Equity

• AI Wearables 1.0: Was Humane’s AI Pin too ambitious?

  Humane’s AI Pin, which promised to replace your smartphone with a sleek wearable device, is officially dead. After a rocky launch, negative reviews, and returns outpacing sales, the startup is shutting down and selling its assets to HP for $116 million – less than half of what it raised. But what’s next for Humane’s tech? On today's episode of Equity, hosts Kirsten Korosec, Max Zeff and Anthony Ha are breaking down the week’s tech and startup headlines, including what HP might do with Humane’s resources and talent and how, as Max put it, the AI Pin was clearly ahead of its time. Listen to the full episode to hear about: The people in Elon Musk’s DOGE universe, the AI behind it, and the potential future of AI-powered government initiatives The new AI lab contenders, Safe Superintelligence and Thinking Machines Lab, and whether VCs are putting more stock in talent than actual results The Uber v. DoorDash lawsuit over “anti-competitive tactics”  And why Duolingo’s mascot getting killed off in a Cybertruck crash is oddly working in the brand’s favor Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every 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 here. 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

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• How Slow Ventures is giving the creator economy a rebrand

  Last week, the team at early-stage VC firm Slow Ventures launched its new $60 million fund entirely focused on investing in content creators.Today on Equity, Rebecca Bellan sits down with Lightcap to dive into YouTube remains the dominant platform for serious creators,how niche community trust translates into scalable businesses, and what this new fund means for the creator economy. Listen to the full episode to hear more about: How this new asset class has the potential to scale. The firm’s success stories so far, including Marina Mogilko’s baby snack company and other ventures. The parallels between backing creators and traditional seed-stage founders. The “key man risk” and how investors navigate the challenge. Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every 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 here. 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

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• Elon Musk and Sam Altman are basically in a rap battle

  Tensions are running high in the AI world this week after Elon Musk made a staggering $97.4 billion bid to buy OpenAI, a move that would mark one of the largest tech acquisitions in history – if it actually happens. Sam Altman shut the notion down fast, even going so far as to fire back with a post suggesting he’d buy X for a tenth of the price. But Musk’s bid itself does raise questions about potential roadblocks ahead for OpenAI. Today, on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, hosts Kirsten Korosec, Max Zeff and Anthony Ha are breaking down the offer, the response, and what it means for the AI company’s future, plus other headlines from the week. Listen to the full episode to hear about: What you missed from the Paris AI Action Summit: who’s backing global AI opportunity and who’s calling it a missed opportunity. BNPL startup Tabby’s massive raise and $3.3 billion valuation, as well as its IPO ambitions in a turbulent fintech market. Archer Aviation’s $300 million boost, and why its eVTOL development is leaning into defense. Equity will be back with a new interview on Wednesday, 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, 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 here. 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

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• Sheel Mohnot says the fintech market is ‘hot again’

  “The fintech market is hot again,” said Sheel Mohnot, fintech investor and founder of Better Tomorrow Ventures (BTV). “And we are going to see some more exits in the near future.”  According to recent reports, fintech funding is on the rise, with global investment hitting $60 billion in the first half of the year alone, marking a significant rebound from the previous year’s dip.  Mohnot – whose X account you’ve likely come across if you follow fintech – has invested in over 100 deals throughout the years, primarily in fintech, and co-founded the accelerator program The Mint. On today’s episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Mary Ann Azevedo is catching up with Mohnot to discuss why he thinks fintech is “poised to have a lot of outcomes in the near future,” the potential of AI in fintech, particularly in accounting and underwriting, and highlights the impact of DeepSeek on the AI landscape. Listen to the full episode to hear more about: Mohnot’s journey from founder to investor after co-founding companies like FeeFighters, which sold to Groupon in 2012. Who’s getting it right in 2025? Mohnot highlights players in the accounting automation space such as Basis, Layer, and InScope The optimistic outlook for fintech, with potential IPOs from companies like Chime, Klarna, and Stripe. How Sheel built his impressive online following, and what a Taco Bell metaverse wedding and Justin Bieber have to do with it. Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every 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 here. 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

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• Are companies falling out of love with OpenAI?

  Humanoid robotics company Figure raised eyebrows this week when it announced it would be stepping away from a partnership with OpenAI in favor of building its own in-house AI models. Figure CEO Brett Adcock alluded to a “major breakthrough” in their own process and plans to unveil “something no one has ever seen on a humanoid” in the coming month.  Figure isn’t the only company experimenting with non-OpenAI solutions either. Just last week, researchers from Stanford and the University of Washington demonstrated that it’s possible to train a highly capable “reasoning” model for under $50 in cloud compute credits, a stark contrast to the costs often associated with OpenAI’s models. TechCrunch’s Kirsten Korosec, Margaux MacColl, and Max Zeff are diving into the biggest news on today’s episode of Equity, including how the tide could be changing for OpenAI.  Listen to the full episode to hear about: Notable new hires in startups and venture, from Stripe’s new lead for ‘startup and VC partnerships’ to Andreessen Horowitz’s controversial pick for its American Dynamism team lead. Two space startups teaming up to build the next generation of telescopes.  Elon Musk’s latest play, and how Silicon Valley is reacting to the tech bros taking over the federal government. Equity will be back next week, 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, 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 here. 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

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