PODCAST · technology
TechCrunch Startup News
by TechCrunch
Listen to select TechCrunch articles on startups coverage—who's raising, who's exiting, who's changing the world.
Episodes
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AI lab Flapping Airplanes raises $1B at a $6B valuation; plus, Recursive launches Flint, a laptop coding model it says was largely built by AI
Just 9 months after raising an $180 million seed round, Flapping Airplanes has landed $1 billion Series A for its mission to build AI models "without ingesting half the internet." Also, startup Recursive has released Flint, a free, laptop-sized coding model built largely by its own AI research...
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Plants can speak using electricity, so this startup built an AI model to decipher their language
Electric Plant has built an AI-powered translator to help humans listen to what plants are saying with the subtle electricity coursing through their stems. Also, OpenAI says it's adding Orchestra's team and technology to work on Rosalind, its AI model for life sciences research, and to its…
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Amazon is taking its biggest shot at Nvidia yet; plus, Town nabbed unicorn valuation, and Tolan snags $30M for its AI companion
Amazon wants to break Nvidia’s hold on PyTorch, the free toolkit used to build most AI apps, so that more developers run their apps on alternative chips like its own. Also, AI assistant startup Town nabbed a unicorn valuation on Monday, announcing a $108 million Series B round co-led by…
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Veritas expands its anti-counterfeit chip to jewelry, trophies, and fragrance bottles; plus, Elorian’s first AI model wants to reason with images
Counterfeiters are getting better at replicating brands' marks and passing off dupes, known as "superfakes," as genuine items. A startup called Veritas wants to tackle the problem with its own chip that verifies goods. Also, according to Elorian's evaluations, Glimpse outperforms even GPT-6 Astra...
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Ricursive Intelligence is betting on AI-designed chips to help solve the compute crisis; plus, Gudea leverages AI to help organizations prevent social media crises before they erupt
The Ricursive founders detailed how their startup is developing AI that can design chips, learn from each iteration, and improve subsequent designs, all with the goal of automating and accelerating the chip design process. Also, Gudea, a company that tracks how stories and rumors spread online…
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Apate sends AI agents undercover to get scammed so they can gather fraud intelligence
Most companies use AI agents to ship products faster or speed up workflows. Apate.ai sends them undercover to get scammed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Niobia takes the guesswork out of some of tech’s most expensive mistakes; Giraffe Bio aims its bespoke biomolecules at the looming copper shortage
The San Francisco startup aims to help battery and chip manufacturers identify defects on production lines, reducing downtime and costly mistakes. Also, as AI data centers and EVs drive up demand for copper, Giraffe Bio has unearthed a $6.4 million seed round to help miners extract more of the...
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Honeyjar offers AI tools to improve PR and comms at every company; plus, WindBorne wins a hefty US Air Force contract
Honeyjar believes AI can actually make PR better. Also, WindBorne is a startup that uses weather balloons and AI to predict the weather won a US military contract worth almost $50 million. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Efferon wants to eradicate the devastating toll of pediatric sepsis; plus, Petra Power looks to modernize energy for data centers
Efferon has developed blood-purification tech to save children. Sepsis, an acute inflammation triggered by infection, is a leading cause of childhood mortality, claiming roughly 3 million children under the age of five annually. Also, Petra Power says its fuel cells are super efficient and cut…
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A startup founder who served time in prison is looking to court an untapped market: ex-cons
Richard Bronson, a former Stratton Oakmont partner who served time in federal prison for securities violations, has launched Commissary Club, a startup that uses AI to help people leaving prison find jobs, housing, community and even dates. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...
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Greenairy is building smart plant towers to clean the air in your office; plus, Robot data startup Mecka AI nabs $60M from Sequoia
As it turns out, the cure for stuffy, chemical-infused office air might be a tower of leafy greenery. Also, Mecka AI pays people to record everyday tasks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Silicon Valley’s AI wunderkind launches Underdog, the most private Instinct/Muse competitor yet; plus, name Ex-Ramp engineers raise $20M for platform Melius
Sigil Wen, backed by a Silicon Valley's who-who, has built an on-device AI assistant that promises to be free, fully private, and capable for everyday tasks. Also, Melius crossed over $1 million in annualized revenue within two months of its post-pivot launch. Learn more about your ad choices....
