Your daily briefing on startup funding news. From seed rounds to Series C and beyond, stay informed on who's raising money and why it matters.
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## Episode Summary In this episode, we cover: - **At TechBBQ, Europe’s AI conversations kept coming back to: Who’s actually in control?** (TechCrunch Venture) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/29/at-techbbq-europes-ai-conversations-kept-coming-back-to-whos-actually-in-control/) --- *Sponsored by Ada, Ago Consulting, and Zen Semiconductor*
## Episode Summary In this episode, we cover: - **Capital F closes $17M debut fund with goal to back the future of the ‘female economy’** (TechCrunch Venture) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/26/capital-f-closes-17m-debut-fund-with-goal-to-back-the-future-of-the-female-economy/) - **Cohere Parse 5 loses the benchmark on points. It wins on cost per page.** (VentureBeat) - [Read more](https://venturebeat.com/data/cohere-parse-5-loses-the-benchmark-on-points-it-wins-on-cost-per-page) - **AI, athletes, and Keith Rabois: StrictlyVC is back in New York on September 10** (TechCrunch Ventu
## Episode Summary In this episode, we cover: - **Craft’s Ilya Levtov Never Learned To Code. He Built A Software Company Anyway.** (Crunchbase News) - [Read more](https://news.crunchbase.com/venture/supply-chain-nontech-founder-ilya-levtov-craft/) - **From the Spotify Mafia to the Lovable Mafia: inside Stockholm’s founder network** (TechCrunch Venture) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/podcast/from-the-spotify-mafia-to-the-lovable-mafia-inside-stockholms-founder-network/) - **Fashion startup Atorie raises $9.5M to bring consumers luxury goods without the markup** (TechCrunch Venture) - [Rea
## Episode Summary In this episode, we cover: - **What’s driving Sweden’s startup boom, from Lovable to Legora ** (TechCrunch Venture) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/video/whats-driving-swedens-startup-boom-from-lovable-to-legora/) - **Startups Are Still Acquiring Startups, Led By Ultra-High-Valuation Unicorns** (Crunchbase News) - [Read more](https://news.crunchbase.com/ma/startup-unicorns-acquisitions-ai-fintech-biotech/) - **Ventures Platform goes bigger — and broader — with its second Africa fund** (TechCrunch Venture) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/26/ventures-platform
## Episode Summary In this episode, we cover: - **Fiat Ventures combines venture and advisory divisions into new brand, raises $35M Fund II** (TechCrunch Venture) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/25/fgv-capital-bets-on-a-new-venture-model-raises-35m-fund-ii/) - **Anthropic’s new Claude Tag update lets its Slack agent read the full conversation — and jump in unprompted** (VentureBeat) - [Read more](https://venturebeat.com/orchestration/anthropics-new-claude-tag-update-lets-its-slack-agent-read-the-full-conversation-and-jump-in-unprompted) - **Doorstep raises $8M seed to help find mi
## Episode Summary In this episode, we cover: - **Hugging Face reportedly in talks to be acquired for $13B** (TechCrunch Venture) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/24/hugging-face-reportedly-in-talks-to-be-acquired-for-13b/) - **Valor, Point72 back General Intuition at $6B valuation as AI startup pushes into robotics** (TechCrunch Venture) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/24/valor-point72-back-general-intuition-at-6b-valuation-as-ai-startup-pushes-into-robotics/) - **Which Investors Have Backed The Most 2026 Unicorns?** (Crunchbase News) - [Read more](https://news.crunch
## Episode Summary In this episode, we cover: - **Early Cerebras investor Adit Singh joins Mayfield as infrastructure partner** (TechCrunch Venture) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/20/early-cerebras-investor-adit-singh-joins-mayfield-as-infrastructure-partner/) - **Will the DOJ’s investigation into a16z spook other VCs?** (TechCrunch Venture) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/22/will-the-dojs-investigation-into-a16z-spook-other-vcs/) - **Amazon backs programmable optics startup Lumotive** (TechCrunch Fundraising) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2025/07/22/amazon-ba
## Episode Summary In this episode, we cover: - **Redwood Materials raises another $350M to power up its energy-storage business** (TechCrunch Fundraising) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/23/redwood-materials-raises-another-350-million-to-power-up-its-energy-storage-business/) - **Moove raises $250M to become the backbone of the robotaxi industry** (TechCrunch Venture) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/05/moove-raises-250m-to-become-the-backbone-of-the-robotaxi-industry/) - **Supabase hit $5B by turning down million-dollar contracts. Here’s why.** (TechCrunch Fundraisin
## Episode Summary In this episode, we cover: - **How AI accounting startup Rillet raised $100M and became a unicorn in 48 hours** (TechCrunch Venture) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/21/how-ai-accounting-startup-rillet-raised-100m-and-became-a-unicorn-in-48-hours/) - **Why Lightspeed is going all-in on creator-led venture capital ** (TechCrunch Venture) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/podcast/why-lightspeed-is-going-all-in-on-creator-led-venture-capital/) - **Why SecurityPal is choosing ‘nuanced capital’ over more VC rounds** (TechCrunch Fundraising) - [Read more](https://te
## Episode Summary In this episode, we cover: - **AI makes weather prediction better. Can WindBorne make it lucrative?** (TechCrunch Venture) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/05/ai-makes-weather-prediction-better-can-windborne-make-it-lucrative/) - **GLM-5.3 hits the API at $1.4/$4.4 per million tokens** (VentureBeat) - [Read more](https://venturebeat.com/technology/glm-5-3-hits-the-api-at-1-4-4-4-per-million-tokens) - **Rillet raises $100M Series C at $1B valuation — 2 years after emerging from stealth** (TechCrunch Venture) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/19/rillet-r
## Episode Summary In this episode, we cover: - **From Humanities To AI: How Ali Hussain Built Fintech Tabs Into A $400M Startup** (Crunchbase News) - [Read more](https://news.crunchbase.com/venture/ai-fintech-startup-tabs-founder-hussain/) - **A year after filing to IPO, still-private Cerebras Systems raises $1.1B** (TechCrunch Fundraising) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2025/09/30/a-year-after-filing-to-ipo-still-private-cerebras-systems-raises-1-1b/) - **VentureBeat names Rob Strechay as its first Lead Analyst, expanding its enterprise AI research push** (VentureBeat) - [Read more](ht
## Episode Summary In this episode, we cover: - **Why Paradigm built a spreadsheet with an AI agent in every cell** (TechCrunch Fundraising) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2025/08/18/why-paradigm-built-a-spreadsheet-with-an-ai-agent-in-every-cell/) - **Smallest.ai raises $13M to build ultra-fast voice AI that sounds genuinely human** (TechCrunch Venture) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/31/smallest-ai-raises-13m-to-build-ultra-fast-voice-ai-that-sounds-genuinely-human/) - **Catalio Capital closes over $400M Fund IV** (TechCrunch Fundraising) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.c
## Episode Summary In this episode, we cover: - **Reach Capital raises $265M Fund V to back AI founders building to ‘expand human potential’** (TechCrunch Venture) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/18/reach-capital-raises-265m-fund-v-to-back-ai-founders-building-to-expand-human-potential/) - **Fresh off its Wiz payout, Index Ventures raises $2B across three funds** (TechCrunch Venture) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/31/fresh-off-its-wiz-payout-index-ventures-raises-2b-across-three-funds/) - **Qwen3.8-27B runs frontier-class coding agents and reasoning locally, no cloud
## Episode Summary In this episode, we cover: - **More than 100 new tech unicorns were minted in 2025 — here they are** (TechCrunch Fundraising) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/12/at-least-36-new-tech-unicorns-were-minted-in-2025-so-far/) - **Semiconductor Giants Are Busy Backing Startups This Year** (Crunchbase News) - [Read more](https://news.crunchbase.com/venture/semiconductor-giants-nvda-intc-backing-ai-robotics-starups-2026/) - **NeoLogic wants to build more energy-efficient CPUs for AI data centers** (TechCrunch Fundraising) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2025/08/13/n
## Episode Summary In this episode, we cover: - **DeepSeek's top-ranked V4 Flash stumbles on real agent tasks as its prices surge** (VentureBeat) - [Read more](https://venturebeat.com/orchestration/deepseeks-top-ranked-v4-flash-stumbles-on-real-agent-tasks-as-its-prices-surge) --- *Sponsored by Ada, Ago Consulting, and Zen Semiconductor*
## Episode Summary In this episode, we cover: - **Thrive’s Joshua Kushner chides Silicon Valley VCs over AI euphoria** (TechCrunch Venture) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/14/thrives-joshua-kushner-chides-silicon-valley-vcs-over-ai-euphoria/) - **The Week’s 10 Biggest Funding Rounds: Data, Neolab, AI Infrastructure, Defense And AI Coding Lead** (Crunchbase News) - [Read more](https://news.crunchbase.com/ai/biggest-funding-rounds-databricks-river-ai-data-energy/) --- *Sponsored by Ada, Ago Consulting, and Zen Semiconductor*
## Episode Summary In this episode, we cover: - **What’s Scaleup Europe, the $5.7B fund that just backed satellite company ICEYE?