Startups

After SEC investigation, Curastory founder resigns, hires replacement

Venture /

The Securities and Exchange Commission has accused content monetization startup Curastory of overstating revenue to investors and misrepresenting true client numbers, according to paperwork seen by TechCrunch.   As a result of a settlement with the SEC, Curastory’s founder and CEO, Tiffany Kelly, has resigned from the role and replaced herself with Dave Dickman, former CEO of the influencer marketing platform Tagger.  Under Dickman’s leadership, the company has begun fundraising, international […]

After SEC investigation, Curastory founder resigns, hires replacement Read More »

VC Jennifer Neundorfer explains how founders can stand out in a crowded AI market

Venture /

January Ventures co-founder Jennifer Neundorfer stopped by the Equity podcast during TechCrunch Disrupt to chat about fundraising in this very AI-driven market.   Founders and investors alike are obsessed with AI, and even Neundorfer said her firm is looking at ways to use AI to make their work more efficient, such as helping to do due

VC Jennifer Neundorfer explains how founders can stand out in a crowded AI market Read More »

Subletting startup Kiki paid over $152K to settle charges after violating NYC short-term rental laws

Government & Policy /

Auckland-founded Kiki Club launched its peer-to-peer subletting startup in New York City in 2023 with the mission of helping renters sublet their apartments while traveling for extended periods.  However, Kiki’s model violated local short-term rental laws, leading to its shutdown this past June. The New York Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement (OSE) announced on Wednesday

Subletting startup Kiki paid over $152K to settle charges after violating NYC short-term rental laws Read More »

Onepot AI raises $13M to help make chemical drug creation easier

Biotech & Health /

For Daniil Boiko and Andrei Tyrin, the idea for Onepot AI came from the same frustration.   “The best ideas in drug discovery were often blocked not by biology, but by synthesis,” Boiko told TechCrunch. Synthesis is the creation of new molecules by using chemical reactions. It’s like a recipe or Lego pieces, where small pieces, ingredients, molecules, come together to form a wider puzzle picture, a food dish, a larger molecule.   As

Onepot AI raises $13M to help make chemical drug creation easier Read More »

Emm raises $9M seed to create one of the world’s first ‘smart’ menstrual cups

Biotech & Health /

Jenny Button first thought of Emm during the COVID lockdown. She was using an Oura ring and the Whoop monitoring band and getting insights about her body, but there wasn’t a device that could provide data about one of the most important aspects — reproductive and menstrual health.   “It seemed crazy to me, because these are things that every woman wants to be able to

Emm raises $9M seed to create one of the world’s first ‘smart’ menstrual cups Read More »

a16z leads $21M Series A into AI-native tax compliance software Sphere

Startups /

As Nicholas Rudder built his last startup, an educational marketplace called ScholarSite, he kept running into the same problem: tax.   “Marketplaces are liable for tax on their entire GMV (gross merchandise value) not just their take rate, so every new country meant a maze of registrations, filings, deadlines, and risk,” Rudder told TechCrunch. “It became a constant distraction.

a16z leads $21M Series A into AI-native tax compliance software Sphere Read More »

Boop’s new app turns social recommendations into bookable itineraries

Apps /

In a sea of AI travel-planning apps, a new startup called Boop aims to redefine the space with a new approach: turning social recommendations into bookable itineraries. Instead of getting a random AI-generated travel plan, the app offers users access to itineraries from real people who went on real trips.  When someone takes a trip, Boop uses AI to quickly turn

Boop’s new app turns social recommendations into bookable itineraries Read More »

Creator Tayla Cannon recieves $1.1 million investment from Slow Ventures’ creator fund to build PT software

Venture /

In 2023, Tayla Cannon moved from Australia to the U.S. for a job in a city she’d never seen before.   “No family, no friends, just a fresh start,” she told TechCrunch. A sufferer of chronic back pain,  she first started working in physiotherapy, thinking it was helping make a difference in the lives of others. Yet the traditional physiotherapy model never quite lit a spark in her.   She moved

Creator Tayla Cannon recieves $1.1 million investment from Slow Ventures’ creator fund to build PT software Read More »

The 10 companies that just launched from Betaworks latest startup camp

Startups /

Early-stage venture fund Betaworks announced the latest 10 companies launching from its prestigious Camp program, the 13-week biannual residence program launched in 2016 that has given way to names like Hugging Face and Graze Social.   The theme for this year’s Camp is Interfaces, as in companies that are designing products that impact how users experience AI. (Previous Camp themes focused on application layers and agents). Applications opened in June, and the camp began in August, with DemoDay being November

The 10 companies that just launched from Betaworks latest startup camp Read More »

How founders can prepare for their late-stage fundraises from the start

Startups /

Raising a $250 million Series D round may seem like a distant and unnecessary distraction to startup founders pitching investors for that first $1 million in seed money. But it shouldn’t be, according to several founders and venture capitalists. In their view, founders should be charting out a strategy for those later stage fundraises from

How founders can prepare for their late-stage fundraises from the start Read More »