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One-Time Hot Insurance Tech Ethos Poised to Be First Tech IPO of the Year
Ethos Technologies has priced its IPO at $18‑$20 per share, positioning it to debut as the first tech IPO of 2026 with a potential $1.26 billion valuation. The offering could raise up to $102.6 million for the company and roughly $108 million for existing shareholders. Backed by heavyweight investors such as Sequoia, Accel, GV and SoftBank, Ethos brings a profitable, revenue‑generating insurance‑tech platform to the public markets. The firm reported $278 million in revenue and $46.6 million in net income for the nine months ending September 30.
Working in Orbit: What Happens when Space Goes Blue Collar?
Venture capital is flooding the burgeoning space economy, funding startups from asteroid mining to lunar gas stations. In a TechCrunch podcast, professor Mary‑Jane Rubenstein warns that religious stories and science‑fiction tropes are shaping public expectations and policy for these ventures....
Retail Startup Another Raises a $2.5M Seed to Help Sell Excess Inventory
Retail tech startup Another announced a $2.5 million seed round led by Anthemis FIL and Westbound. The company offers a software platform that integrates with existing retail systems to centralize real‑time data on excess or off‑channel inventory. By streamlining decision‑making, Another aims...
Looking Ahead to 2026: What’s Next for Startup Battlefield 200
TechCrunch’s Startup Battlefield 200 will return in 2026, selecting 200 early‑stage startups for a high‑visibility launch at Disrupt in San Francisco. The program offers free exhibit space, masterclasses, investor access, and a chance to win a $100,000 equity‑free prize and the Disrupt...
Tiger Global Loses India Tax Case Tied to Walmart-Flipkart Deal in Blow to Offshore Playbook
India’s Supreme Court ruled against Tiger Global, denying treaty‑routing relief for its Flipkart exit structured through Mauritius entities. The decision overturns a 2024 Delhi High Court ruling and confirms that capital‑gains tax applies despite the India‑Mauritius double‑taxation agreement. The judgment...
Blackstone, General Atlantic-Backed Liftoff Mobile Files for IPO
Liftoff Mobile, the Blackstone‑backed mobile‑app marketing platform, filed its initial S‑1 on Tuesday, marking the first step toward an IPO. Market whispers suggest a $400 million raise, though the prospectus omits official size and shareholder stakes. Formed in 2021 from the...
These Gen Zers Just Raised $11.75M to Put Africa’s Defense Back in the Hands of Africans
Terra Industries, a Nigerian defense startup founded by Gen‑Z entrepreneurs, raised $11.75 million in a Series A led by 8VC to build autonomous, multi‑domain security systems across Africa. The company aims to become the continent’s first pan‑African defense prime, offering drones, surveillance...
The Venture Firm that Ate Silicon Valley Just Raised Another $15 Billion
Andreessen Horowitz announced a $15 billion fundraising round, representing roughly 18% of all U.S. venture capital allocated in 2025. The new capital lifts its assets under management past $90 billion, placing it alongside Sequoia Capital as one of the world’s largest VCs....
Discord and Mercor Investor Niko Bonatsos Departs General Catalyst, Plans New VC Firm
Niko Bonatsos, who built General Catalyst’s seed strategy and backed Discord and the $10 billion AI startup Mercor, announced his departure in January 2026. He plans to start a new early‑stage venture firm with a group of top founders and investors,...
Discord’s IPO Could Happen in March
Discord has filed a confidential S‑1 with the SEC, targeting a March 2026 IPO. The company enlisted Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase as lead underwriters, signaling a high‑profile public debut. Valued at roughly $14.7 billion after its 2022 funding round, Discord...
LMArena Lands $1.7B Valuation Four Months After Launching Its Product
AI evaluation startup LMArena announced a $150 million Series A round, valuing the company at $1.7 billion. The funding, led by Felicis and UC Investments, brings total capital raised to $250 million within seven months of its 2023 launch. LMArena’s crowdsourced leaderboards now attract...
How World Cup Champion Mario Götze Built a Parallel Career as an Angel Investor
Mario Götze, the 2014 World Cup hero, has built a parallel career as an angel investor through his vehicle Companion M, which now backs more than 70 startups. Two of those companies, Danish fintech Flatpay and German AI firm Parloa,...
