startup
Follow Chronicle's coverage of "startup" — 23 published articles so far, refreshed hourly.
Michael Polansky Develops AI to Preserve Living Skin Tissues
Michael Polansky — better known publicly as Lady Gaga's partner and a former top deputy to Sean Parker — has quietly spent years building an AI-driven startup that keeps living human skin tissue alive for weeks outside the body to discover
Japanese startup Letara secures $16M to expand rocket tech
Japanese space startup Letara is betting its hybrid rocket technology can move beyond small satellite thrusters into a broader market for space, defense and security, after raising ¥2.6 billion ($16 million).
Grab Your TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 Pass Before Prices Climb
If you’ve been circling around Disrupt, then now’s the best time to lock in your pass and start getting ready to join the rest of the startup community gathering in San Francisco from October 13-15 at Moscone West!
Stripe didn’t really buy OpenRouter because of the ‘singularity’
What does a payments giant want with a startup that routes prompts between different AI models? Stripe says it's because of "the singularity" but it's really for a far more real and powerful reason.
Cognition CEO denies report that SpaceX tried to acquire the startup
SpaceX was reportedly in talks to buy AI coding startup Cognition. SpaceX has already acquired Cursor as it races to catch up to rivals like OpenAI and Anthropic in enterprise AI.
Rillet raises $100M Series C at $1B valuation — 2 years after emerging from stealth
AI-native account startup Rillet became a unicorn, led by Iconiq, after it doubled its ARR in the past three months, it said.
Time’s running out! Save $300 on your TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 pass until August 21
If you’ve been circling around Disrupt, then now’s the best time to lock in your pass and start getting ready to join the rest of the startup community gathering in San Francisco from October 13-15 at Moscone West!
Startup claims AI needs better data, not miracle, to fight cancer
It's the data, stupid.
Secure Big Savings on TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 Passes Before August 21
If you’ve been circling around Disrupt, then now’s the best time to lock in your pass and start getting ready to join the rest of the startup community gathering in San Francisco from October 13-15 at Moscone West!
Etched’s valuation doubles to $21B in a month
Jane Street has installed Etched's first shipped AI cluster system, and was so impressed, it led another massive round, the startup says.
Anthro Energy breaks ground on factory that could pave the road to solid-state batteries
Battery materials startup Anthro Energy has broken ground on a Louisville factory to make electrolytes, including those for solid-state batteries.
Spotify Founder’s Neko Health Expands to US with NYC Office
The scanning and bloodwork health startup founded by Spotify's founder will officially launch in New York in about a month.
AI automation startup Relay shuts down, staff joins Google’s Chrome team
"We have some really ambitious plans to help you work with AI in Chrome to get things done, and I’ll have more to share soon," Jacob Bank, Relay founder and CEO, said.
Secure Big Savings on TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 Tickets Before Aug. 21
If you’ve been circling around Disrupt, then now’s the best time to lock in your pass and start getting ready to join the rest of the startup community gathering in San Francisco from October 13-15 at Moscone West!
Stripe will reportedly acquire AI gateway startup OpenRouter for $7B+
OpenRouter's CEO recently described the startup as Stripe for AI.
SpaceX officially closes its Cursor acquisition
AI coding startup Cursor is now officially a part of SpaceX.
Kog is going deeper to squeeze more inference out of GPUs
The idea that GPUs are poorly suited for agentic workflows may be a misconception, according to French startup Kog.
Investors sue Selena Gomez alleging fraud tied to her mental health startup
The plaintiffs say they invested nearly $1.2 million in the company, and are accusing Gomez of failing to build and market the startup.
AI coding startup Cognition reportedly already in talks to raise at $40B valuation
Cognition may be looking to raise another mega round just a few months after raising $1 billion at a $26 billion valuation.
Lovable confirms new $13.3B valuation, raises another $400M
This new funding comes after Lovable hit $500 million in annualized run rate revenue in June, the startup told TechCrunch.
Silkroad Innovation Hub’s Road to Battlefield competition continues
The Road to Battlefield competition is now in its second year, and its purpose is to give founders across Central Eurasia a direct route to Startup Battlefield
AI code-testing startup Blacksmith’s valuation jumps almost 10x in less than a year
Blacksmith says revenue has grown more than tenfold over the past year.
Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni reportedly knew Phia was ‘cookie stuffing’ for months
Phia, the shopping startup co-founded by Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni, is once again under fire for its alleged business practices.