Venture Capital News | TechCrunch

Faber launches third VC fund with $34M first close, aims for $64M

Mike Butcher — Wed, 06 Nov 2024 13:36:31 +0000

The startup ecosystem in the Iberian Peninsula — the region encompassing Spain and Portugal — has been on a roll the last couple of years. The value of Spanish startups surpassed €100 billion in 2023, according to Dealroom data, with venture investment of €2.2 billion across some 850 rounds. Meanwhile, Portugal has produced a slew of […]

A comprehensive list of 2024 tech layoffs

Cody Corrall, Alyssa Stringer — Tue, 05 Nov 2024 16:15:00 +0000

A complete list of all the known layoffs in tech, from Big Tech to startups, broken down by month throughout 2024.

AI startups will need ‘quality of revenue’ to raise in 2025, seed VCs warn

Julie Bort — Tue, 05 Nov 2024 15:00:00 +0000

To raise VC money next year, it won't just be about sales and growth, but about the "quality" of that growth, VCs say.

‘If you actually are solving a problem, you don’t talk about any of the hype,’ investor says

Amanda Silberling — Sun, 03 Nov 2024 15:00:00 +0000

The hype is palpable: As tech folks from near and far converge for TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 in San Fransisco — one of the only places where Waymo is available to the public — there’s ample chatter about the autonomous vehicle service. “If you think about AI hype and all, everyone gets excited about what 10 […]

Wesley Chan on what he looks for as he’s shopping for potential unicorns

Matt Rosoff — Sun, 03 Nov 2024 14:00:00 +0000

Investor Wesley Chan has shown a knack for making very early investments into multi-billion-dollar unicorns, such as Plaid, Gusto, Flexport, and, most recently, Canva. Chan comes from an unconventional background — he grew up in an immigrant family and had only middling grades in high school. But he landed a job washing test tubes in […]

Microsoft and a16z set aside differences, join hands in plea against AI regulation

Devin Coldewey — Fri, 01 Nov 2024 22:48:13 +0000

Two of the biggest forces in two deeply intertwined tech ecosystems — large incumbents and startups — have taken a break from counting their money to jointly plead that the government desist from even pondering regulations that might affect their financial interests, or as they prefer to call them, innovation. “Our two companies might not […]

The Chainsmokers want to bring a different kind of value add to B2B companies

Rebecca Szkutak — Fri, 01 Nov 2024 19:30:00 +0000

The potential value a celebrity investor can bring to a consumer company, beyond just writing a check, is obvious: marketing and promotion. But that value is less clear when it comes to backing B2B startups. Alex Pall and Drew Taggart, also known as the Chainsmokers, think their VC fund Mantis VC can bring a value […]

TechCrunch Disrupt 2024: Day 3

TechCrunch Events — Wed, 30 Oct 2024 13:00:00 +0000

Welcome to the third and final day of TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 at Moscone West in San Francisco! The excitement here is still in full swing, and there’s no slowing down. If you thought it was too late to join, think again—there’s still time to register and be part of the action. Today brings some of […]

African ‘gender equal’ VC Janngo Capital closes second fund at $78M

Tage Kene-Okafor — Wed, 30 Oct 2024 06:05:00 +0000

African venture capital firm Janngo Capital has closed its second fund at €73 million (about $78 million), 20% more than its initial target of €60 million (about $63 million). The firm marked the first close of the fund at €34 million in 2022, roping in limited partners such as the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) […]

VCs share what they actually want to see from early stage founders

Yashad Kulkarni — Tue, 29 Oct 2024 21:45:00 +0000

Every startup begins with a founder with a germ of an idea. How does it mature into an actual business?Venture capitalists have to sort through pitches every day to find the gems that will become successful companies.At Disrupt 2024, Harness CEO & Co-Founder Jyoti Bansal, Glasswing Ventures Founder & Managing Partner Rudina Seseri, and Notable […]

How The Chainsmokers built a fund that doesn’t rely on their celebrity status

Yashad Kulkarni — Tue, 29 Oct 2024 21:20:00 +0000

While a lot of celebrities invest in startups, the Chainsmokers are different. Instead of angel investing, Drew Taggart and Alex Pall launched a formal fund, Mantis Venture Capital, invest out of a formal closed-end fund, and back companies in industries their celebrity prowess can’t always help in, like security startups and analytics platforms. Watch as […]

Making sound investments in 2024 with Ashton Kutcher

Yashad Kulkarni — Tue, 29 Oct 2024 20:30:00 +0000

Watch as Sound Ventures partners Ashton Kutcher, Effie Epstein and Guy Oseary discuss their firm’s big bet on AI, the influence of celebrity status, and the trends they are currently tracking at Disrupt 2024. Subscribe for more on YouTube: https://tcrn.ch/youtube Follow TechCrunch on Instagram: http://tcrn.ch/instagram TikTok: https://tcrn.ch/tiktok X: tcrn.ch/x Threads: https://tcrn.ch/threads Facebook: https://tcrn.ch/facebook Bluesky: https://tcrn.ch/bluesky […]

Actor and director Olivia Wilde launches a VC firm

Rebecca Szkutak — Tue, 29 Oct 2024 19:42:22 +0000

Actor and director Olivia Wilde, famous for her roles in “Tron: Legacy” and “Don’t Worry Darling,” quietly launched venture firm Proximity Ventures late last year, according to Bloomberg. She launched the early- and growth-stage investment fund with Neil Sirni, formerly of Roc Nation’s venture division Arrive; Jason Mack, formerly of Mack Ventures; and Santi White, […]

How VCs can distinguish the difference between opportunity and hype

Yashad Kulkarni — Tue, 29 Oct 2024 18:40:00 +0000

What’s the difference between true opportunity and hype? Answering that question correctly is the difference between success and failure in the tech industry. And it’s a far more difficult question than it might appear. When everyone is convinced a specific tech is the future, founders — and even VCs — tend to pursue that tech […]

Why Crosscut Ventures is ‘following the founders’ into climate, space, and beyond

Tim De Chant — Tue, 29 Oct 2024 14:00:00 +0000

The focus of the new $100 million fund, Crosscut’s sixth, will include energy and power, space and underwater exploration, advanced manufacturing, advanced materials, and security and defense.

TechCrunch Disrupt 2024: Day 2

TechCrunch Events — Tue, 29 Oct 2024 13:00:00 +0000

Day 2 of TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 has arrived, and the energy from day 1 is still electrifying across San Francisco! We’re only partway through the 250+ speakers, 200+ sessions, and 350+ exhibiting startups at Disrupt. As expected, yesterday saw over 10,000 tech enthusiasts, startup founders, and investors filling Moscone West with energy — we’re not […]

Krafton backs IMM Investment’s first India fund

Manish Singh — Tue, 29 Oct 2024 04:30:46 +0000

The Indian arm of gaming firm Krafton has backed IMM Investment’s first India fund as an anchor limited partner. Seoul-based IMM Investment, an early backer of Krafton and an investor in roughly half of South Korea’s unicorns, has marked the first close of the India fund and has hired former Legend Capital partner Prakhar Khanduja […]

Vinod Khosla calls out Trump’s ‘depraved values’ and Musk’s role in spreading misinformation

Sarah Perez — Mon, 28 Oct 2024 21:59:12 +0000

Storied investor Vinod Khosla, founder and partner at Khosla Ventures, and more recently one of the first checks into OpenAI, veered off topic during a Monday interview at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 focused on the future of AI. After talking about AI’s future and risks, he took a moment to deliver a stringent warning about the […]

How family offices can get more startup exposure, with Eti Lazarian and Bruce Lee

TC Video — Mon, 28 Oct 2024 21:20:00 +0000

Family offices have gotten increasingly active in investing in startups both directly and through their VC investors. But what are they looking for? While no two family offices are the same, this session with Elle Family Office Family Office Principle Eti Lazarian and Keebeck Wealth Management CEO & Founder Bruce Lee digs into family office […]

How startups can find, and keep, product-market fit in 2024

Yashad Kulkarni — Mon, 28 Oct 2024 17:30:00 +0000

Every startup knows that they need to find product market fit. But once they do find true resonance between what they are offering and what there is demand for, how should a startup ensure that they do not lose the product-market fit that they have gained? Finding PMF is one thing; maintaining it is another. […]