Navigating the complex decision of when to sell a startup or keep pushing forward is one of the toughest challenges founders face. In an era where IPOs are frequently delayed and acquisition offers arrive earlier, determining the right moment to either cash out or stay independent is increasingly nuanced. We’re excited to welcome three distinguished
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. That’s where a U.S.-based startup called Dottxt
Apple Music introduced a new feature for artists on Thursday to enable them to create playlists tied to their recent concert set lists. Dubbed “Set List,” the feature acts as a promotional tool for musicians to engage with their fans. It allows artists to turn their set list from a single show, residency, or entire
According to half a dozen sources, Accel, the global venture firm, is in advanced discussions to lead a funding round of $30 million to $40 million in Truemeds, an Indian online pharmacy that’s focused on providing customers with more affordable generic alternatives to costly branded medications. The talks are currently centered on a proposed valuation
Zepto is in advanced stages of talks to raise $100 million in new investment, its third in the last six months, as the leading Indian quick commerce startup looks to rope in more domestic investors, sources familiar with the talks told TechCrunch. The Mumbai-headquartered startup, which delivers grocery items and office stationery to customers’ doorsteps
The U.S. is facing a shortage of electricians, with unfilled jobs in the field expected to grow by 11% per year over the next decade, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But because prospective electricians in the U.S. typically need to log 8,000 hours before they can get their license, the shortage won’t ease
CapWay, a Y Combinator-backed fintech that sought to bring financial services to those in so-called “banking deserts,” has been shut down, according to its founder Sheena Allen. Allen wrote about it on LinkedIn and confirmed to TechCrunch. “I am proud of the work we were able to accomplish, but honestly disappointed that we couldn’t complete
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. The worry was not unfounded: the resulting meltdown — which spread highly radioactive material in multiple directions
Amazon today became the latest big tech company to throw its weight behind nuclear power, joining Microsoft and Google, which both previously announced long-term promises to buy nuclear power from startups to power their data centers. The company revealed three deals, including an investment in startup X-Energy and two development agreements that aim to add
It’s a big week in Kindle land. Along with refreshes to the base Kindle, Paperwhite, and Scribe, the company is introducing something many of us never expected in a devoted e-reader: color. Earlier this year, Amazon’s chief e-reader competitor, Kobo, introduced the $220 Libra Colour, which leverages color e-ink. The technology has thus far received
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. Asheville was a Paladin customer and its team
Do you want a side of socials with your fast food? Spain’s Glovo, a food delivery and quick commerce service where the bulk of orders are for ready-to-eat food, is experimenting with adding a bundle of social features to drive more in-app activity. It’s also letting restaurant partners upload food preparation videos to spice up
General Motors is working with Forge Nano, a materials science startup, to find new ways to enhance the performance and lifetime of electric vehicle battery cells. The automaker’s investment arm, GM Ventures, on Wednesday injected $10 million into Forge Nano, which is developing a thin coating the startup says will help improve safety and increase
Amazon’s Kindle line seems to go longer and longer between updates. While e-readers aren’t quite the consumer electronics darlings they once were, however, the retail giant is still invested in the category. After all, according to estimates, Amazon controls more than 80% of the U.S. market. Along with the long-awaited addition of a color Kindle,
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. But the company
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. So they threw in an additional $21 million for what became Capacity’s $26 million Series D.
As calls for urgent climate action persist, technologies to help remove the heat-trapping greenhouse gases from the atmosphere are also emerging globally. In Africa, Octavia Carbon, a Direct Air Capture (DAC) startup is leading the efforts. Octavia, founded in Kenya two years ago, builds DAC machines that it uses to capture carbon, a greenhouse gas
Amplitude, a publicly traded company that makes digital analytics software, has acquired Command AI, an app user engagement startup formerly known as CommandBar. Most of Command AI’s 30-person, San Francisco-based team will be joining Amplitude. Command AI’s co-founder and CEO James Evans wouldn’t reveal the terms of the deal, but said candidly that an acquisition
Pear VC, a prominent pre-seed and seed-focused venture firm, has been running an accelerator for about a decade with about 10 startups in each batch. Over those years, the small but mighty program has helped launch numerous companies like Viz.ai, whose FDA-approved AI can diagnose strokes (and was valued at $1.2 billion in 2022), relationship
Getting payroll right is hard — especially for small businesses with limited resources. The three founders of payroll and benefits startup Gusto all found that out separately, running small businesses of their own, before linking up to try to fix the broken SMB payroll system in 2013. Josh Reeves, a co-founder and current CEO of
Alert management for developers and ops teams may seem like a solved problem. Notifying an on-call engineer isn’t exactly difficult anymore, after all. But the real question has become when to alert the right person and how to help them when a service goes down, for example. Many are turning to AI to solve some
Google is rolling out Android 15 today to Pixel devices. It is also adding new features through the October Pixel drop, including improved low-light photography on Instagram and support for underwater photography and video. Android 15 updates Android 15 has a private space feature that lets you hide and lock apps behind a separate PIN
Matt Mullenweg, the WordPress co-founder and Automattic CEO, has been embroiled in a very public and legal fight with WP Engine these last few weeks over the use of WordPress as a trademark, and fees Automattic believes WP Engine owes to the WordPress project – sparring that has resulted in WP Engine issuing legal demands
In a typical organization, finance is one of the most important functions. Yet teams are often bogged down by manual workflows. According to a survey by Paylocity, an HR software provider, 38% of finance teams spend more than a fourth of their time on manual jobs, like reviewing invoices. Matthieu Hafemeister, an ex-fintech investor at
French startup Gladia, which offers a speech-recognition application programming interface (API), has raised $16 million in a Series A funding round. Essentially, Gladia’s API lets you turn any audio file into text with a high level of accuracy and low turnaround time. While Amazon, Microsoft and Google all offer speech-to-text APIs as part of their
Oura didn’t invent the smart ring category. It did, however, make all that came before it effectively obsolete. The category dates back more than a decade; TechCrunch wrote about an NFC ring in 2013. The Motiv Ring is of far more recent vintage, but it ultimately struggled to find the right use case before being
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. Founded in 2017, Peanut is
TechCrunch has lost one of its beloved former colleagues. Steve O’Hear, who wrote for TechCrunch for more than a decade out of his hometown of London, has passed away after a short illness. He was 49. It’s hard to put into words the remarkable talent that Steve was. Born with muscular dystrophy, he spent his
Google announced today that it has signed a deal with nuclear startup Kairos Power to build seven small reactors to supply electricity to its data centers. The agreement promises to add around 500 megawatts of carbon-free electricity at a time when energy demand for data centers and AI is surging. The new power plants are
Time is ticking! Just two weeks until the doors to TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 open. To ensure no one misses this highly anticipated event, we’re offering Expo+ 2-for-1 passes for the final days leading up to Disrupt 2024. Bring a friend, colleague, or family member to Moscone West in San Francisco from October 28-30. Get two
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