Mike Butcher
Editor At Large
The Latest from Mike Butcher
New research: Vast majority of VC-backed UK startups do *nothing* on climate emissions
Some 76% of the top 500 VC-backed U.K. startups have done nothing to either measure or offset their carbon emissions, according to new research shared exclusively with TechCrunch. In total, these comp
Defense AI startup Helsing breaks the record for European AI, raising a $223M Series B
Helsing, a “Defense AI” startup backed by Spotify founder Daniel Ek which had previously raised €102.5 million, has today pulled in another €209 million ($223 million) in a Series B fu
UK deep tech gets another boost with new $100M SCVC fund out of Bristol
Europe has far too few VCs created by former founders, or “operators” as the industry often likes to call them. Yes, Atomico has Niklas Zennström. Firstminute Capital has Brent Hoberman. More rec
Connect Ventures hits $80M for its next fund, says the Bear market means ‘Product is back, baby!’
Tempus fugit, as Virgil once put it. It was a full 11 years ago that I first noted the appearance of Connect Ventures, one of the early “new kids on the block” amongst the nascent clutch o
Nordic-based Unconventional Ventures nears €30M fund close to back diverse European teams
As has been pointed out many, many times, lack of diversity is an ongoing problem in the tech startup and VC landscape. It’s a fact that’s long been recognised in the U.S., and it’s of equal con
Communication using thought alone? Unbabel unveils AI project to give us superhuman capabilities
Sitting in a meeting room in a startup office in Lisbon, I silently typed a question only the person opposite would know the answer to. What kind of coffee had I asked for when I’d arrived at the of
‘Smart bus’ startup Zeelo, aimed at employers and schools, secures $14M to scale in the US
Zeelo — a ‘smart buses’ platform providing bus operators, employers and schools with private bus and shuttle transport programs — has secured $14 million in a fresh Series A ‘extension’ ro
VLGE opens SDK for its no-code virtual world builder aimed at fashion, beauty and art industries
We’ve seen the rise of no-code and low-code platforms being applied to any number of applications and use cases. What would happen if this thinking were applied to metaverse-style virtual worlds? Wh
Messina joins Ride Home Fund’s new $15M AI vehicle, backed by Andreessen, Dixon, Crowley
Tech veteran Chris Messina and writer/podcaster Brian McCullough are launching a new $15 million fund aimed at AI startups. The backers include tech luminary investors and founders such as Marc Andree
Pretiosum Ventures hits first close on its second fund to back infrastructure startups
London-based Pretiosum Ventures has reached the first close of what TechCrunch understands could eventually be a $20 million second fund. Founded in London in 2019 by Yana Abramova, the solo GP fund i
EdgeIn hopes to be a faster, community-driven, ‘CrunchBase for web3’
As we saw with the collapse of FTX, the web3 space leaves a lot to be desired in terms of transparent information about companies, fundings, management and a slew of other data that really is commonpl
GoStudent adds another $95M to its war chest to go after VR and AI-enhanced tutoring
GoStudent — the late-stage tutor marketplace that has raised $686.3 million so far — has now raised another $95 million in what it calls a strategic fundraise from Deutsche Bank and other inve
Dial up a therapist like an Uber? Wangie aims at Gen Zers and the time-poor
It would be fair to say there’s no global solution for instant 24/7 access to mental health support. Yes, there are a few “marketplaces” where you can schedule a call with a therapist in
Akhetonics raises capital for its all-optical processor prototype
Traditional processors from the likes of Intel, AMD, or Nvidia have well-known limitations around speed, energy efficiency, and electromagnetic interference. For instance, foundational chip makers lik
Whither Israel? Israeli tech players comment on the impact of the country’s convulsions
As we covered in April, Israel has become convulsed by “reforms” to the judiciary, proposed by the Benjamin Netanyahu-led government, which passed yesterday. There is now deep concern that the jud
What happened when Nous.co hooked up generative AI to its users’ household bills
With the cost of living ever more painful, and generative AI supposedly gunning for your job, at least — for the moment — it might be here to save you some money on your household bills. U.K.-base
Can dltHub solve the Python library problem for AI? Dig Ventures thinks so
Python is the preferred programming language in AI. However, most organizations can’t incorporate their Python developers into legacy data infrastructure. That means they miss out on pulling the ben
Sources: Lensa AI backer exits Servers.com for $200M
A backer of the Lensa AI app, which sent AI-generated images from Stable Diffusion rocketing into mainstream social media, has just exited a company for a substantial amount of money, say well-placed
From VanMoof to VanPoof! How did the e-bike pioneer go bankrupt, even as the market boomed?
Troubled e-bike maker VanMoof — which had raised a total of $189.1 million from the likes of Balderton Capital and Felix Capital, among other investors — has now officially gone bankrupt in the Ne
Cowboy rides to the rescue of VanMoof owners with app to unlock threatened bikes
Since struggling e-bike startup VanMoof confirmed it had gone into the Dutch version of administration, there has been a question hanging over the VanMoof bikes out there in the wild. These bikes reli