Equity

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Equity

The intersection of technology, startups, and venture capital touches everything now. That’s why Equity, TechCrunch's flagship podcast, digs into the business of startups for entrepreneurs and enthusiasts alike. Every Wednesday and Friday, TechCrunch reporters keep you up-to-date on the world of business, technology, and venture capital. Equity is ranked the No.2 podcast in the Top 100 Venture Capital All time leaderboard on Goodpods—As well as No.17 for the Top 100 Finance All time chart and No.32 for the Top 100 Business News All time chart.

  1. 9 HR. AGO

    The race isn’t over for European AI startups, according to Accel Parther Philippe Botteri

    “It's a bit too early to say that the race is over,” said Philippe Botteri when asked about European startups’ AI progress. “I think we're just at the very early innings of this race.” Botteri is a partner at early-stage investment firm Accel with over 13 years under his belt at the firm, leading investments in DocuSign, UiPath and more recently Snyk and Chainalysis. Today on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, host Rebecca Bellan caught up Botteri to dive deep into Accel’s Euroscape 2024 Report. Tapping into Botteri’s experience in Cloud, SaaS security, and enterprise sectors, the pair discuss AI's rising influence, its impact on software and cloud investments, and how European startups can compete with the US. Listen to the full episode for more about: How AI is eating the software market, with AI and cloud funding predicted to hit $79.2 billion by the end of 2024. The challenges faced by traditional software companies as funding growth slows outside of AI. Why Europe’s strong talent pool gives it an edge in the AI race, even as startups on the continent struggle to compete with the ungodly amounts of money U.S. tech giants have. Increased M&A activity globally amid a slow IPO market. Why 2025 will be the year of the “agentic revolution” with AI significantly impacting software development and productivity.

    26 min

  2. 5 DAYS AGO

    Investor FOMO is back, and what's happening with WordPress and WP Engine?

    Today on Equity, Devin, Margaux and Anthony Ha are rounding up the week's startup and venture news, kicking things off with a look at the $400 million raised by Lightmatter, and the importance of fast networking within the fast growing datacenter industry today — not just in years to come — makes the impressive round a little more understandable. Our Deals of the Week continue with Paladin's drone play for first responders and police, and Abel aiming to reduce the substantial paperwork backlog that officers accrue in their everyday duties. Abel Founder Daniel Francis brings a chaotic energy (having landed a Twitter job from Musk after pretending to have been laid off) that could shake things up. Diving deeper, Anthony breaks down the complex back-and-forth that is the WordPress/WP Engine dispute - and we're left wondering why the obligations of and to the "open source community" are not entirely clear. What does it mean for an open source ecosystem when one person (in this case WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg) still seems to exercise tremendous influence? And could we say the same of Meta's Llama or other "open" AI solutions? Last, the "bummer" results from PitchBook showing that although founders are founding and investors are investing, there isn't a huge amount of money being made. Turns out they weren't just in it to change the world after all. What could this lack of liquidity be attributed to? Is it the macroeconomic climate, the sectors being invested in, the VC's strategies changing... or something else? At least defense and AI are doing OK, and Europe seems to be chugging along, so maybe it's specific to America? Check back in a month.

    37 min

  3. OCT 16

    Tesla’s bot non-disclosure and why humanoid robots are taking off

    At Tesla’s robotaxi reveal event last week, several Optimus humanoid robots mingled with guests, pouring drinks and cracking jokes. Impressive technology, but the vocals and some of the gesticulations appear to have been remotely controlled by humans, something Tesla did not disclose. Today on Equity, Rebecca Bellan chatted with TechCrunch’s hardware editor Brian Heater about Tesla’s Optimus bots, the market opportunity for humanoid robots, and other companies that are leading the charge in this industry.

    28 min

  4. OCT 11

    AI ‘no one wants’ and Google’s potential breakup

    Equity kicked off this week's news roundup with a look at OpenAI's $6.6 billion round, which is being called the ‘largest VC round of all time’. Devin broke down what the funding could mean for the company’s path to profitability, and debunked some of the rumors floating around post-announcement - especially given how unusual those investor restrictions would be in later-stage funding. OpenAI is not all that was on the Equity crew’s minds this week. Margaux wanted to discuss Dave Clark's new venture, Auger, which just raised $100 million to make supply chains more efficient with AI. Taking Clark’s Amazon and Flexport history into consideration, Augur could be on the path to success amid current global supply chain issues and the recent longshoreman strikes. To round out our deals of the week, Anthony set his sights on Impulse Space, which recently secured $150 million to develop and launch its orbital transfer vehicles. What about the AI that people don’t want? Margaux took us deeper into her coverage of Shield AI, AI weapons and ethics. On the subject of tech getting out of hand, Devin and Anthony closed out the show with an update on the ongoing antitrust case against Google, and what a potential breakup could mean for the tech giant and startups looking to disrupt search. Hit play to join the conversation, and Equity will be back next week!

    30 min

  5. OCT 9

    Investors are betting on user-generated content, and Gamebeast's founder explains why

    Today on Equity, Rebecca Bellan sat down with Zander Brumbaugh, the 22-year-old founder of Gamebeast, a startup that offers Roblox developers tools like A/B testing and LiveOps to modify games without needing to release a new version or interrupt a user’s ongoing game. Gamebeast recently raised a $3.7 million pre-seed round, led by J2 Ventures with participation from a16z’s Speedrun accelerator, which Brumbaugh graduated from in March. Brumbaugh said everything from his experience consulting for entertainment studios like Netflix, and writing a best-selling book on Roblox development, to chats with investors tell him that the future of video gaming is in user-generated content, or UGC. The two discussed the rise in popularity of UGC games, a sector that investors are increasingly looking towards as drivers of growth in the video game industry. Brumbaugh didn’t only get investment for his startup because investors see the value in enabling UGC game development. J2 Ventures’ thesis focuses on dual-use technology, and Gamebeast was able to demonstrate how its tech has applications both in commercial and defense. And indeed, we’re seeing a trend of companies going for that sweet military money to stay afloat. There are more insights about the future of the video game market and investor insights aplenty, so have a listen, and enjoy!

    28 min

  6. OCT 4

    YC takes a bite out of PearAI, and French startups have a new home

    Kirsten Korosec, Devin Coldewey, and Margaux MacColl are unpacking another busy week in the tech world, kicking things off with Governor Newsom’s veto of SB 1047, the controversial AI bill aimed at stopping real-world disasters caused by AI systems before they happen. This may not be the last we'll see of the bill, however, as its author has plans to return with a revamped SB 1047 next year. What else went down this week, you ask? Kirsten had us looking to the skies with Joby Aviation’s $500 million investment from Toyota. While Toyota seems to believe that the electric air taxi dream is finally taking off, the Equity crew is skeptical. Margaux argued that aeronautics startup Salient Motion is taking off, despite attempts from Palmer Luckey to shut it down. On the AI front, Devin wanted to discuss Poolside's massive round, the latest drama surrounding Y Combinator-backed PearAI and why it's making waves in the open source community. Speaking of community, Paris-based Motier Ventures . had the team feeling optimistic about the French tech scene with its announcement of its new startup hub, La Maison. Hit play to join the conversation, and Equity will be back next week!

    31 min

  7. OCT 2

    Found: Has Rippling won? with Parker Conrad from Rippling

    HR software is big, big business. And no one understands that better than Parker Conrad the CEO and co-founder of Rippling, a global HR company that offers global payroll, onboarding, time tracking, benefits management and more. This week, Equity is bringing you an episode of our sister show, Found. The Found crew talk with Conrad about what goes into building a leading HR tech company—from what it’s like building out features companies love, to dealing with fierce competition in this ever growing landscape. Conrad also gets into the power imbalance that can arise between VCs and founders and the drama at his previous company that inspired him to build Rippling.

    50 min

  8. SEP 27

    Green flags for defense tech and Silicon Valley's longevity obsession

    Equity is closing out the week as always with a round up of the week's top startup and venture news. Kirsten, Devin and return guest host Margaux McColl had no shortage of themes to cover: VC karaoke, the SpaceX economy, no moats for AI, OpenAI versus open source. To kick things off, we weighed in on Caroline Ellison's sentencing and deals of the week from Reflect Orbital and Pyka. Of course, we had to dive deep into Y Combinator's Summer 2024 Demo Day cohort from there - including a highlight of a few non-AI and AI startups that got our attention. And on the non-AI point, we noticed another startup getting VC attention: Synex and its portable MRIs to test glucose. Clearly, we had much to discuss on today's episode, so press play and join the conversation!

    29 min
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Hosts & Guests

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out of 5
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About

The intersection of technology, startups, and venture capital touches everything now. That’s why Equity, TechCrunch's flagship podcast, digs into the business of startups for entrepreneurs and enthusiasts alike. Every Wednesday and Friday, TechCrunch reporters keep you up-to-date on the world of business, technology, and venture capital. Equity is ranked the No.2 podcast in the Top 100 Venture Capital All time leaderboard on Goodpods—As well as No.17 for the Top 100 Finance All time chart and No.32 for the Top 100 Business News All time chart.

Information

  • Channel
    TechCrunch
  • Creator
    TechCrunch, Mary Ann Azevedo, Kell, Theresa Loconsolo, Rebecca Bellan, Rebecca Szkutak
  • Years Active
    2017 - 2024
  • Episodes
    600
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Show Website
    Equity

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