VC

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 […]

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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.

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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

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Tech founder throws hat in California governor’s race

Government & Policy /

Tech founder Ethan Agarwal, who has raised tens of millions of dollars from VCs across two startups, is running for the 2026 California gubernatorial seat, as reported by Axios. Axios described Agarwal as a “Democrat who believes in capitalism.” He told the outlet he’s mainly concerned about the increased cost of living and doing business

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Index Ventures’ Jahanvi Sardana shares the truth about TAM and what founders should focus on instead

Venture /

Early-stage founders just can’t get away from TAM — the concept of having a total addressable market for their startup to disrupt and conquer. But Index Ventures partner Jahanvi Sardana has a reminder for all those founders worried about finding TAM for their product or service: Many startups have emerged from markets that, at the

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Betaworks’ third fund closes at $66M to invest in early-stage AI startups

Venture /

New York City-based Betaworks has closed its $66 million Fund III, which will focus on investing in early-stage AI companies.  Betaworks has been investing in AI since at least 2016 and, through its investment program Camp, has backed companies such as Huggingface and Granola. Jordan Crook, a partner at the firm (and former TechCrunch employee),

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After raising over $3M, popular VC-backed beauty brand Ami Colé is shuttering

Venture /

Diarrha N’Diaye-Mbaye, one of the first among the small number of Black women to raise more than $1 million in venture capital, announced on Thursday the closure of her award-winning beauty startup Ami Colé.  Ami Colé creates makeup for those with darker skin colors, as those consumers often struggle to find makeup that matches their

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Venture gets a rare Native American-led fund in Betsy Fore’s Velveteen Ventures

Venture /

When Betsy Fore was five, her grandmother got her a gift she has never forgotten: A Velveteen Rabbit from Goodwill that Fore believed, with enough love, could spring alive. Decades later, that rabbit has lent its name to Fore’s venture firm, Velveteen Ventures, which came to life on Tuesday.  “I realized after building companies for

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Sarah Smith launches $16M fund, says AI can ‘unlock’ so much for solo GPs like herself

Venture /

Sarah Smith, founder and managing partner of the eponymous Sarah Smith Fund, announced Thursday the final closing of a $16 million Fund I.  Smith launched her eponymous fund in 2022 and is a solo GP. She said she’s “stunned” by what AI can unlock for firms like hers, solo and next-generation. “I can’t imagine doing

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