venture – Product Management Confabulation

March 8, 2025

In defense tech, Lithuania’s sovereign VC fund is one step ahead

Europe is waking up to the need to invest in defense, and so are European VCs. But with a painful history of Soviet occupations, Lithuania didn’t wait for the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to reach its third anniversary to commit 5% to 6% of its GDP to military spending — and fund […]

March 7, 2025

SXSW 2025: What we’re paying attention to

TechCrunch will be on the ground at SXSW 2025 — the annual tech, music, comedy, and film conference that kicked off Friday in Austin — in search of the zeitgeist of this AI-centric era. Yup, we’re one sentence in and AI has already made its entrance. And why not? A quick scan of the massive […]

March 7, 2025

Last day to apply to be a TechCrunch Sessions: AI speaker

TechCrunch Sessions: AI kicks off on June 5 in Zellerbach Hall at UC Berkeley — and we want AI leaders to take part in industry-changing conversations. Make your mark by leading breakout sessions and discussions with over 1,200 startup founders, VC leaders, and other industry pioneers at TC Sessions: AI. But don’t wait, you have […]

March 6, 2025

Why VCs ghost founders, or reject deals and never speak to the founder again

Getting ghosted is never fun. Especially if you’re a founder seeking capital from investors. It’s similar to dating. You might be left wondering “Why is this person not getting back to me? Did I do something wrong?” Did the investor hate the product? Did they not care for me personally?” It’s enough to drive anyone […]

March 6, 2025

Why VCs ghost founders, or reject deals and never speak to the founder again

March 5, 2025

Growth at all costs is destroying the internet. PR maven Ed Zitron says that’s an opportunity for startups

If you spend any amount of time online, you probably noticed that your user experience keeps getting worse. Websites are waterlogged with autoplay ads, pop-ups, and tracking scripts. Customer service chatbots are useless, despite the promises of generative AI. Social media algorithms boost rage-bait to keep you scrolling and engaged. Dating apps hide all the […]

March 4, 2025

African VC LoftyInc Capital launches third fund for seed and Series A, reaches $43M first close

One of Africa’s most active investors, known for early bets on unicorns like Flutterwave, Andela, and Wave, has secured fresh capital to invest in startups across the continent. This comes as funding deals and volumes in Africa saw only a slight dip last year, according to a report by VC firm Partech. LoftyInc Capital, which […]

March 4, 2025

Foundation Capital, an early backer of Solana and Cerebras, raises $600M fund

Foundation Capital has come a long way since it was forced to scale down its fund size from $750 million in 2008 to $282 million (its sixth main fund) in 2013. On Tuesday, the 30-year-old firm announced that it raised a $600 million eleventh flagship fund, which is 20% larger than the predecessor $500 million […]

March 4, 2025

Funding to women-founded startups declined 12% in 2024, but that wasn’t far behind the broader market

Venture investment to startups founded by women in Europe declined 12% in 2024, but it was in line with the 11% decrease in venture investment overall.

March 3, 2025

General Catalyst loses three top investors as the firm expands beyond venture, contemplates IPO

Three key investors have left General Catalyst amidst a series of recent changes at the firm, which now describes itself as an ‘investment and transformation company,’ TechCrunch has learned. The departed managing directors include Deep Nishar and Kyle Doherty, who co-led General Catalyst’s late-stage strategy known as Endurance, and Adam Valkin, one of the three […]