Author: TechBrunch

Given the fact that recent social media apps are full of AI-generated videos, AI-Native apps seem keen to capture this trend. The latest to jump to that bandwagon is Charition.ai, which said Monday it is adding social feeds to its mobile apps so users can create and chat AI characters. The social feed, which first appeared on the company's web platform in June, allows users to share images, videos and chatbots with other users. Users can also share chat snippets with characters, post AI-generated images based on chats with characters, and have topics of character discussion in live streams. This…

According to Cathy Gao, partner at Sapphire Ventures, in 2025, startup founders face a confused and contradictory capital market. “Capacity is not rare, but access to its capital is more difficult than ever,” she said. Speaking at TechCrunch's All Stage Conference in July, Gao said it was possible for startup founders, particularly those of later Series C stage, to navigate this particular economic environment. And they need to start with a reality check. First, he said it is important to note that it is important for only one of the five startups that raise Series A to source Series C.…

CRV has secured $750 million for the 20-year-old venture's flagship fund, which it announced on Friday. There are fewer new funds than the $1 billion early stage fund CRV was shut down in the fall of 2022. At the time, the company also announced a $500 million 2-second selection fund, a capital pool to support the late rounds of existing portfolio companies. It is not surprising that CRV has not raised any late stage funds as part of its new funding. Last year, the company told the New York Times it had returned $275 million to investors from its $500…

Despite the tech industry still stoking the face at Figma's Hot IPO on Thursday, another important tech IPO came out this week: Ambiq Micro. On Wednesday, the chipmaker for wearable devices rose more than $42 in stocks, up from its initial price of $24 on Friday. There is one thing that both companies have in common. Kleiner Perkins was a major investor. So it was a very good week for a venerable venture company. For fun, we calculated the value of Kleiner Perkins stocks to each company. Kleiner would have sold 1,346,499 shares of Figma at an IPO price of…

At the beginning of July, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick gave chip makers like Nvidia a green light to start selling certain AI chips again in China, but his department is said to be holding things. According to a report from Reuters, Nvidia has not yet received a license to sell the H20 AI chips. The US Department of Commerce is currently sitting in the backlog of licensing applications due to disruption within the department, due to staff loss and breakdowns of communication with the industry on a Reuters basis. The holdup comes as national security experts are urging…

At the beginning of July, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick gave chip makers like Nvidia a green light to start selling certain AI chips again in China, but his department is said to be holding things. According to a report from Reuters, Nvidia has not yet received a license to sell the H20 AI chips. The US Department of Commerce is currently sitting in the backlog of licensing applications due to disruption within the department, due to staff loss and breakdowns of communication with the industry on a Reuters basis. The holdup comes as national security experts are urging…

A few weeks after the revelation that Google paid $2.4 billion to license its technology, it is simultaneously hiring CEOs and top talent, and the impact of the deal has rattled out some Silicon Valley founders and startup employees. According to two people who are well-versed in trading, Google's payments to startups were effectively split between two equal parts. The investor portion was $1.2 billion. The other half was in the form of a compensation package for around 40 Windsurf employees hired by the Tech giant, earning a significant portion of $1.2 billion from startup co-founders Varun Mohan and Douglas…

Applied AI Research Company Fundumental Research Labs (formerly known as Altera) announced today that it has raised $33 million in Series A funding led by Prosus, accompanied by participation from Stripe co-founder and CEO Patrick Collison. The company has a structure that is full of curiosity as it works on multiple AI applications in different fields. When it raised the seeds, the basic lab was developing a bot that could play Minecraft with you. Today, the company has a gaming team, a promer team building app, a core research team and a platform team. Dr. Robert Yang, a former faculty…

Applied AI Research Company Fundumental Research Labs (formerly known as Altera) announced today that it has raised $33 million in Series A funding led by Prosus, accompanied by participation from Stripe co-founder and CEO Patrick Collison. The company has a structure that is full of curiosity as it works on multiple AI applications in different fields. When it raised the seeds, the basic lab was developing a bot that could play Minecraft with you. Today, the company has a gaming team, a promer team building app, a core research team and a platform team. Dr. Robert Yang, a former faculty…

Lovense, the manufacturer of internet-connected adult toys, has confirmed that it has fixed a security vulnerability that allows attackers to take over the user's account remotely by revealing the user's private email address. The company said the bug has been “completely resolved,” but its chief executive is now considering taking legal action after disclosure. In a statement shared with TechCrunch, Lovense CEO Dan Liu said the sex toy maker is “examining possible legal action” in response to false reports of the bug. When asked by TechCrunch, the company did not clarify whether it was referring to media reports or disclosures…