Equity podcast

The Nordic startup scene has quietly become one of tech’s fastest-growing hubs

Fundraising /

Ten years ago, raising €1 million in Copenhagen was enough to make waves in the region’s tech scene. Today, the Nordics are turning out billion-dollar companies like Lovable — which hit $200 million in revenue just 12 months after launching.  Dennis Green-Lieber, founder of AI-powered customer intelligence platform Propane, has had a front-row seat to that shift […]

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Why January Ventures is funding underrepresented AI founders

Venture /

While everyone’s chasing the next AI infrastructure play in San Francisco, some of the most defensible AI companies are being built by founders with deep expertise in legacy industries — and they’re not getting funded. January Ventures aims to fill that gap, writing pre-seed checks for underrepresented founders transforming healthcare, manufacturing, and supply chain with

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The circular money problem at the heart of AI’s biggest deals

AI /

SoftBank and OpenAI announced a new 50-50 joint venture this week to sell enterprise AI tools in Japan under the brand “Crystal Intelligence.” On paper, it’s a straightforward international expansion deal. But SoftBank’s role as a major investor in OpenAI is raising questions about whether AI’s biggest deals are creating real economic value or just moving money in circles. 

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SoftBank is back, and the AI hype cycle is eating itself

AI /

SoftBank and OpenAI announced a new 50-50 joint venture this week to sell enterprise AI tools in Japan under the brand “Crystal Intelligence.” On paper, it’s a straightforward international expansion deal. But SoftBank’s role as a major investor in OpenAI is raising questions about whether AI’s biggest deals are creating real economic value or just moving money in circles. 

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From Air Force officer to space defense CEO: Why Even Rogers left to build weapons for orbit

Startups /

Even Rodgers spent a decade as an Air Force weapons officer watching China and Russia build space weapons while the U.S. had “nothing in our arsenal.” So he left the military to solve the problem himself.  Now, as co-founder and CEO of True Anomaly, he’s building the first exclusively defense-focused space superiority company, developing autonomous spacecraft, sensors, and software designed specifically for military engagements

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Equity Live: From $300M seed rounds to data center builds, AI is feeling bubbly

AI /

The Equity crew was live at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025! Hosts Kirsten Korosec, Max Zeff, and Anthony Ha took over the Builders Stage on Monday morning to kick off the event with the question everyone’s asking: are we in an AI bubble?  Between valuations that have tripled in months, $300M seed rounds, and $100B commitments flying

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Startups should rethink how they pursue sales and traction, according to VC Tim Chen

Venture /

After a small startup exit and being turned down by every VC firm he applied to, Tim Chen began angel investing and eventually stumbled into raising his own fund.   Now, as the solo investor behind Essence VC, he just closed his fourth fund at $41 million “without even trying.” Chen’s secret weapon? Being technical enough

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OpenAI wants to power your browser, and that might be a security nightmare

AI /

The browser wars are heating up again, this time with AI in the driver’s seat.  OpenAI just launched Atlas, a ChatGPT-powered browser that lets users surf the web using natural language and even includes an “agent mode” that can complete tasks autonomously. It’s one of the biggest browser launches in recent memory, but it’s debuting

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