TechCrunch Startup News
2,977 episodes - English - Latest episode: 3 days ago - ★★★★ - 16 ratingsListen to select TechCrunch articles on startups coverage—who's raising, who's exiting, who's changing the world.
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Glovo’s Sacha Michaud: “I think there will be consolidation”
December 13, 2019 08:00 - 3 minutesMany companies realized that there was a huge opportunity when it comes to on-demand delivery of food and groceries. And apparently, too many companies as Glovo co-founder Sacha Michaud expects some consolidation in the space in the near future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Gtmhub raises $9M from CRV after posting 400% ARR growth in the last year
December 12, 2019 16:29 - 6 minutesThis week Gtmhub announced a $9 million Series A led by CRV. The investment was not a large round, even for an A. But the capital found its way into one of the fastest-growing SaaS companies that we’ve spoken with recently, which made it interesting all the same. And, the firm was willing to talk about its financial performance in some detail. The combination made its Series A impossible to ignore. TechCrunch caught up with Gtmhub’s CMO Seth Elliott this morning to learn more. Learn more abou...
Airbnb invests as Zeus corporate housing raises $55M at $205M
December 12, 2019 08:00 - 9 minutesAs Airbnb absorbs more and more of the demand for housing, it’s exploring how to monetize opportunities beyond vacation rentals. A marketplace for longer term corporate housing could be a huge business, but rather than build that itself, Airbnb is making a strategic investment in one of the market leaders called Zeus Living and will list its homes on the Airbnb site. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Nodle crowdsources IoT connectivity
December 11, 2019 16:29 - 4 minutesNodle, which is competing in the TechCrunch Disrupt Berlin Startup Battlefield this week, is based on a simple premise: What if you could crowdsource the connectivity of smart sensors by offloading it to smartphones? For most sensors, built-in cell connectivity is simply not a realistic option, given how much power it would take. A few years of battery life is quite realistic for a sensor that uses Bluetooth Low Energy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
xs:code launches subscription platform to monetize open source projects
December 11, 2019 08:00 - 3 minutesOpen source is a great source of free tools for developers, but as these projects proliferate, and some gain in popularity, the creators sometimes look for ways to monetize successful ones. The problem is that it’s hard to run a subscription-based, dual-license approach and most developers don’t even know where to start. Enter Israeli startup xs:code, which has created a platform to help developers solve this problem. “xs:code is a monetization platform for open source projects. Learn more ab...
Soci raises $12M to help big brands manage local marketing
December 10, 2019 16:29 - 2 minutesAccording to CEO Afif Khoury, we’re in the middle of “the third wave of social” — a shift back to local interactions. And Khoury’s startup Soci (pronounced soh-shee) has raised $12 million in Series C funding to help companies navigate that shift. Soci works with customers like Ace Hardware and Sport Clips to help them manage the online presence of hundreds or thousands of stores. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Startups Weekly: U.S. VCs eye European startups
December 10, 2019 08:00 - 6 minutesHello and welcome back to Startups Weekly, a weekend newsletter that dives into the week’s noteworthy startups and venture capital news. Before I jump into today’s topic, let’s catch up a bit. Last week, I wrote about Chinese investor activity in Africa. Before that, I noted Airbnb’s issues. Remember, you can send me tips, suggestions and feedback to [email protected] or on Twitter@KateClarkTweets. If you’re new, you can subscribe to Startups Weekly here. Learn more about your ad choi...
Raising VC in Silicon Valley as a female POC
December 09, 2019 16:29 - 8 minutesNathan Beckord Contributor Share on Twitter Nathan Beckord is CEO of Foundersuite.com, a software platform for raising capital and managing investors that has helped entrepreneurs raise over $2 billion since 2016. He is also the host of Foundersuite’s How I Raised It podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
New tweet generator mocks venture capitalists
December 09, 2019 08:00 - 2 minutes“Airbnb’s unit economics are quite legendary — the S-1 is going to be MOST disrupted FASTEST in the next 3 YEARS? Caps for effect.” Who Tweeted that? Initialized Capital’s Garry Tan? Homebrew’s Hunter Walk? Y Combinator co-founder Paul Graham? Or perhaps one of the dozens of other venture capitalists active on Twitter . No, it was Parrot.VC, a new Twitter account and website dedicated to making light of VC Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Uberflip acquires SnapApp for smarter content targeting
December 06, 2019 16:29 - 3 minutesUberflip is acquiring SnapApp, bringing together two startups that promise help marketers use their content more effectively. President and Chief Marketing Officer Randy Frisch argued that Uberflip focuses on content experience, not content marketing. In other words, it’s not selling productivity and workflow tools for marketers to write blog posts and and create videos. Instead, it helps them present their existing content in a smarter and more personalized way. Learn more about your ad choi...
Uniform Teeth raises $10 million for its teeth-straightening operations
December 06, 2019 08:00 - 3 minutesUniform Teeth, the teeth straightening startup that helped me figure out I needed a root canal, has just raised a $10 million round of funding led by Canaan Ventures. This brings Uniform Teeth’s total funding to $14 million. With the new funding, Uniform Teeth plans to open up two more locations, one in Seattle and one in Chicago early next year. Uniform Teeth currently operates two locations in San Francisco. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Delphia wants to turn your data into investment capital through collective action
December 05, 2019 16:29 - 5 minutesA lot of companies talk about the value of your data, and about helping you get more control over the information you share, but Toronto-based Delphia is unique in aiming to build a viable, sustainable and scalable way to take a person’s data and turn that into real monetary gain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Accel closes new $550M fund for India
December 04, 2019 16:29 - 4 minutesAccel, one of the world’s most influential venture capitalist firms, is becoming more bullish on India. The Silicon Valley-headquartered firm, which largely focuses on early stage investments, said today it has closed $550 million for its sixth venture fund in India. This is a significant amount of capital for Accel’s efforts in India, where it began investing 15 years ago and has infused roughly $1 billion through all of its previous funds combined. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit po...
Postscript raises $4.5M to help Shopify shops stay connected with customers over SMS
December 04, 2019 08:00 - 4 minutesBack in February, we wrote that Postscript “wants to be the Mailchimp for SMS.” Now they’ve raised $4.5 million to help get it done. This round was led by Accomplice, and backed by Kayak co-founder Paul English, Wufoo co-founder Kevin Hale, Klaviyo co-founder Andrew Bialecki, Drift co-founder Elias Torres, Front co-founder Mathilde Collin and Podium co-founders Eric Rea and Dennis Steele. The Postscript team is currently made up of 14 people. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastch...
Score Cyber Monday savings on TechCrunch Sessions 2020 passes
December 03, 2019 08:00 - 3 minutesHave we got a Cyber Monday deal for you. TC Sessions: Robotics+AI (March 3) and TC Sessions: Mobility (May 14) are coming back to California in 2020 with early bird tickets starting at $275 and $250 respectively. But if you buy your pass today, you’ll save an extra 15 percent on each event. How sweet is that? Don’t delay, startuppers. Buy your pass to TC Sessions: Robotics & AI and/or TC Sessions: Mobility before this one-day deal expires promptly tonight at 11:59 pm PT. Learn more about your...
Startups Weekly: Chinese investors double down on African startups
December 02, 2019 16:29 - 5 minutesHello and welcome back to Startups Weekly, a weekend newsletter that dives into the week’s noteworthy startups and venture capital news. Before I jump into today’s topic, let’s catch up a bit. Last week, I wrote about Airbnb’s issues. Before that, I noted Uber’s new “money” team. Remember, you can send me tips, suggestions and feedback to [email protected] or on Twitter@KateClarkTweets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NYSE proposes big change to direct listings
December 02, 2019 08:00 - 4 minutesThe New York Stock Exchange filed paperwork this morning with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to allow companies to raise capital as part of a direct listing. Direct listings are a way for companies to go public by selling existing shares held by insiders, employees and investors directly to the market, rather than the traditional method of issuing new shares. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Zebra Fuel, the startup that brought fuel directly to your vehicle, is ‘no longer’ delivering in London
November 29, 2019 16:29 - 3 minutesZebra Fuel, the startup that brought fuel directly to your vehicle, is ‘no longer’ delivering in London Zebra Fuel, the London-based startup that delivered fuel directly to your vehicle — backed by Robin and Saul Klein’s LocalGlobe, Brent Hoberman’s Firstminute Capital and Zoopla founder Alex Chesterman — has told customers it is “no longer” delivering fuel in London. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Here’s what happens when you decide to sell your startup
November 28, 2019 08:00 - 10 minutesJoe Procopio Contributor Share on Twitter Joe is a multi-exit, multi-failure entrepreneur. Joe is currently building Spiffy, and previously sold Automated Insights, sold ExitEvent, and built Intrepid Media. Find more about Joe at joeprocopio.com or @jproco on Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Vivun snags $3M seed round to bring order to pre-sales
November 27, 2019 16:29 - 4 minutesVivun, a startup that wants to help companies keep better track of pre-sales data announced a $3 million seed round today led by Unusual Ventures, the venture firm run by Harness CEO Jyoti Bansal. Vivun founder and CEO Matt Darrow says that pre-sales team works more closely with the customer than anyone else, delivering demos and proof of concepts, and generally helping sales get over the finish line. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Cocoon’s social app for close friends gets VC backing to chase Path’s dream
November 27, 2019 08:00 - 4 minutesYou may have heard the pitch before, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram aren’t homes for your real friends anymore because they’re too big, too commercial and too influencer-y, the result is that your most important relationships have been relegated to the lowest common denominator tool on your phones: your texting app. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Weekend Fund raises $10M for second early-stage fund
November 26, 2019 16:29 - 2 minutesProduct Hunt founder Ryan Hoover has raised another $10 million to invest in nascent upstarts viaWeekend Fund. The news represents the firm’s second fundraise after a $3 million debut angel fund that closed in 2017. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Artiphon launches a Kickstarter campaign for its new musical device Orba
November 26, 2019 08:00 - 3 minutesArtiphon, the startup that previously raised more than $1 million on Kickstarter for a device called the Instrument 1, has launched a new campaign for its latest invention, Orba. Co-founder and CEO Mike Butera said the Instrument 1 and Orba share “the same DNA,” namely his vision to help music-making become more accessible to everyone, regardless of training or experience. “I want beginners to feel like pros, but also for pros to feel like beginners again,” Butera told me. Learn more about yo...
