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2d ago

Meta's “open” AI, data centers' hidden costs, and a $250M deal gone very wrong

Meta released Glimmer this week, an open-weight AI model anyone can download and run on their own hardware — a contrast to Muse Spark, the company’s more powerful model that stays locked behind its own APIs. The release landed alongside a letter from Mark Zuckerberg arguing AI should be “for everyone” rather than controlled by a handful of labs, but as Equity’s hosts point out, the vision comes with some asterisks. On this episode of TechCrunch's Equity podcast, Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, and Rebecca Bellan take a look at Glimmer, Zuckerberg’s 6,500-word manifesto, and more of the week’s headlines, from the true cost of the AI industry’s energy needs to a $250M acquisition gone very wrong. Listen to the full episode to hear more about: Who’s on the market for a $300 cocktail robot? Why Anthropic is adding watermarks to its generated text, and users are not happy. The potential cost Amazon’s planned data center in Texas and the startups racing to fix the grid, including Form Energy’s $750M raise for 100-hour batteries, Reservoir’s $8M bet on smarter water heaters, and Discovered Materials’ hunt for cooler chips. Why Joby Aviation’s $500M acquisition of a defense contractor reminds Kirsten of its Blade deal last year — and what the 2028 LA Olympics have to do with it. How a $250M deal between video-clipping startup VideoVerse and sports publisher Minute Media collapsed amidst allegedly forged documents, multiple lawsuits, and a CEO nobody can reach. Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod. 00:00 Intro 1:20 Would you buy a $300 cocktail robot? 3:08 Meta's Glimmer and the “AI for everyone” pitch 8:03 Anthropic starts watermarking its writing, and users have thoughts 14:34 Amazon's data center and its natural gas problem 16:37 The startups racing to keep the grid from melting down: Form Energy, Reservoir, and Discovered Materials 23:28 Joby Aviation buys into defense with Resonant Sciences 28:24 The $250M VideoVerse-Minute Media deal, a missing CEO, and a mess of lawsuits 32:37 Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 7

Jill Lepore on the ‘Artificial State,’ and why Silicon Valley's leaders are bad sci-fi readers

Historian Jill Lepore has a theory about why tech companies often use soaring language to describe their products — almost as if they're forming a new government. And whether you're thinking of Twitter's old “town hall in your pocket” or Anthropic's Claude constitution, it's a theory that doesn't paint Silicon Valley in a very flattering light. In Lepore's upcoming book, The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Harvard historian and New Yorker writer argues that tech companies are gradually taking on the functions of democratic government — whether that’s Twitter giving a distorted picture of the electorate or Facebook displacing local news. In her view, these leaders often mistake technological advancement for political progress, all while outright declaring their intention to replace the nation-state. On this episode of TechCrunch's Equity podcast, Anthony Ha talks with Lepore about her book and why she thinks today's AI leaders — who promise a future where AI makes government more efficient, more responsive, and maybe even unnecessary — are selling an old fantasy in new packaging. Listen to the full episode to hear more about: Why Lepore sees a straight line from the classic 1984 Macintosh ad to Anthropic's AI constitution and Sam Altman's comments about an “AI president” How E.M. Forster’s 1909 sci-fi story “The Machine Stops” provides a blueprint for the artificial state, and why Lepore says it now reads like “the diary of a very unhappy YouTuber” Why Lepore believes the artificial state is ultimately unsustainable, and what she thinks it would take to rein it in Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod. Chapters: 00:00 Intro 0:49 Defining the “artificial state” 2:17 Why corporations quietly took over state functions 4:43 Could the internet have gone another way? 9:01 From the 1984 Macintosh ad to Anthropic's constitution 10:20 The Twitter “town hall” myth 13:36 Structuring the book: history meets science fiction 17:46 The Machine Stops, and other bad manuals for the future 19:16 Musk, Heinlein, and misreading sci-fi 19:41 Why Lepore thinks the artificial state is “doomed” 21:51 Data centers, local politics, and the death of local news 24:44 Revisiting disruptive innovation, ten years later 26:54 Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
4d ago

