanc offers startups a fundraising alternative — despite itself being well-capitalized by VCs — and is today launching a new campaign to back 2,000 businesses with $1 billion in non-dilutive capital by the end of 2019.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How France’s new digital minister plans to regulate tech

Thu, 04 Apr 2019 08:01:44 -0000

What happens when you’re working behind the scene with French President Emmanuel Macron and you suddenly become a minister? This is what’s happening to Cédric O this week who was appointed Minister for the Digital Economy on Sunday. I was the first journalist to interview him after his appointment. While Cédric O has been talking with the French tech ecosystem for years, he usually stays away from cameras and microphones.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lyft’s stock has a blue Monday as shares slide after public debut

Wed, 03 Apr 2019 16:32:47 -0000

Today, investors took off their rose-colored glasses (and pink-colored mustaches) and looked at Lyft’s shares with fresh eyes after Friday’s ebullient debut. And — judging by the company’s share price at the end of the day — what they saw wasn’t exactly to their liking. Lyft’s shares suffered a pretty blue Monday in trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange today, closing down $9.28 (or 11.85 percent).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

FireHydrant lands $1.5M seed investment to bring order to IT disaster recovery

Wed, 03 Apr 2019 08:00:29 -0000

FireHydrant, a NYC startup wants to help companies recover from IT disasters more quickly, and understand why they happened with the goal of preventing similar future scenarios from happening again. Today, the fledgling startup announced a $1.5 million seed investment from Work-Bench, a New York City venture capital firm that invests in early stage enterprise startups. In addition to the funding, the company announced it was opening registration for its FireHydrant incident management platform.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Online catering marketplace ezCater gets another $150M at a $1.25B valuation

Tue, 02 Apr 2019 16:32:38 -0000

In 2007, Stefania Mallett and Briscoe Rodgers conceived of ezCater, an online marketplace for business catering, and began building the company in Mallet’s Boston home, mostly at her kitchen table. Recently, sitting at that same table, Mallett negotiated with Brad Twohig of Lightspeed Venture Partners the final terms of a $150 million Series D-1 at a $1.25 billion valuation.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jio Health combines online and offline healthcare in Southeast Asia, starting in Vietnam

Tue, 02 Apr 2019 08:01:17 -0000

The internet is often lauded for the potential to increase the impact of a range of primary services in emerging markets, including education, commerce, banking and healthcare. While many of those platforms are now being built, a few are finding that a hybrid approach combining online and offline is advantageous. That’s exactly what Jio Health, a “full stack” (forgive the phrase) healthcare startup is bringing to consumers in Southeast Asia, starting in Vietnam.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Snap CEO’s sister Caroline Spiegel starts a no-visuals porn site

Mon, 01 Apr 2019 16:32:00 -0000

If you took the photos and videos out of pornography, could it appeal to a new audience? Caroline Spiegel’s first startup Quinn aims to bring some imaginationto adult entertainment. Her older brother, Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel, spent years trying to convince people his app wasn’t just for sexy texting. Now Caroline is building a website dedicated to sexy text and audio.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ride-hailing, bike and scooter companies probably raised less money than you thought

Mon, 01 Apr 2019 08:00:58 -0000

Jason Rowley Contributor Jason Rowley is a venture capital and technology reporter for Crunchbase News. More posts by this contributor To get big faster, younger unicorns start buying startups sooner Small VC funds continue to raise, despite pressure from above After years of fierce competition as private companies, Uber and Lyft aregoing publicon U.S. markets.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lyft prices IPO at top of range

Fri, 29 Mar 2019 16:31:57 -0000

Lyft raised more than $2 billion Thursday afternoon after pricing its shares at $72 apiece, the top of the expected range of $70 to $72 per share, per reports. This gives Lyft a fully-diluted market value of $24 billion. The company will debut on the Nasdaq stock exchange Friday morning, trading under the ticker symbol “LYFT.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Turns out The Correspondent isn’t opening a US newsroom after all

Fri, 29 Mar 2019 08:00:30 -0000

Dutch news organization The Correspondent surprised some of its supporters earlier this week, when co-founder and CEO Ernst Pfauth posted an update on Medium saying that the company would not be opening a newsroom in New York City. Which was odd, since the organizationraised $2.6 millionin a crowdfunding campaign last fall with the express purpose of launching in the United States. At least, that’s what I thought.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Goodly replaces lame office perks with student loan repayment

Thu, 28 Mar 2019 16:34:18 -0000

There are better employee perks than a ping-pong table. 70 percent of Americans graduate college with student loan debt. That’s 45 million people who owe $1.6 trillion. So when employers useGoodly to offer $100 per month in student loan payback for a $6 fee, talent sticks around. The startup found 86 percent of employees said they’d stay with a company for at least five years if their employer helped pay down their student loans.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Unicorns aren’t profitable, and Wall Street doesn’t care

Thu, 28 Mar 2019 08:00:32 -0000

In Silicon Valley, investors don’t expect their portfolio companies to be profitable. “Blitzscaling: The Lightning-Fast Path to Building Massively Valuable Companies,” a bible for founders, instead calls for heavy spending on growth to scale in an Amazon -like fashion. As for Wall Street, it’s shown an affinity for stock in Jeff Bezos’ business, despite the many years it spent navigating a path to profitability, as well as other money-losing endeavors.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Startups Weekly: A much-needed unicorn IPO update

Wed, 27 Mar 2019 16:36:14 -0000

As I’m sure everyone reading this knows, female-founded businesses receive just over 2 percent of venture capital on an annual basis. Most of those checks are written to early-stage startups. It’s extremely difficult for female founders to garner late-stage support, let alone cash $100 million checks. Maybe that’s finally changing.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lyft’s IPO is hot, YC demo day, two new unicorns, and what’s Boy Brow?

Tue, 26 Mar 2019 16:33:04 -0000

Hello and welcome back toEquity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast, where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. This week Kate Clark and Alex Wilhelm took us through an IPO, a big round, 943 startup pitches, two new unicorns, and some scooter news. A very 2019 mix, really. Up first we took a peek at the latest from the Lyft IPO saga. Recall that Lyft is beating Uber to the public markets, and we can report that it’s having a good time doing so.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Robotics process automation startup UiPath raising $400M at more than $7B valuation

Fri, 22 Mar 2019 16:31:40 -0000

UiPath, a robotics process automation platform targeting IT businesses, is raising more than $400 million in Series D funding from venture capital investors at a valuation north of $7 billion, sources have confirmed to TechCrunch following a report from Business Insider. We’ve reached out to the company for comment. UiPath, founded in 2005, has raised $409 million to date, meaning the new round of capital will double the total capital invested in the startup, as well as its valuation.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Morphin instantly Deepfakes your face into GIFs

Fri, 22 Mar 2019 08:01:00 -0000

Want to star in your favorite memes and movie scenes? Upload a selfie to Morphin, choose your favorite GIF, and your face is grafted in to create a personalized copy you can share anywhere. Become Tony Stark as he suits up like Iron Man. Drop the mic like Obama, dance like Drake, or slap your mug on Fortnite characters. Now after three years in a stealth developing image mapping technology, Morphin is ready to launch its put-you-in-a-GIF maker.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lyft’s imminent IPO could value the company at $23B

Thu, 21 Mar 2019 16:31:47 -0000

Ride-hailing firm Lyft will make its Nasdaq debut as early as next week at a valuation of up to $23 billion, The Wall Street Journal reports. The business will reportedly price its shares at between $62 and $68 apiece, raising roughly $2 billion in the process. With a $600 million financing, Lyft was valued at $15.1 billion in June. Lyft filed paperwork in December for an initial public offering, mere hours before its competitor Uber did the same.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Custom framing startup Framebridge is opening two retail stores

Thu, 21 Mar 2019 08:00:53 -0000

For a long while, you couldn’t swing a bag of cats around without hitting a retailer looking to create a digital presence. Now, the inverse is growing in popularity, with many digital-first retail brands looking to set up a brick-and-mortar shop. The latest is Framebridge, a custom framing startup that has raised more than $67 million. The company is launching two new retail stores in the D.C. area, one downtown and one in Bethesda.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Patreon ups its revenue cut, but grandfathers in old creators

Wed, 20 Mar 2019 16:34:39 -0000

Patreon couldn’t survive charging all creators just a 5 percent rake on the monthly subscriptions they earn from fans while building commerce tools like CRMs and merchandise to try to stay ahead of Twitch, YouTube and Google. But it also didn’t want to screw all its loyal early creators. So today, Patreon is overhauling its pricing. Any creator can still get a 5 percent rate, but just for a Lite version without bonus tools or different fan tiers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

YC-backed Basement is a social network for close friends only

Tue, 19 Mar 2019 16:33:26 -0000

The past few years have been a bit of a dark age for budding social media startups. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snap and messenger apps took up all the time of their users, leaving little room for yet another social media platform. But the tide is shifting. Privacy scandals have shaken some users’ faith giants like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and users have grown fatigued by the constant onslaught of #content.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Meet eFounders’ next batch of startups that want to redefine the future of work

Tue, 19 Mar 2019 08:00:42 -0000

Meet eFounders’ next batch of startups that want to redefine the future of work European startup studio eFounders has been relentlessly building new startups over the past few years. In 2019, the company plans to launch Bonjour, a demo tool for sales teams, Chilli, a recommandation service to help small and medium companies leverage modern software-as-a-service products, and Swan, a banking API to generate banking services on demand.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Decade in review: Trends in seed- and early-stage funding

Mon, 18 Mar 2019 16:31:54 -0000

We’ve decided to step back from the breaking news for a minute to conduct a review of seed and early-stage funding trends over the last decade for U.S.-based companies. I’m fairly certain we can all agree that the environment for startups has changed dramatically in the past 10 years, specifically in two major ways: The development of seed funding as its own class and; The expansion of growth stage investing.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

London proptech startup Nested has laid off 20% of its workforce citing ‘Brexit uncertainty’

Mon, 18 Mar 2019 08:01:01 -0000

Nested, the London-based “data-driven” estate agency that provides a cash advance to help you buy a new home before you’ve sold your old one, has laid off 20 percent of its workforce, TechCrunch has learned. According to sources, the more than 15 staff being let go were informed earlier today. The majority of departures are within Nested’s operations team, including sales, although I understand they also include a number of engineers and other product people.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WeWork Labs is launching a food tech accelerator

Fri, 15 Mar 2019 16:31:53 -0000

WeWork Labs, the coworking giant’s startup program that relaunched just over a year ago, is announcing a new initiative focused on food and agriculture startups — WeWork Food Labs. Roee Adler, the global head of WeWork Labs, told me that there will be two main pieces to the Food Labs program.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

DoorDash claims drivers made an average of at least $17.50/hour on deliveries in 2018

Thu, 14 Mar 2019 16:31:42 -0000

On-demand food delivery startup DoorDash has been under fire as of late for its practices around paying drivers. In an email to drivers today, obtained by TechCrunch, DoorDash said drivers received an average of $17.50 or more per hour on a delivery in 2018. That figure, of course, does not take into account cost of mileage, payroll taxes for 1099 independent contractors and other expenses. Sage Wilson, an organizer at non-profit labor group Working Washington, explained to TechCrunch how that $17.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Truepill, the ‘AWS for pharmacies,’ gets $10M from Initialized Capital

Thu, 14 Mar 2019 08:00:39 -0000

Venture capitalists’ latest on-demand delivery bet is in the pharmaceutical space. Truepill, an online pharmacy powering delivery for the likes of Hims, Nurx, LemonAID and other direct-to-consumer healthcare brands, has nabbed a $10 million Series A from early-stage VC fund Initialized Capital. The investment brings the Y Combinator graduate’s total raised to $13.4 million. Y Combinator, Sound Ventures, Tuesday Capital and others participated in the round.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Goalsetter gives parents a way to teach their kids how to save money

Wed, 13 Mar 2019 08:01:02 -0000

When the bubble burst in the year 2000, Tanya Van Court lost over $1 million in stock and options over the course of a few minutes. Then and there she vowed to never let something like that happen to her children. Five years later, her daughter Gabrielle was born. At the time, she was a VP of Digital Product Dev at ESPN.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Dubler Studio Kit lets you use your voice to control synths, drum machines and other MIDI gear

Tue, 12 Mar 2019 16:32:28 -0000

The Dubler Studio Kit lets you use your voice to control synths, drum machines and other MIDI gear Vochlea Music, a U.K. startup and alumni of Abbey Road Red, the music tech incubator from Abbey Road Studios, is launching a crowdfunding campaign today for “Dubler Studio Kit,” a new device and app that turns your voice into a MIDI controller for synths, drum machines, DAWs and other music gear.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bottomless has a solution for lazy coffee addicts

Tue, 12 Mar 2019 08:00:56 -0000

If you’re like me, you let out a heavy sigh every month or so when you reach out and unexpectedly find an empty bag of coffee. Bottomless, one of the 200-plus startups in Y Combinator’s latest batch, has a solution for us caffeine addicts. For a $36 annual membership fee, a cost which co-founder Michael Mayer says isn’t set in stone, plus $11.29 per order depending on the blend, Bottomless will automatically restock your coffee supply before you run out.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Startups Weekly: What’s up with YC? Plus, mobility layoffs and Airbnb’s grand plans

Mon, 11 Mar 2019 16:32:23 -0000

Where to begin… Netflix darling Marie Kondo is hitting up Sand Hill Road in search of $40 million to fund an ecommerce platform, Y Combinator is giving $150,000 to a startup building a $380,000 flying motorcycle (because why not) and Jibo, the social robot, is calling it quits, speaking to owners directly of its imminent shutdown. It was a hectic week in unicorn land so, I’m just going to get right to the good stuff.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Changes at YC, $1.5B more for ride hailing, and Airbnb buys HotelTonight

Mon, 11 Mar 2019 08:02:01 -0000

Hello and welcome back toEquity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast, where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. We’re back to basics this week with Kate Clark at the helm, Alex Wilhelm in the sidecar, and a stack of venture capital news and happenings to get through. And to make everyone feel included, we kicked off the episode with a roll-call of new VC funds. Then, of course, we dug into the recent news out of Y Combinator .

