Latest from Rebecca Szkutak
From Miles Grimshaw to Eva Ho, venture capitalists continue to play musical chairs
When Keith Rabois announced he was leaving Founders Fund to return to Khosla Ventures in January, it came as a shock to many in the venture capital ecosystem — and…
Featured Podcast
OpenAI gears up for a big announcement, and Apple Store workers authorize a strike
Last week was a busy one for some Apple Store employees. Over the weekend, workers at Apple’s Towson, Maryland, store — the first Apple retail store to have a formally recognized union — voted to authorize a strike. While the date of the strike is still being determined, the union has been negotiating with Apple…
VC fund performance is down sharply — but it may have already hit its lowest point
Venture capital has been hit hard by souring macroeconomic conditions over the past few years and it’s not yet clear how the market downturn affected VC fund performance. But recent…
Fika Ventures co-founder Eva Ho will step back from the firm after its current fund is deployed
Eva Ho plans to step away from her position as general partner at Fika Ventures, the Los Angeles-based seed firm she co-founded in 2016. Fika told LPs of Ho’s intention…
NBA champion Kyle Kuzma looks to bring his team mentality to Scrum Ventures
Kyle Kuzma is a lot of things. He’s a forward for the Washington Wizards NBA team and a 2020 NBA champion. He’s also a style icon — depending on who…
Interest in male birth control has increased in the past few years, especially since the U.S. overturned Roe vs. Wade, which protected a woman’s right to have an abortion. Since…
Deal Dive: Amae Health is building an in-person approach to mental healthcare in an increasingly digital space
While many recent mental health-focused startups are digital first, Amae Health focuses on the importance of in-person care.
Despite recent successes, IPO market still won’t fully open until 2025
Experts say macroeconomic factors including the upcoming election and the current state of the economy will deter too many IPOs this year.
Midi is building a digital platform for an oft-overlooked area of women’s health
When Joanna Strober was around 47, she stopped sleeping. While losing sleep is a common symptom of perimenopause, she first had to go to multiple providers, including driving 45 minutes…
Deal Dive: Givebutter is turning a profit making tech for nonprofits
Givebutter recently raised $50 million for its CRM platform for nonprofits as startups building tech for that industry gain momentum.
The FTC’s ban on noncompete clauses could be good for startups. But it also might be struck down.
The Federal Trade Commission voted 3-2 to ban the use of most noncompete agreements on Tuesday. This ruling means companies can’t require employees who aren’t senior executives to wait a…
Rubrik’s shares end trading up almost 16% on the company’s public debut
This share price gives Rubrik a fully diluted valuation of $6.6 billion, up 88% from its last primary valuation of $3.5 billion in 2019.
Founded by Louis Tremblay, FLO is looking to build robust EV charging infrastructure that will create a reliable web for drivers to get to where…
Featured Article
Deal Dive: Not all climate startups are focused on carbon
Windfall Bio sells methane-eating microbes to companies to help them reduce their carbon footprint in the short-term.
Airtree Ventures already returned its first fund thanks to Canva while maintaining the majority of its stake
Airtree Ventures uses the secondary market to slim down its stakes while waiting for its portfolio companies to exit.
The global demand for wood could grow by 54% between 2010 and 2050, according to a study by the World Resources Institute. While some building…
Deal Dive: EarliTec Diagnostics raises $21.5M to help diagnose autism earlier
EarliTec’s FDA-authorized device helps clinicians diagnose children showing signs of autism as young as 16 months old.
What a week, everyone. Two full days of Y Combinator demo day activity kept us busy, but the latest accelerator cohort’s launch was far from…
YC’s latest Demo Day shows fascinating wagers on healthcare, chip design, AI and more
As we did on Wednesday, a number of the TechCrunch crew watched the entire run of presentations, picking out a handful of favorites to highlight.
DCVC wanted to raise $500M for its first climate fund, but the market had other plans
DCVC’s target for its first climate-focused fund, DCVC Climate Select, has been all over the place and highlights the roller-coaster venture fundraising conditions of the last few years and how…
Featured Article
The 18 most interesting startups from YC’s Demo Day show we’re in an AI bubble
From AI-generated music and grant applications to neat new fintech applications and even some healthtech work, there was something for everyone.
Rubrik’s IPO filing hints at thawing public markets for tech companies
Rubrik initially presents as a moderately growing software business with net losses that stretched to $354 million in its most recent fiscal year.
Thrive Market’s Nick Green talks building a billion-dollar grocery company
Nick Green, one of the company’s co-founders, stopped by Found to chat about his company and the market’s evolution since he first launched it.
Seso is building software to fix farm workforces and solve agriculture’s HR woes
Migrant workers are a critical labor force for U.S. farms, but getting them here on proper H-2A visas can be complicated, and the compliance surrounding these employees is taxing for…
Deal Dive: Iron Sheepdog is fixing short-haul trucking from the bottom up
Iron Sheepdog credits its ability to gain traction with truck brokers because it got the truckers themselves to sign on first.
Ibotta’s expansion into enterprise should set it up for a successful IPO
Ibotta’s recent partnerships with brands Exxon, Shell and Walmart helped the company reach profitability.
Vibrant Planet uses AI for land mapping and improving climate resiliency
As the planet warms due to human-caused climate change, damage from wildfires has increased with it. The amount of forest area burned by wildfires increased…
Former Nextdoor exec raises $25 million for PipeDreams, a startup rolling up HVAC companies
Dan Laufer swore off ever founding a startup again after he sold apartment rental platform RentLingo in 2021, but Laufer also couldn’t ignore the potential to solve a problem he…
Mallard Bay is building a marketplace and a vertical SaaS platform for guided fishing and hunting industries.
Featured Article
Liquid Death is just one of many VC-backed beverage startups ready to disrupt Coke and Pepsi
Some of the new venture-backed beverage startups are hoping to upend the industry by creating new drink categories.