More than a decade ago, Jason Citron took the Disrupt stage to pitch his early-stage company in the Startup Battlefield competition at TechCrunch Disrupt as a scrappy founder pitching his vision. Today, he’s built Discord into one of the most successful consumer platforms of its era — valued in the …
Read More »Amazon launches AI agent to help sellers complete tasks and manage their businesses
Amazon announced on Wednesday that it’s introducing an always-on AI agent that will help sellers on its platform run their businesses. The company is updating Seller Assistant, its AI tool for third-party sellers, to help handle tasks on the seller’s behalf. “Our agentic AI capabilities are designed to work seamlessly …
Read More »VC firm Insight Partners says thousands of staff and limited partners had personal data stolen in a ransomware attack
Venture capital firm Insight Partners has notified thousands of people, including the firm’s limited partners, that their personal information was stolen by hackers in an earlier data breach. In a statement on September 4, the VC giant said it completed its review earlier in August following its data breach, which …
Read More »CEO of Lovable, one of the fastest-growing startups in history, at Disrupt 2025
Lovable has quickly become one of the most talked-about startups of the year, breaking records and making headlines as one of the fastest-growing software companies in history. To mark the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch, co-founder and CEO Anton Osika will take the Disrupt Stage to discuss Lovable and the Future …
Read More »Lyft and Waymo are partnering to bring robotaxis to Nashville
Waymo has struck a deal with ride-hailing company Lyft to launch a robotaxi service in Nashville in 2026. The company said Wednesday it will begin testing its fleet of all-electric and autonomous Jaguar I-Pace vehicles in the Nashville area in the coming months and will open up the service to …
Read More »Terra Oleo’s oil-producing microbes could replace destructive palm oil plantations
When most kids rebel against their families, they might become a ski bum, join a band, or go to art school. Shen Ming Lee decided to start a company. “I grew up in the conventional palm oil industry,” Lee told TechCrunch. “My family’s business is one of the top producers …
Read More »Icarus raises $6.1M to take on space’s “warehouse work” with embodied-AI robots
Icarus Robotics cofounders Ethan Barajas and Jamie Palmer spent hours interviewing astronauts about what it was like working in space as they homed in on their startup idea. Their big takeaway: the work was often more cargo logistics than cutting-edge science. “We’re Amazon warehouse workers with PhDs,” one astronaut said. …
Read More »Sonair built its 3D ultrasonic sensor with robotic safety in mind
As robots increasingly enter human spaces, robotics companies will need to think about safety differently than they did when robots were largely siloed from their human counterparts. Sonair thinks its sensors can help robotics companies reach their safety goals — with a solution that is both better and cheaper than …
Read More »Google Ventures doubles down on dev tool startup Blacksmith just 4 months after its seed round
As speed becomes the defining currency in an AI-driven software world, Blacksmith has raised another round led by Google Ventures — just four months after its seed — to accelerate how code gets shipped. The $10 million Series A closed in just 14 days, with Google Ventures doubling down after …
Read More »India’s Urban Company soars 58% above IPO price in year’s most subscribed offering
Urban Company, India’s largest home services platform, stormed onto the public markets on Wednesday, opening 58% above its issue price after delivering the country’s most subscribed IPO of the year. The Gurugram-based startup, which connects users to at-home services ranging from beauty treatments to appliance repair, debuted on the Mumbai-based …
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