Daphni secures $215M for its third fund

French VC firm Daphni is announcing the first closing of its new fund, Daphni Blue. The firm has raised 200 million (around $215 million at current exchange rates). It expects to raise as much as 250 million ($270 million) by the end of the year. Some of Daphnis most remarkable past investments include Back Market, []

Inside The Indus Valleys Mission To Transform 100 Mn Kitchens With Healthy Cookware

The birth of The Indus Valley dates back to 2016 when the founders, Madhumitha Uday Kumar and Jagadeesh Kumar, faced

Chipmaker Infineon Technologies To Set Up GCC In GIFT City

Germany-based semiconductor manufacturer Infineon Technologies reportedly plans to set up a global capability centre (GCC) at the Gujarat International Finance

Submit Report On Deepfakes By July 21: Delhi HC To MeitY Panel

The Delhi High Court has reportedly directed a sub-committee of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to submit

Ahead Of IPO, Zepto Pushing Investors To Offload Stake Worth $250 Mn

With an eye on boosting domestic shareholding ahead of its initial public offering (IPO) later this year, quick commerce major

This Startup Is Brewing Up A Storm In The Kids Fashion Market

When siblings Pooja Gupta and Raghav Gupta from Coimbatore were exploring gaps in Indias massive fashion industry, one segment that

Can Kyaris Self-Watering Planters Solve Urban Gardening Challenges?

Agam Choudharys entrepreneurial journey began in 2018 with Robotbanao.com, an ecommerce platform for DIY robotics kits. Over the next four

UPI MDR Debate Reignites, Meeshos IPO Plans & More

UPIs MDR Debate Heats Up Again Fintech startups have again voiced concerns over the zero MDR regime for UPI payments.

How Anveshan Is Redefining Healthy Eating With Farm-Fresh Foods

When Aayushi Khandelwal, an IIT-Guwahati alumna, struggled with health issues, she turned to her grandmothers traditional Indian superfood recipes. The

OpenAI says its AI voice assistant is now better to chat with

OpenAI released updates Monday for Advanced Voice Mode, its AI voice feature that enables real-time conversations in ChatGPT, to make the AI assistant more personable and interrupt users less frequently. Manuka Stratta, an OpenAI post-training researcher, announced the changes in a video posted Monday to the companys official social media channels. OpenAIs latest update aims []

A new, challenging AGI test stumps most AI models

The Arc Prize Foundation, a nonprofit co-founded by prominent AI researcher Franois Chollet, announced in a blog post on Tuesday that it has created a new, challenging test to measure the general intelligence of leading AI models. So far, the new test, called ARC-AGI-2, has stumped most models. Reasoning AI models like OpenAIs o1-pro and []

A Chinese tech giant says it slashed AI costs using only Chinese chips

Earlier this year, DeepSeek briefly crashed Nvidias stock because of speculation that its models require far fewer chips. Now, Chinese fintech giant Ant Group, which is backed by Alibaba founder Jack Ma, is claiming a major AI breakthrough. Ant was able to use Chinese chips made by Alibaba and Huawei to create methods that cut []

a16z- and Benchmark-backed 11x has been claiming customers it doesnt have

Last year, AI-powered sales automation startup 11x appeared to be on an explosive growth trajectory. However, nearly two dozen sources including investors and current and former employees told TechCrunch that the company has experienced financial struggles, largely of its own making. Numerous people in the U.S. and U.K. told TechCrunch that the situation []

Vertical farming company Plenty files for bankruptcy after raising nearly $1B

Vertical farming company Plenty has filed for bankruptcy, the company said in a press release on Monday. In its statement, Plenty said it has received a commitment for $20.7 million in debtor-in-possession financing as part of a proposed restructuring plan. It plans to continue to operate a strawberry farm in Virginia and a plant science []

The Trump administration planned Yemen strikes in an unauthorized Signal chat

The Trump administrations national security leaders accidentally included the editor-in-chief of the Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg, in a chat on Signal discussing confidential plans to attack Yemens Houthis. I could not believe that the national-security leadership of the United States would communicate on Signal about imminent war plans, Goldberg wrote of the March 15 messages, which []

Fair-code pioneer n8n raises $60M for AI-powered workflow automation

Developer tooling is changing rapidly with AI. So companies that are making it easier to adopt AI in their workflows are seeing a boom of attention. After a startup called n8n (pronounced enay-ten) pivoted its workflow automation platform to become more AI-friendly in 2022, it said it saw its revenues increase 5X, doubling in the []

AI creation platform Arcade expands from jewelry to home goods

Arcade, a generative AI marketplace for designing jewelry, is expanding its offerings to include home goods, starting with rugs. The company on Monday also introduced a new feature called Match My Room, which allows users to upload a photo of their room so their design complements the existing colors and style. Alongside this expansion, Arcade []

US lifts sanctions on Tornado Cash, a crypto mixer linked to North Korean money laundering

Tornado Cash was used to launder billions in stolen crypto, according to the Treasury.

Revel opens first EV fast-charging hub in San Francisco

Brooklyn-based electric vehicle charging infrastructure startup Revel on Monday launched its first fast-charging station in San Francisco, kicking off its plans to expand across the Bay Area over the next year. For years, Revel has operated the largest, fastest, and most reliable fast-charging network in New York City, Frank Reig, co-founder and CEO of Revel, []

Cyberattack disrupts train ticket sales in Ukraine

Ukrzaliznytsia, Ukraines state-owned railway operator, has been hit by a cyberattack that disrupted online ticket sales.

Trump admin directs DOE officials to shield DOGE documents from disclosure

The Department of Energy's acting general counsel reportedly issued a memo telling political appointees how to complete DOGE spreadsheets.

Step into the spotlight: Apply to speak at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025

Calling all tech innovators, startup fanatics, marketing gurus, and emerging VCs this is your moment! Youve waited long enough, and now the time has come to step into the spotlight at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, taking place October 2729 in San Francisco. Share your expertise with over 10,000 eager attendees and make an impact by []

Apple is bringing lossless audio and low-latency audio to AirPods Max

Apple announced on Monday that its bringing lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio to AirPods Max headphones when using the included USB-C cable. With this upcoming update, AirPods Max headphones will unlock 24-bit, 48 kHz lossless audio to maintain the quality of original recordings. Lossless audio also extends to Personalized Spatial Audio to deliver a []

Apply to compete in TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 200 today!

Start your engines applications for TechCrunchs Startup Battlefield 200 competition are open! If youre a pre-Series A startup founder looking to make your mark on a global stage, this is an opportunity you cant pass up. We want to see you showcase your game-changing innovations to the world at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025s premier startup pitch []

Only 7 Days Left: Founders and VCs Save $300+ on TechCrunch All Stage Passes

TechCrunch All Stage is returning to Boston, MA on July 15 for a jam-packed day where founders no matter what stage theyre in will gain practical insights to fuel their startup growth. With a lineup of expert-led sessions, founders will leave with actionable strategies they can implement right away. Investors will also be []

The Cadillac Optiq EV and Cadillac Escalade IQ go big on tech, luxury, and price

Cadillacs new IQ portfolio of all-electric vehicles notably the compact Optiq SUV and grandaddy full-size Escalade IQ has put the company on a techier, more advanced, and luxurious plane. And the shift couldnt have come soon enough. The slate of traditional internal combustion engine vehicles that have come out of Cadillac in recent []

23andMe faces an uncertain future so does your genetic data

As 23andMe's bankruptcy looms, privacy experts warn customers to delete their DNA data.

AI chip startup FuriosaAI reportedly turns down $800M acquisition offer from Meta

FuriosaAI, a South Korean startup that makes chips for AI applications, has rejected an $810 million acquisition offer from Meta.

Unicommerce Shares Surge 8% Intraday Amid Broader Market Rally

Shares of Unicommerce surged as much as 8% to INR 133.60 during the intraday trading on the BSE today. This

Ex-Network International execs raise $6M for Enza, an African fintech serving banks

Over the past decade, Dubai-based Network International has become one of the dominant payment processors across the Middle East and Africa, thanks in part to a pair of acquisitions. However, many large incumbents can fall prey to slower innovation, opening the door for smaller, faster-moving startups. The latest development is Enza, a fintech founded in []

How This D2C Brand Is Fusing Heritage And Modern Designs To Redefine Silver Jewellery In India

Rooted in the legacy of Sri Vasavi Thangamaaligai, a jewellery house serving customers since 1942 in Dindigul, Tamil Nadu, The

How Nirmalaya Is Turning Floral Waste Into A Multi-Crore Spiritual Brand

Serial entrepreneur Rajeev Bansal was disheartened by the environmental damage caused by floral waste from temples. During a visit to

How Zingavita Is Changing The Supplement Game With Its Modern Take On Nutrition

A study by the National Institute of Health shows that 61% of Indians are deficient in vitamin D, 54% in

The Pant Projects Playbook To Dominate Custom-Fit Bottomwear Market

For Dhruv and Udit Toshniwal, tailoring the perfect fit wasnt just a business challenge it was personal. Despite coming

Former Cruise CEO Kyle Vogts new robotics startup reportedly raises another $150M

The Bot Company, the robotics startup founded by former Cruise co-founder and CEO Kyle Vogt, has raised $150 million in a round led by Greenoaks, according to Reuters, citing unnamed sources. Vogt founded the startup with Paril Jain, who led the AI tech team at Tesla, and former Cruise software engineer Luke Holoubek. Vogt did []

Buy now, pay later . . . for a burrito?

