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Astro Teller is joining us at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 in October
We are thrilled to announce that Astro Teller, the head honcho of Alphabet’s X, the Moonshot Factory, will be joining us as a featured speaker atTechCrunch Disrupt 2025, happening October 27-29 at Moscone West in San Francisco. The whole affair promises to be fun filled and rife with intel and insights that you won’t want to miss. Astro Teller — whose official title is Captain of Moonshots — has been heading up X since 2010, where he oversees the company’s ambitious projects aimed at solving some of the world’s most challenging problems. On his watch, X has developed such initiatives as self-driving cars (Waymo), delivery drones (Wing), internet-beaming balloons (Loon, which was latershut downbecause not everything works out), and other cutting-edge tech. With a PhD from Carnegie Mellon and an undergraduate degree from Stanford, Teller has long been recognized for his ability to combine technical expertise with entrepreneurial acumen. He’s also much more than an executive. Teller is an author offiction and nonfiction; he’s an entrepreneur (hefounded and solda startup that developed a body-monitoring wearable); and he spent several years running a hedge fund before getting pulled into Alphabet. For our community of founders, investors, students, and other startup enthusiasts, Teller’s appearance couldn’t come at a more pivotal moment. As AI reshapes industries and as the boundaries between science fiction and reality continue to blur, his insights on moonshot thinking and fostering innovation are more relevant than ever. In fact, Teller’s stance on failure — which is that it should be rewarded and quickly, making it safer to move on and succeed — has perhaps never been truer for founders navigating uncertainty. Don’t miss Astro Teller’s insights at Disrupt 2025 We’re certainly looking forward to sitting down with Teller and hearing his perspective on how founders can think bigger about the problems they’re solving and the impact they aspire to create. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to hear from one of the world’s foremost innovation leaders. Tickets for Disrupt are available with savings of up to $900 on select tickets.Register for yours nowbefore Early Bird prices fly away.
Report: Adam Neumann’s Flow raises $100M+, more than doubles valuation to $2.5B
Former WeWork CEO Adam Neumann has raised over $100 million in capital for his proptech startup,Flow, in a round that values that company at about $2.5 billion, Bloombergreportedon Thursday. Citing anonymous sources familiar with the deal, Bloomberg reported that existing backer Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) participated in the financing. Neumann told Bloomberg that he was “sure” Flow was a company that could go public “one day.” Flow — a residential real estate company focused on rentals and co-living — raised$350 million from Andreessen Horowitzat a valuation of $1 billion in 2022. The funding raised eyebrows given the problematic history of Neumann’s previous startup, WeWork. Once valued at $47 billion, WeWork filed forbankruptcy protectionin 2023 and was ultimately acquired by Yardi, a real estate group, for $450 million. TechCrunch has reached out to Andreessen Horowitz and Flow for comment.
Speak at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025: Applications now open
TechCrunch Disruptreturns October 27-29 to Moscone West in San Francisco — and we’re inviting thought leaders, founders, VCs, and tech experts to apply for a chance to take the stage at one of the most anticipated tech events of the year. Applications are now open to speak atDisrupt 2025, where over 10,000+ tech leaders, investors, and startup experts come together to shape the future of innovation. The application deadline is May 16 —Apply hereand don’t miss your chance to lead the conversation. Pick your session format We’re looking for high-impact speakers to lead one of two session types: Breakout Sessions— A 30-minute talk (up to four speakers, including a moderator) with a 20-minute audience Q&A. Capacity: 100 attendees. Roundtables— A 30-minute speaker-led group discussion, designed for up to 40 participants. No slides or AV — just insight and conversation. How the application process works Each application will be carefully reviewed by our editorial team. Finalists will be selected for the Audience Choice vote — where TechCrunch readers choose which sessions make it to the Disrupt stage. Learn more about speaking onDisrupt’s Call for Content page. Lead the conversation at Disrupt 2025 If you have actionable insights, real-world experience, and a desire to contribute meaningfully to the tech ecosystem — we want to hear from you. Submit your application today before the May 16 deadline.
Founders, your moment is now: Apply for TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 200
Founders, the battlefield is open. And the bold are stepping forward.Startup Battlefield 200atTechCrunch Disrupt 2025is now accepting startups to compete in the ultimate pitch showdown in front of more than 10,000 tech leaders from around the globe to witness. This is no ordinary pitch. This is the fight for visibility, capital, and legacy. If your startup has the fire, now is the time to step into the spotlight. Take your place in the battlefield —apply now. Enter the arena: Submit your application Thousands will apply. 200 will be chosen. 20 will pitch onstage.Only onewill claim the crown and win a $100,000 equity-free prize. You want to rise above the noise? Move fast.Apply early. Free 3-day exhibit space at Disrupt4 complimentary ticketsPlacement in the Disrupt appPress list accessQuality leadsAccess to investor-led masterclassesA shot to pitch on the biggest global stage in techAnd more —get the details here. Free 3-day exhibit space at Disrupt 4 complimentary tickets Placement in the Disrupt app Press list access Quality leads Access to investor-led masterclasses A shot to pitch on the biggest global stage in tech And more —get the details here. This is the launchpad for legends: Trello, Mint, Getaround, Dropbox, Discord, andthousands more—They began their battles here. What it takes to join the battle We’re scoutingpre-Series A startupswith MVPs and massive potential. Bootstrapped or backed, if your startup is bold, you’re in the fight. Some capital-intensive Series A companies may also qualify. Make your first move Gear up for the startup battle of the year. Applications close June 9. Step up. Stand out.Apply today.
Why OpenAI wanted to buy Cursor but opted for the fast-growing Windsurf
Anysphere, maker of AI coding assistant Cursor, is growing so quickly that it’s not in the market to be sold, even to OpenAI, a source close to the company tells TechCrunch. It’s been a hot target. Cursor is one of the most popular AI-powered coding tools, and its revenue has been growing astronomically — doubling on average every two months, according to another source. Anysphere’s current average annual recurring revenue is about $300 million, according to the two sources. The company previously walked away from early acquisition discussions with OpenAI, after the ChatGPT maker approached Cursor, the two sources close to the company confirmed, andCNBC previously reported. Anysphere has also received other acquisition offers that the company didn’t consider, according to one of these sources. Cursor turned down the offers because the startup wants to stay independent, said the two people close to the company. Instead, Anysphere has been in talks to raise capital atabout a $10 billion valuation, Bloomberg reported last month. Although it didn’t nab Anysphere, OpenAI didn’t give up on buying an established AI coding tool startup. OpenAI talked with more than 20 others, CNBC reported. And then it got serious over the next-fastest-growing AI coding startup, Windsurf, with a$3 billion acquisition offer, Bloomberg reported last week. While Windsurf is a comparatively smaller company, its ARR is about $100 million, up from$40 million in ARRin February, according to a source. Windsurf has been gaining popularity with the developer community, too, and its coding product is designed to work with legacy enterprise systems. Windsurf did not respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment. OpenAI declined to comment on its acquisition talks. OpenAI is likely shopping because it’s looking for its next growth areas as competitors such as Google’s Gemini and China’s DeepSeek put pricing pressure on access to foundational models. Moreover,AnthropicandGoogle have recently released AI modelsthat outperform OpenAI’s models on coding benchmarks, increasingly making them a preferred choice for developers. While OpenAI could build its own AI coding assistant, buying a product that is already popular with developers means the ChatGPT-maker wouldn’t have to start from scratch to build this business. VCs who invest in developer tool startups are certainly watching. Speculating about OpenAI’s strategy, Chris Farmer, partner and CEO at SignalFire, told TechCrunch of the company, “They’ll be acquisitive at the app layer. It’s existential for them.”
