#fundraising

Kalanick's manufacturing-focused startup Atoms closed a $1.7B Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from Uber and Bain Capital.

Former Google DeepMind researcher Andrew Dai raised $55M at a $300M pre-seed valuation, prioritizing strategic partners like Nvidia over higher offers.

TechCrunch's annual founder conference moves to Boston on November 4, with early registration discounts ending in three days.

TechCrunch's flagship founder conference offers up to $190 in ticket discounts and 30% group rates ahead of the November 4 Boston event.

Three AI-focused companies are heading to public markets in the same window, redefining which sectors command investor attention in 2026.

Barcelona-based robotics startup Theker closes Europe's largest robotics Series A, betting on reconfigurable machines over single-task humanoids.

Sabertooth Capital deployed nearly $500M across 10 AI and deep-tech startups in 12 months using SPVs and nominee structures, avoiding the 12-18 month fund-raising timeline.

Sabertooth VC deployed nearly $400M across 10 companies in 12 months using special purpose vehicles, bypassing traditional fund formation timelines.

An AI talent platform founder calls out a common VC practice where lead investors use two tranches at different valuations to inflate headline numbers.

OpenAI has filed confidential S-1 paperwork with the SEC, joining Anthropic and SpaceX in pursuing potential trillion-dollar valuations despite current unprofitability.

A wave of startups are raising capital for in-person, human-centric products—from social games to climate tech—while AI funding reaches record levels.

Venture capital firms are betting on both OpenAI and Anthropic despite fierce competition between the labs, suggesting investors doubt a single dominant player will emerge.

Rocket engine startup Impulse Space secured $500M in Series D funding to hire 200 engineers, betting that physics-based spacecraft design still requires human expertise over machine learning.

Verdict, Threshold, and Atomico argue that SpaceX's $1.75T IPO and potential OpenAI/Anthropic debuts will attract new capital rather than starve emerging startups.

TechCrunch's Startup Battlefield 200 closes applications on May 27, offering 200 early-stage startups equity-free funding, investor access, and global stage exposure at Disrupt 2026.