Startups News

Datadog alumni launch vendor-neutral coding infrastructure startup to challenge OpenAI and Anthropic's vertical expansion into software markets.

New York startup Jedify closes Series A funding to help AI agents understand business-specific context through multi-source knowledge graphs.

Sabertooth Capital deployed nearly $500M across 10 AI and deep-tech startups in 12 months using SPVs and nominee structures, avoiding the 12-18 month fund-raising timeline.

Sabertooth VC deployed nearly $400M across 10 companies in 12 months using special purpose vehicles, bypassing traditional fund formation timelines.

European AI code generation platform Lovable claims $500M annualized revenue run rate, up from $400M in February, with 50M cumulative projects built.

The legal AI startup lands Series A backing to tackle workflow automation for in-house counsel teams, differentiating from litigation-focused competitors.

Google DeepMind selects 15 early-stage robotics companies across Europe for intensive mentorship, AI model access, and technical support to commercialize physical AI applications.

Sam Altman's biometric verification startup is laying off employees amid revenue challenges, even as his primary company OpenAI moves toward public markets.

A wave of startups are raising capital for in-person, human-centric products—from social games to climate tech—while AI funding reaches record levels.

While AI funding hits records, founders like Brynn Putnam are raising capital for analog experiences—in-person games, DIY hardware, and human connection.

A new AI tool claims to predict film success from scripts alone, but early tests show it confidently misread both a future flop and Oscar winner.

Airbnb's Brian Chesky is backing a new AI research lab focused on user interaction and design, marking a shift from advising frontier labs to competing directly in the space.

Rocket engine startup Impulse Space secured $500M in Series D funding to hire 200 engineers, betting that physics-based spacecraft design still requires human expertise over machine learning.

A Stanford-founded startup claims its AI system beats the ECMWF's forecasts by leveraging proprietary sensor data and faster inference cycles.

The AI chip startup is shifting focus to its inference-as-a-service platform following its $20B partial exit with Nvidia.

The AI chip startup is pivoting toward inference-as-a-service, backed by existing investors including Disruptive and Infinitium.

An AI startup is launching a free cleaning service that records workers to gather training data for household robots.

The enterprise AI search startup tripled its top line in 15 months, pivoting its pitch toward cost savings as tech giants enter the market.

Anthropic secures $65B in funding at a $965B post-money valuation, with lead investors including Altimeter Capital and Sequoia, ahead of expected public listing.

Asana's $75M acquisition of Stack AI signals a strategic pivot toward AI-native workplace tools as the work-management platform battles market skepticism.

The Oculus-founder-backed startup debuts four distinct AI agents capable of running parallel searches mid-conversation, positioning itself toward agentic capabilities and 2027 eyewear hardware.

A new inference cloud startup backed by FUSE VC is deploying specialized chips to undercut GPU-heavy competitors in the race for AI inference capacity.

Visa backs coding platform Replit to integrate payment infrastructure for developer-built AI agents, signaling enterprise focus on agentic commerce.

The Devin maker's funding round from Lux Capital and General Catalyst reflects VC confidence in standalone AI engineering tools despite competition from model makers.

A startup led by ex-Google and Apple researchers is building infrastructure to let AI models improve from real-world user interactions, not just training data.

The open-source database company has tripled its annual run rate and hired a CFO from Snowflake as it eyes public markets.

TechCrunch Disrupt's Startup Battlefield 200 program closes applications tonight, offering 200 early-stage startups equity-free funding, investor access, and global exposure.

AI gateway OpenRouter raises $113M Series B from CapitalG, doubling its valuation in 12 months as enterprises increasingly avoid vendor lock-in.

TechCrunch's Startup Battlefield 200 closes applications on May 27, offering 200 early-stage startups equity-free funding, investor access, and global stage exposure at Disrupt 2026.

Recycling startups Sortera and Amp are deploying machine-vision systems to recover aluminum from waste streams as prices hit multi-decade highs and the US faces critical-mineral supply constraints.

The startup uses AI and a 100K-creator network to optimize viral video clips across platforms, backed by Slow Ventures and others.

A new desktop agent backed by Ng's fund learns user workflows and automates repetitive office tasks with minimal prompting.

TechCrunch's Startup Battlefield 200 applications close in one week, offering early-stage founders VC access, global visibility, and non-dilutive capital ahead of Disrupt 2026.

Venture-backed startups including Exa Labs and Parallel Web Systems are raising hundreds of millions to build alternatives to traditional search and ChatGPT's search interface.

TechCrunch's Startup Battlefield 200 competition closes applications on May 27, offering 200 early-stage startups equity-free funding, VC access, and a platform at Disrupt 2026.

NanoClaw creators turn down a buyout offer and secure seed funding from Valley Capital Partners, Hugging Face's Clem Delangue, and others, betting on community-driven growth over quick exit.

A cybersecurity startup founded by a former Israeli defense researcher is raising significant capital to combat phishing attacks automated by large language models.

South Korean startup LetinAR raised $18.5M to scale its PinTILT optical technology as AI glasses shipments surge toward 15M units annually.

The video-generation startup is expanding into physics-aware world models, positioning itself as an alternative to Google's language-dominated AI strategy.

The ex-OpenAI CTO's startup previews interaction models designed to keep humans in decision-making loops, contrasting with big labs pursuing autonomous superintelligence.

Khosla Ventures leads a $10M seed round in Synthetic, the new AI bookkeeping startup from Bench Accounting's ousted founder Ian Crosby.

Richard Socher's new startup wants to create AI that redesigns itself autonomously — no humans required.

DeepSeek is raising its first outside funding at a $45B valuation, led by a Chinese state investment vehicle, to counter researcher poaching.

London-based startup Ethos secured $22.75M Series A led by a16z to build an expert network using voice onboarding to capture professional knowledge beyond job titles.

ElevenLabs names all $500M Series D investors — BlackRock, NVIDIA, and celebrity backers among them — as the voice AI startup confirms crossing $500M in annual recurring revenue.

Replit CEO Amjad Masad says strong margins and 300% net revenue retention give the company the financial footing to stay solo — for now.

Parag Agrawal's AI agent infrastructure startup closed a $100M Series B at a $2B valuation, nearly tripling from its Series A just five months prior.

Runway's CEO argues the company's video tools are a foundation for general world models with applications in gaming, robotics, and beyond.

The social app embeds AI characters into shared conversations, positioning itself as a mental-health-conscious alternative to solo AI companionship.

Defense startup Scout AI closes a nine-figure Series A to develop Fury, an AI model designed to command military assets and eventually autonomous weapons.

Pre-Series A startups have until May 27 to compete for $100,000 equity-free funding and investor access at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026.