Max Q: NASA signs up new Moon delivery companies
November 25, 2019 16:30 - 4 minutesSign up here to receive Max Q weekly in your inbox, starting December 15. There were lot of highlights in the space industry this past week (even though a rocket launch that was supposed to happened is now pushed to Monday). The biggest news for commercial space might just be that NASA signed on five new companies to its list of approved vendors for lunar payload delivery services, bringing the total group to 14. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Here’s the first look inside Orbex’s Scotland rocket factory
November 25, 2019 08:00 - 3 minutesEuropean private launch startup Orbex is getting ready to start actually launching payloads aboard its own rockets, and it’s pulling back the curtains to give a look at the factory it’s using to build its launch vehicles. The UK-based company is building its rockets from a facility in Scotland, and this virtual tour gives an idea of what they’re doing to make the first rocket field by renewable, clean-burning fuel a reality. Orbex Prime’s Stage 2 vehicle. Learn more about your ad choices. Vi...
Give InKind’s smarter giving platform brings in surprise $1.5 million in pre-seed funding
November 22, 2019 16:29 - 7 minutesHelping out a friend in need online can be surprisingly difficult. While giving cash is easy enough, that’s often not what people need most — so Give InKind aims to be the platform where you can do a lot more than write a check. The idea is such a natural one that the company tripled its goal for a pre-seed round, raising $1.5 million from Seattle investors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Splice teaches AI to sell Similar Sounds as users double
November 22, 2019 08:00 - 6 minutesSplice is blowing up like a hit song. The audio sample marketplace has doubled revenue and user count in a year, and now reaches 3 million musicians. 70% of those visit weekly to hunt down the freshest and trendiest sounds that give their tracks that special something, and many pay $7.99 for unlimited access. But words can’t always describe music. Searching by genre and subjective tags can take forever and leave artists frustrated when the sounds they find they don’t resonate right. Learn mo...
Bandit opens a ‘mobile-only’ coffee shop in New York
November 21, 2019 16:29 - 4 minutesIf you wander into the Bandit coffee shop in Midtown New York, you won’t be able to just walk up to the counter and order something. Instead, you’ll need to download a mobile app. I experienced it for myself yesterday afternoon, when I — along with several other customers — pulled my phone out, downloaded the Bandit app, then used the app to create a profile, order and pay. A couple minutes later, a barista called me up to the counter and handed me my (pretty good) coffee. Learn more about yo...
Brava, a smart oven maker with big names attached, just sold to an industrial equipment company
November 21, 2019 08:00 - 6 minutesBrava had a lot of things working in its favor as startups go. It was founded in 2015 by serial executive John Pleasants, whose past stints have included as co-president of Disney Interactive Media Group, COO of Electronic Arts, and CEO of Ticketmaster. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Bunch, the Discord for mobile games, raises $3.85M from Supercell, Tencent, Riot Games
November 20, 2019 16:30 - 4 minutesGrowing up, Selcuk Atli spent a good deal of his free time playing video games with his friends. And when I say with his friends, I mean actually with them. They’re called LAN parties, where everyone brings over their consoles and the group gets to play together virtually and in real life, all at the same time. Atli, a grown man now, still loves games, but misses the memories made during LAN parties. That’s how Bunch was born. Bunch is a lot like Discord, but for mobile games. Learn more ab...
