Investors at TechCrunch Disrupt explained their focus on artificial intelligence and offered advice to founders on how to stand out in a crowded AI field.
Renowned AI scientist Yann LeCun confirmed on Thursday the worst-kept secret in the tech world: that he had indeed launched a new startup. Although he did say he will not be running the new company as its CEO.
The hardware world had a brutal week, withΒ iRobot,Β Luminar, andΒ Rad Power BikesΒ all filing for bankruptcy.Β Each company faces its own mix of tariff pressures, supply chain issues, and shifting markets, but together they tell a larger story about the challenges of building physical products in an era of global trade tensions and cheap overseas competition. From [β¦]
Called the Unicorn Growth Fund, the investment vehicle is a collaboration between Krafton and South Korean internet conglomerate Naver and investor Mirae Asset. It aims to deploy around $669.3 million over four years.
Itβs Thursday, December 18, 2025, and weβre back with todayβs top startup and tech funding news spanning AI software development, biotech, industrial engineering, and embedded cybersecurity. From early-stage compliance automation to mega-rounds in natural language programming and antibody design, todayβs [β¦]
SpaceXβs Starlink has lost communication with one of its satellites after a rare in-orbit failure, adding another real-world data point to the growing challenge of managing massive satellite fleets in low Earth orbit. The incident occurred on December 17, 2025, [β¦]
Modern organizations lean toward highly distributed, service-oriented IT infrastructures. More than ever, businesses depend on IT Service Management (ITSM) solutions to bring order to their operations, sustain high service performance, and effectively meet end-user demands. An ITSM solution is not [β¦]
The venture capital arms of Google and Nvidia have joined a $330 million Series B investment in Lovable, a Stockholm-based vibe coding startup now valued at $6.6 billion. The company confirmed the round on Thursday, marking one of the largest [β¦]
Customs clearance remains one of the least modernized layers of global trade. Paperwork still dominates. Emails, scanned invoices, and inconsistent formats slow shipments and increase risk. Digicust wants to change that. The Vienna-based AI startup has raised a β¬2.3 million [β¦]
Meta AI Chief Yann LeCun is in early talks to raise about 500 million euros, roughly $586 million, for a new artificial intelligence startup that could be valued at close to 3 billion euros ahead of its official launch. The [β¦]
Founders Gabriel Sanchez (Enspectra Health) and Tom Harries (Earth Funeral) share what it takes to build in heavily regulated industries where βmove fast and break thingsβ simply wonβt work. In this episode of Build Mode, they reveal the realities of navigating FDA approval processes, state-by-state regulations, and cultural taboos while building products that are literally [β¦]
The merger would broaden Trump Mediaβs holdings into the nascent fusion power space while data centers clamor for more electricity amid the ongoing AI boom.
Itβs Wednesday, December 17, 2025, and weβre back with todayβs top startup and tech funding news spanning nuclear energy, AI hardware, enterprise security, and encrypted computing. From early-stage encrypted AI engines to mega-rounds in chip design and cloud data security, [β¦]
London-based AI startup Ben has raised $27.5 million (Β£20.8 million) in a Series B round as it pushes to replace aging employee benefits systems used by large, global employers. The company builds software that helps enterprises manage benefits across borders, [β¦]
Oracleβs push to build one of the largest AI-focused data centers in the U.S. has hit a serious setback. Blue Owl Capital, Oracleβs biggest data center financing partner, has stepped away from talks to fund a planned $10 billion facility [β¦]
Coursera said Wednesday it has agreed to acquire rival online learning platform Udemy in an all-stock transaction that values the combined company at approximately $2.5 billion, as the online education sector enters a new phase of consolidation following a post-pandemic [β¦]
Databricks just poured more fuel into the AI infrastructure race. The data and AI company announced a more than $4 billion Series L round that values the business at $134 billion, a sharp jump from its $100 billion valuation earlier [β¦]
OpenAI is in discussions with Amazon about a sweeping new relationship that could reshape how the company funds and runs its AI infrastructure. The talks center on a potential investment that could reach at least $100 billion and an agreement [β¦]
Itβs Tuesday, December 16, 2025, and weβre back with todayβs top startup and tech funding news spanning enterprise AI, stablecoin payments, clean energy, cybersecurity, biotech, and generative developer infrastructure. From seed rounds to late-stage billion-dollar raises, todayβs deals highlight sustained [β¦]
Alphabetβs autonomous driving unit Waymo is in talks with investors on a funding round that could value the company at around $100 billion, according to multiple reports published Tuesday. People familiar with the discussions say the raise could reach into [β¦]
This morning, we covered how fake investors prey on desperate startup founders. This story shows how that trust can break down in the opposite direction. According to a litigation notice released by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), first reported [β¦]
Youβve got the vision, the product, and the team. All thatβs missing is the capital. For many founders, pursuing startup funding feels less like progress and more like a careful step through risk. For every legitimate angel or venture firm, [β¦]
Vital Lyfe, a tech startup founded by former SpaceX engineers, has raised $24 million to bring portable, infrastructure-free water production closer to everyday use. The financing includes more than $18 million in seed funding, with the remainder structured as committed [β¦]
With this funding, Digantara has raised $64.5 million in total as it moves beyond space situational awareness into missile tracking, citing growing demand from governments for space-based defense capabilities.
The Nordic Web closes its $6 million Fund III. The fund will focus on writing the first institutional checks to companies focused on robotics, AI-native companies, and deep tech founders.
Qwacks, a Saudi gaming technology startup building next-generation tools for game developers, has raised SAR 1.8 million in pre-seed funding from Merak Capital, a Saudi-based investment firm licensed by the Capital Market Authority. The investment marks a significant milestone for one of the earliest companies in Saudi Arabia focused on developing core technology for game creation and live operations.
As the Kingdomβs game development ecosystem expands, demand for advanced infrastructure and developer-focused tooling is emerging rapidly. Local studios are seeking platforms that help them build, test, and scale their projects more efficiently, creating a growing need for homegrown technology that supports this shift from consumer participation toward production and creation.
Founded in 2024, Qwacks is developing a unified technology layer designed to streamline the entire lifecycle of game development. The platform includes three complementary products: Flock, a scalable Backend-as-a-Service for online and multiplayer games; Protokite, an AI-enhanced playtesting system that connects developers with real players; and DataDuck, a market intelligence engine that aggregates data from platforms to help studios validate ideas and identify market opportunities.
The new funding will accelerate the expansion of Qwacksβ technology stack, enabling the company to enhance its platform, deepen product integrations, and serve a wider network of studios across Saudi Arabia and the broader region. It will also support the companyβs efforts to strengthen operational capabilities as demand for locally built gaming technology continues to rise.
Abdulelah Alsharif, Vice President at Merak Capital, added: βAt Merak, we continue to invest in the people and platforms shaping the future of Saudi Arabiaβs gaming sector. Qwacks is addressing a clear gap in the ecosystem and doing so with a vision that aligns with the Kingdomβs broader ambitions. We see their work as a meaningful step toward building the technical foundations that will enable local studios to thrive.β
Anas Alsahli, CEO and Co-founder at Qwacks, commented: βMerakβs investment marks a major milestone for Qwacks. It allows us to accelerate the development of our unified platform and bring advanced backend, playtesting, and market intelligence tools to more studios across the region. Our mission is to give developers technology that removes friction, shortens production cycles, and helps them build better games, and this partnership moves us significantly closer to that goal.β
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