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Some say passkeys are clunky — this startup wants to change that

Security /

Passwords are ubiquitous, despite not being foolproof and cannot alone protect your online identity. Almost one-third of data breaches reported over the past decade happened due to stolen credentials, per Verizon, including some of the biggest breaches of all time. Instead, the industry has largely found passkeys arguably the most prominent solution to replace passwords. […]

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Equator closes $55M fund to bring more private capital to African climate tech

Climate /

African venture capital firm Equator has raised $55 million for its first fund, which will back climate tech startups through one of the most difficult and often overlooked phases in their journey: the early stage. Climate tech startups in African countries have to navigate a tougher funding landscape than their counterparts in more developed economies,

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Infinite Uptime bags $35M to help factories optimize equipment usage

Startups /

Infinite Uptime, an Indian startup that offers predictive maintenance solutions for factories, has raised $35 million in a Series C funding round to expand its footprint in the U.S. and other markets. The manufacturing industry has lagged many industries in its adoption of tech, and much of the world’s heavy industry still depends on machines,

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Daqus Energy has a plan to make EV sports cars fast, light, and cheap

Fundraising /

Cheaper, lighter, and denser: the trifecta defines an ideal battery. No one has devised a perfect cell quite yet, but one stealthy startup thinks it has found a new material that solves at least two of those challenges. Daqus Energy has been quietly operating for the past couple years, refining a compound known as TAQ

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Google removes ‘underrepresented’ language from its grant website

Startups /

Just weeks after Google said it would review its diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, the Google for Startups Founders Fund webpage is peppered with changes. Most notably Google is now using past tense to describe all of its fund programs for underrepresented founders.  This is a change that took place after December, according to the internet

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Why VCs ghost founders, or reject deals and never speak to the founder again

Fundraising /

Getting ghosted is never fun. Especially if you’re a founder seeking capital from investors. It’s similar to dating. You might be left wondering “Why is this person not getting back to me? Did I do something wrong?” Did the investor hate the product? Did they not care for me personally?” It’s enough to drive anyone

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How Uber’s new product chief is gearing up for robotaxis

Transportation /

Uber executive Sachin Kansal has a reputation for dogfooding — the tactic of using one’s own products and services to root out problems and make improvements. As he ascended Uber’s executive ladder over the past eight years, Kansal ratcheted up 700 trips delivering food or people to their destinations. Lengthy reports, often dozens of pages

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Faireez raises $7.5M for AI-powered hotel-style housekeeping for condo residents

AI /

Faireez, which aims to bring “5-star hotel-style housekeeping” to multifamily buildings, is emerging from stealth with $7.5 million in seed funding, the startup told TechCrunch exclusively. Founded in 2023, New York-based Faireez’s goal is to make the cleaning services it offers as customized as possible. It offers a subscription model where each building is assigned

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Renaissance Fusion raises €32M to radically simplify complex fusion reactors

Fundraising /

Fusion power startups have long been stalked by one stubborn question: Will the technology work?  But now, with net-positive fusion power no longer the stuff of science fiction, a fresh crop of startups have been founded on more mundane questions: Can reactors be built for less money? How can maintenance be made simpler? The answers

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