TechCrunch Startup News

Riverside has successfully secured $30 million in Series C funding, aiming to boost its podcast and video recording platform. The investment, led by Zeev Ventures, will support team expansion and the development of innovative solutions for content creators. Since its launch in 2020, Riverside has evolved significantly, focusing on enhancing user experience and solidifying its position in the competitive content creation landscape.

Matthew Berman, Co-founder and CEO of Connyct, shares insights about his new social media app tailored for college students. He discusses how Connyct aims to fill the void potentially left by TikTok with features like personalized content feeds and direct messaging. Berman highlights the app’s focus on user safety and engagement, along with a unique ambassador program that allows students to monetize their content. Discover how this innovative platform is designed to resonate with the campus crowd.

Ladder, an Austin, Texas-based fitness startup that makes a popular strength-training app, is accusing Peloton of ripping off its work with the launch of Peloton’s new Stength+ app, which exited beta on Wednesday. After receiving feedback from Peloton’s beta testers that the app looked, felt, and functioned much like Ladder’s own. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Turning sunflower seeds into sustainable, cocoa-free chocolate has netted Munich-based B2B foodtech startup Planet A Foods (formerly QOA) a $30 million Series B funding round. Now, the Y Combinator alum is gearing up for industrialization, with the funds set to be deployed to scale its production capacity by around 7.5x Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stephen Mee, Co-founder and CEO of Across AI, discusses the innovative potential of AI agents beyond traditional chatbots. He reveals how his startup is developing a dynamic memory system to enhance enterprise workflows, helping sales teams identify opportunities and minimize risks. Mee also shares insights into the upcoming launch in 2025, emphasizing the importance of data security and efficient access to critical information. His vision is to revolutionize enterprise data management with agentic memory.

The overarching promise of companies working on AI-powered productivity tools is to build solutions that would do a task for you. Some of the early demos that we have seen don’t really fare well in fulfilling those promises. A to-do list app called Twos is approaching this problem differently. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this hyperconnected world we live in, it’s easier than ever to send feedback to the companies we patronize. But just because businesses offer more ways to get in touch doesn’t mean they’re poring over every comment. According to a 2020 survey from Productboard, 90% of companies fail to successfully capture feedback from all channels. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A new company is emerging from stealth today with backing from Google’s AI-focused venture fund to help businesses compile their open-source AI infrastructure and reduce their engineering overheads. Cake integrates and secures more than 100 components for enterprises. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Yurts has secured an impressive $40 million in funding to develop AI solutions for the Department of Defense. The discussion includes the inspiring journey of a military veteran who launched an AI integration platform tailored for high-security clients. Listeners will gain insight into the complexities of securing funding and navigating the competitive enterprise AI landscape. The ambitions surrounding artificial intelligence in military applications are explored, highlighting how innovation meets national security needs.

The podcast dives into the alarming rise of cancer among younger adults and the staggering failure rates of new drug compounds in clinical trials. Fanny Jaulin discusses the need for innovative trial designs to improve outcomes. It highlights how a startup is leveraging AI to revolutionize drug discovery by tailoring treatments to individual patient profiles, particularly for colorectal and pancreatic cancers. Their recent funding successes signal a promising advance in the realm of precision medicine.