103 results found
In an unconventional move highlighting the burgeoning value of artificial intelligence stakes, a Bay Area investment banker is offering his sprawling 13-acre Mill Valley property in exchange for equity in AI powerhouse
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, has issued a public apology to the community of Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, following the company's failure to alert law enforcement about a ChatGPT user who later carried out Canada's
Tokyo is set to be the premier tech destination of 2026, highlighted by the SusHi Tech Tokyo event, April 27-29. This conference uniquely focuses on four key domains: AI, Robotics, Resilience, and Entertainment, featuring global leaders and innovative startups. TechCrunch is a key partner, spotlighting emerging talent.
The web intelligence industry is rapidly evolving to meet the escalating demands of advanced AI, particularly for multimodal data processing and autonomous AI agents. Innovations in data extraction, infrastructure, and user-friendly tools are crucial for powering the next wave of artificial intelligence. These developments are building the essential links between vast web data and sophisticated AI models.
AI startup Thinking Machines Lab (TML) is rapidly expanding its talent, attracting key researchers like Weiyao Wang from Meta amidst a competitive, reciprocal talent exchange. TML also secured a multibillion-dollar Google Cloud deal for Nvidia's GB300 chips, bolstering its position and making it a prominent player in the AI landscape.
Seattle HR leader Mikaela Kiner's new book, "The Reverb Way," offers candid insights into building a thriving business without personal sacrifice. Drawing on her experience at Microsoft, Amazon, Starbucks, and her firm Reverb, Kiner provides practical advice for founders. The book covers navigating challenges, prioritizing work-life balance, and leveraging community, with current insights on AI's impact and Reverb's recent business rebound.
VAST Data, a frontrunner in AI data infrastructure, has secured a monumental $1 billion in its Series F funding round, skyrocketing its valuation to an astonishing $30 billion. This capital injection, more than tripling
Meta Platforms is set to commence a significant company-wide restructuring on May 20, initiating layoffs that will impact approximately 8,000 employees, representing 10% of its global workforce. This substantial
AI chip startup Cerebras Systems has officially filed for an initial public offering (IPO), marking a renewed attempt after a 2024 withdrawal. The company, which touts its "fastest AI hardware" and boasts major deals with AWS and OpenAI, looks to capitalize on recent momentum and substantial private funding to accelerate its growth.
AI coding startup Cursor is nearing a $2B+ funding round at a $50B valuation, nearly doubling its previous valuation in six months. Led by Thrive and Andreessen Horowitz, this capital injection is fueled by rapid enterprise growth and improved profitability from its proprietary AI model.
In a significant move reshaping the landscape of AI-powered visual creation, Canva and Anthropic have unveiled Claude Design, a new Anthropic Labs product that seamlessly integrates Canva's robust Design Engine directly
Portland, Oregon – Entrepreneur Taylor Marean has launched Fetchlist, a new delivery startup designed to streamline the notoriously awkward logistics of buying and selling secondhand items on platforms like Craigslist
Europe's tech sector saw substantial funding from March 30-April 5, led by Mistral AI's $830M debt for AI compute. The week highlighted a strategic European focus on building foundational infrastructure across AI, quantum, and deep tech, aiming for increased technological autonomy and global influence.
Compliance startup Delve has been removed from Y Combinator's portfolio amidst accusations of fake compliance, misleading clients, and data issues. This follows Insight Partners' earlier distancing. Delve's leadership attributes the claims to a malicious attack and has apologized, outlining steps to restore customer trust.
Meta has indefinitely paused its collaboration with data vendor Mercor due to a significant security breach that could expose proprietary AI training data. The incident, confirmed by Mercor on March 31, is linked to the TeamPCP hacking group and impacts crucial information for major AI labs like OpenAI and Anthropic. This supply chain attack highlights the vulnerabilities in the AI ecosystem and the sensitive nature of data used for model development.
In a decisive move signaling its intent to build an AI empire independent of OpenAI, Microsoft has unveiled three proprietary AI models: MAI-Transcribe-1, MAI-Voice-1, and MAI-Image-2. Released on April 3, 2026, these
Gateway Capital, founded by Dana Guthrie, has completed the first close of its $25 million target Fund II, enabling immediate investment operations. The Milwaukee-based firm plans to back at least 20 Midwest-focused companies with average checks between $500,000 and $600,000, targeting sectors like supply chain, logistics, and manufacturing AI.
Nomadic secures $8.4 million in seed funding, valuing the AI startup at $50 million. Its platform transforms vast autonomous vehicle and robot video data into structured, searchable datasets, critical for AI training and identifying crucial edge cases.
Mantis Biotech has secured $7.4 million in seed funding to advance its platform for creating 'digital twins' of humans. These physics-based, predictive models aim to solve the critical data availability issues in biomedical research, especially for rare diseases, by generating synthetic datasets. Currently, Mantis is applying its technology in professional sports to predict athlete performance and injury, with plans to expand into preventative healthcare and pharmaceutical research.
Europe's tech sector saw over $1.1 billion in funding and fund closes from March 23-29, with significant investments flowing into deep tech, AI infrastructure, and a diverse range of sectors including biotech, space, and defense. This highlights a strategic continental focus on foundational innovations and long-term technological advancements.
All eleven co-founders of Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company, xAI, have reportedly departed, culminating in a complete overhaul of its founding team. This exodus follows Musk's admission that xAI's products were "not built right" and comes amidst a $250 billion acquisition by SpaceX and a highly competitive AI talent market.
Smartsheet has announced four C-suite changes, including two new hires and two promotions, as CEO Rajeev Singh continues to build his leadership team after recent layoffs. Separately, fashion rental startup Armoire has appointed Morgan Cundiff as head of product and machine learning. Additionally, long-time Microsoft director Javier Páramo has launched AIQLinea, a new Redmond-based startup focused on guiding companies through AI adoption strategies.
Aetherflux, founded by Robinhood co-founder Baiju Bhatt, is reportedly raising a Series B round of $250M-$350M at a $2 billion valuation, with Index Ventures leading. The startup has strategically pivoted from space solar power to developing space data centers for AI, aiming to launch its first orbital data center by 2027. This move places Aetherflux in a competitive emerging market alongside other major space companies.
Utrecht, Netherlands – Laigo Bio, a pioneering Dutch biotech firm, has successfully concluded an oversubscribed €17 million seed funding round. The substantial capital infusion, which saw an additional €5.5 million
Blossom Health, a New York-based telepsychiatry startup, has raised $20 million in combined seed and Series A funding. The capital will scale its AI-powered platform, which uses clinical copilots and automated administrative support to help psychiatrists address the severe U.S. mental health care shortage. The company aims to improve access and efficiency while maintaining clinical quality.
