TechCrunch

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起業

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テクノロジー

テクノロジー

アップデート：毎週

6日前

Space: the final frontier of AI infrastructure

Tech companies are racing to build data centers in space, pitching orbital compute as the next frontier for AI infrastructure, even as the technical and economic realities remain far from clear. Add in OpenAI’s massive $122 billion round and Bluesky’s latest AI backlash, and the message is clear: The future of AI is being shaped as much by ambition and hype as it is by real-world constraints. On this episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, and Sean O’Kane unpack these massive capital bets, user backlash, and off-world compute plans along with Whoop’s major valuation and the literal downfall of robot Olaf. Listen to the full episode to hear about: OpenAI’s $122 billion fundraise and what its near-trillion-dollar valuation says about expectations for AI. Whoop’s $575 million raise and the shift toward “wearables 2.0” (and what happens to all that data). Bluesky’s AI-powered feed builder and why it triggered a major user backlash. The rise of data centers in space and whether they are financially or physically feasible. 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 00:20 A humanoid Olaf robot collapses at Disneyland Paris 03:30 OpenAI raises $122B at an $852B valuation 11:30 Whoop lands $575M and bets big on wearable data 18:50 The risks (and value) of personal health data 23:00 Bluesky’s AI feed builder sparks backlash 30:00 Can Bluesky keep growing — and compete with X? 36:30 The race to build data centers in space 44:30 SpaceX, Starlink, and the business of orbital compute 49:30 Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

6日前

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34分
1日前

Snowflake’s transition from storing data to shipping with it

Snowflake is betting that the future of AI isn’t just analyzing data, it’s acting on it. That means a shift away from chatbots and toward autonomous agents that can actually get work done. And Snowflake is reorganizing fast to keep up, from shipping hundreds of AI features to restructuring teams along the way.On this episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Rebecca Bellan sits down with Snowflake CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy to unpack the company’s transformation and what it signals about where AI is headed next. Listen to the full episode to hear: Why Ramaswamy believes the chatbot era is ending and the agentic era is beginning. How Snowflake is evolving from a data warehouse into an AI and applications platform. What “shipping with your data” actually looks like in practice. Why the company is making big internal changes to support its AI push. 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 00:17 Snowflake’s AI shift and agentic future 01:45 Why 2026 marks the end of chatbots 04:09 Cortex Code, Snowflake Intelligence, and new products 06:09 Who benefits: non-technical users & enterprises 07:35 Adoption challenges and why AI pilots fail 12:11 How AI is reshaping jobs and skills 14:39 Layoffs, automation, and the future of documentation 18:37 Snowflake’s evolution into an AI platform 21:04 Competition: Databricks, hyperscalers, and AI giants 25:01 Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1日前

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27分
4月1日

Why private wealth is cutting out the VC middleman

The VC middleman is getting cut out faster than anyone expected. Family offices and private wealth firms are going direct: writing checks, taking board seats, even incubating companies from scratch. And more founders are starting to notice. In February alone, family offices made 41 direct investments, including one Midwest-based firm that led a $230 million Series B into an AI chip startup. On this episode of TechCrunch's Equity podcast, Rebecca Bellan caught up with Mitch Stein and Ari Schottenstein, founder and head of alternatives at ARENA Private Wealth, to find out what this shift means for founders, cap tables, and the future of AI investment. Listen to the full episode to hear: How Arena landed the lead on Positron's $230 million Series B, and why the CEO specifically wanted them on his cap table How Arena does due diligence on technical companies What "tourist capital" actually looks like, and the red flags founders should watch for as family offices flood into AI deals Why some VCs are quietly unhappy about this trend (and why Arena thinks that's their problem) 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 03:13 Why family offices are going direct now 06:03 The gen 2 & gen 3 family office shift 07:22 Is this strategic or just AI FOMO? 10:17 How Arena got into the Positron deal 14:30 Why founders want private wealth on their cap table 18:31 Due diligence on technical companies 21:56 Red flags founders should watch for 25:04 Are VCs threatened by this trend? 27:47 Taking board seats & level of involvement 34:17 Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

4月1日

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32分
3月27日

VCs are betting billions on AI's next wave, so why is OpenAI killing Sora?

When an 82-year-old Kentucky woman was offered $26 million from an AI company that wanted to build a data center on her land, she said no. Sure, that same company can try to rezone 2,000 acres nearby anyway, but as AI infrastructure stretches further into the real world, the real world is starting to push back. That tension is everywhere this week, from OpenAI shutting down its Sora app to courts finally starting to hold social platforms accountable. On this episode of TechCrunch's Equity podcast, Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, and Sean O'Kane dig into what it looks like when the AI hype cycle meets reality. Listen to the full episode to hear about: Why rival prediction market CEOs of Kalshi and Polymarket are co-investing in a $35M VC fund How drone startups like Zipline, Lucid Bots, and Brinc are finding real traction where other robotics plays have stalled What Kleiner Perkins' $3.5B raise says about where the biggest VC firms think the next AI wave is going Why two separate court verdicts against Meta in the same week could be the “tobacco moment” for social media 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 00:30 Would you turn down $26M for your farm? 03:56 Rivals Kalshi & Polymarket CEOs are investing together 10:28 Deals for drones: Zipline, Brinc & Lucid Bots 18:17 Kleiner Perkins goes all-in on AI with $3.5B raise 22:52 OpenAI shuts down Sora 28:04 Meta gets hit with dual verdicts 34:56 Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

3月27日

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37分
3月20日

Nvidia has an OpenClaw strategy. Do you?

Jensen Huang took the stage at Nvidia's GTC conference this week in his signature leather jacket to deliver a two-and-a-half-hour keynote, projecting $1 trillion in AI chip sales through 2027, declaring that every company needs an “OpenClaw strategy,” and closing with a rambling Olaf robot that had to get its mic cut. The message was hard to miss: Nvidia wants to be foundational to everything, from AI training to autonomous vehicles to Disney parks. On this episode of TechCrunch's Equity podcast, Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, and Sean O'Kane break down what Nvidia's growing web of AI infrastructure partnerships actually means for startups, and more of the week's headlines. Listen to the full episode to hear about: Travis Kalanick’s return building a "wheelbase for robots" with his new startup Atoms, and the crew has questions about Kalanick’s acquisitions along the way Rivian’s partnership with Uber to build robotaxi versions of its R2 in a deal worth up to $1.25 billion, while pushing back its EBITDA target to do it Frore landing a $1.64 billion valuation for its AI chip cooling systems xAI rebooting, again, with only two of its original eleven co-founders still standing Garry Tan's Claude Code setup went viral at SXSW (Spoiler: the crew is not impressed). 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 00:20 Garry Tan's Claude Code setup goes viral at SXSW 03:37 Travis Kalanick is back with a new startup 12:51 Uber and Rivian's $1.25B RoboTaxi deal 20:54 Chip cooling startup Frore becomes a unicorn 22:56 Nvidia GTC recap: $1 trillion in sales projections 31:42 Elon Musk is rebooting xAI...again 36:37 Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

3月20日

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38分
4月2日

Diverse teams start with diverse VCs with Leah Solivan, Taskrabbit

If one thing has become clear this season, finding the right talent for your team isn’t as easy as picking from a pile of resumes This week’s guest is Leah Solivan, the founder of Taskrabbit and now an early-stage investor who has seen that the power to change a homogenous startup exosystem comes from empowering diverse VCs to fund underrepresented founders who will hire the hidden tech talent. From bootstrapping TaskRabbit on credit cards to scaling it into one of the defining companies of the gig economy, Leah learned firsthand that the hardest part of building a company isn’t the product, it’s selecting the right people to build it. In this episode, Isabelle Johannessen and Leah unpack what it really takes to build diverse teams from day one and why most companies get it wrong by waiting too long. They also explore how the lack of diversity in venture capital directly shapes who gets funded, and ultimately, who gets hired. They discuss: How to build diverse teams intentionally from the very beginning Why the “easy path” in hiring leads to less diverse outcomes The connection between diverse VCs and diverse companies How to hire for culture and values over credentials Apply to Startup Battlefield: We are looking for early-stage companies that have an MVP. So nominate a founder (or yourself): techcrunch.com/apply. Be sure to say you heard about Startup Battlefield from the Build Mode podcast. TechCrunch Disrupt: If you're thinking about applying to Startup Battlefield, then October 13 to 15 in San Francisco, we're back for TechCrunch Disrupt, where the Startup Battlefield 200 takes the stage. So if you want to cheer them on, or just network with 1000s of founders, VCs, and tech enthusiasts, then grab your tickets. Use code buildmode15 for 15% off any ticket type. Chapters: 00:00 The hard way to hire diverse talent 01:20 From engineer to Taskrabbit founder03:39 The moment that sparked Taskrabbit 07:39 Why building teams is the hardest part 12:06 Learning how to hire from scratch 17:36 Why venture capital lacks diversity 27:25 How to build diverse teams from day one 39:42 What founders get wrong about competition

4月2日

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47分
2月27日

Who's really running AI? Inside the billion-dollar battle over regulation, with Alex Bores

The Pentagon is playing chicken with Anthropic over who gets to control how the military uses AI while communities across the country are blocking data center construction. As the AI debate has been flattened to “doomers versus boomers,” one state legislator is attempting to walk a middle road. On this episode of TechCrunch's Equity podcast, Rebecca Bellan sits down with Alex Bores, New York Assembly member and congressional candidate. Bores sponsored New York's first-of-its-kind AI safety law the RAISE Act — and quickly became the target of a Silicon Valley super PAC with $125 million to spend on attack ads. Listen to the full episode to hear about: The dueling super PACs now fighting over AI's future, and why Anthropic's $20 million bet on the pro-regulation side matters. What the RAISE Act actually requires, why it's being called the blueprint for AI regulation nationwide. Whether AI regulation ends up looking like finance and biotech or goes the way of social media — largely unregulated until the damage is done. What's coming next from Bores’ office: bills on training data disclosure, content provenance, and a 43-point national AI framework. 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

2月27日

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23分
3月25日

ReelShort made $1.2 billion on werewolf romances. Watch Club wants to do it better.

Over the past few years, a new category of mobile apps has quietly exploded into a multi-billion dollar business. They're called “micro dramas” — short-form, mobile-first scripted shows designed to be watched vertically on your phone. Think soap opera meets TikTok, complete with secret billionaire romances, disapproving werewolf mothers-in-law, and cliffhangers engineered to keep users tapping. The leading app, ReelShort, made $1.2 billion in consumer spending last year alone. On this episode of TechCrunch's Equity podcast, Rebecca Bellan and TechCrunch senior reporter Amanda Silberling sit down with Henry Soong, founder of Watch Club, who thinks the micro drama industry is still "in its MySpace era." He has a vision for what the Facebook moment could look like. Listen to the full episode to hear: Why micro dramas took off in China while Quibi burned through $2 billion and failed in the U.S., and what that gap reveals about content, product, and business model. How Watch Club is targeting a completely different audience than ReelShort and Drama Box. The tension between building an intentional social experience and optimizing for engagement the way TikTok does. Whether AI is coming for the werewolf billionaire romance script. Amanda has thoughts. 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 01:11 Why micro dramas, and why now? 04:25 What makes Watch Club different 07:29 The monetization model problem 18:52 Optimizing for intentionality, not engagement 24:23 Why Quibby failed (content, product & business model) 28:22 Defensibility: tech company or studio? 31:36 AI, the WGA, and the future of storytelling 33:44 Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

3月25日

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37分
2月25日

Is crypto growing up? Tether risk, Stripe’s stablecoin play, and the GENIUS Act explained

Crypto is creeping back into the startup conversation, but at ETH Denver last week, the buzz was as much about Washington as it was about tokens. Policy shifts are rippling through the market as Tether and stablecoins face scrutiny, players like Stripe re-enter the chat, and startups either find traction or flame out. The hype cycle is over, or at least taking a break. So what comes next? On this episode of TechCrunch's Equity podcast, Rebecca Bellan sits down with Jacquelyn Melinek, CEO of Token Relations and host of the Talking Tokens and Crypto in America podcasts, to make sense of how the market has changed and what in the world of crypto is built to last. Listen to the full episode to hear about: Why ETHDenver fell flat despite a strong speaker lineup, and what it signals about crypto’s shifting hubs. What White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt and SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce are actually pushing for with The GENIUS Act and Clarity Act. What Stripe is quietly building with Bridge, Privy, and Tempo, and whether it's becoming the Visa of stablecoin settlement. Tether's shrinking equity cushion and what a de-pegging event could mean for the broader crypto market. YC’s surprising move to accept stablecoin investment as Bitcoin prices sit at half their peak. 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

2月25日

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33分
2月13日

AI burnout, billion-dollar bets, and Silicon Valley's Epstein problem

AI companies have been hemorrhaging talent the past few weeks. Half of xAI’s founding team has left the company — some on their own, others through “restructuring” — while OpenAI is facing its own shakeups, from the disbanding of its mission alignment team to the firing of a policy exec who opposed its “adult mode” feature. On this episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, hosts Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, and Sean O'Kane dig into the week's biggest deals and departures, from billion-dollar bets on fusion and robotics to the tech exodus reshaping AI companies. Listen to the full episode to hear about: Why humanoid robot startups are raising nearly $1 billion and partnering with Google DeepMind Whether fusion power startup Inertia Enterprises can actually deliver on its 2030 timeline, and why investors keep betting millions What the Epstein files reveal about Silicon Valley dealmaking, particularly during the EV boom Why AI Super Bowl ads might not be landing outside Silicon Valley Chapters 00:00 Intro 02:46 AI Super Bowl ads ⁠aren’t quite landing⁠ outside of Silicon Valley 04:31 Apptronik raises $935M for humanoid robotics 09:05 Will automakers partner with humanoid robotics startups? 13:05 Inertia Enterprises raises $450M for fusion energy 18:44 What the Epstein files reveal about ⁠Silicon Valley dealmaking⁠ 30:56 The exodus at xAI and OpenAI, and what it means for the AI race 37:22 Outro 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

2月13日

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39分

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

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トップ番組

Space: the final frontier of AI infrastructure

Snowflake’s transition from storing data to shipping with it

Why private wealth is cutting out the VC middleman

VCs are betting billions on AI's next wave, so why is OpenAI killing Sora?

Nvidia has an OpenClaw strategy. Do you?

Diverse teams start with diverse VCs with Leah Solivan, Taskrabbit

Who's really running AI? Inside the billion-dollar battle over regulation, with Alex Bores

ReelShort made $1.2 billion on werewolf romances. Watch Club wants to do it better.

Is crypto growing up? Tether risk, Stripe’s stablecoin play, and the GENIUS Act explained

AI burnout, billion-dollar bets, and Silicon Valley's Epstein problem

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