California’s most controversial AI safety bill of 2024 might be dead, but its author isn't backing down. State Senator Scott Weiner is back with SB 53, a new AI bill that strips away the most debated parts of last year’s failed legislation while keeping key whistleblower protections and a public cloud computing initiative called CalCompute. With the AI industry and even the federal government shifting away from AI safety regulation in favor of innovation, will the bill gain any traction? Today, ...
Mar 07, 2025•28 min
Today on Equity, Julie Bort sits down with Ryan Hinkle a Managing Director at Insight Partners, the giant New York-based venture capital firm that invests in tech worldwide. It has $90 billion in assets under management and just raised a new $12.5 billion fund. The pair unpack the evolving landscape of startup ecosystems. They talk about the post-pandemic shift that saw many founders moving to cities like New York or Miami only for the rise of OpenAI and Cerebral Valley and the accompanying AI b...
Mar 05, 2025•28 min
Today, on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, hosts Kirsten Korosec, Max Zeff and Anthony Ha are breaking down the week’s biggest stories, including the Optifye.ai controversy, the wider concerns about AI in labor, and why this demo could be a glimpse of what's coming next. Listen to the full episode to hear about: Amazon’s Alexa unveiling this week in NYC, and why an AI-enabeled Alexa+ could make the competition sweat Why the departure of Lucid Motors' CEO Peter Rawlinson is raising concerns about the...
Feb 28, 2025•28 min
Today on Equity, Mary Ann Azevedo sits down with Eylul Kayin, a partner at Gradient Ventures, to dive into the evolving AI startup landscape. The pair dig into what makes a successful AI startup, the importance of quality product offerings, and the fast-moving nature of AI innovation. Listen to the full episode to hear more about: Key challenges founders face, from building strong customer relationships to navigating technical hurdles. Gradient Ventures’ approach to funding and supporting AI sta...
Feb 26, 2025•27 min
Humane’s AI Pin, which promised to replace your smartphone with a sleek wearable device, is officially dead. After a rocky launch, negative reviews, and returns outpacing sales, the startup is shutting down and selling its assets to HP for $116 million – less than half of what it raised. But what’s next for Humane’s tech? On today's episode of Equity, hosts Kirsten Korosec, Max Zeff and Anthony Ha are breaking down the week’s tech and startup headlines, including what HP might do with Humane’s r...
Feb 21, 2025•29 min
Last week, the team at early-stage VC firm Slow Ventures launched its new $60 million fund entirely focused on investing in content creators.Today on Equity, Rebecca Bellan sits down with Lightcap to dive into YouTube remains the dominant platform for serious creators,how niche community trust translates into scalable businesses, and what this new fund means for the creator economy. Listen to the full episode to hear more about: How this new asset class has the potential to scale. The firm’s suc...
Feb 19, 2025•23 min
Tensions are running high in the AI world this week after Elon Musk made a staggering $97.4 billion bid to buy OpenAI, a move that would mark one of the largest tech acquisitions in history – if it actually happens. Sam Altman shut the notion down fast, even going so far as to fire back with a post suggesting he’d buy X for a tenth of the price. But Musk’s bid itself does raise questions about potential roadblocks ahead for OpenAI. Today, on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, hosts Kirsten Korosec, Ma...
Feb 14, 2025•31 min
“The fintech market is hot again,” said Sheel Mohnot, fintech investor and founder of Better Tomorrow Ventures (BTV). “And we are going to see some more exits in the near future.” According to recent reports, fintech funding is on the rise, with global investment hitting $60 billion in the first half of the year alone, marking a significant rebound from the previous year’s dip. Mohnot – whose X account you’ve likely come across if you follow fintech – has invested in over 100 deals throughout th...
Feb 12, 2025•30 min
Humanoid robotics company Figure raised eyebrows this week when it announced it would be stepping away from a partnership with OpenAI in favor of building its own in-house AI models. Figure CEO Brett Adcock alluded to a “major breakthrough” in their own process and plans to unveil “something no one has ever seen on a humanoid” in the coming month. Figure isn’t the only company experimenting with non-OpenAI solutions either. Just last week, researchers from Stanford and the University of Washingt...
Feb 07, 2025•29 min
As the interest in both space and solar grows, one startup aims to merge the two industries. By tapping into the momentum of the commercial space industry and the increasing demand for renewable energy, Robinhood co-founder Baiju Bhatt is on a mission to make space-based solar power a reality with his latest startup: Aetherflux. Today on Equity, Rebecca Bellan caught up with Bhatt to talk about his transition from fintech to deep tech and why he believes now is the right time to scatter solar po...
