Funded

## Episode Summary In this episode, we cover: - **Even Benchmark thinks AI is eroding the venture pact against backing rivals** (TechCrunch Venture) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/15/even-benchmark-thinks-ai-is-eroding-the-venture-pact-against-backing-rivals/) - **Asia’s Startup Funding At Near Record High In Q3, Driven By AI** (Crunchbase News) - [Read more](https://news.crunchbase....

## Episode Summary In this episode, we cover: - **Exclusive: Stella & Dot Founder Raises $5M For Her Next Act, AI Marketing Startup Marklo** (Crunchbase News) - [Read more](https://news.crunchbase.com/venture/founder-raises-5m-next-act-ai-marketing-startup-marklo-herrin/) - **Cybersecurity Investors Put $6.8B To Work In The Third Quarter, Mostly In Larger Rounds** (Crunchbase News) - [Read more](h...

## Episode Summary In this episode, we cover: - **38 Companies Join The Crunchbase Unicorn Board In Blockbuster September, Led By Semiconductor, Fintech And Space Tech Companies** (Crunchbase News) - [Read more](https://news.crunchbase.com/venture/september-2026-new-unicorns-semiconductors-ai-fintech-space/) - **OpenAI's AI agent platform is used by twice as many companies as Anthropic's, new Vent...

## Episode Summary In this episode, we cover: - **Where The Next Generation Of Super Apps Will Be Built** (Crunchbase News) - [Read more](https://news.crunchbase.com/fintech/building-next-generation-super-apps-okike-645-ventures/) - **Fifth Wall’s Brendan Wallace On Why The Best Proptech Bets May Not Look Like Proptech** (Crunchbase News) - [Read more](https://news.crunchbase.com/venture/real-esta...

## Episode Summary In this episode, we cover: - **AI voice company Hyper raises $6.3M to help automate 911 calls** (TechCrunch Fundraising) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2025/07/21/ai-voice-company-hyper-raises-6-3m-to-help-automate-911-calls/) - **Thiel Capital’s Jack Selby nabs stakes in hot startups like Etched through Arizona connections** (TechCrunch Fundraising) - [Read more](https://...

## Episode Summary In this episode, we cover: - **Amazon backs programmable optics startup Lumotive** (TechCrunch Fundraising) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2025/07/22/amazon-backs-programmable-optics-startup-lumotive/) - **TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 starts in 4 days — lock in your pass savings of up to $100 before prices rise** (TechCrunch Venture) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2026/10...

## Episode Summary In this episode, we cover: - **The Week’s 10 Biggest Funding Rounds: AI And Energy Top A Busy Lineup Of Large Rounds** (Crunchbase News) - [Read more](https://news.crunchbase.com/venture/biggest-funding-rounds-ai-energy-cloud-axiom-typesafe/) - **Catalio Capital closes over $400M Fund IV** (TechCrunch Fundraising) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2025/07/01/catalio-capital-c...

## Episode Summary In this episode, we cover: - **Exclusive: Gudea Lands $7M To Predict Which Online Narratives Will Go Viral** (Crunchbase News) - [Read more](https://news.crunchbase.com/venture/gudea-lands-funding-predict-viral-online-narratives/) - **Why Customer Workflows Are Becoming The Moat In The AI Era** (Crunchbase News) - [Read more](https://news.crunchbase.com/ma/customer-workflows-moa...

## Episode Summary In this episode, we cover: - **Europe Posted Its Strongest Quarter In Q3 In 4 Years, As Its Venture Ecosystem Expands Beyond The UK** (Crunchbase News) - [Read more](https://news.crunchbase.com/venture/q3-2026-europe-strong-quarter-ai-uk-germany-france/) - **There Was Never An Easy AI Era, And Investors Are Raising The Bar** (Crunchbase News) - [Read more](https://news.crunchbas...

## Episode Summary In this episode, we cover: - **A new search engine raises $1.1M to let obsessive fans dive down internet rabbit holes** (TechCrunch Fundraising) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/03/a-new-search-engine-raises-1-1m-to-let-obsessive-fans-dive-down-internet-rabbit-holes/) - **A year after filing to IPO, still-private Cerebras Systems raises $1.1B** (TechCrunch Fundraisin...

## Episode Summary In this episode, we cover: - **Whoop’s valuation just tripled to $10 billion** (TechCrunch Fundraising) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/31/whoop-valuation-10b-series-g-fundraise/) - **At 19, founder raises $11M for Ghost, maker of a $3,499 computer for personal AI** (TechCrunch Venture) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/05/at-19-ghost-founder-raises-11-mi...

## Episode Summary In this episode, we cover: - **Your final chance to grab your exhibit table at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 is October 2** (TechCrunch Venture) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/28/disrupt-2026-exhibitor-program-extended-until-oct-2/) - **Why Paradigm built a spreadsheet with an AI agent in every cell** (TechCrunch Fundraising) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2025/08/...

## Episode Summary In this episode, we cover: - **Spotify billionaire’s body scan startup has come to America** (TechCrunch Venture) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/03/spotify-billionaires-body-scan-startup-has-come-to-america/) - **More than 100 new tech unicorns were minted in 2025 — here they are** (TechCrunch Fundraising) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/12/at-least-36...

## Episode Summary In this episode, we cover: - **Next 5 VCs judging Startup Battlefield 200 contenders at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026** (TechCrunch Venture) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/28/next-five-vcs-judging-startup-battlefield-200-contenders-at-techcrunch-disrupt-2026/) - **New MIT and Sakana AI framework uses an LLM judge to cut evaluation costs for self-improving coding agents**...

## Episode Summary In this episode, we cover: - **NeoLogic wants to build more energy-efficient CPUs for AI data centers** (TechCrunch Fundraising) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2025/08/13/neologic-wants-to-build-more-energy-efficient-cpus-for-ai-data-centers/) - **Nautical And Marine Startups See Stepped-Up Funding** (Crunchbase News) - [Read more](https://news.crunchbase.com/venture/nauti...

## Episode Summary In this episode, we cover: - **Two Google alumni raise $11.3M to back AI startups that enterprises will actually pay for** (TechCrunch Venture) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/30/bag-ventures-sets-its-eyes-deeper-into-the-ai-stack/) - **Protego Ventures closes debut $125M fund for Israeli defense tech** (TechCrunch Venture) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2026/...

## Episode Summary In this episode, we cover: - **OpenClaw launches free enterprise control plane for persistent AI agents, backed by OpenAI, Red Hat and Nvidia** (VentureBeat) - [Read more](https://venturebeat.com/orchestration/openclaw-launches-free-enterprise-control-plane-for-persistent-ai-agents-backed-by-openai-red-hat-and-nvidia) - **Oura Hits Pause On IPO While Anthropic’s Prospectus Revea...

## Episode Summary In this episode, we cover: - **Peak XV ups Surge seed investment ceiling to $5M, unveils 18-startup cohort** (TechCrunch Venture) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/28/peak-xv-goes-bigger-at-seed-with-new-surge-cohort-as-series-a-bar-rises/) - **TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026: Everything you need to know ** (TechCrunch Venture) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2026...

## Episode Summary In this episode, we cover: - **The Week’s 10 Biggest Funding Rounds: Cybersecurity, AI And Health Take The Lead ** (Crunchbase News) - [Read more](https://news.crunchbase.com/venture/biggest-funding-rounds-cybersecurity-ai-health-island-cyera/) - **The Week’s 10 Biggest Funding Rounds: Large Rounds For AI Infrastructure, Space Tech And Investment Management Lead** (Crunchbase Ne...

## Episode Summary In this episode, we cover: - **Gaming Startup Funding Levels Up A Bit In 2026** (Crunchbase News) - [Read more](https://news.crunchbase.com/venture/2026-global-gaming-startup-funding-up-ai-meshy-decart/) - **Seed to Series C: What VCs actually want from AI startups** (TechCrunch Fundraising) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/podcast/seed-to-series-c-what-vcs-actually-want-fro...

## Episode Summary In this episode, we cover: - **Amazon backs programmable optics startup Lumotive** (TechCrunch Fundraising) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2025/07/22/amazon-backs-programmable-optics-startup-lumotive/) - **VC firm Bessemer now has another $5.75B to invest in (what else?) AI** (TechCrunch Venture) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/23/vc-firm-bessemer-now-has-anot...

## Episode Summary In this episode, we cover: - **Exclusive: From Booking Calls To Late Check-Ins, Dextr AI Raises $6.7M For Hotel AI Agents** (Crunchbase News) - [Read more](https://news.crunchbase.com/venture/dextr-ai-hospitality-agents-raises-seed-funding/) - **Modelence raises $3M to smooth out the vibe-coding stack** (TechCrunch Fundraising) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/28/mod...

## Episode Summary In this episode, we cover: - **Oura’s $2.2B IPO is mostly a payday for existing shareholders** (TechCrunch Venture) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/21/ouras-2-2b-ipo-is-mostly-a-payday-for-existing-shareholders/) - **Superorganism raises $25M to back biodiversity startups** (TechCrunch Fundraising) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/13/superorganism-raises...

## Episode Summary In this episode, we cover: - **Why Paradigm built a spreadsheet with an AI agent in every cell** (TechCrunch Fundraising) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2025/08/18/why-paradigm-built-a-spreadsheet-with-an-ai-agent-in-every-cell/) - **Whoop’s valuation just tripled to $10 billion** (TechCrunch Fundraising) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/31/whoop-valuation-10b-...

## Episode Summary In this episode, we cover: - **3 days left to exhibit: Get your brand in front of VCs and high-value leads at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 ** (TechCrunch Venture) - [Read more](https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/16/3-days-left-to-exhibit-at-techcrunch-disrupt-2026/) - **Exclusive: Fintech Offers Startups Alternative To Venture Debt With A New Model To Finance Customer Acquisition Costs**...