TechCrunch Startup News
TechCrunch
Listen to select TechCrunch articles on startups coverage—who's raising, who's exiting, who's changing the world.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Oct 15, 2018 • 4min
With $50M in fresh funding, Allbirds will open new stores in the US, UK and Asia
With $50M in fresh funding, Allbirds will open new stores in the US, UK and Asia The quintessential venture capitalist’s uniform consists of a pair of designer jeans, a Patagonia fleece vest and $95 wool sneakers. The company behind the shoes, Allbirds, entered the unicorn club this morning with the announcement of a $50 million Series C from late-stage players T. Rowe Price, which led the round, Tiger Global and Fidelity Investments. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Oct 12, 2018 • 4min
Jennifer Garner’s baby food company Once Upon a Farm raises $20M Series B
CAVU Venture Partners has led the $20 million Series B for Once Upon a Farm, which sells organic, cold-pressed baby food in 8,500 grocery stores in the U.S. The Berkeley-based startup was originally founded in 2015 by serial entrepreneurs Rohan Oza and Clayton Christopher. Today, it lists actress Jennifer Garner and former General Mills presidentJohn Foraker as co-founders, too. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Oct 12, 2018 • 4min
YC-grad Papa raises $2.4M for its ‘grandkids-on-demand’ service
One of the latest additions to the on-demand economy is Papa, a mobile app that connects college students with adults over 60 in need of support and companionship. The recent graduate of Y Combinator’s accelerator program has raised a $2.4 million round of funding to expand its service throughout Florida and to five additional states next year, beginning with Pennsylvania. Initialized Capital led the round, with participation from Sound Ventures. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Oct 11, 2018 • 5min
Tim Berners-Lee is on a mission to decentralize the web
“I’ve always believed the web is for everyone,” wrote Tim Berners-Lee, the well-known (and knighted) creator of the World Wide Web. “The web has evolved into an engine of inequity and division; swayed by powerful forces who use it for their own agendas,” he added. “Today, I believe we’ve reached a critical tipping point, and that powerful change for the better is possible — and necessary. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Oct 11, 2018 • 8min
The Wing, a co-working space for women, opens its doors in San Francisco
Women-focused co-working space The Wing has made its way to California, opening its first of two planned locations in the state this morning. On Sansome Street in San Francisco’s Financial District, The Wing hopes to attract professional women able to shell out $215 per month for access to its 8,000-square-foot workspace, which is complete with conference rooms, a cafe, a library stocked with books on feminist theory, a lactation room and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Oct 10, 2018 • 5min
SoftBank is considering taking a majority stake in WeWork
SoftBank may soon own up to 50 percent of WeWork, a well-funded provider of co-working spaces headquartered in New York, according to a new report from The Wall Street Journal. SoftBank is reportedly weighing an investment between $15 billion and $20 billion, which would come from its $92 billion Vision Fund, a super-sized venture fund led by Japanese entrepreneur and investor Masayoshi Son. WeWork declined to comment. SoftBank already owns some 20 percent of WeWork. The firm invested $4. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Oct 10, 2018 • 4min
Venture capital investment in US companies to hit $100B in 2018
So many new unicorns valued at $1 billion-plus, countless$100 million venture financings, an explosion of giant funds— it’s no surprise 2018 is shaping up to be a banner year for venture capital investment in U.S.-based companies. There are more than 2.5 months remaining in 2018 and already U.S. companies have raised $84.1 billion — more than all of 2017 — across 6,583 VC deals as of Sept. 30, 2018, according to data from PitchBook’s 3Q Venture Monitor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Oct 9, 2018 • 12min
SoundCloud finally lets more musicians monetize four years later
SoundCloud moves painfully slow for a tech company, and no one feels that pain more than musicians who are popular on the site but don’t get paid. 10 years since SoundCloud first launched, and four years since it opened an invite-only program allowing just the very biggest artists to earn a cut of the ad and premium subscription revenue generated by their listeners, SoundCloud is rolling out monetization. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Oct 9, 2018 • 5min
Faraday Future investor Evergrande Health now says the troubled startup is trying to back out of deal
Faraday Future investor Evergrande Health now says the troubled startup is trying to back out of deal Evergrande Health, the investor that bailed out besieged electric vehicle startup Faraday Future in a deal worth $2 billion this summer, is now accusing it ofattempting to break an agreement it made with previous backer Season Smart. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Oct 8, 2018 • 8min
RankScience closes $1.8M seed — and now only wants to replace human SEO staff if you don’t have any
RankScience closes $1.8M seed — and now only wants to replace human SEO staff if you don’t have any A couple of years ago YC-backed RankScience, which offers AI-enhanced SEO split-testing, put a few SEO experts’ noses out of joint when the fledgling startup brashly talked about replacing human expertise with automation. Two years on its pitch has mellowed, with the team saying their self-service platform is “augmenting human SEO ability rather than replacing them”. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