Why Sandbar thinks it’s voice-enabled ring can avoid the AI hardware graveyard

AI notetaking hardware has taken off over the past couple of years, with credit-card-sized devices, pendants, pins, and even transcribing earbuds all promising to capture your meetings and turn them into summaries and action items. Now, a whole wave of wearables — rings especially — are betting people want to capture stray thoughts and ideas the same way. One of the companies chasing that bet is Sandbar, the startup behind the private voice ring Stream, which has raised $36 million to date, including a $23 million Series A led by Adjacent and Kindred Ventures. On this episode of TechCrunch's Equity podcast, Rebecca Bellan talks with Sandbar co-founder and CEO Mina Fahmi about why he thinks so many voice hardware devices before Stream struggled to break through, and why he's betting that keeping the human firmly in control is what it'll take to get wearable tech right. Listen to the full episode to hear more about: Why Fahmi designed Stream to be push-to-talk instead of always-on, and what he thinks “social acceptability” means for wearable AI. How Fahmi's time at CTRL-labs, the neural interface startup Meta acquired in 2019, shaped his thinking on human-driven input. Why Sandbar chose the “gruelingly painful” path of building fully custom hardware instead of reskinning an off-the-shelf device. What Fahmi thinks it'll take for voice wearables to break out of tech-enthusiast circles and into the mainstream. Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 5

Why Lightspeed is going all-in on creator-led venture capital

Venture firms are turning to creators to build trust with the next generation of founders before a check is ever written. It's a trend that's been building with a16z's acquisition of Erik Torenberg’s Turpentine podcast and OpenAI's acquisition of TBPN. Lightspeed Venture Partners just made its own notable hire in that vein, bringing on Claire Zau, a seed investor with a major following on Instagram and TikTok, to source deals and co-host the firm's new show, Lightwork, alongside CMO Josh Machiz. On this episode of TechCrunch's Equity podcast, Dominic-Madori Davis is joined by Zau and Machiz to dive deep into whether the “creator-investor” is becoming a real function in venture or just something firms are still trying to figure out. Listen to the full episode to hear more about: How an Instagram DM turned into a hire, and why Machiz says Zau’s investing instincts (not just her follower count) made her stand out from other creators. Why Zau thinks tech Twitter is a “minuscule” slice of the tech-curious audience, and what she's learned about public sentiment on AI that doesn't show up on X. How Lightspeed measures ROI on a media operation that's hard to tie directly to deal flow. The founder and portfolio-company stories that came out of Zau's content, including how a single video helped land a health-tech founder a meeting with Shaq. Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 31

AI labs want to pump the brakes, but Amazon and SpaceX are still blasting off

After years of pushing full speed ahead on AI, Sam Altman says maybe it’s time for the AI industry to “pace” itself. The comments come just days after one of OpenAI's own models broke out of its test environment and got tangled up in a breach at Hugging Face, though as Equity’s hosts point out, sloppy security seems to have been just as much to blame as the model itself. Altman's not alone in this stance: both OpenAI and Anthropic have come out in support of a petition echoing that same message. On this episode of TechCrunch's Equity podcast, Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, and Sean O'Kane dig into whether the industry is ready to pump the brakes or just spooked, and who's on the hook when a model goes rogue. Listen to the full episode to hear more about: The viral “Avoiding AI” workshops hosted by librarians to help people opt out of AI features they didn't ask for How Amazon's new 5,000-satellite bid to connect directly to your phone could turn up the heat on SpaceX (even though it's unclear if anyone actually wants satellite-to-phone service) Why somehow there's room for one more AI lab: Reid Hoffman and Mark Pincus's new startup, Prentis, is in talks to raise $100M at a $1B valuation How Pangram raised $9 million to help publishers, teachers, and readers tell human writing from AI slop Why DoorDash is building its own drone delivery business instead of just relying on partners like Wing and Flytrex Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod. Chapters: 00:00 Intro 1:18 Zoox gets its robotaxi exemption 2:11 Sam Altman calls for pacing the frontier 6:01 The Hugging Face hack, dissected 10:12 Responsibility, regulation, and the Elon Musk wildcard 13:29 Librarians teaching people to unplug from AI 15:16 Prentice: a new AI lab raises at a $1B valuation 16:46 Amazon files for its own satellite-to-phone network 18:42 SpaceX, Blue Origin, and the launch-business angle 23:48 Pangram raises $9M to detect AI slop 29:23 DoorDash builds its own delivery drones 33:24 Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 7

The legal mistakes that can sink your startup before series A with Kristina Subbotina, Lexsy

