From TechCrunch · 40 stories
Travis Kalanick Criticizes Venture Capitalists, Citing Low Helpfulness Rate
Travis Kalanick, founder of Uber and Atoms, stated that only 1% of venture capitalists are truly helpful to founders, based on his career experiences. He advises founders to create bidding wars among VCs for funding, despite his critical view of the industry.
Rivian spinout Also raises $150M Series D for autonomous delivery vehicles
Also, a micromobility startup spun out of Rivian, secured an additional $150 million in Series D funding, bringing its total raised to $455 million. This capital will accelerate the development of its autonomous driving technology and various autonomous vehicle form factors, expanding its business beyond electric bikes and cargo quads.
Calendly launches AI meeting note-taker and plans AI assistant Callie
Calendly, known for its scheduling software, has introduced an AI-powered meeting note-taker that records, transcribes, summarizes meetings, and drafts follow-up emails. The company also plans to release an AI assistant named Callie to integrate with its existing scheduling tools. This move places Calendly in a competitive market of AI note-takers and productivity suites.
PayPal and Venmo Partner with Education Payment Platforms for Tuition Payments
PayPal and Venmo have partnered with Illumia, Nelnet Campus Commerce, and TouchNet to allow students and families to pay college tuition using their services. This integration provides additional payment flexibility for higher education expenses.
Bluesky reports recent day-long outage caused by DDoS attack
Bluesky confirmed a recent day-long service disruption was due to a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack. This incident follows a similar attack in April, raising concerns about the platform's resilience against such disruptions.
Neko Health, founded by Daniel Ek, opens first US office in New York
Neko Health, a health-scanning startup co-founded by Spotify CEO Daniel Ek, is opening its first U.S. office in SoHo, Manhattan, on September 24. This expansion marks the company's entry into the American market, following its operations in the U.K. and Sweden, and indicates a growing trend of tech founders entering the health scanning sector.
Grounded Raises $5M Seed Round and Opens New Manufacturing Facility for Van Customization
Detroit startup Grounded secured $5 million in seed funding from investors including Also Capital and The 81 Collection. The company also opened a 50,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Detroit to scale its modular vehicle customization business for both electric and combustion-powered vans.
Sonic Fire Tech Raises $15M for Sound-Powered Fire Suppression System
Sonic Fire Tech secured $15 million in funding to develop its sound-powered fire protection system, which uses infrasonic waves to extinguish fires without water or chemicals. This funding will support hiring and the testing required for National Fire Protection Association approval, potentially offering a cleaner and faster alternative to traditional fire suppression methods.
Feedly attributes weeklong slowdown to bug amid user complaints and AI pivot concerns
Feedly, a major RSS reader, has experienced a weeklong slowdown in its web app, leading to user complaints about usability and ignored support requests. The company's CEO attributed the issues to a bug and stated that fixing basic RSS functionality remains a priority despite its pivot to AI-driven threat intelligence.
Automattic Launches Free WordPress.com Education Plan for Students and Teachers
Automattic introduced WordPress.com Education, a free program for teachers and students that provides full WordPress.com domains, free domain names, and plugin support. This initiative aims to integrate WordPress into educational settings to train future web professionals and expand its user base among younger generations.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei attributes AI backlash to a "crisis of trust"
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei stated that the public's negative view of AI is a "crisis of trust" rather than a result of AI leaders warning about risks. He argued that the public distrusts companies, governments, and the tech industry, viewing the AI backlash as the latest iteration of this long-standing issue.
Thrive Capital's Joshua Kushner Criticizes Silicon Valley VC Approach to AI Investments
Thrive Capital founder Joshua Kushner, in his firm's first investor letter, critiqued Silicon Valley venture capitalists for their "spray-and-pray" investment strategy and AI "euphoria." Kushner advocates for a concentrated investment approach, focusing on a few key companies and ideas, contrasting with the traditional outlier-focused model.
Mozilla's Pocket Read-It-Later App to Shut Down in May 2025
Mozilla announced the shutdown of its read-it-later app, Pocket, effective May 2025, prompting users to seek alternative services. This closure has led to increased adoption for other apps like Matter, Instapaper, and Raindrop.io, which offer similar functionalities for saving and organizing online content.
Selena Gomez and Mother Sued for Alleged Fraud in Mental Health Startup Wondermind
Investors are suing Selena Gomez and her mother, alleging securities fraud and breach of contract related to their mental health startup, Wondermind. The lawsuit claims investors put nearly $1.2 million into the company, which allegedly failed to deliver on commitments and was not marketed by Gomez as promised. This matters as it highlights potential risks and accountability issues in celebrity-backed ventures, particularly in the startup ecosystem.
