Today on Equity’s startup-focused Wednesday show, we dug into the Multiverse-Searchlight deal that reminded us of the Wonderschool-Early Day transaction that we covered on the show a few weeks back. We also dug into the latest Guesty round , which was both large and interesting from a financial perspective, the Monad Labs transaction that led us to try and explain the difference between L1 and L2 blockchains, and Cyera’s quick recent megaround . Put more simply, startup news is feeling very busy...
Apr 10, 2024•11 min•Ep. 824
Now that we are finally past Y Combinator’s demo day — though our Friday show is worth listening if you haven’t had a chance yet — we can dive into the latest news. So, this morning on Equity Monday we got into the chance that the United States might pass a real data privacy law . There’s movement to report, but we’re still very, very far from anything becoming law. Elsewhere, the U.S. and TSMC have a new deal , there’s gaming news to consider (and a venture tie-in ), and Spotify’s latest AI pla...
Apr 08, 2024•10 min•Ep. 823
The AI boom, love it or find it to be a bit more hype than substance, is here to stay. That means lots of companies are raising oodles of dollars, a healthy dose of regulatory concern, academic work, and corporate jockeying. For startups, it means a huge opportunity to bring new technology to bear on a host of industries that could use a bit of polish. But if you read the news, you might notice that men are the far and away most cited, and discussed players in AI today. So, TechCrunch’s Dominic-...
Apr 06, 2024•21 min•Ep. 822
What a week, everyone. Two full days of Y Combinator demo day activity kept us busy , but the latest accelerator cohort’s launch was far from the only big story in startup-land. Today on the Equity’s Friday news roundup, Mary Ann , Becca , and Alex gathered to dig into favorites from the hundreds of new YC companies that pitched, and a new venture capital fund that wants to become “the investment and innovation arm of the autism community.” Becca wanted to talk about Seso and its fascinating fin...
Apr 05, 2024•31 min•Ep. 821
This is our Wednesday show, when we take a moment to dig into a raft of startup and venture capital news. No big tech here! Keep in mind that Y Combinator's demo day kicks off today, so we're going to be snowed-under in startup news the rest of the week. Consider today's show the calm before the storm. AUDIO On the podcast this morning we have BlaBlaCar's new credit facility and how it managed to land it, how PipeDreams could be onto a new model of startup construction , GoStudent's rebound and ...
Apr 03, 2024•11 min•Ep. 820
Hello, and welcome back to Equity , a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. This is our Monday show, where we dig into the weekend and take a peek at the week that is to come. We’ll talk more about Wednesday, but this is Y Combinator Demo Day week, so expect a deluge of startup news. On the podcast today we dug into the latest news from Discord that indicates it is moving towards opening its gates for advertisements . As I wrote back...
Apr 01, 2024•12 min•Ep. 819
As the week comes to a close, we're also shutting the book on the trial of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, the erstwhile crypto baron who is heading to prison for 25 years. But while the SBF news was a big deal, there was so very much more to cover on today's news roundup episode of Equity. With Kirsten Korosec , Mary Ann Azevedo , and Alex Wilhelm aboard this week, the crew dug into Robinhood's new credit card and what it can tell us about the strategy of major tech companies, Fisker's latest...
Mar 29, 2024•32 min•Ep. 818
This is our interview show, where we sit down with guests, think about their work, and unpack the rest. This week, Wonderschool , a startup that works with individuals and local governments to spin up more childcare businesses by providing software and other support, has acquired EarlyDay . EarlyDay, another venture-backed startup, operates a early childhood educator marketplace. Alex caught up with EarlyDay’s two former CEOs, Emma Harris and Melissa Tran, and their new boss, Chris Bennett at Wo...
Mar 28, 2024•33 min•Ep. 817
Today on the show we had a lot of ground to cover: Stocks around the world are in retreat to start the week, while crypto prices have themselves given back some recent gains. The biggest news item that we covered this morning was the exit of Stability AI’s CEO , the company’s revenue growth and burn rate have come into question before, making the move all the more newsy. Over in the EU, a number of U.S.-based tech companies are under inquiry thanks to the new Digital Markets Act . At some point ...
Mar 25, 2024•11 min•Ep. 816
This week we had Mary Ann, Becca, and Alex aboard. Here's what the crew got into: Deals of the Week: Mary Ann wanted to talk about Onyx , a neobank aimed at wealthy early-to-middle career adults. It's pivoting to B2B and is not, despite what the Internet said, dead. Alex wanted to discuss Montauk Climate , a climate incubator set up by the former co-founder of Casper and the recent Marc Lore/Wonder deal . The climate isn't doing well, in case you've missed the news. So, projects like this are we...
