Equity – Details, episodes & analysis

How can founders scale frontier tech? Today on Equity, Rebecca Bellan is finding out with Tom Biegala and Ben Hemani, the co-founders of early-stage venture firm, Bison. Bison invests in what they call 'frontier tech' companies building in the material science, robotics, biotech, climate, and sustainability verticals. Listen to the full episode to hear Rebecca and Bison's founding team discuss: Why AI isn't a 'silver bullet' for biotech companies, although it is central to modern drug discovery Which robotics startups are catching investors' eyes How - and how not - to find product-market-fit when building frontier technology When to seek out venture funding over grant funding Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod. For the full episode transcript, for those who prefer reading over listening, check out our full archive of episodes on TechCrunch. Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We hope those of you in the U.S. had a Happy Thanksgiving! And as a holiday treat this week, Equity is bringing you an episode of our sister show, Found.  AI startups are everywhere, but there can't be any innovation without proper computing power. Found hosts Becca and Dom sat down with Gavin Uberti, co-founder and CEO of Etched, an AI chip startup focusing on developing specialized chips. Gavin shares the bold bet his startup is making on transformer models for AI chips, aiming to take on industry giant Nvidia. They discuss how Etched is developing specialized chips that they claim will be an order of magnitude faster than competitors, and Uberti shares his insights on the future of AI hardware as models continue to rapidly scale up in size and capability. Found posts every Tuesday. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts to be alerted when new episodes drop. Check out the other TechCrunch podcast: Equity . Subscribe to Found to hear more stories from founders each week. Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Equity crew was live at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024! Hosts Kirsten Korosec, Devin Coldewey and Margaux MacColl took over the Builders Stage to kick off day 2 of Disrupt with no shortage of conference highlights, startups deals and venture news to chew through. Listen to the full episode to hear about: Devin’s plans to go to space thanks to his chat with Rocket Lab Founder Peter Beck. What Sierra, the AI startup co-founded by Bret Taylor, plans to do with its fresh $175 million funds. Waymo’s who’s who of Silicon Valley round, and why Kirsten’s routing for the robotaxis over the competition. How General Catalyst is breaking down its latest fund and setting its sights on European startups. Equity will be back with a special interview episode on Friday, so stay tuned! Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday.  Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod. For the full episode transcript, for those who prefer reading over listening, check out our full archive of episodes over at Simplecast. Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today on the pod, Mary Ann and Alex dug into a whole mess of news, including: Mews' massive new round is proof that vertical SaaS + payments remains a great way to build a big business, and earn a unicorn valuation at a time when those are growing rarer. The global companies taking on Carta, including QuotaLab in South Korea. An acquisition has helped QuotaLab expand its product remit to founders, investors and their LPs. Deel's purchase of Africa’s PaySpace got us talking about how acquisitive the HRtech company has been lately. We also dug into news that Deel crossed the $500 million ARR mark, a feat that other companies in its market have managed, like Gusto. (Remofirst also raised more capital, showing just how competitive Deel's market is today.) Venture capital musical chairs: One Founders Fund investor has left the firm to go back to building things, while Benchmark lost a partner to their prior home at Thrive. Expect more, similar moves this year as venture resets from its last boom. We have an interview coming out tomorrow that we're stoked about, and will be back on Monday. Talk soon! For episode transcripts and more, head to Equity’s Simplecast website. Equity drops at 7 a.m. PT every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. TechCrunch also has a great show on crypto, a show that interviews founders and more! Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is our Wednesday show, focused on startup and venture capital news that matters. If you are a founder or an investor, this one is for you! Here’s the day’s rundown: OpenAI fires back at Musk: In the wake of a lawsuit from former backer Elon Musk, OpenAI is bringing receipts and an argument that Musk wanted to run the company’s for-profit arm. Hard to argue against something that you wanted to run, yeah? Monzo raises megaround: Monzo’s latest round is proof that the worst of the fintech slump is behind us. All eyes on Ema: With $25 million and a launch from stealth, Ema’s work to bring AI to the enterprise is notable. But in such a crowded market, are many startups aiming too high on the stack? Accenture buys Udacity: The former unicorn’s final resting place is not what it had dreamed of before, but this deal does bring welcome liquidity to at least one venture-backed startup. A climate boost? An upcoming regulatory choice could unlock a massive wave of demand for carbon-tracking startups. And the latest from OpenView: The Information reports that OpenView is returning most of its latest fund to backers. A weird and slightly sad final chapter for the firm. For episode transcripts and more, head to Equity’s Simplecast website. Equity drops at 7 a.m. PT every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. TechCrunch also has a great show on crypto, a show that interviews founders and more! Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is our Monday show, in which we take a look back at the weekend and what’s ahead in the week. Over the weekend we had a great chat with Nubank’s CEO, which you can find here. Ok, onto the show notes! Stocks and Crypto: With some indices reaching fresh record highs, the good times are also rolling along in crypto where token prices are also on the ascent. Apple and the EU: Apple has been hit by a massive fine in the EU, which it intends to appeal. Spotify, which was the progenitor of the complaint, hailed the choice. New AI rules in India: The Indian government has a new tune when it comes to AI regulation. Big tech companies are now going to need its nod to launch models in the country, which could shake up how quickly new €1.84BN artificial intelligence products reach the massive market. Self-driving wins: Waymo is able to charge for its self-driving service in more markets, and can now do airport runs in San Francisco for a fee. I cannot wait to try this out. Other key news: Salla raised a huge pre-IPO round, and with the market improving, why aren’t folks in tech walking with more swagger? We are back Wednesday, see you then! For episode transcripts and more, head to Equity’s Simplecast website. Equity drops at 7 a.m. PT every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. TechCrunch also has a great show on crypto, a show that interviews founders and more! Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Mary Ann talked to  David Vélez, the co-founder and CEO of Nubank, the $50 billion São Paulo, Brazil-based digital bank that offers credit cards, checking accounts and life insurance to consumers. How Nubank has managed to increase its market cap by over 40% in eight months’ time. Why some investors are sticking it out in LatAm, and why it’s a great place to still put venture dollars. Which startups in LatAm have been the most resilient and what other regions can learn from them. All right, sit back, hit play and have some fun with us. Equity will be back next Tuesday due to a U.S. holiday on Monday. See you then! For episode transcripts and more, head to Equity’s Simplecast website. Equity drops at 7 a.m. PT every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. TechCrunch also has a great show on crypto, a show that interviews founders and more! Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here’s what Mary Ann and Alex got into: Stripe’s valuation recovers: As part of a tender offer, Stripe is now worth $65 billion. The company’s valuation has been on an up-and-down path in recent years as the company works to make its massive bulk fit into the private markets. Alex has thoughts on when it should go public, as you might imagine. Fervo Energy’s $200M+ round: What if the solution to our energy problems was not in the stars, but beneath our feet? And no, I am not talking about carbon-based fuels. No, instead, what if geothermal energy is what we’ve been waiting for? Fervo wants to make that question into a reality. Why VCs are investing in companies that shut down companies: With more startups than usual heading for closure, there’s a mountain of work ahead for founders and backers to shutter companies. Now some angels and other investors are putting their own capital into several companies that specialize in helping other firms close. Grim, but necessary. AI and the law: Microsoft’s move to invest in French AI company Mistral is not a bad way to spread its bets. Or to potentially fend of regulatory scrutiny that is building. AI in general is having a bit of a time sorting out rights — or lack thereof — that some training data may retain. Coming up this weekend we have an interview with Nubank’s CEO, and we have another great interview planned for the weekend after! Chat soon! For episode transcripts and more, head to Equity’s Simplecast website. Equity drops at 7 a.m. PT every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. TechCrunch also has a great show on crypto, a show that interviews founders and more! Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is our Wednesday show, focused on startup and venture capital news that matters. We pull the top stories from the week thus far, and give them the Equity treatment to put them into proper context. On the show today: Microsoft invests in Mistral AI: Sure, it's not the biggest check, but as regulatory oversight hovers over Microsoft's shoulder, the deal makes sense. Thrasio files for bankruptcy: What happens if you raise billions to pursue a market opportunity, but the market shifts under your feet? Glean raises $200M: It turns out that you can raise mega rounds in 2024, you just need to work in enterprise AI, have a few hundred customers, and collect checks from a host of VCs at once. And on the venture side of things: COTU Ventures has put together a $54 million fund, while Zacua Ventures has put together a $56 million vehicle. For episode transcripts and more, head to Equity’s Simplecast website. Equity drops at 7 a.m. PT every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. TechCrunch also has a great show on crypto, a show that interviews founders and more! Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is our Monday show, which looks back at the weekend and ahead to the week. We are back bright and early this week, but we also had an extra episode this weekend digging into the Reddit IPO; you can find that here. On the pod this morning, here’s what we got into: Stocks are mixed around the world as crypto prices gyrate; it’s a big earnings week including data from Workday, Zoom, Unity, Coupang, Klaviyo, Salesforce, Snowflake, Okta, and Duolingo among other names. Google, and its work to bring Gemini to a host of hardware endpoints. How U.S-.based venture capitalists are taking on the European market — or not. Interview Kickstart is the latest startup to self-fund for a long time before taking on venture capital. In its case that meant a $10 million round. And to close, who is the CEO of Byju’s? For episode transcripts and more, head to Equity’s Simplecast website. Equity drops at 7 a.m. PT every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. TechCrunch also has a great show on crypto, a show that interviews founders and more! Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices