Welcome to TechCrunch Fintech (formerly The Interchange)! Apologies for being out last week — a cold got the best of me, but I’m back and here to talk about the fact that shutting down startups is big business, Stripe’s new valuation, Klarna’s latest AI update and more. To get a roundup of TechCrunch’s biggest and … Read more
Rabbit co-founder and CEO Jesse Lyu isn’t afraid of death … the death of the company, at least. He told TechCrunch that the company is a startup whose fortunes may be swayed by the whims of multibillion-dollar rivals — but that’s no reason to give up and go home. Appearing onstage at StrictlyVC LA, Lyu … Read more
Once Lai Ching-te is inaugurated as Taiwan’s president in May, his administration will mark an unprecedented three terms of Democratic Progressive Party rule. His victory underscored the desire of voters to maintain the status quo, even as Taiwan continues to deal with the looming specter of China. Soon after he was elected in January, Lai … Read more
In one of the VC world’s greatest ironies, investors have lately been clamoring to back startups that are helping other startups shut down. So whether a VC-backed startup is succeeding or shuttering, investors themselves are finding ways to make returns for their limited partners while also helping founders move on more quickly. And with an … Read more
Dubai-based early-stage venture capital firm COTU Ventures is announcing that it has raised $54 million for its inaugural fund to support startups in the Middle East from pre-seed to seed stages. With a final close achieved last year, COTU Ventures, which identifies and backs founders from the inception to post-product launch, invests between $500,000 to … Read more
Advance, the owner of Condé, owns 30 percent of Reddit with other investors, board members, and employees holding the rest. Among them, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, an early user and investor in Reddit, has 8.7 percent of the company, according to Thursday’s filing. Some of Reddit’s power users in the US could join the ranks … Read more
The idea that humans caused this extinction, but human ingenuity can put things right again? Reed: That is one of the big questions that we should be exploring in the documentary series. That is at the heart of whether you support what Colossal are doing, whether you want de-extinction or whether you think it’s not … Read more
The global video game industry makes more money each year than movies and music combined. But that doesn’t mean the sector was immune to the macroeconomic impacts of the last few years. Gaming companies have held sizable layoffs, and venture funding to the category hit a five-year low in 2023. But VCs are optimistic that … Read more
Peak XV, the venture capital firm that split from Sequoia Capital last year, is taking its portfolio companies from India, Southeast Asia and Australia on an “immersion” trip to Silicon Valley this week to meet several industry titans, the latest in the venture firm’s broadening offerings and networking flex. About 60 founders, many backed by … Read more
Felicis, the 16-year-old Bay Area-based early-stage venture firm, has a reputation for investing globally. Indeed, firm founder Aydin Senkut — who spent a handful of years at Google as a product manager in its earlier days — was born in Turkey and talks often of the hustle he sees in founders around the world. Felicis … Read more