Former Y Combinator, a16z experts hold invite-only summit for founders
An invite-only startup event hosted by former YC and a16z staff will help founders learn to pitch press and run their own social media.
African VC LoftyInc Capital launches third fund for seed and Series A, reaches $43M first close
One of Africa’s most active investors, known for early bets on unicorns like Flutterwave, Andela, and Wave, has secured fresh capital to invest in startups across the continent. This comes as funding deals and volumes in Africa saw only a slight dip la…
Foundation Capital, an early backer of Solana and Cerebras, raises $600M fund
Foundation Capital has come a long way since it was forced to scale down its fund size from $750 million in 2008 to $282 million (its sixth main fund) in 2013. On Tuesday, the 30-year-old firm announced that it raised a $600 million eleventh flagship f…
How to choose a deep tech startup program
by Tim De Chant
Deep tech founders often had to go it alone. But today, there are a wealth of options from incubators to accelerators. Here’s how to pick one.
© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Inception Capital closes flagship $30M Fund of Funds focused on crypto emerging managers
The fund targeted family offices and high-net-worth individuals who want “diversified” exposure to early-stage crypto venture deals.
© 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
8 VCs say they are still bullish on SAFE rounds, but it’s not 2021 anymore
SAFE rounds, or simple agreements for future equity, have been around since Y Combinator invented them a decade ago. But they took on a different role in 2021 when they became a fast-moving tool that helped startups close deals in mere days. Before that they were used to close really early rounds or were used […]
TechCrunch is heading to London for London Tech Week
by Emma Comeau
It’s certainly been a minute but we’re bringing some of the TechCrunch crew across the pond during London Tech Week to meet up with U.K.-based investors and rising early-stage founders. We’ll be hosting an intimate invitation-only cocktail hour on Tuesday, June 13, so if you’ll be around, apply now for a chance to join us! […]
TechCrunch is heading to London for London Tech Week by Emma Comeau originally published on TechCrunch
Level up with our partners at TC Early Stage
Boston! Are you ready for some green on 4/20? No, not that green. It’s TechCrunch Early Stage 2023! Soon enough, we’ll be coming straight atcha with a host of speakers, workshops, roundtables, and networking opportunities that are sure to accelerate your dream. *Cut to Mark Wahlberg speeding down the Big Dig, accelerating toward a dream.* […]
Level up with our partners at TC Early Stage by Lauren Simonds originally published on TechCrunch
Lux Capital ditches its opportunity fund in latest fundraise
The firm raised separate early and late stage funds 2021, but is combining the strategies into one vehicle this time.
Lux Capital ditches its opportunity fund in latest fundraise by Rebecca Szkutak originally published on TechCrunch
Sweden’s EQT Ventures closes a its third fund at €1.1B to double down on European and early-stage startups
Startups might be in a funding midwinter, but the ray of sun shining on some VCs speaks of a different trend. EQT Ventures, the venture fund arm of Sweden’s investment giant EQT making early-stage bets on startups primarily in Europe, has closed its latest fund and filled its coffers with 1 billion euros (and $1.1 […]
Sweden’s EQT Ventures closes a its third fund at €1.1B to double down on European and early-stage startups by Ingrid Lunden originally published on TechCrunch
This is not (just) another roundup of tech layoffs
After a month that saw nearly 16,000 tech workers lose their jobs, June is off to a similar tumultuous start. Startups across all sectors, from healthcare to enterprise SaaS to crypto, are laying off portions of staff and citing, seemingly, from the same notes: it’s a tough market, a time of uncertainty, and a correction […]
a16z-backed Loom lays off 14% of staff, one year after becoming a unicorn
Loom, an enterprise collaboration video messaging service, has laid off 34 employees, or 14% of its total staff, sources say. Employees across product and people operations were impacted. The venture-backed company confirmed the layoff and number of people impacted, and provided the following statement from founder and CEO Joe Thomas: We’ve had to make the […]
Announcing the startups pitching at the TC City Spotlight: Columbus pitch-off
Today, TechCrunch is virtually hosting TC City Spotlight: Columbus — an event shining a spotlight on the innovation, investment and entrepreneurship in the region. The event will feature panels highlighting the successes and challenges facing the massive tech scene. In true TechCrunch fashion, part two is a pitch-off with an amazing group of founders from […]