Insight Partners Sued by Former Vice President Kate Lowry
Kate Lowry, a former vice president at Insight Partners, filed a lawsuit in San Mateo County alleging disability discrimination, gender discrimination, and wrongful termination. She says her supervisor demanded constant online availability, subjected her to harassment, assigned redundant tasks, and...
Almost 80 European Deep Tech University Spinouts Reached $1B Valuations or $100M in Revenue in 2025
Europe’s deep‑tech and life‑science university spinouts have coalesced into a $398 billion pipeline, with 76 companies reaching either $1 billion valuations or $100 million in revenue, according to Dealroom’s 2025 Spinout Report. New funds PSV Hafnium and U2V each aim to raise €60 million...
Investors Share What to Remember While Raising a Series A
At TechCrunch Disrupt, investors Thomas Green, Katie Stanton, and Sangeen Zeb outlined the new criteria for raising a Series A in an AI‑driven market. They noted that while the number of funded rounds is shrinking, average deal sizes are expanding,...
The European Startup Market’s Data Doesn’t Match Its Energy — Yet
European venture capital poured €43.7 billion into startups through Q3 2025, keeping the year on track to match 2024 but still trailing U.S. deal volume. Fundraising by European VC firms stalled at €8.3 billion, the lowest in a decade, highlighting a liquidity gap....
Israel’s Famed VC Jon Medved, Diagnosed with ALS, Backed the Tech that Will Improve His Life
Israeli venture capitalist Jon Medved announced his immediate retirement from OurCrowd after being diagnosed with ALS. Medved, the founder of the crowdsourced VC platform, has overseen a portfolio of roughly 500 companies, 74 exits and a recent $525 million sale. He...
Sequoia Partner Spreads Debunked Brown Shooting Theory, Testing New Leadership
Sequoia Capital partner Shaun Maguire falsely accused a Palestinian student of orchestrating the December 13 Brown University shooting, despite authorities identifying a Portuguese gunman. His deleted X posts resurfaced via Fast Company, reviving criticism of his anti‑Muslim commentary. The controversy hits...
Where Are Investors Placing Their Bets Next Year? AI, AI, AI.
At TechCrunch Disrupt, venture capitalists made it clear that artificial intelligence dominates their investment theses for 2027. Speakers from Index, Greylock and Felicis emphasized founder resilience, authentic product‑market fit, and the need for unique data flywheels to stand out in...
Krafton Hikes India Bet with New $670M Fund
Krafton is launching a ₹60 billion ($670 million) Unicorn Growth Fund to deepen its presence in India, partnering with Naver and Mirae Asset Venture India. The fund will start with over ₹30 billion, with Krafton contributing ₹12.3 billion and Naver matching the amount. Investment...
No Keynotes, No BS — Why This Year’s Best Tech Talks Happened over Cocktails at StrictlyVC
TechCrunch’s StrictlyVC series delivered a year‑long circuit of intimate, cocktail‑style events that gathered top venture capitalists, founders, and policymakers across San Francisco, Athens, London, Menlo Park, and Palo Alto. The gatherings featured high‑profile speakers such as Kirsten Green, Pat Gelsinger,...
Solo VC and Lovable Investor Neil Murray Raises Third Nordic-Focused Fund
Neil Murray, founder of The Nordic Web Ventures, closed a $6 million Fund III to invest in early‑stage Nordic AI, robotics and deep‑tech startups. The fund targets $200,000 checks for 30‑35 companies, despite attracting over $20 million of interest, reflecting a strategy of...
Lightspeed Raises Record $9B in Fresh Capital
Lightspeed Venture Partners announced a record $9 billion capital raise, the largest in its 25‑year history. The new capital is allocated across six funds, including a $3.3 billion opportunity fund for follow‑on investments. The firm’s AI‑centric strategy is underscored by backing 165...
Stanford’s Star Reporter Takes on Silicon Valley’s ‘Money-Soaked’ Startup Culture
Stanford senior Theo Baker, already the youngest George Polk Award winner, is turning his investigative chops toward Silicon Valley’s venture‑capital machine. His forthcoming book, How to Rule the World, draws on more than 250 interviews to expose how VCs treat...
