Startups

Why these founders ditched social ads for Taylor Swift concerts and prison tablets 

Startups /

Build Mode is back with another episode! This season is highlighting lessons learned from the world of go-to-market strategies. Startup Battlefield editor Isabelle Johannessen sat down with Luna co-founder Jas Schembri-Stothart and Untapped Solutions founder Andre Peart for their unique perspectives on reaching niche customer segments following their own candidacy during the 2024 Startup Battlefield competition. If our first episode, with Deon Nicholas, co-founder of Forethought AI, we […]

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Astro Teller isn’t afraid of killing ideas; here’s why

Startups /

TechCrunch’s editor-in-chief, Connie Loizos, sits down with Astro Teller, Captain of Moonshots at Alphabet’s X, to explore what it takes to build a factory for truly game-changing innovation. Astro reveals the three components that define a true moonshot — a huge problem, a science fiction-sounding solution, and a glimmer of breakthrough technology — and why

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a16z leads $21M Series A into AI-native tax compliance software Sphere

Startups /

As Nicholas Rudder built his last startup, an educational marketplace called ScholarSite, he kept running into the same problem: tax.   “Marketplaces are liable for tax on their entire GMV (gross merchandise value) not just their take rate, so every new country meant a maze of registrations, filings, deadlines, and risk,” Rudder told TechCrunch. “It became a constant distraction.

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Physics Wallah enjoys a rosy IPO day, bucking the broader slowdown in Indian edtech

Startups /

Indian edtech startup Physics Wallah ended its first day as a public company on a high, with its shares closing 44% higher than they were listed for, indicating that the country’s edtech sector may still recover after years of gloom. Priced at ₹109, the company’s shares climbed as high as ₹161.99 before closing at ₹156.49,

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As consumers ditch Google for ChatGPT, Peec AI raises $21M to help brands adapt

Startups /

With consumers increasingly asking questions of ChatGPT — not Google — product discovery is changing. And the promise to give brands visibility and control over this fast-growing search channel has made Peec AI one of Europe’s hottest startups. Just four months after its Seed round led by 20VC, the Berlin-based startup has raised a $21

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MCP AI agent security startup Runlayer launches with 8 unicorns, $11M from Khosla’s Keith Rabois and Felicis

Startups /

On Monday, a new Model Context Protocol security startup called Runlayer launched out of stealth with $11 million in seed funding from Khosla Ventures’ Keith Rabois and Felicis.  It was created by third-time founder Andrew Berman (previous companies: baby-monitor maker Nanit and an AI video conferencing tool, Vowel, that sold to Zapier in 2024). In

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JPMorgan doesn’t want to pay Frank founder Charlie Javice’s legal bills

Startups /

JPMorgan Chase says it’s been billed a total of $142 million in legal fees for the defense of Charlie Javice and Olivier Amar, respectively the founder and chief marketing officer at financial aid startup Frank. JPMorgan acquired Frank for $175 million in 2021, but earlier thai year, Javice and Amar were found guilty earlier of

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Pine Labs gets warm market welcome on $440M India IPO despite a valuation trim

Startups /

Payment technology company Pine Labs, backed by PayPal and Mastercard, won over public investors on Friday, finishing its first day of trade 14% higher even after lowering its valuation for its $440 million IPO. This makes it the second-largest Indian fintech listing this year after online brokerage Groww’s nearly $750 million debut earlier this week.

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Build Mode starts at the beginning: How Forethought AI found product-market fit

Startups /

In the debut episode of the Build Mode podcast, host Isabelle Johannessen sits down with Deon Nicholas, co-founder of Forethought AI, to unpack what it really takes to build a lasting company with and for your customers from day one. Build Mode is TechCrunch’s new podcast that pulls back the curtain on how startups actually

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