Fundings and Exits

Putting AI to work in the healthcare industry is a tricky business; it’s even more so in oncology, where the stakes are especially high. Biotech startup Valar Labs is aiming high but starting small with a tool that accurately predicts certain treatment outcomes, potentially saving precious time for patients. It has raised $22 million to

When Alex Ewing was a kid growing up in Purcell, Oklahoma, he knew how close he was to home based on which billboards he could see out the car window. Now, as the CEO of OneScreen.ai, he’s helping startups like fintech Ramp and technical recruiter Karat advertise on billboards and beyond. “I think billboards are

TechCrunch Disrupt showcases cutting-edge technology and innovation, and this year’s edition will not disappoint. Among thousands of insightful breakout session submissions for this year’s Audience Choice program, five breakout sessions have soared to the top and were selected by thousands of people from around the globe to speak at this year’s event. Without further ado,

After Brandon Lloyd sold his second company, Bypass, a payments and point-of-sale software company for sports and entertainment, to Fiserv in 2020, he dove more into the payments industry and realized something: Software companies were getting a raw deal from the payments provider industry. “Companies like Stripe originally built that platform for an online merchant

Sanil Chawla remembers the meetings he had with countless artists in college. Those creatives were looking for one thing: sustainable economic infrastructure that could help them scale rather than drown them in paperwork, filings and tracking down receipts.  Chawla thought he might have a solution and launched a music monetization platform in 2020. During the

One of the more innovative features of the mobile web browser, Arc Search from The Browser Company, is its ability to search the web for you and then spit back a summary of what it learned, instead of returning a more traditional set of search results. The feature, “Browse for me,” is one of several

Tech enthusiasts and entrepreneurs, the clock is ticking! With just 72 hours remaining until the early-bird ticket deadline for TechCrunch Disrupt 2024, now is the time to secure your spot and save big on this premier tech event. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to join us in San Francisco for an unforgettable experience filled

Avendus, the top investment bank for venture deals in India, confirmed on Wednesday it is looking to raise up to $350 million for its new private equity fund.  The new fund, called Future Leaders Fund III, will enable the Mumbai-headquartered firm to write larger checks and maintain a meaningful position in the startups it backs,

Welcome to TechCrunch Fintech! This week, we’re looking at the long-term implications of Synapse’s bankruptcy on the fintech sector, Majority’s impressive ARR milestone, and more!  To get a roundup of TechCrunch’s biggest and most important fintech stories delivered to your inbox every Tuesday at 7:00 a.m. PT, subscribe here.  The big story Last week, we

Infra.Market, an Indian startup that helps construction and real estate firms procure materials, has raised $50 million from MARS Unicorn Fund as it looks to expand operations overseas, the companies told TechCrunch on Tuesday.  MARS Unicorn Fund, a joint venture between AI-driven fund Liquidity Group and Japanese bank MUFG, is an existing backer of the

AniML, the French startup behind a new 3D capture app called Doly, wants to create the PhotoRoom of product videos, sort of. If you’re selling sneakers on an online marketplace or need to create Instagram ads for your direct-to-consumer wares, Doly helps you generate 3D models with your phone and turn them into professional-looking product

The countdown to early-bird savings for TechCrunch Disrupt, taking place October 28–30 in San Francisco, continues. You have just five days left to save up to $800 on the price of admission. The window closes on Friday, May 31 at 11:59 p.m. PDT. Grab your tickets today. Find the best early-bird pass for you ATTENDEE

Indian startup Zypp Electric plans to use fresh investment from Japanese oil and energy conglomerate ENEOS to take its EV rental service into Southeast Asia early next year, TechCrunch has exclusively learned. The company aims to be in 15 markets over the next two years. Of those 15 markets, Zypp Electric plans to launch its

Garry Tan, president and CEO of Y Combinator, told a crowd at The Economic Club of Washington, D.C. this week that “regulation is likely necessary” for artificial intelligence. Tan spoke with Teresa Carlson, a General Catalyst board member as part of a one-on-one interview where he discussed everything from how to get into Y Combinator

Google is investing nearly $350 million in Flipkart, becoming the latest high-profile name to back the Walmart-owned Indian e-commerce startup. The Android-maker will also provide Flipkart with cloud offerings as part of the deal, the Bengaluru-headquartered startup said in a brief statement Friday. The Google investment is part of a nearly $1 billion funding round

