TechCrunch Startup News

The prediction betting market is booming, with Kalshi's valuation soaring to $11 billion after a $1 billion funding round led by Sequoia and CapitalG. The surge in trading volume hit an astonishing $50 billion annually, compared to just $300 million last year. Meanwhile, Point One Navigation is making waves with its centimeter-level positioning technology, expanding its reach beyond cars to drones and wearables. With ambitions for indoor navigation, they’re set to revolutionize multiple industries.

Tiffany Kelly has stepped down as the CEO of Curastory amid SEC allegations of overstating revenue. Dave Dickman, previous CEO of Tagger, takes the helm with plans to navigate the company's future. The settlement bars Kelly from fundraising roles for a decade. Curastory, a creator monetization platform, is poised for growth despite recent challenges. Dickman emphasizes resolving issues and expanding further, including incorporating AI features and enhancing attribution. A transformative change is set for Curastory's leadership and strategy.

Explore how Cavela is transforming supplier sourcing with AI, offering brands a way to navigate new tariffs and save costs with claims of 35% savings. Discover Function Health's ambitious mission to streamline health tracking through an AI-driven lab service, bolstered by a recent $298 million funding round. They focus on creating personalized health insights, utilizing a doctor-trained AI and strict data privacy measures, while boasting impressive scalability with 50 million lab tests conducted since 2023.

Discover how OnePot AI aims to revolutionize drug discovery by tackling the synthesis bottleneck that often halts promising ideas. Founders Daniil Boyko and Andre Tiran launched the venture to create a seamless process for making new molecules, likening it to assembling a complex puzzle. They raised $13 million to compress synthesis timelines from months to just days. OnePot's innovative approach integrates advanced AI and meticulous data recording to ensure reproducibility, while addressing supply chain challenges in the U.S. biotech landscape.

Boop's innovative app transforms travel planning by offering itineraries crafted by real travelers, not just AI. Founder Nancy Lee Smith shares how her need for easy trip sharing sparked the idea. The app aims to alleviate the emotional labor of planning, especially for women. It passively collects trip data, enabling users to personalize shared itineraries with AI. With a focus on privacy, Boop also provides contextual recommendations while traveling, and creators can monetize their itineraries through affiliate partnerships.

Peec AI has raised $21M, tripling its valuation as it navigates the changing landscape where consumers prefer ChatGPT over Google for product discovery. With impressive analytics on brand visibility in AI search, Peec AI is rapidly expanding, adding 300 customers monthly and launching new offices. The startup's unique dashboard focuses on prompts rather than keywords, offering actionable insights to enhance visibility. Interestingly, headlines shaped like user queries can outperform major media outlets in AI searches, showcasing the evolving dynamics of digital visibility.

Luminal just secured $5.3 million to enhance GPU optimization, focusing on compiler advancements to challenge NVIDIA's dominance. Meanwhile, Sakana AI raised a whopping $135 million, now valued at $2.65 billion, to create specialized AI models tailored for the Japanese market. This startup aims to extend its reach across various sectors, emphasizing the significance of culturally resonant AI. As the competition heats up, these innovative companies showcase the evolving landscape of technology and regional AI solutions!

Jeff Bezos is making a comeback in the tech world by co-leading a new AI startup, Project Prometheus, which has secured a staggering $6.2 billion in funding. Meanwhile, South Korean startup Bone AI is making strides in defense robotics, blending AI with manufacturing to create advanced UAVs and UGVs. With a $12 million seed round and a strategic focus on defense contracts, Bone aims to fill the gap in Asia's defense robotics industry. Both ventures highlight a growing trend in AI’s role in physical and defense-centric industries.

An Israeli startup has raised $10 million to measure how AI tools impact engineering metrics like code quality. Founders Liad Elodin and Prof. Stephen Barrett share their journey and the challenges they identified in coding visibility. Milestone's unique data lake strategy leverages insights from project management and team dynamics to track AI's effectiveness. The discussion also dives into the evolving role of engineers as AI transforms workflows, alongside their focus on serving enterprise clients for clearer roadmaps.

A solar-thermal startup is on a mission to deliver electricity for just one cent per kWh. Their innovative P3 unit features lenses and a Stirling engine for continuous power generation. With a 10 million unit backlog and ambitious scaling plans, they're targeting a production of one million units annually. By harnessing thermal storage, they aim for efficiency that beats traditional solar methods. Discover how their approach to concentrated solar thermal technology could revolutionize energy for AI data centers!