Latest News from TechCrunch
TechCrunch
3 hours ago
- Business
- TechCrunch
Grammarly secures $1B in non-dilutive funding from General Catalyst
Grammarly has secured a $1 billion commitment from General Catalyst. The 14-year-old writing assistant startup will use the new funds for its sales and marketing efforts, freeing up existing capital to make strategic acquisitions. Unlike a traditional venture round, General Catalyst will not receive an equity stake in the company in return for the investment. Instead, Grammarly will repay the capital along with a fixed, capped percentage of revenue it generates from the use of General Catalyst's funds. The investment comes from General Catalyst's Customer Value Fund (CVF), a capital pool that helps late-stage startups with predictable revenue streams deploy new funding specifically to growing their businesses. CVF's alternative financing strategy essentially 'lends' capital that is secured by a company's recurring revenue. For companies like Grammarly, this form of financing is advantageous because it's non-dilutive and does not reset the company's valuation. Grammarly was valued at $13 billion in 2021, during the peak of the ZIRP era. However, the company's valuation in today's market is significantly lower, according to an investor in the company who asked to remain anonymous. Grammarly didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. In December, Grammarly acquired productivity startup Coda and appointed its CEO, Shishir Mehrotra, to lead Grammarly. The company, which is evolving into an AI productivity tool following the acquisition, has annual revenue of over $700 million. General Catalyst's Customer Value Fund has provided funding to nearly 50 companies, including insurtech Lemonade and telehealth platform Ro. CVF maintains its own distinct limited partners and was not included in the firm's recent $8 billion capital raise. Techcrunch event Save now through June 4 for TechCrunch Sessions: AI Save $300 on your ticket to TC Sessions: AI—and get 50% off a second. Hear from leaders at OpenAI, Anthropic, Khosla Ventures, and more during a full day of expert insights, hands-on workshops, and high-impact networking. These low-rate deals disappear when the doors open on June 5. Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot at TC Sessions: AI and show 1,200+ decision-makers what you've built — without the big spend. Available through May 9 or while tables last. Berkeley, CA | REGISTER NOW General Catalyst head honcho Hemant Taneja and Pranav Singhvi, co-head of CVF, talked with TechCrunch in greater length about the group's specialized financing strategy last fall.
TechCrunch
5 hours ago
- Business
- TechCrunch
Top 30 startups announced for VivaTech 2025 Innovation of the Year Award
The Innovation of the Year Award celebrates the boldest and most visionary startups exhibiting at VivaTech 2025. Open to all exhibiting companies, the award honors those pushing boundaries and redefining industries. Startups were scored on Innovation & Creativity, Market Disruption, and Scalability. From hundreds of applicants, 30 made the short list. The top five will pitch live at VivaTech on June 11, and the winner will be revealed at the VivaTech Global Awards Ceremony on June 12. The prize? A pitch slot at the ceremony, a free Startup Corner at VivaTech 2026, and a coveted spot in the TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 200. This award recognizes not just great ideas, but also the teams turning bold visions into game-changing realities. This year's applicants blew us away. From turning glasses into self-driving guide dogs, to building photonic chips that could redefine computing, to converting mining waste into carbon sinks — this short list is full of breakthrough thinking with real-world stakes. We saw microrobot swarms for space exploration, AI that reads your mind to control devices, and bioelectronic implants fighting brain cancer. These startups are pushing science, design, and engineering to new heights, especially in areas like sustainability, human-machine interfaces, advanced diagnostics, and accessible healthcare. What stood out most was the boldness. These teams aren't just solving problems — they're building the future from the ground up. Choosing five finalists — let alone one winner — will be incredibly tough. Every startup in this top 30 has already earned serious bragging rights. Here are the VivaTech 2025 Innovation of the Year Award top 30 startups, as chosen by VivaTech in partnership with TechCrunch: Chipiron: France, health Virtuosis AI: Switzerland, information technologies Enerdrape SA: Switzerland, energy snap DISCOVERY: Germany, deep tech, BCI NunoX Technologies: Taiwan, software development/cloud services Phigi: France, industry Noxon: Germany, health .lumen: Romania, mobility/transportation HUA TEC International: Taiwan, health Video Analytics for Safety: Singapore, information technologies Geolinks Services: France, energy Moonlite Labs: Canada, media/entertainment/culture Stellaria: France, energy Mendo: France, software development/cloud services NeuralTeks: France, health Vita325: Ukraine, health Blue Skies Minerals GmbH: Canada, industry Anivance AI: Taiwan, health La Touche Musicale: France, media/entertainment/culture InSimili: Italy, health Nellow: France, information technologies Oncoelectronics: France, health Zeeh Africa: Nigeria, banking/finance/insurance/legal LumiSync: France, telecom/connectivity Onkos Molecular Diagnostics: Spain, health Wisp Solutions: France, mobility/transportation Werover: United Kingdom, energy BeyondMath: United Kingdom, information technologies Kumulus: France, industry FireTracking: New Caledonia, software development/cloud services If you're planning to be in Paris July 11-12, make sure to reserve your VivaTech pass today!
TechCrunch
6 hours ago
- Business
- TechCrunch
Inside the AI revolution: Top insights and breakthroughs from our partners at TechCrunch Sessions: AI
At TechCrunch Sessions: AI, the spotlight is on the future of artificial intelligence and the startups shaping it. This high-energy event brings together founders, investors, and technologists to explore how AI is transforming industries — from the pitch deck to full-scale deployment. We're proud to spotlight our partners — not just for their support, but also for the expertise they bring to the stage. Their sessions offer a front-row view into the latest developments in AI and are a must-attend for anyone looking to stay ahead in this fast-evolving space. Catch 'Your Next Co-Founder Will Be AI' on the main stage from 11:00 a.m. to 11:20 a.m. PT, where Tanka CEO Kisson Lin shares her vision for AI-native startups. Drawing on experience at Meta, TikTok, and multiple ventures, she explores how AI can act as a tireless co-founder, handling everything from product docs to investor updates — so founders can scale faster, work smarter, and lead with less burnout. Join 'How Toyota Repair Technicians Leverage AI with NLX' on the main stage from 2:20 p.m. to 2:40 p.m. PT as Kordel France (Toyota) and Andrei Papancea (NLX) reveal how they brought AI from concept to scale. Discover how AI-powered conversational tools now help Toyota technicians instantly access complex repair data — boosting productivity and dealership efficiency through smarter, faster workflows. Don't miss 'Building Richer and More Scalable GenAI Applications for Startups and Developers' from 2:25 p.m. to 3:10 p.m. PT in the Pauley East Breakout room where Nipun Agarwal and Sandeep Agrawal dive into how MySQL HeatWave helps startups and developers build powerful, scalable generative AI applications. Learn how its built-in vector store, in-database LLMs, and machine learning streamline complex RAG workflows — eliminating the need for extra databases or ETL. It's all about faster builds, real-time data, and more time for innovation. The main stage will host 'Democratizing AI and Building Collaborative Systems with AI Agents' from 3:00 p.m. to 3:20 p.m. as Iliana Quinonez, Director of Customer Engineering at Google Cloud Startups, unpacks how collaborative AI agents are transforming teamwork and productivity. Learn how democratizing AI agent development empowers teams — regardless of experience level — to build intelligent systems that work seamlessly with both humans and other AI, driving smarter, faster collaboration. Head to in the Pauley East Breakout room from 3:10 p.m. to 4:05 p.m. for 'Suite AI: How SAP Is Bringing AI to the Enterprise,' where Max McPhee and Rob Seifert will explore how SAP is embedding AI across its business suite. Learn how innovations like SAP's AI agent Joule, embedded intelligence, and custom AI development can drive efficiency and transform your operations. Techcrunch event Save now through June 4 for TechCrunch Sessions: AI Save $300 on your ticket to TC Sessions: AI—and get 50% off a second. Hear from leaders at OpenAI, Anthropic, Khosla Ventures, and more during a full day of expert insights, hands-on workshops, and high-impact networking. These low-rate deals disappear when the doors open on June 5. Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot at TC Sessions: AI and show 1,200+ decision-makers what you've built — without the big spend. Available through May 9 or while tables last. Berkeley, CA | REGISTER NOW Get your tickets now for next week's Sessions:AI event!
