Archon emerges from stealth with $20M and ‘antibody cages’ to power up drug development
Archon Biosciences, a biotech startup putting AI to work designing novel biomolecules, has just emerged from stealth with an impressive $20 million in seed funding. The company aims to supercharge antibody treatments using specially designed protein “cages” that multiply their effects, opening up new opportunities in drug development. This is
Read moreModernizing Africa’s Payment Infrastructure with PaaS
Volante Technologies, the Payments as a Service (PaaS) pioneer, announces a strategic relationship with Standard Bank to modernize payment infrastructure across the African continent. This is one of the most ambitious PaaS payment arrangements in history, with no other payment providers serving as many countries for a single customer on
Read moreLuxury Cars in the UAE Dominating with AI and Advanced Tech
You want luxury and guess what—the UAE is just the place for you. I mean, look around, it’s like Audi, BMW, Ferrari, and Lamborghini are practically on every corner. These brands know how to please the deep-pocketed locals and visitors. For those adrenaline junkies out there, don’t worry, the cars
Read moreOnce-dominant Swiggy seeks $11.3B value at IPO, less than half Zomato’s worth
Swiggy, one of India’s largest food delivery and quick commerce startups, is seeking a valuation of up to $11.3 billion in its initial public offering, marking a 57% discount to rival Zomato’s market cap. The lossmaking Bengaluru-based company has set an IPO price band of ₹371 to ₹390 ($4.41-$4.64) per
Read moreX makes its basic API tier more costly, launches annual subscriptions
Elon Musk-owned social network X made changes to its API pricing and limits today and also announced annual plans with a discounted rate. The company raised the prices of the basic API tier from $100 to $200 and said it would introduce higher limits and new endpoints for this subscription
Read moreMeesho claims Indian e-commerce first with positive cash flow
Meesho has become India’s first horizontal e-commerce firm to generate positive cash flow, marking a significant shift in a market where profitability has long remained elusive even as new competitive threats emerge. The SoftBank and Prosus-backed startup, which serves customers in smaller Indian cities and towns, reported positive operating cash
Read moreAfrican ‘gender-equal’ VC Janngo Capital closes second fund at $78M
Pan-African venture capital firm Janngo Capital has closed its oversubscribed second fund at €73 million ($78 million), 20% more than its target of €60 million (~$63 million). In 2022, Janngo Capital reached the first close of its second fund at €26 million, receiving capital from several limited partners, including the
Read moreLife in the Fastlane: SDK tools built with developers in mind
On this sponsored episode, Ben and Ryan talk to Sunny Patel, Staff Software Engineer at PayPal, and Kyle Prinsloo, a developer and a PayPal partner, about all the ways that Fastlane by PayPal makes developers’ lives easier. They explore the needs that both merchants and consumers have for creating a
Read moreHere are the 5 Startup Battlefield finalists at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024
The time has finally come to announce the five finalists of the Startup Battlefield. It all started earlier this year when the TechCrunch editorial team selected 200 companies from thousands that applied. From there, the team then chose the 20 finalists who pitched this week onstage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024
Read moreTony Fadell takes a shot at Sam Altman in TechCrunch Disrupt interview
iPod creator, Nest Labs founder, and investor Tony Fadell took a shot at OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on Tuesday during a spirited interview at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 in San Francisco. Speaking about his understanding of the longer history of AI development before the LLM craze and the serious issues with
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