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TechCrunch Startup News

TechCrunch

300 episodes

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

Episodes page 2 of 6

  1. AI isn’t close to curing cancer. Vivodyne says it knows what it will take; plus, TerraPower’s nuclear reactor has a secret weapon for powering AI data centers

    · 11 min

    A handful of AI-designed drugs have proceeded into human trials — one as far as Phase III, widespread human testing — but the reality is that the roadblocks aren’t necessarily ones that AI can solve today. Also,…

  2. DOJ’s probe into Andreessen Horowitz over board seats baffles VCs; plus, Etched’s valuation doubles to $21B in a month

    · 6:33

    Since portfolio companies often pivot and expand into competing markets, investors view occasional conflicts of interest as unavoidable for large VC firms. Also, Jane Street has installed Etched's first shipped AI…

  3. Sound-powered fire protection startup gets $15M to snuff out fires before they turn catastrophic; plus, Wispr looks beyond dictation

    · 7:03

    Sonic Fire Protection raised its new funding to help get its sound-powered fire protection system into everything from commercial kitchens to apartment buildings. Also, Wispr’s total funding is now over $361 million.…

  4. SpaceX officially closes its Cursor acquisition; plus, Stripe will reportedly acquire AI gateway startup OpenRouter for $7B+

    · 2:54

    AI coding startup Cursor is now officially a part of SpaceX. Also, OpenRouter's CEO recently described the startup as Stripe for AI. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  5. How a $250 million acquisition collapsed into allegations of fraud and forged signatures

    · 7:04

    Investors are still waiting for their share of the $250 million windfall, and VideoVerse co-founder Vinayak Shrivastav is now at the center of multiple legal cases. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit…

  6. Reservoir raises $8M to make water heaters that people and the grid will actually want; plus, AI code-testing startup Blacksmith’s valuation jumps almost 10x

    · 9:14

    Reservoir has built an ultra-efficient water heater that can predict hot water demand, store energy, and detect plumbing leaks throughout a home. Also, Blacksmith says revenue has grown more than tenfold over the past…

  7. Tech industry is buzzing after a Claude agent hacked into a gym; plus, Kyoto Fusioneering starts work on key fusion power plant device

    · 9:38

    An OpenClaw agent hacked into a gym's reservation system to bump its human boss higher on a class's waitlist. And the tech industry took notice. Also, fusion power startups are turning to Kyoto Fusioneering to supply…

  8. Discovered Materials is playing AI whack-a-mole to hunt cooler chips

    · 6:29

    Discovered Materials raised $9 million to fund the hunt for more novel materials to build more efficient chips. Plus, embattled hedge fund Situational Awareness invests $400M in chip startup Source Foundry. Learn…

  9. This former notorious red-light district is now one of the world’s top AI hubs

    · 8:07

    More than 20 years ago, King's Cross was one of the seediest area's in London. Now it's sprouting something new. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  10. Naïve automates the grunt work of setting up and running a company, plus, Defense tech Hadrian raises $1.37B, and Omilia raises $67M to scale its customer support platform

    · 12 min

    -Taking vibe-coding a step further, Naive claims its infra can automate most of the work in setting up and running a business. -Defense tech Hadrian raises $1.37B at $8B valuation -Athens-based Omilia, which has been…

  11. Can WindBorne make AI weather prediction lucrative? Plus, Hark previews its browser use agent for completing tasks

    · 7:34

    -WindBorne Systems has raised a $37 million Series B round to scale its weather balloons and AI forecasts. -Hark claims that its browser use agent is faster and cheaper than competition. Learn more about your ad…

  12. Texas halts new data centers as governor calls for audits; also, is the future of data centers portable?

    · 8:29

    Texas Governor Greg Abbott has paused new data center development until an audit has been completed. Also, on Tuesday, AI infrastructure company Runware announced the launch of its own modular data center called Sonic…

  13. June thinks AI can solve the AI deployment problem; plus, Base Power raises another $1B to save the grid using backyard batteries

    · 7:39

    June emerged from stealth today with a $20 million pre-seed round to make AI adoption simpler. Also, Base Power’s $1 billion round will help the startup ramp production of its home batteries. Learn more about your ad…

  14. When will fusion power startup Commonwealth Fusion Systems go public?; plus, Okta buys AI security startup Permiso

    · 8:50

    There are fresh signs that fusion power startup Commonwealth Fusion Systems will list in the next two to three years. Also, the Okta/Permiso deal gives Okta identity threat detection capabilities as enterprises seek…

  15. Dili raises $21.7M to bring AI compliance to the infrastructure boom; plus Fusion power darling Commonwealth Fusion Systems raises another $1B

    · 7:40

    Dili's Series A was led by Khosla Ventures, with participation from Allianz, Rebel Fund, Brick and Mortar Ventures’ Darren Bechtel, and Y Combinator’s Garry Tan. Also, Commonwealth Fusion Systems raised $1 billion as…

  16. As AI content floods the internet, Pangram raises $9M to detect it

    · 6:39

    Pangram has raised $9 million to scale its AI detection software. The startup has also released a new AI text detection model, Pangram 4, and an AI image detection model in research preview. Learn more about your ad…

  17. MCP startup Runlayer accuses Rippling of stealing its product idea; plus, Ozlo’s Sleepbuds 2 build on Bose’s sleep earbud legacy

    · 8:46

    Runlayer is suing Rippling after Rippling evaluated the startup's MCP gateway product and then opted to build one itself. Also, Ozlo unveiled Sleepbuds 2, an updated version of its original product that tackles key…

  18. Antares raises $470M to build nuclear reactors for the US military; plus, Thea Energy lands $20M federal grant to build its magnets for fusion reactors

    · 7:02

    Antares has raised $470 million to build small modular reactors — 100 kW to 1 MW — for U.S. Air Force bases. Also, fusion power startup Thea Energy snagged a $20 million award from ARPA-E to scale production of its…

  19. AI chip startup Etched defies skeptics; plus, Imagi raises $4.5M to help teach students how to vibe code

    · 9:09

    Etched, founded by three Harvard dropouts, has created new chips and memory components that speed up inference on any AI model -- no GPUs required, it says. Also, Imagi announced a $4.5 million seed round, with…

  20. Colossal Biosciences reportedly in talks to raise new capital at $20B–$30B valuation; plus, Passionfroot raises $15M to expand its B2B creator marketplace to the US

    · 7:00

    Colossal Biosciences is in talks to raise new funding at a $20 billion to $30 billion valuation, Axios reported. Also, Passionfroot, a German startup building a marketplace connecting B2B creators with brands, has…

  21. Gritt exits stealth with $34 million for robots to build solar plants; Bluecore Energy raises $10M to build portable nuclear reactors

    · 9:31

    Gritt is coming out of stealth with $34 million and plan to automate the hardest tasks on construction sites. Also, maritime nuclear energy startup Bluecore Energy has raised $10 million in a pre-seed funding round…

  22. Nuclear startup Valar Atomics in talks to raise new funding at $6B valuation; plus, Databricks hits $188B valuation, extending its run as AI’s favorite second act

    · 9:01

    The potential deal highlights a growing trend of complex, multi-stage funding rounds that mask true entry prices. Also, Databricks has remade its image into an AI company and has published research on the cost savings…

  23. Applied Computing wants to give oil and gas operators an AI model for the entire plant, plus, AI-powered travel agency Fora hits unicorn status

    · 7:31

    Applied Computing has raised a $20M Series A to build a foundation AI model for the oil, gas and petrochemical industry. Also, travel agency Fora announced a $60 million Series D round led by Forerunner and Tactile…

  24. Why AMI Labs’ Alexandre LeBrun won’t call his AI ‘AGI’ or ‘superintelligence’; plus, Lululemon backs nylon recycling startup Syntetica

    · 12 min

    While everyone in AI is chasing "superintelligence." Alexandre LeBrun, CEO of Yann LeCun’s world model startup, AMI Labs, dismisses the word. Also, Syntetica, a French startup that has developed a novel approach to…

  25. Rime picks up $24M Series A to help enterprises field customer calls; plus, the next trillion-dollar AI business is implementation, not models

    · 11 min

    Rime is handling over 100 million calls each month across multiple companies Also, Anthropic-backed Ode launches as AI labs bet that embedding forward-deployed engineers inside enterprises is the key to accelerating…

  26. Hermes agent maker Nous Research in talks for new funding at $1.5B valuation; plus, Pinwheel launches a retro-inspired landline phone for kids

    · 6:47

    The company is raising at least $75 million, led by Robot, with significant participation from USV and other prominent investors. Also, kid-friendly tech company Pinwheel announced the launch of a new landline phone…

  27. Phia accused of ‘cookie stuffing,’ an AI agent startup just let its agent run its $100 million fundraise, plus, Oratomic to build a viable quantum computer that needs only 20K qubits

    · 7:31

    Phia, the shopping startup founded by Bill Gates’ daughter, Phoebe, and her friend, Sophia Kianni, is under fire for a practice known as “cookie stuffing,” which helped the product receive commissions and credit for…

  28. AI chip maker SambaNova raises $1B at $11B valuation, 5 months after last mega round; plus, popular open source AI developer tool Ollama raises $65M

    · 11 min

    AI chip maker SambaNova has raised at an $11 billion valuation months after Intel was rumored to be trying to buy it for about $1.6 billion. Plus, Benchmark-backed Ollama has amassed 176,000 stars, and nearly 17,000…

  29. Venus Aerospace raises $90M Series B to build a new kind of rocket engine; plus, Blue Origin reportedly raising $10B at $130B valuation

    · 6:27

    Build a new kind of rocket engine, and the world will beat a path to your door. Also, Blue Origin is raising $10 billion at a $130 billion pre-money valuation from Coatue Asset Management, Bezos himself and other…

  30. Bidbus pits dealerships against each other to bid on your used car; Savi’s app aims to protect consumers from realistic AI scams like kidnappers demanding ransom

    · 12 min

    Bidbus, which lets dealerships bid on used cars, has raised $15 million in a Series A round that was led by early-stage mobility fund Ibex Investors. Also, Savi just raised $7 million in seed funding, and is launching…

  31. Station F ramps up as a launchpad for Europe’s hottest AI startups; plus, Smart glasses maker Even Realities hits $1B valuation

    · 9:51

    Station F, the Paris-based startup hub founded by French billionaire Xavier Niel in 2017, is gearing up for a new edition of its selective acceleration F/ai program that will cement its role as a stepping stone for AI…

  32. Midjourney wants Hollywood studios to reveal the details of their AI usage; plus, Thiel Capital’s Jack Selby nabs stakes in hot startups

    · 6:20

    As part of an ongoing legal dispute with three Hollywood studios, Midjourney is seeking to compel those studios to reveal how they use AI themselves. Also, Selby's VC firm Copper Sky Capital is currently raising a…

  33. Nvidia competitor Etched hits $5B valuation, $1B in sales for AI chip; plus, Indian tech tycoon bets $30M of his own money to build AI alternative to Microsoft Office

    · 7:44

    Nvidia AI chip competitor Etched says it has already booked $1 billion under contract for the inference systems powered by its chip. Also, Neo is Bhavin Turakhia’s fifth venture and his latest involving enterprise…

  34. Arena, the AI leaderboard everyone uses, is now a $100M business

    · 4:39

    The startup, which runs a popular free AI leaderboard, launched its commercial service just last September. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  35. Corgi says it didn’t steal an open source product; plus, Omen AI’s plan to optimize data centers is all wet

    · 10 min

    Corgi became embroiled in controversy when Papermark accused it of stealing its software. Corgi says it did not, raising new questions about vibe coding. Also, Omen AI raised a $31 million Series A to monitor chip…

  36. Robotaxis drive miles just to get cleaned and charged; Aseon Labs wants to fix that; plus, General Intuition bets that video games can train AI agents for the real world

    · 16 min

    Aseon Labs, which came out of Y Combinator's 2026 spring cohort, has raised $10 million from Crane Venture Partners and others. Also, General Intuition has raised $320 million to scale AI trained on millions of hours…

  37. Slate Auto’s radically simple electric truck starts at $24,950; also, Valor Equity Partners looks to raise a $2.5B Fund VII

    · 6:06

    The Jeff Bezos-backed startup finally revealed more pricing details for its debut EV, including a $29,950 starting price for the SUV variant, and boosted the base range to 205 miles. Plus, new details have emerged…

  38. Fika Jobs raises $4M to build a video-first hiring platform where AI agents interview candidates

    · 5:34

    Fika Jobs announced on Tuesday a $4 million pre-seed round, which will be used to continue developing the platform, grow the team, and prepare for a wider launch later this year. Learn more about your ad choices.…

  39. Seedcamp raises $320M for its new fund to expand its US footprint

    · 3:47

    After 18 years of focusing on Europe, early-stage investor Seedcamp said that it has raised $320 million for its latest fund which will see it expanding its presence in the United States. Learn more about your ad…

  40. He made your free video player run smoothly. Now he’s doing that for robots.

    · 5:17

    French serial entrepreneur and open-source legend Jean-Baptiste Kempf has been building Kyber, an infrastructure layer to control remote devices in real time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit…

  41. World model maker Odyssey nabs $1.45B valuation backed by Amazon and other big names; plus, General Intuition in talks to raise $300M at around $2B valuation

    · 5:09

    World models are the next big thing in AI beyond LLMs and, with this round, Odyssey has cemented itself as one of the startups to watch. Also, General Intuition is in talks to raise around $300 million at a roughly $2…

  42. SpaceX alum nabs $22M to turn rocket engines into geothermal power plants

    · 4:57

    Critical Energy is turning rocket engines into geothermal power plants, and it wants to build 300 GW per year by 2045. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  43. Startup Foundation Alloy developed a new alloying technique; plus, Probably raises $9M to build a more reliable kind of AI

    · 8:13

    Instead of heating metals, Foundation Alloy beats them into submission. The startup has raised $22 million to scale up production of its alloys. Also, the company Probably wants to prevent hallucinations and factual…

  44. Jeff Bezos’s Prometheus raises $12B to build an ‘artificial general engineer’ for the physical world; plus, Theker building a factory robot that doesn’t specialize in anything

    · 6:54

    The new round values the physical AI startup that aims to automate heavy engineering and drug design at $41 billion. Also, unlike humanoid robots designed around a fixed form — think Boston Dynamics — Theker's…

  45. Endurance Energy raises $54M to harness a massive untapped energy source; Jedify raises $24M to help companies arm AI agents with context on their businessplus,

    · 12 min

    SpaceX alumni Andrew Redd is betting the ocean has vast amounts of untapped geothermal energy. Also, the funding round was led by Norwest, with participation from S Capital VC, Cerca Partners, and Oceans Ventures.…

  46. Datadog veterans launch AI coding startup Niteshift on a bet against Big AI lock-in; plus, Zest launches a restaurant discovery app

    · 11 min

    AI coding agent startup Niteshift has raised a $7 million seed round from a who's who of angels. It's betting companies will want power over, not lock-in, with model makers. Also, backed by Alexis Ohanian’s 776 and…

  47. Evotrex raises $30M to build the RV that doesn’t need a charging station; plus, so long FAANG and hello to MANGOS

    · 6:43

    The startup is one of many entering the RV space, but it's banking on a hybrid power system that can go far beyond campsites. Also, with SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI all eyeing massive public debuts, the tech…

  48. Helion, the Sam Altman-backed fusion startup, raises $465M to build a power plant for Microsoft

    · 4:35

    Fusion startup Helion is racing to complete a power plant for Microsoft by 2028. A fresh infusion of cash should help with that. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  49. Is Silicon Valley ready to put robots in people’s homes? Hello Robot is.

    · 9:04

    The California startup released the fourth-generation of its home assistance robot, Stretch. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  50. Brynn Putnam's Board raised $20M; plus, ZeroDrift raises $10M to protect AI models from themselves

    · 6:38

    Board, the startup building what it calls "together tech" designed to bring people into the same room, has closed a Series A led by Union Square Ventures. Also, a new AI compliance service sits between AI models and…

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