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bird launches platform to let entrepreneurs manage their own fleet of scooters

Fri, 08 Mar 2019 16:35:47 -0000

Bird launches platform to let entrepreneurs manage their own fleet of scooters Bird is launching its new program, Bird Platform, in New Zealand, Canada and Latin America in the coming weeks. First up is New Zealand, where Bird has partnered with a local entrepreneur to manage a fleet of Bird electric scooters. Residents of New Zealand will start to see Bird scooters on the streets next week.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WellSaid aims to make natural-sounding synthetic speech a credible alternative to real humans

Fri, 08 Mar 2019 08:00:45 -0000

Many things are better said than read, but the best voice tech out there seems to be reserved for virtual assistants, not screen readers or automatically generated audiobooks. WellSaid wants to enable any creator to use quality synthetic speech instead of a human voice — perhaps even a synthetic version of themselves. There’s been a series of major advances in voice synthesis over the last couple years as neural network technology improves on the old highly manual approach.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Clari platform aims to unify go-to-market operations data

Thu, 07 Mar 2019 16:34:33 -0000

Clari started out as a company that wanted to give sales teams more information about their sales process than could be found in the CRM database. Today, the company announced a much broader platform, one that can provide insight across sales, marketing and customer service to give a more unified view of a company’s go-to-market operations, all enhanced by AI.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Red Cat wants to track drone flight data on the blockchain

Thu, 07 Mar 2019 08:01:03 -0000

Red Cat, a startup that wants to store drone flight data on the blockchain to guarantee immutability, announced the second Beta of its drone data platform today. Jeff Thompson, CEO of Red Cat says in 2017 he was looking at what was holding back the commercial drone business and the need for a black-box kind of system became apparent to him. The so-called black box is really a flight recorder that tracks data about a flight.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Silicon Valley exodus continues

Wed, 06 Mar 2019 16:34:40 -0000

For a long time, it was the norm for founders to haul their hardware to the 3000 block of Sand Hill Road, where the venture capitalists of “Silicon Valley” would be awaiting their pitches. Today, many of the investors that touted the exclusivity of “The Valley” have moved north to San Francisco, where they have better access to top entrepreneurs.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Eargo raises $52M for virtually invisible, rechargeable hearing aids

Wed, 06 Mar 2019 08:01:05 -0000

Eargo wants to become the ultimate consumer hearing brand. The company’s small and virtually invisible direct-to-consumer hearing aids, which come in an AirPods-style chargeable case, are designed to help destigmatize hearing loss. One month after revealing its newest product — the Eargo Neo ($2,550), which can be customized remotely via the case’s Bluetooth connectivity — the startup has closed a $52 million Series D, bringing its total raised to date to $135 million.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jupiter raises $23 million to tell businesses and governments how climate change will destroy them

Tue, 05 Mar 2019 16:33:41 -0000

Jupiter raises $23 million to tell businesses and governments how climate change will destroy them Whether it’s by flood, fire or the fury of a storm, climate-related catastrophes are now impacting most cities and towns across the country.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Glossier launches its first spin-off brand, a line of Instagram-friendly ‘dialed-up’ beauty extras

Tue, 05 Mar 2019 08:00:44 -0000

Glossier, known for its line of understated makeup products and a cult-following of millennial Instagrammers, is getting colorful with the launch of its first spin-off brand, Glossier Play. The company — led by founder and chief executive officer Emily Weiss, who built the nearly $400 million business from a makeup blog called Into The Gloss — has raised a total of $92 million in venture capital funding from top-tier consumer investors Forerunner Ventures, Index Ventures and IVP.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ceros raises $14M for its interactive content platform

Mon, 04 Mar 2019 08:00:32 -0000

Cerosallows marketers to create animated, interactive content — but don’t call it a content marketing company. “We think content is just a dry, bland, over-leveraged, oversaturated space,” said founder and CEO Simon Berg. “The goal is not to hack the system, the goal is to make a great experience for your customers.” That’s why he describes Ceros as a platform for creating experiences.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cherry lets startup employees choose their own office perks

Fri, 01 Mar 2019 16:35:32 -0000

Forget the office ping pong table,Cherry, a startup in Y Combinator’s latest batch, wants to let employees take company perks into their own hands.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sequoia-backed Medallia files to raise $70M at a $1.7B valuation, documents show

Fri, 01 Mar 2019 08:00:37 -0000

Customer experience management platform Medallia has filed to raise up to $70 million in Series F funding, according to regulatory documents obtained by the Prime Unicorn Index. The new shares were priced at $15 apiece, valuing the nearly two-decades-old business at $1.7 billion. We’ve reached out to Medallia for comment. Medallia is expected to finally transition to the public markets in 2019, a year chock-full of high-profile unicorn IPOs.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Search marketing company Botify raises $20M

Thu, 28 Feb 2019 16:34:35 -0000

Botify, a search engine optimization company that works with customers like Expedia and Nike, announced today that it has raised $20 million in Series B funding. Co-founder and CEO Adrien Menard said that the opportunity in SEO is “even bigger now than in the past,” and that the problem ismuch broader problem than many realize.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Shadow Ghost turns cloud gaming into a seamless experience

Thu, 28 Feb 2019 08:00:45 -0000

French startup Blade, the company behind Shadow, is launching a new set-top box to access its cloud gaming service — the Shadow Ghost. I’ve been playing with the device for a couple of weeks and here’s my review. The Shadow Ghost is a tiny little box that doesn’t do much. The true magic happens in a data center near your home. When you sign up to Shadow, you don’t even have to get a box.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For a monthly subscription fee, this startup will send out customized gifts to current and prospective clients at scale

Wed, 27 Feb 2019 16:31:30 -0000

For a monthly subscription fee, this startup will send out customized gifts to current and prospective clients at scale In today’s noisy, fast-paced world, finding a way to let clients and potential customers know that they are top of mind can be a major challenge for companies. Enter Sendoso, a 2.5-year-old, San Francisco-based online-to-offline startup that promises to source, store and ship anything a business ever needs to send — and track its return on investment, to boot.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gradient Ventures, Google’s AI fund, leads $7M investment in English learning app Elsa

Wed, 27 Feb 2019 08:00:30 -0000

Google’s Gradient Ventures, the search giant’s dedicated AI fund, is casting its eye to Asia after it led a $7 million Series A round for Elsa, a startup that operates an app for English language learners. The deal is Gradient’s first in Asia, and it includes participation from existing investors Monk’s Hill Ventures and SOSV. Elsa has now raised $12 million to date.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ubiquitilink advance means every phone is now a satellite phone

Tue, 26 Feb 2019 08:00:31 -0000

Last month I wrote about Ubiquitilink, which promised, through undisclosed means, it was on the verge of providing a sort of global satellite-based roaming service. But how, I asked? (Wait, they told me.) Turns out our phones are capable of a lot more than we think: they can reach satellites acting as cell towers in orbit just fine, and the company just proved it.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Airbnb, Automattic and Pinterest top rank of most acquisitive unicorns

Mon, 25 Feb 2019 16:31:57 -0000

Jason Rowley Contributor Jason Rowley is a venture capital and technology reporter for Crunchbase News. More posts by this contributor Companies raising supergiant VC aren’t getting any younger Coastal startups don’t have a monopoly on raising big at early-stage It takes a lot more than a good idea and the right timing to build a billion-dollar company.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

DoorDash raises $400M round, now valued at $7.1B

Mon, 25 Feb 2019 08:00:37 -0000

Delivery company DoorDash is announcing that it has raised $400 million in Series F financing. Earlier this month, The Wall Street Journal reported that the company was looking to raise $500 million at a valuation of $6 billion or more. In fact, DoorDash now says the funding came at a $7.1 billion valuation.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

wearTRBL lets you express yourself with a connected T-shirt

Fri, 22 Feb 2019 08:01:46 -0000

When I interviewed Parrot founder and CEO Henri Seydoux at TechCrunch Disrupt back in 2016, he surprised everyone when he said he was working on a new kind of T-shirt —nobody knew for sure whether he was joking or not. But the connected T-shirt is real, and it’s called wearTRBL. While the project started as a Parrot subsidiary, the company was spun off in July 2018. Seydoux is still credited as co-founder and Olivier Levy acts as co-founder and CEO.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

EF raises $115M new fund, aiming to create another 300-plus startups in the next three years

Wed, 20 Feb 2019 08:00:55 -0000

Entrepreneur First (EF), the London-headquartered “talent investor” that recruits and backs individuals pre-team and pre-idea to enable them to found startups, has raised a new fund of its own to continue scaling globally. The $115 million first close was led by a number of leading (mostly unnamed) institutional investors across the U.S., Europe and Asia, including new anchor LP Trusted Insight. A number of well-known European entrepreneurs also invested.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SendBird snags $52M Series B to expand messaging API tool

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 16:32:28 -0000

SendBird, a San Francisco area startup, helps developers add messaging to their apps with a couple of lines of code. It’s an idea similar to Stripe for payments or Twilio for communications. Today, the company announced a $52 million Series B investment. The round was led by Iconiq Capital. Existing investors Shasta Ventures, August Capital, Y Combinator, and Funders Club also participated. Today’s investment brings the total raised to over $70 million, according to Crunchbase.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Startups Weekly: Is Y Combinator’s latest cohort too big?

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 08:01:23 -0000

Greetings from Chittorgarh, one of my stops on a two-week excursion through Goa and Rajasthan, India. I’ve been a little too busy exploring, photographing cows and monkeys and eating a lot of delicious food to keep up with *all* the tech news, but I’ve still got the highlights. For starters, if you haven’t heard yet, TechCrunch launched Extra Crunch, a paid premium subscription offering full of amazing content.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alan raises another $45 million for its health insurance product

Mon, 18 Feb 2019 16:36:59 -0000

Paris-based startup Alan has raised a Series B round of funding of $45 million (€40 million). Index Ventures is once again leading the round, with partners of DST Global also participating. The company had raised a $28 million funding round only ten months ago. Alan is a software-as-a-service startup tackling a very specific industry — the health insurance market in France — and soon across Europe.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

3DEN raises $2M to create pay-as-you-go urban spaces

Mon, 18 Feb 2019 08:00:43 -0000

3DEN is building spaces for what it calls the “in-between moments” of your day. The name (pronounced “Eden”) comes from the idea of the “third place” — a space that’s neither home nor work. Founder and CEO Ben Silver told me the idea is to create a space that people can use if, say, they’ve got 45 minutes to fill between meetings, or if they’ve just gotten off a red eye flight and need somewhere to freshen up.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WeWork launches skills-based profiles as a value add for tenants

Fri, 15 Feb 2019 16:31:40 -0000

WeWork has made a big name for itself in a short period of time as a global co-working space. In fact, WeWork is now the largest private office tenant in all of Manhattan. But whether the real estate play alone can support its reported $47 billion valuation still remains to be seen. That might explain the company’s 2018 acquisition spree, as well as today’s newly announced changes to the WeWork app.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why your startup may not be as great as everyone says

Fri, 15 Feb 2019 08:00:51 -0000

Gil Ben-Artzy Contributor Gil Ben-Artzy is a founding partner at UpWest Labs. One of the very first things we ask Israeli entrepreneurs who are hoping to break into the U.S. market is to tell us how their product or service is being received by their target market. What is the feedback? Are potential customers hungry for what the team is selling? Validation, both of the broader vision and the early product itself, has to be a key focus for any aspiring entrepreneur.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Donde Search picks up $6 million to help fashion retailers with visual search

