OpenAI pushed generative AI into the public consciousness. Now, it could be developing a very different kind of AI device. According to a WSJ report, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told employees Wednesday that the company’s next major product won’t be a wearable. Instead, it will be a compact, screenless device, fully aware of its user’s […]

In an era where hundreds of new venture funds have emerged, only to face a narrowing market as exits prove slippery, Elizabeth Weil’s Scribble Ventures stands out as a case study in the importance of deep networks. Defying a contraction that is sidelining many newcomers, Weil just secured $80 million for Scribble’s third fund, its […]

Monzo, Britain’s biggest digital bank, is still synonymous with its neon debit cards, extensive use of emojis, and free spending abroad. But it’s no longer just trying to be cool; it’s trying to become a major financial institution. That shift, from an upstart fintech beloved by millennials into a mature, sustainable business, is what makes […]

Sonali De Rycker, a general partner at Accel and one of Europe’s most influential venture capitalists, is bullish about the continent’s prospects in AI. But she’s wary of regulatory overreach that could hamstring its momentum. At a TechCrunch StrictlyVC evening earlier this week in London, De Rycker reflected on Europe’s place in the global AI […]

OpenAI is poised to help develop a staggering 5-gigawatt data center campus in Abu Dhabi, positioning the company as a primary anchor tenant in what could become one of the world’s largest AI infrastructure projects, according to a new Bloomberg report. The facility would reportedly span an astonishing 10 square miles and consume power equivalent […]

Nine years ago, AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton sent shock waves through medicine by declaring it “just completely obvious” that AI would make radiologists extinct in short order. Fast-forward and the specialists — who do more than analyze images — are thriving, observes The New York Times. In fact, the field is experiencing explosive growth amid […]

U.S. lawmakers introduced Wednesday the Supersonic Aviation Modernization Act in a bid to revise the FAA’s 52-year ban on supersonic flight over U.S. soil. The bipartisan legislation — introduced by Senator Ted Budd (R-NC), Aviation Subcommittee Chair Troy Nehls (R-TX), and Representative Sharice Davids (D-KS) — would allow supersonic travel, provided no audible sonic boom […]

Robinhood revealed Tuesday that it’s acquiring Canadian crypto leader WonderFi for CA$250 million (around $178.56 million) in an all-cash deal as it pushes into Canada’s growing digital asset market. WonderFi operates two regulated crypto platforms, Bitbuy and Coinsquare, with over CA$2.1 billion in assets under custody. The transaction offers WonderFi shareholders CA$0.36 per share, representing […]

VCs are known to move in herds, which is why Eric Slesinger stands out a bit. While most American investors chase AI startups or U.S.-based defense tech startups, the former CIA officer is hunting for defense tech deals in Europe. In fact, Slesinger, founder of 201 Ventures, recently closed a $22 million fund focused on […]

23andMe, the genetic testing giant once valued in the billions, is now navigating Chapter 11 bankruptcy and notifying millions of current and former customers that they may be eligible to file claims as part of the restructuring process. The company and 11 of its subsidiaries, including Lemonaid Health and LPRXOne, filed for bankruptcy protection on […]

Much of the world isn’t paying close attention to Greece right now. That may be a mistake. Best known for its stunning islands, sun-soaked cities, and deep historical roots, Greece has been quietly laying the foundation for something less expected — a modern, resilient tech economy. While the international spotlight often misses it, something real […]

Whitney Wolfe Herd returned in March to lead Bumble, the dating app she founded and took public, following the unexpected departure of CEO Lidiane Jones. Now, in a New York Times interview, Wolfe Herd opens up about what happened. “I had no intentions of coming back,” Wolfe Herd says. Her post-Bumble life initially brought existential […]

Marathon Venture Capital, a venture firm in Athens that prides itself on being “day one partners to Greek tech partners,” just closed its newest fund with €75 million in capital commitments, according to partner Panos Papadopoulos. The vehicle brings the firm’s total assets under management to €175 million — a meaningful amount for an eight-year-old, […]

Elon Musk may have a sizable fan base, but residents of the upscale Austin suburb of West Lake Hills, Texas, are unimpressed by their celebrity neighbor, reports the New York Times. Instead, a $6 million home Musk purchased in 2022 has become the center of a battle after his team erected an unauthorized 16-foot chain-link […]

Dub, the copy-trading platform that says it’s transforming how Gen Z invests, has secured a $30 million Series A funding round, bringing its total raised to $47 million. The deal, which founder Steven Wang had previously hinted to TechCrunch was in the works, comes a year after its official launch. The 23-year-old Harvard dropout’s platform […]

According to a new, brow-raising WSJ report, Tesla’s board quietly began searching for Elon Musk’s potential successor about a month ago, approaching executive search firms as the carmaker faced protests, plummeting sales, and shrinking profits while Musk waded into Washington to slash government spending. Board members reportedly met with Musk to express concerns about his […]

In Silicon Valley, where the same high-wattage names tend to dominate the headlines, Ali Partovi has long wielded outsized influence despite limited name recognition. The Iranian-born Harvard graduate built an impressive resume early on — joining the founding team of LinkExchange (acquired by Microsoft in 1998 for $265 million), co-founding iLike (sold to MySpace for […]

Julie Wainwright has taken two companies public, an incredible feat by any standard. Yet in her new memoir, Time to Get Real, she offers readers something even more valuable than a kind of victory lap: a look at the messy realities of leadership. Wainwright shares tough truths that many high-achieving CEOs can relate to but […]

Elon Musk’s xAI Holdings is in talks to raise $20 billion in fresh funding, potentially valuing the AI and social media combo at over $120 billion, according to a new Bloomberg report that says talks are in the “early stages.” If successful, the deal would be the second-largest startup funding round ever, behind only OpenAI’s […]

We’re thrilled to announce that Greece’s prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, will be joining us at our upcoming StrictlyVC event in Athens, co-hosted with Endeavor, on Thursday night, May 8, at the stunning Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center. For those who might not be familiar with his background, Mitsotakis brings a fascinating blend of experiences to […]