Why creators are ditching ad revenue for chocolate bars and fintech acquisitions 

The creator economy is evolving fast, and ad revenue alone isn’t cutting it anymore. YouTubers are launching product lines, acquiring startups, and building actual business empires. In fact, MrBeast’s company bought fintech startup Step, and his chocolate business is out-earning his media arm. This isn’t just one creator’s strategy. For many, it’s the new playbook. … Continua a leggere Why creators are ditching ad revenue for chocolate bars and fintech acquisitions 

Peak XV raises $1.3B, doubles down on AI as global VC rivalry in India heats up

Peak XV says most of its new capital will target India as the firm prioritizes AI, fintech and cross-border bets while navigating recent partner departures.

TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 Super Early Bird rates end in 1 week

The lowest ticket rates of the year for TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 end next Friday, February 27. Save up to $680 on your pass. Register now before prices increase.

Reload wants to give your AI agents a shared memory

Reload announces a $2.275 million raise in a round led by Anthemis and the launch of its first AI employee, Epic.

Co-founders behind Reface and Prisma join hands to improve on-device model inference with Mirai

Mirai raised a $10 million seed round to improve how AI models run on devices like smartphones and laptops.

Freeform raises $67M Series B to scale up laser AI manufacturing 

“I think we’re the only quote-unquote manufacturing company out there that has H200 clusters in a data center on site.”

Google Cloud’s VP for startups on reading your ‘check engine light’ before it’s too late

Startup founders are being pushed to move faster than ever, using AI while facing tighter funding, rising infrastructure costs, and more pressure to show real traction early. Cloud credits, access to GPUs, and foundation models have made it easier to get started, but those early infrastructure choices can have unforeseen consequences once startups move beyond… Continua a leggere Google Cloud’s VP for startups on reading your ‘check engine light’ before it’s too late

Kana emerges from stealth with $15M to build flexible AI agents for marketers

Kana, a new AI marketing startup from the founders of Rapt and Krux, has raised $15 million to build customizable, agent-based marketing tools.

Mistral AI buys Koyeb in first acquisition to back its cloud ambitions

Mistral AI has agreed to buy Koyeb, a Paris-based startup that simplifies AI app deployment at scale and manages the infrastructure behind it.

SpaceX vets raise $50M Series A for data center links

Mesh aims to mass-produce optical transceivers for AI data centers.