Author: TechBrunch

Since its establishment in 2021, the Openai Startup Fund has raised $175 million for its main fund, adding $114 million through five separate special purpose vehicles, an investment pool for specific opportunities. Unlike many large tech companies, Openai says it doesn't use the company's money to invest in startups. ChatGpt Maker says the Openai startup fund is raised from outside investors. This includes participation from important Openai supporters Microsoft and “other Openai partners,” according to the fund's website. Research from Data Providers Pitchbook, CrunchBase and TechCrunch shows that the Openai Startup Fund, managed by a dedicated team, has invested in…

Mistral AI, the French company behind AI Assistant LE Chat and some basic models, is officially considered one of France's most promising high-tech startups and is undoubtedly the only European company that can compete with Openai. However, its global market share remains relatively low compared to its $6 billion valuation. However, the recent launch of chat assistants on mobile app stores has encountered hype, especially in their home countries. French President Emmanuel Macron said in a television interview ahead of the AI ​​Action Summit in Paris, “Download and download LeChat made by Mistral, not open or anything else.” This wave…

General Catalyst, the Powerhouse Venture Firm, is considering an IPO, Axios reported Friday morning, citing “multiple sources.” TechCrunch contacted the company's managing partner Hemant Taneja for comments. In the meantime, those following the general catalyst trajectory will not be surprised by prospects. Founded 25 years ago as General Catalyst (GC), a venture company based in small Cambridge, Massachusetts, its capital commitment began at $73 million. Ten years later, armed with balloon assets and pre-IPO interests from software companies such as Demandware and Brightcove, Taneja and then partner Neil Sequeira, they installed the shop in an attractive yellow building with white…

Symbyai, a SaaS platform that uses AI to streamline scientific research, has announced a $2.1 million seed round with participation from Drive Capital and CharacterVC. Launched last year by Ashia Livaudais and Michael House, the platform offers an organized workspace that allows researchers to access papers, code, data and experiences within one location. It has AI features that help track progress and help with peer review and replication. “It's also important to note that Symbyai is built on its own AI solutions, so users don't have to worry about accidentally sending sensitive information to Openai, humanity, or other companies,” Livaudais…

Lifespan is a recent hot trend in Silicon Valley, driving increasing interest in preventing illness through regular testing, especially among the wealthy. The new player, Biograph, was born out of stealth and was co-founded by Dr. Peter Attia, one of the biggest names in longevity science. Attia is a Canadian-American doctor best known as the author of the bestselling “Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity.” The CEO of Biograph and other co-founder is John Hering, a well-known Silicon Valley figure. Haring, the founder of Cybersecurity, who notoriously scanned celebrity phones at the 2005 Academy Awards, is best known as…

Amnesty International said Google fixed a previously unknown flaw in Android, allowing authorities to use forensic tools to unlock phones. On Friday, Amnesty International published a report detailing the three zero-day vulnerabilities chains developed by phone unlocking company Cellebrite, which researchers discovered after investigating a hack of phones by student protesters in Serbia. According to the report, the defect was found in the core Linux USB kernel. Zero Day is a bug in a product that is not known to the software or hardware manufacturer when it is discovered. Zero Day allows criminals and government hackers to infiltrate their systems…

Google is giving sheets a Gemini-driven upgrade designed to help users analyze data faster and turn spreadsheets into charts using AI. This update allows users to access Gemini features and generate insights from data such as correlations, trends, outliers and more. Users can also generate advanced visualizations such as heatmaps and allow them to insert them into cells in spreadsheets as static images. The company announced an update last month, but Google said Friday it was available to business users in all workspaces. To get started, you will need to click on the Gemini icon in the top right side…

Instagram Alternative Flashs released its Bluesky-based photo sharing app on the App Store this week, winning nearly 30,000 downloads in its first 24 hours. The app offers a classic Instagram-like experience, allowing users to upload up to four photos and videos for up to one minute. Built by Berlin-based developer Sebastian Vogelsang, Flashes runs on the same underlying protocol that enhances the AT protocol (or Atproto for short). It is based on Bluesky, a social networking startup with more than 32 million users, so Flashes has access to a built-in audience. This means that all posts you create in the…

Welcome to Startups Weekly – Summary every week everything you need to miss from the startup world. Want to put it in your inbox every Friday? Sign up here. Is hype good or bad? This week we've seen the startups on both sides of the fence. And being on the good side guaranteed a big funding round. The most interesting startup story of the week Image credit: Proxima Fusion As the week approaches the end, it's time to tally the pros and cons. Sparkle Points: Peer-reviewed journal highlights plans from German startup Proxima Fusion, lending new reliability to the concept…

The tech layoff wave continued through 2024. Following significant workforce reductions in 2022 and 2023, 2024 saw more than 150,000 job cuts across 542 companies, according to independent layoffs tracker Layoffs.fyi. Large companies like Tesla, Amazon, Google, TikTok, Snap, and Microsoft conducted sizable layoffs in 2024, while smaller-sized startups also experienced cuts, and in some cases, shut down operations altogether. We’re continuing to track the industry’s layoffs into 2025 so you can see the trajectory of the cutbacks. Later this year, we will break out our 2024 and 2025 lists in order to make the trends easier to parse. By…