79 episodes
TechCrunch Startup News, page 2
by TechCrunch · English
Listen to select TechCrunch articles on startups coverage—who's raising, who's exiting, who's changing the world.
Ask in Claude
Ask in ChatGPTAll episodes, page 2
Efferon wants to eradicate the devastating toll of pediatric sepsis; plus, Petra Power looks to modernize energy for data centers
The episode covers two TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 200 companies: Eferon and Petra Power. Eferon is tackling pediatric sepsis, which kills about 3 million children under age 5 annually.
12 Oct 2026 · 7m · 2 chaptersA startup founder who served time in prison is looking to court an untapped market: ex-cons
Two startup stories. First, Richard Bronson’s Commissary Club targets ex-cons with an AI-powered platform for job and housing reentry, plus community features.
9 Oct 2026 · 9m · 2 chaptersGreenairy is building smart plant towers to clean the air in your office; plus, Robot data startup Mecka AI nabs $60M from Sequoia
The episode covers two startup stories. GreenAri is building smart plant towers to clean office air by targeting toxic gases (VOCs) like formaldehyde and benzene, which many purifiers struggle to…
8 Oct 2026 · 6m · 3 chaptersSilicon Valley’s AI wunderkind launches Underdog, the most private Instinct/Muse competitor yet; plus, name Ex-Ramp engineers raise $20M for platform Melius
Silicon Valley AI founder Sigal Wen launches Underdog, a highly private, on-device AI assistant, and TechCrunch also covers Melius, an AI platform for generating ad campaigns that raised $20M.
7 Oct 2026 · 9m · 3 chaptersHot Girl Hotline is like ‘Dear Abby’ for the AI era; plus, after Factory’s public spat with Khosla, Menlo proudly invests
Hot Girl Hotline is like “Dear Abby” for the AI era. The episode covers two things: a new AI relationship-advice startup and Menlo Ventures’ investment in AI coding startup Factory amid a public…
6 Oct 2026 · 8m · 2 chaptersPhoton held a funeral for mobile apps; plus, Kevin Mandia’s new ‘agent swarm’ security startup
Photon held a tongue-in-cheek “funeral” for mobile apps in San Francisco (Sept 17), arguing apps will eventually be replaced by AI agents that users access through existing messaging platforms.
5 Oct 2026 · 7m · 6 chaptersWorld’s first enhanced geothermal power plant completed in just 23 months; plus, turning idle car inventory into rental revenue
The episode covers two startup/tech stories. First, Fervo Energy says its Cape Station enhanced geothermal plant began selling electricity to the grid on Sept.
2 Oct 2026 · 7m · 2 chaptersFactory CEO just accused his VC board adviser of spying for Cognition
Factory CEO Matan Grinberg says he fired VC board adviser Chris Denyon after alleging Denyon spied for Factory’s rival, Cognition, by sharing confidential information.
1 Oct 2026 · 7m · 3 chaptersEx-Tesla team raises $12.5M to put supply chains on autopilot; plus, EliseAI raises $350M, doubles valuation to $4B
Atomic (ex-Tesla team) raises $12.5M Series A to automate supply-chain inventory decisions; EliseAI raises $350M, doubling valuation to $4B, to automate housing and healthcare operations with an AI…
30 Sep 2026 · 7m · 5 chaptersAMD will acquire Fei-Fei Li’s World Labs for $8.2 billion; Physical AI chip developer SiMa AI hits $1.45B valuation
The episode covers AMD’s $8.2B acquisition of WorldLabs, a deep-learning company focused on “physical reality” models.
29 Sep 2026 · 5m · 3 chaptersOcean surveillance startup Quartermaster raises another $140M
Quartermaster, an Arlington, Virginia ocean surveillance startup, raises a $140M Series B after a $43M Series A, expanding its SmartMast hardware network for real-time maritime awareness beyond AIS.
