Equity

Today, on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, hosts Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha and Margaux MacColl are unpacking the week’s news, including GM’s decision to give up on self-driving startup Cruise. The choice initially came as a shock considering the $10 billion GM pumped into the company over the years, but it became clearer when examining Cruise’s tumultuous 2023 and 2024.  Listen to the full episode to hear about: Freysa.ai’s public challenge and what’s motivating users to make the AI chat bot fall in love with them. Why VCs are lining up to back Lumen Orbit’s moonshot of data centers in space. Which startups are stepping up amid a looming TikTok ban and if we’ll see another company capture Bluesky’s success. According to Anthony, it all depends on, "luck, timing, and something to do with critical mass." Who’s stepping up to fill Y Combinator’s place in Africa and where else we could see a pivot to local accelerators. Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every W

While the idea that the government “should be run like a business,” is by no means a new one, with Elon Musk in charge of government efficiency, it's worth taking a closer look at whether business principles can be applied to government.  Today on Equity, Rebecca Bellan is discussing the intersection of tech, business and politics with Columbia Business School Professor Michael Morris. Morris is also the author of Tribal, how the cultural instincts that divide us could help bring us together, a nominee for the 2024 Financial Times Business Book of the Year award. Listen to the full episode to hear more about: How Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy's new initiative plans to save $2 trillion in government spending. The impact of other tech leaders joining government and the potential for these leaders to influence decisions on crypto and AI regulation. What challenges lie ahead for startups bringing innovation to the military. Spoiler: higher costs of error and slower logistics chains are on the list. Subscribe to u

AI agent startup /dev/agents announced a massive $56M seed round, putting the company’s valuation at a whopping $500 million. The amount is impressive given the company won’t have a first version of its product available until at least early next year. The reason behind investors’ trust, however, becomes a bit clearer when you consider the founders’ pedigree:  /dev/agents’ co-founders were both on Google’s Android team during the early days of the smartphone era. The round, as well as whether or not to include “slash” when pronouncing the company’s name, was the first of many deals discussed on today’s episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast.  Listen to the full episode to hear hosts Margaux MacColl, Devin Coldewey and Anthony Ha dig into: How Yurts plans to become the DoD’s go-to AI integration platform and compete with AI chatbot the Pentagon is developing itself. Why ServiceTitan’s IPO keeps getting weirder and if it’s a sign of IPOs to come.  The latest wave of VC turnover, including Brian Singerman’s

How can founders scale frontier tech? Today on Equity, Rebecca Bellan is finding out with Tom Biegala and Ben Hemani, the co-founders of early-stage venture firm, Bison. Bison invests in what they call 'frontier tech' companies building in the material science, robotics, biotech, climate, and sustainability verticals. Listen to the full episode to hear Rebecca and Bison's founding team discuss: Why AI isn't a 'silver bullet' for biotech companies, although it is central to modern drug discovery Which robotics startups are catching investors' eyes How - and how not - to find product-market-fit when building frontier technology When to seek out venture funding over grant funding Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod. For the full episode transcript, for those who prefer reading over listening, check out our full archive of episodes on TechCrunch. Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kel

We hope those of you in the U.S. had a Happy Thanksgiving! And as a holiday treat this week, Equity is bringing you an episode of our sister show, Found.  AI startups are everywhere, but there can't be any innovation without proper computing power. Found hosts Becca and Dom sat down with Gavin Uberti, co-founder and CEO of Etched, an AI chip startup focusing on developing specialized chips. Gavin shares the bold bet his startup is making on transformer models for AI chips, aiming to take on industry giant Nvidia. They discuss how Etched is developing specialized chips that they claim will be an order of magnitude faster than competitors, and Uberti shares his insights on the future of AI hardware as models continue to rapidly scale up in size and capability. Found posts every Tuesday. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts to be alerted when new episodes drop. Check out the other TechCrunch podcast: Equity . Subscribe to Found to hear more stories from founders each week. Credits: Eq