** (TechCrunch Venture) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/11/whats-scaleup-europe-the-5-7b-fund-that-just-backed-satellite-company-iceye/) - **Accel closes oversubscribed $550M India fund within weeks, 19 months after its last** (TechCrunch Venture) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/11/accel-closes-oversubscribed-550m-india-fund-within-weeks-19-months-after-its-last/) - **Google’s Gemini 3.7 Flash targets coding and agents with a 50% introductor
## Episode Summary In this episode, we cover: - **Exclusive: ClearJet raises $25M to build the ‘Uber of Cargo’** (Crunchbase News) - [Read more](https://news.crunchbase.com/transportation/clearjet-raises-25m-logistics-ai-seriesb/) - **How A Teenage Carpenter Became The Founder Of AI Construction Startup Trunk Tools** (Crunchbase News) - [Read more](https://news.crunchbase.com/venture/carpenter-founder-ai-construction-startup-trunk-tools-buchner/) - **The VC Firm That Helped Build Latin America’s Startup Scene Is Crossing Into Silicon Valley** (Crunchbase News) - [Read more](https://news.crunch
## Episode Summary In this episode, we cover: - **No cloud, no GPUs, no problem: Liquid AI's new model LFM2.5-2.6B brings powerful AI agents to devices as small as a Raspberry Pi** (VentureBeat) - [Read more](https://venturebeat.com/technology/no-cloud-no-gpus-no-problem-liquid-ais-new-model-lfm2-5-2-6b-brings-powerful-ai-agents-to-devices-as-small-as-a-raspberry-pi) - **The Biggest Consequence Of An AI IPO Isn’t The IPO Itself. It’s What Happens Afterward.** (Crunchbase News) - [Read more](https://news.crunchbase.com/public/ai-ipo-results-lp-liquidity-gershfeld-flint/) - **A Marc Benioff-back
## Episode Summary In this episode, we cover: - **VC-backed startups commit more fraud, and researchers think they know why ** (TechCrunch Venture) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/31/vc-backed-startups-commit-more-fraud-and-researchers-think-they-know-why/) - **No Summer Doldrums For Active Startup Investors In July** (Crunchbase News) - [Read more](https://news.crunchbase.com/venture/active-startup-investors-july-2026-khosla-yc-coatue-nvda/) - **Doorstep raises $8M seed to help find missing food deliveries** (TechCrunch Fundraising) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2025/09/25
## Episode Summary In this episode, we cover: - **Lightspeed is building its edge on followers, not just funds** (TechCrunch Venture) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/video/why-lightspeed-is-going-all-in-on-creator-led-venture-capital/) - **Robinhood to list a fund that lets anyone back Y Combinator startups** (TechCrunch Venture) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/05/robinhood-to-list-a-fund-that-lets-anyone-back-y-combinator-startups/) - **The Week’s 10 Biggest Funding Rounds: A Big Week For Big Checks** (Crunchbase News) - [Read more](https://news.crunchbase.com/venture/bigges
## Episode Summary In this episode, we cover: - **Three things veteran planetary health investors look for in a startup** (TechCrunch Fundraising) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2025/07/22/three-things-veteran-planetary-health-investors-look-for-in-a-startup/) - **Meta enters the AI coding wars with Muse Spark 1.2 and Muse Code with persistent async background agents** (VentureBeat) - [Read more](https://venturebeat.com/orchestration/meta-enters-the-ai-coding-wars-with-muse-spark-1-2-and-muse-code-with-persistent-async-background-agents) - **Moove raises $250M to become the backbone of t
## Episode Summary In this episode, we cover: - **Amazon backs programmable optics startup Lumotive** (TechCrunch Fundraising) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2025/07/22/amazon-backs-programmable-optics-startup-lumotive/) - **Why SecurityPal is choosing ‘nuanced capital’ over more VC rounds** (TechCrunch Fundraising) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/podcast/why-securitypal-is-choosing-nuanced-capital-over-more-vc-rounds/) - **A new search engine raises $1.1M to let obsessive fans dive down internet rabbit holes** (TechCrunch Fundraising) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/03
## Episode Summary In this episode, we cover: - **A year after filing to IPO, still-private Cerebras Systems raises $1.1B** (TechCrunch Fundraising) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2025/09/30/a-year-after-filing-to-ipo-still-private-cerebras-systems-raises-1-1b/) - **‘Nobody Wanted to Give A Former Principal Money’: How An Educator Built An Edtech AI Startup With $63M From VCs** (Crunchbase News) - [Read more](https://news.crunchbase.com/venture/educator-built-edtech-startup-ai-magicschool-kahn/) - **AI makes weather prediction better. Can WindBorne make it lucrative?** (TechCrunch Ventur
## Episode Summary In this episode, we cover: - **Catalio Capital closes over $400M Fund IV** (TechCrunch Fundraising) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2025/07/01/catalio-capital-closes-over-400m-fund-iv/) - **Whoop’s valuation just tripled to $10 billion** (TechCrunch Fundraising) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/31/whoop-valuation-10b-series-g-fundraise/) - **AI voice company Hyper raises $6.3M to help automate 911 calls** (TechCrunch Fundraising) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2025/07/21/ai-voice-company-hyper-raises-6-3m-to-help-automate-911-calls/) - **Modelence rais
