Startups
Tech startup news that breaks down the funding, growth, and long-term trajectory of companies across every stage and industry. Startup coverage includes climate, crypto, fintech, SaaS, transportation, and consumer tech.
What You Need to Raise a Series A Today at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024
Raising a Series A round in today’s competitive market can be a daunting task. To equip seed-stage founders with the insights and strategies needed for success, TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 will…
Featured Article
News outlets are accusing Perplexity of plagiarism and unethical web scraping
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. Perplexity AI is a startup that combines a search engine…
Sophisticated spacecraft often run on shockingly outdated computing systems: consider that the Perseverance rover runs on a PowerPC 750, the processor famous for running on iMacs in the late 1990s. …
Sensorita uses digital twins to help waste management companies streamline construction waste
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…
As the AI boom gobbles up power, Phaidra is helping companies manage datacenter power more efficiently
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…
Industry Ventures raises a $900M fund for investing in small, early-stage VCs and their breakout startups
The venture fundraising trend in 2024 is fairly clear by now: Large, established VC firms are continuing to attract capital from limited partners, while smaller, newer funds are finding it…
Husband-and-wife former Olympians target $50M for new fund to invest in influencer-led consumer brands
Samyr Laine and Ayanna Alexander-Laine now put their grit and determination to work for founders wanting to launch and scale consumer brands.
BoldHue’s device essentially scans your face and dispenses a customized foundation formula that matches your skin tone.
Unacademy is slashing another 250 jobs in latest round of cuts as Indian edtech sector continues to struggle.Q
Senators urge owners, partners and VC backers of fintech Synapse to restore customers’ access to their money
A group of senators has banded together to urge Synapse’s owners and bank and fintech partners to “immediately restore customers’ access to their money.” As part of their demands, the…
Afloat, a gift delivery app that lets you shop from local stores and have gifts delivered to a loved one on the same day, is now available across the U.S. The…
Exciting news for tech enthusiasts and innovators! TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 is just around the corner, and we have an incredible opportunity for you to elevate your brand’s visibility. How? By…
Japan’s SmartHR raises $140M Series E as strong demand for HR tech boosts its ARR to $100M
The round was led by KKR and Teachers’ Ventures Growth, an investment arm of Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.
Identity.vc is bringing capital and community to Europe’s LGBTQ+ venture ecosystem
Identity.vc writes checks that range from €250,000 to €1.5 million into companies from the pre-seed to Series A stages.
Defense tech and ‘resilience’ get global funding sources: Here are some top funders
We live in a very different world since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel. With global military expenditure reaching $2.4 trillion last…
Adept, a startup developing AI-powered “agents” to complete various software-based tasks, has agreed to license its tech to Amazon, and the startup’s co-founders and portions of its team have joined…
There are plenty of resources to learn English, but not so many for near-native speakers who still want to improve their fluency. That description applies to Stan Beliaev and Yurii…
Welcome to Startups Weekly — Haje‘s weekly recap of everything you can’t miss from the world of startups. Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Friday. Editor’s…
Artyc has raised $14 million to date and has a product on the market, Medstow Micro, that helps ship temperature-sensitive specimens.
Get ready to unlock the secrets of successful fundraising in the upcoming year at Disrupt 2024. Our featured session, “How to Raise in 2025 if You’ve Taken a Flat, Down,…
AI-powered drug development, VW teams up with Rivian and DEI is ‘bad’
Welcome back to another recap of Equity, TechCrunch’s flagship podcast about the business of startups. This episode is jam-packed with deals, hot topics and the…
Hebbia raises nearly $100M Series B for AI-powered document search led by Andreessen Horowitz
Hebbia, a startup using generative AI to search large documents and return answers, has raised a nearly $100 million Series B led by Andreessen Horowitz, according to three people with…
Will AI get an A+ in edtech? MagicSchool raises $15M to find out
These days, when you hear about students and generative AI, chances are that you’re getting a taste of the debate over the adoption of tools like ChatGPT. Are they a…
Rondo Energy funding shows a new way across the climate startup ‘valley of death’
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.
TechCrunch Disrupt joins forces with Google Cloud for Startup Battlefield 200
TechCrunch is joining forces with Google Cloud as its lead partner for Startup Battlefield 200. This event will highlight and support the most promising startups from around the globe at…
Directo turns a TikTok travel hack into a deal-finding Chrome extension
A travel hack that went viral on TikTok teaches users how to save money on hotels and Airbnbs by booking directly with the properties themselves. Now, a new startup, Directo,…
Illumex is using GenAI to ease pain of getting good data into LLMs
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…
Axelera designs AI-running chips and systems for applications like security, retail, automotive and robotics.
Orby AI, is building a generative AI platform that attempts to automate a range of different business workflows, including workflows that involve data entry, documents processing and forms validation.
Austin-based Ironspring Ventures raised $100M to invest in the industrial revolution
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…
