Stories tagged “Venture.”
30 stories
Investors are focused on AI IPOs, but the real story begins after the IPO, when limited partners receive distributions and decide where to deploy that capital next. This can reshape venture fundraising and concentrate capital among the industry's largest firms.
This week, several startups raised significant funding rounds, including Hadrian, Base Power, and Valar Atomics, which secured financings of $1 billion or more. Other companies in sectors such as AI, e-commerce, cybersecurity, biotech, and mining also announced sizable ne…
Active startup investors kept up the pace in July, with familiar names leading the tallies for deal count and size. Khosla Ventures topped the ranks last month, while Y Combinator was by far the busiest backer by deal count.
Lightspeed Venture found its newest hire, Claire Zau, via a direct message on Instagram. Zau is an investor and popular tech content creator with over 100,000 followers on TikTok and 250,000 on Instagram.
Robinhood has unveiled a financial instrument that lets anyone invest in Y Combinator startups. The fund, Robinhood Venture Fund II, will be listed on the stock market and will invest in startups founded by current and former Y Combinator participants.
WindBorne Systems, a startup that collects data with the world's longest-flying weather balloons, has raised a $37 million Series B round to improve weather forecasting using AI. The company's proprietary dataset creates a moat for their weather model, which also ingests …
TechCrunch Founder Summit Week in Boston is happening November 1-7, and you can host your own side event to tap into the energy of 1,100+ startup founders, investors, and tech leaders.
Global venture funding showed no signs of slowing in July, with startup capital totaling $65 billion, up 100% year over year. The month notched the highest-ever number of billion-dollar venture rounds on record, with 14 startups raising billion-dollar rounds.
The week's top 10 announced funding rounds in the U.S. include a reported $5 billion Nvidia-backed financing for foundational AI unicorn Safe Superintelligence, followed by a $1 billion investment in Commonwealth Fusion Systems.
A new report from Imperial College and Emlyon Business School has mapped out the ways Silicon Valley's VC-backed founders commit fraud and the role investors play.
Smallest.ai, a startup founded in 2024, is developing a small voice model designed to mimic human conversation. The model is designed to process information in real-time, allowing for natural customer conversations with virtually zero response lag.
Ellis AI, founded by Cadre co-creator Ryan Williams, has emerged from stealth with $10 million in seed funding to build AI agents that centralize the fragmented back-office workflows of private credit managers.
Imagi, an edtech platform, has raised $4.5 million in a seed round to help teach students how to vibe code. The platform provides tools for K-12 students and teachers to learn coding, basic computer skills, and AI literacy.
The trend of billion-dollar-plus rounds in startup funding is on the rise, with 60% of global funding going to such rounds in the first half of 2026, according to Crunchbase data. This is a significant increase from previous years, with the U.S. funding tallies even more …
Cascade, a startup building a platform to help architecture, engineering, and construction firms find and win projects, has raised a $3.5 million seed round from Andreessen Horowitz Speedrun, Ada Ventures, and Snowball VC.
Bluecore Energy, a maritime nuclear energy startup, has raised $10 million in a pre-seed funding round to build portable nuclear reactors on barges. The reactors will provide clean power to ports and nearby infrastructure.
Natural, a startup founded by Kahlil Lalji, has raised $30 million to redesign payment infrastructure for AI agents. The company aims to outpace established giants like Stripe and build the financial backbone of AI agents.
Infinity, an AI infrastructure company, has raised $15 million from investors including Touring Capital, Principal VC, and researchers from OpenAI and Anthropic. The startup is building software to make it easier for AI chips to run AI models.
StrictlyVC is returning to New York City on September 10 to celebrate the city's startup community, which has seen a huge year with over $16 billion in funding in the first half of 2026. The event will feature a speaker lineup including Craig Shapiro and Tristan Walker, a…
The week saw a raft of AI-focused companies close big rounds, with Fireworks AI leading the way with a $1.5 billion financing. Other notable deals included Wonder's $650 million Series D and Chai Discovery's $400 million Series C.
Valar Atomics, a startup building small modular nuclear reactors, is in talks to raise a new round of capital at a $6 billion valuation. Sequoia is expected to lead the deal.
At TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, a panel will discuss how pre-seed founders can secure funding without a product. The session will feature experts from Axiom Partners, True Ventures, and Slauson & Co., who will share their insights on what investors look for in pre-seed compan…
Argentina and Spain, though soccer powerhouses, have a smaller presence in the startup world. Crunchbase News examines recent funding trends and notable startups in both countries.
Fora, an AI-powered travel agency, has reached unicorn status after raising $60 million in a Series D round led by Forerunner and Tactile Ventures. The company has raised $138.5 million in funding to date and plans to use the fresh capital to expand its AI assistant, Via,…
Stripe, a fintech startup, has teamed up with private equity firm Advent International to make an offer to buy troubled PayPal in a deal valued at over $53 billion. This acquisition would be one of the largest of a technology company in recent years.
OpenAI researcher Miles Wang is reportedly leaving to launch an AI drug discovery startup, seeking $200 million at a $2 billion valuation, with Lightspeed in talks to lead the round. Several other OpenAI researchers are expected to join the new venture.
Nous Research, the startup behind the open-source Hermes agent, is finalizing a new round of funding led by Robot Ventures, with significant participation from USV and other prominent investors at a $1.5 billion valuation.
AI training startup Mercor is reportedly in talks to raise a round at a $20 billion valuation, a significant jump from its last value in October. The company has already received a term sheet at the new valuation and has announced the acquisition of Deeptune, a company th…
Nandan Nilekani, co-founder of Infosys, is stepping down as a general partner at Fundamentum Partnership, a venture capital firm he co-founded nearly a decade ago. He will continue to advise the firm and mentor portfolio companies.
General Catalyst and Andreessen Horowitz stood out among the most active U.S. venture and lead venture investors in the second quarter, with a focus on AI-focused startups. Y Combinator also made a significant number of investments, with over two-thirds of its deals being…