Category: Startups

Explore the latest startup news, entrepreneurial insights, and emerging business trends at Geek-Guy.com. From seed funding and venture capital to scaling strategies and disruptive innovation, follow the stories of the companies redefining the tech landscape.

AI, Apps, Enterprise, Funding, Fundraising, Global IT News, Global Security News, Guidde, Software, startup, Startups, training videos

Guidde taps AI to help create software training videos

February 19, 2025

Creating corporate training videos for software is a time-consuming ordeal, especially if you’re an organization with a lot of software licenses. Training videos can help get employees up to speed, but they’re a big lift. They often take entire teams to produce. Tel Aviv-based entrepreneur Yoav Einav thought there might be an alternative, cheaper way…

Safe Superintelligence, Ilya Sutskever’s AI startup, is reportedly close to raising roughly $1B

February 18, 2025

Safe Superintelligence, an AI startup founded by former OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, could be close to raising more than $1 billion at a $30 billion valuation — a higher valuation than reported just weeks ago. Bloomberg reports that VC firm Greenoaks Capital Partners is leading the deal and pledging to invest half a billion…

Thinking Machines Lab is ex-OpenAI CTO Mira Murati’s new startup

February 18, 2025

Former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati has announced her new startup. Unsurprisingly, it’s focused on AI. Called Thinking Machines Lab, the startup, which came out of stealth today, intends to build tooling to “make AI work for [people’s] unique needs and goals,” and to create AI systems that are “more widely understood, customizable, and generally capable”…

Thinking Machine Labs is ex-OpenAI CTO Mira Murati’s new startup

February 18, 2025

Former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati has announced her new startup. Unsurprisingly, it’s focused on AI. Called Thinking Machine Labs, the startup, which came out of stealth today, intends to build tooling to “make AI work for [people’s] unique needs and goals,” and to create AI systems that are “more widely understood, customizable, and generally capable”…

Fetii’s group rideshare app for young people attracts funding from Mark Cuban, YC

February 18, 2025

When he was a senior studying at Texas A&M University, Matthew Iommi realized that there were no good options for transporting groups of people. Fellow college students heading out for the night together didn’t have access to on-demand rides with the same convenience, accessibility, and affordability of typical ride-hail platforms, like Uber and Lyft. “Once…

Level Zero Health banks $6.9M to prove wearable medtech can take the strain out of hormone testing

February 18, 2025

Level Zero Health, a female-founded medical device startup that’s aiming to break new ground by developing a device for continuous hormone monitoring, has closed an oversubscribed $6.9 million pre-seed funding round despite being only a little over a year old. The startup wants to do away with the need for invasive blood draws and support…

Gamemaker Polymath aims to make learning math as enjoyable as Roblox

February 17, 2025

As gaming platforms like Roblox and Minecraft continue to grow in popularity among young children, and with platforms like YouTube consuming hours of their daily screen time, edtech companies face challenges in capturing their attention. Polymath aims to tackle this by combining gamified mechanics inspired by these popular games with adaptive math lessons to make…

Mistral releases regional model focused on Arabic language and culture

February 17, 2025

The next frontier for large language models (LLMs), one of the key technologies underpinning the boom in generative AI tools, might be geographical. On Monday, Paris-based AI startup Mistral — which is vying to rival the likes of U.S.-based Anthropic and OpenAI — is releasing a model that’s a bit different from its usual LLM.…

xAI’s “Colossus” supercomputer raises health questions in Memphis

February 15, 2025

Elon Musk’s AI startup xAI plans to continue using 15 gas turbines to power its “Colossus” supercomputer in Memphis, Tennessee, according to an operating permit with the Shelby County Health Department for non-stop turbine use from June 2025 to June 2030. Why does it matter? The Commercial Appeal, a news outlet that obtained the documents,…

Perplexity launches its own freemium ‘deep research’ product

February 15, 2025

Perplexity has become the latest AI company to release an in-depth research tool, with a new feature announced Friday. Google unveiled a similar feature for its Gemini AI platform in December. Then OpenAI launched its own research agent earlier this month. All three companies even have given the feature the same name: Deep Research. The…

Figure AI is in talks to raise $1.5B at 15x its last valuation

February 14, 2025

SailPoint’s dull debut did little to loosen the stuck IPO window, expert says

February 14, 2025

SailPoint’s IPO on Thursday was a disappointment for anyone hoping it would indicate that tech IPOs are hot again. The first day’s trading ended below the $23 initial price. The stock fared a tad better Friday, closing at over $24. But that’s nothing close to the big bang companies and VCs hope for. For instance,…

Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, said to be in talks to raise $10B

February 14, 2025

Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, is said to be in talks to raise $10 billion in a round that would value xAI at $75 billion. Bloomberg reported Friday that xAI is canvassing existing investors, including Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, and Valor Equity Partners for the round, which would bring xAI’s total raised to $22.4 billion,…

Call for Speakers: TechCrunch All Stage 2025

February 14, 2025

Founders, VCs, and startup experts—This is your moment! Got scaling insights? Now’s your chance to share them with 1,200 founders, investors, and entrepreneurs at TechCrunch All Stage 2025 presented by Fidelity, on July 17 in Boston! We’re gathering leading experts from the startup and VC communities to host engaging sessions, interactive roundtables, and dynamic breakouts.…

Apply to Speak at TechCrunch Sessions: AI

February 14, 2025

AI Innovators, this Is your moment! Have insights to share with 1,200 AI founders, investors, and enthusiasts eager to push the boundaries of innovation? Take the stage, shape the AI conversation, and exchange ideas at TechCrunch Sessions: AI on June 5 at UC Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall! We’re bringing together top AI minds from the startup…

Elon Musk’s full offer letter to buy OpenAI reveals five key details

February 13, 2025

Phase raises $13M to speed up the UX design process with its no-code platform

February 13, 2025

UX and UI designers work closely with engineers throughout product development to build and implement design concepts and wireframes for functional user interfaces. Regular communication, feedback and testing are required for the collaboration to work smoothly and deliver a user experience that aligns with the intended design goals. Nick Budden, a serial entrepreneur who used…

Tofu is building an omni-channel marketing platform for enterprises

February 13, 2025

When EJ Cho started his first company in 2018, he was exposed to what it takes to market a product. He was surprised to find a market filled with different single-use tools. “It was a very frustrating experience,” Cho told TechCrunch. “I had to learn and juggle all these different tools. It felt like a…

OpenAI scrubs diversity commitment web page from its site

February 13, 2025

OpenAI has eliminated a page on its website that used to express its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. The URL “https://openai.com/commitment-to-dei/” now redirects to “https://openai.com/building-dynamic-teams/,” a page that talks about people with “different backgrounds” with no use of the word diversity. The previous page stated that the company’s “investment in diversity, equity and inclusion”…

Startup Battlefield 200: The competition starts on the waitlist

February 13, 2025

Is your pre-Series A startup solving big problems with game-changing potential? Do you have the drive to compete against the world’s top early-stage startups? Or know a founder whose vision deserves to be seen? TechCrunch’s Startup Battlefield 200 is where the most innovative early-stage startups battle it out in front of world-renowned VC judges in…

Germany’s Helsing doubles down on drones for Ukraine, scales up manufacturing

February 13, 2025

Helsing, the German defense tech startup backed by Spotify’s Daniel Ek and others, is producing 6,000 HX-2 strike drones in addition to the 4,000 HF-1 strike drones financed by Germany that are currently being delivered to Ukraine. “We are scaling up production of HX-2 in response to additional orders from Ukraine,” Helsing co-founder Gundbert Scherf…

Avride launches sidewalk delivery bots on Uber Eats in Jersey City

February 13, 2025

Uber Eats customers in Jersey City can now have their orders delivered by one of Avride’s autonomous sidewalk delivery robots. The launch, which kicked off this week in New Jersey, is Uber’s latest foray into autonomous vehicles and represents an expanding relationship with Avride. The ride-hail and delivery giant deploys AVs on its app in…

Apptronik, which makes humanoid robots, raises $350M as category heats up

February 13, 2025

Apptronik, a University of Texas spin-out that was quietly building humanoid robots before it became quite so fashionable, on Thursday announced a $350 million Series A round of financing. B Capital and Capital Factory co-led the round, which also featured participation from Google, whose DeepMind division is partnering with Apptronik to deliver embodied AI for…

May Mobility launches its first driverless commercial ride-hail service

February 12, 2025

May Mobility is deploying autonomous vehicles differently than its peers. Rather than operate robotaxis for individual ride-hail, May has followed a “gentle onramp” approach to commercialization by offering on-demand shuttles and pooled rides within campuses and along uncomplicated routes. The startup announced Wednesday the launch of its first fully driverless commercial service in Peachtree Corners,…

Security compliance firm Drata acquires SafeBase for $250M

February 12, 2025

Drata, a security compliance automation platform that helps companies adhere to frameworks such as SOC 2 and GDPR, has acquired software security review startup SafeBase for $250 million. SafeBase co-founders Al Yang (CEO) and Adar Arnon (CTO) will retain their roles, and SafeBase will continue to offer a standalone product while bringing its core solutions to…

VC Sheel Mohnot talks about Twitter fame, fintech, and the truth about AI startups

February 12, 2025

If you follow fintech on X, it’s very likely that you have come across the account of Sheel Mohnot, co-founder and general partner of Better Tomorrow Ventures. With over 150,000 followers, Mohnot has built an impressive presence on the social media site. Interestingly, many of his posts have nothing to do with venture capital. Mohnot…

Suger helps companies list and scale up on cloud marketplaces

February 12, 2025

When cloud providers like Microsoft Azure and AWS launched cloud software marketplaces a decade ago, it opened up a new sales channel for software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies to get in front of potential enterprise customers. These marketplaces effectively enabled SaaS companies to bypass the traditional, lengthy sales cycles. But rarely is the seller-side experience a walk…

SpotDraft taps AI to help streamline contract management

February 12, 2025

More and more legal professionals are embracing AI, surveys show. Per a recent poll from legaltech company Clio, 79% of firms used some form of AI for casework last year, up from just 19% in 2023. Despite some skepticism of the tech, in-house counsel has shown an interest, as well, with one survey suggesting that…

No-code app builder Softr expands beyond Airtable databases

February 12, 2025

If you’re working for a small company and want to build a client portal or an internal tool, it can be difficult to find the budget and resources to allocate a developer to that small project. That’s why more than 600,000 people, including project managers, HR employees and marketing people, have been trying Softr’s no-code…

Anduril takes control of Microsoft’s $22B VR military headset program

February 11, 2025

The Army has granted upstart weapons maker Anduril control of one of its highest-profile and long-troubled projects known as the Integrated Visual Augmentation System, founder Palmer Luckey announced in a blog post Tuesday. IVAS was initially awarded to Microsoft in 2018 to develop augmented reality headsets for soldiers based on a ruggedized version of Hololens.…

How Musk’s $97.4B bid could gum up OpenAI’s for-profit conversion

February 11, 2025

On Monday, Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, offered to buy the nonprofit that effectively governs OpenAI for $97.4 billion. The unsolicited buyout would be financed by Musk’s AI company, xAI, and a consortium of outside investors, per a letter sent to California and Delaware’s attorneys general. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman quickly dismissed Musk’s bid,…

Stripe mulls employee shareholder sale at $85B-plus valuation

February 11, 2025

Stripe is in talks for another shareholder sale that could value the company at “at least” $85 billion, according to multiple reports and a source familiar with the matter. The Information first reported the news that the payments infrastructure giant is working to sell employee-owned stocks. The move would help workers gain some liquidity as…

3D mood board and marketplace Mattoboard picks up $2M to launch AI visual search

February 11, 2025

Mattoboard, the makers of web-based software designed to simplify the creative process for interior designers and architects, is getting into AI. On Tuesday, the startup announced its $2 million seed funding round, which will support the launch of a new feature called Design Stream, an AI-driven visual search and discovery tool. The company’s software, a…

