Equity
TechCrunch, Rebecca Bellan, Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, Sean O'Kane, Theresa Loconsolo
The intersection of technology, startups, and venture capital touches everything now. That’s why Equity, TechCrunch's flagship podcast, digs into the business of startups for entrepreneurs and enthusiasts alike. Every Wednesday and Friday, TechCrunch reporters keep you up-to-date on the world of business, technology, and venture capital. Equity is ranked the No.2 podcast in the Top 100 Venture Capital All time leaderboard on Goodpods—As well as No.17 for the Top 100 Finance All time chart and No.32 for the Top 100 Business News All time chart.
Episodes
Mentioned books
May 13, 2026 • 21min
Amazon's Steve Schmidt on why your AI agents are your biggest security risk (Live at HumanX)
Steve Schmidt, Amazon Chief Security Officer with a background at the FBI and deep cyber experience, talks about AI changing the threat landscape. He explores why internal AI tools can be riskier than outside attackers. He discusses agent identities, tracing actions back to humans, containment strategies like containers and credential gating, and practical steps startups can take to inventory and protect AI.
37 snips
May 8, 2026 • 33min
The 'people’s airline,' SpaceXAI, and the Enterprise AI Race
A TikToker's plan to crowdfund Spirit Airlines sparks debate about whether a people's airline could work. Big moves in enterprise AI include Anthropic, OpenAI partnerships and major acquisitions targeting startups. Discussions cover xAI renting GPUs, Musk's orbital compute ambitions, a landmark trucking contract for Aurora, and a Pentagon spending surge on AI infrastructure.
13 snips
May 6, 2026 • 33min
Aurora's Chris Urmson on why self-driving trucks are finally ready (Live at HumanX)
Chris Urmson, co-founder and CEO of Aurora and veteran autonomy researcher who helped start Waymo, walks through the leap from lab demos to commercial self-driving trucks. He discusses scaling from pilots to hundreds of trucks, why trucking may beat robotaxis on economics, verifiable safety versus end-to-end AI, practical regulatory workarounds, and Aurora’s roadmap beyond long-haul freight.
16 snips
May 1, 2026 • 39min
Did you know you can't steal a charity? Don't worry. Elon Musk will remind you.
Courtroom drama over whether converting a nonprofit to a for-profit crossed legal lines. Leaked messages, tweets under oath, and testimony shaping the dispute. Big Tech earnings showed cloud as the clear winner amid questions about AI spending and capex. A startup sues over data rights after acquisition. Military AI funding and ethical risks get a deep dive.
34 snips
Apr 29, 2026 • 32min
Is AI video just a prequel? Runway's CEO thinks world models are next
Cristobal Valenzuela, co-founder and co-CEO of Runway and leader of its multimodal AI work, discusses the leap from AI video to world models. He talks about lowering filmmaking costs, real-time interactive 'Characters,' training omni models on video, and applying visual reasoning to robotics and nonlinear media. Short, forward-looking conversation about new creative and physical AI possibilities.
45 snips
Apr 24, 2026 • 38min
Apple's new CEO, and why Elon Musk wants to buy Cursor for $60B
Tim Cook’s planned September exit and John Ternus taking over Apple, and what that leadership shift could mean for the App Store and AI-native apps. A deep dive into SpaceX’s deal for a coding AI and its $60B option with a $10B breakup fee. Questions around big AI investments, cloud-infrastructure incentives, and whether 2026 might finally be IPO year for high-profile tech firms.
28 snips
Apr 22, 2026 • 34min
Fusion doesn't have a normal startup timeline, and investors are fine with that
Rachel Slaybaugh, a DCVC general partner focused on climate and energy investments, explains why fusion is attracting serious capital. She discusses how science milestones like Q shape a nontraditional investment thesis. She highlights advances in superconducting tape, AI-driven plasma work, and the role of wealthy and strategic backers in funding long timelines.
67 snips
Apr 17, 2026 • 39min
Tokenmaxxing, OpenAI's shopping spree, and the AI Anxiety Gap
They dig into OpenAI's recent buying spree and what those acqui-hires signal about strategy. Big chipmakers and AV players are backing Wayve in a hardware-agnostic bet. Anthropic's secretive model and enterprise momentum collide with demos for regulators. The conversation spots the widening gap between AI insiders and the public and explains the frenzy around tokenmaxxing.
11 snips
Apr 15, 2026 • 29min
The musician-turned-biotech-founder waiting to fundraise
Aloe Blacc, Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter turned biotech entrepreneur, is bootstrapping a cancer drug platform while learning the rules of science funding. He discusses shifting from writing checks to building, using a molecule-discovery platform to speed drug development, and watching AI reshape both biotech and music — plus why artists still matter in the age of AI.
64 snips
Apr 10, 2026 • 22min
Luma AI's Amit Jain on why most world model companies are getting it completely wrong
Amit Jain, co-founder and CEO of Luma AI — a Bay Area lab building multimodal generation and world models — discusses why text-only models are hitting a ceiling. He argues video, audio, and images are the real training frontier. He describes what a true world model needs, critiques common approaches, and outlines Luma’s roadmap from generation to agentic systems and robotics.