Fermi, an AI nuclear power firm, appoints Lee McIntire as new CEO
Fermi, a company developing AI-powered nuclear reactors for data centers, has appointed Lee McIntire as its new CEO, over three months after its co-founder was removed. McIntire previously served on Fermi's board and held CEO positions at CH2M Hill and TerraPower, bringing experience in large-scale project delivery to the company's Project Matador.
Automattic's Mesh Personal CRM Launches on Android with Platform-Specific Features
Mesh, the personal CRM acquired by Automattic, is now available for Android devices, offering features like split-screen support, keyboard shortcuts, and home screen widgets. This release expands Mesh's availability and integrates it with Android's ecosystem, while Automattic plans deeper integration with its Beeper messaging app and AI capabilities for relationship management.
Sandbar, maker of the Stream voice ring, raises $23 million Series A, totaling $36 million
Sandbar, the company behind the Stream private voice ring, has raised a $23 million Series A funding round, bringing its total funding to $36 million. This funding supports Sandbar's development of AI wearables focused on voice capture for stray thoughts and ideas.
Silkroad Innovation Hub's Road to Battlefield competition sees increased applications
The second annual Road to Battlefield competition, organized by Silkroad Innovation Hub, has concluded its national rounds, with 22 startups advancing to the regional final. This competition provides founders from Central Eurasia a direct path to TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 200, and this year saw a nearly 50% increase in applications from 39 countries, indicating growing startup activity in the region.
Reservoir raises $8M seed funding for smart, grid-stabilizing water heaters
Reservoir, a startup co-founded by Luke Winston-Almanzar, Gabriel Parisi-Amon, and Jake Felser, announced it has raised $8 million in a seed funding round. The company develops intelligent water heaters designed to reduce energy consumption and stabilize the electrical grid by optimizing heating times.
Phia Co-Founders Knew of 'Cookie Stuffing' Practice Months Before Public Disclosure
New reports indicate that Phia co-founders Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni were aware of the startup's "cookie stuffing" practices as early as December, contradicting previous statements that the company learned of the issue only when contacted by Bloomberg. This practice, which involves taking commission for affiliate purchases not generated by the platform, led to a significant portion of Phia's sales and a drop in revenue once stopped, impacting retailers like Nike and Nordstrom.
Uber Sells Entire Stake in Serve Robotics, Surprising the Spun-Out Company
Uber has sold its full stake in Serve Robotics, an autonomous delivery robot company that originated from Uber's Postmates acquisition. This divestment occurred as the two companies developed differing views on scaling their shared autonomous fleet, leading to a reversal in delivery volume growth through Uber for Serve Robotics.
Bluesky's Mobile App User Base Declines While Focus Shifts to AT Proto Protocol
Bluesky's mobile app saw a 27.2% year-over-year decrease in monthly active users to 10.4 million in June 2026, and a 25.6% decline in daily active users in July. This decline occurs as the company expands its focus beyond the Bluesky app to developing the underlying AT Proto protocol for other social applications and services.
Jeff Bezos Reportedly Pursuing Stake in English Soccer Team Liverpool
Jeff Bezos, along with other investors including Eduardo Saverin, is reportedly seeking to acquire at least a 30% stake in the English soccer team Liverpool, valued at £1.35 billion. This potential investment would mark Bezos's first in a sports team and reflects a trend of American billionaires investing in U.K. football clubs.
Clicks Technology ships Power Keyboard, bringing physical typing to smartphones
Clicks Technology has begun shipping its $99 MagSafe-compatible Power Keyboard, which adds a physical keyboard to smartphones. The device aims to provide an alternative to onscreen keyboards for users who prefer tactile typing, despite potential issues with phone balance.
Discovered Materials raises $9M seed to use AI for cooler chip materials
Discovered Materials, a startup, secured $9 million in seed funding to develop new materials for more efficient integrated circuits using AI agents. The company focuses on addressing the thermal problems of semiconductors to reduce data center electricity consumption and cooling needs.
TikTok lays off 250 employees and closes Nashville office
TikTok is laying off 250 employees and closing its Nashville office, which housed part of its content moderation team. This move is part of an effort to streamline operations, coinciding with an industry trend towards increased reliance on AI for content moderation.
