Startups

After $18B IPO, Bending Spoons founder says success comes from minimizing luck

The co-founders of Bending Spoons, the Italian company quietly buying beloved, ailing Internet brands, learned big lessons from their own startup's failure.

WhatsApp usernames are already raising impersonation red flags

Meta says usernames improve privacy, but critics question whether its safeguards can prevent impersonation.

Neocloud Together AI raises $800M, leaps to $8.3B valuation

The AI neocloud provider, which specializes in hosting open source models, last raised at a $3.3 billion valuation in early 2025.

Lime begins life as a public company after years of uncertainty

The nine-year-old scooter and bike-share company has said it needs the funds to help pay down around $1 billion in liabilities.

Cloudflares new policy pushes AI companies to pay for publishers content

Cloudflare is giving AI companies until September 15 to separate web crawlers used for search from those used for AI training and agents, or risk being blocked by default on many publisher sites.

Even Honda is pivoting to data centers

Honda wants in on the lucrative energy storage market. This week it began producing batteries destined for data centers, not driveways.

Lime raises $167M in IPO after years of teasing a public debut

The nine-year-old scooter and bike-share company has said it needs the funds to help pay down around $1 billion in liabilities.

Venice AI becomes a unicorn with $65M Series A as its privacy-first AI platform takes off

Venice AI is already profitable, with annualized run-rate revenues of over $70 million, CEO Erik Voorhees said.

Gemini Spark, Googles agentic assistant, is now available on Mac

Google's 24/7 agentic assistant, Gemini Spark, comes to Mac alongside other improvements, like real-time tracking and support for more apps.

Sony to end physical PlayStation game disc sales in 2028

Sony will stop producing physical discs for all new PlayStation games beginning in 2028, as the company embraces an all-digital future.

Builders Stage agenda revealed: Practical strategies for scaling startups at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026

The Builders Stage is returning to TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, bringing together 10,000+ founders, startup operators, and investors for practical conversations. and Q&A on what it takes to build and scale successful companies. Register now to save up to $330.

Meta, like SpaceX, looks to turn excess AI compute into cash

Meta is developing plans for a cloud infrastructure business, selling access to AI compute power and models. The move would pit it against the big cloud providers like Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure.

The Father of the Internet is finally retiring

Vinton Cerf, one of the creators of the protocols underlying the internet, will step down as Google's chief internet evangelist next week.

Trump drops restrictions on Anthropics Mythos and Fable models

Anthropic said it would begin restoring access to the Fable on July 1.

Startup Battlefield Australia application closes in days: Apply before July 6

What if one pitch changed everything? The next company nobody has heard of yet is building something that will matter. It could be yours.

Realta Fusion generates electricity directly from a fusion reaction, an apparent first

We can take power from a plasma, Kieran Furlong, co-founder and CEO of Realta Fusion, told TechCrunch. The milestone shows whats possible, he added.

Google introduces a faster, cheaper image generator with Nano Banana 2 Lite

Google is updating its image generator to make it faster and cheaper, making it a more useful tool for creators looking to make AI content.

Clicks shows off its BlackBerry-inspired phone in a new hands-on video

A new video shows the final production version of the upcoming Clicks Communicator, a BlackBerry-like smartphone that runs modern apps.

Blue Origin still doesnt know why its New Glenn rocket blew up last month

But the company is still claiming that New Glenn will return to flight this year.

Tesla starts testing Cybercab without pedals or a steering wheel in Austin

The company may finally be ready to try to deliver on Elon Musk's years-long promise of launching a robotaxi network of its own.

X now offers an MCP server to make its platform easier for AI tools to use

X has launched a hosted MCP server, making it easier for developers to connect AI applications with the companys API.

Arcturus could halve the grids electrical losses using its nano-infused copper

Stealthy startup Arcturus uses lasers to infuse carbon nanomaterials into copper, dramatically improving its ability to conduct electricity.

Podcasting platform Riverside enters the newsletter publishing game

Users will be able use AI to create newsletters based on their recordings.

Lumo, Protons privacy-focused AI chatbot, gets an upgrade

Proton's Lumo 2.0 is dropping this week, giving users a broader variety of capabilities.

