Startups

The future of deep tech will be explained to you at StrictlyVC Palo Alto on Dec 3

Tonight, at Playground Global in Palo Alto, some very smart people who are building things you don’t understand yet will explain what’s coming. This is the final StrictlyVC event of 2025, and truly, the lineup is ridiculous. Image Credits:Aaron V Barrera Photography The series has traveled around the globe under the auspices of TechCrunch. Steve […]

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Simular’s AI agent wants to run your Mac, Windows PC for you

Simular, a startup building AI agents for Mac OS and Windows, has raised a $21.5 million Series A led by Felicis, with existing seed investors NVentures (NVIDIA’s venture arm), South Park Commons, and others joining in.   Simular is an interesting agentic startup because unlike others, it isn’t trying to control the browser but the PC

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At least 80 new tech unicorns were minted in 2025 so far

With AI igniting an investor frenzy, every month, more startups obtain unicorn status. Using data from Crunchbase and PitchBook, TechCrunch tracked down the VC-backed startups that became unicorns so far this year. While most are AI-related, a surprising number are focused in other industries like satellite space companies Loft Orbital and blockchain-based trading site Kalshi.  

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Supabase hit $5B by turning down million-dollar contracts. Here’s why.

Vibe coding has taken the tech industry by storm, and it’s not just the Lovables and Replits of the world that are winning. The startups building the infrastructure behind them are cashing in too.  Supabase, the open-source database platform that’s become the backend of choice for the vibe-coding world, raised $100 million at a $5 billion valuation just months after closing $200 million at $2 billion. But co-founder and CEO

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Supabase CEO on the “painful” decisions that built a $5B company

Vibe coding has taken the tech industry by storm, and it’s not just the Lovables and Replits of the world that are winning. The startups building the infrastructure behind them are cashing in too.  Supabase, the open-source database platform that’s become the backend of choice for the vibe-coding world, raised $100 million at a $5 billion valuation just months after closing $200 million at $2 billion. But co-founder and CEO

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Glīd won Startup Battlefield 2025 by building solutions to make logistis simpler, safer, and smarter

Build Mode is back with a holiday bonus episode. This week, Startup Battlefield editor Isabelle Johannessen is joined by the winner of this year’s competition, Kevin Damoa, the CEO and founder of Glīd, a logistics infrastructure company that aims to streamline the complex container shipment process. Damoa first discovered the challenges of shipping larger cargo

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From military logistics to Startup Battlefield 2025 champion with Glīd founder, Kevin Damoa 

Glīd CEO and founder Kevin Damoa shares what it takes to win Startup Battlefield 2025 and build a company solving real infrastructure problems. Fresh off his victory, De reveals how a veteran’s perspective on logistics led to an autonomous solution bridging congested roads and underutilized rail. Plus, he shares how mindfulness, mission-driven culture, and $70M in early customer commitments positioned Glīd for success.  New episodes of Build

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JustiGuide wants to use AI to help people navigate the US immigration system 

The U.S. immigration system is complex, hard to navigate, and expensive for immigrants. The startup JustiGuide claims it can help with that thanks to an AI-powered portal. The idea is to help immigrants in the U.S. — and eventually in other countries — understand the law and what visas they may be eligible for, and

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Find Your Grind raises $5M to grow platform empowering students to explore unique career paths

If you’re a fan of the punk scene from the early 2000s, you may recognize Nick Gross, the drummer for the band Goldfinger.  Now, he’s empowering young people to pursue their passions through his career exploration platform, Find Your Grind. The platform highlights alternative professions not usually emphasized in schools, including being a pop-punk band

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