Mar 22, 2024•32 min•Ep. 815
Today we have a grip of startup stories, and a venture capital item that isn’t as bad of news as it seems at first blush. Here’s the rundown: Astera Labs is going public after pricing above-range . We’ll see how it trades today, but it’s good news that the first real tech IPO of the year set its share price at $36, higher than even its raised price interval. TigerEye’s $35 million round for business intelligence gives us a peek at how tech could help businesses navigate the future. There’s a YC ...
Mar 20, 2024•14 min•Ep. 814
This is our Monday show, in which we take a look back at the weekend and what’s ahead in the week. We’re coming to the end of earnings season, which means that there are just a few weeks left in the first quarter. With spring in the air, here’s what we got into this morning: Apple may tap Google for AI : Sure, Apple is working on its own AI tech, but Google’s Gemini model could be headed for an iPhone near you. Bloomberg broke the news . Grok goes open source : As promised, xAI’s LLM Grok is out...
Mar 18, 2024•13 min•Ep. 813
Hello, and welcome back to Equity , a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. The podcast turns seven this week, so in honor of its birthday drop us a review? More, newer reviews helps more folks discover the show, and makes our corporate parent happy! Today our beloved Mary Ann was off on well-deserved break, so our friend and fellow-podcaster Rebecca Szkutak was kind enough to bring her insight and humor to the podcast this fine Frid...
Mar 15, 2024•31 min•Ep. 812
This is our Wednesday episode, in which we dig into critical startup news to stay abreast of what founders and venture capitalists are working on. Today on the podcast, we got through the following: New data from Carta digging into startup compensation, and how it is changing; How one startup is profiting off death , but in a way that is actually great; Bear Robotics, and its killer new round for cute serving robots ; New stuff from BlueSky ( all about moderation and choosing one’s own adventure...
Mar 13, 2024•12 min•Ep. 811
This is our Monday show, in which we take a look back at the weekend and what’s ahead in the week. Over the weekend, we dropped an interview with Roger Lee that is well worth your time , and here's our take on Reddit's IPO financials . Here's what we got into today: Crypto is taking flight, with bitcoin and ethereum notching big gains in recent days as the crypto winter fades to a fresh spring. Reddit dropped a new IPO filing , which includes a price range target of between $31 and $34 per share...
Mar 11, 2024•12 min•Ep. 810
This is our interview show, where we sit down with a guest, think about their work, and unpack the rest. This week, Mary Ann interviewed Roger Lee , an entrepreneur who’s spent the better part of a decade building tools for employees and employers alike. Lee is an angel investor as well the creator of Layoffs.FYI and co-founder of Comprehensive and Human Interest . Roger joined us on the show last year in the wake of 2022’s tech layoffs, but this week we’re focusing on the business of shutting d...
Mar 09, 2024•28 min•Ep. 809
Today on the pod, Mary Ann and Alex dug into a whole mess of news, including: Mews' massive new round is proof that vertical SaaS + payments remains a great way to build a big business, and earn a unicorn valuation at a time when those are growing rarer. The global companies taking on Carta , including QuotaLab in South Korea. An acquisition has helped QuotaLab expand its product remit to founders, investors and their LPs. Deel's purchase of Africa’s PaySpace got us talking about how acquisitive...
Mar 08, 2024•32 min•Ep. 808
This is our Wednesday show, focused on startup and venture capital news that matters. If you are a founder or an investor, this one is for you! Here’s the day’s rundown: OpenAI fires back at Musk : In the wake of a lawsuit from former backer Elon Musk, OpenAI is bringing receipts and an argument that Musk wanted to run the company’s for-profit arm. Hard to argue against something that you wanted to run, yeah? Monzo raises megaround : Monzo’s latest round is proof that the worst of the fintech sl...
Mar 06, 2024•11 min•Ep. 807
This is our Monday show, in which we take a look back at the weekend and what’s ahead in the week. Over the weekend we had a great chat with Nubank’s CEO, which you can find here . Ok, onto the show notes! Stocks and Crypto: With some indices reaching fresh record highs, the good times are also rolling along in crypto where token prices are also on the ascent. Apple and the EU: Apple has been hit by a massive fine in the EU , which it intends to appeal. Spotify, which was the progenitor of the c...
Mar 04, 2024•11 min•Ep. 806
This week, Mary Ann talked to David Vélez , the co-founder and CEO of Nubank, the $50 billion São Paulo, Brazil-based digital bank that offers credit cards, checking accounts and life insurance to consumers. How Nubank has managed to increase its market cap by over 40% in eight months’ time. Why some investors are sticking it out in LatAm, and why it’s a great place to still put venture dollars. Which startups in LatAm have been the most resilient and what other regions can learn from them. All ...
Mar 02, 2024•20 min•Ep. 805
Here’s what Mary Ann and Alex got into: Stripe’s valuation recovers : As part of a tender offer, Stripe is now worth $65 billion. The company’s valuation has been on an up-and-down path in recent years as the company works to make its massive bulk fit into the private markets. Alex has thoughts on when it should go public, as you might imagine. Fervo Energy’s $200M+ round : What if the solution to our energy problems was not in the stars, but beneath our feet? And no, I am not talking about carb...
Mar 01, 2024•33 min•Ep. 804
This is our Wednesday show, focused on startup and venture capital news that matters. We pull the top stories from the week thus far, and give them the Equity treatment to put them into proper context. On the show today: Microsoft invests in Mistral AI : Sure, it's not the biggest check, but as regulatory oversight hovers over Microsoft's shoulder, the deal makes sense. Thrasio files for bankruptcy : What happens if you raise billions to pursue a market opportunity, but the market shifts under y...
Feb 28, 2024•10 min•Ep. 803
This is our Monday show, which looks back at the weekend and ahead to the week. We are back bright and early this week, but we also had an extra episode this weekend digging into the Reddit IPO; you can find that here . On the pod this morning, here’s what we got into: Stocks are mixed around the world as crypto prices gyrate; it’s a big earnings week including data from Workday, Zoom, Unity, Coupang, Klaviyo, Salesforce, Snowflake, Okta, and Duolingo among other names. Google, and its work to b...
Feb 26, 2024•12 min•Ep. 802
Hello, and welcome to Equity , a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. Weekend team, we have something both short and sweet for you: A dig into the Reddit IPO filing that came out just after we recorded our final, regular episode of the week. Since we could not wait until Monday to talk about the numbers, we have an overview here for your delectation. If you want to read along: Reddit IPO filing, first look , written by Mary Ann and ...
Feb 24, 2024•9 min•Ep. 801
This week Mary Ann , Kirsten , and Alex gathered to chat through a massive sheaf of news. A note before we get to the rundown that Reddit filed to go public after we had recorded this episode, so notes on its IPO filing are not included in this particular episode. Don’t think that we won’t discuss its S-1, it just came too late for this particular entry. More to come! Here’s the rundown: Deals of the Week: PermitFlow raised $31 million to bring software to the construction permitting market, one...
Feb 23, 2024•32 min•Ep. 800
This is our Wednesday show, in which we talk through the week’s leading startup and venture capital news. This is short week, but there’s still a lot to talk about: Loora’s $12 million round is a reminder that AI is going to find purchase in a host of new markets. The company wants to use AI for conversational language training. Sure, humans are good at that, but they are also expensive. Software aims to be more affordable. Dili is building an AI service to help investors handle their due dilige...
Feb 21, 2024•9 min•Ep. 799
This is our weekly kick-off show, coming to you Tuesday morning as yesterday was a holiday here in the States. Here’s the rundown: Crypto prices are up, and we’re looking at another busy earnings week. Palo Alto Networks, Sprout Social, Nvidia and Block will report this week. Planity has put together a $48 million Series C , which is a super neat vertical SaaS deal. Software and payments make for a tasty combo, and Planity wants to bring those benefits to salons in Europe. The EU is after TikTok...
Feb 20, 2024•12 min•Ep. 798
On today's news round up, Alex, Mary Ann and Karyne are looking at: Deals of the Week: Rasa’s $30 million Series C had our tongues wagging. The startup is building finservice-focused conversational AI tools. Karyne wanted to talk about the latest round at the intersection of AI and crypto , while Alex wanted to riff on Hippo Harvest’s $21 million round for indoor robot farming . Venture capital’s year of transition: After OpenView called it quits, and Countdown Capital returned funds to LPs it b...
Feb 16, 2024•32 min•Ep. 797
Welcome to our Wednesday show, in which we talk through the week’s leading startup and venture capital news. Today we have an absolute pile of material, so let’s get to work: Bret Taylor’s new startup is turning heads : Known for his work at Facebook, Salesforce and OpenAI, Taylor’s new startup Sierra is building conversational AI agents. It has raised a mountain of capital to date, which it might need given that it’s not alone in its niche. FlowFi’s counter-cultural decision : FlowFi is buildin...
Feb 14, 2024•10 min•Ep. 796
This morning we have an interesting mix of stories, which bring technology, politics and AI together in interesting ways. To work: Stocks: It’s another big week for earnings, including Hubspot, Instacart, Monday.com, and Cisco. We should learn a lot about the state of software and hardware sales as last year ended, and what some critical tech names see for the rest of the year. Crypto: Prices are up in the crypto world over the last week. Coinbase reports this week as well, which should give us ...
Feb 12, 2024•12 min•Ep. 795