Voyantis aims to help companies figure out their customers’ worth

February 11, 2025

How much is a customer worth to a company? That’s the eternal question. To arrive at an answer, customer and sales teams are often forced to use spreadsheets and other manual data analysis methods. The problem is, these methods tend to be slow and error-prone, leading to gaps in reporting processes. The challenge spurred two…

Archer Aviation doubles down on defense aircraft with fresh $300M

February 11, 2025

Escalating geopolitical tensions and a new administration with a hawkish defense agenda has led many startups to embrace dual-use strategies to secure revenue through military applications. And it’s a trend that is already heating up in aerospace. Just look at Archer Aviation, a California-based startup building eVTOLs (electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles). Until very…

QED leads $11M investment in Nigerian fintech Raenest

February 11, 2025

As Africa’s tech ecosystem booms, more local talent is landing remote jobs with Big Tech firms and global startups. But getting paid remains a challenge for many of these freelancers and remote workers. They struggle to open accounts that accept US dollars, with foreign employers using incompatible payment platforms, and face slow invoicing and payment…

Zeta valued at $2B in new funding

February 10, 2025

Zeta, a provider of banking software to banks and fintech startups, has raised $50 million from a strategic investor at a $2 billion valuation. The new investment from American healthcare company Optum marks a 70% increase in the Bengaluru-based startup’s valuation from the $1.15 billion price tag (pre-money) it earned in 2021, when it raised…

Carta settles two more lawsuits that alleged sexual harassment and discrimination

February 10, 2025

A comprehensive list of 2024 and 2025 tech layoffs

February 10, 2025

Bird cuts 120 jobs as part of ‘strategic realignment’

February 10, 2025

Bird, formerly MessageBird, has cut 120 jobs — roughly one-third of its workforce — as the startup plans to realign its global operations. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Mistral gets down to business

February 10, 2025

Hundreds of heads of states, tech CEOs and nonprofits have flocked to Paris for the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit. So far, the winner of this week’s diplomatic and business parade seems to be Mistral. In business lingo, we would say that the French AI unicorn is experiencing tailwinds. Mistral has been one of the leading…

Here are five startups that are running Super Bowl ads this year

February 9, 2025

Super Bowl weekend is here with the Philadelphia Eagles set to take on the Kansas City Chiefs in New Orleans on Sunday evening. While many folks tune in to the Super Bowl for the actual football, others do so for the halftime performance, and some tune in just for the ads. The ad roster this…

Anduril in talks to raise up to $2.5B at $28B valuation

February 7, 2025

Just six months after defense tech Anduril raised a massive $1.5 billion round that valued the company at $14 billion, it’s in talks to raise another $2.5 billion, at a valuation of up to $28 billion, sources told CNBC. The deal would, not surprisingly, be led by Founders Fund, which is reportedly writing a $1…

Report: Ilya Sutskever’s startup in talks to fundraise at roughly $20B valuation

February 7, 2025

Safe Superintelligence, the AI startup founded by former OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, is in talks to raise funding at a valuation of “at least” $20 billion, according to Reuters. It’s not clear how much Safe Superintelligence — which has yet to generate any revenue — is looking to secure, but it could be substantial.…

PromptLayer is building tools to put non-techies in the driver’s seat of AI app development

February 7, 2025

The GenAI boom of the last few years has unleashed a wave of startups promising to support the process of prompt engineering — i.e., coming up with instructions to precisely steer an AI chatbot to serve useful output. So think tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, which present the user with a blank field…

Hiveclass, a platform for virtual PE classes for kids, raises $1.5M

February 7, 2025

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020 and schools transitioned to online learning, both Joe Titus and Paul Suhr were concerned about how to maintain their children’s activity levels in the absence of mandatory physical education classes and sports. The two friends’ solution was Hiveclass, a New York-based edtech platform that hosts online courses for…

Fintech Ramp lands Eagles’ Saquon Barkley as investor and Super Bowl commercial star