Ohi raises $2.75M to power same-day delivery for brands that aren’t Amazon
November 20, 2019 08:00 - 5 minutesThe world has gotten so much faster. Amazon has made two-day shipping the standard and same- or next-day shipping commonplace. And that doesn’t even include the collection of on-demand players that can get us everything from groceries to alcohol to services like concierge storage and in-home cleaning with the press of a button. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Playbuzz becomes Ex.co and expands its content marketing platform – TechCrunch
November 19, 2019 08:00 - 3 minutesLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
SmartNews raises $92M at a $1.2B valuation – TechCrunch
November 18, 2019 16:29 - 3 minutesLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Nigeria’s Interswitch confirms $1B valuation after Visa investment
November 18, 2019 08:00 - 4 minutesNigerian digital payments firm Interswitch confirmed today it has reached unicorn status after Visa acquired a minority equity stake in the firm. “The investment makes Interswitch one of the most valuable African fintech businesses with a valuation of $1 billion,” Interswitch said in a release to TechCrunch. The Visa investment could create the first of two market distinctions for Interswitch — as it shouldn’t change the Lagos-based company’s plans to go public. Learn more about your ad cho...
Less than 72 hours left to buy early-bird passes to Disrupt Berlin
November 15, 2019 16:30 - 4 minutesPull your heads out of the trenches, startup fans. You have just 72 hours to save up to €500 with early-bird pricing on passes to Disrupt Berlin 2019. When the clock strikes11:59 p.m. (CEST) on Friday, 15 November, the early bird is no more. Three days will fly by in a flash, so don’t wait. Take 10 minutes now, buy your early-bird passand save today. Disrupt Berlin offers two programming-packed days of opportunity and education. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adcho...
Freshworks raises $150M Series H on $3.5B valuation
November 15, 2019 08:00 - 3 minutesFreshworks, a company that makes a variety of business software tools, from CRM to help-desk software, announced a $150 million Series H investment today from Sequoia Capital, CapitalG (formerly Google Capital) and Accel on a hefty $3.5 billion valuation. The late-stage startup has raised almost $400 million, according to Crunchbase data. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Yodel.io is a digital receptionist for SMBs taking calls
November 14, 2019 16:29 - 4 minutesYodel.io, an Austria-founded startup that’s developed a “digital receptionist” to help SMBs and other small teams handle in and outbound phone-calls, has picked up $1 million in “pre-seed” funding. It brings total funding to just over $1.8 million. Backing this round is EXF Alpha, the fund of the European Super Angels Club, and various other unnamed European angel investors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
These sneakers vibrate
November 14, 2019 08:00 - 5 minutesSometimes it seems like you can hear a song all the way in your toes. With these new sneakers, you actually can. Meet the new EP 01 sneakers out of DropLabs. Yes, you read that right. We’re talking about sneakers. Invented by a man named Ross Seiler, and led by former Beats by Dre CEO Susan Paley, DropLabs aims to take audio to a whole new level by syncing music, movies and other audio to shoes that vibrate the soles of your feet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adc...
The Garage is a new blockchain-focused incubator based in Paris
November 13, 2019 16:29 - 3 minutesMeet The Garage, a new incubator in Paris that is all about blockchain projects. Co-founded by Cyril Paglino from Starchain Capital, Fabrice Le Fessant from Dune Network and Oussama Ammar from The Family, the company will support blockchain startups, help big companies launch blockchain projects and educate engineers about blockchain development. The Garage is a sort of puzzle made out of multiple pieces. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Lawyers hate timekeeping — Ping raises $13M to fix it with AI
November 13, 2019 08:00 - 5 minutesCounting billable time in six-minute increments is the most annoying part of being a lawyer. It’s a distracting waste. It leads law firms to conservatively under-bill. And it leaves lawyers stuck manually filling out timesheets after a long day when they want to go home to their families. Life is already short, as Ping CEO and co-founder Ryan Alshak knows too well. The former lawyer spent years caring for his mother as she battled a brain tumor before her passing. Learn more about your ad cho...
African logistics startup Lori Systems raises Series A led by Chinese investors
November 12, 2019 16:29 - 3 minutesAfrican on-demand trucking logistics company Lori Systems has raised a Series A round led by Chinese investors Hillhouse Capital and Crystal Stream Capital. Other participating investors included Nigeria and U.S.-based EchoVC, Flexport CEO Ryan Petersen and Nigerian founder Iyinoluwa Aboyeji. Lori Systems is not disclosing the amount of the Series A. DealStreet Asia reported the round amount at $30 million earlier Friday, but Lori Systems’ CEO Josh Sandler would not confirm that. Learn more ...
