Obie, a real estate-focused insurance technology company, has raised $25.5 million in a funding round led by Battery Ventures. Since the company’s last raise — a $10.4 million Series A — nearly two years ago, the startup says it has gone from securing insurance for over $3 billion worth of property to $20 billion worth. […] Landlord-focused insurtech Obie lands $25.5M led by Battery Ventures by Mary Ann Azevedo originally published on TechCrunch

It may be tempting for managers to close on capital as soon as they have it in this quieter funding environment, but that's probably not the best move. Emerging managers shouldn’t rush a first close – even in this market by Rebecca Szkutak originally published on TechCrunch

After being instrumental in launching the Kubernetes open source project, Kubernetes co-founders Craig McLuckie and Joe Beda left Google to launch Heptio in 2016. They then sold the company to VMware in 2018. Both left VMware in 2022 and McLuckie went on to found a stealth startup after a short stint as an entrepreneur in […] Kubernetes and sigstore founders raise $17.5M to launch software supply chain startup Stacklok by Frederic Lardinois originally published on TechCrunch

Uber’s getting into boats. Well, more into boats than it was previously. At Uber’s third annual Go-GET product event Wednesday in New York City, the ride-hailing company announced that it’ll soon launch boat travel in Greece, giving vacationers — and boat lovers — the opportunity to book a boat directly via the Uber app. The […] Uber launches private chartered boats in Mykonos by Kyle Wiggers originally published on TechCrunch

Hello, and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. This is our Wednesday show, where we usually focus on one person — but today, we’re talking to two people! — think about their work and unpack the rest. This week, Alex […] In a more conservative venture capital market, will big tech step up? by Alex Wilhelm originally published on TechCrunch

Your first hire as a startup is more like a fishing expedition, one made much harder because nobody has heard of you or your company yet. To hire your first startup employee, begin with a list of 1,500 people by Haje Jan Kamps originally published on TechCrunch

TechCrunch Live has had a huge 2023. We’ve had some of the best founders and investors speaking to current issues facing startups in nearly every industry. We’ve had talks on how to find a co-founder with Tanis Jorge and how to manage employees’ wellbeing with Arianna Huffington. Christina Cacioppo spoke on Vanta, her security and […] Register for upcoming TechCrunch Live events right here by Matt Burns originally published on TechCrunch

Today is last day to cast your vote for Audience Choice roundtables and breakouts at Disrupt 2023. Voting ends at 11:59pm PDT tonight. You pick the sessions you want at TechCrunch Disrupt 2023 Specifically, you help decide which of the 17 roundtable discussions and 15 breakout sessions will earn a spot on the Disrupt agenda. […] Disrupt 2023 Audience Choice voting ends today by Lauren Simonds originally published on TechCrunch

Since our founding in 2014, we’ve reached $40 million in ARR through bootstrapping. From there, it was off to the races. Here’s what I learned while leading a bootstrapped startup to $40M ARR by Walter Thompson originally published on TechCrunch

Hey Atlanta founders! Apply now to pitch at TechCrunch Live’s Atlanta event. Next month, TechCrunch Live is shining a spotlight on the Atlanta tech ecosystem once again, in a special (but virtual) episode of TechCrunch Live taking place on June 7 at 11:00 am PT / 2:00 pm ET. TechCrunch has always received a warm […] Apply now to pitch at TechCrunch Live’s Atlanta pitch-off! by Matt Burns originally published on TechCrunch

Embedded insurtech is still hot, as the $196 million in funding landed by bolttech proves. The company, which started in Singapore but now has operations around the world, said it is now valued at $1.6 billion. The funding was led by Tokio Marine, Japan’s first insurance company, and life insurance leader MetLife through its subsidiary […] Insurtech bolttech gets $196M at $1.6B valuation from investors like MetLife by Catherine Shu originally published on TechCrunch

Entro, a Tel Aviv-based startup that is building a security platform that helps enterprises manage and protect their secrets like account credentials, certificates and API keys, today announced that it has raised a $6 million seed round led by StageOne Ventures and Hyperwise Ventures.  A number of angel investors, including Trusteer and Transmit Security founders […] Entro raises $6M to for its end-to-end secrets security solution by Frederic Lardinois originally published on TechCrunch

Jia, a blockchain-based fintech providing loans to micro and small businesses in emerging markets, has raised $4.3 million seed funding, and an additional $1 million commitment for on-chain liquidity, in a round led by early-stage backer TCG Crypto, with participation from a number of funds including BlockTower, Hashed Emergent, Saison Capital, and Global Coin Research. […] Jia, a blockchain-based lender of small businesses in emerging markets, raises $4.3 million seed by Annie Njanja originally published on TechCrunch

Venture capital (VC) firm Lifeline Ventures today announced a fresh €150 million ($163 million) fund aimed at early-stage startups across Finland. Founded in 2009, Helsinki-based Lifeline Ventures has invested in around 115 companies to date, with more than a dozen exits to its name including activity-tracking app Moves, which Facebook acquired back in 2014; food […] Finnish VC firm Lifeline Ventures closes $163M fund for early-stage startups by Paul Sawers originally published on TechCrunch

