Startups

Last chance to apply Startup Battlefield Australia applications close July 6

If you're going to apply for Startup Battlefield Australia, now is the time. Applications close July 6, and once the deadline passes, the opportunity is gone.

Mark Zuckerberg tells staff that AI agents havent progressed as quickly as hed hoped

At an internal meeting, the Meta CEO reportedly said that AI development efforts were not moving as quickly as anticipated.

Private space pilots are flying orbital missions for the US Space Force

True Anomaly and Rocket Lab are performing Top Gun-style satellite fly-bys for the U.S. military.

Thiel Capitals Jack Selby nabs stakes in hot startups like Etched through Arizona connections

Selby's VC firm Copper Sky Capital is currently raising a $300 million second fund, according to a regulatory filing.

IQM, Europes first public quantum company, admits the future of the tech is uncertain

IQM, a full-stack quantum company out of Finland, went public on the Nasdaq today at a valuation of about $1.9 billion.

Jersey Mikes IPO illustrates how bad the AI hype has become

Just for kicks, I took a look at Jersey Mike's IPO documents. Surely a sandwich shop would have no need to mention AI. But low-and-behold.

Meta quietly launches vibe-coded gaming app Pocket

Meta has quietly launched Pocket, an experimental AI app that lets users generate and share interactive mini games using text prompts.

Travel app Hopper to pay $35M in FTC settlement over unfairly charging hidden fees

Hopper will pay $35 million to settle FTC allegations that it used deceptive dark patterns to hide fees and mislead travelers about the costs and benefits of services.

Anthropic is discussing a new custom chip with Samsung

The news comes about a week after OpenAI announced its own custom AI chip in a partnership with Broadcom.

Boeing-owned Wisk Aero accused of firing manager who raised safety concerns

A former software manager claims Wisk rushed software testing ahead of a crucial 2025 flight test.

Melinda Gates venture firm backs Magnify Ventures $46.6M Fund II

Early-stage firm Magnify Ventures has raised a $46.6 million Fund II from LPs, including Melinda French Gates Pivotal Ventures.

OpenAI proposed donating 5% of its equity to a US sovereign wealth fund

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has reportedly proposed giving 5% of the companys equity to a U.S. sovereign wealth fund, reviving discussions about letting the public share in the financial gains from the AI boom.

Popular TV-tracking app TV Time is shutting down as company focuses on AI

TV Time, the popular TV-tracking app, is shutting down on July 15 as parent company Whip Media pivots toward enterprise AI products.

Lucid Motors CFO is out as its new CEO continues leadership shakeup

The company announced a new slate of executive hires meant to help turn things around, as Gravity SUV sales are not taking off as expected.

Microsoft launches its own AI deployment company with $2.5 billion commitment

Microsoft follows Amazon, OpenAI and Anthropic with its new AI deployment group.

Tesla saw a massive sales jump in the second quarter

The company delivered more than 480,000 EVs globally, seemingly thanks to geographic expansion and cheaper versions of the Model 3, Model Y, and Cybertruck.

Rivian raises EV sales forecast as Q2 production ramps up

The company now expects to ship a few thousand more vehicles by the end of 2026 than it previously expected, after launching its R2 SUV last month.

Yep, were using OpenClaw to date now

Ben Guez has a bunch of potential international wives in [his] DMs, thanks to an automated script he set up using OpenClaw, Claude code, and Instagram trials.

Indian tech tycoon bets $30M of his own money to build AI alternative to Microsoft Office

Neo is Bhavin Turakhias fifth venture and his latest involving enterprise software. This time he's taking on Microsoft Office, Google Apps with AI.

Apple is reportedly planning new iPad Pro and MacBook Pro releases early next year

Apple is readying several new iPad Pro tablets, and a budget-friendly MacBook Pro, reports suggest.

Bending Spoons defies SaaS slump, surges 40% on first day of trading

The company has grown rapidly by acquiring and revamping last-generation tech brands like AOL, Eventbrite, Evernote, Meetup, and Vimeo.

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.

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.

Autonomous vehicle hype is back, and Humble Robotics is bringing it to freight

The autonomous vehicle space is starting to feel like a repeat of the 2016 hype cycle. Travis Kalanick is back building a robotics company, and the talent wars and capital are heating up the same way they did the first time around. The moneys flowing back, and its the people who lived through that first []

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.

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.

Wayve launches $85M employee tender offer at $8.5B valuation

Wayves offering is part of a growing trend of AI startups using employee tenders as a strategic tool to attract and retain talent.

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.

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.

Amazon launches new $1 billion FDE org, following OpenAI and Anthropic

Engineers on the new team will embed within companies to deploy purpose-built agents, focusing on fast deployments and customer self-sufficiency.

Podcasting platform Riverside enters the newsletter publishing game

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

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.

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.

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.

Waymo and Uber quietly part ways in Phoenix

The companies confirmed to TechCrunch that their unusual partnership in Phoenix recently ended after nearly three years..

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.

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.

Flipper Devices new Busy Bar is a customizable display for productivity

Flipper Device's new Busy Bar will retail for $249.

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

SIP Investing Guide: Young Professionals Aged 21-35 Earning 20K-75K Monthly

AMFI-registered mutual fund distributor's SIP guide: 21-35 yr olds 20K-75K. SEBI-compliant education on categories, allocation, step-up strategy. The post SIP Investing Guide: Young Professionals Aged 21-35 Earning 20K-75K Monthly appeared first on Startup Success Stories India - News & Updates for Indian Entrepreneurs .