The Market Has ‘Switched’ and Founders Have the Power Now, VCs Say
Venture capitalists are acknowledging a shift in fundraising dynamics, with founders now wielding greater leverage after the 2022‑23 bear market. Leslie Feinzaig of Graham & Walker and Ross Fubini of XYZ Venture describe how they had to market themselves to...
What Most VCs Won’t Tell You About Raising Capital
Venture capitalists Ross Fubini of XYZ Ventures and Leslie Feinzaig of Graham & Walker Ventures reveal how VCs craft their own go‑to‑market strategies, not just evaluating startups but also courting limited partners and founders. In a TechCrunch Build Mode interview...
Runware Raises $50M Series A to Help Make Image, Video Generation Easier for Developers
Runware announced a $50 million Series A round led by Dawn Capital, bringing its total funding to $66 million. The startup offers a unified API that lets developers generate images, video, and audio in real time, supporting over 400,000 models and having powered...
B Capital Founding Partner Kabir Narang Leaves to Launch New Investment Platform
Founding B Capital partner Kabir Narang has left the firm to create a new investment platform slated for 2026 that will target AI‑driven technology and global capital flows. Narang, who joined B Capital in 2017 and helped back Indian unicorns such as...
Tiger Global Plans Cautious Venture Future with a New $2.2B Fund
Tiger Global Management announced a new $2.2 billion venture fund aimed at late‑stage technology companies. The firm highlighted its track record with high‑profile bets in OpenAI, Waymo and Databricks from its previous fund. However, Tiger cautioned that AI‑related startup valuations are...
Legal AI Startup Harvey Confirms $8B Valuation
Harvey confirms a third enormous round of funding in 2025 that has skyrocketed its valuation. Again.
Why Day One Ventures’ Masha Bucher Thinks VCs and Storytelling Go Hand-in-Hand
Day One Ventures partner Masha Bucher argues that venture capital and storytelling are inseparable. She has built an integrated investment model that couples capital deployment with narrative development, aligning founder and investor incentives from the outset. By focusing on the...
Company Backed by Donald Trump Jr.’s Firm Nabs $620M Government Contract
Vulcan Elements, a rare‑earth magnet startup backed by Donald Trump Jr.’s 1789 Capital, secured a $620 million contract from the U.S. Department of Defense. The award is part of a broader $1.4 billion partnership with ReElement Technologies to expand domestic magnet production. It...
This VC Charges $0 for PR, and Has 12 Unicorns to Show for It
Day One Ventures, led by former PR executive Masha Bucher, offers portfolio companies free public‑relations services alongside capital. The firm’s zero‑fee PR model leverages Bucher’s agency network to secure high‑impact media coverage that startups typically pay six figures for. This...
How AI PR Startup Clipbook Won Mark Cuban’s Investment From a Cold Email
AI‑powered PR platform Clipbook announced a $3 million seed round led by Mark Cuban, Commonweal Ventures and Carpenter Capital. Founder Adam Joseph secured the investment after a cold‑email pitch and a rigorous Q&A, delivering a custom AI‑generated media report on Cuban’s...
VC Kara Nortman Bet Early on Women’s Sports, and Now She’s Creating the Market
Venture capitalist Kara Nortman co‑founded Angel City FC in 2020 and leveraged its early commercial success—$30 million in revenue and sold‑out games—to launch Monarch Collective, a $250 million fund dedicated to women’s sports. Monarch now owns stakes in three NWSL clubs and a...
The Future Will Be Explained to You in Palo Alto
The StrictlyVC finale in Palo Alto brought together deep‑tech founders showcasing breakthroughs that remain largely unseen by mainstream markets. Nicholas Kelez presented particle‑accelerator‑based semiconductor tools that could break the $400 million laser monopoly, while Mina Fahmi unveiled the Stream Ring, a...
Breaking Down the Boom in the Nordic’s Startup Ecosystem
The Nordic startup ecosystem is experiencing a rapid expansion, highlighted at Helsinki’s Slush conference. Valuations now exceed half a trillion dollars, and venture capital poured over $8 billion into regional firms in 2024. Founders cite strong social safety nets and proactive...
Why ‘Hold Forever’ Investors Are Snapping up Venture Capital ‘Zombies’
Italian tech consolidator Bending Spoons announced a $270 million funding round and the acquisition of AOL, lifting its valuation to $11 billion after a rapid series of buy‑and‑turn‑around deals. The article highlights a growing “hold forever” model championed by firms like Curious,...
