TechCrunch Startup News

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  Nexterity wants to automate the hard, dangerous part of pipefitting; plus, Feather is building the ‘Android of robotics’ for developers 25.09.2026 8min

  Nexterity's robot can tighten or loosen four bolts at a time, and it fits in a Pelican case. Feather is betting on a customizable, $30,000 platform built for software developers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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  Modal Motors is trying to cut China out of electric motors entirely; plus, PitPro’s first tire-changing robot goes live in Canada 24.09.2026 7min

  Modal Motors is working on small, light motors with no rare earth magnets that are suited for drones, fans, and robots. Also, PitPro says its automated system can change four tires in under 15 minutes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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  a16z is challenging Silicon Valley’s love for drop-outs by launching a school; plus, AstroForge is putting AI in command of its next spacecraft 23.09.2026 8min

  This academy for promising high school grads is somewhere between a trade-school, Y Combinator and Peter Thiel's Fellowship Program. Autonomy-1 will have a small, transformer-based AI model taking charge of a space probe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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  A small but growing number of founders are betting on bringing people together offline 22.09.2026 8min

  Brynn Putnam and Tristan Walker have already done something that most founders only dream about: created companies so compelling that bigger outfits bought them. And now they're both at it again with the same north star; bringing people together, offline, in the same room. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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  Comp AI sets eyes on a continuously agentic future for security and compliance 18.09.2026 5min

  Comp AI, a cybersecurity and compliance startup, announced a $34 million Series A round led by Roo Capital and Grand Ventures. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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  Clean tech startup Fluxnium found a way to tap 50,000 years’ worth of nuclear fuel; plus, Hang Ten Systems nabbed another $53m 17.09.2026 9min

  Fluxnium's fibers can extract uranium directly from seawater, which has enough of the nuclear fuel to power thousands of generations. Also, Hang Ten is a Palo Alto startup and says it has landed multiple seven-figure enterprise contracts within months of launch. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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  Early Anthropic hire, former METR COO have found a way to rein in rogue AI agents; plus, health benefits platform Thatch reaches $1B valuation 16.09.2026 8min

  Their startup, Artificial Intelligence Underwriting Company (AIUC) has raised $40 million in a Series A round led by Ribbit Capital, with participation from First Harmonic. Also, Thatch is a five-year-old startup and the company raised $108 million from The General Partnership, Index Ventures, General Catalyst, and Andreessen Horowitz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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  Superhuman acquired notetaker Fathom; plus, OpenAI bought smartphone camera maker Glass Imaging, and AI infrastructure company Cornelis raised $205M 15.09.2026 7min

  Fathom said that it has over 400,000 monthly active users. Also, Glass Imaging was founded by a pair of former Apple engineers who previously led the team that developed Apple's Portrait Mode. And Cornelis, a company creating networking technology to help AI chips communicate more effectively, announced Monday that it has raised $205 million. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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  Fusion power startups find new partners in the defense world; plus, Mecka AI nears $500M valuation amid rush for robot training data 14.09.2026 7min

  Fusion startups are inking defense-related deals, reigniting the relationship between fusion and national security that might have gone dormant, but never completely disappeared. Also, the round for Mecka is coming together months after Mecka announced its Series A. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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  Defense tech Mach Industries doubled its valuation in 3 months; plus, Maven Robotics wants to steal your robot deployment deal 11.09.2026 8min

  Mach Industries is a buzzy startup that raised $600 million in its Series C round. AlsoMaven Robotics emerged from stealth Thursday with a $100 million Series A and active deployments. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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  CloudNC raises $20M to automate manufacturing’s most pressing bottlenecks; plus, Sequoia doubles down on Cymphony 10.09.2026 6min