At this year's TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco,  President and CEO of the Aerospace Corporation Steve Isakowitz and Agency Chief Technologist at NASA A.C. Charanya Charania took the stage to discuss a literal moonshot: how to build a thriving lunar ecosystem. Today on Equity, we’re taking you behind the scenes of TechCrunch Disrupt once again, this time with Devin Coldewey at the helm.  For those keeping track, Devin’s kept the Equity podcast crew up to date on space startups over the past few months, including Starfish Space’s $29 million round and, more recently, SpaceX’s second commercial deal for the Starship lunar lander with Lunar Outpost. Listen to the full conversation to hear Devin and Steve Isakowitz discuss:  What the path ahead looks like for space startups The shift away from government-dominated space programs to a more commercial landscape And what’s in store for Aerospace Corporation in 2025. Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate, and we’ll be back on Friday for a special episode f

Today, on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, hosts Kirsten Korosec, Devin Coldewey and Margaux MacColl dig into the week’s tech and startup news, including what a new scaling method could mean for AI startups if it works and for chip providers if it fails. Listen to the full episode to hear about: The DOJ’s latest proposal for Google: it should divest its Chrome browser. While we wait for a break in the monopoly case and a better search alternative to arise, the Equity crew thinks that Wiz might’ve been on to something when they said no to Alphabet. Dual-use drone startup Tekever’s $74 million raise and its part in the European defense tech boom How Converge Bio plans to build an ’everything store’ for biotech LLMs. While on the subject of LLMs, Kirsten took us deeper into ServiceTitan’s S-1, including its boilerplate warning about AI. Network states 2.0. Margaux had the latest on Praxis’s unusual $525 million raise and the regions its founder is eyeing for a new city. Equity will be back next week, so stay t

Late last week, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission chair Gary Gensler said that he was “proud to serve” the agency, which some are taking as a hint at an upcoming resignation. Gensler has faced heavy criticism for his crackdown on crypto, including a recent lawsuit from 18 states, and is likely to be replaced under President-Elect Donald Trump who has vowed to oust Gensler. On Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump is meeting with Brian Armstrong, the CEO of crypto exchange Coinbase, to discuss potential personnel appointments.  Today on Equity, we're bringing you an interview between Rebecca Bellan and co-founder and CSO of  blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis, Jonathan Levin. The pair caught up at our Strictly VC event in New York shortly before the Gary Gensler news dropped to discuss:  The imminent change for crypto in the wake of the US election  Trends in crypto crime Chainalysis’s choice to run its operations in the US  How to build trust in crypto Equity is TechCrunch’s flagsh

Over the last few years, VC Ben Horowitz has donated at least $7.6 million to fund police department purchases - including the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s new drones from a16z-backed Skydio. Skydio is not the first of a16z’s portfolio companies to benefit from these donations, either. Today, on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, hosts Kirsten Korosec, Devin Coldewey and Margaux MacColl dug into the implications of Horowitz’s approach and why others in the VC world should maybe hold off on praising the controversial move. Listen to the full episode to hear about: Elon Musk’s new role in the Department of Government Efficiency. The crew wondered how much change Musk and co-lead Vivek Ramaswamy will actually be able to enact. And yes, DOGE jokes were made.  Klarna’s plans for a U.S. IPO. Unfortunately, it looks like we’ll have to wait for 2025 before we get another IPO, but Margaux has a theory about what might be behind the slowdown. Vecna Robotics’ $14.5 million raise and the CEO choice that caug

Today on Equity, TechCrunch Editor Julie Bort is sitting down with Marc Benioff, the CEO of Salesforce and one of the tech industry’s biggest hype men, about his latest work with Time Ventures and Salesforce Ventures, and why he thinks AI agents are the next big thing for enterprise software.  Listen to the full episode to hear about:  The impact of AI on customer experience The application of AI agents in the healthcare space - and what it could mean for data privacy Marc's thoughts on Salesforce competitor Microsoft's Copilot The range of gadgets that have piqued Benioff’s interest lately As always, Equity will be back on Friday with our news round-up! Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday.  Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod. For the full episode transcript, for those who prefer reading over listening, check out our full archive of epis