Your brand deserves its own stage Side Events at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026

From October 10-16, host a Side Event and command the room during the week of TechCrunch Disrupt 2026.

The AI jobs debate just got messier

A new report finds high-intensity AI adopters saw headcount increase 10.2%. Among those companies, entry-level headcount rose by 12%, countering the rhetoric that AI kills junior jobs.

Vibe coding platform Base44 launches own model as AI startups seek defensibility

Wix-owned vibe coding platform Base44 has started rolling out its own AI model with hopes that it will eventually outperform frontier models.

Chamath Palihapitiya raises $135M Series A for his AI coding startup, takes CEO role

VCs remain thirsty to fund AI coding startups. This one, founded by investor Chamath Palihapitiya, is no exception.

Geminis personalized AI image generation is now free for US users

Google is expanding Geminis personalized AI image generation to eligible free users in the U.S., allowing the chatbot to create images based on your interests and data from connected Google apps.

Watch out, Amazon: The Kobo eReader now has a Goodreads rival

Kobo users can now automatically sync their reading progress to StoryGraph, making it easier to track books, reading stats, and challenges without relying on Amazons Goodreads.

Anthropic and Gov. Newsom forge deal allowing California government to use Claude at half price

As Anthropic forges a closer relationship with the state of California, the federal government has made an enemy out of the OpenAI rival.

South Korean tech giants commit over $550B to ease RAMageddon

The world's two largest memory chip companies vow to build more memory lab fabs as South Korea positions itself as an AI tech powerhouse country.

Arena, the AI leaderboard everyone uses, is now a $100M business

The startup, which runs a popular free AI leaderboard, launched its commercial service just last September.

Cursor now has a mobile app for guiding your coding agent on the go

Cursor has launched a new mobile app for remote oversight over coding agents.

Trump administration threatens 92 GW of new electricity supply with red tape

The Trump administration's moves threaten $121 billion in new solar and wind power, two energy sources that are the biggest contributors to new capacity in the U.S.

Robot hand company settles Tesla trade secret suit and announces $11M raise

The startup, Proception, is taking a unique approach to collecting training data to tackle one of the hardest problems in robotics: hands.

Pocket raises $11M in bet on rising demand for AI note-taking devices

Pocket sells a $129 credit card-shaped puck, which sticks to the back of your phone, and promises unlimited recordings, transcriptions, and to-do items.

Omen AIs plan to optimize data centers is all wet

Omen AI raised a $31 million Series A to monitor chip coolant and stop bacterial outbreaks in data centers.

California law targeting loud streaming ads takes effect on July 1

Streaming ads might be getting a lot quieter.

Ford rehires gray beard engineers after AI falls short

Mistakenly we thought that by just introducing artificial intelligence ... that would produce a high-quality product.

TechCrunch Mobility: All eyes on Tesla FSD

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility, your hub for the future of transportation and now, more than ever, how AI is playing a part.

Why Wall Street thinks US memory maker Micron is the next Nvidia

Eager to find more public AI-related companies that may do as well as Nvidia, Wall Street investors think they've found a winner with Micron.

Govees smart nugget ice maker makes every iced drink feel like a luxury

For some people, the ice in a beverage is almost as important as the drink itself. Thats the audience Govee had in mind when designing its latest ice maker, the GoveeLife Smart Nugget Ice Maker Pro.This $500 premium smart home gadget is aimed at those who crave whats called the good ice, the soft, chewable []

Indian payments chief thinks AI will be heavily involved in next era of digital payment growth

Dilip Asbe said that newer UPI apps could be more competitive with a viable commercial model

AvenuesAI Subsidiary Rediff Pre-Files DRHP

AvenuesAIs (formerly Infibeam Ventures) subsidiary Rediff has filed its IPO papers via the confidential route with SEBI. Rediff.com India Limited,

Xovian Aerospace Raises $2 Mn To Launch RF Satellite

Spacetech startup Xovian Aerospace has secured $2 Mn (about 18.7 Cr) in a fresh funding round led by ace investor

NODWINs Pre-IPO Round, Funding Tanks In Q1 2026 & More

NODWINs Pre-IPO Funding Meal NODWIN Gaming is moving beyond gaming and esports. Emerging from the shadows of its former parent