Equity

Could OpenAI fill Microsoft’s shoes?

OpenAI recently announced a $200 million deal with the U.S. Department of Defense [https://techcrunch.com/2025/06/17/openais-200m-dod-contract-could-squeeze-frenemy-microsoft/], which has us wondering: Could this further strain the company’s relationship with its biggest backer, Microsoft? After all, there have been numerous reports about growing tensions [https://techcrunch.com/2025/06/16/the-cracks-in-the-openai-microsoft-relationship-are-reportedly-widening/] between the two companies, particularly as they become more competitive over enterprise deals [https://techcrunch.com/2025/05/11/microsoft-and-openai-may-be-renegotiating-their-partnership/]. Today, on TechCrunch’s Equity [https://techcrunch.com/podcasts/equity/] podcast, hosts Anthony Ha and Max Zeff discuss how the OpenAI/DoD deal reflects Silicon Valley’s increasingly cozy relationship with the military [https://techcrunch.com/2025/06/13/silicon-valley-tech-execs-are-joining-the-us-army-reserve/] and why industry leaders are calling for an AI “arms race.” [https://techcrunch.com/2023/06/13/the-ai-arms-race-is-about-more-than-who-will-lead-the-industry/] Listen to the full episode to hear more highlights from the week, including: * Whether it’s a good thing that Vice President JD Vance joined Bluesky (and was briefly suspended [https://techcrunch.com/2025/06/19/bluesky-briefly-suspended-jd-vances-account-after-he-joined/]) * What it means that Wix acquired a six-month-old “vibe coding” startup [https://techcrunch.com/2025/06/18/6-month-old-solo-owned-vibe-coder-base44-sells-to-wix-for-80m-cash/] for $80 million (and why Anthony hates the phrase “vibe coding”) * A panel in which investor Ali Partovi and Cognition President Russell Kaplan discuss what technical talent means in the age of AI Equity will be back next week, so stay tuned! Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday.  Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts [https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1215439780], Overcast [https://overcast.fm/itunes1215439780/equity], Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/5IEYLip3eDppcOmy5DmphC?si=rZDFHv2sQUul_g94iCRgpQ] and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X [https://twitter.com/EquityPod] and Threads [https://www.threads.net/@equitypod], at @EquityPod.  Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. We’d also like to thank TechCrunch’s audience development team. Thank you so much for listening, and we'll talk to you next time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Seed to Series C: What VCs actually want from AI startups

AI investments hit $110 billion in 2024 [https://techcrunch.com/2025/02/11/ai-investments-surged-62-to-110-billion-in-2024-while-startup-funding-overall-declined-12-says-dealroom/], and the funding landscape in 2025 is more competitive than ever. For early-stage startups, that means more money in the market but also more pressure to stand out. At TechCrunch Sessions: AI, Rebecca Bellan sat down with three experienced investors: Jill Chase, Partner at CapitalG; Kanu Gulati, Partner at Khosla Ventures; and Sara Ittelson, Partner at Accel. They broke down what they are really looking for when evaluating AI startups from seed through Series C. Their message to founders? Forget the perfect pitch. Focus on building trust, surviving the hype cycle, and being ready for copycats the moment you find product-market fit. Listen to the full episode of Equity [https://techcrunch.com/podcasts/equity/] to hear about: * Why VCs say founders are over-indexing on pitch decks instead of relationships * What it takes to go up against big incumbents without getting crushed * Why consumer focus (and speed) still win, even in B2B AI * How agents and automation are already reshaping the startup playbook Equity will be back Friday with our weekly news roundup, so stay tuned. Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday.  Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts [https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1215439780], Overcast [https://overcast.fm/itunes1215439780/equity], Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/5IEYLip3eDppcOmy5DmphC?si=rZDFHv2sQUul_g94iCRgpQ] and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X [https://twitter.com/EquityPod] and Threads [https://www.threads.net/@equitypod], at @EquityPod. For the full episode transcript, for those who prefer reading over listening, check out our full archive of episodes here [https://techcrunch.com/podcasts/equity/]. Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. We’d also like to thank TechCrunch’s audience development team. Thank you so much for listening, and we'll talk to you next time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Meta’s big AI bet and our not-so-hot-take on fintech IPOs

Meta just made a $14.3 billion bet on data-labeling company Scale AI [https://techcrunch.com/2025/06/13/scale-ai-confirms-significant-investment-from-meta-says-ceo-alexandr-wang-is-leaving/], but it’s not a traditional takeover: Meta’s taking a 49% stake in the company and adding Scale’s co-founder Alexandr Wang to its team. Today on Equity, we break down what this means for Meta’s AI ambitions and revisit Wang’s early AI predictions. Listen to the full episode to hear more highlights from the week, including: * How Chime’s IPO [https://techcrunch.com/2025/06/12/chime-almost-died-in-2016-turned-down-by-100-vcs-today-it-ipod-at-14-5b/] priced above expectations at $27 per share and jumped in early trading, and Anthony’s not-so-hot takes on what this signals for the tech IPO market * Why Y Combinator’s Demo Day [https://techcrunch.com/2025/06/13/11-startups-from-yc-demo-day-that-investors-are-talking-about/] was packed with “agentic” AI startups building autonomous software, and how a recent chat with Fiverr’s CEO [https://techcrunch.com/podcast/fiverrs-ceo-on-why-ai-is-coming-for-everyone/] sheds light on AI-driven task automation in the gig economy * How Jony Ive’s LoveFrom spent 18 months [https://techcrunch.com/2025/06/06/jony-ives-lovefrom-helped-design-rivians-first-electric-bike/] quietly collaborating with Rivian on their first electric bike, a spinout product confirmed to have a bike-like form factor Equity will be back next week, so stay tuned! Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday.  Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts [https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1215439780], Overcast [https://overcast.fm/itunes1215439780/equity], Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/5IEYLip3eDppcOmy5DmphC?si=rZDFHv2sQUul_g94iCRgpQ] and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X [https://twitter.com/EquityPod] and Threads [https://www.threads.net/@equitypod], at @EquityPod.  Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. We’d also like to thank TechCrunch’s audience development team. Thank you so much for listening, and we'll talk to you next time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Fiverr’s CEO on why AI is coming for everyone

Generative AI is reshaping the way people work, from full-time employees to freelancers. As coding copilots, design assistants, and AI-powered writing tools become more capable and accessible, creative and technical roles are starting to shift [https://techcrunch.com/2025/02/18/fiverr-wants-gig-workers-to-offload-some-of-their-work-to-ai/] – if not become eliminated entirely. The pressure to adapt is growing across the board.  Micha Kaufman, CEO of Fiverr, isn’t sugarcoating it. In a recent open letter to staff [https://x.com/michakaufman/status/1909610844008161380], he warned that AI is coming for everyone’s jobs, and the only way to stay relevant is to embrace AI tools and automation. Get better, get faster, or get left behind.  Kaufman joined Rebecca Bellan on TechCrunch’s Equity [https://techcrunch.com/podcasts/equity/] podcast to help unpack what all of this means for the future of work – be it freelance or employed – and what you can do to survive.  Listen to the full episode to hear about: * How Fiverr plans to stay relevant as a human-powered marketplace in an AI-driven world * Why Kaufman believes AI will raise the bar for everyone, but top talent can still stand out and earn more * What new grads and early-career professionals are up against in today’s tough job market Equity will be back Friday with our weekly news roundup, so stay tuned. Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday.  Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts [https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1215439780], Overcast [https://overcast.fm/itunes1215439780/equity], Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/5IEYLip3eDppcOmy5DmphC?si=rZDFHv2sQUul_g94iCRgpQ] and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X [https://twitter.com/EquityPod] and Threads [https://www.threads.net/@equitypod], at @EquityPod. For the full episode transcript, for those who prefer reading over listening, check out our full archive of episodes here [https://techcrunch.com/podcasts/equity/]. Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. We’d also like to thank TechCrunch’s audience development team. Thank you so much for listening, and we'll talk to you next time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Inside Anthropic's AI Ambitions with Jared Kaplan

Instead of our usual Friday news rundown, we’re bringing you a conversation from this week’s TC Sessions: AI event [https://techcrunch.com/events/tc-sessions-ai/] out in San Francisco. Our friend and co-host Max Zeff sat down with Jared Kaplan, Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer at Anthropic. If you’ve been following Anthropic, you’ll know it’s been a busy year for the AI startup. Back in March, the company announced it raised $3.5 billion [https://techcrunch.com/2025/03/03/anthropic-raises-3-5b-to-fuel-its-ai-ambitions/] at a $61.5 billion valuation in a round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners. Since then, it’s launched a blog for its Claude models [https://techcrunch.com/2025/06/03/anthropics-ai-is-writing-its-own-blog-with-human-oversight/] and, according to Bloomberg reporting, partnered with Apple [https://techcrunch.com/2025/05/02/apple-and-anthropic-reportedly-partner-to-build-an-ai-coding-platform/] to power a new “vibe-coding” software platform. Listen to the full conversation to hear more about: * ⁠Who has direct access to Claude’s AI models⁠ [https://techcrunch.com/2025/06/03/windsurf-says-anthropic-is-limiting-its-direct-access-to-claude-ai-models/], Windsurf’s response, and how it all ties into Anthropic’s broader goals around openness, safety, and sustainability. * The company’s pivot away from chatbots and toward agentic AI systems that can perform real tasks. * How internal tools like Claude Code are shaping the future of AI-powered development. * What it means to build AI that enterprises can actually trust, and how that affects the way humans interact with software, work, and each other. Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday. Subscribe to us on⁠ Apple Podcasts⁠ [https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1215439780],⁠ Overcast⁠ [https://overcast.fm/itunes1215439780/equity],⁠ Spotify⁠ [https://open.spotify.com/show/5IEYLip3eDppcOmy5DmphC?si=rZDFHv2sQUul_g94iCRgpQ] and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on⁠ X⁠ [https://twitter.com/EquityPod] and⁠ Threads⁠ [https://www.threads.net/@equitypod], at @EquityPod. Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. We’d also like to thank TechCrunch’s audience development team. Thank you so much for listening, and we'll talk to you next time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]