Andreessen Horowitz launches free crypto startup school
November 12, 2019 08:00 - 3 minutesLast month, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) general partner Chris Dixon announced at TechCrunch Disrupt that the VC firm would run a free crypto startup school. And the company is officially launching its school today. Applications are now open and you have four weeks to apply. With this initiative, a16z wants to democratize cryptocurrencies. Dixon and the a16z has been involved in the cryptocurrency/blockchain space for 7 years, and the firm now wants to share some of its learnings with entrepren...
Coda Biotherapeutics is developing a cure for pain
November 11, 2019 08:00 - 5 minutesIf the researchers, executives and investors behind Coda Biotherapeutics have their way, one day soon there really could be a cure for pain. Co-founded by researchers Joseph Glorioso, from the University of Pittsburgh’s microbiology and molecular genetics department; and Dr. Nicholas Boulis, the founder of Emory’s Gene and Cell Therapy for Neurorestoration Laboratory; Coda uses gene therapies to treat neurological diseases starting with severe pain and epilepsy. Learn more about your ad choic...
Uber’s losses top $1 billion, trumping better than expected revenues
November 08, 2019 16:29 - 4 minutesBetter than expected revenues couldn’t divert investor attention from the fact that Uber still managed to lose more than $1 billion in the most recent quarter as the company’s stock fell in after-hours trading. There are bright spots in the latest earnings report, not least that the company managed to stanch the bleeding that had cost the company over $5 billion in the previous quarter. Revenue grew to $3.8 billion, up from $2.9 billion in the year-ago period, representing a 30% boost. Learn...
Robocorp announces $5.6M seed to bring open source option to RPA
November 08, 2019 08:00 - 3 minutesRobotic Process Automation (RPA) has been a hot commodity in recent years as it helps automate tedious manual workflows inside large organizations. Robocorp, a San Francisco startup, wants to bring open source and RPA together. Today it announced a $5.6 million seed investment. Benchmark led the round with participation from Slow Ventures, firstminute Capital, Bret Taylor, president and chief product officer at Salesforce and Docker CEO Rob Bearden. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit po...
Wardrobe picks up $1.5 million for a new fashion rental marketplace
November 07, 2019 08:00 - 3 minutesWardrobe, a new peer-to-peer fashion rental marketplace, has today announced the close of a $1.5 million seed round and its public launch out of beta. The funding was led by angel investor Cyan Banister and Ludlow Ventures, with participation from GroupUp Ventures, Airbnb cofounder Nate Blecharczyk and HQ Trivia founder Rus Yusupov, among others. Wardrobe was founded by Adarsh Alphons after he had an epiphany about just how many items of clothes in his own house went mostly unused. Learn mor...
Arweave’s Permaweb blockchain can host sites & apps forever
November 06, 2019 08:00 - 6 minutesWhat if you could pay now to store something online permanently? You could preserve a website against censorship, save legal contracts, or offer an app even after your company fails. That’s the promise of Arweave‘s Permaweb. The startup has built a new type of blockchain that relies on Moore’s Law-style declining data storage costs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Gradeup raises $7M to expand its online exam preparation platform to smaller Indian cities and towns
November 05, 2019 16:29 - 5 minutesGradeup, an edtech startup in India that operates an exam preparation platform for undergraduate and postgraduate level courses, has raised $7 million from Times Internet as it looks to expand its business in the country. Times Internet, a conglomerate in India, invested $7 million in Series A and $3 million in Seed financing rounds of the four-year-old Noida-based startup, it said. Times Internet is the only external investor in Gradeup, they said. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit pod...
CTO.ai’s developer shortcuts eliminate coding busywork
November 05, 2019 08:00 - 6 minutesThere’s too much hype about mythical “10X developers”. Everyone’s desperate to hire these ‘ninja rockstars’. In reality, it’s smarter to find ways of deleting annoying chores for the coders you already have. That’s where CTO.ai comes in. Emerging from stealth today, CTO.ai lets developers build and borrow DevOps shortcuts. These automate long series of steps they usually have to do manually thanks to integrations with GitHub, AWS, Slack, and more. CTO. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ...
Max Q: SpaceX and Boeing gear up for commercial crew mission tests
November 04, 2019 08:00 - 4 minutesWelcome back to Max Q, our weekly look at what’s happening in space and space startup news. This week was a bit more quiet than usual coming off of the amazingly over-packed International Astronautical Congress, but there were still some big moves that promise a lot more action to come before they year’s over – particularly in the race to fly American astronauts to space on a rocket launched from American soil once again. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices