Category: Startup

Bluesky, a prominent tech company, announced a significant leadership change as CEO Jay Graber steps down from his current position to take on the role of chief innovation officer. The company, known for its X and Threads products with 43 million users, is set to have Toni Schneider, former CEO of Automattic, serve as the interim CEO.

Graber, credited with driving Bluesky’s growth and the development of its AT Protocol, highlighted the need for a seasoned operator to focus on scaling and execution as the company matures. In a blog post, Graber expressed enthusiasm for focusing on technology development, stating, “Transitioning to a more focused role where I can do what brings me energy is my way of putting that belief into practice.”

With Bluesky’s board actively seeking a permanent CEO, Schneider’s experience with WordPress.com through Automattic positions him well to navigate the challenges of balancing open-source technology with profitability. The company’s growth trajectory, influenced by Elon Musk’s involvement with Twitter (now X), has brought both product enhancements and community moderation challenges.

Source: TechCrunch

Slate Auto, the electric vehicle startup supported by Jeff Bezos, has appointed former Amazon Marketplace vice president Peter Faricy as its new CEO. This transition comes just months before the anticipated launch of Slate’s affordable electric truck.

Faricy, who previously served as an advisor at McKinsey and Bessemer Venture Partners, officially assumed his role on Monday, according to Slate spokesperson Jeff Jablansky as reported by TechCrunch. The outgoing CEO, Christine Barman, a long-time Chrysler veteran, will now serve as the President of Vehicles within the company.

Barman, one of the few women CEOs in the U.S. automotive industry, had been prominently featured in Slate Auto’s public appearances since the company emerged from stealth mode in April 2025. Under her new role, Barman will focus on ensuring the timely and cost-effective delivery of Slate’s electric truck, which is set to be customizable in various ways, including an SUV conversion option.

Slate Auto, which has garnered substantial funding from Bezos and other investors, previously aimed for an electric truck priced below $20,000 but had to adjust its target to the mid-$20,000 range due to changes in federal EV tax credits. With a substantial pre-order list of around 160,000 individuals, Faricy steps in at a crucial juncture as the company begins converting these preorders into actual vehicle orders.

Source: TechCrunch

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has granted TerraPower approval to build a novel nuclear reactor near an aging coal power plant in Wyoming. This milestone marks the first commercial reactor permit issued by the NRC in nearly a decade.

TerraPower, founded in 2015 and supported by Nvidia, is collaborating with GE Vernova Hitachi to develop the Natrium reactor. Unlike traditional water-cooled reactors, Natrium will be cooled by molten sodium, a unique approach that the company claims will enhance safety. This is the first time in over four decades that the NRC has approved a commercial reactor not utilizing water cooling.

The Natrium design includes the storage of excess molten sodium in insulated tanks to facilitate continuous energy production. This stored energy can be deployed during periods of low demand, complementing fluctuations in renewable energy output and contributing to cost-effective power generation.

By adhering to established regulatory procedures, TerraPower secured permission to construct the reactor on private land, demonstrating its commitment to safety and compliance. As the demand for electricity, particularly from data centers, escalates, the pressure mounts on the government to expand generating capacity, driving interest in new nuclear technologies.

Source: TechCrunch

Robinhood Ventures Fund I, a new initiative aimed at providing retail investors access to a curated selection of startup investments, encountered a turbulent start during its recent NYSE debut. This fund, which includes startups like Mercor, Ramp, and Stripe, was designed to democratize private company investments for the general public.

Robinhood, known for its commission-free trading platform, aggregated eight startups into its inaugural fund, Robinhood Ventures Fund I. Despite setting a target of $1 billion, the fund raised $658.4 million in its initial offering, potentially reaching $705.7 million if underwriters fully participate.

The reception on Wall Street was less enthusiastic than anticipated, with shares closing at $21, a 16% decrease from the offering price of $25. This contrasts with the success of Destiny Tech100, another fund offering individual investors exposure to prominent startups, which saw its shares soar post-listing.

The divergence in investor sentiment between Robinhood’s fund and Destiny Tech100 could be attributed to Robinhood’s current portfolio composition lacking exposure to highly anticipated IPO candidates like OpenAI, Anthropic, and SpaceX. To address this gap, Robinhood plans to expand the fund by incorporating more startups in the future.

Source: TechCrunch

Life Electric Vehicles Holdings, known as Life EV, has completed the acquisition of Rad Power Bikes, a prominent electric bike company, for $13.2 million. This move comes after Rad Power Bikes filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, signaling a shift in the electric mobility sector.

Despite Rad Power’s previous financial challenges, Life EV has expressed its commitment to maintaining the brand’s presence by continuing retail operations under the Rad Power Bikes name in the United States. Additionally, the company plans to expand Rad Power’s retail footprint in key markets, ensuring continuity for existing customers.

