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4月3日

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

4月3日

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34 分鐘
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 分鐘
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 分鐘
1月16日

OpenAI and Anthropic are making their play for healthcare, and we're not surprised

AI companies are clustering around healthcare and fast. In just the past week, OpenAI bought health startup Torch, Anthropic launched Claude for Health, and Sam Altman-backed MergeLabs closed a $250 million seed round at an $850 million valuation. The money and products are pouring into health and voice AI, but so are concerns about hallucination risks, inaccurate medical information, and massive security vulnerabilities in systems handling sensitive patient data. Today on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, and Sean O'Kane dig into why the AI world is suddenly obsessed with health care, what other products can expect an AI-makeover, and more. Listen to the full episode to hear: How Anthropic's co-work tool could threaten Salesforce and other enterprise software giants Bandcamp’s move against AI, banning AI-generated music from its platform Why fusion energy is heating up, with startups like Type One Energy suddenly raising hundreds of millions The latest on Luminar's bankruptcy and a potential bidding war overits LIDAR assets Chapters: 00:00 - Introduction 00:29 - Waymo testing in New York City? 02:13 - Bandcamp bans AI-generated music 04:57 - Luminar's bankruptcy and LIDAR fire sale 10:28 - Type One Energy's fusion funding frenzy 16:10 - AI's healthcare land grab 23:28 - Voice AI deals heat up 25:26 - Anthropic's co-work tool threatens enterprise software 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

1月16日

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33 分鐘
3月6日

Anthropic vs. the Pentagon, the SaaSpocalypse, and why competition is good, actually

The Pentagon has officially designated Anthropic a supply-chain risk after the two failed to agree on how much control the military should have over its AI models, including its use in autonomous weapons and mass domestic surveillance. As Anthropic’s $200 million contract fell apart, the DoD turned to OpenAI instead, which accepted and then watched ChatGPT uninstalls surge 295%. As the stakes keep rising, the question remains: how much unrestricted access should the military have to an AI model? On this episode of TechCrunch's Equity podcast, hosts Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, and Sean O'Kane dig into what startups should think about when chasing federal contracts, especially when nobody seems to know what to do with AI in Washington, and more of the week's headlines. Listen to the full episode to hear more about: Paramount’s massive deal with Warner Bros, and the Equity crew’s ideas for what the new HBO Max-Paramount+ hybrid should be called MyFitnessPal's acquisition of Cal AI, the calorie-tracking app built by teenagers Who dropped $1 billion on Pinterest’s AI mission and how the company spent it on share buybacks. (Spoiler: Kirsten has thoughts.) Anduril is raising again at a reported $60 billion valuation Whether companies should brace themselves for the SaaSpocalypse, or if it’s just another chapter of the AI hype cycle 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

3月6日

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35 分鐘
2月6日

How far will Elon Musk take the ‘everything’ business as SpaceX and xAI merge?

Elon Musk has merged SpaceX and xAI, creating what might be the blueprint for a new Silicon Valley power structure. With his $800 billion net worth already rivaling historic conglomerate GE's peak market cap, and Musk being vocal about his view that "tech victory is decided by velocity of innovation," the question isn't whether a personal conglomerate can be built, but rather how far Musk himself is going to take it. Today on Equity, we're unpacking this new era of the "everything" business, whether we'll see others like Sam Altman follow suit, and more of the week's headlines. Listen to the full episode to hear about: Waymo's new $16B funding and why Alphabet staying as majority owner matters for an eventual IPO Why everyone from Intel to Tesla is trying to break Nvidia's AI chip dominance ElevenLabs’ $11B valuation, and why some investors are doubling — and quadrupling — down as it moves beyond voice AI Positron's $230M bet on power-efficient chips as the next frontier 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6日

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39 分鐘
1月30日

Uber puts another chip on the self-driving roulette table

Self-driving truck startup Waabi's billion-dollar fundraise isn't just about trucks. The deal, for $750 million up front plus another $250 million from Uber tied to deployment milestones, marks a major expansion into robotaxis for the company founded by former Uber AI chief Raquel Urtasun. It also feels like another chip from Uber on the autonomous vehicle roulette table. With more than 20 AV partners worldwide, the question isn't just whether Waabi can deliver on its plans to deploy over 25,000 robotaxis, but whether Uber's bet-on-everything strategy actually works. Today on TechCrunch's Equity podcast, hosts Kirsten Korosec, Sean O'Kane and Anthony Ha discussed Uber's AV partnership strategy, why Waabi's "simulation-first" approach might be different, and more of the week's headlines. Listen to the full episode to hear about: Anduril's drone race recruitment stunt and whether it's the future of hiring or just good PR Phia’s $35M raise for an AI shopping assistant as brick-and-mortar stores close their doors Northwood Space's $100M Series B and the booming space infrastructure market Who’s really winning in TikTok's messy US ownership deal, and the competitors trying to capitalize The IPO window cracking open, and how SpaceX plans to go through it Chapters: 00:00 Intro 02:13 Palmer Luckey's bold recruiting strategy 04:04 Phia raises $35M for sustainable shopping 06:27 Browser extensions & the privacy problem 09:59 Northwood Space's $100M Series B & Space Force contract 12:17 The rise of dual-use space companies 14:01 Waabi's $1B valuation & beyond trucking 16:36 Uber's strategy: Betting on every AV partner 19:12 TikTok's US deal & immediate outage 21:46 TikTok competitors gain ground 24:03 IPO window opening: Ethos, Serve, and SpaceX 27:57 Will Elon actually take SpaceX public this time? 29:11 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

1月30日

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31 分鐘
1月28日

The SpaceX IPO could finally happen (and it's a big deal)

SpaceX is reportedly lining up four major Wall Street banks for a 2026 IPO that could provide the reset the market needs. The company just completed a tender offer at an $800 billion valuation, and secondary market demand is through the roof. If SpaceX goes public anywhere near its rumored $1.5 trillion valuation, it could trigger an IPO cascade for other late-stage unicorns like OpenAI, Stripe, and Databricks. Today on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Rebecca Bellan spoke with Greg Martin, Managing Director at Rainmaker Securities, to discuss why this IPO feels different, how tech employees are cashing out through secondary markets before companies go public, and what investors are actually looking for in pre-IPO shares. Listen to the full episode to hear: Which other late-stage unicorns are seeing the most secondary trading action right now. Why SpaceX is ready to go public, despite previously saying it “wouldn't IPO until rockets were flying to Mars regularly” (and why Martin doesn’t think SpaceX will continue on its debut path if the market tanks) The "Elon halo effect" and how much of SpaceX's valuation is based on Musk himself What happens when SpaceX employees want to sell shares before the IPO Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 01:39 The Booming Secondary Market for Pre-IPO Shares 04:06 SpaceX as an IPO Bellwether 06:31 Why Elon Musk Changed His Mind on Going Public 10:04 The Race to a Trillion-Dollar Valuation 12:27 The Elon Halo Effect on Valuations 15:17 What Signals an Upcoming IPO? 17:50 How Secondaries Drive Better Price Discovery 20:47 How SpaceX Secondaries Actually Work 24:03 What Investors Want from Pre-IPO Companies 25:11 The Have and Have-Not World of Secondaries 26:42 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

1月28日

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29 分鐘
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 分鐘
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 分鐘

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

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Space: the final frontier of AI infrastructure

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

Nvidia has an OpenClaw strategy. Do you?

OpenAI and Anthropic are making their play for healthcare, and we're not surprised

Anthropic vs. the Pentagon, the SaaSpocalypse, and why competition is good, actually

How far will Elon Musk take the ‘everything’ business as SpaceX and xAI merge?

Uber puts another chip on the self-driving roulette table

The SpaceX IPO could finally happen (and it's a big deal)

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

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

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