Feb 05, 2025•25 min
Today, we’re bringing you a bonus episode zeroing in on DeepSeek, the Chinese AI lab that’s recently taken over the news and the app stores, beating out OpenAI's ChatGPT. Max Zeff is talking about it all with Ion Stoica, Professor of Computer Science Division at UC Berkeley and the cofounder and executive chairman of software startup Databricks. Listen to the full episode to hear more about: Why Stoica believes the future of AI lies in "doubling down on open source." Microsoft's decision to host...
Feb 01, 2025•26 min
DeepSeek, DeepSeek, DeepSeek. We couldn’t escape the headlines around the Chinese AI lab this week. The startup -- which claims to have built its models more efficiently and at a fraction of the cost of competitors -- lit a fire under Silicon Valley after releasing its R1 “reasoning” model and displacing ChatGPT as the App Store’s top app. Today, on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, hosts Kirsten Korosec, Margaux MacColl and Max Zeff are digging into the latest news, including the reactions from both...
Jan 31, 2025•29 min
You might have noticed in your time online that a lot of the services and the websites that you’re using are kind of getting…worse. The good news, though, is that this means that there are different sectors that are ripe for disruption. On today’s episode of Equity, Rebecca's joined by Ed Zitron —CEO of EZPR, host of the Better Offline podcast, and author of Why Everything Stopped Working—to dig into why this shift is happening and what it means for startups. Listen to the full episode to hear t...
Jan 29, 2025•37 min
Today, on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, hosts Kirsten Korosec, Margaux MacColl and Anthony Ha are digging into the latest tech and startup news from inauguration week in the U.S., including the new administration’s approach to startups and the potential transparency challenges that come with it. Listen to the full episode to hear about: TikTok’s rapid return and which apps are waiting in the wings – just in case. What is Stargate, and why are OpenAI, SoftBank, Oracle and others committing $100 bi...
Jan 24, 2025•33 min
Today on Equity, Julie Bort sits down with Crunchbase News’ Senior Data Editor, Gené Teare, to dive deeper into the year’s slight growth in investment, which reached $314 billion, up from $304 billion in 2023. The pair explores how AI became a dominant force in the landscape. As Teare puts it, “Tech rides on bubbles. What bubbles tell you is that if everyone's putting dollars into a certain sector, it means there are very big outcomes coming.” Listen to the full episode to hear more about: The s...
Jan 22, 2025•26 min
The clock is set to run out on TikTok over the weekend, following the Supreme Court’s ruling to uphold the ban. So, what’s next for the video-sharing app’s 170 million U.S. users? On today’s episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, hosts Kirsten Korosec, Margaux MacColl and Anthony Ha dive into the week’s biggest stories, including where all the ‘TikTok refugees’ are heading. Many are flocking to Chinese apps like RedNote and Lemon8, with some even turning to Duolingo to brush up on their Mandari...
Jan 17, 2025•33 min
Last week, Meta announced changes to its content moderation policy, including the removal of third-party fact-checking across its apps in favor of a crowdsourced community notes feature, similar to X. Today on Equity, Rebecca Bellan caught up with Eugen Rochko, CEO of Mastodon, to explore what these changes mean for users and how decentralized social media platforms like Mastodon could offer a viable alternative to mainstream giants like Meta. Listen to the full episode to hear more about: Masto...
Jan 15, 2025•28 min
As CES 2025 comes to a close, TechCrunch’s Equity podcast hosts Kirsten Korosec, Margaux MacColl, Anthony Ha, and Max Zeff are back on the mic to discuss the week's top news, the tech that caught their eye, and the companies still figuring out AI. Listen to the full episode to hear: What's driving Meta's push for “more speech, fewer mistakes” as it ends its third-party fact-checking program. Livestream shopping app Whatnot's $265M raise, and which companies could be capitalizing on livestream sh...
Jan 10, 2025•36 min
Today on Equity, we're taking you on stage at TechCrunch Disrupt for Kirsten Korosec's conversation with Zoox co-founder and CEO Jesse Levinson. The pair discuss building custom robotaxis, how Zoox's approach compares to that of Tesla, and the 'current and future landscape' of AI on wheels. It's also worth noting that Amazon-owned Zoox recently scooped up some of Tesla’s top talent, bringing on Zheng Gao late last month to lead hardware engineering. Equity will be back on Friday with a full CES ...
Jan 08, 2025•26 min
Instead of our usual Friday news rundown, we’re bringing you a conversation about what Yahoo Finance dubbed the “comeback stock of the year” - Robinhood. TechCrunch Editor in Chief and General Manager Connie Loizos chatted with Robinhood’s CEO and co-founder, Vlad Tenev, about the company’s evolution. Listen to the full episode to hear more about: Why Tenev believes the company is poised for significant growth. Robinhood's approach to prediction markets, sports betting, and wealth management. Ho...
