TechCrunch Startup News

The ex-Clubhouse, Netflix employees raised $1.65M for an app that combines social media, networking, and dating. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Most startups are looking to solve a problem inside a business, but Bandana, a New York City-based startup has a different goal. It wants to help people at the lower end of the wage scale find better jobs with higher wages and good benefits, all while being closer to home to reduce commuting time Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Los Angeles is notorious for its back-to-back traffic. Three events that promise to bring in millions of spectators from around the world — the 2026 World Cup, the Super Bowl in 2027, and the 2028 Olympics — have LA officials searching for a range of new mobility solutions to address its congestion problems. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The startup's core technology is a proprietary material that absorbs moisture from the air, allowing air conditioning to cool buildings more efficiently. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Slag is the molten runoff created while producing steel in a traditional blast furnace. The material has been prized as greener cement alternative for creating concrete, the Earth’s most abundant human-made material. The runoff is facing supply chain issues, however, as the steel industry looks to greener methods of production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Palmer Luckey-founded defense startup wants to become a serious rival to longstanding kingpins, and has been clocking some big wins. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

New York-based fintech Payoneer has acquired Skuad, a Singapore-based global HR and payroll startup, for $61 million in cash, the company exclusively told TechCrunch.  Payoneer said it could also pay up to another $10 million, contingent on if Skuad meets various performance goals within the first 18 months of the acquisition. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In a sign that big tech companies are ready and willing to shell out cash for database tech, Neon, a startup building an open source alternative to AWS Aurora Postgres, on Wednesday announced that Microsoft’s venture arm M12 led a $25 million strategic investment in its business. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Many industries that rely on legacy energy sources are aiming to electrify or at least streamline their operations, but for countless use cases the tech just isn’t there. H3X is changing the game with electric motors so compact and efficient that the aerospace and marine world — not to mention investors — are taking notice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A startup developing AI market research based on location data, and backed by a who's who, has quietly raised, TechCrunch has learned. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices