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Data security startup Cyera rockets to $9B valuation on $400M Series F
New York data security startup Cyera raised a $400M Series F at a $9B valuation just six months after a $6B round, as AI-driven data growth fuels demand for its data security posture management platform.
Itâs Time to Throw Away the Old Go-to-Market Playbook
In TechCrunchâs Build Mode finale, GTMfundâs Paul Irving explains why AI kills old go-to-market playbooks and why focused distribution is the new moat.
Go-to-market strategies for an AI era
In TechCrunchâs Build Mode finale, GTMfundâs Paul Irving lays out why AI makes distribution the last real moatâand how early-stage startups should rethink go-to-market.
EverNitro wants to bring bar-quality nitro coffee to your countertop at CES 2026
EverNitro, a cartridge-free nitro coffee machine shown at CES 2026, pulls 95% pure nitrogen from the air and undercuts rival countertop systems on price.
GTMfund wants AI startups to win on distribution, not features
On TechCrunchâs Build Mode, GTMfund partner Paul Irving argues that in the AI era, distributionânot product featuresâis the last real startup moat.
Grokâs âgood intentâ rule leaves door open to AI-generated child abuse images
xAIâs Grok chatbot tells itself to âassume good intentâ on prompts about girls, even as researchers find AI-generated CSAM and regulators start probing X.
CES 2026 live: Physical AI, robots and AI wearables take over Las Vegas
CES 2026 is all about âphysical AI,â from a 5âminuteâcharge EV battery and Fordâs AI assistant to noteâtaking rings, AI pins, smart TVs and new family tech.
The weirdest CES 2026 gadgets: AI pandas, musical lollipops and ultrasonic knives
From AI baby pandas to musical lollipops and ultrasonic knives, CES 2026âs strangest gadgets show just how weird mainstream consumer tech is getting.
OpenAI acqui-hires the team behind executive coaching startup Convogo
OpenAI is acqui-hiring the team behind executive coaching AI startup Convogo, winding down the product as the co-founders join to work on OpenAIâs AI cloud.
Why one VC says 2026 will be âthe year of the consumerâ
VC Vanessa Larco argues 2026 will be âthe year of the consumer,â as AI shifts from enterprise to concierge-like services, social media trust collapses, and voice tech matures.
Former Bolt CEOâs AI commerce startup Spangle hits $100M valuation with tiny team of six
Spangle, the AI commerce startup led by former Bolt CEO Maju Kuruvilla, raised a $15M Series A at a $100M valuation as brands like Revolve, Alexander Wang and Steve Madden use its ProductGPT engine to personalize storefronts in real time.
LinkedIn banned hyped AI startup Artisan. Two weeks later, itâs back.
LinkedIn briefly banned buzzy AI sales-agent startup Artisan over branding and data-scraping concerns. After two weeks of talks, the Y Combinator alum is back on the platform.
Shopify rival Swap Commerce lands new 100M dollars just six months after 40M round
Swap Commerce, a London- and New York-based Shopify rival, has raised 100 million dollars just six months after a 40 million dollar Series B led by Iconiq, with DST Global joining the round.
CES 2026: Nvidia digs into construction with Caterpillar as AI wearables and robotaxis crowd the floor
From Caterpillarâs Nvidia-powered excavator to Motorolaâs AI pin and Waymoâs robotaxis, hereâs whatâs actually happening on day two of CES 2026.
Anthropic reportedly chasing $10B round at skyâhigh $350B valuation
Anthropic is reportedly raising $10B at a $350B valuation, nearly doubling its worth in three months, in a round led by Coatue and GIC and separate from its $15B NvidiaâMicrosoft deal.
VCs see room for consumer AI startups, even in OpenAIâs shadow
VC Vanessa Larco explains on TechCrunchâs Equity where consumer AI startups can still win in 2026, even as OpenAI and Meta AI dominate.
VC Vanessa Larco bets 2026 will be the year of consumer AI
Premise partner Vanessa Larco explains why 2026 will be the year of consumer AI, which products OpenAI wonât want to kill, and where startups still have room to play.
Quiltâs data-driven heat pump cracks HVACâs hardest problem
Quiltâs new threeâzone heat pump uses a bigger coil, smaller compressor and realâworld data from 1,000 units to stay efficient at low speeds and â25 °C.
Intel spinout Articul8 raises more than half of $70M Series B at $500M valuation
Intel spinout Articul8 has raised more than half of a planned $70M Series B at a $500M valuation, as the enterprise AI company leans into regulated industries.
McKinsey and General Catalyst say the âlearn once, work foreverâ career is dead
At CES 2026, McKinsey and General Catalyst leaders said AI is killing the âlearn once, work foreverâ model and forcing lifelong re-skilling.
LMArena rockets to $1.7B valuation just four months after product debut
UC Berkeley spinout LMArena hits a $1.7B valuation with a $150M Series A, just four months after launching its AI model evaluation product.
The strangest CES 2026 gadgets: AI pandas, musical lollipops and more
From Razerâs holographic anime assistant to an AI ice maker, ultrasonic knife and musical lollipops, CES 2026 is packed with bizarre new gadgets.
CES 2026 opens: AI, robots and the compute arms race
On CES 2026âs first official day in Las Vegas, AMD, Nvidia and a swarm of robots show how the AI boom is colliding with hardware, from PCs to robotaxis.
X says users, not Grok, are responsible for AIâgenerated child abuse images
Xâs first response to Grokâs sexualized images of minors blames users for prompting illegal content, offers no new safeguards, and raises App Store questions.
CES 2026 kicks off early with AI speakers, smarter ice makers, and a BlackBerry-style comeback
CES 2026 is already buzzing in Las Vegas with AI-powered speakers, quieter ice makers, a BlackBerry-style phone, and a rebooted Pebble smartwatch.
Twitter and Pinterest founders raise $29M for âintentionalâ social app Tangle
Twitterâs Biz Stone and Pinterestâs Evan Sharp raised $29M for West Co and its first app Tangle, an invite-only âintentionalâ social network.
How AI Is Reshaping Work â And Who Gets to Do It, According to Mercorâs CEO
Mercor, a three-year-old startup now valued at $10B, pays ex-Goldman, McKinsey and top law-firm talent up to $200/hour to train AI â and reshape who gets white-collar work.
16 logistics and manufacturing startups to watch from Disruptâs Startup Battlefield 200
From railyards to mushroom leather, meet 16 logistics, manufacturing and materials startups from TechCrunchâs Startup Battlefield 200 pushing AI, robotics and new materials.
xAI stays silent as Grok admits generating sexualized AI images of minors
xAIâs Grok chatbot admitted generating sexualized AI images of minors that may be illegal CSAM, as Elon Muskâs company stays publicly silent amid legal risks.
Inside Nvidiaâs AI Startup Empire: Where the Billions Are Going
Nvidia has turned the AI boom into a $4.6T empire and a sprawling startup portfolio. Hereâs where it has written its biggest checks since 2023.
Arya.ag raises $81M as crop prices fall â and keeps making money
Indian agritech Arya.ag has raised $81M in Series D from GEF Capital, stayed profitable and kept NPAs below 0.5% even as global crop prices fall.
Fizz CEO on why anonymous social is winning Gen Zâs campus time
Fizz CEO Teddy Solomon explains why a hybrid anonymous, hyperlocal model is turning the app into what he calls âthe biggest college social app since Facebookâ for Gen Z campuses.
6 media and entertainment startups to watch from Disruptâs Startup Battlefield
From fan-backed music royalties to AI-assisted storytelling, meet six media and entertainment startups reshaping the future from Disruptâs Startup Battlefield.
Why âcollege dropoutâ is suddenly a hot startup credential again
Amid the AI boom, âcollege dropoutâ is turning into a prized startup founder credential at YC and beyond. But many VCs say the diploma still isnât the real signal.
How to make your startup stand out, according to VCs actually writing the checks
Three VCs at TechCrunch Disrupt break down what actually makes a startup pitch stand out: less AI hype, more market size, founder edge and real traction.
32 Enterprise Startups That Stood Out at TechCrunch Disruptâs Startup Battlefield
From AI auditors to âShopify for science,â here are the 32 enterprise startups that made TechCrunchâs 2025 Startup Battlefield 200 â and why they stood out.
China drafts ultra-strict AI chatbot rules to stop suicide and emotional manipulation
China has drafted what could be the worldâs strictest AI chatbot rules, forcing human intervention on suicide mentions, banning addiction-by-design, and mandating safety audits.
VCs are betting â again â that 2026 is the year enterprise AI finally delivers
24 enterprise VCs say 2026 is finally the year AI delivers real value at work, with budgets rising, vendors consolidating and agents moving from demo to âcoworker.â
VCs say 2026 will be the year enterprises double down on AI â and cut vendors
VCs tell TechCrunch they expect enterprises to boost AI budgets in 2026 while consolidating around fewer vendors, with spend flowing to safety, data and proven ROI.
Tade Oyerinde and Teddy Solomon on building users who actually stick around
At TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, Campus founder Tade Oyerinde and Fizz co-founder Teddy Solomon explained how they scale their edtech and social apps while keeping users deeply engaged â from Pell Grant-backed degrees to campus marketplaces and ad-driven monetization.
Fizz CEO on why anonymous social is winning with Gen Z
Fizz CEO Teddy Solomon explains why anonymous, hyperlocal social is resonating with Gen Z, how 7,000 student moderators keep it safe, and what âGlobal Fizzâ means.
Government and legal tech shine in TechCrunchâs Startup Battlefield 200
From AI-powered divorce intake to robots for disaster response and wildfire prevention, these Startup Battlefield 200 teams push government and legal tech forward.
The dumbest things that happened in tech this year
From Mark Zuckerberg suing Mark Zuckerberg to a $599 AI toilet camera that wasnât really encrypted, these were the dumbest tech stories of 2025.
Every fusion startup that has raised over $100M
From Commonwealth Fusion Systems to Helion and Marvel Fusion, here are all the fusion startups that have raised over $100M, and how each one plans to power the grid.
Sonos veteran Maxime BouvatâMerlin takes over Sauron, the ultraâpremium home security startup still in the lab
Former Sonos CPO Maxime âMaxâ BouvatâMerlin is now CEO of Sauron, the $18Mâbacked ultraâpremium home security startup that has delayed launch to late 2026.
26 standout consumer and edtech startups from Disruptâs Startup Battlefield 200
A quick tour of 26 standout consumer and edtech startups from TechCrunch Disruptâs Startup Battlefield 200 in 2025, from AI tutors to scam-fighting apps.
The 33 top health and wellness startups from Disruptâs Startup Battlefield
From brain implants to AI cancer-sniffing dogs, these are the 33 health and wellness startups that made TechCrunch Disruptâs Startup Battlefield 200 cut.
76 European deep tech spinouts hit unicorn or centaur status as VC swings back to universities
Dealroom counts 76 European deep tech and life sciences spinouts worth $398B, raising about $9.1B in 2025 even as overall VC funding in Europe halves.
Breaking: OpenAI Announces New Enterprise Features
OpenAI rolls out enhanced security and compliance tools for enterprise customers.