Venture
Our venture capital news features interviews and analysis on all the VCs, the VC-backed startups, and the investment trends that founders, investors, students, academics – and anyone else interested in the way that tech is transforming the world – should be tracking.
Why the AI industry should want regulation now, not what could come later
Since AI started its historic rise in prominence in 2022, the conversations around how the industry could be regulated have swelled at a similar rate.…
Running a small business means doing more with less. AI agents can help, but building custom agents for specific workflows remains challenging, even with today’s low-code/no-code tools. The idea behind…
Seae Ventures is acquiring Unseen Capital after the death of founder Kayode Owens in 2021. The combined firm will continue to invest in healthcare for minorities and underserved populations. Owens,…
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Valuations of startups have quietly rebounded to all-time highs. Some investors say the slump is over.
Generative AI businesses aside, the last couple of years have been relatively difficult for venture-backed companies. Very few startups were able to raise funding at prices that exceeded their previous valuations. Now, approximately two years after the venture slump began in early 2022, some investors, like IVP general partner Tom…
A new trend for seed VCs and the scariest part about OpenAI’s data breach
On today’s episode of Equity, we’re taking a look at news you might’ve missed over the holiday weekend here in the U.S., starting with the…
TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 is set to welcome an impressive lineup of judges for the Startup Battlefield 200 competition, presented this year by Google Cloud. These judges will decide which company…
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Seed VCs are turning to new ‘pro rata’ funds that help them compete with the big firms
Three companies with new funds deploy capital to support seed and Series A VCs looking to exercise their pro rata rights.
We’re about four months away from TechCrunch Disrupt 2024, taking place October 28 to 30 in San Francisco! We could not bring you this world-class event without our world-class partners…
Spain’s exposure to climate change helps Madrid-based VC Seaya close €300M climate tech fund
According to a recent Dealroom report on the Spanish tech ecosystem, the combined enterprise value of Spanish startups surpassed €100 billion in 2023. In the latest confirmation of this upward trend, Madrid-based…
Forestay, Europe’s newest $220M growth-stage VC fund, will focus on AI
Forestay, an emerging VC based out of Geneva, Switzerland, has been busy. This week it closed its second fund, Forestay Capital II, at a hard cap of $220 million. The…
J2 Ventures, focused on military healthcare, grabs $150M for its second fund
J2 Ventures, a firm led mostly by U.S. military veterans, announced on Thursday that it has raised a $150 million second fund. The Boston-based firm invests in startups whose products…
With increasing competition for what is, essentially, still a small number of hard tech and deep tech deals, Sidney Scott realized it would be a challenge for smaller funds like…
What’s the common thread between Tesla, building startups, General Motors venture capital and Lyft? Jon McNeill, co-founder and partner of DVx Ventures, joins TechCrunch editor…
Husband-and-wife former Olympians target $50M for new fund to invest in influencer-led consumer brands
Samyr Laine and Ayanna Alexander-Laine now put their grit and determination to work for founders wanting to launch and scale consumer brands.
Industry Ventures raises a $900M fund for investing in small, early-stage VCs and their breakout startups
The venture fundraising trend in 2024 is fairly clear by now: Large, established VC firms are continuing to attract capital from limited partners, while smaller, newer funds are finding it…
Sensorita uses digital twins to help waste management companies streamline construction waste
The amount of waste produced by the construction industry adds up to more than a third of the overall waste produced each year in the European Union. And it’s no…
Senators urge owners, partners and VC backers of fintech Synapse to restore customers’ access to their money
A group of senators has banded together to urge Synapse’s owners and bank and fintech partners to “immediately restore customers’ access to their money.” As part of their demands, the…
Identity.vc is bringing capital and community to Europe’s LGBTQ+ venture ecosystem
Identity.vc writes checks that range from €250,000 to €1.5 million into companies from the pre-seed to Series A stages.
Defense tech and ‘resilience’ get global funding sources: Here are some top funders
We live in a very different world since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel. With global military expenditure reaching $2.4 trillion last…
Matrix is rebranding its India and China affiliates, becoming the latest venture firm to distance its international franchises. The U.S.-headquartered venture capital firm will retain its name, while Matrix Partners…
Kleiner Perkins announces $2 billion in fresh capital, showing that established firms can still raise large sums
Many VC firms are struggling to attract new capital from their own backers amid a tepid IPO environment. But established, brand-name firms are still able to raise large funds. On…
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All VCs say they are founder friendly; Detroit’s Ludlow Ventures takes that to another level
VCs Jonathon Triest and Brett deMarrais see their ability to read people and create longstanding relationships with founders as the primary reason their Detroit-based venture firm, Ludlow Ventures, is celebrating its 15th year in business. It sounds silly, attributing their longevity to what’s sometimes called “Midwestern nice.” But is it…
In an industry where creators are often tossed aside like yesterday’s lootboxes, MegaMod swoops in with a heroic promise to put them front and center.
Elevate your 2025 fundraising strategy at Disrupt 2024
Get ready to unlock the secrets of successful fundraising in the upcoming year at Disrupt 2024. Our featured session, “How to Raise in 2025 if You’ve Taken a Flat, Down,…
AI-powered drug development, VW teams up with Rivian and DEI is ‘bad’
Welcome back to another recap of Equity, TechCrunch’s flagship podcast about the business of startups. This episode is jam-packed with deals, hot topics and the…
Hebbia raises nearly $100M Series B for AI-powered document search led by Andreessen Horowitz
Hebbia, a startup using generative AI to search large documents and return answers, has raised a nearly $100 million Series B led by Andreessen Horowitz, according to three people with…
AI big shot Andrew Ng’s AI Fund, a startup incubator that backs small teams of experts looking to solve key problems using AI, plans to raise upward of $120 million…
As Spain gets its latest VC fund, Southern Europe appears to be on a roll
While startup valuations have plummeted since the bull run of 2021-2022, a factor that’s hit the European startup ecosystem particularly hard, there’s one region of Europe where the correction has…
Austin-based Ironspring Ventures raised $100M to invest in the industrial revolution
When Ironspring Ventures launched in 2020 to back startups in industrial sectors like construction and manufacturing, it was one of very few early-stage venture firms paying attention to those capital-intensive…
Why Tecovas sought out physical sales first despite its DTC dreams
When Paul Hedrick left his private equity career to launch Tecovas in 2015, he knew he wanted to sell the brand’s signature cowboy boots a…