Startup founders face a perplexing and even contradictory capital market in 2025, according to Sapphire Ventures partner Cathy Gao. “Capital isn’t scarce. But access to that capital is harder than ever,” she said. Gao, who spoke at TechCrunch’s All Stage conference in July, said it’s possible for startup founders, especially those in later Series C…
AI storage platform Vast Data is in talks with Alphabet’s venture arm CapitalG and existing backer Nvidia to raise a fresh round that could value the startup at up to $30 billion, Reuters reported, citing two sources. TechCrunch reported last month that Vast Data was working to raise funds at a $25 billion valuation. The…
Autonomous weapons, decentralized strategy, and startup speed — this isn’t the future of defense, it’s the now. At TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, Ethan Thornton, CEO and founder of Mach Industries, steps onto the AI Stage to talk about how next-gen defense is being built from the ground up with AI at its core. Inside the AI…
Instagram users now need a public account with a minimum of 1,000 followers to go live on the platform, the social network confirmed to TechCrunch. Until now, Instagram has allowed anyone to go live, regardless of their follower count or whether their account is public or private. The move will be a blow to smaller…
ChatGPT-maker OpenAI has raised $8.3 billion at a $300 billion valuation, reports The New York Times. The deal is part of OpenAI’s broader strategy to secure $40 billion this year. The oversubscribed round came months ahead of schedule, per the NYT. OpenAI initially raised $2.5 billion from VC firms in March when it announced its…
At TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, taking place October 27-29 at Moscone West in San Francisco, we’re getting real about what it takes to land a Series A in today’s market — no smoke, no mirrors, just the unfiltered perspective from the people signing the checks. Series A has changed — here’s how to win in 2026…
TikTok is launching a new version of its app called “TikTok Pro” in Germany, Portugal, and Spain. The app features TikTok’s new “Sunshine Programme,” which allows users to support charitable organizations. Users can earn “virtual sunshine” by inviting others to join and by interacting with charity-related content, such as liking or reposting videos, following charity…
Truecaller is discontinuing its call-recording function on iOS — just over two years after the feature was launched — as the Swedish company opts to focus on its core offering: fighting spam calls. On Friday, the company confirmed to TechCrunch that its call-recording feature will no longer be available on iPhones starting September 30. Users…
Lovense, a maker of internet-connected sex toys, has confirmed it has fixed a pair of security vulnerabilities that exposed users’ private email addresses and allowed attackers to remotely take over any user’s account. While the company said the bugs were “fully resolved,” its chief executive is now considering taking legal action following the disclosure. In…
Applied AI research company Fundamental Research Labs (formerly known as Altera) announced today that it has raised $33 million in Series A funding led by Prosus with participation from Stripe co-founder and CEO Patrick Collison. The company has a curious structure, as it is working on multiple AI applications in different fields. When it raised…
