TechCrunch Startup News

<p>Listen to select TechCrunch articles on startups coverage—who's raising, who's exiting, who's changing the world.</p>

Tensormesh raises $4.5M to squeeze more inference out of AI server loads; also, Palantir enters $200M partnership with telco Lumen

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

10-24
06:35

Redwood Materials raises another $350M to power up its energy storage business, also, Wonder raised $12M to bring AI content to Hollywood

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

10-23
06:43

Why Cohere’s ex-AI research lead is betting against the scaling race

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

10-23
05:41

Top OpenAI, Google Brain researchers set off a $300M VC frenzy for their startup Periodic Labs

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

10-22
08:21

a16z-backed Codi launches AI agent office manager

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

10-22
04:14

Scale AI alum raises $9M for AI serving critical industries in MENA

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

10-21
06:15

Oura launches redesigned app and 'Cumulative Stress' feature

The redesigned Oura app introduces more personalization with three main tabs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

10-21
04:32

A new wave of social media apps provide hope in a doomscrolling world

"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

10-20
08:00

Too burned out to travel? This new app fakes your summer vacation photos for you

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

10-20
05:01

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

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

10-17
07:16

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

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

10-16
07:37

Liberate bags $50M at $300M valuation to bring AI deeper into insurance back offices; also, Eightfold raised $35M for an AI digital twin startup

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

10-16
10:43

Inaudible sound might be the next frontier in wildfire defense

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

10-15
05:40

FleetWorks raises $17M to match truckers with cargo faster

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

10-15
06:36

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

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

10-14
07:51

India’s Airbound bags $8.65M to build rocket-like drones for one-cent deliveries

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

10-14
06:35

Kalshi hits $5B valuation days after rival Polymarket gets $2B NYSE backing at $8B; also,

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

10-13
03:57

Reflection AI raises $2B to be America’s open frontier AI lab, challenging DeepSeek

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

10-10
06:48

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

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

10-09
07:17

Base Power raises $1B to deploy home batteries everywhere

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

10-09
03:24

Richard Ottley

Lol 😂🤣 I love this one.. RIP HQ Trivia I will miss you 😅😅

02-18 Reply

Recommend Channels