A tech regulation shakeup is on the way with President-elect Donald Trump set to take office in January. Trump has made it clear that he plans to dismantle Biden’s AI policies on "day one," aligning himself with those who’ve pushed back against regulation. Today on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, hosts Kirsten Korosec, Devin Coldewey and Margaux MacColl  dove into what Trump’s win could mean for AI policy and innovation moving forward. While AI is always on the mind these days, there was so much more startup and venture news for the Equity crew to get into this week. Listen to the full episode to hear about: OpenAI’s acquisition of Chat.com, the domain previously acquired by HubSpot co-founder and CTO Dharmesh Shah for a whopping $15.5 million. We’re not sure if this signals a brand change for the AI startup, but users’ trips to ChatGPT just got three letters shorter. DeepRoute’s $100 million raise and the startup’s race to get its automated systems out before Tesla FSD is available in China. Biotech startu

Today on Equity, we’re taking you backstage at TechCrunch Disrupt. Rebecca Bellan caught up with  Rebecca Gevalt, Managing Partner at Dcode Capital following their onstage discussion about the boom in national interest startups. Also on the panel was Topher Haddad, CEO of satellite imagery startup Albedo, and Kai Klepfer, CEO of biometric gun startup Biofire. Tune in to hear Bellan and Gevalt dive deeper into how startups can get a foot in the door of government contracts.  Check out the full onstage conversation here, and Equity will be back on Friday! Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday.  Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod. For the full episode transcript, for those who prefer reading over listening, check out our full archive of episodes over at Simplecast.     Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce D

As the founder and CEO of Rocket Lab, Peter Beck is a familiar face to anyone in the space industry. But the company's ambitions go far beyond its popular Electron launch vehicle. Today, we're bringing you an interview from TechCrunch Disrupt when Devin Coldewey sat down with Beck to discuss his belief that to thrive, perhaps even to survive, space companies will have to become fully integrated one-stop shops. Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday.  Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod. For the full episode transcript, for those who prefer reading over listening, check out our full archive of episodes over at Simplecast. Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products.

The Equity crew was live at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024! Hosts Kirsten Korosec, Devin Coldewey and Margaux MacColl took over the Builders Stage to kick off day 2 of Disrupt with no shortage of conference highlights, startups deals and venture news to chew through. Listen to the full episode to hear about: Devin’s plans to go to space thanks to his chat with Rocket Lab Founder Peter Beck. What Sierra, the AI startup co-founded by Bret Taylor, plans to do with its fresh $175 million funds. Waymo’s who’s who of Silicon Valley round, and why Kirsten’s routing for the robotaxis over the competition. How General Catalyst is breaking down its latest fund and setting its sights on European startups. Equity will be back with a special interview episode on Friday, so stay tuned! Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday.  Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.

It’s no secret that Stripe has doubled down on its crypto offerings, enabling crypto purchases in the EU back in July and announcing a Pay with Crypto feature earlier this month. This week, the fintech giant made its dedication to crypto even clearer with its largest deal to date: its acquisition of stablecoin platform Bridge for an eye-popping $1.1 billion. Today on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, hosts Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha and Devin Coldewey kicked off the show with their thoughts on the deal – mainly how surprising it is to see anyone spending over $1 billion on crypto in 2024. But of course, there was so much more startup and venture news for the crew to get into this week. Listen to the full episode for more about: Mobileye founder and CEO Amnon Shashua’s latest startup A 3D metal printing startup’s $14 million round from Boeing’s AE Ventures and Nvidia Andreessen Horowitz’s plans to provide its portfolio companies with Nvidia GPUs And who we’re expecting to see at TechCrunch’s Disrupt 2024.

