VCs

Here are the five best pieces of founder advice I learned as a host of Found

After more than two years — and nearly 100 episodes — as a host of TechCrunch’s recently ended Found podcast, I have learned a lot about how founders approach building their startups. I’ve heard stories about how founders know when it is the right time to expand from their core product, to how startups approach […]

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In 2023 VCs returned the lowest level of capital to their investors since 2011

It’s no secret that the venture capital industry is facing a liquidity crisis as IPOs and other exits remain few and far between after 2020 and 2021’s record-breaking years. Now, we have numbers that show just how bad it’s gotten. In 2023, the U.S. VC industry invested $60 billion more into startups than it collected

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Investments in generative AI startups topped $3.9B in Q3 2024

Not everyone is convinced of generative AI’s return on investment. But many investors are, judging by the latest figures from funding tracker PitchBook. In Q3 2024, VCs invested $3.9 billion in generative AI startups across 206 deals, per PitchBook. (That’s not counting OpenAI‘s $6.6 billion round.) And $2.9 billion of that funding went to U.S.-based

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VC firm NFX laid off 4 employees and plans to hire more investors

Venture capital firm NFX laid off four employees in September as the firm looks to “rebalance” its resources from its software and product teams to its investing team, general partner Pete Flint told TechCrunch. The layoffs included one product leader and three engineers, Flint said. About a week ago, Amy Lin, chief product officer since

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Rippling’s Parker Conrad says founders should ‘go all the way to the ground’ to run their companies

HR startup Rippling has grown into a company valued at $13.5 billion with more than 3,200 employees. Despite that size, its founder and CEO Parker Conrad still approves every expense report over $10 and is still the one who does routine HR tasks like running payroll. That’s because doing such tasks means he’s using his

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How filming a capella concerts and dance recitals led Northzone’s newest parter Molly Alter to a career in VC

Molly Alter wears a lot of hats. She’s a mockumentary film maker working on a project about an alternate reality where charades is big business. She’s a caesar salad connoisseur and documents her rankings of different restaurants’ attempts on a blog called JULIUS. She’s also Northzone’s newest partner. Alter’s path to venture capital was not

How filming a capella concerts and dance recitals led Northzone’s newest parter Molly Alter to a career in VC Read More »

How filming a capella concerts and dance recitals led Northzone’s newest partner Molly Alter to a career in VC

Molly Alter wears a lot of hats. She’s a mocumentary film maker working on a project about an alternate reality where charades is big business. She’s a caesar salad connoisseur and documents her rankings of different restaurants’ attempts on a blog called JULIUS. She’s also Northzone’s newest partner. Alter’s path to venture capital was not

How filming a capella concerts and dance recitals led Northzone’s newest partner Molly Alter to a career in VC Read More »

Sequoia-backed Knowde raises Series C at a valuation cut

Knowde, an online marketplace for chemicals and polymers, just closed on a Series C round, TechCrunch has exclusively learned. The San Jose-based startup raised $60 million in a round that values it lower than the $500 million valuation it garnered in its most recent round, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. This round

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