Startups

Fintech founder Charlie Javice’s criminal trial has begun

Startups /

The criminal trial against fintech startup founder Charlie Javice began on Friday, with lawyers laying out their opening arguments, Reuters reported.  Lawyers reiterated their original claims and defenses from the lawsuit filed by JPMorgan Chase against Javice in December of 2022. The financial services giant alleges that Javice had helped “fake millions of customers in […]

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6 new tech unicorns were minted in January 2025

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Despite a still tight venture capital market, new unicorns are still being created every month. Using data from Crunchbase and PitchBook, TechCrunch tracked down the newly VC-backed startup minted unicorns so far this year (as of the end of January). These include healthcare companies like Hippocratic AI and satellite space companies like Loft Orbital.  This

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CEO of Clearview AI, a controversial facial recognition startup, has resigned

Startups /

The CEO of Clearview AI, the controversial facial recognition startup that created a searchable database of 30 billion photos by scraping the internet, has resigned, according to a statement he supplied to TechCrunch. The CEO, Hoan Ton-That, said “it is time for the next chapter in my life” and that he would remain on as

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Saronic raises $600M to mass produce autonomous warships

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Austin-based defense startup Saronic has raised a $600 million Series C to build an autonomous ship factory called “Port Alpha,” it announced yesterday, quadrupling its valuation to $4 billion from its last round.  Investor Elad Gil led the round, with General Catalyst joining existing investors Andreessen Horowitz, 8VC, and Caffeinated Capital, among others. That should

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IVF insurance startup Future Family promises a baby or your money back

Startups /

For decades, couples going through in vitro fertilization have had to spend tens of thousands of dollars on the procedures with no guarantee of success. It’s not only an emotionally draining process, but a financially exhausting one as well. San Francisco-based startup Future Family wants to help ease some of that burden for couples with

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Sanas taps AI to change call center workers’ accents in real time

Startups /

The demand for voice and speech recognition technologies is massive — and growing. An analysis by market research firm Markets and Markets found that the sector could be worth over $28.1 billion by 2027. There’s no shortage of vendors providing voice and speech recognition solutions, but some newer upstarts have managed to carve out niches.

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How Slow Ventures is giving the creator economy a rebrand

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The team at early-stage VC firm Slow Ventures last week launched a $60 million fund entirely dedicated to investing in creators, with an eye towards helping them launch businesses. The idea is that the same entrepreneurial spirit and niche expertise that has helped creators build community is what would make them great founders.  According to

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Level Zero Health banks $6.9M to prove wearable medtech can take the strain out of hormone testing

Startups /

Level Zero Health, a female-founded medical device startup that’s aiming to break new ground by developing a device for continuous hormone monitoring, has closed an oversubscribed $6.9 million pre-seed funding round despite being only a little over a year old. The startup wants to do away with the need for invasive blood draws and support

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xAI’s “Colossus” supercomputer raises health questions in Memphis

Startups /

Elon Musk’s AI startup xAI plans to continue using 15 gas turbines to power its “Colossus” supercomputer in Memphis, Tennessee, according to an operating permit with the Shelby County Health Department for non-stop turbine use from June 2025 to June 2030. Why does it matter? The Commercial Appeal, a news outlet that obtained the documents,

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Figure AI is in talks to raise $1.5B at 15x its last valuation

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Silicon Valley-based robotics startup Figure AI is in talks to raise a massive $1.5 billion round at a $39.5 billion valuation, Bloomberg reports. That’s a whopping 15 times higher than Figure’s $2.6 billion post-money valuation for its $675 million Series B last year. Figure’s current round is expected to be led by Align Ventures and

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