Author: TechBrunch

Venture capitalists Jonathan Triest and Brett DeMarais believe their ability to understand people and build long-term relationships with founders is a key reason their Detroit-based venture firm, Ludlow Ventures, is celebrating its 15th anniversary. It sounds silly to attribute their longevity to something called “Midwestern kindness.” But is it crazy? Maybe not. Before Ludlow, neither Triest nor Demarais had much management experience; none even in investing. Triest had just finished school when he started the company in 2009; Demarais joined him three years later after finishing his first job running a wedding videography company. Fast forward to today, and Ludlow…

Welcome to our 100th pitch deck analysis! This week, we'll be looking at MegaMod's seed stage pitch deck. MegaMod appears to be the gaming industry's newest darling, having raised $1.9 million in funding, raising its post-funding valuation to $27 million. With a mission to revolutionize the game creation process, MegaMod said it plans to invest heavily in refining its go-to-market strategy and testing customer retention and monetization models. In an industry where creators are often ignored like yesterday's loot boxes, MegaMod has swooped in with the heroic promise of bringing them to the forefront. The first screen of the company's…

Google’s trying to make waves with Gemini, its flagship suite of generative AI models, apps and services. So what’s Google Gemini, exactly? How can you use it? And how does Gemini stack up to the competition? To make it easier to keep up with the latest Gemini developments, we’ve put together this handy guide, which we’ll keep updated as new Gemini models, features and news about Google’s plans for Gemini are released. What is Gemini? Gemini is Google’s long-promised, next-gen generative AI model family, developed by Google’s AI research labs DeepMind and Google Research. It comes in four flavors: Gemini…

Hannah Seeber knows all too well how transformative batteries can be. In her previous work at startup EcoFlow, she used batteries instead of generators to power homes and RVs at campsites after severe storms. This experience got her thinking about what else batteries could do, especially small batteries. “What other industries could potentially change dramatically?” she recalled thinking at the time. After leaving Ecoflow, while studying at Stanford University, she found herself studying how power outages implemented in California to reduce the risk of wildfires were disproportionately affecting people of different incomes. She noticed that power companies were spending big…

Get ready to unlock the secrets to fundraising success next year at Disrupt 2024. Our featured session, “How to Fund in 2025 if You Took a Flat, Down, or Extended Round,” aims to equip startups with the knowledge and strategies they need to navigate the evolving investment landscape. The session will question outdated metrics and provide actionable insights into what investors will be looking for in 2025. Attendees will gain valuable insights from industry leaders with a proven track record of raising successful investments and taking companies to new heights. This session promises to be a game-changer for startups at…

Welcome to a recap of Equity, TechCrunch's flagship startup podcast. This episode is chock-full of tech deals, hot topics, and the latest drama. If you haven't heard it yet, be sure to tune in for this spoiler-filled episode. This week's top 3 deals FormationBio raises $372 million First up, we have Formation Bio, an AI-focused drug development startup. The company has raised a massive $372 million in Series D funding led by Andreessen Horowitz, bringing the company's total funding to over $600 million. Formation Bio is using AI to streamline the R&D process in drug development, making it faster and…

TeamViewer, which makes a remote access tool widely used by businesses, has confirmed an ongoing cyber attack on its corporate network. In a statement on Friday, the company blamed the intrusion on government-sponsored hackers working for Russian intelligence, known as APT29, or Midnight Blizzard. The Germany-based company said its investigation so far has revealed that the initial intrusion occurred on June 26 and was “linked to standard employee account credentials within our corporate IT environment.” TeamViewer said the cyberattack was “confined” to its corporate network and that its internal network and customer systems were isolated. The company added that it…

If you love gadgets and gizmos, this year’s product conferences are having them aplenty.  We’ve poked through the many product announcements made by the biggest tech companies and product trade shows of the year, so far, and compiled them into this list. It features the items we think are the most important, or the most interesting. So far this list covers Apple WWDC, Apple Let Loose, Google I/O, Microsoft Build, Mobile World Congress and CES. Please check back as we will update this  Apple WWDC Image Credits: Apple Apple Intelligence  The biggest buzz at this show was the new feature…

Heavier, a startup that uses generative AI to search through large volumes of documents and return answers, has raised about $100 million in a Series B round led by Andreessen Horowitz, according to three people familiar with the matter. The round valued the company at $700 million to $800 million, though TechCrunch couldn't confirm whether it was pre- or post-money (though a possible scenario is that it was pre- or post-$700 million). One person said Emergence Capital also participated in the round. Hebbia disclosed in an SEC filing in May that it had raised $93 million to date of a…

Until now, the humanoid robotics industry has been all about promises and trials. While important for the eventual adoption of new technology, these programs often only involve a handful of robots and don't amount to anything more meaningful. But on Thursday, Agility announced that it had signed a formal contract with logistics giant GXO after successful trials. Digit's first job will be hauling packages at a Spanx factory in Georgia, which is no euphemism. Neither side will say exactly how many of the bipedal robots will be taking boxes from the cobots and putting them on the conveyor belt, meaning…