Setting up a sound legal foundation could be what saves a startup down the line. A missing founder vesting agreement, an unclear IP agreement, or a messy cap table can derail fundraising, spark co-founder disputes, or even kill an otherwise promising company before it has a chance to scale. In this episode of Build Mode, host Isabelle Johannesen sits down with Kristina Subbotinai, founder and CEO of Lesxy and former startup attorney at Cooley, to break down the legal fundamentals every founder needs to get right. Kristina shares the four non-negotiable legal decisions every startup should make from day one, what investors actually look for during due diligence, how founders should think about negotiating control versus valuation, and why leverage is the key to getting better fundraising terms. She also shares real stories from the front lines of startup law, from co-founder breakups and investor negotiations to a founder who tried using ChatGPT to draft a merger agreement. They get into: The four legal mistakes that can make a startup unfundable How founder vesting, IP assignment, Delaware incorporation, and 83(b) elections protect your company What VCs actually look for during due diligence and how to avoid common red flags How founders should negotiate valuation, board control, and investor rights Why leverage comes from building a great business—not signing better term sheets The wildest legal horror stories Kristina has seen, including a startup acquisition gone completely off the rails Subscribe to Build Mode on⁠ Apple Podcasts⁠, ⁠Spotify⁠, or⁠ wherever you like to listen⁠. And watch the full videos on⁠ YouTube⁠. New episodes of ⁠Build Mode⁠ drop every Thursday. Chapters:00:00 – Intro: The Legal Mistakes That Kill Startups01:37 – Why Kristina built Lexsy03:58 – The Legal Foundations Every Startup Needs08:22 – How to Find the Right Startup Lawyer10:21 – The Four Non-Negotiable Legal Decisions17:33 – What Investors Look for During Due Diligence20:04 – SAFE Notes vs. Priced Rounds22:18 – Negotiating Valuation Without Losing Control25:25 – Board Seats, Investor Rights, and Hidden Term Sheet Traps30:51 – Should Founders Use AI for Legal Advice?31:04 – How Founders Build Leverage in Fundraising35:48 – The Terms That Can Destroy Founder Wealth37:01 – The Craziest Startup Legal Story Kristina Has Ever Seen Hosted by Isabelle Johannessen. Produced and edited by Maggie Nye. Audience development led by Morgan Little. Special thanks to the Foundry and Cheddar video teams.
Jul 29

‘If this isn't addiction, I don't know what is’: Light Phone's founders get real about screen time and building for the anti-smartphone generation

With the Light Phone, Kaiwei Tang and Joe Hollier have spent over a decade exploring the value of simplicity in our relationship to technology, partnering along the way with players like Andrew Yang, Kendrick Lamar, and Pete Davidson. Now, with a new flip phone and a growing wave of “attention activists” pushing back on big tech, they think the rest of the world is finally catching up to them. On this episode of TechCrunch's Equity podcast, Amanda Silberling talks with Tang and Hollier about the company's newly announced flip phone, why they think the anti-smartphone backlash is only just getting started, and what it takes to break an addiction that fits in your pocket. Listen to the full episode to hear more about: How the design lessons from the original Motorola Razr shaped the new Light Flip What the "Summer of Ludd" attention activist movement says about Gen Z's relationship with big tech Why Light Phone is opening up an SDK so users can build their own tools instead of opting for an app store Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod. Chapters: 00:00 Intro 0:51 Building Light Phone 3:10 The user shift: why people are finally ready to unplug 7:54 Designing outside the Silicon Valley bubble 9:54 Why simple tech is making a comeback (CDs, iPods, flip phones) 13:50 From the Motorola Razr to the Light Flip 17:54 Pricing and the Noble Mobile phone plan 19:44 What actually happens when you switch (and the Flip Your Life program) 23:13 Building an open-source app library for Light Phone 26:38 Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 29

Does your CEO have AI psychosis? Aaron Levie thinks most of them do.

The people deciding that AI can replace your job are also the ones least likely to understand what your job truly involves, according to Box founder Aaron Levie, who pointed to this as an example of "AI psychosis.” Indeed, ClickUp recently cut 22% of its workforcefor AI agents, tech layoffs in 2026 are already nearly matching all of 2025, and DuckDuckGo installs are climbing from users who want Google to stop forcing AI into search and just give them links. On this episode of TechCrunch's Equity podcast, Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, and Sean O'Kane dig into what happens when the AI-pilled and the AI-skeptical are both right at the same time, plus three deals worth knowing about and Waymo's new robotaxi hitting the road. Listen to the full episode to hear: Kirsten's first look at Waymo's new Ojai robotaxi in Phoenix, and the crew's thoughts on the company's path to profitability Cloud data storage giant Snowflake’s $6 billion five-year agreement with AWS Why Stord, the "anti-Amazon" fulfillment startup, just raised $250 million at a $3 billion valuation What OpenRouter's $113 million raise says about the picks-and-shovels layer, and how long that interest lasts How the AI agent wave is actually reshaping hiring, not just headcount Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod. Chapters: 00:00 Intro 01:18 Waymo's new Ojai robotaxi 06:41 Stord raises $250M to take on Amazon fulfillment 12:46 Snowflake signs $6B deal with AWS 15:39 OpenRouter raises $113M Series B 20:07 The AI divide & anti-AI backlash 27:31 AI psychosis & how AI is reshaping headcount and hiring 37:04 Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 10

Open source AI matters more than ever, according to Hugging Face's Clem Delangue

Open source AI is booming, according to Hugging Face CEO Clem Delangue. The company has grown into something like a GitHub for AI in recent years, where AI builders can share and download open models and datasets, now used by roughly half the Fortune 500. Delangue has seen the same story play out again and again: companies start out on frontier APIs, but as they scale, the costs push them towards open source models. On this episode of TechCrunch's Equity podcast, Rebecca Bellan talked to Delangue about why the open vs closed source fight matters in the wake of Anthropic’s halted Fable release, and why he's worried about the possibility that a handful of big companies could end up controlling everything. Listen to the full episode to hear more about: How Chinese labs are producing the majority of open models being downloaded in the U.S., and why Delangue thinks that's a problem worth fixing rather than a reason to distrust open source itself. How Hugging Face is choosing capital efficiency over the usual Silicon Valley fundraising playbook, including why the company turned down a large investment from Nvidia last year. Why he sees robotics as an even more urgent case for open, transparent AI than chatbots or coding tools, given how much of your home and family life a robot ends up seeing. Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod. Chapters: 00:00 Intro 00:33 Breaking down open source growth data 04:34 What's driving the open source resurgence 08:47 Who’s using Hugging Face, and how? 10:28 China overtakes the US in open model downloads 16:34 Safety, access, and the risk of AI power concentration 24:03 Hugging Face's approach to legal risk 28:00 Turning down Nvidia 31:47 Underinvested opportunities: local AI, bio, robotics Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 24

‘AI communism’, rogue models, and the why Kimi K3 spooked Wall Street

Chinese AI lab Moonshot's open model Kimi went viral this week for reasons that had less to do with the model itself and more to do with how the U.S. AI industry reacted to it. Meanwhile, an unreleased OpenAI model wandered outside its test environment and ended up connected to a real security breach at Hugging Face — a reminder that “China risk” isn't the only kind of AI risk worth worrying about. On this episode of TechCrunch's Equity podcast, hosts Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, and Sean O'Kane dig into why Kimi K3 set off a fresh round of AI panic, the industry’s response to an OpenAI staffer's “regulatory FUD” post, and what that OpenAI breach means for AI security more broadly. Listen to the full episode to hear more about: Why EVs are getting killed off across the U.S. even as automakers roll out new models, and how Rivian and Ford, and a wave of new startups are betting on different EV strategies to survive What Sila's $300 million raise says about where battery investment is headed even as EV demand cools Travis Kalanick's comeback with a $1.7 billion raise for his robotics startup, Atoms, and why we’re surprised to see Uber among its investors Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod. Chapters: 00:00 Intro 1:39 Chinese AI model Kimi sparks a Wall Street freakout 10:45 OpenAI model breaks out of a test, Hugging Face breach 15:53 Why EVs are getting killed off in the U.S. 20:35 Tax credits, free markets, and the road ahead for EVs 28:56 Sila raises $300M for battery materials 32:20 Travis Kalanick's Atoms raises $1.7B, with Uber as an investor 36:39 Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TechCrunch podcasts cover the business of technology, startups, venture capital funding, crypto, and the humans behind it all.

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Top Shows

Meta's “open” AI, data centers' hidden costs, and a $250M deal gone very wrong

Jill Lepore on the ‘Artificial State,’ and why Silicon Valley's leaders are bad sci-fi readers

Why Sandbar thinks it’s voice-enabled ring can avoid the AI hardware graveyard

Why Lightspeed is going all-in on creator-led venture capital

AI labs want to pump the brakes, but Amazon and SpaceX are still blasting off

The legal mistakes that can sink your startup before series A with Kristina Subbotina, Lexsy

‘If this isn't addiction, I don't know what is’: Light Phone's founders get real about screen time and building for the anti-smartphone generation

Does your CEO have AI psychosis? Aaron Levie thinks most of them do.

Open source AI matters more than ever, according to Hugging Face's Clem Delangue

‘AI communism’, rogue models, and the why Kimi K3 spooked Wall Street

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