Thu, 14 Feb 2019 16:33:42 -0000

Donde Search has just closed a $6 million Series A investment led by Matrix Partners, with participation from previous investors such as senior leaders from AliExpress, Google and Waze. Donde first launched in 2014 as a consumer-facing app that helped users search and discover apparel items based on visual characteristics rather than text-based searches. In early 2018, the company pivoted to the enterprise space, helping retailers power suggestions and related items on their websites.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tim Cook-backed shower startup Nebia shows off a warmer, water-saving shower head

Thu, 14 Feb 2019 08:00:39 -0000

I’m not in the habit of getting naked during meetings at startup offices, but this time it felt appropriate. Nebia, a shower startup that has attracted investments from the likes of Apple CEO Tim Cook and former Google chairman Eric Schmidt’s foundationis back with some new cash (though it won’t divulge how much) and a new generation of its thoughtfully designed shower heads that aim to dramatically reduce the amount of water people use while cleaning up.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

DoorDash subsidizes driver wages with tips

Wed, 13 Feb 2019 16:32:41 -0000

It’s true that DoorDash offsets the amount it pays its drivers with customer tip, according to an FAQ page on its own site. “For each delivery, you will always receive at least $1 from DoorDash plus 100% of the customer tip,” DoorDash states on a Dasher FAQ page.“Where that sum is less than the guaranteed amount, DoorDash will provide a pay boost to make sure you receive the guaranteed amount.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Glide helps you build mobile apps from a spreadsheet without coding

Wed, 13 Feb 2019 08:00:31 -0000

The founders of Glide, a member of the Y Combinator Winter 2019 class, had a notion that building mobile apps in the enterprise was too hard. They decided to simplify the process by starting with a spreadsheet, and automatically turning the contents into a slick mobile app.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Startups Weekly: Spotify gets acquisitive and Instacart screws up

Tue, 12 Feb 2019 16:33:26 -0000

Did anyone else listen to season one of StartUp, Alex Blumberg’s OG Gimlet podcast? I did, and I felt like a proud mom this week reading stories of the major, first-of-its-kindSpotify acquisition of his podcast production company, Gimlet. Spotify also bought Anchor, a podcast monetization platform, signaling a new era for the podcasting industry.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Startup names may have passed peak weirdness

Tue, 12 Feb 2019 08:00:45 -0000

Joanna Glasner Contributor More posts by this contributor Where seed and early-stage funding is growing, contracting or holding steady Hire faster, work happier: Startups target employment with AI and engagement tools For years, decades even, startup names have been getting weirder. This isn’t a scientific verdict, but it is how things have seemed to someone who spends a lot of hours perusing this stuff.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Facebook picks up retail computer vision outfit GrokStyle

Mon, 11 Feb 2019 16:32:02 -0000

If you’ve ever seen a lamp or chair that you liked and wished you could just take a picture and find it online, well, GrokStyle let you do that — and now the company has been snatched up by Facebook to augment its own growing computer vision department. GrokStyle started as a paper — as AI companies often do these days — at 2015’s SIGGRAPH.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Airbnb hires a global head of transportation

Mon, 11 Feb 2019 08:01:25 -0000

Airbnb made it easier for travelers to find a place to crash. Now it wants to make it easier for them to get around. The $31 billion home-sharing giant has hired Fred Reid as its first-ever global head of transportation. Reid served as the founding chief executiveofficer of Virgin America from 2004 to 2007 after a three-year stint as the president of Delta Airlines.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gametime lets you buy tickets for games and concerts that have already started

Fri, 08 Feb 2019 16:35:01 -0000

Ticketing app Gametime is taking its last-minute approach about as far as it can go, with the launch of a new feature called LastCall. This allows users to purchase tickets through Gametime until 90 minutes after an event has started.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thriva expands its range of test-at-home kits to add female hormone and cortisol stress tests

Fri, 08 Feb 2019 08:00:46 -0000

UK home health analysis kit startup Thriva is adding three more products to its range later this month: A saliva-based cortisol stress test and two female hormone kits. The Seedcamp-backedUK startup has been offering blood-prick-based health monitoring kits since 2016, and says it’s had more than 50,000 customers sign up to stab their own finger with its spring-loaded plastic lancet and massage a drop of blood into a tube to post away for lab-based analysis.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Self-driving truck startup Ike raises $52 million

Thu, 07 Feb 2019 08:00:47 -0000

Ike, the autonomous trucking startup founded by veterans of Apple, Google and Uber Advanced Technologies Group’s self-driving truck program, has raised $52 million in a Series A funding round led by Bain Capital Ventures. Redpoint Ventures, Fontinalis Partners, Basis Set Ventures and Neo also participated in the round.Bain Capital Ventures partner Ajay Agarwal has joined Ike’s board.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bird CEO on scooter startup copycats, unit economics, safety and seasonality

Wed, 06 Feb 2019 16:31:34 -0000

Bird’s electric scooters were on full display at the Upfront Summit in Malibu last week, a two-day event that brings togetherthe likes of Hollywood, Silicon Valley and Washington, DC’s elite. Not only were a dozen or so brand spanking new scooters available to ride throughout the event but Upfront general partner Mark Suster, an investor in the startup, was seen riding a Bird on stage to the tune of Chamillionaire’s ‘Ridin’ Dirty.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bots are cheap and effective. One startup trolls them into going away

Wed, 06 Feb 2019 08:00:48 -0000

Bots are ruining the internet. When they’re not pummeling a website with usernames and passwords from a long list of stolen credentials, they’re scraping the price of hotels or train tickets and odds from betting sites to get the best data. Or, they’re just trying to knock a website offline for hours at a time. There’s an entire underground economy where bots are the primary tools used in automating fraudulent purchases, scraping content and launching cyberattacks.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Aurora Solar’s computer-generated installation maps pull in a $20M Series A

Tue, 05 Feb 2019 08:00:41 -0000

Solar installations are becoming a no-brainer for anyone with a roof in much of the country. But getting an estimate on how much it would cost and how much juice it would generate can be complicated and time consuming. Aurora Solar has made an automated process for doing this, and attracted $20 million in funding as a result. A big part of the uncertainty anyone has about getting solar installed is the upfront cost and return on investment.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Austin in January: Cash rich and maturing

Mon, 04 Feb 2019 16:32:13 -0000

Mary Ann Azevedo Contributor Share on Twitter Mary Ann Azevedo covers startups and tech at Crunchbase News. 2019 has been good to the Austin startup scene so far. Combined, Austin startups have raised $240.3 million in January. That’s not much less than the nearly $300 million raised inall of Q4 2018. And since the beginning of the year, the Texas capital has seen a number of double-digit funding rounds and a nearly quarter of a billion dollaracquisition.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Timescale announces $15M investment and new enterprise version of TimescaleDB

Mon, 04 Feb 2019 08:00:39 -0000

It’s a big day for Timescale, makers of the open source time series database, TimescaleDB. The company announced a $15 million investment and a new enterprise version of the product. The investment is technically an extension of the $12.4 million Series A it raised last January, which it’s referring to as A1. Today’s round is led by Icon Ventures with existing investors Benchmark, NEA and Two Sigma Ventures also participating.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s artist-collaboration platform HitRecord raises $6.4M

Fri, 01 Feb 2019 16:36:16 -0000

In the early 2000s, actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt was frustrated with the roles he was being offered. Instead of starring in critically acclaimed indies, he was typecast as “the funny kid on TV” due to roles like Tommy from “3rd Rock from the Sun.” So like anyone who matured alongside the internet, he created a website where he could ideate, produce and share his work.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Step targets teens and parents with a no-fees mobile bank account and Visa card

Fri, 01 Feb 2019 08:00:32 -0000

A new mobile banking startup called Step wants to help bring teenagers and other young adults into the cashless era. Today, cash is used less often, as more consumers shop online and send money to one another through payment apps like Venmo. But teenagers in particular are still heavily burdened with cash — even though they, too, want to spend their money on things that require a payment card, like Amazon.com purchases or mobile gaming, for example. That’s where Step comes in.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cosmic JS wants to simplify web development, so you can focus on content

Thu, 31 Jan 2019 16:32:03 -0000

If you are a web developer, you know how complex many of the traditional web content management systems have been. One of the big problems has been managing the underlying infrastructure for the system. Cosmic JS, a member of the Winter 2019 Y Combinator class, wants to simplify that by taking care of the infrastructure part for you, while providing a flexible front end for content creators.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Amex blocks Curve as the fintech startup vows to fight “anti-competitive” decision

Wed, 30 Jan 2019 16:33:03 -0000

Well, that was short-lived: Just 36 hours after Curve, the London fintech that lets you consolidate all of your bank cards into a single Curve card, re-instated support for Amex, the feature has once again been unceremoniously blocked by American Express. This time, however, the context feels very different from 2016 when the startup was barely off the ground, with Curve telling customers in an email this morning that it intends to “fight Amex’s decision with our full might”.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

YC-backed Oxygen raises seed to bring digital banking to freelancers

Wed, 30 Jan 2019 08:00:43 -0000

Few things are easy in our financial system if you don’t have regular employment. It’s hard to prove (regular) income, which makes applying for a credit card or personal loan much more difficult and time-consuming. That’s particularly tough, since freelancer income is variable, and these sort of income smoothing tools can be critical to make ends meet.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The new Parsley Health Center in NYC doesn’t feel like a doctor’s office

Tue, 29 Jan 2019 08:00:36 -0000

Parsley Health has just opened up a new, fully redesigned space on Fifth Avenue in New York City, marking the first true Parsley Health Center. Since launch, the startup has been operating out of clinics in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles. But TechCrunch got the chance to check out Parsley’s new Fifth Ave location, which marks the company’s first space designed from the ground up as Parsley Health. Founded by Dr.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sequoia-backed NEXT gets $97M as investment in logistics heats up

Mon, 28 Jan 2019 08:00:43 -0000

Despite its “unsexy” reputation, the logistics industry is attracting massive investment from venture capitalists. With a fresh $97 million in Series C funding, NEXT joins a fleet of heavily funded logistics platforms, including Flexport, Huochebang and Convoy. The company, which connects shippers and carriers through an online marketplace, raised the capital fromBrookfield Ventures, with participation from Sequoia Capital and logistics solutions provider GLP.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Verizon’s unlimited data carrier Visible starts selling iPhones, announces Android compatibility

Fri, 25 Jan 2019 16:31:44 -0000

When Verizon stealthily launched a new startup called Visible last year, it operated under a bring-your-own-device model — to sign up, you needed to already have an unlocked iPhone, and Visible would send you a new SIM card. Today, however, Visible is announcing that it’s partnering with Affirm and Apple to sell iPhones with 0 percent APR financing.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After an abrupt shutdown, Munchery’s small business vendors are the ones picking up the bill

Fri, 25 Jan 2019 08:00:48 -0000

Munchery’s vendors claim the food delivery startup took advantage of them in its final hours, knowingly allowing them to continue making deliveries it couldn’t pay for. Earlier this week, Munchery surprised customers with an email announcing it wouldcease operations, effective immediately.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How we’re finding the best lawyers for early-stage startups

Thu, 24 Jan 2019 16:32:01 -0000

We’re nearing 1,000 submissions from startup founders and leaders in Silicon Valley and across the world about the best early-stage tech lawyers to work with. As we’ve sorted through survey responses and begun scheduling interviews with the first qualified nominees, we’ve gotten a bunch of questions. We love questions. First of all, why are we creating a living list of great tech startup lawyers?Lawyers don’t create startups, but they can help great startups succeed.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Pill Club raises $51M as VCs find new opportunities in women’s health

Thu, 24 Jan 2019 08:00:41 -0000

Through telemedicine and direct-to-consumer sales platforms, startups are streamlining the historically arduous process of accessing contraception. The latest effort to secure a significant financing round is The Pill Club, an online birth control prescription and delivery service.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Roger Dickey ditches $32M-funded Gigster to start Untitled Labs

Wed, 23 Jan 2019 08:00:59 -0000

Most founders don’t walk away from their startup after raising $32 million and reaching 1000 clients. But Roger Dickey’s heart is in consumer tech, and his company Gigster had pivoted to doing outsourced app development for enterprises instead of scrappy entrepreneurs. So today Dickey announced that he’d left his role as Gigster CEO, with former VMware VP Christopher Keane who’d sold it his startup WaveMaker coming in to lead Gigster in October.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

UK startup veteran and investor Wendy Tan White joins Alphabet X as Vice President

Tue, 22 Jan 2019 16:33:26 -0000

Wendy Tan White, a veteran of the U.K. startup scene — including founding SaaS website builder Moonfruit, which exited to Yell Group for $37 million — is joining Alphabet X (formerly Google X), TechCrunch has learned. According to sources, Tan White was approached by Google late last year, as she weighed up a number of other options, including raising a VC fund of her own dedicated to “deep tech”.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Following a record year, Illinois startups kick off 2019 on a strong foot

Mon, 21 Jan 2019 16:31:56 -0000

Jason Rowley Contributor Jason Rowley is a venture capital and technology reporter for Crunchbase News. More posts by this contributor SoftBank’s Vision Fund inches closer to $100B The top 10 cities for $100M VC rounds in 2018 so far Illinois’s startup market in 2018 was very strong, and it’s not slowing down as we settle into 2019.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alation announces $50M Series C investment as data catalog biz takes off

Mon, 21 Jan 2019 08:00:47 -0000

Alation, a startup that helps crawl a company’s databases in order to build a data search catalogue, announced a $50 million Series C investment today. The round was led by Sapphire Ventures and Salesforce Ventures. Existing investors Costanoa Ventures, DCVC (Data Collective), Harmony Partners and Icon Venturesalso participated. Today’s investment brings the total raised to $82 million, according to Crunchbase data.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Slack’s product chief is out ahead of direct listing

Fri, 18 Jan 2019 16:36:28 -0000

Slack is losing its chief product officer April Underwood ahead of a direct listing expected in 2019. Tamar Yehoshua, a long-time Google vice president, has been tapped to fill Underwood’s shoes as Slack’s new product chief. Underwood joined Slack, the provider of workplace communication tools, in 2015 as its head of platform after a five-year stint as Twitter’s director of product. She was promoted to the chief product role about 10 months ago.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Squad is the new screensharing chat app everyone will copy

Fri, 18 Jan 2019 08:00:54 -0000

Squad could be the next teen sensation because it makes it easy to do nothing… together. Spending time with friends in the modern age often means just being on your phones next to each other, occasionally showing off something funny you found. Squad lets you do this even while apart, and that way of punctuating video chat might make it the teen girl “third place” like Fortnite is for adolescent boys.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Techstars will build and launch startups with new venture studio

Thu, 17 Jan 2019 16:33:28 -0000

Similar to Y Combinator, early-stage technology startup accelerator Techstars has spent much of the last decade supporting and seeding innovative projects, including Plated, ClassPass, SendGrid and PillPack. Now, it wants to take its service a step further. Today, Techstars is announcing the launch of Techstars Studio, a new venture that will have the accelerator developing and launching venture-scale businesses with the support of several corporate partners.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

YC-backed Upsolve is automating bankruptcy for everyone

Thu, 17 Jan 2019 08:01:03 -0000

The popular image of a Chapter 7 bankruptcy might be a large company like Enron failing, or maybe some lazy drifter trying to shirk their financial responsibilities. The reality is anything but those sorts of images. Today in America, the most common reason for bankruptcy is to discharge egregious sums of medical debt [1], which might have been incurred in a short stint in a hospital emergency room.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For $5,800 per year, Chief helps women reach the C-suite

Wed, 16 Jan 2019 16:35:30 -0000

For decades, women in business have lacked the resources necessary to navigate to or sustain executive roles. Finally, venture-funded projects have emerged to fill this gap. The latest is Chief, a private network for New York-based women in senior roles intech, retail, enterprise, finance, media and more.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Opendoor competitor Knock raises $400M

Wed, 16 Jan 2019 08:00:29 -0000

Home trade-in platform Knock has brought in a $400 million investment to accelerate a national expansion and double its 100-person headcount. Foundry Group has led the Series B funding round in New York-based Knock, with participation from Company Ventures and existing investors RRE Ventures, Corazon Capital, WTI and FJ Labs .Knock co-founder and chief executive officer Sean Black declined to disclose the startup’s valuation.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Daily Crunch: Bing has a child porn problem

Tue, 15 Jan 2019 08:00:30 -0000

The Daily Crunch is TechCrunch’s roundup of our biggest and most important stories. If you’d like to get this delivered to your inbox every day at around 9am Pacific, you can subscribe here: 1. Microsoft Bing not only shows child pornography, it suggests it A TechCrunch-commissioned report has found damning evidence on Microsoft’s search engine.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Startups Weekly: Will Trump ruin the unicorn IPOs of our dreams?

Mon, 14 Jan 2019 16:31:48 -0000

The government shutdown entered its 21st day on Friday, upping concerns of potentially long-lasting impacts on the U.S. stock market. Private market investors around the country applauded when Uberfinallyfiled documents with the SEC to go public. Others were giddy to hear Lyft, Pinterest, Postmates and Slack (via a direct listing, according to the latest reports) were likely to IPO in 2019, too.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Elon Musk shows off the assembled Starship test rocket

Mon, 14 Jan 2019 08:01:14 -0000

After weeks teasing renderings and production photos, Elon Musk finally showed off the finished Starship test rocket last night. Starship test flight rocket just finished assembly at the @SpaceX Texas launch site. This is an actual picture, not a rendering. pic.twitter.com/k1HkueoXaz — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 11, 2019 As you can well see, the Starship test rocket has a stainless steel skin, which had a few people scratching their heads.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Meet Caper, the AI self-checkout shopping cart

Fri, 11 Jan 2019 16:33:47 -0000

The Amazon boogie-man has every retailer scrambling for ways to fight back. But the cost and effort to install cameras all over the ceiling or into every shelf could block stores from entering the autonomous shopping era. Caper Labs wants to make eliminating checkout lines as easy as replacing their shopping carts while offering a more familiar experience for customers.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Uber’s IPO may not be as eye-popping as we expected

Fri, 11 Jan 2019 08:00:26 -0000

Uber is expected to raise $10 billion later this year in one of the largest U.S. initial public offerings in history. The float will value the ride-hailing giant somewhere between $76 billion — the valuation it garnered with its last private financing — and $120 billion — a sky-high figure assigned by Wall Street bankers that’s had even early Uber investors scratching their heads. A new report from The Information pegs Uber’s initial market cap at $90 billion.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Daily Crunch: Well Facebook, you did it again

Thu, 10 Jan 2019 08:01:03 -0000

The Daily Crunch is TechCrunch’s roundup of our biggest and most important stories. If you’d like to get this delivered to your inbox every day at around 9am Pacific, you can subscribe here: 1. Facebook is the new crapware Well Facebook, you did it again. Fresh off its latest privacy scandal, the troubled social media giant has inked a deal with Android to pre-install its app on an undisclosed number of phones and make the software permanent.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Daily Crunch: The age of quantum computing is here

Wed, 09 Jan 2019 08:00:52 -0000

The Daily Crunch is TechCrunch’s roundup of our biggest and most important stories. If you’d like to get this delivered to your inbox every day at around 9am Pacific, you can subscribe here: 1.IBM unveils its first commercial quantum computer The 20-qubit system combines the quantum and classical computing parts it takes to use a machine like this for research and business applications into a single package.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hire faster, work happier: Startups target employment with AI and engagement tools

Tue, 08 Jan 2019 16:31:39 -0000

Joanna Glasner Contributor More posts by this contributor Robot couriers scoop up early-stage cash Bots replacing office workers drive big valuations If you have a job today, there’s a good chance you personally reached out to your employer and interviewed with other humans to get it. Now that you’ve been there a while, it’s also likely the workday feels more like a long slog than the fulfilling career move you had envisioned.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Daily Crunch: Nvidia breaks with tradition at CES 2019

Tue, 08 Jan 2019 08:00:44 -0000

The Daily Crunch is TechCrunch’s roundup of our biggest and most important stories. If you’d like to get this delivered to your inbox every day at around 9am Pacific, you can subscribe here: 1. Nvidia launches the $349 GeForce RTX 2060 Nvidia broke with tradition and put a new focus on gaming at CES. Last night the company unveiled the RTX 2060, a $349 low-end version of its new Turing-based desktop graphics cards. The RTX 2060 will be available on Jan. 15. 2.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Startups Weekly: VCs celebrate the new year the only way they know how

Mon, 07 Jan 2019 16:31:55 -0000

Venture capitalists swore in the new year the only way they know how… by submitting SEC paperwork for new funds! insert party hat/confetti emoji here. As many of us brainstormed our New Year’s resolutions and let our hangovers wear off, several firms began this week what for some is a long and arduousprocess of raising a VC fund and for others is as simple as a few phone calls to LPs.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Moesif raises $3.5M seed round to provide insight into API usage

Mon, 07 Jan 2019 08:00:30 -0000

Today, many companies provide developer access to their services via APIs.Moesif, a San Francisco startup, wants to help these companies gain insight into their customer’s API usage patterns. Today, the company announced a $3.5 million seed round. The investment was led by Merus Capital with participation by Heavybit, Fresco Capital and Zach Coelius, who sold his startup, Cruise Automation, to General Motors for $1 billion in 2016.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NYSE operator’s crypto project Bakkt brings in $182M

Wed, 02 Jan 2019 13:44:16 -0000

The Intercontinental Exchange’s (ICE) cryptocurrency projectBakkt celebrated New Year’s Eve with the announcement of a $182.5 million equity round from a slew of notable institutional investors. ICE, the operator of several global exchanges, including the New York Stock Exchange, established Bakkt to build a trading platform that enables consumers and institutions to buy, sell, store and spend digital assets.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Samsara banks $100M at a $3.6B valuation for its internet-connected sensors

Mon, 31 Dec 2018 16:34:17 -0000

Sensor data platform Samsara confirmed this morning that it had closed a new round of funding from existing investors Andreessen Horowitz and General Catalyst that values the startup at $3.6 billion. The news was first reported by Cheddar, which spotted a filing with the state of Delaware on December 21 disclosing Samsara’s intent to raise a $100 million round at more than double the valuation it garnered upon its $50 million Series Dthis March.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Venture capital, global expansion, blockchain and drones characterize African tech in 2018

Mon, 31 Dec 2018 08:00:28 -0000

Jake Bright Contributor Jake Bright is a writer and author in New York City. He is co-author of The Next Africa. More posts by this contributor IBM Africa and Hello Tractor pilot AI/blockchain agtech platform Africa Roundup: Terragon’s Asia acquisition, Twiga Foods’ $10M raise, SimbaPay’s China payment service 2018 saw Africa’s tech sector become more dynamic and international. VC firms on the continent multiplied. There were numerous investment rounds.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why your startup shouldn’t rush to $1 million in revenue

Fri, 28 Dec 2018 16:34:58 -0000

Martina Lauchengco Contributor Share on Twitter Martina spent over 20 years as a marketing and product executive building and crafting strategies for market-defining software like Microsoft Office and Netscape Navigator. As an operating partner at Costanoa Ventures, she sits on multiple boards and advises companies on all things go-to-market. She also teaches at the UC Berkeley graduate school of engineering.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cap table management tool Carta valued at $800M with new funding

Fri, 28 Dec 2018 08:00:34 -0000

Startups supporting startups are blazing a new trail with support from venture capitalists. Co-working spaces like The Wing and The Riveter raked in funding rounds this year, as did Brex, the provider of a corporate card built specifically for startups. Now Carta, which helps companies manage their cap tables, valuations, portfolio investments and equity plans, has announced an $80 million Series D at a valuation of $800 million.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Captiv8 report highlights data for spotting fake followers

Thu, 27 Dec 2018 16:31:45 -0000

Captiv8, a company offering tools for brands to manage influencer marketing campaigns, has released its 2018 Fraud Influencer Marketing Benchmark Report. The goal is to give marketers the data they need to spot fake followers — and thus, to separate the influencers with a real following from those who only offer the illusion of engagement. The report argues that that this a problem with a real financial impact (it’s something that Instagram is working to crack down on), with $2.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A new solar technology could be the next big boost for renewable energy

Thu, 27 Dec 2018 08:01:00 -0000

A new solar technology could be the next big boost for renewable energy Across the globe, a clutch of companies from Oxford, England to Redwood City, Calif. are working to commercialize a new solar technology that could further boost the adoption of renewable energy generation. Earlier this year, Oxford PV, a startup working in tandem with Oxford University,received $3 million from the U.K. government to develop the technology, which uses a new kind of material to make solar cells.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

My product launch wishlist for Instagram, Twitter, Uber and more

Wed, 26 Dec 2018 16:33:36 -0000

‘Twas the night before Xmas, and all through the house, not a feature was stirring from the designer’s mouse . . . Not Twitter! Not Uber, Not Apple or Pinterest! On Facebook! On Snapchat! On Lyft or on Insta! . . . From the sidelines I ask you to flex your code’s might. Happy Xmas to all if you make these apps right. Instagram See More Like This – A button on feed posts that when tapped inserts a burst of similar posts before the timeline continues.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HQ Trivia launches HQ Words tonight under reinstalled CEO

Tue, 25 Dec 2018 16:31:46 -0000

HQ’s expansion beyond trivia emerges from beta tonight, but the question is whether it’s different and accessible enough to revive the startup’s growth. HQ Words opens to everyone with today’s 6:30pm pacific broadcast within the HQ Trivia app after several weeks of closed beta testing of the Wheel Of Fortune-style game.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How Juul made vaping viral to become worth a dirty $38 billion