Khloe Kardashian launches consumer brand backed by Serena Ventures, WME
Khloe Kardashian has formally launched her new food company, Khloud, and its first product, a protein popcorn,set to hit Target starting April 29. Back in December, TechCrunchreported that Kardashianand her mother, Kris Jenner, were looking to raise at least $10 million for a business called Khloud. Jessica Bixby, an associate partner at K5 Global, which invested in the brand, said that it went on to raise an “oversubscribed $12 million round.” Other investors include Serena Ventures, William Morris Endeavor (WME), and Shrug Capital.Khloud says its popcorn is crafted from whole-grain corn and that its “Khoud Dust,” a milk protein and seasoning blend sprinkled on it, gives each serving seven grams of protein. In addition to Target, the product will be soldon its website. “We’re starting with popcorn, but that’s just the beginning,” Kardashian told TechCrunch. “We plan to expand into other snacking categories across the store, there’s so much room to reimagine everyday snacks.” Kardashian says the mission of her snack brand is to offer more nutritious alternatives made from “clean” ingredients. The Kardashian-Jenners are known for their ever-growing and ever-encompassing consumer business empire. This, however, marks the first time a member of the family has forayed into the snack business. It somewhat makes sense — numerous articles have been written about their favorite foods (includinga dedicated Instagram page), and anywhere there is widespread potential consumer interest, there is a widespread chance for celebrities to make money. Celebs have pumped outnumerous hair care lines, liquor lines, and beauty products. The Kardashians have been there (and are still doing that). Now, their empire spreadsfrom household cleaning productsto the food in our pantries.
Adaptive Computer wants to reinvent the PC with ‘vibe’ coding for non-programmers
Dennis Xu is a repeat tech startup founder, but he’s the first to admit he’s not a programmer. After co-founding AI note-taking app Mem —one of OpenAI’s earliest venture investments— he has now launched a new startup calledAdaptive Computer. Its grandiose mission is nothing less than a complete reimagining of personal computer software. He wants non-programmers to be using full-featured apps that they’ve created themselves, simply by entering a text prompt into Adaptive’s no-code web-app platform. To make that happen, Xu and co-founder Mike Soylu just announced a $7 million seed round, led by Pebblebed with participation from Conviction, Weekend Fund, Jake Paul’s Anti Fund, Roblox CEO Dave Baszucki, and others. (Pebblebed is a relatively new seed fund founded by Pamela Vagata, an AI engineer formerly of Stripe, and Keith Adams, former chief architect at Slack.) Prior to LLMs, Xu said he had to work with designers, who worked with the engineers “basically influencing people” to build the things he envisioned. (He left Mem in 2023.) But now, “we’d be able to put something in every person’s pocket where they could actually build the personal computer of their dreams,” as he describes it. To be certain, this isn’t about the computer itself or any hardware — despite the company’s name. The startup currently only builds web apps. However, for every app it builds, Adaptive Computer’s engine handles creating a database instance, user authentication, file management, and can create apps that include payments (via Stripe), scheduled tasks, and AI features such as image generation, speech synthesis, content analysis, and web search/research. In demoing its product, called ac1, which is still in “alpha mode” (meaning it has limited features and functionality), I gave it a text prompt asking for a bicycle ride log app. A minute later,it built a JavaScript-based app, complete with back-end database, with no further configuration needed on my part. While this app didn’t integrate with third-party services like my fitness watch, it did automatically add features like sorting rides, tallying total distance, and comparing rides. This was also a fully functional website, not a prototype, that could be shared with others to log their own rides, without sharing my personal data. For true non-programmers As interesting as this idea is, Adaptive Computer is hardly the first and only “vibe coding” platform out there, meaning writing code based on text prompts. Competitor Replit claims to haveover 30 million usersand has begun to cater to non-programmers so heavily that its founder CEO, Amjad Masad, caused outrageby declaring on X last month.“I no longer think you should learn to code.” Fast on both companies’ heels is Lovable, which claims its vibe coding project is not just good fornon-programmers, but better for designing than Figma.The early-stage Swedish startup claims it grew its customer base to $10 million in ARR in its first 60 days. Xu says the difference between these more established products and his startup is that the others were originally geared toward making programming easier for programmers. And that means non-programmers could struggle to use them. “Try building an AI tool with either, and they’ll ask you for API keys,” Xu says, noting that it’s these kinds of details that create difficulty for non-programmers. “We’re building for the everyday person who is interested in creating things to make their own lives better. Their users are people who are building apps for other people.” Besides taking care of the back-end database and other technical details, Adaptive apps can work together. For instance, a user can build a file-hosting app and the next app can access those files. Xu likens this as more like an “operating system” rather than a single Web app. Other examples of apps created by early users include AI generated storytelling; a coffee bean e-commerce site; and a text-to-speech reader for PDF files. Adaptive Computer has three subscription levels: a limited free version; a $20/month tier; and a $100/month Creator/Pro. Here’s a peek.
Bezos-backed startup designed an EV that can change like a ‘Transformer’
Jeff Bezos-backed Slate Auto has planted multiple concept versions of its EV on the streets of California. It’s a marketing tactic that teases the secretive startup’s strategy to sell a “Transformer”-like vehicle, people familiar with the company’s internal discussions told TechCrunch. This unconventional real-world tease comes days before Slate’s April 24 launch event at Long Beach Airport, according to an invite viewed by TechCrunch. The Michigan-based startup, founded in 2022, has operated in relative secrecy until TechCrunchpublished a report revealing Bezos’ financial involvement, as well as its plan to price its EV at around $25,000 while encouraging buyers to customize the vehicle to their liking. That base model is referred to as the “Blank Slate” version, according to atrademark applicationand another person familiar with the company’s plans. Slate has also filed for atrademarkfor the phrase: “We Built It. You Make It.” The Autopian’s David Tracytraveledto Venice, California over the weekend where Slate parked a concept version of the truck made to look like a two-door SUV used by a fake business. Similarly, Reddit users posted pictures over the weekend ofyet anotherversion of the truckmade to look like a hatchback that almost resembles Rivian’sforthcoming R3. The vehicle Tracy saw up close this past weekend looks just like the two-door pickup truck spotted by a Reddit userearlier this monthin Long Beach, but with a hard cover over the bed that gives it more of an SUV shape. The vehicle is covered in a wrap for a fake business called “Rockabye Rides,” which includes a URL that leads to a website that iscounting downto Slate’s event later this week. That makes three different silhouettes we’ve seen of Slate’s truck so far — and that adaptability is something the company has privately touted as it locked down well over $100 million in funding, TechCrunch has learned. Slate’s leadership focused heavily on the “Transformer” metaphor as it wooed investors to fill out its Series B funding round last year, according to a person familiar with the pitches. The company carefully choreographed the meetings around the idea, according to another person familiar with how they went. This involved showing prospective investors a generic version of the truck, and then leading them to another room while a team quickly customized the vehicle. Then the prospective investors would be brought back to the first room only to find the truck looking completely different. Those efforts appear to have been convincing. Guggenheim Partners CEO (and controlling owner of the LA Dodgers) Mark Walter seemingly invested in the round and joined Slate’s board, TechCrunch hasreported. A spokesperson for the company didn’t respond to a request for comment. These new photos give a pretty clear view of the exterior of Slate’s truck, and the potential level of customization. The interior remains a mystery, and there is no public knowledge about the vehicle’s specs. The company has briefed a number of automotive journalists ahead of Thursday’s event, and Tracy wrote that he’s “under a strict NDA” on any of the specifics. Even still, Tracy wrote that the Slate truck “is unlike any new vehicle I’ve ever seen not just in my decade as a car journalist, but in my entire lifetime.”