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Hot Girl Hotline is like ‘Dear Abby’ for the AI era; plus, after Factory’s public spat with Khosla, Menlo proudly invests
Founded by two sisters, Hot Girl Hotline uses AI to give young women personalized dating and relationship advice, with an emphasis on safety and avoiding emotional dependency. Also, days after Vinod Khosla called Factory a struggling also-ran, Menlo has shown up with a check and a glowing blog...
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Photon held a funeral for mobile apps; plus, Kevin Mandia’s new ‘agent swarm’ security startup
Photon helps developers build AI agents that work over iMessage, SMS/RCS, email, and other messaging platforms. It's a bet that consumers will increasingly use agents instead of downloading apps. Also, Kevin Mandia, best known as the founder of Mandiant, has a new startup that is using agent…
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World’s first enhanced geothermal power plant completed in just 23 months; plus, turning idle car inventory into rental revenue
Fervo Energy completed its first power plant in less than two years. The next phases promise to connect to the grid even quicker. Also, MyMonthlyCar is a platform that lets dealers rent out their idle used cars month to month (with an option to buy), and it's now one of the startups showing off…
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Factory CEO just accused his VC board adviser of spying for Cognition
VC Chris Degnan and former board advisor to Factory AI has taken a job as chief revenue officer for Cognition. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Ex-Tesla team raises $12.5M to put supply chains on autopilot; plus, EliseAI raises $350M, doubles valuation to $4B
Atomic's agentic supply chain software is now being used by companies like DoorDash and HelloFresh. EliseAI raises $350M, doubles valuation in a year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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AMD will acquire Fei-Fei Li’s World Labs for $8.2 billion; Physical AI chip developer SiMa AI hits $1.45B valuation
The acquisition will see World Labs founder Fei-Fei Li join AMD as executive vice president and chief scientist. Also, SiMa.AI, the edge computing startup, raised a $150 million Series C led by Fidelity and Amplify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Ocean surveillance startup Quartermaster raises another $140M
The tech enables real-time awareness for what Quartermaster calls the “largest blind spot on Earth.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Nexterity wants to automate the hard, dangerous part of pipefitting; plus, Feather is building the ‘Android of robotics’ for developers
Nexterity's robot can tighten or loosen four bolts at a time, and it fits in a Pelican case. Feather is betting on a customizable, $30,000 platform built for software developers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Modal Motors is trying to cut China out of electric motors entirely; plus, PitPro’s first tire-changing robot goes live in Canada
Modal Motors is working on small, light motors with no rare earth magnets that are suited for drones, fans, and robots. Also, PitPro says its automated system can change four tires in under 15 minutes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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a16z is challenging Silicon Valley’s love for drop-outs by launching a school; plus, AstroForge is putting AI in command of its next spacecraft
This academy for promising high school grads is somewhere between a trade-school, Y Combinator and Peter Thiel's Fellowship Program. Autonomy-1 will have a small, transformer-based AI model taking charge of a space probe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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A small but growing number of founders are betting on bringing people together offline
Brynn Putnam and Tristan Walker have already done something that most founders only dream about: created companies so compelling that bigger outfits bought them. And now they're both at it again with the same north star; bringing people together, offline, in the same room. Learn more about your…
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Comp AI sets eyes on a continuously agentic future for security and compliance
Comp AI, a cybersecurity and compliance startup, announced a $34 million Series A round led by Roo Capital and Grand Ventures. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Clean tech startup Fluxnium found a way to tap 50,000 years’ worth of nuclear fuel; plus, Hang Ten Systems nabbed another $53m
Fluxnium's fibers can extract uranium directly from seawater, which has enough of the nuclear fuel to power thousands of generations. Also, Hang Ten is a Palo Alto startup and says it has landed multiple seven-figure enterprise contracts within months of launch. Learn more about your ad choices....
