Sequoia-incubated Empirik launches with $21M to predict outages before they happen

The startup wants to do for IT infrastructure what Cursor did for software engineering.

AIR raises $50M to help companies vet the skills and add-ons AI agents use

AIR’s platform can discover agents running at a company, continuously vets any skills and add-ons they use, and blocks any unwanted behavior.

Fambot introduces an ‘AI chief of staff’ for families

Fambot is building an AI “chief of staff” to help families manage the emails, calendars, school updates, sports schedules, and other logistics of raising kids.

This startup is fuel-injecting hydrogen to make cargo ships more efficient

Newlight has raised a $9 million seed round and completed an 8,500-nautical-mile test run from Singapore to Ghana.

Help build the future of startups: Volunteer at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 

TechCrunch Disrupt is where those moments happen. And we can’t pull it off without volunteers like you. 

Apply now to host a Side Event at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026

Apply before September 4 to be a part of the TechCrunch Disrupt community by hosting your own Side Event.

Harvard Law dropout raises $6M for Blue Voice to build a ‘Harvey for police officers’

Blue Voice is trained on department-specific laws, local ordinances, protocols, and guidelines that general-purpose AI tools can’t access on the public internet.

Ryan Breslow is raising up to $27M in pay-to-play bridge funding to save Bolt

The controversial founder of the checkout startup once valued at $11 billion is putting in $5 million of his own money.

How Sweden built one of Europe’s hottest startup ecosystems 

Sophia Bendz, general partner at Cherry Ventures, stopped by Equity to break down the latest in the Swedish tech ecosystem.

AI, athletes, and Keith Rabois: StrictlyVC is back in New York on September 10

A boutique StrictlyVC evening returns to New York’s West Village on September 10 with Keith Rabois, Craig Shapiro, Jason Levien, Tristan Walker, Brynn Putnam, and Deven Parekh — covering AI, sports investing, community-building, venture economics, and politics, with cocktails, food, and networking throughout the night.