venture capital

How (Re)vive grew 10x last year by helping retailers recycle and sell returned items

Venture /

The fashion industry has a huge problem: Despite many returned items being unworn or undamaged, a lot, if not the majority, end up in the trash. An estimated 9.5 billion pounds of returns ended up in landfills in 2022 alone, according to data from return logistics software company Optoro. New York-based (Re)vive wants to help […]

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How Clean Energy Ventures avoided the pandemic bubble and raised a $305M fund

Fundraising /

Climate tech couldn’t escape the frothiness that engulfed the startup world earlier in the decade. For both founders or venture capitalists, it was tempting to raise money. Interest rates were low, money was cheap, and investors looking for better returns were hungry to get in the game. Instead, Clean Energy Ventures took a different approach,

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The demise of BaaS fintech Synapse could derail the funding prospects for other startups in the space

Startups /

Welcome to TechCrunch Fintech! This week, we’re looking at the long-term implications of Synapse’s bankruptcy on the fintech sector, Majority’s impressive ARR milestone, and more!  To get a roundup of TechCrunch’s biggest and most important fintech stories delivered to your inbox every Tuesday at 7:00 a.m. PT, subscribe here.  The big story Last week, we

The demise of BaaS fintech Synapse could derail the funding prospects for other startups in the space Read More »

Can blockchain make weather forecasts better? WeatherXM thinks so

Startups /

Accurate weather forecasts are critical to industries like agriculture, and they’re also important to help prevent and mitigate harm from inclement weather events or natural disasters. But getting forecasts right is extremely difficult. That’s why the founders of WeatherXM have been looking to make weather forecasts more accurate for the past 12 years. In 2012,

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VCs wanted FarmboxRx to become a meal kit, the company bootstrapped instead

Fundraising /

Some startups choose to bootstrap from the beginning while others find themselves forced into self funding by a lack of investor interest or a business model that doesn’t fit traditional VC. FarmboxRx decided to bootstrap because founder Ashley Tyrner didn’t like the advice she was getting from potential backers. Tyrner told TechCrunch’s Found podcast that

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a16z’s American Dynamism team launches program to introduce technical minds to VC

Venture /

Andreessen Horowitz’s American Dynamism fund has established a new fellowship program aimed at introducing top engineers and technologists to venture investing, a move that could help the firm identify less obvious sources for VC talent.  The American Dynamism fund launched in 2023 with the broad aim of supporting companies building in the nation’s interest across

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There’s a real appetite for a fintech alternative to QuickBooks

Fintech /

Welcome to TechCrunch Fintech! This week, we’re looking at the continued fallout from Synapse’s bankruptcy, how Layer wants to disrupt SMB accounting, and much more! To get a roundup of TechCrunch’s biggest and most important fintech stories delivered to your inbox every Tuesday at 7:00 a.m. PT, subscribe here.  The big story The prospects for

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ETF Partners raises €284M for climate startups that will be effective quickly — not 20 years down the road

Climate /

While many climate investors focus their efforts on breakthrough, deep-tech solutions, Patrick Sheehan at ETF Partners has other ideas. “I’ve actually got nothing against carbon capture and storage, apart from the fact it’s probably going to be commercialized too late,” he told TechCrunch. Instead, Sheehan and his colleagues are diving into more software-centric companies that

ETF Partners raises €284M for climate startups that will be effective quickly — not 20 years down the road Read More »

Contour Venture Partners, an early investor in Datadog and Movable Ink, has raised $42M for its fifth fund

Venture /

Longtime New York-based seed investor, Contour Venture Partners, is making progress on its latest flagship fund. The firm closed on $42 million, raised from 64 backers, for Contour Venture Partners Fund V, according to an SEC filing from May 17. The firm is targeting $90 million for its fifth flagship fund and started fundraising in

Contour Venture Partners, an early investor in Datadog and Movable Ink, has raised $42M for its fifth fund Read More »