If there was one thing we heard about this week, it was AI. As a matter of fact, there were so many AI updates to get through that the phrase was said 121 times at Google’s I/O conference alone.
On today’s episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, we broke down what you missed from OpenAI and Google’s events, and which new AI features we think are actually innovative. Of course, we also riffed on what all of that means for startups.
But there was much more to uncover in the world of startups and venture from the week. Mary Ann, Becca and Haje dug into three funding deals, proving that bigger is not always better (or more interesting).
Becca wanted to talk about Spoor, an Oslo, Norway-based startup using AI to help wind farms mitigate its impact on birds (how cool is that?) while Haje wanted to discuss how fintech Layer is looking to take on QuickBooks in the SMB accounting space. Mary Ann, meanwhile, was excited to look into one Kentucky-based startup’s decision to raise $27.5 million in venture capital after being bootstrapped for six years and achieving profitability.
Last but not least, our trio examined the trend of venture capital investors leaving their firms to do other things – some are starting their own new firms, some are returning to old ones, and some are leaving their investing days behind them. We’re still wondering what could be behind the moves, but it doesn’t look like the trend is going anywhere anytime soon. We’ll also be keeping an eye on how the recent moves start to impact startups down the line.
That’s it for this week but never fear, we’ll be back bright and early Monday morning with more tech and startup news, along with another round of Pitch Deck Teardown. Talk soon!
Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts.You also can follow Equity on X and Threads at @EquityPod. For the full episode transcript, for those who prefer reading over listening, check out our full archive of episodes over at Simplecast.
