Toyota Ventures started in 2017 to help startups figure out what the future will look like, with an eye towards ensuring Toyota as an automaker and brand would stay at the forefront of innovation. While the firm initially targeted mobility startups, the crossover into climate tech was a natural progression. Today, Toyota Ventures has over […]
Toyota Ventures on the hydrogen plateau and the IRA funding crutch Read More »
Kirsten Korosec, Devin Coldewey, and Rebecca Bellan got back on the mic for the latest episode of Equity to discuss several weird things and at least one cool thing. First, the crew talked about the least weird thing of the week: how nice it is that Cohere co-founder Nick Frosst has a band that people
‘Super weird’ is the best way to describe this startup’s pivot Read More »
Ashraf Hebela, J.P. Morgan’s Head of Startup Banking, may sit on the finance side of startups these days. But he once sat in the founder seat. It’s been his experience in these two worlds — as a founder and a decades-long finance career including a 13-year stint at Silicon Valley Bank — that informs his
JP Morgan’s head of startup banking says ‘Founder Mode’ won’t get you a unicorn Read More »
What could be more frightening than Friday the 13th? How about a realization that AI is in its awkward tween stage? At least, it was for the TC Equity pod crew, which this week included hosts Devin Coldewey and Kirsten Korosec along with TC reporters Tim de Chant and Dominic Madori Davis. AI is often
AI’s tween years, who’s taking over climate tech, and the latest for Fearless Fund Read More »
On today’s episode of Equity, Rebecca Bellan sat down with Alok Sama, a Morgan Stanley veteran and former president and CFO of SoftBank Group International. They discussed the latest Apple tech announcements, Sama’s views on the AI hype cycle, and changes to the technology investment landscape since the dot-com era. He also provided insights from
AI illusions and navigating The Money Trap with Alok Sama Read More »
The Equity podcast crew is wrapping up another eventful week, with real estate, AI agents, gambling, and secondary markets — which are, of course, a form of legalized gambling. Mary Ann Azevedo, Becca Szkutak, and Devin Coldewey started off this Friday’s episode with the acknowledgment that the X/Twitter ban situation in Brazil is possibly too
Real estate revolutions and beanie baby economies Read More »
On today’s episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Devin Coldeway kicked off our Deals of the Week rundown with Piramidal, a startup that offers a foundational model for analyzing brain scan data and just raised $6 million. The premise behind the company is fascinating — its technology aims to help complement the work of nurses and doctors
Telegram founder’s arrest, and who’s using acqui-hires to tip-toe around antitrust Read More »
Sundar Pichai, chief executive officer of Alphabet Inc., at Google’s Bay View campus in Mountain View, California, US, on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesImage Credits: Getty Images Google suffered a major defeat when U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta found that the tech giant had acted illegally to maintain
Are Google’s monopoly cases 5 years too late or 2 years too early? Read More »
AI was prominent in the news cycle this week — yet again. In this Friday’s episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Kirsten Korosec, Mary Ann Azevedo and Becca Szkutak kick off the show dissecting a bill which aims to regulate AI at the model level. Naturally, some VCs and founders as well as students and professors
Maybe it’s a good thing that we’re not seeing too many AI unicorns Read More »
In today’s episode of Equity Podcast, Mary Ann Azevedo talked to Flourish Ventures co-founders Tilman Ehrbeck, Emmalyn Shaw and Arjuna Costa about a variety of topics, including how their investment themes have evolved in the past five years and what trends they’re most excited about. We also got their opinion on M&A deals in fintech,
