TechCrunch Startup News

By TechCrunchNews Technology Tech News

TechCrunch Startup News episodes

April 16 Can AI judge journalism? A Thiel-backed startup says yes, even if it risks chilling whistleblowers
Objection, a Thiel-backed startup, aims to use AI to judge journalism, letting users pay to challenge stories. Critics warn it could chill whistleblowers and reshape how media accountability works.

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10 min
April 15 AI data center startup Fluidstack in talks for $1B round at $18B valuation
Fundraising is reportedly flowing for Fluidstack after it secured a $50 billion deal to build data centers for Anthropic.

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4 min
April 14 OpenAI has bought AI personal finance startup Hiro
The acquisition indicates a capability that OpenAI is building into ChatGPT: financial planning.

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4 min
April 13 Slate Auto raises $650M to fund its affordable EV truck plans
Slate Auto's latest funding round was led by existing investor TWG Global, a firm run by LA Dodgers owner Mark Walter.

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4 min
April 10 Ex-Tesla engineer’s startup taps Pronto to help automate a copper mine; plus, Collide Capital raises $95M fund to back fintech
Pronto's autonomous haulage trucks are about to start operating at Mariana Minerals's Utah copper mine -- the first such deal since Pronto got acquired by Travis Kalanick's Atoms Inc.
Also, Collide Capital, founded by Brian Hollins and Aaron Samuels, announced Thursday the close of a $95 million Fund II.

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9 min
April 09 TC's Julie Bort can’t help rooting for tiny open source AI model maker Arcee; plus, Databricks co-founder wins prestigious ACM award
Arcee is a tiny 26-person U.S. startup that built a high-performing, massive, open source LLM. And it's gaining popularity with OpenClaw users.
Also, Matei Zaharia has won the top honor from the Association for Computing Machinery. Now he's working on AI for research and says AGI is simply misunderstood.

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8 min
April 08 AI startup Rocket offers vibe McKinsey-style reports at a fraction of the cost; plus, Hermeus raises $350M to build unmanned hypersonic fighters
Rocket's new AI platform combines strategy, product building, and competitive intelligence, aiming to move beyond code generation.
Also, the defense aviation startup is coming off two successful flight demonstrations, and with the next one, it's aiming to go supersonic.

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10 min
April 07 Spain’s Xoople raises $130 million Series B to map the Earth for AI
The company is also announcing a deal with L3Harris to build the sensors for Xoople's spacecraft.

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5 min
April 06 Peter Thiel’s big bet on solar-powered cow collars; plus, Anthropic buys biotech startup Coefficient Bio in $400M dea
Why did Founders Fund invest $220 million in cattle management startup Halter?
Also, Anthropic has purchased the stealth biotech AI startup Coefficient Bio in a $400 million stock deal, according to The Information and Eric Newcomer.

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9 min
April 03 Beehiiv expands into podcasting; also, Gateway Capital announces first close of $25M Fund II
One way Beehiiv is convincing creators to switch from rivals like Substack and Patreon is by not taking a cut of revenue.
Plus, Gateway Capital Partners, the venture firm founded by Dana Guthrie, announced the first close for its $25 million target Fund II earlier this week.

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8 min