Startups & Funding

AI startup ecosystem

Prominent AI researcher Andrej Karpathy picks Anthropic over former home OpenAI to get back into frontier LLM research
Startups & FundingAnthropic

Prominent AI researcher Andrej Karpathy picks Anthropic over former home OpenAI to get back into frontier LLM research

Andrej Karpathy, a prominent AI researcher formerly at OpenAI and Tesla, has joined Anthropic to focus on frontier LLM...

The Decoder
Sub-Sea AI Data Center is Operating in China
Startups & Funding

Sub-Sea AI Data Center is Operating in China

The project comes amid a search for alternatives to land-based data centers.

AI Business
Stilta raises $10.5M from a16z and YC to help companies rediscover the patents they forgot they had
Startups & Funding

Stilta raises $10.5M from a16z and YC to help companies rediscover the patents they forgot they had

Stilta, an AI platform that automates research and analytical work for intellectual property cases, raised $10.5M in...

TechCrunch Startups
Mistral AI acquires Viennese physical AI startup Emmi AI
Startups & FundingMistral

Mistral AI acquires Viennese physical AI startup Emmi AI

Mistral AI, a French AI company, has acquired Vienna-based physical AI startup Emmi AI to expand its industrial client...

The Decoder
Venture Capital Is Concentrating Faster Than Ever. What Happens To Everyone Else?
Startups & Funding

Venture Capital Is Concentrating Faster Than Ever. What Happens To Everyone Else?

Capital concentration shows no signs of abating this year. Just through April, U.S. venture capital totals in 2026 are...

Crunchbase News
Jury Ruling in Musk Lawsuit Favors OpenAI
Startups & FundingOpenAI

Jury Ruling in Musk Lawsuit Favors OpenAI

A jury ruling in a lawsuit brought by Elon Musk against OpenAI has favored OpenAI, clearing the way for the company to...

AI Business
Anthropic has acquired the dev tools startup used by OpenAI, Google, and Cloudflare
Startups & FundingAnthropic

Anthropic has acquired the dev tools startup used by OpenAI, Google, and Cloudflare

Anthropic has acquired Stainless, a New York-based startup founded in 2022 that automates SDK creation and maintenance...

TechCrunch AI
Humanoid, Schaeffler to Bring Thousands of Robots to Factories
Startups & Funding

Humanoid, Schaeffler to Bring Thousands of Robots to Factories

Humanoid and Schaeffler have announced a major deal to deploy thousands of humanoid robots in factories, marking one of...

AI Business
Sector Snapshot: Quantum Computing Startup Investment Slows In 2026 While Public Markets Hold Strong
Startups & Funding

Sector Snapshot: Quantum Computing Startup Investment Slows In 2026 While Public Markets Hold Strong

While deal counts remain robust for quantum startup investments and big rounds are still getting done, overall funding...

Crunchbase News
South Korea’s LetinAR is building optics behind AI glasses
Startups & Funding

South Korea’s LetinAR is building optics behind AI glasses

South Korean startup LetinAR is developing advanced optical technology in the form of thumbnail-sized lenses designed...

TechCrunch AI
AI startup revenue hits $80 billion, but Anthropic and OpenAI take almost all of it
Startups & Funding

AI startup revenue hits $80 billion, but Anthropic and OpenAI take almost all of it

Anthropic and OpenAI dominate the AI startup revenue market, capturing 89% of the $80 billion in total revenue among...

The Decoder
The haves and have nots of the AI gold rush
Startups & Funding

The haves and have nots of the AI gold rush

The article discusses sentiment and dynamics within the AI industry during the current boom, noting that morale is poor...

TechCrunch AI
Marketing operating system Nectar Social raises $30M Series A led by Menlo
Startups & Funding

Marketing operating system Nectar Social raises $30M Series A led by Menlo

Nectar Social, an AI-powered marketing platform, raised $30 million in Series A funding led by Menlo Ventures and its...

TechCrunch Startups
$60B AI chip darling Cerebras almost died early on, burning $8M a month
Startups & Funding

$60B AI chip darling Cerebras almost died early on, burning $8M a month

Cerebras Systems, a $60B AI chip company, had its 2026 IPO as one of the year's biggest tech offerings. The article...

TechCrunch Startups
OpenAI bought a voice cloning startup famous for celebrity imitations
Startups & FundingOpenAI

OpenAI bought a voice cloning startup famous for celebrity imitations

OpenAI has acquired Weights.gg, a startup known for creating AI voice clones of celebrities. The six-person team now...

The Decoder
AI made a tiny slice of Silicon Valley filthy rich and left the rest wondering why they bother
Startups & Funding

AI made a tiny slice of Silicon Valley filthy rich and left the rest wondering why they bother

The AI boom at major companies like Anthropic, OpenAI, xAI, Meta, and Nvidia has created approximately 10,000...

The Decoder
The Week’s 10 Biggest Funding Rounds: Anduril Leads Varied Lineup Of Large Deals
Startups & Funding

The Week’s 10 Biggest Funding Rounds: Anduril Leads Varied Lineup Of Large Deals

Defense tech unicorn Anduril Industries led the fundraising lineup in a week heavy with rounds for companies focused on...

Crunchbase News
Anthropic's $900 billion valuation would make it more valuable than OpenAI for the first time
Startups & FundingAnthropic

Anthropic's $900 billion valuation would make it more valuable than OpenAI for the first time

Anthropic is raising $30 billion in funding, bringing its valuation to $900 billion and surpassing OpenAI for the first...

The Decoder
Cerebras Must Overcome Obstacles to Maintain IPO Value
Startups & Funding

Cerebras Must Overcome Obstacles to Maintain IPO Value

Cerebras has completed its public launch through an IPO, which provides strategic advantages for the AI chip vendor....

AI Business