Accurate weather forecasts are critical to industries like agriculture, and they’re also important to help prevent and mitigate harm from inclement weather events or natural disasters. But getting forecasts right is extremely difficult. That’s why the founders of WeatherXM have been looking to make weather forecasts more accurate for the past 12 years. In 2012,

Attention, tech enthusiasts and startup supporters! The final countdown is here: Today is the last day to cast your vote for the TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 Audience Choice program. Voting closes tonight at 11:59 p.m. PT, so this is your last chance to make your voice heard and help select the most promising startups to take

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. Well, folks, it looks like Techstars’ drama just got a new plot twist. CEO Maëlle Gavet is making her exit, leaving co-founder David Cohen to swoop

Last year’s investor dreams of a strong 2024 IPO pipeline have faded, if not fully disappeared, as we approach the halfway point of the year. 2024 delivered four venture-backed tech IPOs, Reddit, Astera Labs, Ibotta and Rubrik, in March and April, which made it seem like this year could spur the momentum investors had hoped

Andrej Safundzic, Alan Flores Lopez and Leo Mehr met in a class at Stanford focusing on ethics, public policy and technological change. Safundzic — speaking to TechCrunch — says that the class drove home the point that few people, particularly in the corporate sector, have control over their online identities. “The future of software is

Leanne Sherred, a pediatric speech therapist, has long encountered challenges putting caregiver-led therapy into practice in traditional care settings. Research suggests that caregiver-led speech therapy, which involves training the caregivers of patients in skill-building therapeutic techniques to use at home, can be highly effective. But as Sherred observed in the course of her practice, therapists

​​Vigile Hoareau is a musician, cognitive psychologist and computer programmer. Jimmy Thomas is a multi-platinum rap producer who has worked with Tupac and Motown Records. Together, they are the founders of Crowdaa, a French company that allows non-developers to easily create and release apps on mobile.  The two were introduced eight years ago and bonded

If you thought autonomous driving was just for cars, think again. The so-called ‘autonomous navigation’ market — where ships steer themselves guided by AI, resulting in fuel and time savings — is projected to grow from $4.46 billion in 2023 to $5.33B in 2024 alone.  Orca AI is a London-based startup that claims to have

Silo, a Bay Area food supply chain startup, has hit a rough patch. TechCrunch has learned that the company on Tuesday laid off roughly 30% of its staff, or north of two dozen employees. Silo has confirmed the headcount reductions, clarifying the cuts were across the board and not focused on individual departments. Silo shared

Techstars CEO Maëlle Gavet announced on LinkedIn that she is leaving the company at the end of the month for health reasons. Starting today, Techstars co-founder and board chairman David Cohen will become CEO.  Gavet became CEO in 2021 and wrote on LinkedIn that she “would not exchange the last 3.5 years of hard work

Oyo, the once high-flying Indian budget hotel chain, has withdrawn its IPO application from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for the second time in a fresh blow to its already diminished ambitions. The Gurugram-headquartered startup, which at its peak commanded a valuation of $10 billion, pulled the plug on its IPO plans

Some startups choose to bootstrap from the beginning while others find themselves forced into self funding by a lack of investor interest or a business model that doesn’t fit traditional VC. FarmboxRx decided to bootstrap because founder Ashley Tyrner didn’t like the advice she was getting from potential backers. Tyrner told TechCrunch’s Found podcast that

Generative AI makes stuff up. It can be biased. Sometimes it spits out toxic text. So can it be “safe”? Rick Caccia, the CEO of WitnessAI, believes it can. “Securing AI models is a real problem, and it’s one that’s especially shiny for AI researchers, but it’s different from securing use,” Caccia, formerly SVP of

Zen Educate, an online marketplace that connects schools with teachers, has raised $37 million in a Series B round of funding. The raise comes amid a growing teacher shortage crisis both sides of the pond, with a recent report from ADP Research Institute noting that the global pandemic exacerbated the existing supply/demand imbalance due to

TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 is not just about groundbreaking innovations, insightful panels, and visionary speakers — it’s also about listening to YOU, the audience, and what you feel is top of mind for the tech community. With the Disrupt 2024 Audience Choice Program, your vote can make a difference and propel your favorite thought leaders to