February 6, 2025

Philadelphia Eagles’ star running back Saquon Barkley has not only become an investor in fintech startup Ramp, he is also the star of the company’s first Super Bowl commercial. Interestingly, it was Barkley who reached out to Ramp about investing, not the other way around as is so often the case with celebrity endorsements. Barkley…

Intel Capital fuels TrueFoundry’s $19M funding to help boost AI deployments at scale

February 6, 2025

TrueFoundry, a startup offering enterprises a platform to deploy compound AI systems at scale, as raised $19 million in a Series A round led by Intel Capital. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Pendulum’s AI-driven platform helps enterprises better predict supply and demand

February 6, 2025

Supply chains have had a tumultuous few years, beginning in 2020, when COVID-19 upended legacy global supply chains. More recently, the “TikTok-ification” of retail has companies like Shein and Temu creating new products constantly as consumer demands change at the same rapid pace. Pendulum aims to help companies better plan for supply and demand in…

First lab-grown meat treats go on sale in the UK — for dogs

February 6, 2025

Cultivated chicken doggie snacks have gone on sale at a U.K. pet food retailer, Pets at Home. The retailer also happens to be a major investor in Meatly, the startup producing the meat ingredient contained in dog food brand The Pack’s Chick Bites, as the slaughter-free, low carbon treats are billed. (Other ingredients in the…

Comstruct, a platform to digitize the construction industry, raises $13.5 million

February 6, 2025

When you think about platforms in the construction industry, chances are you’re thinking about concrete platforms designed to support steel beams and tall pillars. Munich-based startup Comstruct wants to design a different platform to digitize the construction industry — a software platform. And the startup is announcing a $12.5 million Series A round led by GV…

Bench burned through $135 million before shutting down

February 5, 2025

A clearer picture of Bench’s downfall is emerging thanks to new bankruptcy filings, which show the accounting startup burned $135 million before collapsing. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

A comprehensive list of 2024 and 2025 tech layoffs

February 5, 2025

Tickets on sale: TechCrunch All Stage 2025, formerly known as Early Stage

February 5, 2025

Founders and investors, it’s time! TechCrunch Early Stage has evolved into TechCrunch All Stage 2025, returning to Boston on July 17. Get your tickets now and save up to $310 on select ticket types, securing your spot at the best rates. Register here for your All Stage ticket at unbeatable prices. All Stage covers all…

AI’s biggest stage awaits – TechCrunch Sessions: AI tickets available

February 5, 2025

AI is heating up, and we’re diving in! TechCrunch Sessions: AI is officially open for registration. Secure your spot now and save up to $300 on select tickets before prices rise From startup founders to AI investors to aspiring innovators — TC Sessions: AI is where the entire AI ecosystem comes together. Whether you’re building,…

European AI startups have raised $8 billion in 2024

February 5, 2025

In just a few days, France will host the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit, with heads of state flocking to Paris to meet global tech leaders. They’ll most likely announce some big investments and diplomatic agreements focused on safety or the environmental impact of artificial intelligence. Ahead of the summit, early-stage VC firm Galion.exe, growth investment…

European AI startups raised $8 billion in 2024

February 5, 2025

A comprehensive list of 2024 and 2025 tech layoffs

February 4, 2025

Deel unloads $300M in secondary sale, brings General Catalyst on as an investor

February 4, 2025

Fintech-turned-HR outfit Deel is trying to lay the groundwork for an IPO. On Tuesday, it said its annual revenue run rate climbed to $800 million in 2024 after growing by 70%. The startup, which helps businesses globally hire, manage and pay employees remotely, also said it has sold $300 million in secondary shares to General…

How Max Altschuler accidentally founded a VC firm that just raised another $54M

February 4, 2025

LogicStar is building AI agents for app maintenance

February 4, 2025

Swiss startup LogicStar is bent on joining the AI agent game. The summer 2024-founded startup has bagged $3 million in pre-seed funding to bring tools to the developer market that can do autonomous maintenance of software applications, rather than the more typical AI agent use-case of code co-development. LogicStar CEO and co-founder Boris Paskalev suggests…

