TechCrunch Startup News

By TechCrunchNews Technology Tech News

TechCrunch Startup News episodes

August 19 DOJ’s probe into Andreessen Horowitz over board seats baffles VCs; plus, Etched’s valuation doubles to $21B in a month
Since portfolio companies often pivot and expand into competing markets, investors view occasional conflicts of interest as unavoidable for large VC firms.
Also, Jane Street has installed Etched's first shipped AI cluster system, and was so impressed, it led another massive round, the startup says.

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7 min
August 18 Sound-powered fire protection startup gets $15M to snuff out fires before they turn catastrophic; plus, Wispr looks beyond dictation
Sonic Fire Protection raised its new funding to help get its sound-powered fire protection system into everything from commercial kitchens to apartment buildings.
Also, Wispr’s total funding is now over $361 million.

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8 min
August 17 SpaceX officially closes its Cursor acquisition; plus, Stripe will reportedly acquire AI gateway startup OpenRouter for $7B+
AI coding startup Cursor is now officially a part of SpaceX.

Also, OpenRouter's CEO recently described the startup as Stripe for AI.

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3 min
August 14 How a $250 million acquisition collapsed into allegations of fraud and forged signatures
Investors are still waiting for their share of the $250 million windfall, and VideoVerse co-founder Vinayak Shrivastav is now at the center of multiple legal cases.

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8 min
August 13 Reservoir raises $8M to make water heaters that people and the grid will actually want; plus, AI code-testing startup Blacksmith’s valuation jumps almost 10x
Reservoir has built an ultra-efficient water heater that can predict hot water demand, store energy, and detect plumbing leaks throughout a home.
Also, Blacksmith says revenue has grown more than tenfold over the past year.

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10 min
August 12 Tech industry is buzzing after a Claude agent hacked into a gym; plus, Kyoto Fusioneering starts work on key fusion power plant device
An OpenClaw agent hacked into a gym's reservation system to bump its human boss higher on a class's waitlist. And the tech industry took notice.
Also, fusion power startups are turning to Kyoto Fusioneering to supply components for future power plants. The Japan-based startup just received a grant to build a part of the fuel system.

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10 min
August 11 Discovered Materials is playing AI whack-a-mole to hunt cooler chips
Discovered Materials raised $9 million to fund the hunt for more novel materials to build more efficient chips.
Plus, embattled hedge fund Situational Awareness invests $400M in chip startup Source Foundry.

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7 min
August 10 This former notorious red-light district is now one of the world’s top AI hubs
More than 20 years ago, King's Cross was one of the seediest area's in London. Now it's sprouting something new.

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9 min
August 07 Naïve automates the grunt work of setting up and running a company, plus, Defense tech Hadrian raises $1.37B, and Omilia raises $67M to scale its customer support platform
-Taking vibe-coding a step further, Naive claims its infra can automate most of the work in setting up and running a business.
-Defense tech Hadrian raises $1.37B at $8B valuation
-Athens-based Omilia, which has been working on automating voice calls and customer support since 2002, throwing AI at every process can be wasteful.

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12 min
August 06 Can WindBorne make AI weather prediction lucrative? Plus, Hark previews its browser use agent for completing tasks
-WindBorne Systems has raised a $37 million Series B round to scale its weather balloons and AI forecasts.
-Hark claims that its browser use agent is faster and cheaper than competition.

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8 min