28 Sep 2026 · 5m · 2 chaptersNexterity wants to automate the hard, dangerous part of pipefitting; plus, Feather is building the ‘Android of robotics’ for developers
Two robotics startups—Nexterity automates pipefitting bolting to improve safety and productivity; Feather builds a modular humanoid “Android of robotics” platform so developers can deploy robotics…
25 Sep 2026 · 8m · 2 chaptersModal Motors is trying to cut China out of electric motors entirely; plus, PitPro’s first tire-changing robot goes live in Canada
Two tech stories. Modal Motors aims to cut China out of electric motor supply by eliminating rare-earth magnets, and PitPro Automation has deployed its first tire-changing robot in Canada.
24 Sep 2026 · 8m · 2 chaptersa16z is challenging Silicon Valley’s love for drop-outs by launching a school; plus, AstroForge is putting AI in command of its next spacecraft
The episode covers two startup/tech stories. First, a16z (Andreessen Horowitz) is launching the Horowitz Andreessen Academy, a San Francisco, non-accredited, one-year (first cohort) tuition-free…
23 Sep 2026 · 9m · 2 chaptersA small but growing number of founders are betting on bringing people together offline
The episode argues that a small but growing group of founders are building offline “togetherness” businesses to counter loneliness and social disconnection.
22 Sep 2026 · 9m · 7 chaptersComp AI sets eyes on a continuously agentic future for security and compliance
The episode covers Comp.ai’s Series A funding and its “continuously agentic” approach to security and compliance.
18 Sep 2026 · 5m · 3 chaptersClean tech startup Fluxnium found a way to tap 50,000 years’ worth of nuclear fuel; plus, Hang Ten Systems nabbed another $53m
The episode covers two startup stories. First, clean-tech Fluxnium (CEO/founder Jeff Green) says it can extract uranium from seawater using Department of Energy–licensed chemistry and specially made…
17 Sep 2026 · 10m · 4 chaptersEarly Anthropic hire, former METR COO have found a way to rein in rogue AI agents; plus, health benefits platform Thatch reaches $1B valuation
TechCrunch episode covers two startup stories. First, AIUC (Artificial Intelligence Underwriting Company), founded by Rune Kvist (early Anthropic employee; married to Rajiv Dutani’s sister) and Rajiv…
16 Sep 2026 · 9m · 2 chaptersSuperhuman acquired notetaker Fathom; plus, OpenAI bought smartphone camera maker Glass Imaging, and AI infrastructure company Cornelis raised $205M
TechCrunch episode covers three startup deals and why they matter for AI.
15 Sep 2026 · 7m · 3 chaptersFusion power startups find new partners in the defense world; plus, Mecka AI nears $500M valuation amid rush for robot training data
The episode covers two TechCrunch startup themes: fusion power startups seeking defense-sector partners as climate-tech funding slows, and Mecka AI’s rapid growth as it amasses robot training data.
14 Sep 2026 · 7m · 4 chaptersDefense tech Mach Industries doubled its valuation in 3 months; plus, Maven Robotics wants to steal your robot deployment deal
TechCrunch Startup news covering (1) Mach Industries’ defense-tech funding surge and (2) Maven Robotics’ push to win and expand warehouse robot deployment deals.
11 Sep 2026 · 9m · 4 chaptersCloudNC raises $20M to automate manufacturing’s most pressing bottlenecks; plus, Sequoia doubles down on Cymphony
CloudNC’s $20M B extension to automate CNC manufacturing bottlenecks via AI-assisted CAM, plus Sequoia Capital’s $30M bet on Symphony to secure AI agents with a unified workforce identity/data view.
10 Sep 2026 · 6m · 2 chaptersNuclear 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
TechCrunch episode covers three startup stories. BlueCore Energy: small nuclear reactors on floating barges for ports and nearby infrastructure; aims to transport clean power where needed.
9 Sep 2026 · 12m · 3 chaptersTravis Kalanick’s Atoms might be getting into the robotaxi business; plus, Krafton doubles down on India
Adams (Travis Kalanick’s autonomous vehicle startup) may be moving toward robo-taxi operations after a $1.7B funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz; Krafton is increasing India investment by $250M…
8 Sep 2026 · 6m · 3 chapters