TechCrunch
8 hours ago
- Business
- TechCrunch
Hugging Face unveils two new humanoid robots
AI dev platform Hugging Face continued its push into robotics on Thursday with the release of two new humanoid robots. The company announced a pair of open-source robots, HopeJR and Reachy Mini. HopeJR is a full-size humanoid robot that has 66 actuated degrees of freedom, or 66 independent movements, including the ability to walk and move its arms. Reachy Mini is a desktop unit that can move its head, talk, listen, and be used to test AI apps. Meet HopeJr, a full humanoid robot lowering the barrier to entry! Capable of walking, manipulating many objects, open-source and costs under $3000 🤯 Designed by @therobotstudio and @huggingface 👇 — Remi Cadene (@RemiCadene) May 29, 2025 Hugging Face doesn't have an exact timeline for shipping these robots. The company's co-founder and CEO, Clem Delangue, told TechCrunch over email that they expect to start shipping at least the first few units by the end of the year, and the waitlist is currently open. Reachy Mini Credit: Hugging Face Hugging Face estimates that the HopeJR will cost around $3,000 per unit and the Reachy Mini will cost around $250-$300, depending on tariffs. 'The important aspect is that these robots are open source, so anyone can assemble, rebuild, [and] understand how they work, and [that they're] affordable, so that robotics doesn't get dominated by just a few big players with dangerous black-box systems,' Delangue said via email. This robot release was made possible in part by the company's acquisition of humanoid robotics startup Pollen Robotics, which was announced in April, according to Delangue. He added that the Pollen team gave Hugging Face 'new capabilities' required to make these bots. Hugging Face has been making a concerted push into the robotics industry over the past few years. It launched LeRobot, a collection of open AI models, data sets, and tools to build robotics systems, in 2024. Techcrunch event Save now through June 4 for TechCrunch Sessions: AI Save $300 on your ticket to TC Sessions: AI—and get 50% off a second. Hear from leaders at OpenAI, Anthropic, Khosla Ventures, and more during a full day of expert insights, hands-on workshops, and high-impact networking. These low-rate deals disappear when the doors open on June 5. Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot at TC Sessions: AI and show 1,200+ decision-makers what you've built — without the big spend. Available through May 9 or while tables last. Berkeley, CA | REGISTER NOW So far in 2025, the company has released an updated version of its 3D-printed and programmable robotic arm, the SO-101, which the company built in a partnership with French robotics firm The Robot Studio. It also expanded the training data on its LeRobot platform, through a partnership with AI startup Yaak, to include training data for self-driving machines.
TechCrunch
8 hours ago
- Business
- TechCrunch
Delaware attorney general reportedly hires a bank to evaluate OpenAI's restructuring plan
In Brief Delaware's attorney general is hiring an investment bank to advise on OpenAI's for-profit conversion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. The independent evaluation could prolong the transition, or gum up OpenAI's plans even further. OpenAI's conversion will help it attract new investment and eventually go public, but first, the startup needs to secure approvals from state regulators. Although OpenAI and Microsoft have hired their own investment banks to advise on the deal, Delaware's AG is now seeking an independent evaluation of the equity that OpenAI's nonprofit will receive. Regulators seem to be zeroing in on a key factor in OpenAI's conversion, which could significantly affect the price OpenAI ultimately pays to simplify its structure. Corporate governance experts say Elon Musk may have raised the price of OpenAI's nonprofit when he submitted a $97.4 billion takeover bid for the startup, despite the fact that OpenAI promptly rejected it.
