TechCrunch Startup News

Thea Energy previews Helios, its pixel-inspired fusion power plant

Thea Energy says that its planar-coil fusion power plant could be cheaper and easier to build thanks to AI-powered control software. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Eclipse Energy’s microbes can turn idle oil wells into hydrogen factories; plus, India’s Spinny lines up funding to acquire GoMechanic

The biotech startup is betting that owners of abandoned oil wells will use the tech to squeeze energy out of their wells. Also, Spinny is set to be valued at about $1.8 billion post-money in its latest funding round. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Harness hits $5.5B valuation with $240M raise to automate AI’s ‘after-code’ gap

Goldman Sachs has led Harness's Series E round, with participation from IVP, Menlo Ventures, and Unusual Ventures. The new valuation is a 49% jump from its $3.7 billion valuation [https://www.harness.io/blog/harness-valuation-soars-to-3-7-billion-with-230-million-in-series-d-funding] in a $230 million round in April 2022. With this funding, the startup has raised $570 million of equity to date. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Interest in Spoor’s bird-monitoring AI software is soaring

Spoor's computer vision software can help wind farms, and other industries, track bird populations and migration patterns. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

On Me raises $6M to shake up the gift card industry; plus, Port raises $100M at $800M valuation to take on Spotify’s Backstage

On Me raises $6 million for its digital gift card platform that lets users purchase cards categorized by interests rather than being restricted to specific retailers. Also, Port offers a proprietary alternative to Spotify's popular devtool catalog Backstage, but with a valuable addition: it can be used to manage AI agents, too. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]