AI Companies and Their Shifting Alliances with Defense Sector

This week, the Equity pod gang — which included newcomer Max Zeff, Margaux MacColl, and Kirsten Korosec — noticed an emerging trend: the worlds of AI and defense tech are colliding.

Listen to the full episode to hear about:

• A new fund is in town. And surprise, surprise, Humba Ventures' $40 million fund is focused on deep tech and defense. 
• How enterprise AI startup Cohere is unlike all the other AI startups out there, and why they've been so quiet. Particularly in this new deal with Palantir.
• Dig into the great philosophical question of 2024: is it dumb to IPO in an election year? And, perhaps more importantly, will this IPO dry spell continue in 2025?
• Should founders be cautious of investors with foreign backing?

Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday. Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod. For the full episode transcript, for those who prefer reading over listening, check out our full archive of episodes here.

Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products.

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