[ad_1] Private equity firm Everstone Capital is bringing together India’s Wingify — a company that helps businesses test different versions of their websites to improve sales and customer engagement — and France’s AB Tasty to build an over $100 million a digital experience optimization company with more than $100 million …
Read More »Looking ahead to 2026: What’s next for Startup Battlefield 200
[ad_1] TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 200 is the flagship early-stage startup competition held at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco, spotlighting the world’s most promising young companies. Each year, thousands of applicants from around the globe vie for one of 200 slots in the cohort, which provides unparalleled visibility, access to top-tier investors, and opportunities to grow. …
Read More »Well, there goes the metaverse!
[ad_1] Meta’s enormous bet on virtual reality ended last week, with the company reportedly laying off roughly 1,500 employees from its Reality Labs division — about 10% of the unit’s staff — and shutting down several VR game studios, according to The Wall Street Journal. It’s a huge reversal for …
Read More »Rogue agents and shadow AI: Why VCs are betting big on AI security
[ad_1] What happens when an AI agent decides the best way to complete a task is to blackmail you? That’s not a hypothetical. According to Barmak Meftah, a partner at cybersecurity VC firm Ballistic Ventures, it recently happened to an enterprise employee working with an AI agent. The employee tried …
Read More »Here are the 55 US AI startups that have raised $100M or more in 2025
[ad_1] The AI industry entered 2025 with strong momentum. There were 49 startups that raised funding rounds worth $100 million or more in 2024, per our count at TechCrunch; three companies raised more than one “mega-round,” and seven companies raised rounds that were $1 billion in size or larger. The industry didn’t slow down in 2025. While less companies raised …
Read More »Biotics AI, Battlefield 2023, gains FDA approval for its AI-powered fetal ultrasound product
[ad_1] TechCrunch Disrupt Battlefield 2023 winner, Biotics AI, announced on Monday that it has received FDA clearance for its AI software that helps detect fetal abnormalities in ultrasound images. The product was envisioned by founder CEO Robhy Bustami, who was raised in a family of obstetricians, including his mother, sister, …
Read More »Moxie Marlinspike has a privacy-conscious alternative to ChatGPT
[ad_1] If you’re at all concerned about privacy, the rise of AI personal assistants can feel alarming. It’s difficult to use one without sharing personal information, which is retained by the model’s parent company. With OpenAI already testing advertising, it’s easy to imagine the same data collection that fuels Facebook …
Read More »How YC-backed Bucket Robotics survived its first CES
[ad_1] The weather in Las Vegas wasn’t looking good. The plan had been that each employee of YC-backed Bucket Robotics would carry parts of their booth in their luggage to the 2026 Consumer Electronics Show. But CEO and founder Matt Puchalski didn’t want to take the chance that one (or all) of their flights would be delayed. So he rented a Hyundai Santa Fe and packed it up. “It was… it was tight,” …
Read More »Sequoia to invest in Anthropic, breaking VC taboo on backing rivals: FT
[ad_1] Sequoia Capital is reportedly joining a blockbuster funding round for Anthropic, the AI startup behind Claude, according to the Financial Times. It’s a move sure to turn heads in Silicon Valley. Why? Because venture capital firms have historically avoided backing competing companies in the same sector, preferring to place …
Read More »Threads edges out X in daily mobile users, new data shows
[ad_1] A report from market intelligence firm Similarweb suggests that Meta’s Threads is now seeing more daily usage than Elon Musk’s X on mobile devices. While X still dominates Threads on the web, the Threads mobile app for iOS and Android has continued to see an increase in daily active …
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