Mon, 24 Dec 2018 16:33:07 -0000

A Juul is not a cigarette. It’s much easier than that. Through devilishly slick product design I’ll discuss here, the startup has massively lowered the barrier to getting hooked on nicotine. Juul has dismantled every deterrent to taking a puff. The result is both a new $38 billion valuation thanks to a $12.8 billion investment from Marlboro Cigarettes-maker Altria this week, and an explosion in popularity of vaping amongst teenagers and the rest of the population.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Boosted nabs $60M as the electric skateboard maker looks to build something new

Mon, 24 Dec 2018 08:01:31 -0000

Boosted nabs $60M as the electric skateboard maker looks to build something new Boosted has scored some serious cash as it looks to move beyond the world of electric skateboards to conquer new forms of personal transportation. The startup announced today that it has closed a $60 million round of Series B funding co-led by Khosla Ventures andiNovia Capital.Stanford’s StartX and Bay Meadows also participated in the round. Boosted has now raised north of $70 million.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Teeth aligner startup Candid opens up physical locations in SF

Fri, 21 Dec 2018 16:31:57 -0000

Candid, a teeth aligner startup that aims to make straight teeth more accessible and more affordable than Invisalign, is evolving its direct-to-consumer business. In addition to its at-home impression process, Candid recently started enabling people to come into a physical office to get their teeth scans completed. Today, Candid is opening physical storefronts in San Francisco, Austin, Columbus, Ohio and Santa Monica, Calif.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Earnin raises $125M to help workers track and cash out wages in real time

Fri, 21 Dec 2018 08:00:34 -0000

BeforeRam Palaniappan founded Earnin, he developed a system for employees at a payments company called UniRush, where he spent eight years as president. If you needed money before payday, he would write you a check from his checking account and when payday rolled around, employees would reimburse him.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Square Roots is bringing more transparency to its produce

Thu, 20 Dec 2018 16:32:29 -0000

If you’re concerned about what you eat, there’s a good chance you’ve looked at the food in the supermarket, or in your fridge, and wondered where it actually comes from. Now urban farming incubator Square Roots is introducing a new way for you to check full history of the produce that you’re about to purchase. To do so, you just scan the QR code or type in the lot number that the company says will be included in the packaging of all its produce moving forward.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Coinbase’s Earn.com becomes a crypto webinar with crypto rewards

Thu, 20 Dec 2018 08:00:24 -0000

Coinbase acquired Earn.com for at least $120 million back in April. And the company now plans to transform Earn.com into Coinbase Earn, a website with educational content to learn more about cryptocurrencies. Users who complete those classes will earn tokens. Coinbase bought Earn.com partly so that it could appoint Earn.com co-founder and CEO Balaji Srinivasan as Coinbase’s CTO. The previous iteration of Earn.com wasn’t a priority for Coinbase. Earn.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Wing gets $75M from Sequoia, Airbnb

Wed, 19 Dec 2018 16:35:12 -0000

The Wing, the owner of several co-working spaces and social clubs designed for women, has garnered the support of Sequoia Capital in its latest funding round. The startup has announced a $75 million Series C led by the storied venture capital firm, with support from Airbnb and Upfront Ventures, as well as existing investors NEA and WeWork. Headquartered in New York, The Wing was founded by Audrey Gelman and Lauren Kassan in 2015. To date, the pair have raised $117.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

At cobotics startup Formant, ex-Googlers team up humans & machines

Wed, 19 Dec 2018 08:00:28 -0000

Our distinct skillsets and shortcomings mean people and robots will join forces for the next few decades. Robots are tireless, efficient, and reliable, but in a millisecond through intuition and situational awareness, humans can make decisions machine can’t.Until workplace robots are truly autonomous and don’t require any human thinking, we’ll need software to supervise them at scale.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lightspeed is raising its largest China fund yet

Tue, 18 Dec 2018 16:37:16 -0000

Lightspeed China Partners, the China-focused affiliate of Silicon Valley-based Lightspeed Venture Partners, has set a $360 million target for its fourth flagship venture fund, according to a document filed with theU.S. Securities and Exchange Commission today. If the target is reached, the fund will be Lightspeed China’s largest yet, perPitchBook. Lightspeed China’s previous two funds each closed on $260 million. The VC raised $168 million for its debut fund in 2013.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

But not a broken man

Tue, 18 Dec 2018 08:00:28 -0000

I’ve been living for the past few years in a limbo between journalist and entrepreneur, trying to build startups the way I saw them being built on stage at Disrupt and discovering that my skill and will to win are no match against the world. That’s fine. These days I’ll take it. But for a few minutes in Chicago last May, I couldn’t. That day was normal for me.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Propel raises $12.8M for its free app to manage government benefits

Mon, 17 Dec 2018 16:33:18 -0000

Propel, maker of the Fresh EBT app for managing food stamps and other benefits, announced today that it has raised $12.8 million in Series A funding. Fresh EBT (the EBT stands for the Electronics Transfer Benefit card, which is how food stamp participants receive their benefits) allows users to check their food stamp/SNAP balance and find stores that accept food stamps. Users can also track their spending.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Robinhood said to not be properly insured to offer checking & savings

Mon, 17 Dec 2018 08:01:07 -0000

Robinhood’s new high-interest, zero-fee checking and savings featureseems to be too good to be true. Users’ money may not be fully protected. The CEO of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation, a non-profit membership corporation that insures stock brokerages, tells TechCrunch its insurance would not apply to checking and savings accounts the way Robinhood claims.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A former Ofo exec is launching his own scooter startup

Fri, 14 Dec 2018 16:35:25 -0000

The funding extravaganzamay be approaching its end for scooter “unicorns” Lime and Bird, but smaller startups in the micro-mobility space have continued to close venture capital rounds at a consistent pace. See Grin, Tier and Yellowfor examples. The latest is Dott, a European scooter startup founded by Maxim Romain, Ofo’s former head of Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The annual PornHub year in review tells us what we’re really looking at online

Fri, 14 Dec 2018 08:01:08 -0000

PornHub, a popular site that features people in various stages of undress, saw 33.5 billion visits in 2018. There are currently 7.53 billion people on Earth. Y’all have been busy. The company, which owns most of the major porn sites online, produces a yearly report that aggregates user behavior on the site. Of particular interest, aside from the fact that all of us are horndogs, is that the U.S.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Farfetch bets on sneakers with $250M Stadium Goods acquisition

Thu, 13 Dec 2018 16:31:43 -0000

The lines between streetwear and luxury fashion have blurred in recent years, especially as excitement around sneaker brands like Yeezy and Off-White has soared. A marriage between a luxury fashion marketplace and a sneaker and streetwear reseller seems like a natural way to wrap up M&A in 2018. With that said, Farfetch has acquired New York-based Stadium Goods, opting to pay $250 million for the sneaker startup in a combination of cash and Farfetch stock.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

YayPay raises $8.4 million for its accounts receivable service

Thu, 13 Dec 2018 08:00:26 -0000

Fintech startup YayPay just raised another $8.4 million for its software-as-a-service solution focused on collecting money from outstanding invoices. The company participated in TechCrunch’s Startup Battlefield several years ago. Information Venture Partners led today’s funding round with existing investors Birchmere, QED, Fifth Third Capital, Gaingels and 500 Fintech Fund also participating. YayPay targets large companies with an accounting department.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How Uber will become an ad company, starting with Eats Pool

Tue, 11 Dec 2018 08:00:57 -0000

Where there is discovery in an app, there is paid discovery. Google helped you choose between links, then sold ads that promote a few. Facebook helped you choose between pieces of content, then sold ads that promote a few. And eventually, as Uber helps you choose between restaurants, it will sell ads that promote a few. It could become the marketing platform through which the physical world vies for your attention.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why you need a supercomputer to build a house

Mon, 10 Dec 2018 16:37:42 -0000

When the hell did building a house become so complicated? Don’t let the folks on HGTV fool you. The process of building a home nowadays is incredibly painful. Just applying for the necessary permits can be a soul-crushing undertaking that’ll have you running around the city, filling out useless forms, and waiting in motionless lines under fluorescent lights at City Hall wondering whether you should have just moved back in with your parents.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

2 Milly files a lawsuit against Fortnite maker Epic Games over dance move

Mon, 10 Dec 2018 08:00:39 -0000

Rapper 2 Milly is suing Epic Games over Fortnite’s use of his dance move, the Milly Rock. The lawsuit claims direct infringement of copyright, contributory infringement of copyright, violation of the Right of Publicity under California Common Law, among other things.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The trust dilemma of continuous background checks

Fri, 07 Dec 2018 16:32:22 -0000

First, background checks at startups, then Huawei’s finance chief is arrested, SoftBank’s IPO is subscribed, and I am about to record our next edition of TechCrunch Equity. It’s Thursday, December 6, 2018. TechCrunch is experimenting with new content forms. This is a rough draft of something new – provide your feedback directly to the author (Danny at danny@techcrunch.com) if you like or hate something here.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Freeletics raises $45M for its AI-powered mobile fitness coach

Thu, 06 Dec 2018 16:35:50 -0000

One of Europe’s most popular fitness applications is poised to flourish in the U.S. market with the help of several Los Angeles-based investors. Freeletics, headquartered in Munich, Germany, is today announcing its first round of private capital after bootstrapping since 2013. The $45 million Series A was co-led by FitLab, Causeway Media Partners and JAZZ Venture Partners, with participation from Courtside Ventures, Elysian Park Ventures and ward.ventures.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Birth control delivery startup Nurx now offers an at-home HPV testing kit

Thu, 06 Dec 2018 08:00:29 -0000

Telemedicine startup Nurx— once dubbed the “Uber for birth control” — has launched a direct-to-consumerHuman papillomavirus (HPV) testing kit. The addition means its customers can test for the most common sexually transmitted infection in the U.S. and a cause of genital warts and cervical cancer in the comfort of their own homes.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Uber Eats test lets restaurants trade discounts for ranking boost

Wed, 05 Dec 2018 08:01:05 -0000

Uber Eats has effectively invented its own native ad unit. Uber confirmed to TechCrunch that a test quietly running in markets around India allows restaurants to bundle several food items together and sell them at a discounted price in exchange for promoted placement by Uber Eats in a featured section of local “Specials”. In some cases, restaurants foot the cost of the discount, while in others Uber pays for the discounts.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Agricool raises another $28 million to grow fruits in containers

Tue, 04 Dec 2018 16:31:48 -0000

French startup Agricool is raising another $28 million round of funding (€25 million). The company is working on containers to grow fruits and vegetables in urban areas, starting with strawberries. Bpifrance, Danone Manifesto Ventures, Marbeuf Capital, Solomon Hykes and other business angels participated in today’s funding round. Some existing investors also participated, such as daphni, XAnge, Henri Seydoux and Kima Ventures.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WiARframe wants to make building AR experiences easy

Tue, 04 Dec 2018 08:00:27 -0000

Augmented reality has been a buzzword for years, but for the most part, it has remained a novelty. WiARframe, which is competing in our Startup Battlefield competition today at Disrupt Berlin, believes that we are still very early on in the AR game and that part of what is holding the market back is that the tools need to become easier to use and that designers need to find better ways to find inspiration for their AR experiences.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lyft’s pink-wheeled shareable bikes will be available to rent soon

Fri, 30 Nov 2018 16:37:05 -0000

Lyft has finally given us a glimpse of its forthcoming line of shareable bikes, which the ridesharing company says will be available to rent within its mobile app in select cities “soon.” The news comes as the $15 billion company announces the final close of its acquisition of Motivate, the New York City-based mobility startup that owns a number of bike-rental services, like Citi Bike, Ford GoBike, Divvy, Blue Bikes and Capital Bikeshare.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Spin Analytics automates credit risk modeling for banks

Thu, 29 Nov 2018 16:31:53 -0000

Meet Spin Analytics, a startup that wants to leverage artificial intelligence to automatically write credit risk modeling regulation reports. The company is participating in Startup Battlefield at TechCrunch Disrupt Berlin. If you work for a big bank, you know how painful it can be to launch a new product. Every time you start selling a new asset, you need to comply with regulations around the world. It can take months and a lot of money to write detailed documents about your asset.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Australian scheduling software company Deputy brings in $81M amid rapid growth

Thu, 29 Nov 2018 08:00:47 -0000

After eight years of bootstrapping, Deputy sought scale. So the workforce management platform turned to venture capital, quickly raising a $25 million Series A in early 2017. Today, Deputy is announcing a major accomplishment: the close of an $81 million round — the largest Series B in Australian history. IVP has led the investment for the Sydney and Atlanta-headquartered company, with support from OpenView Venture Partners, Square Peg Capital and Equity Venture Partners.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Meet ‘Bitski’, the single sign-on wallet crypto desperately needs

Wed, 28 Nov 2018 16:34:56 -0000

The mainstream will never adopt blockchain-powered decentralized apps (dApps) if it’s a struggle to log in. They’re either forced to manage complex security keys themselves, or rely on a clunky wallet-equipped browser like MetaMask. What users need is for signing in to blockchain apps to be as easy as Login With Facebook. So that’s what Bitski built.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Amazon exec Dave Stephenson tapped to lead Airbnb to the public markets

