TechCrunch Startup News

Y Combinator grad and AI insurance brokerage Harper raises $47M; plus, AI chip startup MatX raised $500M

Harper is an AI-native insurance brokerage that just raised a $45 million combined Series A and seed, after a member of YC's Winter 2025 cohort. Also, MatX, a chip startup founded by two former Google hardware engineers, has raised a $500 million Series B led by Jane Street and Situational Awareness, an investment fund formed by former OpenAI researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Canva acquires startups working on animation and marketing; plus, Stripe, PayPal Ventures bet on India’s Xflow

With the new acquisitions, the company wants to bolster its position as a marketing solution by potentially adding video creation and more granular measurement. Also, Stripe and PayPal Ventures have participated in Xflow's $16.6 million round that gives it a post-money valuation of $85 million. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Ukraine’s startups keep building

In the four years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of their country, Ukrainian startups have done more than survive: they are still building and growing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Particle’s AI news app listens to podcasts for interesting clips so you you don’t have to

AI news app Particle can now pull in key moments from podcasts, letting readers instantly play short, relevant clips alongside related stories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Quantonation’s double-sized second fund shows quantum still has believers; plus. Ali Partovi’s Neo looks to upend the accelerator model

Quantonation Ventures, a venture firm investing in quantum and physics-based startups, has closed its oversubscribed second fund at €220 million, or approximately $260 million. That’s more than twice the size of its inaugural fund, and comes in addition to other signals that the quantum winter isn’t coming yet. Also, Neo's new Residency program invests $750,000 in an uncapped SAFE for startups and provides a $40,000 no-strings-attached grant for college students. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]