Wefox, the German insurtech startup, has closed a new funding round from existing investors. The funding amount isn’t going to impress anyone as the company managed to secure $55 million. This could be considered as an extension of the $400 million Series D round as Wefox managed to maintain the same valuation of $4.5 billion. […] Wefox secures new funding at $4.5 billion valuation as it aims for profitability by Romain Dillet originally published on TechCrunch

According to the founder of Singapore-based telehealth platform Ora, 90% of its patients are less than 39 years old and have not been treated for their conditions offline. That puts the onus on Ora to make sure its patients, mostly millennials who live in cities, have a good experience. Ora wants to perform with verticals […] Singapore’s Ora takes a vertically-integrated approach to telehealth by Catherine Shu originally published on TechCrunch

We analyzed data from 30,000+ SaaS companies — here are five ways you can level up product-led, efficient growth. 5 ways SaaS companies can level up their product-led growth by Walter Thompson originally published on TechCrunch

Welcome back to Found, where we get the stories behind the startups. This week Becca and Dom are joined by Kamakshi Sivaramakrishnan, the co-founder and CEO at Samooha, a startup creating the infrastructure needed for data collaboration. Kamakshi talked about what it is like being a repeat founder in a male-dominated technical field. She talked about juggling being a parent and […] Motherhood, mentorship, and management with Kamakshi Sivaramakrishnan from Samooha by Rebecca Szkutak originally published on TechCrunch

My dream of never having to drive again is far from dead. I just need to add five or ten years to my prior timelines. Self-driving cars are taking ages to become a reality, but they won’t take forever by Alex Wilhelm originally published on TechCrunch

Psychedelic startups want to make psilocybin, ketamine and other substances more mainstream, but how are investors approaching this space? TechCrunch+ roundup: Psychedelics VC survey, how to run an AI pilot, Europe’s robotics renaissance by Walter Thompson originally published on TechCrunch

The real estate industry is a bit of a greenhouse gas powerhouse, responsible for 40% of all global emissions. A quarter of that comes from building materials, and Tangible has had enough. The company is building a tool for finding, managing and reporting on lower-carbon, more sustainable, building materials, and just closed a $3 million seed […] Tangible wants to scale up construction decarbonization by Haje Jan Kamps originally published on TechCrunch

Bird Buddy, the AI-powered smart bird feeder, is bringing the popular pastime of bird-watching into the digital age — and growing its line of products in support of the hobby. With the startup’s original affordable bird feeder, connected camera and companion mobile app, birdwatching enthusiasts and newcomers alike can view photos and videos of bird […] Bird Buddy introduces an AI-powered Smart Hummingbird Feeder and Bird Bath by Sarah Perez originally published on TechCrunch

The lack of funding and dearth of DEI data suggests that the venture community writ large is overlooking a vast amount of untapped potential. Without Black representation in climate tech, ‘the planet will burn’ by Dominic-Madori Davis originally published on TechCrunch

Belgian startup Telraam designed a device that lets anyone point out of a window a camera-like device that uses on-board tech to count the number of road users. It is currently installing a network of 50 or so devices in San Francisco, a project the company says is largely funded by Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman, […] This European startup is installing 50 traffic-counting sensors across San Francisco by Haje Jan Kamps originally published on TechCrunch

The business of platforms for purchasing goods and services — in other words, procurement — is alive and well. Case in point, Zip, a startup developing procurement software, yesterday announced its $100 million Series C funding led by Y Combinator with participation from CRV and Tiger Global. Zip CEO Rujul Zaparde says that the financing, […] Procurement platform Zip raises $100M at a $1.5 billion valuation by Kyle Wiggers originally published on TechCrunch

Despite heat pumps' growing appeal, not all consumers are sold on the idea. This startup hopes to change people's minds. Quilt raises $9M seed round to become the Nest of heat pumps by Tim De Chant originally published on TechCrunch

A vanishingly small number of investors will look at any pitch. For most investors, though, you'll need to get your foot in the door to be heard. How to get warm introductions to investors by Haje Jan Kamps originally published on TechCrunch

Patrick Gilligan’s childhood struggle with food began when he was 10 years old. Placed on a caloric-restrictive diet by a doctor, the regime left him feeling ashamed and alone and triggered what would become a more than decade-long eating disorder. “I still look back on all the time that I spent as a teen, crushed […] Youth mental health startup Somethings launches with a $3.2M raise led by General Catalyst by Neesha A. Tambe originally published on TechCrunch

Normally in the music industry, it’s more or less impossible for ordinary investors to buy music rights. Thus, web3 startups saw an opportunity to tokenize music assets, allowing fans access to music rights in a wholly new fashion. Of course, this garnered a lot of interest during the crypto boom a couple of years ago. […] Success with Rihanna’s music rights helps web3 marketplace raise fresh VC round by Mike Butcher originally published on TechCrunch

Chances are you don’t like wasting time in useless meetings. People often say “this meeting should have been an email.” But what about one-to-one calls? Could they be a series of voice messages and quick text replies? Meet Async, a new productivity startup based in New York that wants to replace quick calls with asynchronous […] Async replaces work calls with asynchronous voice messages by Romain Dillet originally published on TechCrunch