Jan 03, 2025•41 min
Happy new year, Equity listeners! At the end of 2024, all eyes were on Bluesky's rapid growth. According to the social platform’s CEO Jay Graber, however, their goal is not just to recreate Twitter. Today, Rebecca is handing the reins over to TechCrunch senior reporter Max Zeff, who sat down with Graber at our last StrictlyVC event. Listen to the full episode to hear pair dig into the company’s success and why, according to Graber, people need to, “be able to control the social networks they com...
Jan 02, 2025•22 min
From AI advancements and CrowdStrike's crash to WordPress drama and which startups VCs have their eyes on next, TechCrunch’s Equity podcast is saying goodbye to 2024 with a look back at the year's biggest stories in tech. Listen to the full episode to hear hosts Kirsten Korosec, Margaux MacColl, Devin Coldewey and Anthony Ha dig into: 2024 in a headline. We asked, and you answered! Where did all the venture funding go? In a year of massive turnover, Margaux reminded us of which VCs are playing m...
Dec 27, 2024•30 min
Today, we’re bringing you a conversation TechCrunch senior reporter Dominic Madori-Davis had with Sara and Erin Foster along with their advisor at Oversubscribed Ventures, Phil Schwarz. Across their careers, the Foster sisters have co-founded the clothing line Favorite Daughter, co-led creative for Bumble Bizz and Bumble BFF, and currently co-host their own podcast Listen to the full episode to hear: How the Foster sisters made their pivot to VC. Which investments excites Oversubscribed Ventures...
Dec 26, 2024•20 min
This week, the Equity pod gang — which included newcomer Max Zeff, Margaux MacColl, and Kirsten Korosec — noticed an emerging trend: the worlds of AI and defense tech are colliding. Listen to the full episode to hear about: A new fund is in town. And surprise, surprise, Humba Ventures' $40 million fund is focused on deep tech and defense. How enterprise AI startup Cohere is unlike all the other AI startups out there, and why they've been so quiet. Particularly in this new deal with Palantir. Dig...
Dec 20, 2024•31 min
This week on Equity Wednesday, Rebecca Bellan is joined by Louis, co-founder of America's Frontier Fund, to discuss the pressing trends in tech innovation. From robotics and AI reshaping manufacturing to Silicon Valley's embrace of defense technology, plus Louis shares his main predictions for 2025. Listen tot he full episode for a deeper conversation on: Silicon Valley's deep roots in defense tech The advantages and challenges facing founders seeking government contracts rather than VC funding ...
Dec 18, 2024•33 min
Today, on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, hosts Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha and Margaux MacColl are unpacking the week’s news, including GM’s decision to give up on self-driving startup Cruise. The choice initially came as a shock considering the $10 billion GM pumped into the company over the years, but it became clearer when examining Cruise’s tumultuous 2023 and 2024. Listen to the full episode to hear about: Freysa.ai’s public challenge and what’s motivating users to make the AI chat bot fall i...
Dec 13, 2024•36 min
While the idea that the government “should be run like a business,” is by no means a new one, with Elon Musk in charge of government efficiency, it's worth taking a closer look at whether business principles can be applied to government. Today on Equity, Rebecca Bellan is discussing the intersection of tech, business and politics with Columbia Business School Professor Michael Morris. Morris is also the author of Tribal, how the cultural instincts that divide us could help bring us together, a n...
Dec 11, 2024•31 min
AI agent startup /dev/agents announced a massive $56M seed round, putting the company’s valuation at a whopping $500 million. The amount is impressive given the company won’t have a first version of its product available until at least early next year. The reason behind investors’ trust, however, becomes a bit clearer when you consider the founders’ pedigree: /dev/agents’ co-founders were both on Google’s Android team during the early days of the smartphone era. The round, as well as whether or ...
Dec 06, 2024•30 min
How can founders scale frontier tech? Today on Equity, Rebecca Bellan is finding out with Tom Biegala and Ben Hemani, the co-founders of early-stage venture firm, Bison. Bison invests in what they call 'frontier tech' companies building in the material science, robotics, biotech, climate, and sustainability verticals. Listen to the full episode to hear Rebecca and Bison's founding team discuss: Why AI isn't a 'silver bullet' for biotech companies, although it is central to modern drug discovery ...
Dec 04, 2024•31 min
We hope those of you in the U.S. had a Happy Thanksgiving! And as a holiday treat this week, Equity is bringing you an episode of our sister show, Found. AI startups are everywhere, but there can't be any innovation without proper computing power. Found hosts Becca and Dom sat down with Gavin Uberti, co-founder and CEO of Etched, an AI chip startup focusing on developing specialized chips. Gavin shares the bold bet his startup is making on transformer models for AI chips, aiming to take on indus...
Nov 29, 2024•40 min•Ep. 909
