techcrunch TechCrunch Offers $45 Student Tickets for Robotics and AI Event TechCrunch provides deeply discounted $45 student tickets for its upcoming Robotics + AI 2019 event at UC Berkeley, saving attendees over $200.
amazon Amazon Leads $700 Million Investment in Electric Truck Maker Rivian Amazon leads a massive $700 million funding round for Rivian, the startup behind an all-electric pickup truck and SUV. The company plans to remain independent as it prepares for customer deliveries in late 2020.
spotify Spotify Spends $340 Million to Acquire Gimlet and Anchor Spotify confirms it spends nearly $340 million in cash to purchase podcast networks Gimlet and Anchor. The acquisitions are part of a larger $500 million strategy to dominate the podcasting industry.
vicarious surgical Bill Gates Backs Virtual Reality Surgical Robots Vicarious Surgical develops tiny robots that let surgeons operate inside the human body using virtual reality headsets. The startup raises $31.8 million from prominent tech investors to bring this sci-fi concept to life.
musiio Singapore AI Music Startup Musiio Raises $1M Seed Round Singapore-based Musiio secures $1 million in seed funding to expand its AI-powered music curation platform. The startup helps digital music companies discover and organize tracks more efficiently without replacing human listeners.
japan Japan's Society 5.0 Offers a Blueprint for Tech-Driven Social Change Japan tackles its aging population and economic stagnation with Society 5.0, a sweeping initiative that integrates AI and IoT into everyday life. This massive public-private partnership serves as a roadmap for global entrepreneurs to solve persistent societal problems.
gwyneth paltrow Celebrity Founders Face VC Skepticism Despite Star Power, Say Summit Speakers Gwyneth Paltrow reveals at the Upfront Summit that her fame brought initial meetings but also extra rejections while raising venture capital for Goop. Meanwhile, major funding rounds for Clover Health and Clutter highlight a busy week in startup finance.
vr Andreessen Horowitz Leads $68M Into Location-Based VR Startup Sandbox Sandbox VR brings players into empty rooms and transforms them into full-body virtual reality experiences using backpack PCs and haptic gear. The startup just raises a $68 million Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz to expand its scalable out-of-home VR arcades.
kite Kite Raises $17M to Advance AI-Powered Code Completion San Francisco startup Kite secures $17 million in funding to expand its machine learning-based code completion tool. The platform now allows developers to run its AI models locally without an internet connection.
urgent.ly BMW, Porsche, and Jaguar Land Rover Back Digital Roadside Startup Urgent.ly Major automakers invest $21 million in Urgent.ly, an app-based roadside assistance platform that replaces traditional membership models. BMW also signs on as a vendor partner to power digital assistance for its U.S. brands.
venture capital Top Startup Hubs Hold Steady As Utah And Pennsylvania Gain Ground A recent Crunchbase data analysis shows that the largest U.S. venture ecosystems are maintaining their dominance in seed and early-stage funding, despite rumors of a mass exodus to cheaper cities.
predictive index Workplace Analytics Firm Predictive Index Raises $50M to Build Better Teams The Predictive Index secures a $50 million growth round from General Catalyst to expand its behavioral assessment software. The funding supports the company's mission to help businesses win the talent war through strategic hiring.
brd Crypto Wallet BRD Secures $15M to Expand Into Asian Markets Mobile cryptocurrency wallet BRD raises $15 million in a Series B round led by SBI Crypto Investment to fund team growth and Asian expansion. The company currently boasts 1.8 million global users and $6 billion in stored digital assets.
sequoia india Sequoia India Launches Surge Accelerator to Fund Early-Stage Startups Sequoia India introduces Surge, a new accelerator program that invests $1.5 million in early-stage startups across India and Southeast Asia to solve early funding challenges.
sequoia india Sequoia India Launches Surge Accelerator to Fund Early-Stage Startups Sequoia India introduces Surge, a new accelerator program that provides $1.5 million investments to early-stage startups in India and Southeast Asia. The initiative aims to solve common regional founder struggles like being under-capitalized and over-diluted.