Startup Industry News

The next wave of VCs judging Startup Battlefield at Disrupt 2026

For founders, Startup Battlefield 200 is one of the biggest moments of their careers. For everyone else in the TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 audience, it's one of the best ways to learn how great companies are actually evaluated by VCs. This startup…

This startup is paying employees to post on LinkedIn

Faced with a flood of applications for open roles, Warp chief people officer Gabriella Garcia needed a way to cut through the AI spam and reach quality candidates. Her solution: Turn employees into influencers and pay them extra to post. Garcia…

Where will the next breakout startup come from? Benchmark's full partnership weighs in at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026

What does one of Silicon Valley's most successful venture firms think founders are getting wrong? At TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, we're putting all five Benchmark general partners on one stage to find out. Jack Altman, Peter Fenton, Chetan Puttagunta…

SparkLabs and Mirae Asset Launch a Venture Capital Fund for Central Asian Startups

During this past week, South Korea and Kazakhstan signed commercial agreements worth US$18.95 billion. Kazakhstan is a country of 20 million people with its core industries being oil and gas, and among the highest producers of iron and silver in…

Deloitte event highlights Cyprus' growing startup ecosystem

Deloitte brought together more than 20 startups and scaleups in Limassol on September 17 for an event highlighting the growing strength and international potential of Cyprus' technology ecosystem. The second edition of Deloitte's “…

French startup repurposes EV batteries for solar energy storage

French startup Battwoo is developing stationary battery energy storage systems (BESS) using repurposed electric vehicle batteries. The company aims to extend battery lifetimes from 15 to 30 years by giving EV batteries a second life that would…

Drone Startups Backed By Eric Schmidt and the Trump Family Win the Pentagon's Latest Competition

Wendy's: International Folly But A Potentially Wise Acquisition (NASDAQ:WEN)

Wendy's remains a hold as competitive pressures, shrinking sales, and high debt overshadow its low valuation. International expansion ambitions appear overly optimistic given entrenched competition and unfavorable macroeconomic trends in target…

Elon Musk's latest Boring Company pitch involves a Hyperloop between Austin and San Antonio

Elon Musk recently claimed that his tunneling startup The Boring Company is working on “a simple precursor Hyperloop” between Austin and San Antonio that will reduce the journey between the two cities to less than 30 minutes. The…

Zillow's Business Model Should Prove Difficult To Sustain (NASDAQ:Z)

Zillow faces long-term risk from its high agent fees, which could drive agents toward lower-cost competitors like CoStar. Z's moat is based on popularity rather than unique value, making its lead-generation dominance vulnerable to agent-driven…

They planned their futures around America. The past 12 months have left them rethinking that dream.

Ananya Joshi loved her life in Chicago. After moving from India for a master's degree in biotechnology at Northwestern University, she landed a $75,000-a-year job as a scientist at a lab-grown meat startup in 2024. She was doing research, living in…

The United States of Innovation: How American industry can thrive for another 250 years

Two and a half centuries ago, the United States was founded as an innovative experiment in self-government. The spirit of risk-taking that accompanied signing the Declaration of Independence has informed much of American industry over the ensuing…

Google's VP of product Robby Stein joins Disrupt 2026

Getting people to try your first product is one challenge. Changing a product that billions of people already rely on is another. The ambition is still to move fast, test ideas, and build something better. But when every update carries consequences…

Benchmark's full partnership joins the main stage at Disrupt 2026

What does one of Silicon Valley's most successful venture firms think founders are getting wrong? At TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, we're putting all five Benchmark general partners on one stage to find out. Jack Altman, Peter Fenton, Chetan Puttagunta…

How Businesses Can Build Resilience With AI Amid Global Uncertainty

Amidst global uncertainties and rapid technological shifts, industry leaders are urging businesses to embrace artificial intelligence and agile strategies to build resilience and secure long-term growth. Businesses must adapt quickly to uncertainty…