While the AI fundraising machinekeeps breaking its own records, some founders are building in the other direction.
Mirror founder Brynn Putnam just raised money forBoard, a startup focused on bringing people together through in-person games and social experiences.Cyberdeck creators are going viralcrafting whimsical DIY computers thatliterally encourageusers to touch grass. Unlike theAI-free browser crowd, thisdoesn’tjustfeellikebacklash, but alsopeople genuinely gravitating toward things that feel a little more human.
On this episode of TechCrunch’sEquitypodcast, Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, and Sean O’Kane dig into the week’s headlines,from the “together tech” wave to whatAnthropic’sconfidential IPO filing means against the backdrop of Alphabet’s$80 billionAI raise, and whether the money is all flowing back to the big guys anyway.
Listen to the full episode to hear:
- Why ex-Meta CTO Mike Schroepferraised $250 million for climate tech specifically, at a moment when almost nobody else is
- How rocket engine startupImpulse raised $500 million— and is loudly emphasizing that those funds will be spent on people, not AI
- A look insideAnthropic’sS-1, and what the team is looking forward to once we can finally compare the AI labs’ financials
- Whattwo YouTube directors cracking the box officetells us about creator economy power
Subscribe to Equity onYouTube,Apple Podcasts,Overcast,Spotifyand all the casts. Youalso canfollow Equity onXandThreads, at @EquityPod.
Theresa Loconsolo is an audio producer at TechCrunch focusing on Equity, the network’s flagship podcast. Before joining TechCrunch in 2022, she was one of 2 producers at a four-station conglomerate where she wrote, recorded, voiced and edited content, and engineered live performances and interviews from guests like lovelytheband. Theresa is based in New Jersey and holds a bachelors degree in Communication from Monmouth University.
You can contact or verify outreach from Theresa by emailing [email protected].
Anthony Ha is TechCrunch’s weekend editor. Previously, he worked as a tech reporter at Adweek, a senior editor at VentureBeat, a local government reporter at the Hollister Free Lance, and vice president of content at a VC firm. He lives in New York City.
You can contact or verify outreach from Anthony by emailing [email protected].
Kirsten Korosec is a reporter and editor who has covered the future of transportation from EVs and autonomous vehicles to urban air mobility and in-car tech for more than a decade. She is currently the transportation editor at TechCrunch and co-host of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast. She is also co-founder and co-host of the podcast, “The Autonocast.” She previously wrote for Fortune, The Verge, Bloomberg, MIT Technology Review and CBS Interactive.
You can contact or verify outreach from Kirsten by emailing [email protected] or via encrypted message at kkorosec.07 on Signal.
Sean O’Kane is a reporter who has spent a decade covering the rapidly-evolving business and technology of the transportation industry, including Tesla and the many startups chasing Elon Musk. Most recently, he was a reporter at Bloomberg News where he helped break stories about some of the most notorious EV SPAC flops. He previously worked at The Verge, where he also covered consumer technology, hosted many short- and long-form videos, performed product and editorial photography, and once nearly passed out in a Red Bull Air Race plane.
You can contact or verify outreach from Sean by emailing [email protected] or via encrypted message at okane.01 on Signal.