Author: TechBrunch
What does it take to raise a Series A in today’s market? As the AI boom reshapes industries, the goalposts are moving, the stakes are higher, and investors seem more picky than ever. At TechCrunch Disrupt, three investors – Thomas Green of Insight Partners, Katie Stanton of Moxxie Ventures, and Sangeen Zeb of GV – analyzed what they're looking for in the new year. The numbers tell a clear story. While the number of rounds of funding is decreasing, the size of deals is increasing, Green said, citing research. “It's never been easier to start a company, and it's never…
For more than a decade, dozens of journalists and human rights activists have been targeted and hacked by governments around the world. Police and spies in Ethiopia, Greece, Hungary, India, Mexico, Poland, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and elsewhere use sophisticated spyware to compromise victims' mobile phones, sometimes facing real-world threats, harassment and even death. In recent years, a team of more than a dozen digital security experts, primarily based in Costa Rica, Manila, and Tunisia, has played a key role in the fight to protect these high-risk communities. They work for the New York-based nonprofit organization Access Now,…
Each year, we ask some top investors what they think the next year will bring. Last year, some investors thought the IPO market would be back up and running by now (which didn’t quite happen), while others thought the momentum behind AI was poised to accelerate (and they were right). This year, TechCrunch did the same thing, talking to five investors from various markets about what they are preparing for in 2026. Here is what they said. What will it take for a founder to raise next year, compared to last year? James Norman, Managing Partner, Black Ops VC Raising in 2025 requires a shift…
TechCrunch's stocks team closes out 2025 with our annual predictions episode and moves forward into next year. Hosts Kirsten Kolosek, Anthony Ha, and Rebecca Beran join Build Mode host Isabelle Johannesen to break down the year's biggest technology developments, from the surprise mega-AI funding round to the rise of “physical AI,” and give a rallying cry for 2026. The group tackled everything from why AI agents didn't live up to the hype in 2025 (but probably will in 2026) to how Hollywood will push back against AI-generated content to why VCs are facing a severe liquidity crisis. Listen to the…
It's the end of the year. That means it's time to celebrate the best cybersecurity stories we've never published before. Since 2023, TechCrunch has been collectively looking back at the year's best articles in cybersecurity. Even for those who are not familiar with it, the concept is simple. There are currently dozens of journalists reporting on cybersecurity in English. We publish tons of articles about cybersecurity, privacy, and surveillance every week. And many of them are great, so please read them. We are here to recommend the ones we like the most. So please keep in mind that this is…
At the annual Slush conference held in Helsinki last month, it was impossible to ignore the excitement in Europe's startup market. However, actual data on the current state of the region's venture market shows a different reality. Result: European markets have yet to recover from the global venture capital reset that occurred in 2022 and 2023. However, there is evidence that the European market is on the mend, including the recent exit of Klarna and the region's homegrown AI startups that are attracting attention from local investors and beyond. Investors poured 43.7 billion euros ($52.3 billion) into European startups in…
Enterprise software company ServiceNow has agreed to acquire nine-year-old cybersecurity startup Armis for $7.75 billion in cash. This transaction represents a significant valuation boost for the company. Just last month, Almis raised $435 million in a pre-IPO funding round, valuing the company at $6.1 billion. Armis co-founder and CEO Evgeny Dibrov told TechCrunch last month that the company aims to go public in late 2026 or 2027, adding that an IPO is his “personal dream.” Given the unpredictability of the IPO market and how few cybersecurity companies actually go public, it's no surprise that Armis ultimately opted to exit M&A.…
Cybercriminals stole $2.7 billion in cryptocurrencies this year, a new record for crypto theft hacks, according to a blockchain monitoring firm. 2025 once again saw dozens of crypto heists hitting several crypto exchanges and other Web3 and decentralized finance (DeFi) projects. The biggest hack to date was the breach at Dubai-based cryptocurrency exchange Bybit, where hackers stole about $1.4 billion in cryptocurrencies. A blockchain analysis firm and the FBI blamed North Korean government hackers, the most prolific crypto-targeting group in years, for the massive heist. This was the largest known looting of cryptocurrencies in history, and one of the largest…
On this week's StrictlyVC Download, Connie Loizos speaks with iRobot founder and former CEO Colin Angle. Mr. Angle spent 30 years building iRobot from his living room to a household name and one of the most pioneering companies in the robotics industry, stepping down as CEO following the failed Amazon acquisition. In this conversation, he reveals why he considers iRobot's bankruptcy “an avoidable tragedy,” why regulators made a fatal mistake in blocking a $1.7 billion Amazon deal, and why the FTC's office walls are covered in “blocked deals” as trophies, revealing a deeply flawed approach to protecting innovation. Angle also…
In June, U.S. insurance giant Aflac disclosed a data breach in which hackers stole customers' personal information, including social security numbers and health information, but did not say how many victims had been affected. The company confirmed on Tuesday that it had begun notifying approximately 22.65 million people whose data was stolen in the cyberattack. Aflac said in a filing with the Texas attorney general that the stolen data included customers' names, dates of birth and home addresses. Government-issued identification numbers (such as passports or state ID cards), driver's license numbers, and social security numbers. Also information on medical care…