In 2010, a programmer who was mining bitcoin famously made the comically expensive mistake of spending 10,000 bitcoin on two pizzas. As of this writing, those coins would be worth $850 million dollars. While there are few comparisons to that kind of miscalculation, the prospect of adding interest payments to fast-food orders is raising concerns []

Barack Obama joins Bluesky

Social network Bluesky, an alternative to X built on open source technologies, has scored a big win in terms of attracting notable users to its platform. The company on Sunday confirmed that former president Barack Obama has joined its service. Bluesky OOO Rose Wang replied to a post where someone wondered if the account posting []

Browser Use, the tool making it easier for AI agents to navigate websites, raises $17M

We may not have an agreed-upon definition of AI agent yet, but a multitude of startups want to create agentic tools to automate various tasks online. One such firm, Browser Use, has attracted a ton of interest from developers and investors thanks to its solution that makes websites more readable for AI agents. Browser Use []

Trump's tariffs have sown uncertainty. That might be the point.

The Federal Reserve and other analysts warn of negative impacts on growth and higher consumer prices due to the tariffs.

How RAS Luxury Skincare Is Making Ayurveda-Backed Clean Beauty Mainstream

For Raipur-based entrepreneur Shubhika Jain, the journey into skincare wasnt just a business venture but a deeply personal mission. Growing

DrinkPrimes Mission to Fix Indias Broken Drinking Water Infrastructure

For many urban dwellers in India, access to safe drinking water remains a persistent challenge. While high-end water purifiers are

Inside MIRAGGIOs Gambit To Compete With Global Handbag Giants

Indias $3.7 Bn handbag market has long been divided between luxury brands that remain out of reach for most and

Can Nat Habit Outdo Mamaearth, Plum & The Ilk In The Beauty & Personal Care Space

Swagatika Das and Gaurav Agarwal had little idea that their shared interest in nature would one day lay the foundation

Jonah Peretti helped shaped digital media can he do it again?

Jonah Perettis career to date has been defined by constant reinvention. As the founder and CEO of BuzzFeed, Peretti has been at the forefront of digital media for almost two decades, navigating changes as the once small startup transformed into, at one point, a multimedia powerhouse. But as the company grows older, one question lingers: []

Outline Mechanism For Disabled-Friendly Taxi Apps: HC To Govt

The Delhi High Court (HC) has reportedly directed the Centre to apprise it about the regulatory mechanism for ensuring that

Charlie Javice trial becomes a master class in hubris for both sides

Charlie Javices high-profile fraud trial has become a showcase of embarrassing missteps on both sides, with eyebrow-raising details about how JPMorgan Chase was allegedly deceived into buying her startup, Frank, for $175 million when it had just 300,000 customers instead of four million. Per a new WSJ article, one pivotal moment came when former Frank []

The 20 hottest open source startups of 2024

A new report showcases the 20 top-trending open source startups around the world, more than half of which are closely aligned with AI. The report is the handiwork of European venture capital firm Runa Capital, which has operated the Runa Open Source Startup (ROSS) Index since 2020. The Index serves quarterly updates on the fastest-growing []

Norges Bank Buys Nazara Shares Worth INR 70 Cr

Norways central bank Norges Bank has bought 7.19 Lakh shares of gaming major Nazara Technologies via bulk deals. As per

WhatsApp Bans 99.7 Lakh Accounts In India

Messaging platform WhatsApp banned more than 99.67 Lakh Indian accounts in January 2025, as per its monthly transparency report. The

Can Setu Nutrition Build Indias Next INR 100 Cr Health & Supplements Brand?

After living in the United States for several years, Nihaal Mariwala was accustomed to a market that sold scientifically proven

How This Crate & Barrel-Inspired Startup Is Disrupting The Home & Furnishing Market

When IIT-Bombay and IIM-Calcutta alumnus Saket Dhankar spent over two decades in fashion and lifestyleleading growth at ITCs Lifestyle Business

Can WellBe Foods Challenge Big FMCG Players With Its Clean-Label Promise?

After spending years in the US, Gaurav Manchanda saw how ultra-processed foods sugary cereals, snacks with artificial additives, and

UX Perspective On The Rise Of Agentic AI In Enterprise Workflows

The conversation around AI in enterprise workflows has evolved rapidly. Weve moved beyond simple automation and predictive models into a

How Flo Mattress Is Gearing Up To Build An INR 500 Cr Sleep Brand

For Gaurav Zatakia, venturing into the B2C mattress and sleep essentials market was anything but a smooth transition. Having spent

Anduril might build a weapons factory in the UK

Anduril might build a factory in the U.K. as it expands beyond U.S. defense contracts.

Meta has revenue sharing agreements with Llama AI model hosts, filing reveals

In a blog post last July, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that selling access to Metas openly available Llama AI models isnt [Metas] business model. Yet Meta does make at least some money from Llama through revenue-sharing agreements, according to a newly unredacted court filing. The filing, submitted by attorneys for the plaintiffs in the []

How BYD plans to make EV charging as fast as filling a gas tank

What we found mostly supports the auto makers claims, with a few caveats.

Valve removes video game demo suspected of being malware

Valve removed a video game called Sniper: Phantom's Resolution from Steam after users reported that its free demo contained malware.

DeepSeek: Everything you need to know about the AI chatbot app

DeepSeek has gone viral. Chinese AI lab DeepSeek broke into the mainstream consciousness this week afterits chatbot app rose to the top of the Apple App Store charts (and Google Play, as well). DeepSeeks AI models, which were trained using compute-efficient techniques,have led Wall Street analystsand technologists to question whether the U.S. can maintain its []

TechCrunch has, yes, personal news!

If you havent heard the news, TechCrunch has a shiny new home. After years under Yahoos ownership which, in turn, is backed by Apollo Group the brand is now in fresh hands. Its new parent company: Regent, a dynamic private equity firm with a diverse portfolio spanning media, retail, and manufacturing. Regent was []

Anthropic appears to be using Brave to power web search for its Claude chatbot

Earlier this week, Anthropic rolled out a web search feature for its AI-powered chatbot platform, Claude, bringing the bot in line with many of its rivals. It wasnt immediately clear which search index might be powering the feature one possibility was that Anthropic had developed its own. But evidence suggests its Brave Search, the []

TechCrunch Mobility: Inside Waymos deal with SFO, Elons moment of truth, and BYDs breakthrough

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. Sign up here for free just click TechCrunch Mobility! Before we jump into the news, just a quick bit of housekeeping. Im putting This weeks wheels on hiatus for a few weeks as I get into []

OTT Platform STAGE Bags $12.5 Mn To Expand Its Regional Content Play

Regional over-the-top (OTT) platform STAGE has raised $12.5 Mn (around INR 107.5 Cr) as a part of its Series B

ChatGPT: Everything you need to know about the AI-powered chatbot

ChatGPT, OpenAIs text-generating AI chatbot, has taken the world by storm since its launch in November 2022. What started as a tool to supercharge productivity through writing essays and code with short text prompts has evolved into a behemoth with 300 million weekly active users. 2024 was a big year for OpenAI, from its partnership []

Wayve CEO shares his key ingredients for scaling autonomous driving tech

Wayve co-founder and CEO Alex Kendall sees promise in bringing his autonomous vehicle startups tech to market. That is, if Wayve sticks to its strategy of ensuring its automated driving software is cheap to run, hardware agnostic, and can be applied to advanced driver assistance systems, robotaxis, and even robotics. The strategy, which Kendall laid []

Microsoft is exploring a way to credit contributors to AI training data

Microsoft is launching a research project to estimate the influence of specific training examples on the text, images, and other types of media that generative AI models create. Thats per a job listing dating back to December that was recently recirculated on LinkedIn. According to the listing, which seeks a research intern, the project will []

Meta spotted testing AI-generated comments on Instagram

In recent years, Meta has introduced many AI features and capabilities to its apps, even going so far as experimenting with AI-generated characters complete with unique profiles and personalities, before scraping them after they were deemed creepy and unnecessary. In yet another move that may not be received well among users, Meta wants to use []

1X will test humanoid robots in a few hundred homes in 2025

Norwegian robotics startup 1X plans to start early tests of its humanoid robot, Neo Gamma, in a few hundred to a few thousand homes by the end of 2025, according to the companys CEO, Bernt Brnich. Neo Gamma is going into homes this year, Brnich told TechCrunch in an interview at Nvidia GTC 2025. We []

Commercial services platform BuildOps becomes a unicorn, raises $127M

Commercial services tech hasnt historically been considered sexy, but the need for innovation in the space is enormous. That need has translated into a large fundraise for a company focused on streamlining commercial contracting processes. On Friday, BuildOps, which develops software for commercial services contractors, announced that it has raised $127 million in a Series []

Russian zero-day seller is offering up to $4 million for Telegram exploits

Two sources in the zero-day industry say Operation Zero's prices for exploits against the popular messaging app Telegram will depend on different factors.

