Oboe raises $16M from a16z for AI-powered course generation platform
Oboe, the learning startup from Anchor co-founders and former Spotify executives Nir Zicherman and Michael Mignano, today announced that it has raised $16 million in Series A funding led by a16z, with participation from existing investors Eniac, Haystack, Offline, and Factorial. The round also saw investment from individuals such as Adam DiAngelo, Gary Tan, Lenny […]
Unacademy founder says startup is now worth less than $500 million and admits M&A talks
Unacademy, once one of India’s best-known edtech startups, may now be worth less than $500 million, down 85% from its peak pandemic-era valuation, as the company undergoes a major reset and explores merger and acquisition options. The company’s valuation has plummeted from a peak of $3.5 billion three years ago to less than $500 million […]
AI startup Tavus founder says users talk to company’s AI Santa for “hours” a day
In recent years, new helpers have arrived at the North Pole. It’s AI. Tavus, an AI startup that uses voice and facial cloning technology to create digital replicas, has launched its AI Santa experience for the second year in a row. This allows parents and children to video chat with a virtual version of Jolly […]
Petco shuts down Vetco website after exposing customers’ personal information
Pet wellness company Petco has taken portions of its Vetco Clinics website offline after a security flaw exposed large amounts of customers’ personal information to the open web. After TechCrunch alerted the company that data about Vetco customers and their pets had been compromised, Petco confirmed in a statement that it was investigating the data […]
Google invests in Fervo’s $462 million round to unlock more geothermal energy
Powered geothermal startup Fervo Energy has raised $462 million to complete its first large-scale power plant and begin development of several others as it races to feed power into the power-hungry grid. Sarah Jewett, Fervo’s senior vice president of strategy, told TechCrunch that the new funding will help the company continue work on its 500-megawatt […]
Hinge CEO steps down to launch AI dating app Overtone
Hinge CEO Justin McLeod has left his position to launch a new AI dating product called Overtone. Match Group, the dating giant that owns apps like Hinge, Tinder and OkCupid, is backing Overtone with pre-seed financing and plans to take a “beneficial ownership position,” according to a press release. With support from Match, Overtone was […]
Fal raises $140 million in new funding led by Sequoia, triples valuation to $4.5 billion
Fal, a startup that hosts image, video, and audio AI models for developers, announced it has raised $140 million in Series D led by Sequoia, with participation from Kleiner Perkins, Nvidia, and other existing investors. Existing investors include Andreessen Horowitz. The latest round of funding, Fal’s third this year, values the company at $4.5 billion, […]
Cashew Research uses AI to take aim at the $90 billion market research industry
Market research is a $90 billion industry that helps brands figure out how to best present themselves to potential customers. But that market insight isn’t cheap or quick. Cashew Research wants to use AI to change this. Cashew, based in Calgary, Alberta, uses AI to develop market research plans and surveys for brands based on […]
Max Hodak is more worried about Twitter than brain-computer interface hacks
This week on StrictlyVC Download, Connie Loizos speaks with Science Corp. founder Max Hodak about how brain-computer interfaces are coming faster than anyone realizes. The co-founder and former president of Neuralink shares how his company recently achieved perhaps the biggest breakthrough in vision restoration in decades, with tiny retinal implants smaller than a grain of […]
SpaceX is reportedly planning an IPO in 2026 with a goal of a valuation of $1.5 trillion
SpaceX plans to go public in mid-to-late 2026, aiming to raise $30 billion at a valuation of about $1.5 trillion, according to a new report by Bloomberg News citing anonymous sources. That would make it the largest IPO in history, surpassing Saudi Aramco’s 2019 listing, which brought in $29 billion. It would also be a […]