Equity

Today on Equity [https://techcrunch.com/podcasts/equity/], we're digging into the week’s headlines, from browsers and search to AI and social, and why Google and Meta's antitrust cases have us wondering if they’re really breaking up monopolies or just passing the baton to the next dominant player.  Listen to the full episode to hear about: * Tesla’s massive 71% profit drop [https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/22/tesla-profits-drop-71-on-weak-sales-and-anti-elon-musk-sentiment/] and how Elon Musk is doubling down on Tesla and AI * How Mati Carbon [https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/23/xprize-carbon-awarded-to-a-dirt-simple-carbon-removal-technology/] took home the grand prize from this year’s Xprize Carbon Removal competition * Vibe coding, Cursor, and which AI-powered coding tool OpenAI has its sights on acquiring next [https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/22/why-openai-wanted-to-buy-cursor-but-opted-for-the-fast-growing-windsurf/] * The $91.5 billion raised by U.S. startups in Q1 [https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/16/startup-funding-hit-records-in-q1-but-the-outlook-for-2025-is-still-awful/]—and why more than half of it went to just 10 companies 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 https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1215439780Apple 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]

Trump’s tariffs have upended global trade and created an environment of uncertainty. But this situation wasn’t created in a vacuum. The rules of business have been shifting for years as technology moves quicker than regulation, geopolitics descend into turmoil, and the law erodes and becomes weaponized.  Businesses might be asking themselves, how are they meant to keep their heads above water? And what can they do to fight back?   Hence AI [https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/17/as-the-trade-war-escalates-hence-launches-an-ai-advisor-to-help-companies-manage-risk/] co-founder Sean West [https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanpwest1/] has some answers. With a team spread across the U.K., Rwanda, the U.S., and the Netherlands, the London-based startup has raised $5.2 million to date with a mission to democratize access to high-level business intelligence—something traditionally reserved for the biggest companies with the biggest budgets. Today on https://techcrunch.com/podcasts/equity/Equity [https://techcrunch.com/podcasts/equity/], Rebecca Bellan sat down with West, who recently published the book Unruly: Fighting Back When Politics, AI, and Law Upend the Rules of Business [https://www.amazon.com/dp/1394318456?ref=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_SCADVGVHWAPQR9KD87A0_1&ref_=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_SCADVGVHWAPQR9KD87A0_1&social_share=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_SCADVGVHWAPQR9KD87A0_1&peakEvent=5&dealEvent=0&skipTwisterOG=1&bestFormat=true], to dig into how companies should respond to rising geopolitical risk, the macro cost of keeping your head down, and why AI-powered tools like Hence Global, built on Palantir’s Foundry platform, are quietly redefining what it means to be “advised.”  Listen to the full episode to hear more about: * What businesses are getting wrong about tariffs and political risk. * How companies can go on the offensive to thrive in the chaos.  * Why patriotism can shield companies, but comes with a cost. * Why law firms and consultants are some of Hence’s earliest adopters. * The broader implications of “democratizing access” to geopolitical risk intel. Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday.  Subscribe to us on https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1215439780Apple 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]

Today, on TechCrunch’s Equity [https://techcrunch.com/podcasts/equity/] podcast, hosts Kirsten Korosec, Max Zeff and Anthony Ha are unpacking the week’s news, including the possible return of the SPAC in an uncertain IPO market. It’s a curious moment for a public debut, as Kirsten points out, especially after so much chatter that 2025 would be the big comeback year for blockbuster IPOs, but some major players like Klarna and StubHub have already hit pause. And as investor Mark Goldberg [https://techcrunch.com/podcast/weve-entered-an-era-of-fintech-maximalism-according-to-mark-goldberg/] put it on this week’s show, folks holding their breath for a fintech IPO wave this year “are going to be blue in the face.” Listen to the full episode to hear about: * How Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos’s AI voices could be taking over a crosswalk near you [https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/14/silicon-valley-crosswalk-buttons-hacked-to-imitate-musk-zuckerberg-voices/] * Figma’s IPO plans [https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/15/figma-ignores-the-fear-files-paperwork-for-an-ipo/], and questions on the Equity crew’s mind ahead of the S-1. * How Hugging Face’s latest acquisition [https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/14/hugging-face-buys-a-humanoid-robotics-startup/] confirms its push into humanoid robotics * The latest wave of OpenAI models [https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/16/openais-latest-ai-models-have-a-new-safeguard-to-prevent-biorisks/], updates to its o3 and o4-mini reasoning models, and why all eyes are on the bigger launch still to come: GPT-5. 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 https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1215439780Apple 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]

After nearly a decade at Index Ventures, where he backed standout fintech companies like Plaid, Persona, Lithic, and Pilot, Mark Goldberg [https://x.com/Mark_Goldberg_] left to launch Chemistry [https://www.chemistry.vc/], an early-stage venture firm. Founded alongside Kristina Shen and Ethan Kurzweil, the $350 million fund is part of a growing trend in venture capital: seasoned investors breaking out from large platforms to build more focused, boutique outfits. Today on Equity [https://techcrunch.com/podcasts/equity/], Mary Ann Azevedo caught up with Goldberg about what led him to make the move, what Chemistry is all about, and how the venture landscape has evolved over the past few years. Listen to the full episode to hear more about: * The state of fintech, a sector Goldberg has long had his eye on—and why he sees “a lot more tech-fin than fintech” these days * Why those waiting for a wave of fintech IPOs might be in for a long hold * What he’s watching for in 2025 and beyond, from the impact of AI on fraud to shifting deal activity, including a pickup in M&A and secondaries Equity will be back with our weekly news roundup on Friday, so don’t miss it! 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 dropped three new models [https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/05/meta-releases-llama-4-a-new-crop-of-flagship-ai-models/] over the weekend: Scout, Maverick, and the still-training Behemoth, billed as the next evolution of “open-ish” AI. But instead of excitement, the response was mostly shrugs. Critics called the release underwhelming, saying it lacked the edge expected in today’s breakneck AI race. Meta’s clear attempt to claw back some attention quickly turned messy. Accusations began circulating [https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/07/meta-exec-denies-the-company-artificially-boosted-llama-4s-benchmark-scores/] on X and Reddit around benchmark tampering, a mystery ex-employee, and large gaps between the models’ public and private performance. Today, on TechCrunch’s Equity [https://techcrunch.com/podcasts/equity/] podcast, hosts Kirsten Korosec, Max Zeff and Anthony Ha are unpacking Meta’s rocky rollout, the AI industry’s obsession with looking smart on paper, and why, as Kirsten put it, “creating something to do well on a test doesn't always translate to good business.” Listen to the full episode to for: * A breakdown of Trump’s latest tariff push, what you missed [https://x.com/tracyalloway/status/1910020492959818169?s=46] and how companies [https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/07/flexport-ceo-ryan-petersens-high-stakes-test-amid-tariff-turmoil-you-cant-be-freaking-out/] are bracing [https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/07/nintendo-says-it-is-actively-assessing-the-impact-of-u-s-tariffs/] for impact [https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/07/analyst-says-apple-tesla-have-biggest-exposure-to-trumps-tariffs/] * The secretive EV startup backed by Jeff Bezos [https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/08/inside-the-ev-startup-secretly-backed-by-jeff-bezos/], and whether it was Bezos’s Plan B * Colossal Biosciences’ Dire Wolf discovery, and whether or not the breakthrough justifies the startup’s $10B+ valuation [https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/08/does-colossal-biosciences-dire-wolf-creation-justify-its-10b-valuation/] 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. 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]