Ditto AI dating app uses chatbot for matchmaking, bypassing traditional swiping
Ditto, a new dating app founded by former UC Berkeley students, uses an AI chatbot to match college students without traditional swiping. Users onboard via text message, providing personal details and preferences, and receive a weekly match with a set time and location for a date. This approach aims to address Gen Z's dissatisfaction with existing swipe-based dating apps by focusing on deeper compatibility and real-life interactions.
eBay Live Reports Eightfold GMV Increase, Expands to More International Markets
eBay's live shopping platform, eBay Live, reported an eightfold year-over-year increase in gross merchandise volume (GMV) during the second quarter and plans further international expansion. This growth indicates eBay's continued investment in live shopping as a key strategy to compete with platforms like Whatnot and TikTok Shop.
Atoms, Travis Kalanick's Robotics Startup, Hires Former Uber CFO Gautam Gupta
Gautam Gupta, former Uber finance chief, has joined Travis Kalanick's robotics and industrial AI startup Atoms as Chief Financial Officer. This appointment follows Atoms' recent $1.7 billion funding round and continues a trend of former Uber executives joining Kalanick's new venture.
Indian EV Startup River Raises $120M Series C to Scale Production and Expand Models
Indian electric vehicle startup River secured $120 million in Series C funding to increase manufacturing capacity and introduce new models. This funding will support River's growth in India's competitive electric two-wheeler market, where it currently sells its Indie moped.
Wrinkles App Launches as AI-Powered Audio Tour Guide for Location-Based Stories
Wrinkles, a new app available on iOS and Android, uses AI and location services to provide audio stories about nearby places. The app aims to offer an immersive way to learn about local history and lore without requiring users to look at their phones, providing an alternative to traditional museum or city tour apps.
Outernet App Launches to Organize Saved Social Media Posts for Offline Activities
Outernet, a new app founded by Danielle Egan and Athena Leong, has launched to help users save and organize online content like events or places to visit, facilitating real-world exploration. The app aims to convert saved social media posts into actionable to-do lists for offline activities, addressing the common issue of forgetting saved content.
June AI startup raises $20M pre-seed to automate AI deployment for large businesses
June, a new AI startup founded by former Salesforce executives, emerged from stealth with $20 million in pre-seed funding to address the challenges of deploying AI tools in large enterprises. The company's platform scans existing systems to optimize business processes and integrate AI agents, aiming to simplify AI implementation by dealing with fragmented data and complex workflows.
Malaysian Government Orders Shutdown of Balaji Srinivasan's Network School
The Malaysian government has ordered the shutdown of the Network School, a startup community founded by Balaji Srinivasan, due to licensing issues. This development follows attendee complaints about conditions and Srinivasan's public statements regarding his citizenship and the school's purpose.
Sam Altman suggests ChatGPT Work for personalized family podcasts, sparking online debate
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman proposed using ChatGPT Work to create personalized family podcasts for daily commutes, a suggestion that drew significant online criticism regarding the role of AI in parenting. This incident highlights ongoing discussions about AI's integration into personal life and the public's perception of such applications.
Autonomous Key Releases $9 NFC Device to Physically Lock Distracting Apps
Autonomous Key has launched a $9 NFC key designed to physically lock distracting smartphone applications. This device requires a physical scan to regain access to locked apps, offering an alternative to software-only screen-time solutions. Each unlock session lasts up to 60 minutes before apps relock, aiming to reduce screen time by adding a physical barrier to app access.
Rivian Spinoff Also to Begin E-Bike Deliveries After Delays
Also, a spinoff from Rivian, will start delivering its TM-B e-bikes next week, following months of delays attributed to supply chain issues. This marks the company's first product delivery and a step towards its broader plans in micromobility.
Florida redirects $200M in federal EV charging funds to build air taxi infrastructure
Florida plans to use nearly $200 million in federal funds, originally allocated for electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, to construct 32 landing pads with charging capabilities for electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. This decision comes despite Florida having fewer EV chargers per vehicle than the national average, with state officials claiming private companies have adequately built out the EV charging network. The reallocation highlights a shift in infrastructure priorities, moving funds from ground-based EV support to a nascent air taxi market.
Dili raises $21.7M to apply AI to compliance for US infrastructure projects
Dili, an AI compliance company, secured $15 million in Series A funding, bringing its total capital raised to $21.7 million. The company uses AI to manage complex compliance rules for US infrastructure projects, particularly those receiving federal funding, to prevent costly non-compliance issues.
Winamp Partners with Deezer for New Premium Music Player Launching in 2027
Winamp announced a partnership with Deezer to power its upcoming premium music subscription service, scheduled for release in the first half of 2027. This collaboration aims to integrate streaming with local music libraries and other audio sources within a single Winamp player, marking another attempt at a comeback for the brand.