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.
A growing number of businesses are embracing data models — abstract models that organize elements of data and standardize how they relate to one another. But as the data analytics…
Eyebot raised $6M for AI-powered kiosks that provide 90-second vision exams without an on-site optometrist
Over half of Americans wear corrective glasses or contact lenses. While there isn’t a shortage of low-cost and luxury frames available online or in stores, consumers can only buy them…
Fearless Fund’s Arian Simone coming to Disrupt 2024
TechCrunch has kept readers informed regarding Fearless Fund’s courtroom battle to provide business grants to Black women. Today, we are happy to announce that Fearless Fund CEO and co-founder Arian…
Eko Health scores $41M to detect heart and lung disease earlier and more accurately
In 1816, French physician René Laennec invented an instrument that allowed doctors to listen to the heart and lungs. That device — a stethoscope — eventually evolved from a simple…
WndrCo officially gets into venture capital with fresh $460M across two funds
Jeffrey Katzenberg and Sujay Jaswa, along with three general partners, manage $1.5 billion in assets today through their Build, Venture and Seed strategies.
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DEI backlash: Stay up-to-date on the latest legal and corporate challenges
It’s clear that this year will be a turning point for DEI.
An appeals court rules that VC Fearless Fund cannot issue grants to Black women, but the fight continues
The court ruling said that Fearless Fund’s Strivers Grant likely violates the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which bans the use of race in contracts.
The StrictlyVC roadtrip continues! Coming off of sold-out events in London, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, we’re heading to Washington, D.C. for a cozy-vc-packed, evening at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre…
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Unicorn-rich VC Wesley Chan owes his success to a Craigslist job washing lab beakers
While all of Wesley Chan’s success has been well-documented over the years, his personal journey…not so much. Chan spoke to TechCrunch about the ways his life impacts how he invests in startups.
Unity co-founder David Helgason’s next act: Gaming the climate crisis
In an interview at his home near Reykjavík, the entrepreneur-turned-VC shared thoughts on his ventures and the journey that led him from Unity to climate tech, a homecoming of sorts.
VCs are selling shares of hot AI companies like Anthropic and xAI to small investors in a wild SPV market
VCs are clamoring to invest in hot AI companies, and willing to pay exorbitant share prices for coveted spots on their cap tables. Even so, most aren’t able to get…
Deal Dive: How (Re)vive grew 10x last year by helping retailers recycle and sell returned items
The fashion industry has a huge problem: Despite many returned items being unworn or undamaged, a lot, if not the majority, end up in the trash. An estimated 9.5 billion…
VC firm Antler’s CEO says Asia presents ‘biggest opportunity’ in the world for growth
We caught up with Antler founder and CEO Magnus Grimeland about the startup scene in Asia, the current tech startup trends in the region and investment approaches during the rise…
When Alex Ewing was a kid growing up in Purcell, Oklahoma, he knew how close he was to home based on which billboards he could see out the car window.…
Billionaire Groupon founder Eric Lefkofsky is back with another IPO: AI health tech Tempus
Eric Lefkofsky knows the public listing rodeo well and is about to enter it for a fourth time. The serial entrepreneur, whose net worth is estimated at nearly $4 billion,…
YoLa Fresh, a GrubMarket for Morocco, digs up $7M to connect farmers with food sellers
YoLa Fresh works with over a thousand retailers across Morocco and records up to $1 million in gross merchandise volume.
How Clean Energy Ventures avoided the pandemic bubble and raised a $305M fund
When other firms were investing and raising eye-popping sums, Clean Energy Ventures took a different approach. It appears to be paying off.
Avendus, India’s top venture adviser, confirms it’s looking to raise a $350M fund
Avendus, the top investment bank for venture deals in India, confirmed on Wednesday it is looking to raise up to $350 million for its new private equity fund. The new…
The dynamic duo behind the Grammy Award–winning music group the Chainsmokers, Alex Pall and Drew Taggart, are set to bring their entrepreneurial expertise to TechCrunch Disrupt 2024. Known for their…
Spanish startups reached €100 billion in aggregate value last year
Venture investment into Spanish startups also held up quite well, with €2.2 billion raised across some 850 funding rounds.
A venture capital firm looks back on changing norms, from board seats to backing rival startups
Last month, one of the Bay Area’s better-known early-stage venture capital firms, Uncork Capital, marked its 20th anniversary with a party in a renovated church in San Francisco’s SoMa neighborhood,…
The ups and downs of investing in Europe, with VCs Saul Klein and Raluca Ragab
When it comes to the world of venture-backed startups, some issues are universal and some are very dependent on where the startups and its backers are located. It’s something we…
From Sword Health to Stripe, these startups are likely — or definitely — not having IPOs this year
Last year’s investor dreams of a strong 2024 IPO pipeline have faded, if not fully disappeared, as we approach the halfway point of the year. 2024 delivered four venture-backed tech…
If raised, this new fund, the firm’s third, would be its largest to date.
Expressable is a platform that offers one-on-one virtual sessions with speech language pathologists.
Crowdaa is an app that allows non-developers to easily create and release apps on the mobile store.
Lumos helps companies manage their employees’ identities — and access
Andrej Safundzic, Alan Flores Lopez and Leo Mehr met in a class at Stanford focusing on ethics, public policy and technological change. Safundzic — speaking to TechCrunch — says that…
In 2021, Roi Ravhon, Asaf Liveanu and Yizhar Gilboa came together to found Finout, an enterprise-focused toolset to help manage and optimize cloud costs. (We covered the company’s launch out…
Food supply chain software maker Silo lays off ~30% of staff amid M&A discussions
Silo, a Bay Area food supply chain startup, has hit a rough patch. TechCrunch has learned that the company on Tuesday laid off roughly 30% of its staff, or north…
Peter Thiel-founded Valar Ventures raised a $300 million fund, half the size of its last one
The perception in Silicon Valley is that every investor would love to be in business with Peter Thiel. But the venture capital fundraising environment has become so difficult that even…
