Who knew M&A would be the thing we couldn’t shut up about?
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Hello, and welcome back to Equity, the podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines.
This is our startup-focused, Wednesday episode, so today we’re counting down important venture rounds, and chatting our way through other startup and VC news.
Here’s what we got into:We’ll be digging into the Brex situation on Friday, so stay tuned for more about fintech soon!
A fledgling Dutch startup wants to help companies extra data from large volumes of complex documents where accuracy and security is paramount — and it has just secured the backing of Google’s Gradient Ventures to do so.
How it worksCompanies can access Send AI’s cloud-based software via APIs which funnels data from documents sent over email.
Upon receipt, Send AI visually enhances the documents before sending to its language models for classification and extraction.
In terms of pricing, Send AI charges on a credit-based basic, whereby customers pay per processing-step.
Send AI attempts to address such concerns by deploying small, isolated open source transformer models for each customer.
Welcome to the TechCrunch Exchange, a weekly startups-and-markets newsletter.
It’s inspired by the daily TechCrunch+ column where it gets its name.
But sometimes we forget that technology does, too — especially when it comes to AI, which is still in its early days in many respects.
— AnnaAI unfairness at workEmployee-monitoring software isn’t new.
Also known as bossware, it is pitched by its makers as a way to help boost productivity, but by those who endure it, it’s a surefire way to deplete morale.
Her company Fuck You Pay Me (FYPM), which is like a Glassdoor for influencers, raised a $275K seed extension solely via Instagram stories, with no pitch deck.
On the platform, creators can review brands they’ve worked with, and share data like how much they were paid, how long it took for them to get paid.
So, with the new funding, Lurgin wants to remove these technical barriers to scale, without damaging the quality of the product.
Lurgin wants to make sure that creators and talent managers can access this information for free, so long as they upload verified reviews.
She also wants FYPM to develop an API, allowing talent companies to upload their own data directly to the platform.
Alongside Samsung’s launch event today, Google announced a new way to search on Android phones dubbed “Circle to Search.” The feature will allow users to search from anywhere on their phone by using gestures like circling, highlighting, scribbling, or tapping.
The search results users will see will differ based on their query and the Google Labs products they opt into.
For a simple text search, you may see traditional search results while a query that combines an image and text — or “multisearch” as Google calls it — uses generative AI.
The feature was one of several Google AI announcements across Gemini, Google Messages, and Android Auto announced at today’s event.
Over time, more Android smartphones will support the feature, Google says.
ChefPaw is an machine designed to prepare homemade dog food.
The appliance aims to provide an alternative to store-bought dog food, focusing on fresh ingredients tailored to individual pet dietary needs – and saving a ton of money along the way.
It turns out that fresh-ingredient food for your four-legged furbaby is hella expensive, and ChefPaw wants to make it easier to make your own.
ChefPaw operates by adding fresh ingredients into the machine, which then mixes and cooks the food at lower temperatures, a process taking approximately 40 minutes.
The machine can roughly chop the food to take the shape of usual dog food, or blend it more smoothly for pets that have difficulties eating after surgery, for example.
The humble computer mouse hasn’t seen a huge amount of innovation since it was invented – and let’s be honest, it isn’t a particularly ergonomically friendly piece of kit.
“It all started with a friend of mine who’s creative director whose hand became injured from repetitive motion on a mouse.
Moustrap is expected to hit the market in about three months – but don’t expect it to be cheap.
Despite the high-end price tag, Federici has chosen to bootstrap the project himself, with no immediate plans for seeking investors.
With a manufacturing partner lined up in China, Moustrap is well on its way to finding its way to users.
Sports fans most often take in their favorite game by watching it on TV or from the venue itself, but those with blind and low vision generally must rely on the announcer or a radio broadcast.
OneCourt aims to augment their experience with a lap-top miniature field that lets someone feel the position of the players and ball in near real time.
There’s nothing wrong with the radio broadcast, but it’s often delayed by 10 to 30 seconds, and neither it nor live announcers provide the spatial detail that sighted fans are treated to.
Fortunately, many major league sports broadcast the exact, real-time locations of the players and ball along with video and audio.
The OneCourt team takes this information and transmits it to a haptic display with a touchable cover imitating the pitch or field lines.
Well, now that we’re in recovery mode, there are new rules to play by when it comes to identifying, pitching and partnering with the right investor.
LPs are being more selective, and the bar for deals is higher now, writes Paul Hsu, founder and CEO of Decasonic, a venture and digital assets fund.
He shares 12 tips on how to find the right venture partner in this new environment.
“As organizations ramp up their shift toward AI-centric business models, it’s not just about staying competitive — it’s also about survival.”Get the TechCrunch+ Roundup newsletter in your inbox!
Building a viable pricing model for generative AI features could be challengingAnd finally, as generative AI features become more ubiquitous, companies are finding that monetizing these add-ons is hard.
Carta’s decision to exit the secondary share trading business was a quick response to the controversy that emerged after it was chastised by customers for using private data to foster its equity transactions.
The Exchange explores startups, markets and money.
Read it every morning on TechCrunch+ or get The Exchange newsletter every Saturday.
After a customer criticized Carta for working to connect buyers and sellers of startup shares on its secondary trading platform without permissions, there have been several questions regarding data security and just what — or who — its product is.
Cloudflare’s CEO and co-founder, Matthew Prince, argued in the aftermath, for example, that the only way for Carta to “justify [its] multiple [and] valuation” was to pitch investors that it was going to build “the world’s biggest secondary market” predicated on the data it holds on behalf of its customers.
