Start-ups

With just a few words, AI models can be prompted to create a story, an image, or even a short film. But according to Weber Wong, these models are all “made by non-creatives for other non-creatives to feel creative.” In other words, they’re not built for actual creative professionals. That’s something Wong is hoping to change with Flora, a new startup where he’s founder and CEO. Flora launched this week, complete with a manifesto declaring

Tonight is the night and the clock is winding down to register for TechCrunch Sessions: AI at our Super Early Bird pricing. Register before 11:59 p.m. PT so you can save up to $325 on passes! TC Sessions: AI will bring you invaluable insights into the cutting-edge and ever-evolving world of AI through expert-led main stage sessions with AI pioneers, hands-on demos in the Expo Hall, interactive breakouts, and unparalleled networking opportunities. Whether you’re an

Chinese AI startup DeepSeek recently declared that its AI models could be very profitable — with some asterisks. In a post on X, DeepSeek boasted that its online services have a “cost profit margin” of 545%. However, that margin is calculated based on “theoretical income.” It discussed these numbers in more detail at the end of a longer GitHub post outlining its approach to achieving “higher throughput and lower latency.” The company wrote that when

Since its founding in 2021, OpenAI Startup Fund has raised $175 million for its main fund and secured an additional $114 million through five separate special purpose vehicles, which are investment pools for specific opportunities. Unlike many sizable tech companies, OpenAI says it doesn’t use the company’s money to invest in startups.  The ChatGPT maker says its OpenAI Startup Fund is raised from outside investors. This includes participation from significant OpenAI backer Microsoft, as well

Time is ticking to get AI industry insights — and major savings. There are just two days left to save up to $325 and secure your spot at TechCrunch Sessions: AI. But act fast, this special offer ends on March 2 at 11:59 p.m. PT. TC Sessions: AI is an event like no other that will let you explore the AI industry with a focus on the startup ecosystem. Whether you’re a founder or an

Mistral AI, the French company behind AI assistant Le Chat and several foundational models, is officially regarded as one of France’s most promising tech startups and is arguably the only European company that could compete with OpenAI. But compared to its $6 billion valuation, its global market share is still relatively low.  However, the recent launch of its chat assistant on mobile app stores was met with some hype, particularly in its home country. “Go

SymbyAI, a SaaS platform that uses AI to streamline scientific research, announced a $2.1 million seed round with participation from Drive Capital and CharacterVC, among others.  Launched just last year by Ashia Livaudais and Michael House, the platform provides organized workspaces for researchers to access papers, code, data, and experiences within one place. It helps track progress and has an AI-feature that assists with peer review and replication.  “It’s also important to note that SymbyAI

Longevity is a hot trend in Silicon Valley these days, driven by rising interest — especially among the wealthy — in preventing disease through regular testing. A new player, Biograph, has just emerged from stealth, and it’s co-founded by one of the biggest names in longevity science: Dr. Peter Attia. Attia is a Canadian-American physician best known as the author of the bestseller “Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity” and for his podcast. Biograph’s

Welcome to Startups Weekly — your weekly recap of everything you can’t miss from the world of startups. Want it in your inbox every Friday? Sign up here. Hype can be good or bad. This week, we’ve seen startups on both sides of that fence — and being on the good side warranted large funding rounds. Most interesting startup stories from the week Image Credits:Proxima Fusion As the week comes to a close, it is

The tech layoff wave continued through 2024. Following significant workforce reductions in 2022 and 2023, 2024 saw more than 150,000 job cuts across 542 companies, according to independent layoffs tracker Layoffs.fyi. Large companies like Tesla, Amazon, Google, TikTok, Snap, and Microsoft conducted sizable layoffs in 2024, while smaller-sized startups also experienced cuts, and in some cases, shut down operations altogether. We’re continuing to track the industry’s layoffs into 2025 so you can see the trajectory