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Equity

Equity

Written by: TechCrunch Rebecca Bellan Kirsten Korosec Anthony Ha Sean O'Kane Theresa Loconsolo
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 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. Economics Leadership Management & Leadership Politics & Government
Episodes
  • VCs are betting billions on AI's next wave, so why is OpenAI killing Sora?

    VCs are betting billions on AI's next wave, so why is OpenAI killing Sora?
    Mar 27 2026
    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
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    37 mins
  • ReelShort made $1.2 billion on werewolf romances. Watch Club wants to do it better.

    ReelShort made $1.2 billion on werewolf romances. Watch Club wants to do it better.
    Mar 25 2026
    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
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    37 mins
  • Nvidia has an OpenClaw strategy. Do you?

    Nvidia has an OpenClaw strategy. Do you?
    Mar 20 2026
    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
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    38 mins
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