Tue, 27 Nov 2018 16:31:42 -0000

Airbnb has completed a much-needed hire ahead of its rumored 2019 initial public offering. Thehospitality giant has brought on Dave Stephenson, a long-time Amazon vice president and former president of Big Fish Games, as its chief financial officer. Stephenson replaces the company’s head of global financial planning and analysis, Ellie Mertz, who served as interim head of finance as Airbnb searched for its former CFO Laurence Tosi’s replacement.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Banuba raises $7M to supercharge any app or device with the ability to really see you

Tue, 27 Nov 2018 08:00:28 -0000

Banuba raises $7M to supercharge any app or device with the ability to really see you Walking into the office of Viktor Prokopenya – which overlooks a central London park – you would perhaps be forgiven for missing the significance of this unassuming location, just south of Victoria Station in London.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cloud communications platform Agora closes $70M Series C to create new developer tools

Mon, 26 Nov 2018 08:00:39 -0000

Part of Agora’s team. The cloud communications startup has offices in Santa Clara and Shanghai. Agora, a developer of cloud communication APIs, will create products for new markets and verticals after raising a $70 million Series C led by Coatue Management. Existing investors SIG, Morningside Capital, and Shunwei Capital also returned for the round, which brings Agora’s total funding so far to $125 million.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Move over Le Creuset? A new cookware startup founded by and for millennials is getting down to business

Fri, 23 Nov 2018 08:00:45 -0000

Move over Le Creuset? A new cookware startup founded by and for millennials is getting down to business Sometimes, it’s hard to imagine a product or industry that a new e-commerce startup hasn’t tried to remake already, fromslipperstomattresses, fromluggagetolipstick.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

October lets 11 public companies borrow money on its platform

Thu, 22 Nov 2018 16:32:34 -0000

French crowd-lending platform October (formerly known as Lendix), wants to educate more people about new ways to borrow money. That’s why the company is launching a project called Grandir Ensemble (grow together). 11 big companies are borrowing €100,000 each on October at a 2.5 percent interest rate. October users will be able to lend as little as €20 to one of these companies. If you look at the list of companies, all those names will sound familiar to French readers and beyond.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

CVCompiler is an robot that fixes your resume to make you more competitive

Thu, 22 Nov 2018 08:00:43 -0000

CVCompiler is an robot that fixes your resume to make you more competitive Machine learning is everywhere now, including recruiting. Take CVCompiler, a new product by Andrew Stetsenko and Alexandra Dosii. This web app uses machine learning to analyze and repair your technical resume, allowing you too shine to recruiters at Google, Yahoo, and Facebook. The founders are marketing and HR experts who have a combined fifteen years experience in making recruiting smarter. Stetsenko founded Relocate.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Berlin-based Wind Mobility raises $22M for its e-scooter rental service

Wed, 21 Nov 2018 16:31:58 -0000

Wind Mobility, a Berlin-based mobility startup that offers “dockless” e-scooter (and electric bicycle) rentals, has raised $22 million in seed funding, throwing its hat into the European competitor to Bird and Lime ring. It follows recent raises by Sweden’s VOI ($50 million Series A led by Balderton) and Germany’s Tier (€25 million Series A led by Northzone). All three companies are attempting to be pan-European from the get-go.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

iHeartMedia to acquire radio adtech company Jelli

Wed, 21 Nov 2018 08:48:59 -0000

Radio giant iHeartMedia announced today that it’s reached an agreement to acquire Jelli, a company bringing programmatic ad-buying to radio broadcasters. In fact, iHeartMedia was already working with Jelli to allow businesses to use programmatic tools to buy advertising on the company’s 850 broadcast radio stations. iHeartMedia also invested in Jelli’s most recent funding round.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Genies brings lifelike avatars to other apps with $10M from celebrities

Tue, 20 Nov 2018 16:32:19 -0000

Genies is emerging as the top competitor to Snapchat’s wildly popular Bitmoji as Facebook, Apple, and Google have been slow to get serious about personalized avatars. Over one million people have customized dozens of traits to build a realistic digital lookalike of themselves from over a million possible permutations.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Shyft raises $6.5M to help retail and service workers swap shifts

Tue, 20 Nov 2018 08:01:39 -0000

Anyone that has experience in the service or retail industry knows swapping shifts can be a logistical nightmare that leaves employees in trouble with management or stuck working during a friend’s birthday party. As a former Old Navy “sellebrity” myself, I can confirm there’s a huge need for an efficient tool to solve this problem. That’s where Shyft, a Seattle-based startup that helps connect shift workers, comes in.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Plastiq raises $27M at 2X+ value to let you pay for anything on credit

Mon, 19 Nov 2018 16:34:50 -0000

“I wasn’t asking to pay in Bitcoin!” Plastiq CEO and co-founder Eliot Buchanan recalls with a laugh. “I went to pay part of my tuition at Harvard and I was told that they didn’t (and never would) accept credit card. It was inconvenient and seemed odd. Credit cards had been around for 50 years.” That set off the a light bulb in his head. “Why couldn’t I use a credit card to pay for this important bill? So, I set out to solve my own problem.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Standard Cognition raises $40M to replace retailers’ cashiers with cameras

Mon, 19 Nov 2018 08:01:11 -0000

The Amazon Go store requires hundreds of cameras to detect who’s picking up what items. Standard Cognition needs just 27 to go after the $27 trillion market of equipping regular shops with autonomous retail technology. Walk into one of its partners’ stores and overhead cameras identify you by shape and movement, not facial recognition. Open up its iOS or Android app and a special light pattern flashes, allowing the cameras to tie you to your account and payment method.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bunch scores $3.8M to turn mobile games into video chat LAN parties

Fri, 16 Nov 2018 16:34:39 -0000

The best parts of gaming are the jokes and trash talk with friends. Whether it was four-player Goldeneye or linking up PCs for Quake battles in the basement, the social element keeps video games exciting. Yet on mobile we’ve lost a lot of that, playing silently by ourselves even if we’re in a squad with friends somewhere else. Bunch wants to bring the laughter back to mobile gaming by letting you sync up with friends and video chat while you play.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lies, damn lies, and HQ2

Thu, 15 Nov 2018 16:32:21 -0000

There are few things certain in our world except for the uplifting tendencies of technology. I’ve spent the past few years trying to prove this to myself, at least, by interviewing hundreds of thinkers on the topic. I’ve come to a singular conclusion: when tech moves into a city, be it an iOS dev shop or a robotic facility for making widgets, things change primarily for the better.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Clearbanc raises $70M to give startups ad money for a rev share

Thu, 15 Nov 2018 08:00:30 -0000

Selling equity to buy Facebook and Google ads is a bad deal for startups. Clearbanc offers a fundraising alternative. For fast-growing businesses reliably earning sales from their marketing spend, Clearbanc offers funding from $5,000 to $10 million in exchange for a steady revenue share of their earnings until it’s paid back plus a 6 percent fee.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lime is debuting its line of shareable vehicles in Seattle this week

Wed, 14 Nov 2018 08:01:24 -0000

Lime, the well-funded startup known for its fleet of brightly colored dockless bicycles and electric scooters, has a new way for its customers to get around: cars. Beginning this week, Lime users in Seattle will be able to reserve a “LimePod,” a Lime-branded 2018 Fiat 500, within the Lime mobile app. There will be 50 cars available to start as part of the company’s initial rollout. Lime plans to increase that number at the end of the month.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Calm heads to the airport, invests $3 million in XpresSpa

Tue, 13 Nov 2018 16:32:16 -0000

Wellness app Calm has today announced a $3 million equity investment in XpresSpa Group, a fast-spa service you may have noticed in your local airport. Calm sees the investment as a way to expand its offline presence, growing awareness of the app as well as its retail products like Sleep Mist and the Calm Book. Calm subscribers will have access to a variety of in-store benefits and treatments at one of 52 XpresSpa locations in cities like Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami and New York.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SAP agrees to buy Qualtrics for $8B in cash, just before the survey software company’s IPO

Tue, 13 Nov 2018 08:01:20 -0000

SAP agrees to buy Qualtrics for $8B in cash, just before the survey software company’s IPO Enterprise software giant SAP announced today that it has agreed to acquire Qualtrics for $8 billion in cash, just before the survey and research software company was set to go public. The deal is expected to be completed in the first half of 2019. Qualtrics last round of venture capital funding in 2016 raised $180 million at a $2.5 billion valuation.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A tale of two scooter cities

Mon, 12 Nov 2018 16:32:09 -0000

The kids in Madrid’s El Retiro Park are loving their new on-demand joyriding toys. Lime launched its scooters in the Spanish capital this summer. Spending a weekend in the city center last month the craze was impossible to miss. Scooters parked in clusters vying for pay-to-play time. Sometimes lined up tidily. All too often not. The bright Lime rides really stood out, though it’s not the only brand in town.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pure Bit, a South Korean exchange, pulls a $2.8 million exit scam

Mon, 12 Nov 2018 08:00:46 -0000

Another day, another exit scam. This time it comes to us from South Korea where an exchange, Pure Bit, has completely shut down after raising $2.8 million in Ethereum from investors. The exchange, which promised to deliver something call Pure Coin, was live yesterday and today is completely shut down after posting “Sorry” and “Thanks” to their communications channels.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Olho do Dono is the winner of Startup Battlefield Latin America

Fri, 09 Nov 2018 18:21:20 -0000

Fifteen startups have spent the day presenting on-stage in Sao Paulo, Brazil. For the finalists, that meant presenting twice — once in the initial rounds, then again for our finalist judges. This was all part of Startup Battlefield Latin America, an event that we put on in partnership with Facebook’s FB Start program.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The scooters arrive in Australia

Fri, 09 Nov 2018 08:00:28 -0000

The scooter startups are taking over the world — or trying to. Earlier this week, Bird debuted its electric scooters in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park; today, Lime is announcing its foray into the land down under with the launch of a three-month scooter pilot atMonash University in Melbourne, Australia. Lime has also released several hundred of its dockless electric bikes in Sydney and plans to introduce its scooters there, aswell as in Brisbane, soon.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The disappearing Form D

Thu, 08 Nov 2018 16:34:30 -0000

We are experimenting with new content forms at TechCrunch. This is a rough draft of something new – provide your feedback directly to the authors: Danny at danny@techcrunch.com or Arman at Arman.Tabatabai@techcrunch.com if you like or hate something here. Ignoring the midterm hysteria, we continue our obsession with SoftBank today by looking at the group’s IPO of its telecom unit, but first, some thoughts about Form Ds.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Automakers invest in Transit, the app that helps people get around without a car

Wed, 07 Nov 2018 16:35:45 -0000

Automakers invest in Transit, the app that helps people get around without a car Transit, a company that built a mobile app designed to help people in cities live without cars, has raised $17.5 million from two automakers in a Series B round. The round wasled by RenaultNissan-Mitsubishi’s joint investment arm Alliance Ventures.InMotion Ventures, Jaguar Land Rover’s venture capital fund, also joined the round, as well as two past investors, Accel and Real Ventures.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Men’s wellness startup HIMS has launched a line of women’s health products called HERS

Mon, 05 Nov 2018 08:00:36 -0000

Exactly one year to the day since it launchedits line of men’s health products, HIMS is announcing its foray into women’s wellness. The company is using its mountain of venture capital to support the new brand, called HERS. In September, HIMS raised another $50 million in a round led by IVP. The financing valued the startup, which has brought in $97 million to date, at $500 million, according to PitchBook.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

VICIS completes $28.5M Series B and launches its first youth helmet

Fri, 02 Nov 2018 08:00:40 -0000

VICIS has closed its Series B on $28.5 million, with participation from NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers via Rx3 Ventures. Rodgers joins a list of other pro footballers to back the helmet startup, includingRogerStaubach, JerryRice, Russell Wilson and Doug Baldwin. VICIS is known for its $950 Zero1 football helmet designed for adult players.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Brex has partnered with WeWork, AWS and more for its new rewards program

Thu, 01 Nov 2018 16:31:44 -0000

Brex, the corporate card built for startups, unveiled its new rewards program today. The billion-dollar company, which announced its $125 million Series C three weeks ago, has partnered with Amazon Web Services, WeWork, Instacart, Google Ads, SendGrid, Salesforce Essentials, Twilio, Zendesk, Caviar, HubSpot, Orrick, Snap, Clerky and DoorDash to give entrepreneurs the ability to accrue and spend points on services and products they use regularly.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lime hires its first chief business officer amid push into car-sharing

Thu, 01 Nov 2018 08:00:48 -0000

After four months “on the beach,” per his LinkedIn profile, Uber’s former global head of business and corporate development has a new gig. Lime has hired David Richter (pictured) as its first-ever chief business officer and interim chief financial officer. Based in San Francisco, Richter will be overseeing the bike- and e-scooter-sharing startup’s business operations.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sentieo raises $19M to be the AI-powered Bloomberg Terminal