Sotira lands $2M to help brands offload and monetize their surplus inventory

February 4, 2025

An estimated 20% to 30% of all inventory in the U.S. is surplus, with much of it ending up in landfills. A startup called Sotira wants to help address this problem: It leverages AI to help companies offload and monetize their surplus inventory. Sotira partners with brands to offload millions of pounds of surplus grocery,…

Archive raises $30M to solve fashion’s pollution problem with online resales

February 4, 2025

The fashion industry has concerned Emily Gittins since adolescence. The sector is, after all, one of the most polluting in the world. According to some sources, it is responsible for nearly 10% of the earth’s CO2 emissions and more than 20% of all water waste. Yet people still want more, fast. “The way we consume…

Waabi and Volvo team up to build self-driving trucks at scale

February 4, 2025

Self-driving truck startup Waabi is partnering with Volvo Autonomous Solutions to jointly develop and deploy autonomous trucks, an important milestone as it gets closer to a commercial launch. The tie up also marks Volvo’s second partnership to co-develop self-driving big rigs with a startup partner. In May 2024, Volvo teamed up with Aurora Innovation to…

Neuralk-AI is developing AI models specifically designed for structured data

February 4, 2025

Tabular data is a broad term that encompasses structured data that generally fits into a specific row and column. It can be a SQL database, a spreadsheet, a .CSV file, etc. While there has been tremendous progress on artificial intelligence applied to unstructured and sequential data, these large language models are fuzzy by design. They…

Stripe brings aboard new head of ‘startup and VC partnerships’

February 3, 2025

Asya Bradley, a former fintech founder and investor, has joined payments giant Stripe as its new head of Startup & Venture Capital Partnerships. Bradley announced the news on February 2 in a post on LinkedIn, though her bio shows that she joined Stripe back in November. Neither Stripe nor Bradley were immediately available for comment. …

TechCrunch Disrupt 2025: Secure your ticket at this year’s lowest rates

February 3, 2025

Missed the 2-for-1 deal for TechCrunch Disrupt 2025? No problem! Super Early Bird prices are still available, with savings of up to $1,130 on individual tickets and up to 30% on group passes. These savings are only good until the end of this month. Celebrate 20 years of TechCrunch Disrupt from October 27-29 at Moscone…

Riot raises $30 million for its cybersecurity product suite focused on employees

February 3, 2025

French startup Riot has raised a $30 million Series B round after reaching $10 million in annual revenue in 2024. Originally focused on educating employees about cybersecurity risks, the company now wants to go one step further and nudge employees so that they minimize their attack surface. Left Lane Capital is leading today’s round with…

OpenAI unveils a new ChatGPT agent for ‘deep research’

February 2, 2025

OpenAI is announcing a new AI “agent” designed to help people conduct in-depth, complex research using ChatGPT, the company’s AI-powered chatbot platform. Appropriately enough, it’s called deep research. OpenAI said in a blog post published Sunday that these this new capability was designed for “people who do intensive knowledge work in areas like finance, science,…

Google’s X spins out Heritable Agriculture, a startup using AI to improve crop yield

February 2, 2025

Google’s X “moonshot factory” this week announced its latest graduate. Heritable Agriculture is a data- and machine learning-driven startup aiming to improve how crops are grown. As the firm noted in an announcement post published Tuesday, plants are incredibly efficient and impressive systems. “Plants are solar powered, carbon negative, self-assembling machines that feed on sunlight…

Here are all the IPOs reported to be in the works for 2025

February 1, 2025

Venture debt lenders will play a big role in fire sales and startup shutdown this year, experts say

February 1, 2025

When accounting startup Bench abruptly failed last month, the shutdown was forced when the company’s lenders called in the startup’s loan. In late 2023, the digital freight company Convoy faced financial challenges, leading venture lending firm Hercules Capital to assume control of the company to recover its investments. Divvy Homes, which sold for about $1…

Here are the apps battling to be become the ‘TikTok for Bluesky’

February 1, 2025

TikTok’s potential U.S. ban has sparked a flurry of development within the open social web community. Several new applications are being built that could one day serve as a TikTok replacement for those who favor the open source, decentralized social network Bluesky and the technology that powers it, the AT Protocol. Though the TikTok ban…

AI agents could birth the first one-person unicorn — but at what societal cost?

