Author: TechBrunch

Many venture capital firms are struggling to raise new capital from their backers amid a sluggish IPO environment. But established, well-known companies can still raise large amounts of capital. Kleiner Perkins said Friday it has raised more than $2 billion in new capital across two funds, a slight increase from the $1.8 billion the 52-year-old firm raised in early 2022. Other notable firms that have weathered this year's venture capital fundraising downturn include Andreessen Horowitz, which has raised $7.2 billion across multiple funds; General Catalyst, which has reportedly raised $6 billion; and Norwest, which has raised $3 billion. Kleiner Perkins…

Welcome to Startups Weekly — Haje's weekly roundup of must-reads from the startup world. Sign up here to receive it in your inbox every Friday. I just recorded an episode of Equity where I learned about the latest wave of stupidity. The tech industry's DEI allergy has hit a new low as Silicon Valley leaders once again wave the “meritocracy” flag high and wide. Scale AI's Alexandr Wang has decided that Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is outdated and instead introduced a shiny new acronym: MEI (Merit, Excellence, Intelligence). I'm so shaken up, I might need to see a chiropractor.…

Marketing and sales software giant HubSpot said Friday it was investigating a cybersecurity incident. Rumors of some sort of cyberattack against HubSpot began circulating on social media on Friday. Reached for comment, HubSpot spokesperson Camille Uzel told TechCrunch that on June 22, the company “became aware of a security incident in which a malicious actor targeted a limited number of HubSpot customers and attempted to gain unauthorized access to their accounts.” “HubSpot initiated our incident response procedures and has been reaching out to affected customers since June 22nd to take the necessary steps to reverse the unauthorized access and protect…

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…