Wed, 31 Oct 2018 16:31:44 -0000

To get an edge on the market, investors must look beyond traditional financial info like revenue and profits. Our every online activity generates data exhaust like web traffic, Twitter mentions, app downloads, and search trends. It’s the ability to overlay the old and new data sets to spot surprising trends that will set the best traders apart. Sentieo wants to be their tool.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Freebird flies off with $8M to rescue passengers after flight cancellations

Wed, 31 Oct 2018 08:00:25 -0000

There are few things more irritating than a canceled flight, whether it’s on your way to a friend’s wedding, a conference or to celebrate a holiday back home. Wouldn’t it be nifty if technology could put an end to our travel woes? Freebird, a travel rebooking service, has raised an $8 million Series A to do just that.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Failed drone startup Airware auctions assets, Delair buys teammates

Tue, 30 Oct 2018 16:32:10 -0000

Airware desperately sought cash for 18 months before running out of money and shutting down last month, leaving about 120 employees without jobs after the startup had burned $118 million in funding. Bandaid strategic investments from construction company Caterpillar and others kept Airware alive as it looked for a $15 million round, according to a former employee.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Eaze co-founder Keith McCarty raises $5M for his new B2B cannabis startup

Tue, 30 Oct 2018 08:00:29 -0000

Keith McCarty couldn’t stay out of the booming weed business for long. The co-founder and former chief executive officer of the well-funded marijuana delivery startup Eaze has launched WAYV, a B2B cannabis logistics and compliance platform that delivers inventory to cannabis retailers. Today, the company is announcing its first round of funding, a $5 million seed round led by David Sacks at Craft Ventures.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Valentin Stalf to talk about scaling N26 at Disrupt Berlin

Mon, 29 Oct 2018 16:32:29 -0000

We couldn’t put together a conference in Berlin without inviting Valentin Stalf from N26, the co-founder and CEO of one of Europe's most promising startups. A few years ago, few people would have bet on a startup creating a bank from scratch. N26 now has over 1.5 million clients and a ton of funding. N26 originally launched at TechCrunch Disrupt London back in 2014. The company didn't win the Startup Battlefield. At the time, the company was called Number26 and they had 0 client.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Summersalt raises $6M for its direct-to-consumer line of eco-friendly swimsuits

Mon, 29 Oct 2018 08:01:00 -0000

Founders Fund has led the $6 million Series A for Summersalt, an early-stage e-commerce startup embracing the next-gen consumer’s penchant for inclusivity and affordability. Headquartered in St. Louis, the 1-year old company sells swimsuits designed in-house with eco-friendly fabrics directly to consumers. Like other D2C brands, Summersalt cuts out the middlemen to give its customers access to its swimsuits for $95 or less. What sets it apart is its data-focused fit system.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Confirmed: ShopRunner acquires Spring, raises $40M

Fri, 26 Oct 2018 16:35:21 -0000

ShopRunner chief executive Sam Yagan conquered the online dating world. Can he conquer the e-commerceworld, too? Hot off the heels of its first profitable year, ShopRunner is announcing its first infusion of venture funding under Yagan, an acquisition of the shopping app Spring and, sources tell TechCrunch, it’s readying a major overhaul to its mobile app, signaling what could be a new era for the company.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Daily Crunch: Tesla is profitable again

Fri, 26 Oct 2018 08:00:34 -0000

The Daily Crunch is TechCrunch’s roundup of our biggest and most important stories. If you’d like to get this delivered to your inbox every day at around 9am Pacific, you can subscribe here: 1. Tesla earns its first profit in two years Tesla reported a profit in the third quarter, reversing seven consecutive quarters of losses. This is only the third time in the company’s history that it has achieved this milestone. The turnaround was driven by sales of the Model 3.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Voting is a social experience

Thu, 25 Oct 2018 08:01:09 -0000

If your Instagram followers aren’t aware that you’ve voted, did you really even vote? In 2018, the act of voting is great social media fodder. People want their friends to know they’ve registered to vote, or that they’ve just mailed in their absentee ballot or even that they’ve bought some sort of “look, I voted” t-shirt.These announcements are being shared across social platforms like it’s a required part of the voting process.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Marieme Diop and Shikoh Gitau to speak at Startup Battlefield Africa

Wed, 24 Oct 2018 16:35:09 -0000

Startup Battlefield Africa is set for December 11 in Lagos and investor Marieme Diop and ICT expert Shikoh Gitau will be there to lend their perspective and expertise.The Lagos TechCrunch event is a return to Africa for the Startup Battlefield series after its debut on the continent in Nairobi, Kenya. Shikoh Gitau Diop — who is a VC investor in early-stage African startups at Orange Digital Ventures— will speak on venture capital in Africa.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

iPharmacy Roman fights stigmas with premature ejaculation meds

Wed, 24 Oct 2018 08:00:33 -0000

There’s a war brewing to become the cloud pharmacy for men’s health. Roman, which launched last year offering erectile dysfunctional medication and recently added a ‘quit smoking’ kit, is taking on $97 million-funded Hims for the hair loss market. Today, Roman launched four new products it hopes to cross-sell to users through a unified telemedicine subscription and pill delivery app.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tier, the Berlin-based scooter rental startup, raises €25M as European e-scooter market heats up

Tue, 23 Oct 2018 16:32:02 -0000

Tier, one of a number of electric scooter rental startups based in Berlin, has raised a chunky €25 million in Series A funding. Leading the round is VC fund Northzone, with participation from existing investors Speedinvest, and Point Nine. The investment marks the biggest financial backing for a European company in the space, and, according to my sources, signals the beginning of a pending VC war to create the “Bird or Lime of Europe”.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lime is building its first scooter “lifestyle brand store” in LA

Tue, 23 Oct 2018 08:00:35 -0000

How can Lime differentiate its scooters and bikes from the piles of Birds and Spins filling Los Angeles sidewalks? Apparently with a physical storefront where it can convince customers of the wonders of on-demand mobility. According to a job listing from Lime seeking a “Retail Store Manager”, the startup plans to open a “lifestyle brand store in Santa Monica” that “will place heavy importance on brand experience and customer engagement.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TrackR is rebranding to Adero as it looks beyond small devices to track lost items

Mon, 22 Oct 2018 16:32:05 -0000

WhenTrackR raised $50 million from investors that included Amazon a year ago, the Santa Baraba startup made a big splash in the growing market for small connected dongles that you could attach to “dumb” objects like keys to keep tabs on their location. But times for the company have been challenging since then. It’s weatheredlayoffs; a succession of natural disasters; and its co-founders stepping away from exec roles asCEO and president.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Twilio shops, Uber and Lyft IPO scuttlebutt, and Instacart raises $600M

Mon, 22 Oct 2018 08:00:52 -0000

Hello and welcome back toEquity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast, where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. This week we had the Three Excellent Friends (Connie Loizos, Danny Chrichton, and Alex Wilhelm) on hand to kick things about with Scale Venture Partner’s own Rory O’Driscoll. As I’ve written the last few weeks, what a pile of news we’ve had recently. And like the last few episodes, we had to pick and choose what to drill into.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jane.VC, a new fund for female entrepreneurs, wants founders to cold email them

Fri, 19 Oct 2018 16:31:53 -0000

Want to pitch a venture capitalist? You’ll need a “warm introduction” first. At least that’s what most in the business will advise. Find a person, typically a man, who made the VC you’re interested in pitching a whole bunch of money at some point and have them introduce you. Why? Because VCs love people who’ve made them money; naturally, they’ll be willing to hear you out if you’ve got at least one money maker on your side.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Embracing multimodality, Uber pioneers ride recommendations

Fri, 19 Oct 2018 08:01:20 -0000

For the first time, Uber will make contextual, personalized suggestions about the best way to get from point A to point B. The startup offers more than just cars now, and it’s starting to understand the tradeoffs between price, speed, convenience, and comfort amidst its multi-modal fleet. Most noticeably, you’ll now see JUMP bikes get premier billing right alongside Uber’s other vehicles.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The new normal

Thu, 18 Oct 2018 08:02:07 -0000

When we first started writing about startups at TechCrunch the idea of a startup – a small business with global ambitions – was a pipe dream.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

10 lessons from Marketo’s growth to a multi-billion-dollar exit

Wed, 17 Oct 2018 16:33:08 -0000

Doug Pepper Contributor Doug Pepper is a managing director at Shasta Ventures. More posts by this contributor A New Revolution Modernizes The Revenue Supply Chain With Adobe’s acquisition of Marketo, I have been reflecting on what an amazing and pioneering company Marketo has been since it was founded in 2006.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Journal raises $1.5 million to bring Google-like search to your personal life

Wed, 17 Oct 2018 08:00:54 -0000

In today’s world of Slack, email and a gazillion other web apps and services, it’s become increasingly hard to search for information. Did your boss Slack you or email you that information about your bonus? Or did they share it via a Google Doc? Who knows? Clearly not you, but Journal knows. Journal, a machine learning and natural language processing-powered platform designed to search across all your web services and tools, today announced a $1.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Announcing the Disrupt Berlin Agenda

Tue, 16 Oct 2018 16:32:07 -0000

TechCrunch Disrupt is the world’s biggest and most impactful tech startup conference, and we can’t wait to bring the hype to Berlin. We’re very proud of the show we’ve put together and are thrilled to give you a look at what’s in store. Editor’s Note: Not all of our speakers are included on this agenda as we like to keep a couple tricks up our sleeves.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Readdle’s Denys Zhadanov to talk about bootstrapping at Disrupt Berlin

Tue, 16 Oct 2018 08:00:30 -0000

Readdle might not be a familiar name, but chances are you’ve been using some of their mobile apps. The Ukrainian company is a bootstrapped success story with 100 million downloads, 135 employees and a profitable business. That’s why I’m excited to announce that Readdle Vice President Denys Zhadanov is coming to TechCrunch Disrupt Berlin to talk about this remarkable journey.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AllTrails gets $75M to keep hikers happy

Mon, 15 Oct 2018 16:32:09 -0000

The app for hiking enthusiasts just secured a big round of capital that will help it map more trails worldwide. AllTrailshas raised $75 million, led by Spectrum Equity, which has taken a majority stake in the company in the process. Founded in 2010, AllTrails raised a small amount of capital years ago from investors, including 2020 Ventures and 500 Startups. It was also part ofAngelPad’s inauguralaccelerator class. This is its first sizeable round of equity financing.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With $50M in fresh funding, Allbirds will open new stores in the US, UK and Asia

Mon, 15 Oct 2018 08:00:29 -0000

With $50M in fresh funding, Allbirds will open new stores in the US, UK and Asia The quintessential venture capitalist’s uniform consists of a pair of designer jeans, a Patagonia fleece vest and $95 wool sneakers. The company behind the shoes, Allbirds, entered the unicorn club this morning with the announcement of a $50 million Series C from late-stage players T. Rowe Price, which led the round, Tiger Global and Fidelity Investments.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jennifer Garner’s baby food company Once Upon a Farm raises $20M Series B

Fri, 12 Oct 2018 16:32:04 -0000

CAVU Venture Partners has led the $20 million Series B for Once Upon a Farm, which sells organic, cold-pressed baby food in 8,500 grocery stores in the U.S. The Berkeley-based startup was originally founded in 2015 by serial entrepreneurs Rohan Oza and Clayton Christopher. Today, it lists actress Jennifer Garner and former General Mills presidentJohn Foraker as co-founders, too.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

YC-grad Papa raises $2.4M for its ‘grandkids-on-demand’ service

Fri, 12 Oct 2018 08:00:41 -0000

One of the latest additions to the on-demand economy is Papa, a mobile app that connects college students with adults over 60 in need of support and companionship. The recent graduate of Y Combinator’s accelerator program has raised a $2.4 million round of funding to expand its service throughout Florida and to five additional states next year, beginning with Pennsylvania. Initialized Capital led the round, with participation from Sound Ventures.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tim Berners-Lee is on a mission to decentralize the web

Thu, 11 Oct 2018 16:32:38 -0000

“I’ve always believed the web is for everyone,” wrote Tim Berners-Lee, the well-known (and knighted) creator of the World Wide Web. “The web has evolved into an engine of inequity and division; swayed by powerful forces who use it for their own agendas,” he added. “Today, I believe we’ve reached a critical tipping point, and that powerful change for the better is possible — and necessary.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Wing, a co-working space for women, opens its doors in San Francisco

Thu, 11 Oct 2018 08:00:42 -0000

Women-focused co-working space The Wing has made its way to California, opening its first of two planned locations in the state this morning. On Sansome Street in San Francisco’s Financial District, The Wing hopes to attract professional women able to shell out $215 per month for access to its 8,000-square-foot workspace, which is complete with conference rooms, a cafe, a library stocked with books on feminist theory, a lactation room and more.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SoftBank is considering taking a majority stake in WeWork