“It's a bit too early to say that the race is over,” said Philippe Botteri when asked about European startups’ AI progress. “I think we're just at the very early innings of this race.”  Botteri is a partner at early-stage investment firm Accel with over 13 years under his belt at the firm, leading investments in DocuSign, UiPath and more recently Snyk and Chainalysis. Today on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, host Rebecca Bellan caught up Botteri to dive deep into Accel’s Euroscape 2024 Report. Tapping into Botteri’s experience in Cloud, SaaS security, and enterprise sectors, the pair discuss AI's rising influence, its impact on software and cloud investments, and how European startups can compete with the US.  Listen to the full episode for more about: How AI is eating the software market, with AI and cloud funding predicted to hit $79.2 billion by the end of 2024. The challenges faced by traditional software companies as funding growth slows outside of AI. Why Europe’s strong talent pool gives it an edge in

Today on Equity, Devin, Margaux and Anthony Ha are rounding up the week's startup and venture news, kicking things off with a look at the $400 million raised by Lightmatter, and the importance of fast networking within the fast growing datacenter industry today — not just in years to come — makes the impressive round a little more understandable. Our Deals of the Week continue with Paladin's drone play for first responders and police, and Abel aiming to reduce the substantial paperwork backlog that officers accrue in their everyday duties. Abel Founder Daniel Francis brings a chaotic energy (having landed a Twitter job from Musk after pretending to have been laid off) that could shake things up. Diving deeper, Anthony breaks down the complex back-and-forth that is the WordPress/WP Engine dispute - and we're left wondering why the obligations of and to the "open source community" are not entirely clear. What does it mean for an open source ecosystem when one person (in this case WordPress co-founder Matt Mulle

At Tesla’s robotaxi reveal event last week, several Optimus humanoid robots mingled with guests, pouring drinks and cracking jokes. Impressive technology, but the vocals and some of the gesticulations appear to have been remotely controlled by humans, something Tesla did not disclose.  Today on Equity, Rebecca Bellan chatted with TechCrunch’s hardware editor Brian Heater about Tesla’s Optimus bots, the market opportunity for humanoid robots, and other companies that are leading the charge in this industry.  We'll dive into: A CBInsights report which found that funding in 2024 already reached new highs for humanoid robots and PitchBook data that suggests funding into humanoid robot companies has reached close to $1 billion as of October.  Where we're most likely to see humanoid robot applications in the coming years. Automakers like BMW plan to deploy startup Figure’s robots at their plants, and Amazon, which has been a huge proponent of robotics for over a decade now, has tested Agility’s digit robot at its

Did OpenAI really ask its investors to avoid backing rivals like Anthropic and xAI? That’s what hosts Devin Coldewey, Margaux MacColl and special guest Anthony Ha wanted to know on today’s episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast. The team kicked off the show with a look at OpenAI's $6.6 billion round, which is being called the ‘largest VC round of all time’. Devin broke down what the funding could mean for the company’s path to profitability, and debunked some of the rumors floating around post-announcement - especially given how unusual those investor restrictions would be in later-stage funding.  OpenAI is not all that was on the Equity crew’s minds this week. Margaux wanted to discuss Dave Clark's new venture, Auger, which just raised $100 million to make supply chains more efficient with AI. Taking Clark’s Amazon and Flexport history into consideration, Augur could be on the path to success amid current global supply chain issues and the recent longshoreman strikes. To round out our deals of the week, Anth

Today on Equity, Rebecca Bellan sat down with Zander Brumbaugh, the 22-year-old founder of Gamebeast, a startup that offers Roblox developers tools like A/B testing and LiveOps to modify games without needing to release a new version or interrupt a user’s ongoing game.  Gamebeast recently raised a $3.7 million pre-seed round, led by J2 Ventures with participation from a16z’s Speedrun accelerator, which Brumbaugh graduated from in March. Brumbaugh said everything from his experience consulting for entertainment studios like Netflix, and writing a best-selling book on Roblox development, to chats with investors tell him that the future of video gaming is in user-generated content, or UGC.  The two discussed the rise in popularity of UGC games, a sector that investors are increasingly looking towards as drivers of growth in the video game industry. Brumbaugh didn’t only get investment for his startup because investors see the value in enabling UGC game development. J2 Ventures’ thesis focuses on dual-use technol