Announcing the startups pitching at the TC City Spotlight: Columbus pitch-off
Today, TechCrunch is virtually hosting TC City Spotlight: Columbus — an event shining a spotlight on the innovation, investment and entrepreneurship in the region. The event will feature panels highlighting the successes and challenges facing the massive tech scene. In true TechCrunch fashion, part two is a pitch-off with an amazing group of founders from […]
Precursor Ventures’ first hire just spun out to start her own venture firm
Sydney Thomas, who was the first hire at Precursor Ventures, a seed and early-stage focused fund that backs first-time founders, is starting her own venture firm. The investor is going from principal at the firm she joined six years ago, to the solo-partner behind a new, unnamed firm. The job move may feel like a […]
Felt’s $15 million chance to prove that maps are the next big medium
Despite economic turmoil in the tech world, an Oakland-based startup shows that moonshots are still getting funded. Felt, co-founded by Sam Hashemi and Can Duruk, wants to disrupt the role of maps in society, and rethink how we think about the medium. The startup allows users to build a map with data sets integrated into […]
Footnotes on Sequoia’s startup memo
Welcome to Startups Weekly, a fresh human-first take on this week’s startup news and trends. To get this in your inbox, subscribe here. Sequoia takes things seriously. The storied venture firm is known to react to macro-economic events with grand memos aimed at portfolio companies, and sometimes the entrepreneurship scene at large. Most recently, Sequoia […]
We think founders need a quick Heart to Heart about the market
Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. This is our Wednesday show, where we niche down to a single topic, think about a question and unpack the rest. This week, Natasha asked: How are early-stage founders thinking about this downturn? The inimitable Alex […]
Everyone is drafting their own startup Black Swan memo
Welcome to Startups Weekly, a fresh, human-first take on this week’s startup news and trends. To get this in your inbox, subscribe here. “You can often pick up significant market share in an economic downturn by just staying alive,” top startup accelerator Y Combinator wrote in an internal e-mail to its founders this week. The […]
It’s not business as usual (and investors are admitting it)
“You can often pick up significant market share in an economic downturn by just staying alive,” top startup accelerator Y Combinator wrote in an internal email to its founders this week. The advice was one of 10 bullet points in a memo meant to help its companies navigate the economic downturn crushing tech. Other standout […]
A round, acquisition and revenue later, Bravado’s sales network wants you to know it’s #growing
Sahil Mansuri, a sales guy, doesn’t want his industry to be defined by sales guys. The founder began Bravado in 2017 to see what happens when you bring together sales professionals into an online community for trading notes, horror stories and secrets. It took the startup four years to hit 10,000 users, and then quickly […]
Kolkata Chai’s next cup includes a taste of venture funding
Co-founded by brothers Ani and Ayan Sanyal, Kolkata Chai wants to be “the place to get good chai” in the United States. It’s a big market. The Sanyal brothers estimate the national tea market represents a $12.7 billion dollar business per year. To chase after it, the duo tells TechCrunch that Kolkata is about to […]
How close are we to understanding what’s going on?
Hello and welcome back to Equity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. This week we recorded live, which is always good fun, meaning that we took some questions from the audience. If you want that version of the show, we have a YouTube archive of it here. […]
Tech layoffs don’t happen to companies, they happen to people
Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. This is our Wednesday show, where we niche down to a single topic, think about a question and unpack the rest. This week, Natasha and Alex asked: What does the most recent wave of layoffs mean […]
Modern Fertility co-founder leaves Ro a year after acquisition
Modern Fertility co-founder Afton Vechery is leaving healthcare unicorn Ro about a year after her company, built alongside co-founder Carly Leahy, was sold for north of $225 million. According to an internal e-mail from Ro’s executive team, obtained by TechCrunch, Vechery is leaving her role as president of women’s health of Modern Fertility to pursue […]