Ex-Ramp engineers raise $20M for platform Melius after scrapping their first product
Instead of helping marketers manage and optimize ad spend, the company is focusing on building the tools that generate the creative assets and campaigns.
Startups
Silicon Valley’s AI wunderkind launches Underdog, the most private Instinct/Muse competitor yet
Sigil Wen, backed by a Silicon Valley’s who-who, has built an on-device AI assistant that promises to be free, fully private, and capable for everyday tasks.
AI computing startup Lambda to raise $4B ahead of planned IPO
Nvidia-backed Lambda is raising up to $4 billion at a $14.5 billion pre-money valuation ahead of a planned 2027 IPO, led by Coatue and Blackstone.
Mirror Particle is building a ‘world model’ of human behavior
Mirror Particle will launch at TechCrunch Disrupt’s Startup Battlefield 200 with a world model built from scratch to predict human behavior, arguing that LLM role-play falls short for market research and brand strategy.
Furientis lands $25M from Benchmark to mass-produce low-cost missile interceptors
The storied Silicon Valley firm makes its first pure defense investment.
Learn all about scaling, fundraising, founder how-tos, and more at TechCrunch Founder Summit, November 4
There isn’t a single manual to read or prompt to give an LLM that can equip you with the skills and knowledge to build a company. But on November 4, TechCrunch Founder Summit gives founders…
Vinod Khosla believes ex-DeepMind engineer’s Wajo will win agent market on trust
Wajo’s Fo agent can hire humans to complete a task.
Get all your questions answered at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026: The full breakout session agenda revealed
Get all of your scaling and tech questions answered at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026. Here’s the full breakout session agenda, happening October 13-15 in San Francisco. Register now to join and save up to $100, and…
Flai’s AI dealership software is booking 50,000 appointments per month
Flai’s revenue has grown 20x in a year, and the company just closed a $27 million Series A funding round.
Etched fields funding offers at $40B+ valuation, sources say
Just a couple of months after its last big raise, the AI chip startup is already being plied with investment offers at double or more its current value, sources tell TechCrunch.