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Early Anthropic hire, former METR COO have found a way to rein in rogue AI agents; plus, health benefits platform Thatch reaches $1B valuation
Their startup, Artificial Intelligence Underwriting Company (AIUC) has raised $40 million in a Series A round led by Ribbit Capital, with participation from First Harmonic. Also, Thatch is a five-year-old startup and the company raised $108 million from The General Partnership, Index Ventures,...
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Superhuman acquired notetaker Fathom; plus, OpenAI bought smartphone camera maker Glass Imaging, and AI infrastructure company Cornelis raised $205M
Fathom said that it has over 400,000 monthly active users. Also, Glass Imaging was founded by a pair of former Apple engineers who previously led the team that developed Apple's Portrait Mode. And Cornelis, a company creating networking technology to help AI chips communicate more effectively,...
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Fusion power startups find new partners in the defense world; plus, Mecka AI nears $500M valuation amid rush for robot training data
Fusion startups are inking defense-related deals, reigniting the relationship between fusion and national security that might have gone dormant, but never completely disappeared. Also, the round for Mecka is coming together months after Mecka announced its Series A. Learn more about your ad...
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Defense tech Mach Industries doubled its valuation in 3 months; plus, Maven Robotics wants to steal your robot deployment deal
Mach Industries is a buzzy startup that raised $600 million in its Series C round. AlsoMaven Robotics emerged from stealth Thursday with a $100 million Series A and active deployments. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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CloudNC raises $20M to automate manufacturing’s most pressing bottlenecks; plus, Sequoia doubles down on Cymphony
UK-based manufacturing software startup CloudNC announced Wednesday a $20 million B extension round, bringing its lifetime total raised amount to $128 million. Also, Cymphony was valued at more than $100 million in a $25 million Series A co-led by Sequoia and SMBC Fin Atlas Beyond Fund. Learn…
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Nuclear startup Bluecore Energy raises $50M seed round, just two months after launch; plus, Poseidon Aerospace eyes first pilotless test flight, and Stoke Space raises another billion
-Founder Kofi Asante wasn’t planning on fundraising this year, but calls kept coming after their pre-seed launch. -Poseidon is embracing autonomy and remote piloting, but it’s not bothering with the vertical takeoff and landing tech that is de rigueur among so many aviation startups. -Stoke is…
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Travis Kalanick’s Atoms might be getting into the robotaxi business; plus, Krafton doubles down on India
-Atoms is reportedly preparing for a hiring spree, as well as acquisitions, that could make it a major player in the autonomous vehicle industry. -Krafton is a South Korean gaming company behind titles including PUBG and Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI), plans to invest another $250 million in...
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Ollie is betting its focus on privacy can help it win the AI assistant race; plus, Qualcomm backs Ultrahuman
The family-focused AI assistant wants access to the details of your everyday life, but says it won’t use that data to train AI models or share it with others. Ultrahuman is targeting a $200 million annual revenue run rate by January 2027 as it builds a new Qualcomm-powered smart ring. Learn more...
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Volunteer at TechCrunch Founder Summit in Boston
Our rebranded Boston event, TechCrunch Founder Summit (formerly All Stage), is back on November 4th! And we are looking for some incredible volunteers to help us make this event happen. If you are interested in finding out what goes into building tech events, apply to volunteer. Learn more about...
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Volunteer at TechCrunch Founder Summit in Boston
Our rebranded Boston event, TechCrunch Founder Summit (formerly All Stage), is back on November 4th! And we are looking for some incredible volunteers to help us make this event happen. If you are interested in finding out what goes into building tech events, apply to volunteer. Learn more…
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Wonderful more than doubles its valuation to $5B in under 6 months;plus, Volunteer at TechCrunch Founder Summit in Boston
Wonderful's $550M Series C was led by Insight Partners, with Salesforce, Index Ventures, IVP, Vine Ventures, 9Yards and Bessemer participating. Also, Our rebranded Boston event, TechCrunch Founder Summit (formerly All Stage), is back on November 4th! And we are looking for some incredible...
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HiddenLayer nabs $100M as enterprises rush to secure their AI deployments; plus, AfterQuery reportedly becomes Y Combinator’s fastest-ever unicorn
HiddenLayer has raised a $100M Series B from Delta-v Capital, Ten Eleven Ventures, Morgan Stanley, Microsoft's M12, Booz Allen Hamilton, and others. Also, AI model-training startup AfterQuery has reportedly raised a round that valued it at $3.2 billion, just five months after announcing its $30...
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Fambot introduces an ‘AI chief of staff’ for families; plus, Newlight is fuel-injecting hydrogen to make cargo ships more efficient
Fambot is building an AI “chief of staff” to help families manage the emails, calendars, school updates, sports schedules, and other logistics of raising kids. Also, Newlight has raised a $9 million seed round and completed an 8,500-nautical-mile test run from Singapore to Ghana. Learn more about...
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Harvard Law dropout raises $6M for Blue Voice to build a ‘Harvey for police officers’; plus, Clipto uses AI to search terabytes of video
The seed round for the app that provides real-time legal and policy guidance to officers was led by SignalFire and Las Olas VC. Clipto is a three-year-old startup and reached $15 million in ARR and profitability before raising its latest $15 million round. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...
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Belgian electric motorcycle startup 'Any' bets on cargo space; plus, Liux’s Big microcar bets on sustainability
Launched by Belgian startup Any, LUV1 is a modular electric motorcycle with 120 liters of cargo space that can be used to carry bags, work equipment, or even pets. Also, the Liux Big microcar is made in Spain. The startup thinks it can compete in a crowded market with its tiny electric car built...
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This former PG&E engineer is building a ‘Google Maps for the underground; plus, Viral AI startup Instinct has raised $350M at a $2.5B valuation
The startup just raised a $26 million Series A to grow its customer base and help reduce red tape for utility and construction work. Also, Instinct is only a year old but it has already generated a massive amount of hype (and money) while also spurring privacy concerns. Learn more about your ad...
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Radar makes podcasts searchable — and usable by AI agents
On Wednesday, the company introduced Radar, a podcast search engine that not only transcribes podcast audio but also understands what it means, enabling it to pull out key quotes and highlights. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Pacific Fusion’s next fusion machine could clear a key hurdle to commercial power; plus, Stability AI raises $76 million in fresh funding
Fusion startup Pacific Fusion broke ground on a demonstration facility in New Mexico that it says will generate enough energy to power itself. Also, Stability AI's new fundraising total now stands at $232 million. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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AI data startup Micro1 reaches $500M gross run rate amid AI training boom; plus, Japanese space tech startup Letara expands beyond satellite thrusters
Surging demand for AI training data is driving rapid growth for the startup and its rivals. Also, Japanese space startup Letara is betting its hybrid rocket technology can move beyond small satellite thrusters into a broader market for space, defense and security, after raising ¥2.6 billion ($16...
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Apollo Atomics wants to make nuclear power cheaper by shrinking an overlooked part; plus, Detroit startup Grounded raises $5M to customize electric and gas-powered vans
Y Combinator alumnus Apollo Atomics is shrinking a key nuclear reactor part, which promises to slash the cost of electricity below natural gas. Also, Grounded has shifted from making van-life builds to custom outfitting vehicles for small businesses, all while the EV landscape in the US changed...
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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
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, TerraPower's nuclear power plant possesses a strategic advantage over competitors,...
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DOJ’s probe into Andreessen Horowitz over board seats baffles VCs; plus, Etched’s valuation doubles to $21B in a month
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 cluster system, and was so impressed, it led another massive round, the startup…
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Sound-powered fire protection startup gets $15M to snuff out fires before they turn catastrophic; plus, Wispr looks beyond dictation
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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SpaceX officially closes its Cursor acquisition; plus, Stripe will reportedly acquire AI gateway startup OpenRouter for $7B+
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
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How a $250 million acquisition collapsed into allegations of fraud and forged signatures
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 podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Listen to select TechCrunch articles on startups coverage—who's raising, who's exiting, who's changing the world.
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TechCrunch Startup News currently has 1000 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
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Listen to select TechCrunch articles on startups coverage—who's raising, who's exiting, who's changing the world.
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TechCrunch Startup News releases new episodes frequently with a large back catalog of 1000 episodes. Check the episode list for recent publication dates.
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