venture capital

VCs deploy ‘kingmaking’ strategy to crown AI winners in their infancy

AI /

In early October, DualEntry, an AI enterprise resource planning (ERP) startup, announced a $90 million Series A round led by Lightspeed and Khosla Ventures, valuing the one-year-old business at $415 million. The company seeks to replace legacy software like Oracle NetSuite with its offering that can automate routine tasks and provide predictive insights. The massive […]

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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

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Ventures Platform, one of Africa’s most active early-stage investors, has raised another $64 million

Venture /

Lagos-based Ventures Platform, one of Africa’s most active early-stage investors, has raised $64 million so far for its second fund, targeting a final close of $75 million, founding partner Kola Aina tells TechCrunch. Among the investors is the Nigerian government, through its Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (iDICE) program, which marks the first time

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Roelof Botha explains why Sequoia supports Shaun Maguire after COO quit

Venture /

During an interview at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 on Monday, Sequoia Capital managing partner Roelof Botha defended his colleague, Sequoia partner Shaun Maguire, over the controversial comments Maguire made earlier this year, calling the firm a believer in his partner’s right to “free speech.” In a July 4 post on X, Maguire attacked New York City

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Last 3 days to get extra discounts on community passes to Disrupt 2025

Venture /

There are only 3 days left to lock in even bigger savings on group passes to TechCrunch Disrupt 2025! Founders and investors — save up to 20% on groups of 4–9 until Friday, October 3 at 11:59 p.m. PT. Disrupt 2025 takes place October 27–29 at San Francisco’s Moscone West, uniting over 10,000 founders, investors,

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Save 15% on TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 Founder Passes (Sept. 29–Oct. 3 Only)

Hardware /

You read that right. From today through October 3, we’re offering an exclusive deal just for founders and investors at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025: Founder Bundle Passes: Groups of 4–9 founders save 15%. Investor Bundle Passes: Groups of 4–9 investors save 20% (up from 15%). Round up your founder community or investor network, spread the news

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Tim Chen has quietly become of one the most sought-after solo investors 

Venture /

Tim Chen, solo VC at his firm Essence VC, just closed his fourth fund, a fresh $41 million, without even trying. Limited partner investors (LPs) were so eager to invest, they pre-empted it, he told TechCrunch. He hadn’t even time to generate a pitch deck.  True, $41 million might not sound like much in this age

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We are entering a golden age of robotics startups — and not just because of AI

AI /

When Seth Winterroth left his job at GE Ventures to help launch Eclipse Ventures in 2015, robotics was on his mind. Or more specifically, the number of early-stage robotics startups that were struggling to launch due to lack of interest. “These are teams that had just finished their postdocs at Waterloo, or CMU, or MIT,

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Why SecurityPal is choosing ‘nuanced capital’ over more VC rounds

Startups /

During the venture capital crash of 2022, SecurityPal founder Pukar Hamal was just 14 months from running out of money. Rather than raise another round, he chose to restructure and focus on getting his business to profitability as quickly as possible — and he hasn’t raised since his $21 million Series A in 2021. On

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