Y Combinator-backed startup Firecrawl is back on the hunt for AI agent employees. As we reported back in February, its first attempt didn’t yield an AI worth hiring. But it’s now placed three new ads on YC’s job board for “AI agents only” and has set aside a $1 million budget total to make it […]
Y Combinator startup Firecrawl is ready to pay $1M to hire three AI agents as employees Read More »
Despite courtroom chaos, Rippling is still going full steam ahead. The HR tech startup at the center of an increasingly dramatic legal battle with rival Deel just raised a fresh $450 million in funding at a $16.8 billion valuation, and launched a new “Startup Stack” to woo early-stage companies—winning over Y Combinator as both an
Unpacking Rippling vs Deel: corporate espionage and a $16.8B plot twist Read More »
Fabled startup investor and accelerator Y Combinator has some choice words for Google in an amicus brief it just submitted in the U.S.’s monopoly case against the search giant. In the brief, YC charged that Google is a “monopolist” that has “stunted” the U.S. startup ecosystem by making VC firms like itself hesitate to fund
Y Combinator says Google is a ‘monopolist’ that has ‘stunted’ the startup ecosystem Read More »
HR tech startup Rippling has raised a $450 million Series G round at a $16.8 billion valuation, the company confirmed to TechCrunch. It is also conducting a $200 million tender offer to give current and former employees some liquidity. The equity raise marks a big jump in valuation from a year ago. In April 2024,
Rippling raises $450M at a $16.8B valuation, reveals YC is a customer Read More »
Techstars, a nearly 20-year-old startup accelerator, announced new terms for startups that enter its three-month program. The organization will now invest $220,000, which is $100,000 more than it offered previously, in companies starting with its fall 2025 batch. The capital will be divided into two components. The group is offering companies $20,000 in exchange for
Techstars increases startup funding to $220,000, mirroring YC structure Read More »
On February 18, 2024, Ian Laffey posted on X that he and two others he’d just met built a cheap drone at a hackathon that calculated its coordinates simply by using its camera and Google Maps. He and his colleagues, Sacha Lévy and Carl Schoeller, were all engineers under the age of 25. The tech
Defense tech Theseus landed Y Combinator, the US Special Forces and $4.3M from a tweet Read More »
Geoff Ralston, well-known in the startup community for his years at Y Combinator, is back in the formal investing ring, he announced Thursday. Ralston’s new new fund is called Safe Artificial Intelligence Fund or SAIF, which is both an explanation of its thesis and a play on words. Ralston is specifically looking for startups that
Former Y Combinator president Geoff Ralston launches new AI ‘safety’ fund Read More »
When British doctor Ahmed Kerwan began working as a physician, the paperwork burden shocked him. On some days, he would spend only three hours actually caring for patients, with the rest of his workday spent on things like dealing with insurance claims. There are already dozens, perhaps hundreds, of startups using AI to reduce the
YC-backed Taxo raises $5M to slash healthcare admin with its AI ‘reasoning engine’ Read More »
We may not have an agreed-upon definition of AI “agent” yet, but a multitude of startups want to create “agentic” tools to automate various tasks online. One such firm, Browser Use, has attracted a ton of interest from developers and investors thanks to its solution that makes websites more “readable” for AI agents. Browser Use
Browser Use, the tool making it easier for AI ‘agents’ to navigate websites, raises $17M Read More »
Michael Seibel announced late Wednesday on X that after more than 12 years at the famed accelerator Y Combinator, he is transitioning to a “partner emeritus” role. Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan shared the news separately in a company blog post, highlighting Seibel’s long history with the outfit. Seibel first joined YC as a founder,
Michael Seibel is leaving Y Combinator Read More »
