Start-ups

Welcome to Startups Weekly — Haje‘s weekly recap of everything you can’t miss from the world of startups. Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Friday. I just came off recording an episode of Equity, where I learned about the newest wave of stupidity. The tech industry’s DEI allergy has hit a new low, as Silicon Valley leaders are once again waving their “meritocracy” banners high and wide. Scale AI’s Alexandr Wang

Hannah Sieber knows just how transformative batteries can be. At her previous startup, EcoFlow, she used them to replace generators, whether for powering homes after a bad storm or RVs at a campsite. The experience made her wonder what else batteries could do, especially smaller ones.  “What are the other industries that could dramatically change?” she recalled thinking at the time. After leaving EcoFlow, and while studying at Stanford, it hit her. She had been

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, or Extension Round,” is designed to equip startups with the knowledge and strategies needed to navigate the evolving investment landscape. This session will challenge outdated metrics and provide actionable insights into what investors are looking for in 2025. Attendees will gain invaluable insights from industry

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 knowledge of the matter.  The round valued the company between $700 – $800 million, although TechCrunch couldn’t verify whether that valuation is pre- or post-money. (One possible scenario is $700 million pre/$800 million post.) Hebbia disclosed in an SEC filing in May that it had

These days, when you hear about students and generative AI, chances are that you’re getting a taste of the debate over the adoption of tools like ChatGPT. Are they a help? (Yay! Great for research! Fast!) Or are they a harm? (Boo! Misinfo! Cheating!). But some startups are taking the arrival of generative AI in the school environment as a positive, and as a foregone conclusion. And they are building products to meet what they

Outside of AI, few startups have drawn venture investments like climate tech. And like AI, companies in the sector need large infusions of cash, sometimes well beyond what a typical venture investor might offer, to reach a size where they’ll be able to make a mark. A new deal involving Rondo Energy, which makes thermal energy batteries, suggests a new way forward: philanthropic grants. Climate tech startups like Rondo, especially those that are building hardware, face

TechCrunch is joining forces with Google Cloud as its lead partner for Startup Battlefield 200. This event will highlight and support the most promising startups from around the globe at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024, which will take place in San Francisco from October 28-30. At the heart of this collaboration is a shared vision of fostering innovation. Google Cloud is dedicated to helping startups scale faster and smarter through a combination of robust infrastructure, advanced AI

The generative AI boom is driving the demand for AI chips, which are purpose-built to train and run generative AI models. And major players, from VCs to startups, are scrambling to get in on the ground floor. SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son is reportedly looking to raise $100 billion for a chip initiative that would compete with tech giant Nvidia. OpenAI, meanwhile, is said to be in talks with investment firms to launch an AI chip-making venture.

Can chatbots replace human therapists? Some startups — and patients — claim that they can. But it’s not exactly settled science. One study found that 80% of people who’ve used OpenAI’s ChatGPT for mental health advice consider it a good alternative to regular therapy, while a separate report found that chatbots can be effective in reducing certain symptoms related to depression and anxiety. On the other hand, it’s well-established that the relationship between therapist and

You can barely go an hour these days without reading about generative AI. While we are still in the embryonic phase of what some have dubbed the “steam engine” of the fourth industrial revolution, there’s little doubt that “GenAI” is shaping up to transform just about every industry — from finance and healthcare to law and beyond. Cool user-facing applications might attract most of the fanfare, but the companies powering this revolution are currently benefiting