Venture

Hans Swildens of Industry Ventures on the ways VCs are ‘manufacturing’ liquidity in 2025

This week on StrictlyVC Download, TechCrunch’s editor in chief, Connie Loizos, and StrictlyVC’s Alex Gove are joined by return guest Hans Swildens. Hans is the founder and CEO of Industry Ventures, a firm known for its pioneering role in the venture secondary market. With stakes in over 700 venture funds and years of experience in

Hans Swildens of Industry Ventures on the ways VCs are ‘manufacturing’ liquidity in 2025 Read More »

Former Tesla supply chain leaders create Atomic, an AI inventory solution

Tesla famously struggled to scale up production of the Model 3 sedan in 2018 — so much so that CEO Elon Musk said his company was weeks away from collapsing. That near-death experience helped spawn a whole new company called Atomic that’s built around using AI to streamline supply chains. Co-founded by former Tesla employees

Former Tesla supply chain leaders create Atomic, an AI inventory solution Read More »

Conifer locks down $20M seed round for its ‘drop-in’ electric hub motor

A handful of engineers who worked at Lucid Motors and on Apple’s electric car project have launched a new startup that puts a fresh spin on electric hub motors. The new startup, called Conifer, has developed its motor to be free of rare earth elements by using more abundant ferrite magnets, which the company says

Conifer locks down $20M seed round for its ‘drop-in’ electric hub motor Read More »

UK founders grow frustrated over dearth of funding: ‘the problem is getting worse’

According to Dealroom data cited by the Financial Times, British start-ups raised just £16.2 billion last year, far less than the more than £65 billion raised by their counterparts in Silicon Valley during the same period. In fact, the U.S. appears to be pulling further ahead each year. In 2024, 57% of global venture capital

UK founders grow frustrated over dearth of funding: ‘the problem is getting worse’ Read More »

Blue Water Autonomy comes out of stealth promising autonomous naval ships

A new ship-building startup called Blue Water Autonomy has emerged from stealth with the promise of developing captain-less naval ships. The Boston, Massachusetts-based company has raised a $14 million seed round from Eclipse VC, Riot, and Impatient Ventures. The startup was founded in 2024 by former members of the U.S. Navy, leaders of Amazon Robotics,

Blue Water Autonomy comes out of stealth promising autonomous naval ships Read More »