Get ready for a jam-packed episode of Equity, TechCrunch’s flagship podcast about the business of startups! This week, co-hosts Mary Ann Azevedo and Haje Kamps are joined by the ever-insightful Kirsten Korosec as they dive into the latest in the startup world. If you’re looking for sharp analysis, witty commentary and a dose of startup snark, this episode has it all.
To kick things off, our hosts broke down three major deals of the week.
First, there’s Waabi, an autonomous trucking startup that just closed a $200 million Series B round. Kirsten dove into how Waabi’s AI-first approach is setting it apart in the crowded autonomous vehicle space, and why investors are still willing to back big bets in this space despite the market’s ups and downs.
Next is the intriguing case of Gynger, a fintech company that recently raised $20 million. Mary Ann explained how Gynger is shaking up the way startups handle tech purchases with its buy now, pay later model, working both with buyers and sellers to offer flexible payment terms. Kirsten and Haje weighed in on the potential risks and rewards of this unique business model, especially in today’s volatile economic environment.
The third deal is (obviously) about artificial intelligence: Haje talked about Safe Superintelligence, OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever’s new venture that aims to develop general AI with a focus on safety. The hosts discussed the ambitious goals of this startup and the challenges of balancing rapid advancement with the ethical considerations of creating superintelligent AI.
Circling the drain — and not
The conversation then moved to a sobering topic: the wave of bankruptcies that has hit the startup world in 2024. Kirsten analyzed the factors leading to these failures, with a spotlight on high-profile cases like EV startup Fisker and fintech service Synapse. The hosts then discussed the common pitfalls that led to these companies’ downfalls, and the lessons other startups can learn.
It wasn’t all doom and gloom, though. The episode wraps up with an exciting discussion about the future: Voodoo’s acquisition of social media startup BeReal for $537 million. Mary Ann delved into the reasons behind this bold move, how Voodoo plans to integrate ads into BeReal’s platform and what this could mean for the wider social media landscape. Kirsten and Haje then debated the potential success of this strategy, and the broader implications for user engagement and authenticity in the age of digital advertising.
Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts.
You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod. For the full episode transcript, for those who prefer reading over listening, check out our full archive of episodes over at Simplecast.
