Karen Hao, the bestselling author of “Empire of AI,” has watched OpenAI go from a nonprofit “laughingstock” into a $90 billion powerhouse chasing artificial general intelligence at breakneck speeds. Hao, who first profiled the company back in 2020, says early visions of building AI “for humanity’s benefit” were quickly overtaken by a familiar Silicon Valley […]
Karen Hao on the making of a $90B AI empire Read More »
Nvidia reported another massive quarter this week with $46.7 billion in revenue, a 56% year-over-year increase driven almost entirely by AI demand. But despite CEO Jensen Huang’s bold prediction of $3 to 4 trillion in global AI infrastructure spending in the next five years, the stock slid as investors questioned how long this kind of
Trillion with a ‘T’? That’s a lot of dollars, Nvidia. Read More »
Steve Jobs once said, “Everything’s a remix.” And that’s a philosophy that Mark Cuban has taken to heart, building an entire entrepreneurial and investment career on that simple belief. The real opportunity, Cuban says, lies in spotting patterns others miss and turning them into billion-dollar disruptions. On today’s episode of Equity, Cuban joined TechCrunch’s Rebecca
From streaming to healthcare to AI, Mark Cuban reveals his ‘disruption formula’ Read More »
Labubu, the ugly-cute plush toy from Chinese company Pop Mart, is turning into a massive business — and it’s on track to make $1 billion this year, exceeding the sales of Barbie and Hot Wheels. And while Labubus are physical objects, not digital ones, they epitomize the invasion of an over-the-top online aesthetic into the
Beanie Babies for the brain-rot era Read More »
During the venture capital crash of 2022, SecurityPal founder Pukar Hamal was just 14 months from running out of money. Rather than raise another round, he chose to restructure and focus on getting his business to profitability as quickly as possible — and he hasn’t raised since his $21 million Series A in 2021. On
Why SecurityPal is choosing ‘nuanced capital’ over more VC rounds Read More »
Perplexity, the AI search startup that hasn’t even cracked 100 million monthly users, just made a $34.5 billion cash offer to buy Chrome from Google. The unsolicited bid comes as the DOJ prepares its remedy decision after ruling Google illegally maintained a search monopoly. The timing makes sense, but questions remain. Perplexity won’t name its
Perplexity’s bid for Google Chrome could be just the beginning Read More »
A new report by the nonprofit All Raise found that the percentage of women and nonbinary individuals in partner roles at leading firms has doubled in the past few years, despite market headwinds. All Raise CEO Paige Hendrix Buckner chatted with TechCrunch’s Dominic-Madori Davis about what’s driving the shift on this week’s Equity. “There are
Women are making real progress in venture capital, and the numbers prove it Read More »
Figma managed something rare in today’s market: it survived a failed Adobe acquisition, stayed independent, and went public on its own terms. But its post-IPO performance tells a more complex story about startup exits in 2025. “This is a little bit of a meme stock,” said Jai Das, president and partner at Sapphire Ventures, on
Figma’s IPO success is ‘a little bit of a meme stock,’ says Sapphire Ventures’ Jai Das Read More »
Meta is still going all-in on the AI talent war, with Mark Zuckerberg reportedly reaching out to top recruits himself, throwing around jaw-dropping compensation packages that top $1 billion over multiple years. And Meta’s latest target? Mira Murati’s new startup, Thinking Machines Lab. It’s a bold play in an already overheated market. While Zuck eyes
From Meta’s massive offers to Anthropic’s massive valuation, does AI have a ceiling? Read More »
If you’ve been hearing about Trump’s AI Action Plan and wondering who it actually benefits, you’re not alone. On today’s episode of Equity, Rebecca Bellan caught up with Amba Kak and Dr. Sarah Myers West from the AI Now Institute, a think tank focused on the social implications of AI and the consolidation of power
Who really benefits from the AI boom? Read More »