February 1, 2025

Thanks to the advent of cloud computing and distributed digital infrastructure, the one-person micro-enterprise is far from a novel concept. Cheap on-demand compute, remote collaboration, payment processing APIs, social media, and e-commerce marketplaces have all made it easier to “go it alone” as an entrepreneur. But what about scaling that one-person business into something meatier…

India pledges fresh billion for startups

February 1, 2025

India announced a new $1.15 billion Fund of Funds for startups on Saturday while unveiling sweeping regulatory reforms and an ambitious nuclear energy program, as New Delhi seeks to boost tech innovation and clean energy in the world’s fifth-largest economy. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, presenting the federal budget for 2025-26, said the fund builds on…

Custom feed builder Graze is building a business on Bluesky, and investors are paying attention

January 31, 2025

A startup called Graze, which lets you build your own feeds for the Bluesky social network, has caught investors’ attention. In addition to offering tools to easily build, customize, publish, and manage Bluesky feeds, Graze will soon allow feed creators to monetize their efforts with advertising, sponsored posts, and subscriptions. In other words, Graze has…

Backed by Mayo Clinic, Nutrix’s hardware monitors worker stress

January 31, 2025

Stress isn’t just bad for you — it’s also bad for your employer. Factoring in absenteeism, diminished productivity, turnover, medical costs, and accidents, the non-profit American Institute of Stress estimates that workplace stress costs U.S. businesses over $300 billion annually. One way to measure stress is by monitoring cortisol levels. Even influencers know this, with…

TechCrunch Disrupt 2025: Last 24 hours for 2-for-1 Pass

January 31, 2025

Final hours for 2-for-1 Passes! One of the best Super Early Bird Deals for TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 will be wrapping up in just 24 hours for the rest of the year. The 2-for-1 Pass lets you bring a friend, colleague, or business partner, for nearly free. Buy one pass at the Super Early Bird rate…

OpenAI said to be in talks to raise $40B at a $340B valuation

January 30, 2025

OpenAI may have billions of dollars in the bank. But it’s gearing up to raise billions more, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. Per The WSJ, OpenAI is in talks to secure up to $40 billion in a funding round that would value the startup at $340 billion. SoftBank would lead the…

Controversial genetics testing startup Nucleus Genomics raises $14M Series A

January 30, 2025

Fintech startup Cushion shuts down after 8 years and over $20 million in funding

January 30, 2025

Cushion, a fintech startup that described itself as the “Plaid for buy now, pay later (BNPL),” has shut down. On Thursday, founder and CEO Paul Kesserwani posted on LinkedIn about the decision to wind down the company at the end of 2024. In the post, Kesserwani said that “despite bringing multiple new fintech products to…

Serial founder DIVINE launches creator app with hip hop legend Rakim

January 30, 2025

Serial entrepreneur and recording artist Victor Lombard, also known as DIVINE, announced this week the launch of a new company, in partnership with Rakim, one of hip-hop’s most influential emcees. The company is called Notes, a fintech specifically for independent urban musicians and creators. It provides the knowledge and tools to help artists manage their…

Microsoft signs massive carbon credit deal with reforestation startup Chestnut Carbon

January 30, 2025

Ex-Autodesk execs snag $46M to build the next gen of architecture design

January 30, 2025

Talk to many architects, and they’ll likely tell you that Autodesk’s software, including AutoCAD and Revit, has been indispensable to their work for decades. But despite their widespread use, Autodesk’s former co-CEO and chief product officer Amar Hanspal says that the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry is using 20th century tools to design 21st…

Little Umbrella’s next Jackbox-style game pits you and your friends against an AI game show host