Wed, 10 Oct 2018 16:36:02 -0000

SoftBank may soon own up to 50 percent of WeWork, a well-funded provider of co-working spaces headquartered in New York, according to a new report from The Wall Street Journal. SoftBank is reportedly weighing an investment between $15 billion and $20 billion, which would come from its $92 billion Vision Fund, a super-sized venture fund led by Japanese entrepreneur and investor Masayoshi Son. WeWork declined to comment. SoftBank already owns some 20 percent of WeWork. The firm invested $4.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Venture capital investment in US companies to hit $100B in 2018

Wed, 10 Oct 2018 08:00:27 -0000

So many new unicorns valued at $1 billion-plus, countless$100 million venture financings, an explosion of giant funds— it’s no surprise 2018 is shaping up to be a banner year for venture capital investment in U.S.-based companies. There are more than 2.5 months remaining in 2018 and already U.S. companies have raised $84.1 billion — more than all of 2017 — across 6,583 VC deals as of Sept. 30, 2018, according to data from PitchBook’s 3Q Venture Monitor.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SoundCloud finally lets more musicians monetize four years later

Tue, 09 Oct 2018 16:34:45 -0000

SoundCloud moves painfully slow for a tech company, and no one feels that pain more than musicians who are popular on the site but don’t get paid. 10 years since SoundCloud first launched, and four years since it opened an invite-only program allowing just the very biggest artists to earn a cut of the ad and premium subscription revenue generated by their listeners, SoundCloud is rolling out monetization.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Faraday Future investor Evergrande Health now says the troubled startup is trying to back out of deal

Tue, 09 Oct 2018 08:00:21 -0000

Faraday Future investor Evergrande Health now says the troubled startup is trying to back out of deal Evergrande Health, the investor that bailed out besieged electric vehicle startup Faraday Future in a deal worth $2 billion this summer, is now accusing it ofattempting to break an agreement it made with previous backer Season Smart.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

RankScience closes $1.8M seed — and now only wants to replace human SEO staff if you don’t have any

Mon, 08 Oct 2018 16:32:31 -0000

RankScience closes $1.8M seed — and now only wants to replace human SEO staff if you don’t have any A couple of years ago YC-backed RankScience, which offers AI-enhanced SEO split-testing, put a few SEO experts’ noses out of joint when the fledgling startup brashly talked about replacing human expertise with automation. Two years on its pitch has mellowed, with the team saying their self-service platform is “augmenting human SEO ability rather than replacing them”.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Flutterwave and Ventures Platform CEOs will join us at Startup Battlefield Africa

Mon, 08 Oct 2018 08:00:30 -0000

Flutterwave and Ventures Platform CEOs will join us at Startup Battlefield Africa Startup Battlefield is returning to Africa this December. TechCrunch will be hitting Lagos, Nigeria, bringing with it our Battlefield competition and a day’s worth of panel discussions, focused on topics facing the city’s startup scene.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

JFrog lands $165 M investment as valuation jumps over $1 billion

Fri, 05 Oct 2018 16:32:18 -0000

JFrog wants to change the way we deal with software updates. Instead of large numbered updates you have to manually download, it sees a future of continuous delivery where software is delivered as binaries and updated in the background. Investors must like that vision very much because they showered the company with a $165 million Series D investment today, which the company reports pushes its valuation past the billion dollar mark.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Product Hunt Radio: The evolution of Y Combinator, and counter-intuitive advice for founders

Fri, 05 Oct 2018 08:00:25 -0000

Ryan Hoover Contributor Share on Twitter Ryan Hoover is the founder of Product Hunt and host of Product Hunt Radio.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

N26 is launching its bank in the U.K.

Thu, 04 Oct 2018 16:32:11 -0000

Nearly a year after German fintech startup N26 announced that it would launch its service in the U.K., the company is launching in the U.K. N26 is already quite popular in the Eurozone with over 1.5 million customers. In this new market, it will face tough competition from existing players, such as Revolut, Monzo, Starling and many others. N26 is going to roll out its product in multiple phases. Some lucky few will be able to open an account right away.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

KZen raises $4 million to bring sanity to crypto wallets

Thu, 04 Oct 2018 08:00:34 -0000

KZen, a company run by former TC editor Ouriel Ohayon, has raised $4 million in seed to build a “better wallet,” obviously the elusive Holy Grail in the crypto world. Benson Oak Ventures, Samsung Next, Elron Ventures invested. Ohayon, who has worked at Internet Lab and founded TechCrunch France and Appsfire, wanted to create an easy-to-use crypto wallet that wouldn’t confound users.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Subscription startup Bespoke Post is creating its own brands and products for men

Wed, 03 Oct 2018 16:32:14 -0000

Subscription startup Bespoke Post is creating its own brands and products for men Bespoke Post says it has more than 100,000 subscribers signed up to receive a monthly “box of awesome” (that’s what it calls its bundles of curated men’s products). Next up: Creating brands and products of its own.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cover collects $16M to insure your gadgets, pets… anything

Wed, 03 Oct 2018 08:00:50 -0000

People procrastinate about buying insurance because it’s such a boring and complicated chore to compare policies. But Cover combines plans from 45 insurance companies into a single marketplace so it’s easy to find the best one for your car, home, rental, business, personal property, pets, jewelry and more. Now Cover is building powerful onboarding tricks like a driving school that earns you lower car insurance rates, and a way for Shopify merchants to sell warranties for their items.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ettitude targets eco-conscious shoppers with its organic bedding

Tue, 02 Oct 2018 16:32:08 -0000

Ettitude, recently graduated from the ERA accelerator, is looking to ride the growing wave of e-commerce by offering eco-friendly sheets. The company offers bamboo lyocell sheets and pajamas, which feel like a hybrid between silk and cotton, and stay cool longer than cotton or other fabrics. Bamboo lyocell fabric is essentially organic fabric made from weaving together tiny fibers of organic bamboo material or pulp.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why Blissfully decided to go all in on serverless

Tue, 02 Oct 2018 08:00:29 -0000

Serverless has become a big buzzword of late, and with good reason. It has the potential to completely alter how developers write code. They can simply write a series of event triggers, while letting the cloud vendor worry about providing whatever amount of compute resources are required to complete the job. It represents a huge shift in how programs are developed, but it’s been difficult to find companies who were built from the ground up using this methodology because it’s fairly new.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ne-Yo wants to make Silicon Valley more diverse one investment at a time

Mon, 01 Oct 2018 16:32:03 -0000

Dressed in a Naruto t-shirt and a hat emblazoned with the phrase “lone wolf,” Ne-Yo slouches over in a chair inside a Holberton Schoolclassroom. The Grammy-winningrecording artist is struggling to remember the name of “that actor,” the one who’s had a successful career in both the entertainment industry and tech investing. “I learned about all the things he was doing and I thought it was great for him,” Ne-Yo told TechCrunch.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vinay Gupta to talk about Mattereum at Disrupt Berlin

Mon, 01 Oct 2018 08:00:27 -0000

Cryptocurrency speculation is over. That’s why I’m excited to announce that Vinay Gupta will join us at TechCrunch Disrupt Berlin to talk about cool use cases that could make blockchain projects useful, beyond financial services. Gupta worked on the initial release of Ethereum back in 2015. He contributed when it comes to project management. He then worked with the Consensys team on other cryptocurrency projects.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Infatuation raises $30M from Jeffrey Katzenberg’s WndrCo to bring Zagat into the digital age

Fri, 28 Sep 2018 16:31:47 -0000

WndrCo, the consumer tech investment and holding company founded by longtime Hollywood executive Jeffrey Katzenberg, has invested $30 million in The Infatuation, a restaurant discovery platform. The Infatuation made waves earlier this year when itpurchased Zagat from Google,which had paid $151 million for the 40-year-old company in 2011.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rally Rd., the app that lets you invest in classic cars, raises $7M Series A

Fri, 28 Sep 2018 08:00:50 -0000

What happens when you bring together an entrepreneur, a product designer and an investment banker who all really love collector vehicles? You get Rally Rd., an app for buying and selling equity shares in classic cars. Launched in 2016, the company’s SEC-compliant platform lets users purchase shares in Ferraris, Porsches, Lamborghinis and other classic models for as little as $50 per share. The company says it has50,000 members that have invested millions.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

YC grad The Lobby raises $1.2M to help job seekers break into Wall Street

Thu, 27 Sep 2018 16:32:03 -0000

Six months after completing Y Combinator’s 12-week accelerator program, The Lobbyis announcing a $1.2 million investment. The startup connects job seekers to Wall Street bankers, venture capitalists and other finance“insiders” for advice and personalized career coaching. Founder and former investment banker Deepak Chhugani wants to help people who don’t come from elite backgrounds or have the network of an Ivy League graduate land high-profile finance roles.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Farmer’s Fridge wants to make eating healthy food as easy as getting money from an ATM

Thu, 27 Sep 2018 08:01:26 -0000

Fast, healthy food is one of those concepts that just seems too good to be true. But Farmer’s Fridge, a Chicago-based startup that recently closed a $30 million Series C round led by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s Innovation Endeavors, aims to make that a reality. Farmer’s Fridge retrofits vending machines to serve up healthy foods — salads, sandwiches, granola, etc. — for people on the go, for anywhere from $5 to about $8.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sequoia backs Maven, a virtual health clinic for women

Wed, 26 Sep 2018 16:32:06 -0000

Despite the increase in women in the U.S. workforce and public pledges from several high-profile CEOs to close the gender pay gap, women, especially working mothers, often find themselves without the resources necessary to succeed at work. Maven, a digital health startup and benefits platform focused on improving access to healthcare for women, has emerged specifically to help businesses help their female employees.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Data.world raises $12M to help Fortune 500 companies close the great data divide

Wed, 26 Sep 2018 08:00:31 -0000

Airbnb, Uber, Lyft, Warby Parker and a long list of other startups of the 21st century have appointed C-level employees to roles focused exclusively on data science. These digital-age companies have established “data cultures,” which provide employees broad access to high-quality data, advocate for data literacy and have data-driven decision-making processes,according to Carl Anderson, who previously led data analytics and data science at Warby Parker and WeWork.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

BlaBlaCar is on the path to profitability

Tue, 25 Sep 2018 16:32:21 -0000

French startup BlaBlaCar just released some interesting metrics. The company has reached profitability if you look at revenue between January 2018 and today. BlaBlaCar forecasts that 50 million people will book a ride on BlaBlaCar in 2018, which represents a 40 percent increase compared to 2017. BlaBlaCar is a marketplace for long-distance rides. People driving from point A to point B can find riders willing to go in the same direction to share the cost of the ride.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Understanding Renaud Laplanche’s next Upgraded act

Tue, 25 Sep 2018 08:00:29 -0000

Renaud Laplanche spent ten years building LendingClub. In the process, he created an industry from scratch. Circumventing conventional banking channels for consumer credit began in 1996 when Chris Larsen started E-LOAN, which ultimately led to Prosper Marketplace. But LendingClub, which Laplanche founded in 2007, was and remains the poster child for the business of marketplace lending.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

VCs say Silicon Valley isn’t the gold mine it used to be

Mon, 24 Sep 2018 16:32:15 -0000

In the days leading up to TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2018, The Economist published the cover story, ‘Why Startups Are Leaving Silicon Valley.’ The author outlined reasons why the Valley has “peaked.” Venture capital investors are deploying capital outside the Bay Area more than ever before. High-profile entrepreneurs and investors,Peter Thiel, for example, have left. Rising rents are making it impossible for new blood to make a living, let alone build businesses.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

uBeam wireless power’s CEO Meredith Perry steps aside amidst B2B pivot

Mon, 24 Sep 2018 08:00:25 -0000

After repeatedly missing self-imposed deadlines for progress on its wireless charging-at-a-distance phone case, uBeam’s CEO Meredith Perry has decided to shift out of the CEO position and into a board member and senior advisor role.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

‘Brotopia’ inspired OODA Health to raise its $40.5M round only from firm’s with female partners

Fri, 21 Sep 2018 16:35:27 -0000

It’s never particularly easy to raise a round of venture capital — but I think most experienced founders will tell you its not quite as bad the second or third time around, when you’ve got some experience under your belt and a track record to present to VCs. It helps if you’re male too, at least according to all the data out there on the gender funding gap in VC. The leadership team at OODA Health, a startup developing technology to make the U.S.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cluep, a Canadian startup that raised just $500k, acquired for $40M

Fri, 21 Sep 2018 08:00:43 -0000

Everyone lovesa tale of a bootstrapped startup founder’s journey to an eight-figure exit. The team at Toronto-based Cluep have a good one. The founders of theadtech startup raised less than $500,000 from angel investors before selling their company to Impact Group for $40 million ($53 milllionCAD) this week.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices