early stage
TechCrunch is heading to London for London Tech Week
It’s certainly been a minute but we’re bringing some of the TechCrunch crew across the pond during London Tech Week to meet up with U.K.-based investors and rising early-stage founders. We
Level up with our partners at TC Early Stage
Boston! Are you ready for some green on 4/20? No, not that green. It’s TechCrunch Early Stage 2023! Soon enough, we’ll be coming straight atcha with a host of speakers, workshops, roundtables, and
Lux Capital ditches its opportunity fund in latest fundraise
The firm raised separate early and late stage funds 2021, but is combining the strategies into one vehicle this time.
Sweden’s EQT Ventures closes its third fund at €1.1B to double down on European and early-stage startups
Startups might be in a funding midwinter, but the ray of sun shining on some VCs speaks of a different trend. EQT Ventures, the venture fund arm of Sweden’s investment giant EQT making early-sta
Stanford moonshot promises near-term profitability with no-code magical mushrooms, ft. Plaid of X
Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. As you can tell by the headline of this episode, this is a bon
Our 10 favorite startups from YC’s S22 Demo Day: Part 2
This list is for fun, in no particular order -- just startups that stood out to TechCrunch reporters for one reason or another.
The biggest moonshots in YC’s S22 batch
Do bigger checks lead to bigger swings? Y Combinator’s latest participants are the second batch to land a $500,00 check as part of the accelerator’s recently refreshed standard deal. And while the
Where is Y Combinator startup-hunting in 2022?
YC's smaller cohort had us curious about the second-order effects of admitting fewer companies: What would a smaller batch do to the geographic makeup of the companies at the accelerator?
Our 11 favorite companies from YC’s S22 Demo Day: Part 1
TechCrunch is tuned in, as always, to YC's Demo Day, and in keeping with our historical coverage, we compiled a list of our favorites from the first day’s pitches.
Here’s where YC’s latest batch of founders are placing fintech bets
Y Combinator’s latest cohort of founders have opinions on the future of fintech. One-fifth of the accelerator’s Summer 2022 batch, which spans 240 companies, is working on solving issues in the fi
Let’s talk about party rounds
Party rounds have been around for over a decade and a subject of debate for just as long. The positives are obvious. The cons are more complicated.
The venture slowdown finally hit early-stage valuations, PitchBook data shows
According to PitchBook, the median valuation of early-stage U.S. startups that raised venture capital was lower last quarter than in Q1 2022.
Founders, whales and the sea change in the entrepreneurial energy
Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. This is our Wednesday show, where we niche down to a single to
On Deck lays off a third of staff after cutting a quarter just months prior
On Deck, a tech company that connects founders to each other, capital and advice, has conducted another round of layoffs just three months after laying off a quarter of its staff. Sources say that mor
Tech’s riskiest founders are getting a $650 million bet from Redpoint Ventures
For venture investors, noise is ironically important. Wading through constant streams of capital-seeking founders and startup pitches may be the hardest part of the job, but it’s also imperative to
Seedstars launches second fund to invest in 100 startups in emerging markets
Since its launch nine years ago, Seedstars has invested in 81 companies in over 30 emerging markets. Now it’s set a goal of investing in 100 more startups with the launch of its second emerging mark
Announcing the startups pitching onstage at TC Sessions: Robotics 2022
TechCrunch is thrilled to announce the four companies pitching at TC Sessions: Robotics 2022. These four startups stood out from the crowd with innovative hardware or software robotics solutions. You
OK, don’t fear: The long shots are still getting venture funding
Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. This is our Wednesday show, where we niche down to a single to
So. Many. New. Venture. Funds.
Further proving that venture investors have more dry powder than ever before, this week started with a flurry of venture capital fund close announcements across sectors and stages. It tells that LPs a
This company just raised millions to make tech layoffs more humane
The broader goal of Continuum also hinges on early-stage startups getting more comfortable with the idea of part-time executives.