The Marketing Guru Who Helped Turn Khosla Ventures Into an AI Powerhouse Is Moving On
Shernaz Daver, the first chief marketing officer of Khosla Ventures (KV), is leaving after nearly five years, having built the firm’s brand around the mantra “bold, early, impactful” and positioning KV as the first investor in marquee AI and tech...
Legally Embattled AI Music Startup Suno Raises at $2.45B Valuation on $200M Revenue
AI music startup Suno announced a $250 million Series C financing that values the company at $2.45 billion after reporting $200 million in annual revenue. The round was led by Menlo Ventures with participation from NVentures, Hallwood Media, Lightspeed and Matrix. Suno, which lets...
Onepot AI Raises $13M to Help Make Chemical Drug Creation Easier
Onepot AI, founded by Carnegie Mellon ML researcher Daniil Boiko and MIT‑trained Andrei Tyrin, has raised $13 million in a seed round led by Fifty Years, with participation from Khosla Ventures, Speedinvest, OpenAI co‑founder Wojciech Zaremba and Google chief scientist Jeff...
Credit Risk Automation Platform Kaaj Raises $3.8M Seed From Kindred Ventures
Kaaj, a credit‑risk automation platform founded by former American Express and Varo Bank executive Shivi Sharma and her husband Utsav Shah, announced a $3.8 million seed round led by Kindred Ventures and Better Tomorrow Ventures. The AI‑driven solution claims to have...
Emm Raises $9M Seed to Create One of the World’s First ‘Smart’ Menstrual Cups
Emm, a UK femtech startup founded by Jenny Button, has closed a $9 million seed round led by Lunar Ventures, with participation from Alumni Ventures and BlueLion Global. The funding will support the launch of the world’s first smart menstrual cup—a...
European Tech Gets Political
Atomico’s 2025 State of European Tech report shows rising venture investment and marks a shift toward organized lobbying by European startups and investors. The report, authored by partner Tom Wehmeier, puts forward four policy recommendations—Fix the friction, Fund the future,...
AI Data Center Provider Lambda Raises Whopping $1.5B After Multibillion-Dollar Microsoft Deal
Lambda, an AI data‑center operator, announced a $1.5 billion financing round led by TWG Global, a $40 billion investment firm backed by Thomas Tull and Mark Walter. The capital infusion follows Lambda’s multibillion‑dollar contract to supply Microsoft with AI infrastructure built on...
‘Our Funds Are 20 Years Old’: Limited Partners Confront VCs’ Liquidity Crisis
Limited partners (LPs) are confronting a venture‑capital liquidity crunch as fund lifespans have stretched to 15‑20 years, leaving billions of dollars locked in under‑performing startups. LPs are revising allocation models, extending fund‑life assumptions to 18 years, and turning to the...
Build Mode Starts at the Beginning: How Forethought AI Found Product-Market Fit
In the debut episode of TechCrunch’s Build Mode podcast, co‑founder Deon Nicholas explains how Forethought AI achieved product‑market fit by obsessively targeting its ideal customer profile and delivering tangible value before chasing hype. The company’s “7‑Failure Rule” encouraged rapid iteration,...
After 5 Months, the $1,200 Bottles of Besties All-In Tequila Are Finally Starting to Ship
The $1,200 Besties All‑In tequila, launched by the All‑In podcast hosts in June and sold out in its 750‑bottle run, has finally begun shipping after a five‑month delay caused by the handcrafted, collector‑style bottle. Distribution partner Flaviar pushed the delivery...
The 10 Companies that Just Launched From Betaworks’ Latest Startup Camp
Betaworks unveiled the ten startups graduating from its 13th Camp, a 13‑week biannual residency focused this year on "Interfaces" that shape how users experience AI. The cohort includes Nora, a browser extension that tracks shopping habits; Primitive, a voice‑driven idea‑to‑task...
The Global Race for the AI App Layer Is Still On
The 2025 Accel Globalscape report finds that while the U.S. still leads in large AI models, Europe and Israel are closing the gap in the AI application layer, attracting 66% of U.S. private funding this year. Emerging European AI‑native app...