Life EV, based in Florida, specializes in acquiring and developing electric bicycle and micro-mobility brands. Alongside Rad Power Bikes, the company also holds an equity interest in LEV Manufacturing, Inc., which acquired the premium electric bicycle brand Serial 1 from Harley-Davidson.

This acquisition aligns with Life EV’s strategy of expanding its operations across North America, reflecting the growing influence of electric mobility technologies in the transportation industry.

Source: TechCrunch

City Detect, a tech startup utilizing computer vision AI to assist local governments in monitoring the condition of buildings and neighborhoods, recently secured a $13 million Series A funding round led by Prudence Venture Capital. Founded in 2021 by CEO Gavin Baum-Blake, the company addresses urban decay challenges faced by cities through innovative AI solutions. By mounting cameras on public vehicles like garbage trucks, City Detect captures images of buildings and neighborhoods, employing computer vision to identify issues such as graffiti, illegal dumping, and neglected maintenance.

The technology streamlines the process of tracking deteriorating structures, significantly outperforming manual efforts with the ability to analyze thousands of buildings weekly compared to just 50 by human inspectors. Key features include privacy protection mechanisms like blurring faces and license plates, along with the capability to differentiate between street art and vandalism. Additionally, City Detect assists authorities in monitoring landlords’ compliance with building maintenance regulations.

This advancement in urban monitoring technology enhances the efficiency of city maintenance operations and contributes to creating safer and cleaner urban environments. With installations already in 17 cities, including Dallas and Miami, City Detect’s impact on urban revitalization is steadily growing.

Source: TechCrunch

French quantum computing company Pasqal is set to go public on the Nasdaq with a $2 billion valuation through a SPAC deal with Bleichroeder Acquisition Corp II, accompanied by a $200 million private funding round. This move comes shortly after Finnish competitor IQM’s similar decision to enter the public markets.

Pasqal, known for its full-stack quantum computing solutions, competes with major tech players by offering hardware, software, and cloud services to labs and industry partners, generating significant annual revenue. The SPAC merger with Bleichroeder Acquisition Corp II not only values Pasqal at $2 billion pre-money but also aims to provide the necessary resources for the company’s quantum computing ambitions.

By planning a dual US-European listing, Pasqal aims to reassure its French stakeholders, with Bpifrance remaining an active shareholder and board member. This strategic move allows Pasqal to leverage the US markets for scale and revenue opportunities while maintaining a strong European presence. The company’s upcoming Nasdaq listing in 2026 will be followed by a potential listing on Euronext later the same year or in 2027.

Source: TechCrunch

Cluely CEO Roy Lee recently admitted to publicly misrepresenting the company’s revenue numbers last year. The $7 million in annual recurring revenue that Lee shared with TechCrunch turned out to be false, as he confessed on Thursday. This revelation has sparked discussions about transparency and accountability in the tech startup ecosystem.

Lee acknowledged his misleading statement, calling it the only instance of blatant dishonesty in his public communications. However, he also mischaracterized the circumstances that led to the fabrication, citing a random call as the trigger, despite evidence showing that a planned interview with TechCrunch was arranged through Cluely’s PR representative.

In the summer of 2025, Cluely gained attention for its ‘cheat-on-everything’ tool, allowing users to cheat during video calls discreetly. The startup emerged after Lee’s viral post about being suspended from Columbia University for creating a cheating tool for job interviews.

This incident raises concerns about the importance of accurate disclosure in the tech industry, particularly within startups striving to establish credibility and trust. The episode serves as a reminder of the need for openness and honesty in financial reporting, reflecting on the broader issue of integrity in the tech startup landscape.

Source: TechCrunch

Private equity firms traditionally spend significant resources on external advisers for merger-and-acquisition processes, making the due diligence phase expensive and time-consuming. However, a startup called DiligenceSquared is offering a more efficient and cost-effective solution by leveraging AI and voice agents to conduct customer interviews for their M&A research.

Founded by industry veterans Frederik Hansen and Søren Biltoft, DiligenceSquared aims to streamline the due diligence process for PE firms. By utilizing AI technology, the startup can efficiently gather insights from customers of target companies, eliminating the need for expensive management consultants.

With Hansen’s background at Blackstone and Biltoft’s experience at BCG, the co-founders bring a wealth of expertise to the table. Since its launch, DiligenceSquared has successfully completed projects for major PE firms, attracting investments such as the $5 million seed round led by Damir Becirovic of Relentless Ventures.

This innovative approach not only reduces costs for PE firms but also enhances the accuracy and speed of research processes. By automating interviews through AI voice agents, DiligenceSquared is offering a more efficient solution for M&A research in the industry.

Source: TechCrunch

Oura, a prominent player in the smart ring market, has acquired Doublepoint, a startup known for its expertise in gesture recognition technology. This strategic move aims to incorporate intuitive controls into wearable devices, particularly smart rings.

Doublepoint’s technology enables wearables to interpret subtle hand movements, enhancing user interactions with various interfaces. By blending artificial intelligence and biometric data, Oura plans to introduce faster and more natural control mechanisms for its products. The company envisions a future where wearable AI seamlessly integrates voice commands and gestures, offering users a more immersive and efficient experience.

This acquisition aligns with Oura’s goal of expanding its AI capabilities and delivering enhanced features that simplify daily tasks. With a successful track record in the smart ring market, Oura’s growth trajectory remains robust, with strong sales figures and a solid market position. The addition of Doublepoint’s talent pool, including AI experts and innovators, bolsters Oura’s ability to innovate and drive the evolution of wearables.

Source: TechCrunch

Hardware testing startup Nominal has recently achieved a significant milestone, reaching a valuation of $1 billion and securing $155 million in funding over the past 10 months. The latest funding round, an $80 million Series B extension, was led by Founders Fund, following a previous $75 million Series B round led by Sequoia in September.

Nominal specializes in providing software that aids hardware engineers in testing their designs, initially focusing on serving defense tech companies. The Los Angeles-based company has rapidly expanded its client base, attracting four of the five largest defense contractors as customers within a short span of time.

CEO and co-founder Cameron McCord, a former U.S. Navy submarine officer with experience at defense tech firm Anduril, has strategically positioned Nominal in the market. The company’s customer roster includes prominent names like Anduril, Pratt Miller Motorsports, and Antares, indicating its growing influence across various industries beyond defense tech.

Looking ahead, Nominal plans to diversify its offerings into industrial sectors such as automotive, robotics, and other key industries. With strong backing from investors like Founders Fund and Sequoia, Nominal is poised to continue its trajectory of success and innovation in the hardware testing space.

Source: TechCrunch

Science Corporation, led by Max Hodak, former president of Neuralink, has successfully raised $230 million in a Series C funding round. This funding brings the company’s post-money valuation to $1.5 billion, indicating strong investor confidence in its work in the brain-computer interface space.

Science Corp’s key innovation, PRIMA, is a tiny chip designed to restore functional vision in individuals with advanced macular degeneration. Through successful trials involving 47 patients in Europe and the U.S., 80% of participants experienced significant improvements in visual acuity, enabling them to read letters, numbers, and words.

The company’s approach involves implanting PRIMA in the eye, where it interacts with camera-equipped glasses to enhance the user’s vision. By leveraging technology acquired from Pixium Vision and further refining it, Science Corp has positioned itself at the forefront of brain-computer interface technology development.

With a CE mark application already submitted to the European Union, Science Corp anticipates approval by mid-2026, paving the way for PRIMA’s market launch in Europe. This milestone could establish the company as the first to offer a brain-computer interface product to consumers, marking a significant advancement in the field of neural interfaces.

Source: TechCrunch

Zeno, a startup co-founded by former employees of Tesla and Apple, has raised $25 million in Series A funding to ramp up the production of its electric motorbikes equipped with app-controlled battery-swap technology. The company has already sold nearly 1,000 of its Emara motorcycles, targeting the growing electric motorbike market in East Africa.

The funding round, led by Congruent Ventures, aims to enhance Zeno’s battery-swap network and increase the manufacturing of its Emara bikes, which are known for their cost-effectiveness compared to traditional internal combustion bikes. With over 800 Emara bikes built and 150 charging stations established across four East African countries, Zeno is poised for further expansion.

The Emara model features a spacious design capable of carrying passengers and cargo, offering a range of 100 kilometers (60 miles) on a single charge and a maximum load capacity of 250 kilograms (550 pounds). Priced around $1,300 without a battery and $2,000 with one, the Emara targets both retail and fleet customers seeking economical and eco-friendly transportation solutions.

Zeno’s approach to electric mobility emphasizes convenience and affordability, reflecting the increasing demand for sustainable transportation options in emerging markets. The recent funding injection will enable Zeno to meet the strong consumer interest and continue its mission of providing efficient electric motorbikes to customers across East Africa.

Source: TechCrunch

Lio, an AI-powered procurement startup, has secured $30 million in a Series A funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz, as reported by TechCrunch. The company, co-founded by Vladimir Keil, aims to address the inefficiencies in enterprise procurement processes through automation.

Keil’s firsthand experience highlighted the manual and fragmented nature of procurement processes within large companies, leading to the development of an automated platform powered by AI agents. These AI agents are designed to streamline and optimize the entire procurement process for enterprise customers.

With the recent funding, totaling $33 million to date, Lio plans to expand its operations across the U.S. and enhance the capabilities of its AI agents. The technology offered by Lio targets the core challenges faced by companies in managing procurement, from navigating ERP software to checking contract management systems and ensuring compliance.

By automating repetitive workflows and handling unstructured data, Lio aims to provide a more efficient and cost-effective solution for enterprises, compared to traditional manual procurement methods.

Source: TechCrunch

In the evolving landscape of AI technology, CollectivIQ, a startup incubated at Buyers Edge Platform, is offering a unique solution to enhance the reliability of AI-generated answers. Led by CEO John Davie, CollectivIQ aims to address the limitations of traditional AI models by aggregating responses from a diverse array of sources, including ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Grok, and up to 10 other models simultaneously.

Davie’s quest for more accurate AI solutions stemmed from his dissatisfaction with existing options for his hospitality procurement enterprise. Recognizing the potential risks associated with using multiple AI tools that could inadvertently expose sensitive company information or lead to biased outcomes, Davie sought a more robust and secure alternative.

By combining responses from various AI models, CollectivIQ offers users a comprehensive and reliable approach to query responses, minimizing the chances of misinformation, bias, or inaccuracies. Davie’s commitment to ensuring data integrity and preventing the dissemination of flawed insights drove the development of this innovative platform.

CollectivIQ’s approach not only addresses the shortcomings of conventional AI tools but also underscores the importance of data accuracy and security in the AI ecosystem. This paradigm shift in AI utilization reflects a growing demand for more dependable and transparent AI solutions across industries.

Source: TechCrunch

Decagon, an AI-powered customer support startup, has successfully completed its first tender offer, enabling over 300 employees to sell a portion of their vested shares at a valuation of $4.5 billion. This move reflects a growing trend among fast-growing AI startups to provide employee liquidity, a strategy aimed at attracting and retaining top talent in a competitive landscape.

The less-than-three-year-old company’s employee secondary is supported by key investors like Coatue, Index, a16z, Definition, Forerunner, and Ribbit, who previously backed its $250 million Series D round. The practice of allowing employees to convert equity into cash through tender offers has become increasingly popular as startups compete for AI talent.

Recent examples from other AI startups, such as ElevenLabs, Linear, and Clay, conducting similar employee tender offers underscore the industry’s focus on talent retention. These initiatives are made possible by investors eager to deepen their stake in rapidly expanding companies.

Despite Decagon not disclosing revenue figures since late 2024, its remarkable growth is evident from the soaring valuation, tripling from $1.5 billion to $4.5 billion within a year. The company’s CEO and co-founder, Jesse Zhang, emphasized the alignment of investment demand, growth achievements, and rewarding the team’s efforts.

Source: TechCrunch

Sleep technology company Eight Sleep has secured $50 million in a recent funding round, valuing the company at $1.5 billion. The company, known for its smart mattress accessories that monitor sleep patterns and adjust temperatures, has seen significant growth since its previous funding rounds, raising over $310 million to date. Eight Sleep’s products have garnered attention from investors like Tether Investments, HSG, and Y Combinator.

Eight Sleep aims to expand beyond consumer products by developing solutions for sleep disorders like sleep apnea. Seeking FDA approval for its new products, the company plans to introduce advanced features that can detect and mitigate sleep-related issues. CEO Matteo Franceschetti envisions a future where technology optimizes sleep quality by proactively adjusting mattress settings based on individual needs.

Utilizing AI algorithms trained on proprietary data, Eight Sleep’s technology offers personalized insights to users, prompting behavior changes like adjusting exercise routines or caffeine consumption for better sleep quality. With a focus on expanding globally and enhancing its product line, Eight Sleep is positioned to redefine how technology can improve sleep habits and overall well-being.

Source: TechCrunch

Offshore wind developer Aikido is exploring a unique solution to address the power demands of AI data centers by planning to deploy a small data center beneath a floating offshore wind turbine. While the idea of launching servers into space for continuous solar power access has been discussed, Aikido believes that the ocean presents a more practical and sustainable alternative.

The 100-kilowatt demonstration data center, set to be submerged off the coast of Norway, will reside in the submerged pods of the offshore wind turbine. The company aims to scale up this concept by deploying a larger version with a 15 to 18 megawatt turbine feeding a 10 to 12 megawatt data center off the coast of the UK in 2028.

This approach not only provides proximity to power sources and consistent offshore winds but also simplifies server cooling by utilizing the cold seawater. However, challenges such as the harsh ocean environment, the need to secure equipment against corrosion, and ensuring stability in the moving sea must be addressed.

Source: TechCrunch