January 30, 2025

Web-based party games are making a comeback, now with the infusion of generative AI. Among the startups joining the trend, the current forecast looks good for one startup, Little Umbrella, which leverages AI for its social party games. The company announced on Thursday its $2 million seed funding round. Little Umbrella plans to use the…

Data analytics startup Athenic AI wants to be an enterprise’s central nervous system

January 30, 2025

Jared Zhao originally got interested in data analytics during his time at UC Berkeley because he was drawn to how it could turn raw data into a story. Zhao founded his first data analytics startup Polyture in 2021. But advancements in generative AI just a year later made Zhao realize what Polyture was building was…

European embedded banking startup Swan adds another $44 million to its Series B

January 30, 2025

French startup Swan has raised another €42 million (around $44 million at current exchange rates). The company considers this round as the second part of the Series B round that was originally announced in September 2024. Swan helps other companies offer financial products at scale. The company can generate both virtual and physical cards that…

Climate change ignited LA’s wildfire risk. These startups want to extinguish it

January 29, 2025

Extreme weather conditions will be more common, according to the study, adding fresh urgency to a burgeoning group of climate adaptation startups. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Health insurance startup Alan keeps growing at a rapid pace

January 29, 2025

With its 700,000 customers, Alan could be considered as a mature company. But the health insurance company that wants to become a digital companion for your health is still growing like a startup. On Wednesday, the company shared some financial metrics. The most impressive one is its top-line revenue. In 2024, the company generated €505…

This Bay Area startup is using AI to help families navigate long-term care planning

January 29, 2025

Lily Vittayaruksku was studying aerospace engineering when her aunt was diagnosed with terminal colon cancer. Her aunt had lived under the same roof as Vittayaruksku while she was growing up and helped raise her. “We went all in on her care,” she recalled. Post-chemotherapy, Vittayaruksku’s aunt “became very frail,” so her family – originally from…

TechCrunch Disrupt 2025: Only 3 days left for 2-for-1 Pass

January 29, 2025

Only 3 days remain to score the ultimate deal for TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 — two of the same ticket types for the price of one! Don’t wait to take advantage of these massive savings. This limited-time offer ends this Friday, January 31 at 11:59 p.m. PT — after that, these 2-for-1 Passes will be gone.…

Meteomatics eyes U.S. expansion for its enterprise-focused weather forecasting tools

January 29, 2025

Martin Fengler knows a lot about the weather. Fengler got his Ph.D. in mathematics, focused on numerical weather prediction, before working for Meteomedia AG, a network of weather stations in Switzerland and Germany. But while he knew a lot about weather forecasting from the prediction side, he realized the gaps that remained on the consumption…

Formance raises $21M to build the AWS for fintech infrastructure

January 29, 2025

If you talk to a fintech entrepreneur about their business, chances are they’ll end up talking about ledger issues at some point. A ledger is a record of money movements that serves as the source of truth for financial assets, but when a company starts having multiple bank accounts, payment processors and funds spread across…

Shared scooter startup Voi reports its first profitable year as it explores an IPO

January 29, 2025

Swedish shared micromobility giant Voi had its first profitable year in 2024, according to preliminary unaudited results the company shared exclusively with TechCrunch. Voi, which offers shared e-scooters and e-bikes across more than 100 markets in Europe, recorded €132.8 million ($138 million) in net revenue in 2024. On an adjusted basis, Voi earned €17.2 million…

Naboo secures $21M for its concierge-style corporate event booking platform

January 28, 2025

If you’ve ever tried to book a venue for a company event, you’ll know how onerous a task it can be. You have to contact multiple vendors, wait for quotes, evaluate them, see if you can get a good deal, and then get all that approved. So it makes sense that depending on the size…

This startup is selling for $1B, so why is its founder not proud of the outcome?

January 28, 2025

Welcome to TechCrunch Fintech! This week we’re looking at the story behind the sale of Divvy Homes, Ramp’s new product, some notable fundraising deals, and more! To get a roundup of TechCrunch’s biggest and most important fintech stories delivered to your inbox every Tuesday at 8:00 a.m. PT, subscribe here. The big story Last week,…

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