  UK-based manufacturing software startup CloudNC announced Wednesday a $20 million B extension round, bringing its lifetime total raised amount to $128 million. Also, Cymphony was valued at more than $100 million in a $25 million Series A co-led by Sequoia and SMBC Fin Atlas Beyond Fund. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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  Nuclear startup Bluecore Energy raises $50M seed round, just two months after launch; plus, Poseidon Aerospace eyes first pilotless test flight, and Stoke Space raises another billion 09.09.2026 12min

  -Founder Kofi Asante wasn’t planning on fundraising this year, but calls kept coming after their pre-seed launch.  -Poseidon is embracing autonomy and remote piloting, but it’s not bothering with the vertical takeoff and landing tech that is de rigueur among so many aviation startups.  -Stoke is one of a handful of startups attempting to compete with Elon Musk’s SpaceX in the low-cost rocket launch space.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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  Travis Kalanick’s Atoms might be getting into the robotaxi business; plus, Krafton doubles down on India 08.09.2026 5min

  -Atoms is reportedly preparing for a hiring spree, as well as acquisitions, that could make it a major player in the autonomous vehicle industry. -Krafton is a South Korean gaming company behind titles including PUBG and Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI), plans to invest another $250 million in India over the next three to four years as it pushes beyond gaming into AI, robotics, and deep tech. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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  Ollie is betting its focus on privacy can help it win the AI assistant race; plus, Qualcomm backs Ultrahuman 07.09.2026 9min

  The family-focused AI assistant wants access to the details of your everyday life, but says it won’t use that data to train AI models or share it with others. Ultrahuman is targeting a $200 million annual revenue run rate by January 2027 as it builds a new Qualcomm-powered smart ring. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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  Volunteer at TechCrunch Founder Summit in Boston 06.09.2026 2min

  Our rebranded Boston event, TechCrunch Founder Summit (formerly All Stage), is back on November 4th! And we are looking for some incredible volunteers to help us make this event happen. If you are interested in finding out what goes into building tech events, apply to volunteer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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  Volunteer at TechCrunch Founder Summit in Boston 05.09.2026 2min

  Our rebranded Boston event, ⁠TechCrunch Founder Summit⁠ (formerly All Stage), is back on November 4th! And we are looking for some incredible volunteers to help us make this event happen. If you are interested in finding out what goes into building tech events, ⁠apply to volunteer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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  Wonderful more than doubles its valuation to $5B in under 6 months;plus, Volunteer at TechCrunch Founder Summit in Boston 04.09.2026 4min

  Wonderful's $550M Series C was led by Insight Partners, with Salesforce, Index Ventures, IVP, Vine Ventures, 9Yards and Bessemer participating. Also, Our rebranded Boston event, TechCrunch Founder Summit (formerly All Stage), is back on November 4th! And we are looking for some incredible volunteers to help us make this event happen. If you are interested in finding out what goes into building tech events, apply to volunteer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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  HiddenLayer nabs $100M as enterprises rush to secure their AI deployments; plus, AfterQuery reportedly becomes Y Combinator’s fastest-ever unicorn 03.09.2026 7min

  HiddenLayer has raised a $100M Series B from Delta-v Capital, Ten Eleven Ventures, Morgan Stanley, Microsoft's M12, Booz Allen Hamilton, and others. Also, AI model-training startup AfterQuery has reportedly raised a round that valued it at $3.2 billion, just five months after announcing its $30 million Series A at a $300 million valuation in April. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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  Fambot introduces an ‘AI chief of staff’ for families; plus, Newlight is fuel-injecting hydrogen to make cargo ships more efficient 02.09.2026 9min

  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. Also, Newlight has raised a $9 million seed round and completed an 8,500-nautical-mile test run from Singapore to Ghana. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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  Harvard Law dropout raises $6M for Blue Voice to build a ‘Harvey for police officers’; plus, Clipto uses AI to search terabytes of video 01.09.2026 9min

  The seed round for the app that provides real-time legal and policy guidance to officers was led by SignalFire and Las Olas VC. Clipto is a three-year-old startup and reached $15 million in ARR and profitability before raising its latest $15 million round. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices