Stay updated with the latest in technology, AI, cybersecurity, and more
Soham Parekh is all the rage on Twitter right now with a bunch of startups coming out of the woodwork saying they either had currently employed him or had in the past. Serious question: why aren't so many startups hiring processes filtering out a candidate who is scamming/working multiple jobs?
In the last week, social media users have shared dozens of stories about encounters with Soham Parekh, a software engineer who seems to have been simultaneously working at multiple Silicon Valley startups — unbeknownst to the companies — for the last several years. But who is Parekh, how did he pull off his career as a serial moonlighter, and why can’t Silicon Valley get enough of him? Origins of virality The saga all started when Suhail Doshi — CEO of image generation startup Playground AI —
OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever says he is stepping into the CEO role at Safe Superintelligence, the AI startup he launched in 2024. In a post on X, Sutskever confirmed Thursday that Daniel Gross, the startup’s co-founder and CEO, departed the company as of June 29. Safe Superintelligence co-founder Daniel Levy is becoming president of the startup, according to Sutskever. The announcement follows weeks of reporting that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg was in advanced talks to hire Gross, as well as h
ViscaCamLink is a camera controller for PTZ cameras that can be reached via a network connection using the VISCA protocol. 🇩🇪 | 🇦🇹 | 🇨🇭 – In Deutsch lesen Features Presets Save and load up to ten positions (including zoom) as presets Global hotkey for each preset (currently assigned to the numpad keys 0-9) Control Free movement in any direction (via button) 18-step adjustment of movement speed Reset to initial position Zoom Freely zooming in and out 7-step adjustment of zoom speed M
Fundraising is already hard — don’t let a messy cap table make it harder. At TechCrunch All Stage on July 15, founders will get a behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to keep a raise on track during the roundtable session “Preparing to Raise: Cap Table Best Practices to Help You Close Fast.” Hosted on the Foundation Stage, this conversation brings together seasoned legal, financial, and founder voices to share what works, what slows things down, and what it actually takes to close qui
Writing games is fun again Bullseye2D is a HTML5 game library for the Dart Programming Language. It provides a simple and straightforward API, and a fast WebGL renderer. You can learn it in an evening and start making awesome games right from the start. It's made for developers who love Dart and want a solid foundation to make 2D games.
Marvel Rivals is gearing up for the start of season 3 next week, and we got our first look at some of the upcoming changes, including glimpses at the two new fan-favorite Marvel heroes, Phoenix (Jean Grey) and Blade. The season trailer also heavily teased that the villain Knull might be making his way to the game in future seasons. Season 3 is a major turning point for the hero shooter, marking the start of its new two-month seasons and the start of the era where we'll be getting new heroes eve
Historic regional competition launches to showcase Central Eurasia’s rising startup ecosystem on Silicon Valley’s biggest stage. For the first time in its history, Central Eurasia will have a direct pathway to TechCrunch Startup Battlefield through the launch of “Road to Battlefield,” a groundbreaking regional competition that promises to put the underrepresented region firmly on the global innovation map. The competition, organized by Silkroad Innovation Hub in partnership with TechCrunch and
Historic regional competition launches to showcase Central Eurasia’s rising startup ecosystem on Silicon Valley’s biggest stage. For the first time in its history, Central Eurasia will have a direct pathway to TechCrunch Startup Battlefield through the launch of “Road to Battlefield,” a groundbreaking regional competition that promises to put the underrepresented region firmly on the global innovation map. The competition, organized by Silkroad Innovation Hub in partnership with TechCrunch and
AMC Theatres is making it easier for moviegoers to know the actual start time of their film screening and avoid sitting through lengthy ads. A new notice has started appearing when people purchase tickets via the AMC website, warning that “movies start 25-30 minutes after showtime.” This already mirrors the estimated runtime of AMC’s preshow content, which includes ads and trailers, but now customers will be better informed if they want to arrive a little later without missing the start of thei
