Equity

By TechCrunch, Rebecca Bellan, Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, Sean O'Kane, Theresa LoconsoloBusiness Entrepreneurship News Technology Business News

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Equity episodes

May 26, 2023Daylight's sunset and Meta's year of focus
Mary Ann and Alex were a dynamic duo this week, and here's what they got into:
The fascinating backers of Checkmate, and the future of online shopping: Mary Ann covered a very interesting Series A for Checkmate, a startup that not only has shown real legs on the competitive App Store, but also on social media platforms far and wide.
Cava's IPO won't save the IPO market, but it could help all the same: Alex is so IPO-deprived that he's drawing connections between anything that files and the startup market. This time it's not even that much of a stretch!
Daylight calls it quits: From the 'not a huge surprise' category comes the end of Daylight, a neobank aimed at the LGBTQ+ market that has been struggling for a while yet. This begged the question are themed neobanks going to make it?
Layoffs, Layoffs, Layoffs: Soundcloud is cutting staff to get to profitability, which we can understand. Meta is cutting staff because it, well, wants to conserve capital for more share buybacks?
Anthropic's massive funding round and who is going to win the AI war? When is $450 million not that much money? When you are building foundational AI models that are taking on OpenAI and others. Also in this section: Cold War metaphors.
And with that, we're heading off into a holiday weekend here in the US, so Equity will be back next Tuesday.
For episode transcripts and more, head to Equity’s Simplecast website.
Equity drops at 7:00 a.m. PT every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. TechCrunch also has a great show on crypto, a show that interviews founders, one that details how our stories come together and more!
Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products.

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31 min
May 24, 2023When will the paper unicorns fold?
This week, Alex sat down with GGV Capital's Jeff Richards, an investor who has perspective on the last venture boom and the resulting dénouement of that particular saga that we've been covering since the end of 2021. Richards has been an investor since 2008, so he's seen a business cycle or two, which convinced us that he'd be the perfect person to discuss the diverging fates of late-stage startups.
Here's what we got into:
The idea that all unicorns are in trouble is wrong; some late-stage startups got it right.
What this means for some eventual IPOs, and for those that didn't, likely some liquidations as well (some examples here, but the list is longer than that post outlines).
We also talked about the existence of unifying characteristics at late-stage startups that are doing well, and how to note early signals that the venture climate is about to molt.
As always, Equity will be back on Friday with your weekly news round up, but until then, you can catch us on Twitter @EquityPod
For episode transcripts and more, head to Equity’s Simplecast website.
Equity drops at 7:00 a.m. PT every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. TechCrunch also has a great show on crypto, a show that interviews founders, one that details how our stories come together and more!
Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
37 min
May 22, 2023Equity Monday: Meta and data, chips and dips, and crypto and meltdowns
Today, we are talking about Meta’s latest fines, what’s new in chips, and a few startup rounds that caught our eye!
Stocks aren’t moving too much this morning, which could change if the American government voluntarily defaults over some bullshit. Crypto hasn’t moved too much lately, though we are keeping tabs on overall trading volume.
Meta was hit with a record fine over how it handled EU user data. Data residency is a big deal and will likely crop up in future conversations concerning generative AI models and where they source their own data and from whom.
China has banned some Micron products, irking the United States. The two economic powerhouses are working to distance themselves from one another in key technology areas. Elsewhere in chip-land, Applied Materials is investing in the United States and there are labor concerns regarding the sheer number of chips projects kicking off here at home.
Patient21 raised a massive round for its software-and-services healthcare business, while Infinite Uptime raised more money for its “predictive maintenance solutions for machinery.”
Whew! And that’s just the start! See you back here Wednesday for more!
For episode transcripts and more, head to Equity’s Simplecast website. Equity drops at 7 a.m. PT every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. TechCrunch also has a great show on crypto, a show that interviews founders, one that details how our stories come together and more!
Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
9 min
May 19, 2023The billionaires are trying to live longer… again
This week Mary Ann, Becca, and Alex gathered to chew through the biggest news of the week. Here’s what the gang got into today:
Vice goes bankrupt: Now is not a great time for media companies. The advertising market is in the toilet, layoffs are rampant, and the end of Vice is like a cherry atop a trash sundae. Mary Ann points out during the show that some operational difficulties were at play at the company. Here’s a real unicorn death for us to stare at.
Deal Dive: AI. AI coaching. AI human relationship coaching? It’s a thing, and whether or not it is the future, we have questions.
Freshly-Nestle: How often do you see a venture firm sue an acquirer? Not very often. We dig into the what and why of the Freshly suit.
Why is Musk buying other companies? What do you do if you buy a company and fire most of its staff? You buy a tech jobs platform, it turns out.
NewLimit and the limits of life: NewLimit is a company that Alex likes. Why? Because he doesn’t want to die before he can go to space. Mary Ann and Becca noted that the company’s setup is more than non-traditional. For NewLimit, the proof will be in the pudding.
What’s ahead for venture debt? Becca’s work on the venture debt landscape has been critical reading since the SVB crisis unfolded earlier this year. Her latest venture survey helped us understand where founders will be hunting up capital in the back half of 2023 and beyond.
Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products.

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37 min
May 17, 2023In a more conservative venture capital market, will big tech step up?
This week, Alex spoke to two guests from the world of Microsoft for Startups - GM, Hans Yang, and Senior Director, Tom Davis. We're working to figure out how big tech corporations are playing in the startup sandbox, starting with the launch of Microsoft's Pegasus program.
Here's what we got into:
Why programs like Pegasus are particularly helpful for startups in a conservative VC market
The mutually beneficial relationship between the large tech players and startups
The close relationship between Microsoft and OpenAI
As always, Equity will be back on Friday with your weekly news round up, but until then, you can catch us on Twitter @EquityPod
For episode transcripts and more, head to Equity’s Simplecast website.
Equity drops at 7:00 a.m. PT every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. TechCrunch also has a great show on crypto, a show that interviews founders, one that details how our stories come together and more!
Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
35 min
May 15, 2023Equity Monday: Vice files for bankruptcy, Foxconn's investment in India, and two fascinating startup rounds
This week we talked about media, startup rounds and some Big Money Moves:
Stocks are mostly up to start the week while crypto remains within the bounds of its recent trading range. Again.
Vice has filed for bankruptcy, again highlighting how hard the media game can be. The company's eventual selling price looks like it will be a fraction's fraction of its once great worth.
Foxconn is investing more in India, underscoring how critical it is for major electronics supply chain companies to diversify out of China — and the immense costs involved.
Brex took a shot at buying part of SVB's portfolio, TechCrunch reports.
Startup rounds: Smart raised $95 million at a slight discount to its 2021-era valuation and M-KOPA secured a pile of equity and debt fundraising.
And we closed with the interesting sale of Forbes.
Equity will be back on Wednesday and Friday! We'll see you then!
For episode transcripts and more, head to Equity’s Simplecast website.
Equity drops at 7 a.m. PT every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. TechCrunch also has a great show on crypto, a show that interviews founders, one that details how our stories come together and more!
Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
9 min
May 12, 2023Venture-backed everything for real world problems, please
This week Mary Ann, Natasha and Alex celebrated one final episode as a three, and here's what we got into:
Deals of the Week: Alex wanted to talk about the slowing of growth amongst tech companies, Natasha had notes on a brace of new Mayfield funds, while Mary Ann brought Wellthy to the table.
Next we discussed pessimism in fintech, if it is near its peak, and how companies like Petal are still forging ahead regardless of market chop.
From there we dug into AI, how it will impact certain creative work, and what it could mean for tech workers who traditionally have not organized.
And we closed with a very Natasha topic: Accelerators.
Natasha led us out of the show with a final Equity sign-off as she announced her time with the podcast, and TechCrunch, is coming to a close. We are going to miss her awfully, but are also her biggest fans and cheering her on!
Equity will be back before you know it, but in the meantime, you can catch us on Twitter @EquityPod. And for the early-stage founders out there, don’t forget to apply for the Startup Battlefield 200 cohort at TechCrunch Disrupt 2023!
For episode transcripts and more, head to Equity’s Simplecast website.
Equity drops at 7:00 a.m. PT every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. TechCrunch also has a great show on crypto, a show that interviews founders, one that details how our stories come together and more!
Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
42 min
May 10, 2023How do you know when it’s time to shut down?
This week, Natasha spoke to Kristen Anderson, the co-founder and CEO of Catch, an app to provide payroll benefits for people who are self employed, that recently announced it would be shutting down. We're talking about vulnerability, shut downs, building in public and on ramps and off ramps that come with the wild choice to be an entrepreneur.
Here's what we got into:
Venture capital's role in how a founder builds
Making the difficult decision to shut down, and why Catch chose to do so publicly
We end with Anderson's return to building, in fintech, despite what her Twitter followers wish. Seems like being close to peak pessimism in fintech is a good thing for forever builders.
As always, Equity will be back on Friday with your weekly news round up - and a big announcement - so don't miss it! Until then, you can catch us on Twitter @EquityPod
For episode transcripts and more, head to Equity’s Simplecast website.
Equity drops at 7:00 a.m. PT every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotifyand all the casts. TechCrunch also has a great show on crypto, a show that interviews founders, one that details how our stories come together and more!
Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
34 min
May 08, 2023Equity Monday: Shrinking unicorns and the embarrassment of meme coins
Alex is back with the latest in tech news from the weekend and what’s making headlines early in the week. Today, we are talking about meme coins, unicorns and the latest from India!
The global stock market started the week on pretty good footing. Also, the crypto world is suffering modest indigestion thanks to a new meme coin.
On the regulatory front, it appears Coinbase is going to stick with the U.S. Elsewhere in Industry Land, Qualcomm is going shopping, Alibaba's logistics IPO is targeting the Hong Kong market, and the UK is digesting the fact that a local legend is going to list in the United States.
From there, it was time to check in on some news, bad and good, from India.
We are going to see some interesting earnings results this week, so stay tuned! Equity will be back Wednesday morning!
For episode transcripts and more, head to Equity’s Simplecast website.
Equity drops at 7 a.m. PT every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. TechCrunch also has a great show on crypto, a show that interviews founders, one that details how our stories come together and more!
Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
10 min
May 05, 2023Aaron Burr’s tech angle, blue skies, and no photos at this time
This week Mary Ann, Natasha and Alex got right into it with:
An update on a startup banking partner collapse that wasn't the First, and probably won't be the Last
A section dedicated to sunsetting Poparazzi and a Databricks acquisition (points to whoever can guess how we transitioned from one deal to the next)
Next up, we spoke about Finix's latest announcement to go head to head with Stripe, before talking more about the rise of down rounds
We ended with BlueSky. Although some of us feel grey about it. And regardless, this piece by Morgan Sung will have you thinking smartly about the new Twitter competitor started by the ol' Twitter boss.
We'll be back before you know it, but in the meantime, you can catch us on Twitter @EquityPod. And for the early stage founders out there, don't forget to apply for the Startup Battlefield 200 cohort at TechCrunch Disrupt 2023!
For episode transcripts and more, head to Equity’s Simplecast website.
Equity drops at 7:00 a.m. PT every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. TechCrunch also has a great show on crypto, a show that interviews founders, one that details how our stories come together and more!
Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
36 min

About Equity

From the publisher's feed

The intersection of technology, startups, and venture capital touches everything now. That’s why Equity, TechCrunch's flagship podcast, digs into the business of startups for entrepreneurs and…