Episodes

  • Ethos raises $22.75M from a16z for its expert network with voice onboarding; plus, Altara secures $7M to bridge the data gap that’s slowing down physical sciences

    Ethos raises $22.75M from a16z for its expert network with voice onboarding; plus, Altara secures $7M to bridge the data gap that’s slowing down physical sciences
    May 7 2026
    Ethos says it is onboarding 35,000 experts per week Also, Altara’s AI aims to diagnose failures and help speed up R&D by unifying data siloed across spreadsheets and legacy systems. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    9 mins
  • OpenAI’s cozy partner Cerebras is on track for a blockbuster IPO; plus, Katie Haun raises $1 billion for new venture funds

    OpenAI’s cozy partner Cerebras is on track for a blockbuster IPO; plus, Katie Haun raises $1 billion for new venture funds
    May 6 2026
    AI chip maker Cerebras is heading for a blockbuster IPO that could value it at $26.6 billion or more. It's relationship with OpenAI is deep and rich. Also, Katie Haun announced on Monday that $1 billion has been raised across new funds to continue the firm’s thesis of backing crypto and blockchain startups. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    7 mins
  • Musely secures $360M from General Catalyst without giving up equity; Meta buys robotics startup

    Musely secures $360M from General Catalyst without giving up equity; Meta buys robotics startup
    May 4 2026
    The direct-to-consumer skin, hair, and and menopause care brand Musely will use the non-dilutive capital to super-charge customer acquisition. Also, Meta bought humanoid startup Assured Robot Intelligence to beef up its AI models for robots, the company said. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    7 mins
  • Legal AI startup Legora hits $5.6B valuation and its battle with Harvey just got hotter; also, Shapes brings humans and AI into the same group chats

    Legal AI startup Legora hits $5.6B valuation and its battle with Harvey just got hotter; also, Shapes brings humans and AI into the same group chats
    May 1 2026
    The two wildly fast-growing rivals have raised massive sums, pushed into each other's home turf and now have dueling ad campaigns. Plus, Shapes, an app where humans and AI characters chat together in shared group conversations, is emerging from stealth with $8 million in seed funding. Think Discord, but with AI characters alongside humans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    8 mins
  • Firestorm Labs raises $82M to take drone factories into the field; plus, BMW i Ventures has a new $300M fund

    Firestorm Labs raises $82M to take drone factories into the field; plus, BMW i Ventures has a new $300M fund
    Apr 30 2026
    Ships and planes carrying parts to the front lines would be vulnerable to attack. Defense startup Firestorm Labs thinks the answer is a drone factory that fits inside a shipping container. Also, BMW i Ventures has launched a new $300 million fund and will invest in early-stage through Series B startups in North America and Europe that are working on agentic AI and physical AI. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    8 mins
  • BCI startup Neurable looks to license its ‘mind-reading’ tech for consumer wearables

    BCI startup Neurable looks to license its ‘mind-reading’ tech for consumer wearables
    Apr 29 2026
    The startup specializes in "non-invasive" "mind-reading" tech — a kind of neural data collection that, its CEO hopes, will have all sorts of consumer applications. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    5 mins
  • Two college kids raise a $5.1 million pre-seed to build an AI social network in iMessage

    Two college kids raise a $5.1 million pre-seed to build an AI social network in iMessage
    Apr 27 2026
    Series, a social networking app that's grown popular on college campuses, announced a $5.1 million pre-seed round from some big names in tech. Plus, Sierra, the AI customer service agent startup founded by technologist Bret Taylor, announced today that it has acquired the YC-backed French startup Fragment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    6 mins
  • Beehiiv rolls out new creator tools; Also, another customer of troubled startup Delve suffered a big security incident

    Beehiiv rolls out new creator tools; Also, another customer of troubled startup Delve suffered a big security incident
    Apr 24 2026
    Beehiiv is clearly done being just a newsletter platform based on today's launch of a new webinar feature, customizable paywalls, and more. Plus, TechCrunch has confirmed that Delve was the compliance company that performed the security certifications for Context AI, the AI agent training startup that last week disclosed a security incident. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    8 mins