AMC Theatres is making it easier for moviegoers to know the actual start time of their film screening and avoid sitting through lengthy ads. A new notice has started appearing when people purchase tickets via the AMC website, warning that “movies start 25-30 minutes after showtime.” This already mirrors the estimated runtime of AMC’s pre-show content, which includes ads and trailers, but now customers will be better informed if they want to arrive a little later without missing the start of the
AI-powered accounting startup Campfire announced Monday that it has raised a $35 million Series A led by Accel, with participation from Foundation Capital, Y Combinator, Capital49, and angel investors including Mercury’s CFO Dan Kang. “Within nine months of formation, we had customers [with] north of 100 employees ripping out NetSuite and putting in Campfire,” founder CEO John Glasgow said. Some of Campfire’s customers that have migrated from NetSuite include wealth management platform Advisor3
AI marks the most significant revolution in startup development since the advent of cloud computing. This isn’t just an incremental change; AI is fundamentally reshaping every facet of company building, from the initial spark of idea validation and the intricate process of product development to the critical areas of team structuring and go-to-market strategies. Jennifer Neundorfer, co-founder and managing partner at January Ventures, unpacks the new rules of engagement for the AI era, offering
Posted June 23, 2025. tl;dr: I finished writing a text adventure game I started when I was a teenager, and you can play it in a browser right now. If you knew me in 1984, you would also know that you could find me glued to a chair in front of our family's Atari 800 personal computer, typing out BASIC programs from issues of COMPUTE! magazine and letting the summer days go by. I was also obsessed with the Infocom series of text adventure games, although I'd have to go to a friend's house to pla
Posted June 23, 2025. tl;dr: I finished writing a text adventure game I started when I was a teenager, and you can play it in a browser right now. If you knew me in 1984, you would also know that you could find me glued to a chair in front of our family's Atari 800 personal computer, typing out BASIC programs from issues of COMPUTE! magazine and letting the summer days go by. I was also obsessed with the Infocom series of text adventure games, although I'd have to go to a friend's house to pla
Before June 8, the skilled and respected ABC News television journalist Terry Moran was neither a household name nor political lightning rod. That changed abruptly when Moran posted on X that Donald Trump’s deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller was “a world-class hater,” followed by an addendum that the president was a hater as well. (The post was later taken down.) While the statements were certainly defendable, they apparently violated ABC policy, and Moran was suspended, then dismissed. Moran,
We’re thrilled to announce that Ellen Chisa, partner at Boldstart Ventures, will be joining us at TechCrunch All Stage 2025 for an energizing conversation about investing in enterprise startups from day one. She’s one of the standout voices shaping this year’s lineup of founders, funders, and operators gathering July 15 in Boston’s SoWa Power Station, and you won’t want to miss what she brings to the table. All Stage is where startup builders get real answers to real questions — from how to rai
Welcome to Startups Weekly — your weekly recap of everything you can’t miss from the world of startups. Want it in your inbox every Friday? Sign up here. Before this newsletter takes a break for the Fourth of July next week, here are the startup stories and funding rounds that caught our eye over the last few days, which have been quite busy. Most interesting startup stories from the week Image Credits:SOPA Images / Contributor / Getty Images This week brought us lawsuit updates, M&As, and a
Being a founder often feels like you’re building the plane midflight. You’re juggling fundraising, product-market fit, marketing strategy, hiring — while quietly wondering if you’re even doing it right. TechCrunch AllStage 2025, which is happening on July 15 at the SoWa Power Station in Boston, is built to answer those questions. Whether you’re pitching VCs, recruiting a killer team, or trying to make sense of your startup’s finances (and your own), All Stage offers actionable insights from peo
Startups demand constant decision-making, pressure-filled pivots, and bring big emotional swings. It’s no wonder anxiety shows up at every stage. But what if it didn’t have to be a liability? At TechCrunch All Stage 2025 on July 15 at Boston’s SoWa Power Station, Dr. David H. Rosmarin, clinical psychologist, author, and Harvard Medical School professor, will lead a refreshingly honest roundtable session that challenges how founders think about fear and pressure. His roundtable, “Thriving with A
You can just do things – Creating a pan-European legal entity, the right way Jun 27, 2025 · 16 min read · 6 views Context: I am part of a group of people that push for a pan-European legal entity in Europe: EU Inc The goal of this post is to explain a) how we got so far and b) what’s still needed and c) how you can help First the good news: Brussels is convinced, something like EU-Inc will come. The bad news: The startup ecosystem needs to stay actively involved, otherwise politicians will
In Brief Alongside bolstering its AI research talent pool, Meta seems to be keen to flesh out its consumer-facing AI features. The company is in discussions to acquire a voice cloning startup called Play AI, Bloomberg reported, citing anonymous sources. The tech giant aims to buy the startup’s tech and bring on board some of its staff, the report said. Play AI lets anyone clone different kinds of voices that they can use for AI-powered use cases, such as customer service, per its website. The
This year was my first time attending YC Demo Day. It’s a fascinating event and, really a fascinating product for investors. Growing up in the bay area, I remember over a decade ago admiring people in YC. I was always impressed and it is a real privilege to be able to attend from the other side (as an investor). I went not because I am a prolific investor, I went because I thought that it would be a unique experience. The Product: Startups This seems obvious, but the startups are the produc
When Cluely, a startup claiming to be building a product that helps people “cheat” on everything, announced that it raised a $15 million Series A financing from Andreessen Horowitz, some people on X criticized the VC firm for backing the controversial company. After all, Cluely isn’t just offering a product that may have questionable uses, but the startup has become famous for using what many people call rage-bait marketing. But Cluely’s ability to grab attention is precisely what attracted a1
OpenAI is putting a spotlight on an under-the-radar artificial intelligence startup that it believes is on the "front line" of China's race to lead the world in AI — and its not DeepSeek. In a blog post on Wednesday, the company wrote that Beijing-backed Zhipu AI has made "notable progress" in the AI race, as global competition ramps up. Zhipu AI, founded in 2019, has been referred by domestic media as one of China's "AI tigers" — a class of large language model unicorns seen as key to Beijing
Indian drone startup Raphe mPhibr has raised $100 million in an all-equity Series B round led by General Catalyst, as the startup aims to boost its R&D and local production capabilities amid growing demand for drones in battlefields and for border surveillance. Drones are becoming increasingly ubiquitous in global military operations. In recent and ongoing conflicts, countries have turned to drones for rapid infiltration and high-impact strikes. The recent India-Pakistan war is a prime example,
AI-native startups are rewriting the rules of what early traction looks like — and too often, investors are still playing by the old ones. At TechCrunch All Stage, happening in Boston on July 15, Kleida Martiro, partner at Glasswing Ventures, will lead a breakout that cuts straight to the core of this disconnect. Her session, “Winning Capital in a Competitive Market: How to Fund Your AI-Native Startup,” on the Foundation Stage, explores how early stage AI founders can frame their growth story i
GoKwik, an Indian startup that offers a suite of integrated e-commerce products, has raised a small round of $13 million, which it calls a “growth” round, that has boosted its valuation to $450 million pre-money. While the new funding round, led by RTP Global, is 63% smaller than its Series B of $35 million, announced in May 2022, it has valued the New Delhi-based startup 43% more than its last pre-money valuation of $315 million. The fresh funding also included participation from the startup’s
At TechCrunch All Stage, we’re proud to spotlight our partners — not only for their support, but also for the invaluable expertise they bring to the conversation. Their sessions deliver front-line insights into the startup ecosystem and are must-attend moments for anyone looking to navigate and thrive in today’s dynamic entrepreneurial landscape. We sincerely thank Fidelity, whose support is powering this year’s TC All Stage programming. Their commitment to startup success helps fuel the knowled
It’s now or never — this is your final day to lock in savings for TechCrunch All Stage, happening July 15 in Boston. Prices increase tonight, June 22, at 11:59 p.m. PT. If you’ve been thinking about attending, now’s the time to commit. Register here. TC All Stage brings together founders, investors, and operators from across the startup landscape for one high-intensity day of strategy, storytelling, and startup momentum. Whether you’re building something new or backing what’s next, this is the