Only Products and Other Stuff

Techstars’ Kerty Levy knows a thing or two about where seed funding is, and where it might be going, in the Northeast. During a presentation at TechCrunch’s Early Stage in Boston last month, Levy took a brief look at deal counts and valuations before exploring in more depth what the obstacles to funding are right now, and what founders are going to have to expand on in order to cut a deal. From 2021 to 2022, overall deal count in the Northeast was down around 25%. It might not be surprising, but it is quite stark. If you take a look at seed funding specifically, things are even more contracted. “Even if you extrapolate out past this quarter, even if we have a great second half of the year, I’m afraid that the deal count is looking bad,” she said. In the first quarter of 2023, most of the investments in New England were in the productivity, business productivity, software, health care, climate, energy and fintech sectors. But in Levy’s opinion, founders seeking investment are expec...

a16z, a venture capital firm known for its large fund sizes and for shaking up the VC game when it piled into the industry back in 2009, is cooking up a new strategy to potentially bolster its deal flow, according to a recent report.  It’s creating a fund-of-funds to invest in smaller venture capital pools, giving it visibility on the next generation of breakout tech companies. a16z did not respond to requests for comment on this story. The trend of large funds — traditionally more focused on later-stage deal-making, as it’s hard to deploy big funds into smaller, earlier deals — trying to find a way to get involved in earlier-stage companies is not new. And it is not hard to see the logic behind the a16z effort, provided that it pans out as expected: If it is hard for huge funds to go early, and therefore small, why not simply fund the folks investing early, and then leverage those relationships? The new a16z effort sparked up a little conversation inside of TechCrunch+, so we...

Maëlle Gavet Contributor Share on Twitter Maëlle Gavet is the CEO of Techstars and was previously a senior executive at numerous large tech companies around the world. In these times of heightened tensions and global volatility, I believe startups can play a critical role in our defense, space and national security ecosystem by bringing the very latest innovation to public institutions, some of whom lag startlingly far behind. Startups and active investors in the sector are uniquely positioned to support the defense efforts of the West and the mission to keep our societies safe. Let’s not mince our words: Right now, we are already locked in hybrid warfare with Russia, a nuclear-armed superpower, while tensions with another, China, simmer just below the surface. Despotic regimes threaten our values and way of life, and few would predict that is set to change anytime soon. Yet despite all this, much of the technology and venture capital industry has shown little inclina...

Welcome, folks, to Week in Review (WiR), TechCrunch’s regular column that rounds up the week in tech news. Dunno about y’all, but it’s felt like a long one — and I’m thankful for the extended weekend. For those observing Memorial Day, do enjoy. Those not, take the time off where you’re able. We all need rest here and there. First, a few PSAs. This week, TechCrunch Live hosted Flint Capital and Sensi.AI, a startup using audio-based software to monitor patients and assist medical staff and family members with care. To those of you who tuned in, many thanks. But if you missed it, not to worry — we’ll have the recording up shortly. Then, in September, there’s Disrupt , TC’s annual conference. Whether you’re a startup rookie learning the ropes, a seasoned investor searching for the next big thing or a founder hell-bent on changing the world, Disrupt will deliver the tools, knowledge and connections to help you make it happen. Now, on with the news. most read After 28 years, Windo...

Welcome to Startups Weekly. Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Saturday morning. Something really scary is happening. It’s an internet-powered horror story unfolding in front of us in three interwoven acts: (1) AI technology is improving fast enough that I recently had a bit of an existential crisis, wondering if I, too, was an AI . (2) People have no idea what’s real and what isn’t on the internet. (3) With the 2024 presidential election coming up, we have a recipe for disaster. We may be so comprehensively copulated at this moment in time that digging our way out might prove impossible. Brew a cup of coffee and take a breath; I’m exploring the full depth of my fears in “On the internet, nobody knows you’re a bot.” Fintech keeps printing dollars, pounds, dinar and rupees Earlier this year Mary Ann reported that even well-funded fintech companies were going through rounds of layoffs , but it appears that optimism has returned to the sector. This week, it transpired that ce...

Keeping up with an industry as fast-moving as  AI  is a tall order. So until an AI can do it for you, here’s a handy roundup of the last week’s stories in the world of machine learning, along with notable research and experiments we didn’t cover on their own. This week, movers and shakers in the AI industry, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, embarked on a goodwill tour with policymakers — making the case for their respective visions of AI regulation. Speaking to reporters in London, Altman warned that the EU’s proposed AI Act, due to be finalized next year, could lead OpenAI ultimately to pull its services from the bloc. “We will try to comply, but if we can’t comply we will cease operating,” he said. Google CEO Sundar Pichai, also in London, emphasized the need for “appropriate” AI guardrails that don’t stifle innovation. And Microsoft’s Brad Smith, meeting with lawmakers in Washington, proposed a five-point blueprint for the public governance of AI. To the extent that ...

Twitter has withdrawn from the European Union’s Code of Practice on online disinformation, per the bloc’s internal market commissioner, Thierry Breton. In a tweet last night — which confirmed earlier reports of Twitter’s impending exit from the EU Code — Breton issued the social media platform with a blunt warning: Telling Twitter it cannot hide from incoming legal liability in this area. “Twitter leaves EU voluntary Code of Practice against disinformation. But obligations remain. You can run but you can’t hide,” Breton wrote — a reference to obligations the platform is legally required to comply with as a so-called very large online platform (VLOP) under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA). “Beyond voluntary commitments, fighting disinformation will be legal obligation under #DSA as of August 25. Our teams will be ready for enforcement.” The pan-EU law, which entered into force back in November , requires VLOPs like Twitter to assess and mitigate systemic risks to civic discour...