TechCrunch Startup News
TechCrunch
Listen to select TechCrunch articles on startups coverage—who's raising, who's exiting, who's changing the world.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Mar 20, 2026 • 7min
Geothermal startup Fervo catapults itself over the ‘valley of death’; K2 to launch its first high-powered satellite for space compute
Fervo landed a large new loan with terms that strongly suggest the company's most turbulent days are behind it.
Also, K2's Gravitas is an ambitious project that aims to demonstrate the tech needed to build data centers in space. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Mar 19, 2026 • 7min
Rebel Audio is a new AI podcasting tool aimed at first-time creators
Rebel Audio is a new all-in-one podcasting tool that allows creators to record podcasts, edit, clip content for social, and publish episodes, all without ever leaving the platform. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Mar 18, 2026 • 8min
H&M wants to make clothing from CO2 using this startup’s tech; plus, Niv-AI exits stealth to wring more power performance out of GPUs
A startup turns captured CO2 into cellulose that can be spun into lyocell and viscose. Big retailers are lining up pilot deals and funding to scale the tech. A separate company raised seed cash to monitor millisecond GPU power surges and squeeze more performance from data center hardware. Sensors and predictive models aim to tame AI workloads and ease grid strain.
Mar 17, 2026 • 6min
Fuse wants to disrupt aging loan origination systems used by US credit unions; plus, Another deep tech chip startup becomes a unicorn: Frore hits $1.64B
A startup is rethinking loan origination with AI-native systems and a $5M rescue fund to convince credit unions to ditch decades-old software. Liquid cooling for chips takes center stage as a deep tech company raises big capital and reaches unicorn status after pivoting to serve major semiconductor makers.
Mar 16, 2026 • 12min
The biggest AI stories of the year (so far)
A roundup of major AI controversies, from military contract standoffs to political and supply chain fallout. The rise of agentic tools and viral OpenClaw-style wrappers gets attention. Security risks from personal AI agents and prompt injection are highlighted. Coverage also touches on chip shortages, booming data center spend, and shifting investments by major hardware players.
Mar 13, 2026 • 10min
A Chinese Brain-Computer Interface startup raised $21M just two months after launch; plus, Gumloop turns every employee into an AI agent builder
This is the largest early-stage funding in China’s brain computer interface industry.
Also, Benchmark’s new patner Everett Randell, sees Gumloop's enterprise automation as the largest opportunity in AI. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Mar 12, 2026 • 7min
Rivian spin-out Mind Robotics raises $500M for industrial AI-powered robots
The startup, which was created by Rivian founder RJ Scaringe, is looking to train on data from, and deploy in, Rivian's factory.
Plus, Replit raised a new $400 million round and said it hopes to have $1B in ARR by year's end.
And, Breakout Ventures is finding growing success by backing early-stage startups in scientific fields such as biology and chemistry.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Mar 11, 2026 • 7min
Canopii looks to succeed where past indoor farms have not; plus, Legora reaches $5.55 billion valuation as AI legal tech boom endures
Canopii's robotic farms can autonomously grow 40,000 pounds of herbs and leafy greens a year while being the size of a basketball court.
Also, Legora, an AI platform for lawyers, is now valued at $5.55 billion following a $550 million Series D led by Accel to fuel its growth in the U.S. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Mar 10, 2026 • 12min
Robinhood’s startup fund stumbled in NYSE debut, plus, AI network startup Eridu emerged from stealth, and ModRetro seeking funding at $1B valuation
-The fund currently offers retail investors exposure to eight startups, including Mercor, Ramp, and Stripe, with plans to expand its portfolio.
-Unlike a vibe-coded product built by a college dropout, Eridu's co-founder, Drew Perkins, has been inventing networking tech since the dawn of the internet.
-The company launched its first product, a Game Boy-style handheld device called the Chromatic, in 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Mar 6, 2026 • 9min
Zeno raises $25M to speed up production of its battery-swap motorbikes; plus, Lio raised $30M from A16Z and others to automate enterprise procurement
The startup, co-founded by Tesla and Apple alumni, has sold nearly 1,000 of its motorbikes so far.
Also, AI procurement startup Lio announced a $30 million Series A in a round led by Andreessen Horowitz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