SIDBI To Manage INR 1K Cr Spacetech Fund: IN-SPACe

SIDBI Venture Capital has been selected as the fund manager for the INR 1,000 Cr venture capital fund announced by

How AdilQadri Is Modernising Indias Attar Industry With A D2C Spin

Adil Qadri was on the scent to do something on his own. Dropping out of the school at an early

Two Overseas Entities To Sell Stake In TBO Tek In INR 400 Cr Block Deals

Two overseas entities, Augusta TBO Singapore Pte Ltd and TBO Korea Holdings Ltd, reportedly plan to sell up to 3.1%

Can SAADAA Become A Go-To Brand For An Indian Minimalist?

In an era of fast fashion and mass consumerism, where choice often leads to confusion rather than convenience, simplicity is

Zomato Is Now Officially Eternal As MCA Confirms Name Change

Zomato is now officially Eternal. The foodtech major said that the corporate affairs ministry has approved the change in the

How Knya Is Transforming Functional Wear For Healthcare Professionals

Indias healthcare sector operates under immense pressure, with a stark imbalance in doctor-to-patient ratios one doctor for every 883

Ola Electric In Regulatory Muddle, Endiya Partnerss AI Playbook & More

Ola Electric In A Muddle There seems to be no end to Ola Electrics glitches. At a time when the

Can Hammers Affordable Smart Tech Shake Up Indias Wearables Market?

Indias Fast-Moving Electrical Goods (FMEG) sector has seen rapid expansion in recent years, driven by urbanisation, infrastructure development, and a

More BIS Raids At Amazon, Flipkart Warehouses

Days after carrying out search and seizure operations at premises linked to Amazon and Flipkart, the Bureau of Indian Standards

Sagar Defence Partners Boeings Liquid Robotics To Boost Maritime Security

Mumbai-based defence technology startup Sagar Defence Engineering has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Boeings wholly-owned subsidiary Liquid Robotics

PayU Picks Up 43.5% Stake In Mindgate To Bolster Presence In Digital Payments

Prosus-backed payment solutions major PayU today said it has acquired a 43.5% stake in payments infrastructure startup Mindgate Solutions to

Exclusive: Magenta Mobility Raises INR 100 Cr In Pre-Series B Round

Mumbai-based electric mobility startup Magenta Mobility has raised INR 100 Cr (about $11.5 Mn) in a mix of equity and

More Troubles For Ola Electric: Raids At Stores, Comes Under MHIs Lens

There seems to be no end to the troubles of Ola Electric. After facing heat from its customers for a

BYJUS Insolvency: Founders Blame Suspended IRP For Delay In Submitting BCCIs Application

In yet another twist in BYJUS insolvency proceedings, the edtech giants founders have reportedly accused the former interim resolution professional

Whats MasterChows Saucy Plan To Dominate The Indian Ready-To-Cook Market?

When engineer Vidur Kataria returned to India from the UK in 2014, he longed for authentic Chinese flavours but found

How Is MyMuse Breaking Taboos Around Sexual Wellness In India?

In India, where conversations around intimacy and sexual wellness remain largely taboo, access to high-quality adult products has been overlooked

India's gems, jewellery exports fall 23.49% in Feb on weak demand: GJEPC

India's gems and jewellery exports fell by 23.49% in February 2025, amounting to $2,422.9 million, mainly due to declining demand in the US and China. The continuous geopolitical tensions and rough diamond price corrections further impacted overall exports, which saw significant drops in both cut and polished diamonds and gold jewellery.

India, Mercosur can explore signing bilateral pacts: Piyush Goyal

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal suggested India and Mercosur explore bilateral free-trade agreements due to stalled talks on expanding their Preferential Trade Agreement. Highlighting successful trade deals like that with UAE, he emphasized the importance of fast-tracked, decisive negotiations for solid partnerships and addressing concerns with non-market economies.

How Is Whats Up Wellness Cashing In On The Health Gummies Boom

The demands of fast-paced corporate life have taken a toll on professionals, impacting their health in ways that often go

How House Of EM5 Is Repackaging The Affordable Luxury Fragrance Market

Having a taste for quality fragrances comes at a cost, and Shashank Chourey, a longtime fragrance enthusiast, knows it best.