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 went down at the OpenAI and Google 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 that’s using AI to help wind farms mitigate their impact on birds (how cool is that?), while Haje wanted to discuss how fintech startup Layer is looking to take on QuickBooks in the SMB accounting space. Mary Ann, meanwhile, was excited to go over 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 investors leaving their firms to do other things — some are starting their own new firms, others are returning to old ones and a few are leaving their investing days behind. We’re still wondering what could be behind the moves, but it doesn’t look like the trend will fade anytime soon. We’ll also be keeping an eye on how the recent moves start impacting startups down the line.
That’s it for this week, but 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.
