From cybersecurity and aerospace to generative 3D, startup leaders are scaling ambitious companies from European soil and taking on global markets. In this conversation at the StrictlyVC event in Athens, we talked to three founders about what it takes to go from idea to impact while navigating the continent’s unique challenges — and why building […]

John Tsioris sold Instashop to Delivery Hero for $360 million. Nate Clarke took Tyme from startup to global digital bank. In this candid conversation at the StrictlyVC event in Athens, the two entrepreneurs open up about what drives them, how they’re choosing their next bets, and why they’re investing in ecosystems that others overlook.

Manus AI is one of the hottest AI agent startups around, recently raising $75 million at a half-billion-dollar valuation in a round led by Benchmark. But two unnamed sources told Semafor that the investment is now under review by the U.S. Treasury Department over its compliance with 2023 restrictions on investing in Chinese companies. Benchmark’s […]

Google I/O, Google’s biggest developer conference of the year, is nearly upon us. Scheduled for May 20 to 21 at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, I/O will showcase product announcements from across Google’s portfolio. Expect plenty of news relating to Android, Chrome, Google Search, YouTube, and — of course — Google’s AI-powered chatbot, Gemini. Here’s […]

For millions of moviegoers in the ’90s, Moviefone’s 777-FILM number was the go-to source for learning about showtimes. Now, under new ownership, Moviefone is trying to make a comeback. On Friday, as part of its 35th anniversary celebration, Moviefone announced the relaunch of its mobile app and a new nationally syndicated broadcast TV series. Set […]

Several of Greece’s region’s most active early-stage investors joined StrictlyVC and TechCrunch at our event in Athens to share where they’re placing bets, how founder expectations are shifting, and why Europe’s next wave might be its strongest yet. The conversation explores everything, like emerging ecosystems, cross-border growth, and what it takes to win deals in […]

The U.S. Department of Labor has dropped its investigation into Scale AI’s compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), according to a source directly familiar with the matter.  The FLSA is a federal law that regulates misclassification of employees as independent contractors and unpaid wages. TechCrunch first reported that Scale was the subject of […]

Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has an inside look at how the country is positioning itself as a refreshed hub for innovation, investment, and participation from the world’s technology industry. During a StrictlyVC event in Athens, Mitsotakis explored everything from policy changes to new global partnerships, as well as what’s behind Greece’s tech momentum. He […]

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. Sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility! Remember last week when Aurora met a major milestone — just squeaking by under its own deadline — and launched a driverless self-driving truck service? Welp, this […]

Fortnite maker Epic Games and Spotify are testing Apple’s new App Store policies by submitting apps for review that would have previously never been allowed. On Friday, both companies submitted new versions of their respective apps to Apple’s App Review. For Epic Games, it would mean the return of Fortnite to the App Store. Apple […]

For the first time, the FDA has just approved a device that lets people screen for cervical cancer from home. Known as the Teal Wand, from the company Teal Health, the prescription device lets patients self-collect samples and mail them to a lab to receive the same testing as would be done at a doctor’s […]

U.S. authorities indicted three Russians and one Kazakhstan national for hacking and selling access to a botnet made of vulnerable internet-connected devices.

SoundCloud appears to have quietly changed its terms of use to allow the company to train AI on audio that users upload to its platform. As spotted by tech ethicist Ed Newton-Rex, the latest version of SoundCloud’s terms include a provision giving the platform permission to use uploaded content to “inform, train, [or] develop” AI. […]

Welcome to Startups Weekly — your weekly recap of everything you can’t miss from the world of startups. Want it in your inbox every Friday? Sign up here. This week was busy for startups: While there were no IPOs of note, there were other exits and even unusual liquidity events, as well as a significant […]

HR tech startup Rippling has raised a $450 million Series G round at a $16.8 billion valuation, the company confirmed to TechCrunch. It is also conducting a $200 million tender offer to give current and former employees some liquidity. The equity raise marks a big jump in valuation from a year ago. In April 2024, […]

Microsoft Build, Microsoft’s biggest event of the year, is on the horizon. It’s scheduled to start May 19 at the Seattle Convention Center, and it’ll run through May 22. The keynote address featuring Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and CTO Kevin Scott will take place May 19 at 9:05 a.m. PT. That’ll be followed by a […]

Google is promising to add at least 600 megawatts of generating capacity at each of the three sites.

Data center operator CoreWeave is reportedly seeking a $1.5 billion debt deal after a disappointing IPO. According to the Financial Times, CoreWeave is holding a roadshow this week with bankers at JPMorgan for debt options. The company’s executives intend to use the meetings to gauge investor interest. New Jersey-based CoreWeave listed its shares in March, […]

Updated 7:50 a.m. Pacific: About an hour after this article was published, notifications began working for me again. Your mileage may vary. The original story follows: Sometime Thursday night, timelines stopped updating for a number of users on X, the social network owned by billionaire Elon Musk. Many users report that their notifications stopped working […]

Apple is reportedly developing new chips to drive smart glasses similar to Meta’s Ray-Ban Meta as well as more powerful Macs and AI servers. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman notes that one of the chips is inspired by the Apple Watch’s low-power processors. Apple aims to put these chips into mass production with TSMC by the end […]