TechCrunch Startup News

By TechCrunchNews Technology Tech News

TechCrunch Startup News episodes

November 04, 2025 Elad Gil on which AI markets have winners and which are still wide open; also, Locket’s social app is picking up steam with Gen Alpha
Over the last year, certain AI markets appear to be nearly sewn up by startup market leaders.
Plus, Locket's social app is using iOS Live Activities to reach Gen Alpha via the iPhone Lock Screen.

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10 min
November 04, 2025 a16z pauses its famed TxO Fund for underserved founders, lays off staff
Andreessen Horowitz is pausing its Talent x Opportunity (TxO) fund and program, according to multiple sources. Several people who spoke to TechCrunch pointed out that its hiatus comes as top names in tech eliminate, cut, reframe, or completely walk back on prior public commitments related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. The Trump administration has threatened legal and political ramifications for businesses supporting anything that could be seen as DEI.

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6 min
November 03, 2025 Pine Labs aims to take Indian fintech global even as it cuts valuation for IPO
Pine Labs aims to take Indian fintech global even as it cuts valuation for IPO

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6 min
November 03, 2025 Sam Altman says ‘enough’ to questions about OpenAI’s revenue; plus, Bluesky hits 40 million users, introduces ‘dislikes’ beta
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently said that the company is doing “well more” than $13 billion in annual revenue — and he sounded a little testy when pressed on how it will pay for its massive spending commitments.
Also, Bluesky is looking to a new signal — "dislikes" — to personalize users' feeds.

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8 min
October 31, 2025 YC alum Adam raises $4.1M to turn viral text-to-3D tool into AI copilot; also, Cluely’s Roy Lee on the ragebait strategy for startup marketing
After generating over 10 million social media impressions with the launch of its text-to-3D model app, Adam has raised a $4.1 million seed round to power its next steps.
Plus, Cluely's Roy Lee has a message for startup founders: you should be thinking harder about how to go viral.

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8 min
October 30, 2025 Bevel raises $10M Series A from General Catalyst for its AI health companion; plus, IntrCity SmartBus lands $30M to deepen its grip on India’s intercity travel market
Most people tracking their health today end up with scattered clues. Their smartwatch shows sleep duration. A fitness app logs steps. A nutrition app counts calories. Yet few tools help people understand how all of this fits together. Bevel, a New York–based startup, believes that’s the missing piece in the shift toward proactive health.
Also, IntrCity SmartBus, a tech-enabled intercity bus platform in India, has raised $30 million in funding to expand its network across smaller cities and towns in the South Asian nation. The all-equity Series D round, led by A91 Partners, values the Noida-based startup at $140 million post-money.

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8 min
October 30, 2025 The Prompting Company snags $6.5M to help products get mentioned in ChatGPT and other AI apps, plus India’s Snabbit valuation doubled to $180M in 5 months
People are increasingly asking AI, not Google, to help them discover products. A recent shopping report says Americans, this holiday season, will likely turn to large language models this season to find gifts, deals, and sales instead of traditional search.
Also, Snabbit has raised its third funding round in nine months.

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11 min
October 29, 2025 Phia’s founders on how AI is changing online shopping, plus, Grammarly rebrands to ‘Superhuman,’ launches a new AI assistant
Phia founders, Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni, are building an AI assistant that aims to help you shop, and save.
Also, Grammarly is renaming itself as Superhuman, after acquiring Superhuman email client in July

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8 min
October 28, 2025 AccessGrid raises $4.4M to help turn phones into key fobs; also, Mem0 raises $24M to build the memory layer for AI apps
Access Grid builds APIs that companies can use to manage digital key fobs directly within Apple and Google's wallet platforms.
Plus, Taranjeet Singh has launched six companies, with some failing and others seeing varying degrees of success. His seventh, Mem0, could be his defining one. The startup starts with the premise that large language models can’t remember past interactions the way humans do

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11 min
October 28, 2025 Oxford spinout RADiCAIT uses AI to make diagnostic imaging more affordable and accessible
“What we really do is we took the most constrained, complex, and costly medical imaging solution in radiology, and we supplanted it with what is the most accessible, simple and affordable, which is CT,” Sean Walsh, RADiCAIT’s CEO told TechCrunch.

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7 min