June 20, 2025

Mira Murati’s Thinking Machines Lab closes on $2B at $10B valuation

Thinking Machines Lab, the secretive AI startup founded by OpenAI’s former chief technology officer Mira Murati, has closed a $2 billion seed round at a $10 billion valuation.

Construction robotics firm Kewazo raises $10 million

January 23, 2023

Automating construction makes plain sense on the face of it. It’s one of the world’s biggest industries. It’s also among the most expensive and, often, dangerous. Certainly it checks off the three Ds (dull, dirty, dangerous) of automation quite plainly. We encountered Kewazo several years back when the Munich-based startup participated in a TC Sessions: […]

Construction robotics firm Kewazo raises $10 million by Brian Heater originally published on TechCrunch

Shopping app Temu is using TikTok’s strategy to keep its No. 1 spot on App Store

January 23, 2023

Temu, a shopping app from Chinese e-commerce giant Pinduoduo, is having quite the run as the No. 1 app on the U.S. app stores. The mobile shopping app hit the top spot on the U.S. App Store in September and has continued to hold a highly-ranked position in the months that followed, including as the […]

Shopping app Temu is using TikTok’s strategy to keep its No. 1 spot on App Store by Sarah Perez originally published on TechCrunch

With Starship testing, SpaceX moves one step closer to making science fiction a reality

January 23, 2023

SpaceX is poised to conduct a wet dress rehearsal of the Starship launch system from its Starbase site in southeastern Texas, a major milestone in CEO Elon Musk’s quest to turn long-haul interplanetary transportation from science fiction to reality. It’s the strongest signal yet that Starship’s first orbital flight test could well and truly be […]

With Starship testing, SpaceX moves one step closer to making science fiction a reality by Aria Alamalhodaei originally published on TechCrunch

Babylist makes an even bigger bet on baby products with Expectful acquisition

January 23, 2023

Today, baby registry and product discovery platform Babylist announced that it has acquired health and wellness tool Expectful for an undisclosed price. The deal, announced today, brings together two companies focused on parental support, now helping people navigate everything from eco-friendly diapers to mental wellness around fertility. The overlap, however, is in more than the mission. […]

Babylist makes an even bigger bet on baby products with Expectful acquisition by Natasha Mascarenhas originally published on TechCrunch

Cowboy Ventures goes bigger, with $260M across two new funds, including an opportunity fund

January 23, 2023

Cowboy Ventures, the now-10-year-old, Bay Area-based seed-stage focused fund founded by renowned investor Aileen Lee, has closed on two new funds totaling $260 million in capital commitments. The outfit garnered $140 million in commitments for its fourth flagship fund and another $120 million for its first opportunity-type fund (its “Mustang Fund”). The amount is more […]

Cowboy Ventures goes bigger, with $260M across two new funds, including an opportunity fund by Connie Loizos originally published on TechCrunch

McKinsey, eyeing the MLOps space, buys Tel Aviv-based Iguazio

January 23, 2023

The same day Microsoft invested billions in OpenAI, McKinsey snatched up an enterprise-focused AI firm, Iguazio, for a relative steal. The consulting giant reportedly paid around $50 million for Iguazio, a Tel Aviv-based company offering an MLOps platform for large-scale businesses — “MLOps” referring to a set of tools to deploy and maintain machine learning […]

McKinsey, eyeing the MLOps space, buys Tel Aviv-based Iguazio by Kyle Wiggers originally published on TechCrunch

All that VC dry powder is damper than you think

January 23, 2023

Welcome back to Equity, the podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. Natasha is back in the Bay, after five weeks away, so some could say, San Francisco is back. Big tech: Real quick, you should know that Elliott Management took a multi-billion stake in Salesforce, while […]

All that VC dry powder is damper than you think by Natasha Mascarenhas originally published on TechCrunch

TechCrunch Live is back with top founders and investors, and you get to ask the questions each week

January 23, 2023

TechCrunch Live is entering its third season, and I’m thrilled to be leading the events again this year. The first event is on February 1, 2023, and will feature a timely discussion on what to do if your company can’t raise a Series A. We have Cambly’s Sameer Shariff and Benchmark’s Sarah Tavel speaking at […]

TechCrunch Live is back with top founders and investors, and you get to ask the questions each week by Matt Burns originally published on TechCrunch

Founder and NFX VC James Currier vets startup ideas at TC Early Stage

January 23, 2023

You have a great idea for a startup, and you’re working hard to build, launch and scale. But, and stay with us here, is your idea truly good? According to James Currier — founding partner of NFX, a VC firm by and for entrepreneurs — good ideas have patterns, and 90% of the ideas he […]

Founder and NFX VC James Currier vets startup ideas at TC Early Stage by Lauren Simonds originally published on TechCrunch